After the rain

                                    

I've been out and about with a class of five and six-year-olds today; we spent a very enjoyable hour in the glorious herb and flower gardens of the Geffrye Museum. The recent and plentiful rainfall had every plant looking its very best, but luckily the rain stopped and the sun shone while we were outside. As we strolled around the grounds I encouraged the children to look carefully at how delicate and numerous the colourful petals were, to notice the lushness of new green leaves and to spot the jewel-like droplets of rain adorning some of the plants. 

Their teacher took plenty of photographs - I wish I'd had my camera with me; these pictures were quickly snapped on my iphone after the session - but the main way they recorded what they saw today was to sketch and then colour (using watercolour pencils) their favourite flowers. There were so many plants to choose from - some sketched wisteria, roses and poppies, others peonies, irises and violas - and soon their pieces of paper were in full bloom. 

Back in the classroom they magically transformed their drawings into watercolour paintings by adding water with paintbrushes. They all left the museum very happy, clutching their beautiful - and still damp - watercolours; the pictures looked as fresh and as vibrant as the gardens themselves, after the rain.

Feed the birds

A few days ago my children made these marvellous bird-feeders at our local Apple Day fete. The feeders are now hanging in our garden ready for action - there have been no takers yet, but it's very sweet how Buddy and Daisy have started creeping up to the window in the mornings, hoping to spot a breakfasting bird or two.

Here's how to make one:

1. Take a windfall apple and roughly core it with a sturdy screwdriver or apple corer.

2. Use a bamboo skewer or cocktail stick to make small holes all over the apple, randomly or in a pattern.

3. Push sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds halfway into the prepared holes.

4. Fasten a smallish stick - the perch for a bird - to a metre of thin string or garden twine; wrap it round a few times and secure with a knot.

5. Thread the other end of the string through the apple; it may need a little encouragement with the bamboo skewer.

6. Hang the bird-feeder as high as possible on a branch of a tree.

We attached ours to the handlebars of our bikes to get them home from Apple Day, and they looked fabulous.

I tried to find out who came up with the design of these brilliant bird-feeders, but no one seemed to know. However, I thought the idea was definitely worth sharing; after all there's an abundance of apples at the moment. And they were certainly fun to make. Now all we need are some hungry birds....