scratch patch, simon's town

After a week of flu-induced confinement the girls were champing for an outing. Still not very strong though, I decided to keep it low-exertion and sold them on 'an expedition to find treasure'!

Feels so good under little toes.

Select, fill, discard, repeat.

Frolic.

I'd remembered the Scratch Patch near Simon's Town as badly lit and a little bit stinky, but that was 30-odd years ago.
These days it's nicely laid-out and a very easy outing with kids. You pick the size bag you can afford and have as much time as you like to fill it with treasure. Informative posters scattered around tell you what you're 'hunting', there's a cafe for tea and milkshakes and a gift shop to browse the real sparklies 'look with your EYES only!'.

We weren't even back in car before they started planning the games they'd play when they got home. Those R25 bags of semi-precious stones was one of the best investments I made these holidays.

glitter bags

Last day of school holidays and it rained and rained and rained.

Perfect time to try out a new craft project right?

Soooo pretty ... dyed rice, beads, feathers, glitter - what's not to love?

Stick a piece of contact paper on to a table top - sticky side up, masking tape on the corners. Draw a 'frame' around it if you're working on a light surface so they can see the boundaries, don backwards bicycle helmet (apparently crucial), divvy up the supplies and get sticking (and in Friday's case - singing)!

Observe the different techniques ...

When every last feather and glittery smidgen has been applied, top it off with a slightly larger piece of contact, fold over the edges and ta-daa!

Glitter bag!
(Although next time I think we'll hold back on the glitter a bit, it does rather take over - the project and the floor.)

Aaaaand 5 minutes later:

Can I hear it for the first day back at school today? Hoooooraaaaaaaaay!

science girl

Shocking I know, but despite the Cape Town Science Centre moving to my home suburb many months ago, I'd not visited it until last week.

We made a plan to go with a friend and her son, and for a while I'd thought to arrange for Sunday to do something else for the morning. I thought that at 2 and a bit she was possibly a little young, would get bored, and then fractious.
How wrong was I?

In her usual studious and independent style, Sunday sought out the projects and demo's which suited her.

Things which looked fun.

Things which made a noise.

Things which moved and shook.

.

Things which rocked her world.

I feel badly for underestimating my little Science Girl, but also glad to know that the Cape Town Science Centre so thoughtfully caters for all ages. A great outing - especially on a cold and rainy day.

The Science Centre is running their holiday programme until 15 July, has ample parking, well-informed and friendly staff and a small cafe which sells great coffee, muffins and toasted sandwiches. Interestingly the cafe seems to have no problem with visitors bringing their own snacks either, making this a great place for a small birthday party, or parents who have kids on restricted diets etc.

kirstenbosch winter wonders programme

Wait, what??

We've been so distracted by The Birthday that the THREE WEEK SCHOOL HOLIDAY rather crept up on us.

Secretly I love the school holidays, for no other reason then I hate the mad term-time morning scramble to get out the house (why do you think I've conspired to mainly work from home for so many years?), however there are other complications - namely that whole work from home thing...

The girls are pretty content to play together at home, for which I'm grateful, but I do feel I need to plan a couple of outings - to stave off cabin fever, and to allay my guilt for leaving them with their nanny when I do work.

Kirstenbosch being one of our favourite places

For all the above reasons I'm very excited about Kirstenbosch Gardens' lovely looking Winter Wonders programme. The full programme is up on their website - they're really catering for all age groups (check out the great art workshops for older kiddies), but for my small girls I'm most looking forward to:

Puppet shows in the Conservatory - followed by a guided walk around this amazing indoor garden. The puppet shows are R30/child, but entrance to the gardens is free for kids under17 until 16 July.
10h00 - 11h00
26, 28 June, 3, 5, 10 and 12 July

Garden Walks - all free - guided walks with specific themes. We're keen on -
All Creatures Great & Small: the animals of the Garden
10h30 - 12h30
28 June & 10 July at Gate 2
Medicinal Plants: SA's indigenous healing plants
11h00 - 13h00
12 July at Info Desk, Visitors Centre (Gate 1)

Story-Telling and Colouring-In.
These happen every week day at 10h00 from Tuesday 26 June at the Visitors Centre bookshop (Gate 1).
There's even a reading of Vumile and the Dragon by the author, Claerwen Howie on Mon 2 July.

I'd love to take the girls to the Frog Awareness talk, but you know, there's the whole bufunophobia thing ...

And for a special treat, maybe lunch at Moyo Kirstenbosch? The set-up is not yet looking as rich and colourful as the other Moyo's we love, but I'm sure they'll get there soon and with great kiddie specials this holiday (and a good deal on coffee for the parents) it'll be worth a visit I'm sure.

I'll be sharing more fun holiday activities as I find them - please let me know if you've any recommendations too!

did I mention we LOVE Kirstenbosch?