Hedgehog Collage

Having been interested in our visiting hedgehogs, we decided to make hedgehog pictures.  Earlier on in the week I was talking to another parent who asked me what could be done with all the paintings and pictures children do.  I had recently cut up some artwork into shapes at nursery and the children had used it for collage along with other materials and objects.  I suggested the same to this parent.  This led me to think about what to do with the large amount of sludgy brown 'back of a cave' pictures boy likes to do.  Perfect for a hedgehog collage I thought!

I found some suitable pictures lying around.  Some are just using brush painting and on some we have used printing (sponges, cloths, straws, fingers.)  I stuck to a brown theme.  Then I cut some, sort of, squashed semi circle shapes and lots of spiky and triangular shapes as well as a couple of small circles to use for eyes.

Girl was very interested in using as much glue as possible.

Boy got the idea straight away and began creating.  Sticking spikes onto his hedgehog with enthusiasm.

Girl's hedgehog is pretty good in the end.  She did have a little bit of help but not a great deal.

Boy wanted two eyes for his!

A hedgehog is a very easy animal to make.  If you cut out simple shapes you could do spiders, ladybirds, birds, bees, anything you fancy really!  It turned out to be a nice end result too whilst, at the same time, allowing the children some freedom and control over what they wanted to do.

All about Hedgehogs

I have mentioned a couple of times over the past few weeks that we have discovered hedgehogs in our garden.  At first we thought it was just one but we have now seen three, a mother and two hoglets we think.  Hedgehogs are nocturnal and so, sadly, the children are in bed when they come out at dusk.  We have been taking photos though and this has led onto Boy wanting to find out about them.

Here is the mother and one of her young last week.

Then the two little ones on a separate occasion.  They are completely adorable and we have been feeding them cat food on an evening and really enjoying watching them.  We have sought some advice from The British Hedgehog Preservation Society on caring for hedgehogs and their website is very useful if you find you also have hedgehogs.

 So earlier today we made Hedgehog Bread.  I remember having this as a young child myself so I really enjoying doing this with the children today.  It's a very simple and very good bread dough recipe we used.  It makes a very wet dough but it is far more like bakers bread than any other recipe I have tried.  Ingredients: 500g strong white flour, 14g dried instant yeast, 20ml olive oil, 2 tsp salt, 240ml water.  Put everything into a mixing bowl and combine with your hands.

Then add a further 80ml water and stir for a few more minutes.  The dough will be VERY wet but don't worry - this gives it a great texture and taste too!

Knead it on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.  Then place into the bowl and leave, covered, to prove (the yeast to work!) for 1 hour.

 

It should 'grow' to double the size.

Then turn it out and knead for a minute or so.  Then cut into smaller pieces and shape into hedgehogs by using raisins for eyes and a nose.  Then cut into the top with scissors to make the spikes.

Then bake at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Sadly, our hedgehogs lost their eyes and noses in the oven but the bread tasted fantastic anyway!  Just needed to push them in firmer I think.

I think we might be doing one or two more hedgehog activities over the next week or so.

Nature Walk - Once Every Two Weeks Challenge

Although it has turned a little colder today, the sun was still shining and Boy and Girl wanted to go for a picnic.  A great opportunity for some outdoor play and a nature walk I thought!  The Woodland Trust website http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/ has some brilliant free resources if you need some help and guidance.

Today we went with no particular agenda but we still found loads of interesting things.  Several different trees, streams, buds on trees, water birds, a few squirrels, and some dandelions.  It opened up quite a few questions from Boy about wildlife as well as a chance to talk about The Gruffalo - one of his favourite books.

It can be useful to learn how to recognise some common trees and birds when you go out like this.  I'm still learning myself but, as I mentioned, the Woodland Trust can be really useful!

 

We fed the ducks of course, although Girl didn't seem to like them too much today.  By this time she had got quite cold I think so we quickly walked back to the picnic area and had something to eat before coming home.

I'm challenging myself to make sure we go out like this at least once every two weeks (hopefully more often), even if the weather is cold or wet.  I'm challenging you to do the same.  Walking in the fresh air is not only good exercise but a fantastic opportunity for communication and interaction between adults and children.  There are a wealth of fantastic parks and nature reserves (many with free entry), it's too good an opportunity to miss.  Go on, get outside with your kids!  Sign up for the challenge by making a comment below.