Here are some rainy day adventures for the family.

Activity 1 Spiky Hedgehogs

For ages 3 to 6, adult help required, mess factor LOW

You will need

• medium sized potatoes, 1 per child
• either used matchsticks or cocktail sticks
• felt pen for drawing faces
• cotton wool
• mustard or cress seeds

Method

• Take a large potato and scoop a hollow in the top
• Poke 4 match / cocktail sticks into the underneath of the potato for legs
• Make a face. Either draw one on the potato or carefully insert coloured pins for eyes.
• Fill the hollow with damp cotton wool, and liberally sprinkle with the seeds.
• Put your hedgehog in a warm, sunny place for a few days. Check him every day, and explain to your child that plants need time and essentials such as water and sunlight to grow. In a day or two the shoots should appear. You can then cut the cress and use in an egg mayonaise sandwich!

Learning points to discuss with your child

• Seeds grow into plants that we can eat
• Seeds need water, air and light to grow

Activity 2 - Hiding & Finding

Games of hide and seek have been around in various forms for many years. My kids love to play "Magic Monkey", where Monkey ( a much loved toy) hides himself around the house - with a little help from mom of course. Sometimes the first person to find Monkey gets to hide him next. Other times the kids just enjoy "finding" and we simply keep score. Other variations on this game are to hide small treats around the house, like an Easter egg hunt, but to make it seasonal or relevant. For older children, try hiding the letters of the alphabet. Once the letters have all been found, each child has to use their letters to make a word, and the longest word wins! Whichever game you choose, you can be sure it will keep the kids amused for a while. Let it rain!

Learning points for your child

• How to follow simple rules
• counting skills ( count to 20 whille waiting for toys to hide)
• observation skills
• spelling and making simple words