Red Nose Day Fun and Activities ft. iChild
Every time Comic Relief's Red Nose Day comes around I love to watch all the TV specials, donate and of course buy a funky Red Nose from the new selection available. As Squidgy was barely a year old the last time it was on, I was super excited that she is now old enough to (sort of) get involved.
I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do with her, but I knew that whatever it was had to be fun, as well as something we could do together. As I was looking at iChild's website (mentioned in passing to me by Marty from Inside Martyn's Thoughts) I found a this section dedicated to Red Nose Day. Looking at the items further I knew that I had to try some of the ideas out.
As I looked through the titles of the different items available on the site, one named, "Haja's Water Activity" caught my eye. The idea looked like fun, and so I set about getting it together. Firstly, I asked Squidgy to help me find lots of different objects from around the house, and in a bid to keep to the Red Nose Day theme, they all had to be red.
Can you spot the strawberry laces? All props to my clever toddler! I didn't know whether to be cross or proud, in the end I just laughed. Of course I had to let her have one (or a few) simply for the sheer brain power it took to remember I had them in the pantry.
The idea was to see which of the items floated, and which sunk, when placed in a bowl of water. As well as this, I used the opportunity to get some learning in too! We counted how many items there were, and discussed the different materials and sizes. All the while Squidgy was splashing more water out of the bowl than was kept in it.
Her favourite item was the jelly mould we found in the kitchen. Without the base and lid attached, the water flowed into the mould, and it sank to the bottom. However once the base was reattached, it floated. As you can see by her reaction, it completely blew her mind. The same object did two different things!
Beyond a shadow of a doubt she loved the whole experience, and was amazed by it all. There was An aura of excitement around her, although it may just have been that she was hyper from the sugar in the sweets she was eating. Not that I minded, seriously though, the look on her face. She is so cheeky but I love that she was having fun, while learning too.
Not all of the crafts and activities on the iChild site were new for this year. There was an awesome idea to make Springy Noses but as my printer is currently out of ink, I used it to inspire the next Red Nose Day activity that we did. I picked up a few circular items of varying sizes and drew around them on a piece of paper. After squirting a little red poster paint onto a plate, I let Squidgy loose and she painted them.
It was actually quite amazing to watch her painting, as, for the first time, she actually made an effort to stay inside the lines. I felt so proud, and slightly sad that my baby girl is growing up so fast. Although she did mix the plain red and red glitter paint together to, "make it better" as she so scathingly told me when I asked why. So I guess we're a little way off her growing up completely.
Once all the circles were painted red and we had our red noses ready to go, all that was left was for us to decorate them. The laughter that came out of my daughter's mouth as she stuck down googly eyes and pompom noses was something to behold. The joy that she found in something so simple made me so happy.
As we played, learnt, painted and chatting away for those few hours together, I knew that the thing she loved the most was that we were spending time together, just the two of us. All too often Little L will end up needing to be fed or changed right when Squidgy wants me to spend time with her, so it was amazing to spend some quality time together while her baby sister slept.
Finally we tried out the iChild recipe for Sniffer Dog Biscuits. I love to bake (as you may know if you follow me regularly!) and have passed this love on to my daughter. As she grows there is more she is able to do and she conitinues to become a greater help each time. Today we will be decorating the biscuits (with red icing, obviously!) and after we will be eating them, as I doubt that they will last until tomorrow!
There are so many amazing activities available on the iChild website, and I cannot wait to try out some more, maybe next we will do some Easter themed activities, as that is soon approaching.
Of course we must not forget the fact that these activities are all done ready for Red Nose Day tomorrow. Make sure you watch the main event on BBC1 from 7pm complete with live comedy, sketches, and music from amazing artists such as Ed Sheeran, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and Emeli Sande.
If your Friday night holds something else for you, make sure you donate whatever you can here on the Red Nose Day website.