I spy with my little Eye

By -

It was my day off on Monday and I joined my daughter, granddaughter and grandson for a walk around Siblyback lake, our local reservoir.

Anyone who knows Siblyback will know that it is a cold place to be and even in the summer there is a chill out there with it being so high up on top of the moors.

My granddaughter, 7, thought it was going to be too cold and sitting watching television on the settee was a better option. My grandson, 5 who was trying to persuade her it would be fun remembered some binoculars they had both been given by a relative at Christmas and he wanted to try them. This did the trick and before long we were parked and donning coats, scarfs and gloves for the trek around the lake.

It seemed a good idea to play the old game that everyone must remember called 'I Spy'. I must admit trying to spot something that they could see about a mile away wasn't easy and they didn't always know what letter it began with and how silly was I because I didn't know water began with the letter ' T ' and geese with the letter 'Z' but it was great fun for all of us and surprising how a little pair of binoculars made them so happy and no one felt the cold.

There were also geese to look at, ducks and sheep and so much to see with binoculars and questions about everything that moved or didn't move. These were good binoculars and they also had a compass built in and when my grandson asked what it was for it seemed easiest to say it showed you which way you had come from and where you were going. After staring at it for a while and shaking it he asked me how did it know where he was going and what if he didn't want to go there.

Ok, so it needs a bit more explaining another time but I will wait until he is a bit older.

Another idea for him would be a telescope as I am sure he would enjoy this but trying to get my grandson to close one eye and look out the other is a challenge so its on his next present list!!

We had a brilliant day out and for the rest of the evening he wore his binoculars around the house often bumping in to things but we all agreed television is nowhere near as much fun..

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of the spinning top - How does the spinning top work?

By -
Image
I received a lovely letter this morning from the year 1 pupils at Highters Heath Community School in Birmingham, that are currently studying toys from the past. When I opened the letter, it contained many letters mainly asking how a spinning top works, and does the spinning top contain a spring? In an attempt to settle these curious minds, let me tell you a little bit about the history of the spinning top, and then how a spinning top works. The History of the Spinning Top The spinning top has been in existence for thousands of years. Like many traditional toys, such as marbles, the earliest spinning tops are made from clay, and were discovered in the Middle East as early as 3500 BC, although it is likely that children would have been spinning small rocks or acorns long before. Later wooden spinning tops emerged in around 2000 BC, and early spinning tops made from bone have been found in Europe.  These spinning tops would have been much simpler than many tops found in old fashi...
Read more

How To Play ZILTCH - The Ultimate Dice Game!

By -
Image
If you ask me what my favourite dice game is, there has only ever been one answer, ZILTCH! This is an exciting fast passed game of chance suitable for all ages and great for kids who can beat their parents fair and square. It's good for developing basic arithmetic skills too! This has been a family favourite in my house hold since I was a nipper, I have since taught it to hundreds of people and everyone loves it! All you need is six dice and a pen and paper to write down the scores.        These days this can be downloaded as an app or played on line but to me the whole fun is seeing peoples reactions as they roll the dice. If you take away the actual dice and play by clicking a button, then you have taken away the fun of the game! Dice are inexpensive and fit in your pocket and I guarantee that once you have learned to play this game you will always carry six dice with you! It can be played almost anywhere and doesn't blow away at a picnic or get wet ...
Read more

How to Play Farmyard Donkey Card Game

By -
Image
A couple of weeks ago I posted the instructions for the card game Pairs on Wheels . Another popular traditional family card game is Farmyard Donkey. Again, this game is fairly straight forward but a great way to keep children occupied and get them thinking. The card game consists of 17 pairs and the "Donkey Card". Firstly, shuffle the cards then deal them in a clockwise direction to each player. All players then look at their cards and take out all their pairs, the player to the left of the dealer arranges their remaining cards in their hand like a fan. The back of the cards are shown to the player on the left who then picks a card. If this card makes a pair then the cards are put in the middle of the table with the other pairs. If the player isn't able to make a pair then they keep the card and continue the game by offering their cards to the next player. When a player eventually loses all their cards they are 'saved' and stop playing. At the end of the gam...
Read more