The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...

... Or the season of turning up the heating, glowering out of the window at the persistent, chilly drizzle and reaching for the biscuit tin? If I remember rightly, it's getting pretty cold, dark and wet in Britain (and an awful lot of other locations in the temperate zone) now. Littluns may be getting tetchy about having to spend more time inside and mummies might be running low on inspiration for ways to entertain them, so here are a few of our favourite Indoor Play ideas that might make the winter months less painful.

Although we're in Malaysia, we need lots of indoors inspiration, too - tropical storms and tropical heat are often enough to drive us back inside for days! Orla is pretty good at letting me know when she's bored, so I have to stay on my toes to provide her with a variety of diversions that don't cost a fortune and will help her to develop key skills.

BUILD A 'BOUNCY CASTLE'
Gather up pillows, beanbags and cushions and heap them on the floor. Throw a couple of double duvets over the top and throw yourselves about! It's great fun for mums and tots alike when cabin fever is setting in, and you can turn the central heating down, too - all the jumping about generates a LOT of heat!



MAKE A MEAL OF IT!
You'll need paper plates, PVA/Pritt craft glue, scraps of fabric, ribbon, wool, foil, wrapping paper, leaves, sequins, pictures cut from magazines... Orla has a craft box, full of bits and bobs that I've collected together and can pull out at a moment's notice. She loves dabbing glue onto the paper plate and playing with different materials and textures to build her own 'dinners'.



Her craft box..



... includes poster paints, pencils and crayons, wool, ribbon, fabric scraps, magazine cutouts, stickers (each sheet cut into smaller pieces so she doesn't use them all at once!), sequins and foil shapes, chalks, dried leaves, paper flowers, polystyrene trays for glue and paint, set of cheapie brushes from WHSmith, Pritt paper glue and craft glue, yogurt pots...

Some activities might require a bit more preparation...

* Search through your digital photos and copy them into folders to make themed 'slideshows' for your little one. Orla's favourite is her Animals folder (see 'Animal Magic')- she presses the 'enter' key to move through the pictures, calling out names and sounds, and identifying colours. We've printed out this set of photos and put them into a plain A5 photo album which cost a couple of pounds from Paperchase. When we're out and about, I snap photos of diggers, cement trucks, buses... or you could choose autumn, winter or Christmas images to fascinate your child and to extend his/her vocabulary.

* Kitchen Creations! Perennial favourites include playing with cornflour gloop (you can colour it with food colouring, but avoid contact with clothing and prepare to have your little angel running around with green and red hands for a day or two!), jelly squeezing, cold spaghetti, and other kitchen cupboard staples... all allow your child to explore a range of sensations and textures. Baking is a great way of involving your little person in what you're doing AND getting things done (mince pies, gingerbread men and cookies, anyone?) and they can have heaps of fun decorating their creations! So what if it's messy? It all wipes up with a damp cloth...


MAKING MUSIC...
Gather together a few milk bottles or jam jars, fill with different levels of water and provide a chopstick - you may find you have a mini Mozart on your hands. Make a rainmaker from an old plastic bottle and a cup of rice - your child can decorate the outside with the contents of that craft box! A few potatoes in a shoebox make a wonderful rumbling noise when tipped back and forth and beads in a jam jar make a great, tinkling sound...

Follow up your 'jam' session with a fantastic 'musical genre' disco! Get busy compiling iPod playlists of rock, pop, classical, Latin, World, jazz, blues, country - anything you've got on there - and enjoy flinging yourselves around the living room at your own personal night (or afternoon?!) club! It's a fun way for your little one to learn about different rhythms - Orla is old enough now to recognise the changes in tempo and style and she instinctively alters the way she moves and dances to a variety of music. She's developing a real taste for Latin rhythms - salsa classes by the time she's two, methinks!

Animal Magic 2...

Animals hold such fascination for so many babies and toddlers. It seems that little people respond more strongly to animal faces early on than to human ones - perhaps due to their less complex facial expressions. It's interesting to read that babies and their animal counterparts have evolved similarly proportioned facial features (large eyes, small noses and mouths, rounded cheeks) to hold a universal appeal, thus ensuring that the vulnerable members of any species are protected!

Orla adores animals, so we have been on a number of outings to indulge her passion. We visited Penang Bird Park, meeting peacocks, parakeets and jungle fowl... She loved gently stroking the backs of the tiny Scops Owls to make them 'dance' and bob, and thought that the ostrich was hilarious. That photo is a firm favourite in her album, and she has even created her own 'sign' to use when she sees one!

Taiping Zoo was another great hit. The advantage it has over the Bird Park is that the enclosures are much larger and more open, affording a better view and more comfortable environments for the animals. Orla was fascinated to see animals seen previously only in picture books or on her World Animals DVD - elephants, tigers and crocodiles drew enthusiastic signing and appropriate trumpetting, growling and snapping sounds, while the giraffes drew an awed and delighted "Wow!... Wow!"

You don't need to fork out for tickets for zoos and wildlife parks, however, to indulge your child's love of feathered, finned and furry friends. We are lucky to have a fantastic pet store here in Georgetown, filled with several floors of pets and aquaria. The tanks are filled with a rainbow of amazing marine and freshwater fish and there is a large pool where we can feed huge orange, white and golden koi carp. There are clean, bright tanks and cages holding blue macaws, reptiles, spiders, prairie dogs and ferrets, alongside the more common cats, dogs, hamsters and rabbits. On rainy afternoons, it's not uncommon to find half a dozen mummies and little people peering into glass tanks filled with mini 'Nemo' clownfish or cooing over baby hedgehogs curled up in warm straw beds...

Water, water, everywhere...

It's hot and humid here in Penang almost every day, so we're always keen to indulge in a bit of water play to cool down. Orla loves water - born under the sign of Pisces, she's a regular little fish! She nips down to the pool with Daddy most days, and is a confident and enthusiastic swimmer; she has no need of Mummy or Daddy to hold her in the water, but strikes out on her own with just a little air in the panels of her Floaties suit!

Of course, not everyone has access to a beautiful swimming pool all year round, or even to a garden large enough for a paddling pool during warm summer days. You may not have time for, or access to regular swimming lessons, but it's worth making some time to be inventive with water play. Children are fascinated by water and it has so much to teach them as they develop key skills.


From a sensory perspective, water is amazing stuff. You can't hold it in your hands, but it can cover you completely... it can change in temperature... you can mix it into other liquids to make them runnier, or to turn solids into gloop... you can even make water solid, through making jelly or ice! You can explore sounds with water, power a waterwheel, float boats, blow bubbles... the possibilities for fun experimentation are endless!


Orla loves to join in with 'grown up' water activities, too - she brings her little watering can down to fill from the hose while we're bathing the dog, and she likes to help with washing up, sitting with her feet in the bowl and washing plastic cups and unbreakable plates with a soapy cloth. Mimicry is an important part of development, and if you talk about what you're doing, too, you're expanding your child's vocabulary and understanding of language.

Out and about... part one

My mind has been occupied with other things for the past week or so... I have finally taken and passed my driving test after avoiding lessons for the past 20 years or so! The impetus to learn was, of course, Orla - it's been so frustrating having to plan a military operation whenever we want to go out. Will it rain before we get to the bus stop? - Rain in Penang is the equivalent of having a full bath of water dropped on your head in one go, so this is an important one. Maybe we should call a taxi instead? - but how long before it arrives? Do I get everything packed and ready and then spend the next 15 minutes twiddling my thumbs and/or watching Orla unpack it all over the floor? Or pack after I've called, only to find that the taxi's waiting outside mid- nappy change? No baby seat either, so I have to wrestle an energetic toddler (who wants to pull all of the driver's proudly displayed Manchester United regalia off the parcel shelf) into my seatbelt and pacify her with a boob until we get to wherever we're going. Walking isn't really an option - after daybreak it's hot enough to fry eggs on the pavements, which are so uneven, narrow and broken that even my all-terrain, LandRover pushchair is beginning to feel the strain. So finally being able to drive the car will open up all kinds of options for us.

Of course, we have had a few terrific excursions. Orla's fascination with nature and all things animal means that we have already taken trips to the zoo, bird park and butterfly farm. Check online for off-peak or family deals, or frequent users deals before you go - when I expressed my horror at the cost of London Zoo if we chose to visit in the summer, a friend who lives in London revealed that she is a memeber of the Zoo's 'Friends...' scheme - she pays about GBP60 per year and can go as many times as she likes, whereas a one-off visitor would pay GBP20 per adult during peak season.


Luckily for us, Taiping Zoo, a pleasantly managed and maintained park about an hour away from us, costs around GBP2.50 per adult. Even Giles, who is not keen on the concept of zoos and often despairs of the conditions for animals, agreed that it was a pleasant surprise. Orla was entranced from the moment we arrived until she drooped wearily on Daddy's shoulders, almost four hours later. A zoo is a great environment for little ones - they can see animals clearly, and seeing them 'in the flesh' encourages learning; once the animals are within their range of experience, they are more 'real' to children, who can then put them into context through memories the next time they see them in a book. Orla was thrilled by creatures she'd seen in her books or on her World Animals DVD. Since the zoo visit, she has learned signs and/or sounds for many different animals - she even trumpets like an elephant! We talked to her about the animals we saw - observations about what they looked like or what they were doing, how they behave and so on... She may not understand all we tell her at this stage, but I'm a firm believer in talking to babies like people, rather than like babies! I honestly think that Orla's communication skills and understanding have benefitted from Mummy's explanations of anything and everything!


The bird park was another hit. Sadly, many of the birds were in small cages; we'll visit the open aviary in Kuala Lumpur when we visit the city, which is a much nicer environment, both for the birds and for visitors to enjoy them. The great thing about the bird park, though, was that there were some birds that could be fed or gently stroked - we were both enchanted by a little Scops Owl, who 'danced' when his back was gently stroked and we had a close up view of the birds who landed on Daddy's hands to scoff worms from a pot we bought on the way in!


Similarly, our visit to the butterfly farm was a great success. Orla loves butterflies - she refuses to use the sign for 'butterfly' and insists that they are 'flowers' instead! There was a live insect and reptile show, which meant that again, we had a ringside seat for viewing all of the creatures. Apart from one hairy moment when Orla tried to squeeze the leaf insect that had been sitting on her knee for a couple of minutes, she was calm, gentle and completely fascinated by the small beasties. I hope that early experiences of being close to and handling bugs and minibeasts mean that she won't grow up with irrational fears and phobias; it's good for me, too, as I have to curb any shudders around spiders, scorpions and cockroaches!


We're hoping to visit a city farm and petting zoo when we go back to the UK for a visit in the summer. I'm sure that Orla will adore it - and will continue to learn so much from the experience. Books and DVDs are great for introducing things that children have no daily access to, but periodic visits to the Real Thing are what consolidates learning and cements meaning into memory.

Orla's Water Music!

Water and music are two of Orla's favourite things, so this seemed like a perfect activity to try. Unfortunately, my timing was a bit off... She had a restless night last night, and even after a long nap this afternoon, she wasn't at her best. However, she was happy to let me show her what to do...


We have a shelf full of empty jam jars, saved for Giles's rather good onion marmalade and other preserves; so in between batches, we can make use of the jars. We started by hitting the empty jars with a chopstick to hear the sounds they made, before adding different levels of water and hitting them again, to hear how the sound had changed. When all of the jars had different levels of water in them, we tried running the chopstick back and forth along the row, and then tried hitting various jars in different orders to play 'tunes'. Orla had a try, but after five minutes or so, laid down her chopstick and picked up the jars to drink the water out of them instead. I think I'll try this again in a couple of weeks when she's not as tired!

Who shall we be today?

For a few months now, Orla has chosen what she wants to wear. I open the wardrobe and let her pull out the dress or top she likes the look of that day, and add any extras that she needs to wear with it. She has quite a lot of little hairclips from a great little shop on eBay (look up 'otyats' - Sarah has a huge range and is very quick and reliable!) which I clipped to a long piece of ribbon, hanging next to the bathroom mirror. She likes to choose her accessories and watches me clip them into her hair in the mirror - are girls just born knowing how to do this?!

Recently, she's also started collecting items of clothing from around the house while she's playing, and trying to pull them over her head or to put them around her shoulders. Time to start a dressing up box, I think!

I bought a patterned cardboard box with a lid and have put in a couple of pairs of old sunglasses (sturdy ones!), a baseball cap, cotton and silk scarves, a sarong and a few strings of beads. At the moment, Orla doesn't have much concept of role play, so the box contents will grow with her. For now, she has a few items to experiment with; they are fairly easy to put on and there are a range of interesting fabrics for her to choose from. We can talk through the items together, building vocabulary and colour recognition, and can dress her up in front of the mirror, developing motor skills and coordination.


I'll continue to build her costume box with items from second hand shops, a few readymade costumes bought in sales, and my own castoffs. It's actually better to have random items that your child can use to create his or her own imaginary roles - shop bought costumes are obviously more directed and prescriptive. Let your child create pirates and princesses from lengths of fabric, old shirts and beads rather than a 'perfect', manufactured costume.

Baby Van Gogh

It's only quite recently that Orla has shown any interest in any artistic ventures. For a while, crayons kindly provided in family restaurants formed a key part of her lunch menu, and paint was just for squeezing in her hands. Now, however, she likes to sit on my lap with a piece of paper and a pencil or coloured pencils, has a go with fat crayons and a large piece of paper - or we clear the kitchen floor, strip her down to her nappy and get the paints out!

We use Crayola poster pots, though in the future we're going to have a go at making our own fruit and veg colours - watch this space! Cheap Chinese calligraphy brushes are ideal for little hands - the thick handles are easy to grasp and the hairs are soft and make good, sweeping strokes on paper and baby alike! Try a Chinese supermarket if you have one near you. Another useful tool is a washing up sponge, cut into four - can be used to apply paint to hands or feet, or for your little one to stamp blobs directly onto paper.


We've had a go at a few different painting projects. Our first success was Easter cards - rather Mummy-directed, as I had to paint her palms and fingers different colours to make the chickens' heads... Since then we have tried hands and feet - I had to help Orla to stand up steadily so that she didn't slip on her painty toes - and have used our fat brushes to paint her and me as well as the paper!


Finish off with a nice bubbly bath or shower! The finished projects can be stuck on your fridge, obviously, and are great for sending to Grandmas for Mothers' Day, too...

Animal Magic!

Orla's current obsession is animals. She's mad about them - she has a Baby Einstein World Animals DVD which she wants to watch endlessly, and I've found a way of luring her away from the goggle box while still embracing her chief passion!

Following recent visits to the zoo, a bird park and a butterfly farm, all of which enthralled her, I decided to go through the photographs on my laptop to find animal pictures - I found dozens from lots of different holidays and day trips. I copied them all into one folder and put them on the 'slideshow' setting... The screen of my laptop is now a mass of little fingerprints after multiple excited viewings!

Phase Two was a trip to the developers. We printed off about 40 photos and have put them into a simple slip-in album which is Orla-sized for easy carriage! If she ever lets it go, I'll customise the album with labels for the animals' names and some animal stickers that I found for pennies in a stationer's. We have looked at the album together; I ask her questions about which animals they are, what sounds they make, etc, and we have watched the DVD with the album, too, looking for the photo of each creature as it appears on screen. We're even creating our own signs for some of the animals!

It took about an hour to find the photos I wanted while I was relaxing after dinner one evening. Obviously, the album content can be adapted to accommodate your little one's particular passion.

Because we live overseas and far from family, we've also put together a mini album of family pictures so that Orla can identify and talk about her grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins... She can also find the image of the person she wants to talk to on Skype!

Kitchen cupboard creations

When I've got mundane jobs to do in the kitchen that are done faster without help, Orla joins me on a tablecloth spread on the floor, surrounded by melamine bowls, each containing a tablespoon of some intriguing and tactile substance. She has a couple of empty bowls to mix things in and a couple of spoons to scoop the ingredients up with if required. You can go as tidy or as messy as you like, depending on the substances you choose!

We use pasta shapes, rice, couscous(all either cooked or uncooked for different textures), different cereals - oats, cornflakes, rice crispies, etc - dried fruit, flour... anything that comes to hand in the store cupboard (though I don't recommend sugar!). Orla is rapidly and completely absorbed, experimenting with fingers and mouth to experience the different textures of the ingredients around her. She loves running couscous or flour through her fingers, and the cereals and fruit come in handy as on-the-go snacks! I avoid adding water to the mix these days after one rushed and naive afternoon, when I had to try to remove a floury cement from both daughter and kitchen tiles...

Peepo Pots

Orla and Mummy were feeling tired this afternoon, so we needed something simple and fun to while away half an hour. This activity is great - it takes a couple of minutes to set up, and teaches so many key skills while you're having fun. I gathered together a handful of pots, pans, tubs and jars with lids and raided Orla's treasure basket for items that could be put inside them. Then we sat on the floor together, and tried putting the items in different containers, putting the lids on and taking them off again. Simple, but look at what your little one's doing...

Motor skills and dexterity are developed through placing objects inside the different containers and trying to place the lids on accurately. Spatial skills are tried and tested as your child experiments with which objects fit into which containers. Object permanence is learned and reinforced as we remove the lids - "Peepo!" - the object is still there, and this raises a giggle every time! Plus Mummy gets to introduce and repeat 'opposites' with visual aids - 'in' and 'out', 'on' and 'off', 'heavy' and 'light'(objects/receptacles), plus vocabulary about the objects and containers they are playing with.

In the last small Tupperware box, I placed a snack - a perfect way to end the game, when Orla was starting to lose interest!