It seems the Forestry Commission really like Julia Donaldson's books. Back in December they were running trails on the theme of Stick Manand now for the next five months, they are celebrating the 15th anniversary of The Gruffalowith self-lead trails through 28 forests. The trails cost £2 and contain activities to do along the way, including building an animal home and Gruffalo artwork.
You can find your nearest trail and post pictures of your creations on their Facebook page. There is a Spring related Gruffalo activity sheet and a colouring sheet to download and they have a Gruffalo Pinterest board to explore and inspire.
You can sign up to get your own party picnic pack to help celebrate The Gruffalo's birthday on 7th June when they will also be unveiling Gruffalo carvings in 15 of their forests. And the Gruffalo fun will continue in the Autumn with The Gruffalo's Child activity trails.
Don't forget to visit the Gruffalo website for online games, news and competitions.
There's also a Gruffalo Show which is currently touring the country and they also have Gruffalo printables to download.
The Gruffalois a very popular book and has inspired lots of learning activities suitable for younger children. It presents the opportunity to learn about colours and animals as well as having lots of fun making the the food mentioned. Gruffalo crumble anyone?
Here at Branch Out World, we love Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's work. Pop over to Currclick and check out Picture Book Explorers - Tabby McTat. This literature based unit study includes author and illustrator studies along with cross-curricular educational activities. The printable maps, timeline, activity sheets and mini-books are complemented by a selection of hands-on crafts, science experiments and recipes to make this a complete and well-rounded topic pack.
*These images contain affiliate links. All money raised through using these links is going to help two of our local scouts get to the 2015 Scout Jamboree in Japan. It will not cost you anything extra :)
The ninth Picture Book Explorers guide went on sale last night. Again, I have learnt so much while creating this file. For instance, I didn't know that the American version had totally different name - David and Dog. It's a story with which I am very familiar as The Girl loved it when she was tiny. She would role play the story quite often - even down to washing her favourite soft toy in a bowl of warm soapy water and hanging it on the washing line, by its tail, to dry.
I never thought of it as being "quintessentially English", as Shirley Hughes describes it, but I did get a sense of nostalgia as I recognised fashions and pushchairs from my own childhood. It's a lovely story, and as Boykin pointed out, it shows brothers and sisters who are friends rather than siblings who are constantly bickering or trying to get one up on each other.
I hope your family enjoys the activities as much as my children did. We learnt the science behind how soap works, held our own family summer fair (in early Spring) and enjoyed eating sticky buns while listening to the story for the last time last week.
Where will the story take you with the discussions that arise from it? How will the suggested activities lead you into further learning adventures so personal to your family?
Easter is pretty late this year and so, accordingly, is Pancake Day. We love pancake day in our house and will have pancakes for breakfast, dinner and tea.
We'll start with American pancakes for breakfast, scotch pancakes for lunch and bog standard run-of- the-mill pancakes-that-need-tossing for tea (recipe down the page). I try to get some savoury fillings in there - cheese and baked beans goes down well with the kids although I prefer steamed leeks covered in a rich cheese sauce myself - but there will be plenty of sweet toppings, I'm sure.
There's an easy and reliable Scotch Pancake recipe in Picture Book Explorers - Greyfriars Bobby that we'll be using. I'm lucky enough to own a real cast iron frying pan which works amazingly well for these smaller, thicker pancakes. The pan has to be very hot and, with the added advantage of being able to use metal tools with the pan, the pancakes are easy to turn and don't stick needing the bare minimum of oil.
American pancakes are made from a cornmeal and flour mix. You can probably find cornmeal more easily if you look for it by its European name - polenta. The best recipe I found advised soaking the polenta in boiling water for about 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients. We tried different recipes but the pancakes were a bit gritty in texture,they were definitely much fluffier after a good soak.
Pancake Day is also known as Shrove Tuesday. It is the last day before Lent and people used to go to the church to 'shrive' or to confess their sins. It was customary for Christians to forego fat and eggs during Lent which runs from Ash Wednesday (the day after Pancake Day) until Easter Sunday. These days many people observe Lent by giving up chocolate or sweet things as an act of fasting. The fasting is a reminder of Christ's time in the desert where he spent 40 days and nights without food.
Pancake Day traditions still take place in Britain, such as pancake racing in Olney, Buckinghamshire and a mass football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, both have origins in Tudor England. In Scarborough, they skip on the promenade. They use long ropes and have up to ten people skipping on each one. They have been doing this since 1903.
Did you know that there are world records for pancakes?
Dean Gould holds the record for the most pancake tosses anyone has ever done in two minutes. He achieved 349 tosses at Felixstowe, Suffolk in 1995.
The highest ever pancake toss was performed by Dominic Cuzzacrea in November 2010. The pancake
reached a height of 9.47 metres at the Walden Galleria Mall in
Cheektowaga, New York, USA.
The largest pancake ever made was 15.01 metres
in diameter and was 2.5 cm thick and weighed 3 tonnes. It was made in Rochdale, near Manchester, UK in 1994, by
the Co-Operative Union, Ltd.
The tallest stack of pancakes was made up of 60 large round pancakes and
measured 76cm tall. It broke the Guinness World Records
in 2012.
One of my favourite Pancake stories is The Runaway Pancake. It's very similar to the Gingerbread Man in that the pancake in question develops a mind of its own and runs away, or rather rolls away, as fast as it can down the street. It is chased by various people and animals before meeting a pig who claims not to be able to hear its explanation of why it is rolling so fast. The clever pig asks the pancake to the speak directly into his ear, at which point the pig gobbles him up. There are many different versions of it around the world and you can read some of them here.
I hope you enjoy your Pancake Day :)
Traditional Pancake Recipe
4oz/200g plain flour
1 egg
1/2 pt/300ml milk & water mixed together, consisting 2/3 milk to 1/3 water
A little oil for frying
Sieve flour into a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack the eggs into the well.
Mix with a balloon whisk.
Add the liquid a little at a time until the mixture is a medium pouring consistency.
Leave to stand for 30 mins.
Then, heat the frying pan and add a desertspoonful of oil over a medium heat.
When the oil is hot, pour a thin layer of the batter into the pan, rotating the pan to ensure it is spread evenly.
When the top is set, turn the pancake over.
Serve immediately :)
Ideas for Pancake Day fun
Hold your own pancake race, use a cooked pancake and cold pans
Try setting new World records -
- have pancake tossing competition, using a cooked pancake and a cold pan
- how many tosses can you do in 2 minutes?
- how high can yu toss that pancake?
- how many pancakes can you stack?
Invent your own pancake fillings
Get out your skipping rope and invent your own pancake day skipping rhyme
Read a pancake book (suggestions below)
Act out the story of the Big Pancake, use toy animals and a cardboard pancake
Learn the nursery rhyme with actions -
"Mix the pancake, stir the pancake, pop it in the pan,
Fry the pancake, toss the pancake, catch it if you can"
Find out about local Pancake Day traditions and do them
Adjust the above recipe for double (or more) quantities for maths practise
Cut out pancakes from thick card, they can be used for various games -
- how many can you stack?
- stick pictures or write the names of pancake ingredients on one side so that there are two of each & use them to play pairs or snap
- put a frying pan on the floor and 'toss' your pancakes into the pan
- cut out pictures or draw your favourite toppings on the pancakes then make them to eat
- roll the pancakes on their edges, measure the distance they travel
and now for the next five months, they are celebrating the 15th anniversary of The Gruffalo
with self-lead trails through 28 forests. The trails cost £2 and contain activities to do along the way, including building an animal home and Gruffalo artwork. 
