Dinosaurs, Primates & Games
April 12, 2015

I’ve missed our ‘dining room table activities’. It feels like ages since we last cranked up the music and took some time to share some time. So, this morning we did: art, table tennis (as you do) and, of course, lunch.

  

‘Land of the dinosaurs’ by Dylan Piper

 

‘Transitions’ by Becky Piper

 

Dylan created his first game: ‘Cat & Mouse’ on the Raspberry Pi this afternoon using 16 steps on Scratch. Actually, those few steps did turn into a few more as there was quite a bit of experimentation with the ‘costume’ options and ‘shrink’ sprite tool… Needless to say, he thought it was awesome, before he headed off to play Wormy, Tetromino For Idiots (which he thinks was built by some bully) and Squirrel Eat Squirrel (where he managed to achieve the status of ‘Omega Squirrel’).

Still need to sort out the audio on it though…

We’re rounding off the day with some comedy and Britain’s Got Talent auditions on Catch Up 🙂

Preparing for Palaeontology?
February 23, 2014

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D: I’m going to read EVERYTHING there is about dinosaurs – if it says anything about ‘dinosaurs’ I’m going to read it!
Me: Do you want to be a Palaeontologist?
D: What’s that?
Me: Someone who finds out all about dinosaurs and prehistoric times.
D: Yes! That’s what I want to be! I want to be a Palaeontologist. Can you book me onto a lesson PLEEEASE mum? Can you find some training for kids to be Palaeontologists and if it’s not too much money can you book me on? I REALLY want to do that.
Me: I’ll look into it…
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Poster by Chart Media, purchased at Stony Stratford Library

So far, we’ve visited the Natural History Museum (last Oct), D has excavated 6 dinos from a block of plaster, helped a T-Rex to fly and watched the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs series twice over. He’s now deeply into some library books on the subject.

…Anyone know of any low cost, local Kid’s Palaeontology sessions?!

Walking with dinosaurs
February 2, 2014

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D: It’s epic! I LOVE dinosaurs!
Me: Why’s that?
D: Because you get meat-eating ones; plant-eating ones: big ones; small ones; sea ones; land ones; air ones; slow ones; quick ones…
Me: That’s called ‘diversity’.
D: Yes. I wish that they were still alive… But only the kind and gentle plant-eating ones. Like the diplodocus.
Me: Why, what would you do if they were still alive?
D: I’d look at them and I’d stop them from fighting other dinosaurs, even if they weren’t meat eaters, because they’re meant to be kind and gentle.
Me: How would you do that?
D: Um – actually I wouldn’t need to, because they don’t really fight.

Fooling the scales
April 23, 2013

foolingscalesMum: What are you doing?

Son: [Squatting on the bathroom scales] I’m trying to be heavier.

Mum: That won’t work – you need to be carrying a big pile of heavy books, or some suitcases.

Son: Or a cherry!

Mum: I don’t think a cherry will be heavy enough to make a difference.

Son: I know – a big thorn bush!

Mum: That would be a bit prickly to hold.

Son: You could hold it by the stalk at the end?

Mum: I suppose, but it would still be a bit awkward.

Son: Maybe I could hold a big dinosaur then?

Mum: If you can find one.

Son: Oh yes, because they all got killed…

Distinctive dinos
March 20, 2013

distinctivedinos

Dinosaur creation

D: They’re all different colours!

Colourful Dino
February 9, 2013

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Stegosaurus with colourful spikes

Dinosaurs v’s aliens
October 11, 2012

Dinosaurs v’s aliens – pastels on cardboard, Oct 2012
The Big Draw, Stony Stratford

 

 

 

Busy people: be counted!
August 17, 2012

D: Do you think that picture looks like a dinosaur?
Me: Yes.
D: Well it isn’t a dinosaur, it’s a Yoshi.
Me: What’s a Yoshi?
D: It looks like a dinosaur, but it has boots on. And you know how animals don’t have hands?
Me: Some don’t – yes.
D: Well it has hands as well. And it eats apples. Do dinosaurs eat apples?
Me: They don’t live any more, but when they did, some ate other animals and some ate trees, so if there were any trees like apple trees, then yes – some dinosaurs would have eaten the apples.
D: Did people ever SEE dinosaurs?
Me: Yes, for a little while, before the dinosaurs died – but people had to run away very quickly if they saw one!
D: What would happen if they didn’t?
Me: They’d get eaten up.
D: What about the old people who teached the children, who can’t run very fast? And the babies?
Me: Unless someone else helps them, they’d probably get eaten up.
D: Maybe a superhero helped them. Maybe a Pterodactyl got a person and a superhero came along and saved him and the superhero was able to fly higher than the Pterodactyl … Are superheroes real?
Me: Sort of, yes. They come in different disguises.
D: How do you know?
Me: Well Buzz Lightyear came to your birthday party last year.
D: But he’s a toy, not a superhero. When i went to Leo’s party though, I saw the Avengers – they came there. They were all there except the flying fairy. Why wasn’t she there?
Me: Maybe she was busy – maybe she was off saving someone.
D: Or maybe she’s like Pluto and sometimes is there, and sometimes isn’t there.
Me: You mean like when the book said that sometimes Pluto isn’t counted in the solar system?
D: Yes, maybe she was busy and didn’t get counted. Sometimes you don’t get counted if you’re busy.

Defensive, extinct and blind
July 28, 2012

D: Hedgehogs are spiky and they roll up into balls.
Me: Yes, when they’re scared, or when they’re sleeping.
D: Or when they see a shadow and think it’s a dinosaur.
Me: They wouldn’t see any dinosaurs – there aren’t any dinosaurs now, they’re extinct – they all died a long time ago.
D: Why did they all die?
Me: Because the weather changed and they couldn’t find any more food.
D: Was it rainy?
Me: No, it was icy – and they couldn’t find any food in the ice.
D: Oh… Mum, do bats live now?
Me: Yes they do.
D: Well I never see any!
Me: That’s because they sleep in the day and come out to play at night.
D: Why do they come out at night and not in the morning?
Me: Because – you know how they can’t see? – Well it’s quieter at night, so they can hear more.
D: Like snoring?

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