13th September 2018
Some weeks there's an obvious theme to this newsletter, and some weeks we've added a whole mishmash of new activities to the website. This is a mishmash week, but with an emphasis on lovely new craft ideas!
We are building out our Dinosaur topic - long overdue. We've got some interesting new autumn themed activities which look at the autumn equinox and harvest moon. We have new activities for the phases of the moon too. Sarah and Sam have been having fun with self-portraits - great ideas for older kids and perfect for an "All About Me" topic. Their facial symmetry activity had me giggling!
Holiday-wise, we are starting to look forward to Peace Day and Halloween, and of course this newsletter arrives in your inbox on a very important day for Roald Dahl fans all over the world!
We've also continued around the Commonwealth (this week visiting Fiji and Gambia) and our Famous Person of the Week is the remarkable Ada Lovelace - a mathematical genius surely born before her time.
Finally, Shelly has some fun Roald Dahl activities and wonderful dinosaur art for us this week.
Activity Village Membership ...
There are now over 31,010 printable activities available exclusively to Activity Village Members. We add resources nearly every day - over 4,275 this year already - so there's always something new to explore!
If you haven't joined up yet, why not become a member now? We can help make your life easier and you'll always have something fun to give the kids to do...
What's New?
Dinosaur words are tricky to spell and learn, but we guarantee that the kids will have had lots of handwriting practice when they have worked their way through these fun dinosaur handwriting worksheets!
The dinosaurs on our new dinosaur colouring pages may not be ferocious, but they are fun to colour in and I hope will appeal to younger dinosaur fans. My personal favourite is our lovely T Rex - a friendly looking fellow!
And we've also got the pre-coloured version available - dinosaur posters.
Finding out about the autumn equinox with some fun new activities
Also new for this autumn, we find out about the harvest moon.
Three harvest moon crafts that can be enjoyed by a range of ages
Adding to our moon activities, with new phases of the moon printables and some more fun moon crafts.
Sam's been examining what he likes, and what he looks like! These self-portraits are wonderful and a great idea for older kids. You will find them in our All About Me topic.
4 new types of letters for Peace Day , for creative writing and displays. Take your pick!
Fun new Halloween backgrounds with all sorts of uses
Our trip around the Commonwealth takes us to Fiji and Gambia. Lots of fun new resources!
Colour the national flowers of Fiji and Gambia and learn a fun fact or two about them. There's a particularly poignant legend behind Fiji's flower...
Learning about the remarkable Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer!
This Week's Guest Posts
Shelly and the kids enjoyed some fun Roald Dahl activities as they read the BFG and get ready for Roald Dahl's birthday.
Shelly's kids created some fabulous dinosaur art using two clever tricks for working with oil pastels, neither of which I had heard of before. Simple but very effective!
Have You Seen?
We've got a huge collection of Halloween crafts on the website! Check them out early so that you can gather materials ready for some crafty fun with the kids.
A Little Something...
Here are just some of my favourite Roald Dahl quotes. It was hard to choose as I have many more!
“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
Roald Dahl, The Twits
Roald Dahl, The Twits
“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone.”
Roald Dahl, Matilda
Roald Dahl, Matilda
“There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t started wondering about yet.”
Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
“I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”
Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald
Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald
“If you are good, life is good.”
Roald Dahl, Matilda
Roald Dahl, Matilda
“Don’t gobblefunk around with words.”
Roald Dahl, The BFG
Roald Dahl, The BFG
“A little magic can take you a long way.”
Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach
“Grown ups are complicated creatures, full of quirks and secrets.”
Roald Dahl, Danny, The Champion of the World
Roald Dahl, Danny, The Champion of the World
“Life is more fun if you play games.”
Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald
Roald Dahl, My Uncle Oswald
“A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.”
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
“Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.”
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
“Two rights don’t equal a left.”
Roald Dahl, The BFG
Roald Dahl, The BFG
“Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world”
Roald Dahl, Matilda
Roald Dahl, Matilda
“If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.”
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Roald Dahl, The Minipins
Roald Dahl, The Minipins
Coming Up Soon ...
13th September: Roald Dahl Day
15th September: World Cleanup Day
19th September: Talk Like A Pirate Day
21st September: Peace Day
September / October - Harvest Festival
4th October: World Animal Day
7th October: Grandparent's Day (UK)
8th October: Canadian Thanksgiving
8th October: Columbus Day
8th - 14th October: National Libraries Week (UK)
31st October: Halloween
5th November: Bonfire Night
7th November: Diwali
11th November: Remembrance Day
11th November: Remembrance Sunday
15th November: Steve Irwin Day
22nd November: Thanksgiving
30th November: St Andrew's Day
1st December: Advent
And don't forget you can click through to our Holiday Calendar to explore our resources by upcoming holiday and event. Get your planning done and activities printed out in plenty of time!
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All the best until next time!
Lindsay Small
www.ActivityVillage.co.uk