What we've been up to

Every morning we get creative with play dough. It's our favourite warm up activity, the kids gets so excited when they see the play dough pots out and dive right into making cakes, bird's nests, moustaches, snails and anything else they fancy. It's a great way to practice those developing fine motor skills and for the kids to get used to the group dynamic again and melt away any early morning shyness.

Beautiful 'cakes' ready to go in the play oven

Around 10am we usually do some 'real' cooking. The promise of making dough, stirring cake mixture or breaking eggs pulls them away from the play dough table as they become fascinated with measuring out our ingredients of the day. The children always make something everyday which is part of their school menu. 

Enjoying their pizza - they measured out the flour, water, salt and olive oil for the dough. They watched the dough rise and then rolled it out themselves and then spread on the homemade tomato sauce and cheese and then they watched the pizzas go in the oven.

Raspberry and pomegranate fool - the kids mixed the yoghurt and cream together with a beater and then layered the  cream, raspberry mixture and pomegranate seeds to create these beautiful deserts they had for their afternoon snack. Although my daughter preferred to mix hers altogether and was excited to see the vibrant pink colour that was the result.

After lunch we have story time followed by quiet time. The children can have a nap on one of the mattresses or play, read or colour quietly. I find this time really restorative for all of us as they become focused on having some individual time (as opposed to the high octane fun of playing in the playground or singing and dancing as a group) and getting some rest. After quiet time everyone is ready to focus on doing something creative and colourful.

Following on with our caterpillar to butterfly theme we made butterflies decorated with crepe paper that could be carried around on sticks. Earlier in the week we made cocoons from papier-mâché, decorated with sequins of course!

It was Eid in Morocco last week so the kids made cards celebrating this big national holiday to give to their families. Inside the Arabic teacher had written 'Eid Mubarak'.

First Week at Hayati

It's been a lovely first week at Hayati Homeschool and not chaotic at all as I thought it might be - what with new faces, new routines and unexpected issues inevitably cropping up. Must be all that organizing we got done before we started! As I always say about pretty much any situation - you can never be too organized!

This month our learning themes in all languages are colours, numbers (0-5) and the caterpillar into butterfly story. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is our core book of the month - we read it everyday and we have it in English and Arabic. It's a great story both in the way it depicts the magical process of how a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly introducing themes of growth, development and change - but also a great resource for introducing counting, food vocabulary and colours. 

We made butterfly art to hang on the tree

We made our own caterpillars from cotton wool which dried hard after painting. We went stick hunting in the garden and painted them red for the antennae and of course wiggly eyes - what art project is not transformed by sticking on wiggly eyes? The day I found these in a store in Marrakech was a serious art & craft coup I can tell you.

Friday is Arabic day and we set up the book display with Arabic only books. This is the first time the children have heard Modern Standard Arabic, which is very different to Moroccan Arabic known as Derija, which all the children hear at home. Derija is a spoken language and so all texts are written in MSA. We started with books they were already familiar with in English and while they often got up to play with other toys or flip through different books (which we never discourage), our Arabic teacher continued reading and over time the children will get more used to hearing and crucially understanding MSA.

Free painting with sponges and rollers and introducing their names in Arabic

Oh and dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. Children and music are a match made in heaven - music is always my go to activity when I feel things are flagging a bit and they (and me!) need a pick me up. We had a very up tempo rai music session complete with bellydance outfits, tambourines and bells. Needless to say it was probably our favourite activity of the day and what better way to accustom their ears to Arabic than hearing it sung along to rhythmically pounding drums.

In between art activities, story time and imaginative play the children get physical, engaging the world with their bodies crawling through tunnels, going up and down the ladder to the tree house and zooming down the slide

The water and sand table are lots of fun to experiment with (this is a photo taken before anyone has actually played with it) usually by the end of the day the water has turned to a muddy brown sludge, as of course the favourite activity here is to add spadefuls of sand to the water...

And so our first week at Hayati is over and as our family Sunday winds down (Daddy making supper, daughter watching Happy Feet after a long post-rain walk jumping into puddles) I'm working on next week's menu. Pomegranate season has just begun and it makes such a great healthy snack and beautiful garnish for pretty much any dish... I'm thinking sweet melon & pomegranate jellies; vegetable, chick pea & pomegranate tagine; rosewater and almond biscuits decorated with pomegranate seeds; but best of all a bowlful of pomegranate seeds and a spoon!

Pomegranates at Hayati look just about ready

Let the learning adventures begin

We are officially open for the first day of Hayati Homeschool tomorrow! The excitement is building as everything has been dusted, cleaned and put in place. Books that were sheltered in a cool room to avoid the 50C Moroccan Summer heat melting the glue in their spines and causing all the pages to fall out are back on display waiting for little hands to turn their pages, listen to their stories and wonder at their pictures. The crayons, having spent their Summer in the fridge, are back on the shelf ready to turn blank pages into colourful works of art. The old play dough has been thrown out and my daughter and I turned our kitchen into a play dough factory using natural ingredients for colouring such as turmeric and beetroot.

Much to my daughter's delight we have also added a trampoline next to the tent - another way to help develop those gross motor skills!

Now it is time to hurry back to the kitchen to finish off our chocolate beetroot brownies for tomorrow's afternoon snack and let my toddler taste test the fresh tomato and date sauce we made for tomorrow's spaghetti lunch. After all some of the best (and most tasty) lessons are learned in the kitchen!

Summer Camp Week 3

Here is the schedule for the final week. We may continue through to the end of the week but it depends on numbers so for now I will post up just Monday and Tuesday.

Monday: Let's Get Creative

11.00 - 11.30 - Puzzles, activity sheets, play dough

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Banana milkshake with veggie/fruit faces

12.00 - 12.30 - Pizza Making

12.30 - 13.00 - Peacock collage

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Our Pizzas!

13.30 - 14.30 -  Hand & feet painting

14.30 - 15.30 - Necklace & bracelet making

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Chocolate flapjacks with orange & strawberry juice

16.00 - 17.00 - Face painting & story time

Tuesday: Nature Discoverers

11.00 - 11.30 - Activity sheets, puzzles & card games

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Carrot sticks with guacamole

12.00 - 12.30 - Weather pictures: painting and collage

12.30 - 13.00 - Songs & dancing

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Spaghetti with tomato sauce with parmesan cheese

13.30 - 14.30 - Making buzzing bees

14.30 - 15.30 - Taking care of animals

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Make your own banana split!

16.00 - 17.00 -  Face paint & story time

Children can pick and choose from these activities and are free to get in and out of the pool as they wish (to keep cool!), there is always adult supervision.

Please make sure your child brings a hat, a swimsuit & towel, suncream and a change of clothes.

For any more info please contact me at claralouisa@hotmail.com or 0661918772

Summer Camp Week 2

What a wonderful week this has been. The garden has been full of laughter and excited shouting with occasional bouts of quiet time as the kids focus on an art project or an activity sheet or on getting play dough into almost every corner of the tent!

Here is the new schedule for this week. Please note there will be no Summer Camp on Thursday and Friday (10 & 11 July) this week.

Monday: Under the Sea

11.00 - 11.30 - Puzzles, activity sheets, play dough

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Cucumber boats with cream cheese and apple juice

12.00 - 12.30 - Making a whale/mermaid/octopus with paint & buttons

12.30 - 13.00 - Game: What's the time Mr Shark?

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Roast chicken & chips with homemade tomato sauce

13.30 - 14.30 -  Activity sheets, drawing with 'under the sea' stickers & sponge paints

14.30 - 15.30 - Decorating fish-shaped cakes/ croquet match

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Our 'fish cakes' with orange & banana juice

16.00 - 17.00 - Face painting & story time

Tuesday: Circus Fun & Pizza Day!

11.00 - 11.30 - Activity sheets, puzzles & card games

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Fruit & veggie faces with orange & strawberry juice

12.00 - 12.30 - Pizza making

12.30 - 13.00 - Water balloon juggling/ Gymnastics with music

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Our pizzas

13.30 - 14.30 - Giant elephant collage

14.30 - 15.30 - Circus obstacle course/ garden bowling

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Make your own banana split!

16.00 - 17.00 - Clown face paint & story time

Wednesday: Let's Pretend

11.00 - 11.30 - Mask making, activity sheets & card games

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Flapjacks with banana milkshake

12.00 - 12.30 - Menu collage, let's pretend shop & restaurant

12.30 - 13.00 - Deep sea diving: Treasure hunt in the pool

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Potato tortillas with cucumber sticks

13.30 - 14.30 - Talent show / Make finger puppets

14.30 - 15.30 - Ball games / doll house & farm play

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Orange & raspberry ice-lollies

16.00 - 17.00 - Puppet show & story time

Children can pick and choose from these activities and are free to get in and out of the pool as they wish (to keep cool!), there is always adult supervision.

Please make sure your child brings a hat, a swimsuit & towel, suncream and a change of clothes.

For any more info please contact me at claralouisa@hotmail.com or 0661918772

Summer Camp Schedule of Fun!

Starting this Tuesday 1st July (since Monday is going to be ridiculously hot!):

Children can pick and choose from a variety of activities and are free to get in and out of the pool as they wish (to keep cool!) there will always be adult supervision. For more info about what to bring, cost etc, see the previous post below. Note Wednesday is Pirate & Pizza day - not to be missed!!

Tuesday: Welcome Day

11.00 - 11.30 - Puzzles, activity sheets, play dough, card games, mini-car ride

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: fresh baked bread & olive oil with cheese & grapes on rosemary sticks, with orange & strawberry juice

12.00 - 12.30 - Sponge & stamp painting

12.30 - 13.00 - Play shop, music & singing & puppet show 

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Spaghetti with tomato sauce & parmesan cheese

13.30 - 14.30 - Airplane making, story time, activity sheets

14.30 - 15.30 - Croquet, mini-car ride

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Frozen chocolate banana on a stick with apple juice

16.00 - 17.00 - Tree house play & story time

Wednesday: Pirate & Pizza Day

11.00 - 11.30 - Face painting & treasure hunt

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Veggie sticks & peanut satay sauce with orange & banana juice

12.00 - 12.30 - Pizza making

12.30 - 13.00 - Pirate dance, activity sheets, card games

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Pizzas! with salad

13.30 - 14.30 - Pirate map making

14.30 - 15.30 - Obstacle course using our 'pirate ship'

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Yoghurt & raspberry sauce with pineapple juice

16.00 - 17.00 - More face painting & story time

Thursday: Plants & Animals Day

11.00 - 11.30 - Planting seeds, activity sheets, puzzles

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Banana lassi with fruit kebab

12.00 - 12.30 - Blindfold guessing game: plants & food

12.30 - 13.00 - Biscuit making using animal shapes

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Garlic bread with vegetable soup

13.30 - 14.30 - Animal collage making

14.30 - 15.30 - Ball games / puppet show

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Our ginger nut biscuits with chocolate coconut shake

16.00 - 17.00 - Animal face painting & story time

Friday: Balloons & Party Day 

11.00 - 11.30 - Party hat/crown making 

11.30 - 12.00 - Snack: Carrot & cucumber sticks with hummus with orange & banana juice

12.00 - 12.30 - Chocolate & grapes dice game

12.30 - 13.00 - Water balloons, musical statues

13.00 - 13.30 - Lunch: Roast chicken & cheese sandwiches with salad

13.30 - 14.30 - Activity sheets, card games, pin the tail on the camel

14.30 - 15.30 - Cup cake decorating

15.30 - 16.00 - Snack: Wheat-free cup cakes with apple & cucumber juice

16.00 - 17.00 - Pass the parcel, story time

For any more info please contact me at claralouisa@hotmail.com or 0661918772

Summer Camp!

I have been doing Summer Camps for a few years in Marrakech and now I'm bringing it Hayati Homeschool:

Painting, arts & craft, dancing, cooking, ball games and treasure hunts!

Paddling pool, sand pit & water table, swing, slide & tree house and of course the hayati homeschool tent full of puzzles, games and books!

Summer camp at Hayati Homeschool opens on Monday 30 June and will run until Wednesday 16 July. We begin at 11am and close at 5pm.

We are open to kids between 2 and 8 years old.
Cost: 200dh a day (or 800dh for 5 days). 40dh for 2 snacks, lunch and all drinks.
Please make sure your child has a swimsuit, a hat that can be worn in the pool, sunscreen, a towel and a change of clothes.

Please contact me (0661918772, claralouisa@hotmail.com) to reserve your place (places are limited, max. 8 children) and to find out more.