With back to school just around the scooting corner we are thrilled and a little starry eyed to host this guest post from Lauren Pearson the amazingly talented writer of the popular Crabtree School books. Here Lauren shares 5 ways to make the most of the last days of Summer.
We’re nearing the end of the summer holidays and trying to think of exciting
ways to keep the kids entertained. As a kid, I loved that lazy feeling that came
with days spent at home or camped out around the neighbourhood pool, a
million light years away from the reality of school and structure and grown-ups.
As a parent, it’s that feeling that I want to make sure that my children get to
enjoy. Sometimes in the rush of camps and lessons and play dates and holidays, I
forget to leave my kids to their own devices. (Then again, leaving them to their
own devices can mean a marathon session of Octonauts episodes, or a serious
run at the longest session on an iPad ever recorded in the history of the world.)
Writing the Crabtree School series, and digging up those memories of what I loved about my own childhood, gave me fresh inspiration about how to fill those free days – and indeed any days. Even though the Crabtree books are set in a school, the series is actually more about real-life childhood as I remember it:
how the little things mattered, and how much more important imagination is
than Pinterest-style preparation. Here are a few ways to spark some fun
Crabtree School–style – think of these as Crabtree camp if you will. (Of course, it
goes without saying that these are especially fun if you read the books at the
same time!)
1) DO SOME REALLY GROSS "COOKING"!In the first book in the series,
Year Two Forever and Ever, our heroine Ava and her friends turn the
signature school dessert (a lovely apple crumble) into something
properly disgusting. Why not let your Crabtree camper make a truly
terrible, properly awful pudding? I recommend this particular pudding be
baked outside: a triple-mud pie, or a sandpit sundae, anyone? If you’re a
really magical mum or dad, let them use a few pie plates and spoons from
the kitchen. It’ll be messy, but it’s worth it: my cousin and I had an epic
mud-pie-making session sometime around 1981, and I remember it like it
was yesterday.
2) GET YOUR GAME ON! In Best Friends for Never, a new girl joins Year
Three at Crabtree School. Rani knows all sorts of fun games, like one
called “Go Go Grannies Gotcha!” which is basically “It” played in slow
motion. As the story continues, the other characters add to the game and
make it a lot more fun and completely bonkers. My kids loved bringing
this to life by making up their own game. We ended up with something
that was a combination of memory and charades. (I couldn’t understand
the rules to save my life, but they did and that’s the important thing.)
3)MAKE THE BEST HIDEOUT IN THE WORLD in The Girl Who Stole the World, Isabel builds an amazing igloo out of milk cartons. But it doesn’t
have to be that involved – simply ask your Crabtree camper to build the
best hideout in the world. She/he could use sofa cushions, blankets,
towels, cardboard boxes... Of course, there need to be some rules and a
secret password, and maybe even a garage for a scooter! If your camper is
stuck for ideas, the quiz in the back of book three can help to determine
which type of hideout is best.
4) HAVE A SOFT-TOY SLEEPOVER! In book four of the series, The Case of
the Missing Cat, Lottie and her friends have a sleepover in Crabtree
School, complete with a tent, ghost stories and a midnight feast. Your
Crabtree camper can have a sleepover too, without the risk of a late-night
journey home: simply replace a real-life friend with a doll or a favourite
teddy, or better yet, lots of dolls and teddies. The best thing about a softtoy sleepover is that your camper can have as many guests as she wants!
To be like Lottie and her friends, have your camper create a plan for the
sleepover. Should there be a sleeping bag for each teddy? Can your
camper tell the teds a spooky story (or a funny one?) Maybe Mum or Dad
will even allow a midnight feast before bedtime. (Of course, it’s nice to
have a real-life friend for a sleepover from time to time, but this is pretty
fun too, we’ve tried it!)
5) “ADOPT” A PET Spoiler alert: in the fourth book in the series, each of the
five Crabtree friends gets to take home her very own kitten. You can bring
this to life without a house full of cat fur by suggesting your camper
adopts a pretend pet. Maybe it’s a stuffed animal, or a new friend made
out of plasticine, cardboard, anything. The new pet will need a house,
feeding and endless looking after. And you know what the great thing
about a pretend pet is? Your camper can take him anywhere. (Well,
almost…)
For loads more Crabtree fun, visit www.crabtreeschool.com and find quizzes,
crafts, colouring sheets and lots more free time fun. I hope you love reading the
books with your Crabtree camper as much as I loved writing them!
Illustrations © Becka Moor, 2015
Writing the Crabtree School series, and digging up those memories of what I loved about my own childhood, gave me fresh inspiration about how to fill those free days – and indeed any days. Even though the Crabtree books are set in a school, the series is actually more about real-life childhood as I remember it:
how the little things mattered, and how much more important imagination is
than Pinterest-style preparation. Here are a few ways to spark some fun
Crabtree School–style – think of these as Crabtree camp if you will. (Of course, it
goes without saying that these are especially fun if you read the books at the
same time!)
1) DO SOME REALLY GROSS "COOKING"!In the first book in the series,
Year Two Forever and Ever, our heroine Ava and her friends turn the
signature school dessert (a lovely apple crumble) into something
properly disgusting. Why not let your Crabtree camper make a truly
terrible, properly awful pudding? I recommend this particular pudding be
baked outside: a triple-mud pie, or a sandpit sundae, anyone? If you’re a
really magical mum or dad, let them use a few pie plates and spoons from
the kitchen. It’ll be messy, but it’s worth it: my cousin and I had an epic
mud-pie-making session sometime around 1981, and I remember it like it
was yesterday.
2) GET YOUR GAME ON! In Best Friends for Never, a new girl joins Year
Three at Crabtree School. Rani knows all sorts of fun games, like one
called “Go Go Grannies Gotcha!” which is basically “It” played in slow
motion. As the story continues, the other characters add to the game and
make it a lot more fun and completely bonkers. My kids loved bringing
this to life by making up their own game. We ended up with something
that was a combination of memory and charades. (I couldn’t understand
the rules to save my life, but they did and that’s the important thing.)
3)MAKE THE BEST HIDEOUT IN THE WORLD in The Girl Who Stole the World, Isabel builds an amazing igloo out of milk cartons. But it doesn’t
have to be that involved – simply ask your Crabtree camper to build the
best hideout in the world. She/he could use sofa cushions, blankets,
towels, cardboard boxes... Of course, there need to be some rules and a
secret password, and maybe even a garage for a scooter! If your camper is
stuck for ideas, the quiz in the back of book three can help to determine
which type of hideout is best.
4) HAVE A SOFT-TOY SLEEPOVER! In book four of the series, The Case of
the Missing Cat, Lottie and her friends have a sleepover in Crabtree
School, complete with a tent, ghost stories and a midnight feast. Your
Crabtree camper can have a sleepover too, without the risk of a late-night
journey home: simply replace a real-life friend with a doll or a favourite
teddy, or better yet, lots of dolls and teddies. The best thing about a softtoy sleepover is that your camper can have as many guests as she wants!
To be like Lottie and her friends, have your camper create a plan for the
sleepover. Should there be a sleeping bag for each teddy? Can your
camper tell the teds a spooky story (or a funny one?) Maybe Mum or Dad
will even allow a midnight feast before bedtime. (Of course, it’s nice to
have a real-life friend for a sleepover from time to time, but this is pretty
fun too, we’ve tried it!)
5) “ADOPT” A PET Spoiler alert: in the fourth book in the series, each of the
five Crabtree friends gets to take home her very own kitten. You can bring
this to life without a house full of cat fur by suggesting your camper
adopts a pretend pet. Maybe it’s a stuffed animal, or a new friend made
out of plasticine, cardboard, anything. The new pet will need a house,
feeding and endless looking after. And you know what the great thing
about a pretend pet is? Your camper can take him anywhere. (Well,
almost…)
For loads more Crabtree fun, visit www.crabtreeschool.com and find quizzes,
crafts, colouring sheets and lots more free time fun. I hope you love reading the
books with your Crabtree camper as much as I loved writing them!
Illustrations © Becka Moor, 2015