By Amelie Davis
1. For the cover, draw a picture of anything you want. Here are some examples : animals, people, houses, forest, plants, and cars.
2. Write the story first and draw small boxes so you have space for pictures if you want some. After drawing the pictures rub out the boxes.
3. If you can’t draw well, print some pictures and colour them in.
4. Staple on the cover and you have a book.
It is a very good thing that kids are so forgiving and so grateful for any little thing we do.
It is Amelie’s birthday today. She is NINE! Can you believe that?? Wasn’t she just a little teeny weeny baby??
Well, we got home from Phnom Penh on Sunday. I was not really thinking “birthday” when in PP and was hoping for a very low key affair. She asked for the Narnia movies as her birthday present. That was pretty easy. But I didn’t get her anything else. She has just finished reading the series so I thought the movies would be an OK birthday present.
Yesterday, we (she actually) planned out what we were going to do for her birthday. She wanted to invite over some friends. We made a simple party menu. She designed some games. Then last evening she invited 4 friends over. I cooked a packet chocolate rectangle birthday cake and some coconut oat cookie thingies (following an Anzac biscuit recipe but not turning out like any Anzac biscuit I have ever tasted – maybe something to do with the oatmeal rather than rolled oats).
This morning, I made some extra banana muffiny things, grinded up some sugar to make icing sugar, made up some red icing and decorated the cake. I tried to cut out a liony shape (on the spur of the moment) and I had some decorating pens that I used to help add a few more touches. She liked it! I am the WORST cake decorator ever but kids are so forgiving of bad talent. Thankfully.
Another problem that was gracefully forgiven was the absence of birthday cake candles. I had none left! I had 3 big utility candles left. They were horrible dirty things that the bugs had been in. Anyway, I cut them in 3 each and put them on a plate and Amelie didn’t mind in the least.
So the kids were supposed to come at 9am. They arrived at 8am. Amelie immediately took them out to look for hidden animals. Her theme was a jungle theme and they had bought some small plastic animals and Daddy helped to hide them. So they went out and found them. They then attempted to play some of the games. One was “deer being chased through the jungle by a dog” so the kids were the deer and one person was a dog. I don’t think that game was a big hit. They came inside. Ate. Then wildly played all sorts of chasing games around the house. Finished off watching of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (I really should have previewed these before!). Then all the kids went home. Pretty easy for me!
Here are some pictures from today and a few before
