There is a book H got out of the library ages ago, possibly even a year ago, that she has talked about on and off. It has seemed to me that every time we went into town she wanted to look for tissue paper to try this project. She has collected every egg carton, and toilet roll for months, squirreling them away so they wouldn’t get recycled. Then someone else had the book out… but finally all the planets aligned and she had the book, egg cartons and tissue paper so was waiting for the weekend and two days in a row uninterrupted at home to finally make her farm.

Her idea was to start at page 1 and work her way through the whole book, however we didn’t have cotton buds for the sheep and she was miraculously ok with this and started with project 2, Ruby Rabbit.

Helena has:

• Planned ahead
• Photocopied the templates, so had to ask her grandfather for something
• Followed the instructions word for word
• Measured using a ruler
• Organised her work so she had something to do while the glue was drying on other projects
• Mixed specific colours of paint
• Allowed layers of paint to dry before adding the detail
• Fantasised about what she could do with it, it’s practical applications
• Solved problems along the way, eg not the right ingredients….
• Been flexible

H planned to do this all day, and she did.. and this morning bounced out of bed to complete a part before one of her friends arrived. Her focus on the task was total. Even her working space is better organised than usual.

H is happy with the product which looks just like the book… she did follow the instructions to the letter.

and there are an amazing number of applications

Two of the characters, they have names, have also been on excursion with us to the beach.

Now I am under instruction to set her real world maths problems for her farm. I think H takes our fantasy of living somewhere where I could have a goat, chickens and farm bamboo seriously – sometimes she calls it our “happily ever after”… she however wants lambs, maybe I should teach her to spin.

Of course today she is being a right flibbertigibbet.