At the weekend, while Madhouse Daddy was watching the footie on the telly and Sophie was soaking up the atmosphere watching the match on a big screen in the town centre with her friends, I took Pierre and Juliette along to Festijeunes, a free kids' festival that was going on in a nearby town. It was set in a park along a canal and we saw a big heron. Pierre made me laugh on the way home when he said that it was cool to see the "herring" !
The first thing that Pierre wanted to do was have a pony ride. A few weeks ago, he went on a school trip to a riding centre and came home proudly clutching a certificate to say he'd ridden a pony called Haribo so he told the horse handlers that he knew how to ride ! He did amaze me by managing to mount and dismout all by himself though.
I thought he looked a bit wobbly (especially his head !) but I asked him if he'd enjoyed it and he said it was brilliant !
We moved on to some calmer pursuits - some stress-busting colouring while we waited our turn for the next activity.
Now, this was an ingenious, albeit very messy, activity - filling water pistols with paint then spraying them onto big sheets of paper.
Pierre and Juliette both had great fun and created some very colourful designs.
Time for some refreshments and Pierre opted for a candy floss that was even bigger than his head !
There was one final activity left to try out (because they didn't want to do the rifle shooting, archery, face painting or water jousting !). After strapping himself to a big elastic band, Pierre had to try to pull himself along far enough to stick a bean bag covered in velcro on to a sticky strip.
It was very hard work so the girl gave him a helping hand, pulling him along by his arm then letting him go, at which point he went shooting back on the elastic band and landed in a heap down the end. His face was a picture but it must have been fun because he wanted another go straight afterwards !
What fun this looks! Pierre did really well on the pony hanging on at a trot. It isn't often that the leader will believe a youngster and let them do this, no wonder he thought it was brilliant. You could be in for some expensive lessons to follow! the paint spray is a genius idea, I may borrow this for one of our activity hour sessions with the older children. I know they would love it! I hope Mad House Daddy and Sophie enjoyed their football as much as you enjoyed your day.
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Haha I thought it looked like one of your crafting sessions when I saw it ! When the pony handlers asked Pierre if he could ride and he said yes, my eyes came out on stalks - he only went with his whole class once and probably spent about ten minutes on a horse !! He managed though, which was very impressive :)
DeleteWe love festivals and are going to one ourselves next week. This looks great fun. I love the craft wall - it's very cool graffiti-esque, and the water jousting sounds brilliant.
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The water pistol painting was a brilliant idea - so simple but I'd never seen it before. Very messy though !
DeleteThe smile on Pierre's face while riding that pony is so priceless! I can see what you mean with his head being wobbly though hehe. But I think it his way of adjusting to the trot! He looks like a natural =) #countrykids
ReplyDeleteI was pretty impressed, I must admit - not bad for a first timer (well, a second timer !)
DeleteWhat a lovely day out! Pierre definitely seems to be a natural horse rider :-) And that painting - what a brilliant idea. I am wondering if I can summon up the courage to try it at home. Maybe not! #CountryKids
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely an outdoor activity and you need a big plastic sheet underneath to catch the drips - the kids had an absolute ball though !
DeleteSuch a lovely free event to have going on local to you. It looks like you might be getting asked for horse riding lessons soon #countrykids
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to think he's a natural - and he does really enjoy it !
DeleteLaughed at the idea of him boinging back on the end of the piece of elastic. The paint guns are a novel but fun idea.
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