Tangram

Perhaps it was watching Abney and Teal that had me reaching for the Bagpuss DVD, or perhaps it was the nostalgia trip brought on by finding out Floella's now in the House of Lords. But you can't go wrong with a bit of Bagpuss. (Unless, perhaps, you are that girl from university who always insisted that Bagpuss was orange and white. Yes, you, with your tartan trousers! Pay more attention!)

There are fewer episodes made than you might think, only 13 in total. The tangram creation was inspired by the Frog Princess episode, where pieces of broken enamel are brought back by Emily. (Is that an accurate stage of child development that I have to look forward to, or is Emily a budding Hoarder?)

The bit in the episode where the pieces dance and make a cat and a mouse who chase each other gave me the idea of introducing the kids to tangrams. They're very simple to make, although I would probably get marks deducted for not measuring mine out properly. I just used a straight edge and estimated.

Take:
A square of cardboard
Some felt-tips

Mark out the square as shown.

Cut out pieces.
Re-arrange pieces to make pictures.

BabyBoy actually quite liked playing with the bits, picking them up and examining them, while ToddlerGirl made lots and lots of different boats. Cheap, quick, and good fun!