All about France

Our first group session after the summer holidays was a great success. The new venue seemed to hit all the buttons and the children certainly enjoyed running around the enclosed outdoor space in the sunshine using the play equipment, playing football and using their imagination in the garden "hideout" area.

The theme this time was "France", with most families bring along an activity. Although I didn't get a chance to try them, the Tarte Tatin that the children and "E" cooked looked so delicious, we'll certainly try this one at home. Here's the recipe:

For the pastry:
100g butter or marg
175g plain/wholemeal flour
15g caster sugar
1 egg yolk

For the filling:
50g caster sugar
25g butter or marg.
450g crisp eating apples

Make the pastry as per shortcrust method. You may need to add some water too. Roll out and line your flan dish, then bake, at 200c or gas mark 6, for about 10 minutes, just to get the pastry baked a bit before you add the filling. Peel, core and chop the apples into slices, about 1cm thick. Line the part baked flan case with these. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the sugar. Heat until caramalised and golden brown. Pour over apples. Bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Bon appetite!

Our crafts included mini 3D Eiffel Towers to colour, cut and assemble, courtesy of this website, colouring pages to help learn some simple French words, two art activities to understand the work of French artist Henri Matisse, French songs to learn using a keyboard and various percussion instruments, as well as maps of the country, posters of French cheeses and information on the history of French cars.

It was also lovely to see some new faces. One family had come out of school the same time as us, a whole year ago, so it was good to catch up and see how they had been getting on at home. Here's to the next session!