Mud Hut Mama - Motherhood in the African bush

To Hear Them Giggle: Fun With the Littles

Gruffalo Birthday Scavenger Hunt

Written by Jody Tilbury on May 22, 2013 · 1 Comment

We were so lucky to be able to rent a house with beautiful gardens on a tea estate right next to Mount Mulanje for our Gruffalo party. It was a great place to spend time with both sets of the girls’ grandparents and the gardens were a beautiful setting for one of the party games – a birthday scavenger hunt with a Gruffalo theme. I printed the Gruffalo sequence cards from Primary Treasure Chest and pasted them on card stock with the clues on the back. The clues all had quotes from the story and my Dad, who organizes a scavenger hunt for all the grandkids every Christmas, found places to hide each clue. See below for our clues and hiding places: Will you [...] Read more »

Welcome to the first annual Backyard Barbecue Bloghop!

Written by Jody Tilbury on May 13, 2013 · 9 Comments

A place to link up all your summertime recipes, activities, games and crafts! Hotdogs and hamburgers on the grill with fresh tomatoes and corn on the cob were summer staples when I was growing up and they bring back memories of playing running bases in the backyard and then catching fireflies after dark. While my family and friends in the States are gearing up for these summer traditions right now, in Malawi we are moving into winter – but luckily our winters are nothing like the Pennsylvania winters I grew up with and they most certainly won’t keep us indoors! In fact cold evenings are perfect for sitting around a fire after a southern African braai and gazing at the stars in our enormous sky. [...] Read more »

World Citizen

The Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop #4

Written by Jody Tilbury on May 19, 2013 · 7 Comments

Welcome to the fourth Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop! There were some really wonderful posts linked up last month – here are a couple of my favorites: My Catch a Star Classroom used a trip to China Town as a springboard for introducing her preschoolers to Asia. Click over for lots of fun ideas – this is the dragon mask they made for their parade Navigating By Joy studied early Australian history and made some beautiful Aboriginal dot paintings. Go visit for some book recommendations and to find out what the dots and symbols in the paintings mean. Please link up your posts related to sharing cultures with kids and check back to find other great resources. Posts on language, books, travel, food, crafts, playdates, activities, heritage, holidays [...] Read more »

Learning With the Littles: Homeschooling

Preschool Homeschool Lesson Plans: Week 36, Age 3

Written by Jody Tilbury on May 20, 2013 · 8 Comments

I can’t believe that our first year of preschool homeschool is over – it absolutely flew by. Our last week was actually spread over a couple of weeks as we were even less scheduled than usual (or not scheduled at all) while my parents were visiting. More important than any school work was reconnecting with MomMom and PopPop and the girls had a wonderful time doing that. This post contains affiliate links. Literacy and Language Arts: It’s probably not surprising that the girls were showered with gifts both from their Gruffalo birthday party and from their grandparents. My parents were visiting from the States and my husband’s parents came in from Botswana for the party so there are lots of new things to play with [...] Read more »

Preschool Homeschool Lesson Plans: Week 35, Age 3

Written by Jody Tilbury on April 29, 2013 · 15 Comments

It’s been a little quiet in this space but that is because we have been very busy enjoying a visit from my parents. Mom Mom and Pop Pop arrived a little over a week ago and we have been having a great time catching up with them. It is so nice to see how easily the Littles reconnected with their grandparents even though it has been well over a year since they saw them last. Homeschool has been on a bit of a go slow but we’ve still managed to get in a few fun activities in. Literacy and Language Arts: We made word family wheels for Boo (and for Kooks too just because). I got the idea from Mrs. T’s First Grade Class. It’s [...] Read more »

Because it’s Good for You: Health and Wellness

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup: Simple Family Dinners

Written by Jody Tilbury on March 13, 2013 · 15 Comments

This is a recipe that has been passed down in my husband’s family since the early 1800s when his French Huguenot ancestors arrived at the Cape in South Africa. I’m sure it has been cooked over fires in numerous potjies (three legged cast iron pots) throughout the years. My mother-in-law cooks it on the stove top but every attempt I have made on the stove has ended with burnt soup so I’ve adapted it to the slow cooker and have had great results. It also allows me to throw it together in the morning and leave it for most of the day instead of standing over a hot stove stirring for three or four hours. Crock pot split pea soup is a family favorite but [...] Read more »