Weaving

Over the past year we have had the great privilege in attending a local homeschool co-op full of beautiful homeschooling and unschooling families. Most families have younger children whom take turns each week to facilitate a workshop. A couple of weeks ago we attended a weaving workshop. One of the mothers opened up her home to us and set up an inviting space for us to weave. We had a really good time, many of the mums and dads got really involved in crafting their own stick weaving and sat amongst the children assisting when needed. I love the way the adults and children came together and all participated as peers in this activity. There were some beautiful creations and I was amazed to see the variety of interpretations within the activity.

 We had so much fun, that we have been doing a lot of weaving together recently. Its a great activity to take with you when you are out. All you need is a variety of yarn and you can find some sticks outside. Here are my girls at the skatepark the other day. While the others are busy riding around, my eldest finds a quiet spot under a tree and busies herself with her weaving.

Earth Day Activity - Miniature Garden

A potted miniature garden is such a fun, easy activity to do with young kids. We did this today to celebrate Earth Day. Our generous neighbour allowed us to grab some offcuts of succulents growing in her yard and we replanted them in a large round pot. The kids had so much fun decorating the garden with miniature trees and creating tiny stone pathways leading to large stone houses at the end. They placed small terra cotta frogs and mushrooms in the garden and enjoyed watering it when it was completed. This would be a great activity with any aged child and relatively simple to create, with little cleanup or preparation involved. An imaginative activity that could take you anywhere really...

Kids Craft Idea: Beading with Buttons

It might sound boring to us adults but beading with buttons can be quite exciting for kids. There is so much value in sorting through different shaped and coloured and textured buttons. There is the excitement of finding treasured gold buttons, or the rare beautiful pearl button or the collecting of matching buttons.  

 It can be tricky for little fingers, so great for practicing fine motor skills.

 And a final product as individual as the child who made it.

Kids Craft Idea: Spaghetti Painting

Want to do some painting with the kids? Mix it up today with a sensory twist.

 Instead of paint brushes use spaghetti! This was a cool way to paint and the kids loved it. A little too much at times. The pasta was warm and they made a meal out of it before getting their pasta in the paint... or what remained.

Once again, we had a ball and got very messy indeed. So that's dinner and craft in one! Yay! Now I'm wondering what else we can eat and craft with... Any ideas?

Kids Craft Idea: Tin Bird Feeder

This is a pretty simple, straight forward craft idea that could be as elaborate and decorative as you like and could lead to more learning opportunities.

What you will need:

A large tin, thick twine or rope and bird seed. You will also need some plastic and glue to keep in place. We used an empty milk carton.

Directions:

Remove both ends of the tin with a can opener (make sure there are no sharp edges sticking out). We used a tin with a lid so only one end needed to be removed. Trace a circle around the tin onto a piece of plastic. Cut the circle out and then cut in half. Glue or tape the plastic pieces to the ends of the tin to create a troff type enclosure. When the glue has dried loop a long piece of twine in through the cylinder and use it to hang from a branch. Place bird seed inside. Now wait patiently for the birds to find it...

You can decorate it as little or as much as you like and you could take photos and study the kinds of birds who visit.

Photocopy Art

Here is a quick and easy craft idea that your kids might enjoy at any age. Open your photocopier, and arrange an assortment of objects on the glass surface, shut the lid as best you can and print in black and white. High density or contrast works best. The copier will print out an interesting photocopy of your arrangement which you can add to using paints, crayons, pencils etc for an interesting artwork or leave as is for a simpler look or series of prints.
You can experiment as much as you like. You could try objects with interesting textures, transparency, different shapes and contrasting colour or patterns. You could even try printing on the same paper several times for a layered effect... There is lots to learn about and is heaps of fun.

Poppy's Work Space

I am so amazed at how kids want to learn and how they WILL learn no matter what. I had little to do with this situation but I love the place that we're at.

The other day, Poppy decided to set up her own work space (under no influence from me). So I got the small table and chair we had just painted and made it into a desk. She put it in her room and set it up with tins full of pens and a basket full of exercise books and sat down to draw. Today she was in there again, she announced, "Ok, now I'm going to do some work," and off she went. I gave her one task, to draw her favourite place. It was Australia Zoo so she drew all the animals she saw and added some text, I wrote the names of the animals and she practiced writing them herself. 

I am amazed. Poppy is, by her own will and initiative, teaching herself and forming her own patterns and rituals, with little direction from me. And this coincides with the beginning of the school term, in which Poppy would be starting kindergarten. My mind is at ease now. How wonderful it is watching her grow and learn here in our home.

Lessons Learned in Mess

Painting with the girls is absolute Choas! There's shouting, dropping of things, requests, demands, glue in mouths, hair, spills, messes to wipe up and paint EVERYWHERE! These are the things I often remember before I get the paint out. But amongst the chaos, so many lessons are being learned; what does red and yellow and white make when mixed together? what will happen if i paint over this? or on that? or spread it with my hands?... or put it on my face? Also, is this ok that I am getting messy? Do I like the look or feel of this? Is this good?

I am learning too... I am learning that mess can be good, choas can be healthy, staying calm can let my kids know that this is good, this is fun and there are no rules here! I'm also learning to let go and just watch. Even though I want to get involved and I have my own ideas of what should go where and what colours would look great, I have to keep my mouth shut. This is not my artwork and my values may not be theirs, I am only assistant to the artists providing the tools (I imagine this is true for most home education). I am so amazed, these kids are teaching themselves and growing more confident in their freedom! And I am learning new ways to do things too by just watching.

And here I am again, surprised and inspired by the creativity and originality of my own children! Never mind the mess!

Ready for Wrapping

After our family holiday I hit the sewing machine hard and sewed these little beauties... More Travel Art Folios for the kiddies in our families. I loved making these. Making something for someone else is very fulfilling and I hope that this is something I can encourage my kids to do also as they grow older.

I remember having something similar to this when I was 5 and I thought it was awesome, although it was not hand made, I felt like a real artist. I hope that they will be enjoyed and loved and used to bits and that many ideas will flourish and that many creative moments occur between these pages.

Quickie for the Library

It has been a while since I hit the sewing machine and I've got so many things I want to do... but these things require time which I lack these days. So in a window of opportunity, I jumped on the machine and whizzed up what I planned on being a little girls skirt, which actually turned out to be a library bag (after realising I needed a wider piece of material for a skirt). Nevermind. I learned that I can infact sew whilst breastfeeding and that it is possible to make something decent from scratch in 10 minutes out of scraps. Our trip to the library may be slightly more exciting this week.

You probably don't need instructions for this one but just incase...

Instructions:

Cut two equal rectangles of material (large enough to fit a large book in). Pin rectangles together, print facing in, sewing three sides together. Fold fourth side twice, iron flat and then sew neatly. Attach two equal lengths of bias binding at the top, 6cm from each side of the bag and at least 2cm deep or equal to the hem. Sew a square to secure in place and for extra strength. Turn inside out.

Rainbow Fish

  We have been reading The Rainbow Fish at home and decided to make some big, cardboard fish for craft.   I used an old cereal box to draw some large fish and the girls coloured them in and cut them out.

The kids used good quality chalk pastels. I found that my two year old loved these because she was able to use her hands to rub and smudge which she loved. We used heaps of bright colours as a base, smudging the chalk to create an even layer and then went over in darker colours with lines and patterns. 

We then sealed the chalk so it would not smudge any more. You can use an artists spray on fixitive or just use hairspray as we did. We cut them out and stuck them on the wall, they could similarly be hung as a mobile.

Springtime Mobile

We have been learning about Springtime at home. This craft activity was a great way to celebrate Spring. It also got the kids to go outside and explore, to gather materials in nature as well as paint and construct.

Instructions:
Go for a walk, gather natural materials from outdoors such as flower petals, colourful leaves etc. Cut out a circle in the centre of a paper plate. Cut out two slightly larger circles of clear contact. Paint or decorate the paper plate and then place one circle of contact on the back of the plate so that the sticky side is facing upwards. Place the gathered materials on the contact and cover with the other piece of contact. To finish, punch a hole on one side, tie string through it and hang.

  
  We hung ours in front of the window where the light can shine through.

Fold Up Art Folio

I've seen it done before with pencils and knitting needles and paintbrushes, but I thought I'd attempt my own variation with a small A2 Art book and a pocket for pencils and paper clippings. I've always had these books lying around for jotting down ideas and sketching but pretty soon they get covered in pretty scribbles and glitter during my kid's own craft adventures. This project would also be a great gift idea for the budding artist and children alike.

I used leftover upholstery material and two A4 sized pieces of felt. A little extra material for the inside pocket, binding to cover edges and a button.

Sewing the two pieces of felt together at the width and then folding one in half to make a pocket for the book, I then traced around this to get the size for the front piece of material. After attaching the pocket about 3 cm from the pocket to allow for the ring binding I attached the hemmed pocket, sewing one straight line down one side to fit a pencil. I finished it off with brown binding sewn around the edges and made a loop at the flap to hook around an old button to fasten shut.

An Apron for Ruby-Sweet-Tooth

Lately, I have been finding Ruby venturing up the steps to join in on our cooking adventures, although all she is interested in is having a "taste", repeating this word over and over like a hungry seagull at the beach, squawking for more chips, making sure we get the message! She does tend to get very messy though and I figured it won't be long before she too is pouring and mixing and kneading hence it was time to make an apron for Ruby. This one was knocked up in an evening at craft night. The same pattern as previously used, but smaller at the neck, as it is for a younger child.

And here she is in action...Ruby-Sweet-Tooth, with a mouth full of cookie dough, getting in on the action with big sis as head chef!

An Apron for Chef Poppy

 I was given this cute cupcake material found at an op-shop. It was so obvious what I should do with it after   several cooking adventures that ended with Poppy covered in dough and pink icing... I saw some kids bibs at the market that were simple bib shape covered in plastic with bias binding sewn around edges to tie up at the back. I adapted this design to an apron shape, and did the same. I used velcro on the top left corner to adjust the strap around the neck.

It's a quick and easy craft project, which is great for gifts. I made a few more and rolled them around wooden mixing spoons as presents. Poppy loves the novelty of putting on her pretty apron when cooking and I love that all the mess wipes straight off afterwards... lifesaver! Now for some serious cooking...

And tada! Here is Poppy's masterpiece Barbie cookie! What a clever (and super cute) cook!