And so “Make it Monday” is born.  I will be posting a seasonal craft activity each Monday to share with you.  I would also love to hear what you have been working on through the week…so share away!

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Hmm, a bit of a cheat this week.  But, we finally got the snow that we have been waiting for all winter!  That perfect snow that sticks so well.  Just right for building.  So, what better excuse to get outside and making……

Then, a few days later, I developed an infection following a root canal treatment.

So, I have not been feeling overly productive or creative the week!

I should be back in the swing of things in a few days.

In the meantime I will enjoy the long-awaited snow with my girls.

And so “Make it Monday” is born.  I will be posting a seasonal craft activity each Monday to share with you.  I would also love to hear what you have been working on through the week…so share away!

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I saw this post last week and thought what a lovely idea it was…….but maybe for the spring or summer time. Well, the next day we were invited for tea at a very special friend’s house.  She is one of those people who has lovely little treasures around her sweet little home – needle felted people, flowery china tea cups, bird callers, and it turns out she also has a glass covered dandelion paper weight.  By daughter was intrigued.  How did the dandelion grow inside?  She asked several times (even in the car on the way home she asked again, obviously still puzzled).  Looking at the paperweight I was reminded of how wonderful dandelions are for children.  Sometimes called ‘fairy clocks’ they are truly magical.

I mentioned the activity I had seen the day before and immediately my friend produced what she declared to be the ‘perfect yarn’.  She gave us a ball of mohair yarn she had used in the past to make doll hair.  It was perfect!  Well, we were all pretty excited and decided, why wait until the warm weather arrives, why not bring the summer inside now!

You will need;

• Card
• Scissors
• Fluffy yarn
• A large needle (we used a plastic one – needle isn’t essential but makes it much easier for little people)
• Glue gun (I got mine for a couple of dollars at Michaels!)
• Sticks

What to do;

1 – Cut two circles out of the card.  These should be identical, and as big as you wish the dandelions to be.  Then carefully cut out a smaller circle in the middle.

2 – Holding the two circles together start to wrap the yarn around the outside and through the middle.

3 – Continue until the ring is completely covered.  The more yarn you add, the more dense your dandelion will be.

4 – Slide the blade of the scissors under the yarn and between the two pieces of card.  You want to very gently cut all the way around the edge.

5 – Wrap some yarn between the two rings and tie tightly.  This will hold the strads of yarn together.  Then you can remove the card rings and fluff up the dandelion.

6 – Choose some suitable sticks and firmly glue a dandelion head onto each stick using a hot glue gun.

7 – Display in a vase and talk longingly about the long summer days to come where you can run through fields of dandelions

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My daughter enjoyed teaching her beloved “dolly” how to make the dandelion

Even my littlest daughter had fun with the ball of yarn!

“There’s the moon” (my daughter points out of the window)

“It has fallen out of the sky.  It does that sometimes. Usually in the mornings.  It needs cold wind to blow it up into the sky”

“When will it go back into the sky?”

“Late, late, late.  But not every night.  Some nights it is hiding.  It hides over there under the plants.  The wind isn’t heavy enough to blow it into the sky sometimes.  Sometimes only some of the moon blows into the sky.  Then it looks like a smile”

“What do you think the  moon will look like tonight?”

“A sad smile. It is a sad moon tonight because the sun is not shining”

My daughter collected things along the way. She always does.

I looked back to find her collecting three large branches, each about 5 ft tall. They had fallen from a tree.

I asked her about them and she was insistent that she needed to bring them home. I asked her what they were for.

She explained that we needed a tree.

She very carefully carried them home. I was impressed how she kept her distance from cars and other scratchable objects!

Once home we pondered how to help the tree stand up. We settled on a large bucket full of soil, on the balcony.

She ‘planted’ her tree. She named it her ‘camping tree’.

She “cupponed” it…..her terminology, which apparently means something like mounding soil around the base! She cuddled it…..gently.

She then insisted on setting up her tent alongside it. It was a camping tree after all!

And so “Make it Monday” is born.  I will be posting a seasonal craft activity each Monday to share with you.  I would also love to hear what you have been working on through the week…so share away!

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I love bread.  It is the ultimate comfort food (along with potatoes, but that is another story!).  In England I was spoiled by the huge variety of wonderful (and inexpensive) bread.  There are many things I love about my life here in the USA, but the price you need to pay for ‘nice’ bread is not one of them.  So, as a way of ‘saving money’ I decided to make our own bread each week.

I am not a great baker.  My problem is that I seem unable to stick to a recipe.  So, in the past I have not had much luck with bread…..think of a heavy brick or a doughy mess and you are not far off.

Well, I enrolled my little helper (aka my eldest daughter) and we found a good, basic recipe that was open to many variations.  We used the “Basic Bread Recipe” from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest but have evolved it over time.

So far we have tried a selection of variations and they have all been tasty and quickly eaten!  Our routine is to make four loaves every Monday, and soup on Monday night with the fresh bread.  My daughter loves to use a small amount to make into rolls which she shares with her little sister!

So, here is our amended recipe to share with you.  Happy baking!

Easy Quinoa/Flax Bread Recipe

(Make sure that you have 3-4 hours to be at home for the recipe – you won’t be cooking for all of this time, but you will be around)

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients;

2 cups water (wrist temperature)

1 package (or 1 tbsp) active dry yeast

Drop of honey

4 1/2 cups (approx) wholewheat bread flour

4 cups (approx) unbleached white flour

4 tbsp oil (canola or olive)

1 cup flax seeds

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 tbsp salt

A little oil for the bowl

Cornmeal for the pan

Method;

1. Pour the water into a bowl. Add the honey and sprinkle on the yeast.  Add 1 1/2 cups of wholewheat flour and mix.
2. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour.  The ‘sponge mix’ should have doubled in size
3. Add the oil, salt, quinoa and flax seeds and mix well.
4. Gradually add the wholewheat and white flours until a thick dough is created.  You will have to start using your hands for this.  Keep adding flour until it stops being sticky.
5. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10-15 minutes.  This is a great activity to do with the children.  ** I have also learned from experience that you do need to knead the dough a lot, less kneading makes for crumbly bread**
6. Oil a bowl and roll the dough around to coat it.  Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for at least an hour.
7. Punch down the dough and knead again for 5 minutes or so.
8. Now you can make it into 2 loaves, or divide up into rolls.
9. Cover an leave to rise again (30 minutes or so) whilst you preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (ideally with a pizza stone warming in the oven)
10. If you have a pizza stone in the oven you can pace the loaves straight onto this.  Alternatively you can put them in the oven on a baking tray. Put a separate small cray with a few ice cubes into the oven and quickly close the door (this creates steam for a crispy crust).
11. Cook loaves for 40 minutes.  Bread rolls for 25-30 minutes.
12. Cool on a wire rack completely before cutting.  Enjoy!

Options;

The great thing about this recipe is it’s flexibility.

* Replace the quinoa with any cooked grains – rice, barley, wheat berries, even oats.

* Replace the flaxseeds with any other seeds or seed mixes – sesame, sunflower, poppy etc

*Play around with the proportions of wholewheat flour and white flour to find what you like the best.

When my daughter was very little I made her a Waldorf doll. I had such fun I remember saying to my husband that I wished I could make more.  He pointed out that our daughter really didn’t need more dolls!

But then I started teaching 3-4 year olds, and we had another daughter.  What more excuses did I need!!!

I started making some heavy baby dolls to sell at the local Waldorf school bazaar (weighted with organic millet or flax they mimic the weight of a real baby, and are very soothing to hold).  I got such lovely feedback from parents there, but also many requests to make “dressable” dolls.

Hmmm, well I didn’t need much persuasion!

Oliver

And so my little Etsy store has been relaunched with my first dolls being listed today.  It has been such fun that I wanted to share them with you.  Already I have some more characters in my mind ready to be created.  I just need to put in an order for some different skin and hair materials and then I will be good to go.

Doll making has been such fun to do with young children around.  Most of the work is done by hand, so I can do it whilst chatting to the children.  My daughter is so excited and has told me she is attached to Amelie!

Amelie

But we made Olive for my youngest so she gets to stay here with us!  When my sister visited last week she put in a request for her own little doll.  “Fleur” is now getting ready for her debut in the coming weeks!

Edith

A few days ago, whilst watching me sew, my eldest daughter asked if she could make a doll too.  She chose some red felt (she insisted on a dark red) with yellow felt for clothes.  I cut out a very simple figure shape and she is learning to overstitch all the way around. My husband suggested drawing little dots to show where she should put the needle next and this was pure genius!  We are so impressed with how carefully she is working.  She has decided that her doll will also be “Fleur” for her aunt.  I am sure my sister will be beyond thrilled!

***I will apologize right now for the poor image quality. The lighting was of course limited and the ‘subjects’ kept moving.  Ho hum****

I am also trying out this new slideshow feature.   I would love any feedback you may have…..did it load up okay?  Is it easier to look at than images scattered throughout the post etc…

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I have enjoyed watching children explore with light sources and decided it was time for my littlest one to be given the opportunity.

After circle time this morning we worked together to set up the ‘classroom’ with a variety of light related things (my daughter prefers to be part of the process when rearranging a room).  Together we decided upon the lightbox instead of the projector (for now).  The table we usually had it fixed onto was too high for the baby, so we instead have it on a lower shelf, so that it can be pulled out onto the carpet.  It is not perfect but it will do for now.

My oldest was so excited and immediately wanted some translucent paper (for making paper ‘stained glass windows’) cut into geometric shapes.  Whilst she got to work creating pictures on the lightbox, my baby tried eating the paper.  mmmm, crunchy!!!

Next we got some flashlights.  They were just simple (cheap) ones from family dollar, and I chose the ones with the rubber outside as I knew the baby would be chewing them.

I also put out the color paddles.

That was all I am offering for now.  I am constantly reminded that less is more!

Oh we are all having so much fun.

The baby is enjoying looking at the light, trying to eat it and climbing on the lightbox.

The older one is getting more and more sophisticated in her exploration.  She started shining the flashlight in the ceiling but as it was not very powerful she preferred to then shine it on the wall.  She loves to wrap things up in silks or paper (for gifts) and when she wrapped the flashlight in paper she discovered that the light emitted turned green. Hmmm.  And so a little project is emerging.  Different things were put over the flashlight to see what happened to the light.  Sometimes it would disappear, sometimes it would cimply change color.  The paddles were great for this.

She decided we needed a ‘bigger’ flashlight – I guess her theory was that bigger meant more powerful!  Well, we brought out an LED lantern.  Yes it was bigger and brighter, but the light was emitted 360 degrees so she couldn’t get that neat circle on the wall.  She wasn’t too impressed by the lantern after that.

But the baby loves it!

And so “Make it Monday” is born.  I will be posting a seasonal craft activity each Monday to share with you.  I would also love to hear what you have been working on through the week…so share away!

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Beeswax Candle Dipping

It is winter.  That means lots of beeswax projects in our house.  I love that warm, sweet smell of melting beeswax.  I try to think of the sensory element to projects I undertake with children.  So often smell seems to be forgotten, but it is so powerful……just think how a fleeting smell can bring you right back to an experience from your childhood!  I would love for the smell of beeswax to bring warm fuzzy feelings to my children.  This is my second year of working with this material and already, when I brought out the wax at the beginning of the winter, memories from last winter came flooding back.

We dip many things in wax.  On our nature walks my daughter collects things to dip – autumn leaves, pine cones, feathers.  But, we started with candle dipping, so that is what I will share with you today.

You will need;

* Beeswax – ask a honey seller at your local farmers market, that will be your cheapest and most local option. there are also many places online that will ship to you).

* Heating device – a can, place in a pot of water on the stove works just fine – but you will need to remove it from the stove to use it and it will cool down fast.  We use a crock pot, found from a local thrift store (there were plenty to choose from) and it seems to work well.  It keeps the wax at a constant temperature.

* Candle wick – we bought a spool of this from Michaels (using one of their frequent 40% off vouchers, bargain!) but you can also buy online.  Make sure you get the correct thickness otherwise your candles will not burn well.  We chose the thinnest, which stated it was suitable for candles up to 2″ thick (our candles never get bigger than that!).

* Clothes pegs – anything will do as these are simply for holding on to the wick when dipping.  You could also just tie the wick onto a stick which would be even cheaper, but more fiddly.

* Pot of water – we used a large yogurt pot with cold water in but anything will do, as long as you don’t mind it getting wax on.

* A place to hang the candles – a clothesline, chair back etc

*Newspaper – to protect the surface you are using

* Sharp knife

What to do;

1. Cover your work area in newspaper to protect everything from melted wax!
2. Start melting the wax.  Depending on how you bought it (a large block, pellets) etc the time for this may vary.  My large block in the crock pot took a couple of hours! 
3. Cut a strip of candle wick so that it is the depth of the wax heater (crock pot etc) plus a couple of inches.  Mine were cut to be about 12″ but this is not an exact science! 
4. Tie the wick to the end of the clothes peg (or stick), with the long end hanging down.
5. Once the wax is hot, dip the wick as far as it will go, but stop before you reach the peg.  A quick dip is best.  When you take the wick out it will have a very thin layer of wax on it.  Gently straighten the wick before it gets hard.
6. Dip it into the pot of water to harden the wax thoroughly.
   
7. Alternate dipping between the hot wax and the water.
   
8. Whilst the water isn’t actually necessary, I have learned that it is very useful when doing this activity with young children.  You need to make sure the wax is fully hard before dipping again, otherwise the previous layer will simply melt and the candle will not grow!  You can wait a few minutes between dips but for younger children this is hard.  Dipping in the cold water encourages the wax to harden almost instantly – plus this way you get to dip in the wax AND the water!
9. When you feel that your candle is finished (whatever thickness you desire) it is ready to be finished.  You will notice that the bottom of the candle (the opposite end to the peg)  has  a bulge.  You want to remove this so that your candle can stand straight.  Take a sharp knife and cut the bottom off until you see the wick.
10. Now you can hang your candle up so that it hardens completely.
11. Light and enjoy!

Optional extras;

How about adding some wax crayon to the melting wax to make colored candles.  Warning – a little wax crayon goes a long way!  You can even melt a few cans of wax in different colors and layer the wax by dipping in alternate colors.

Don’t feel restricted by only making straight candles.  When using a smallish pot we experimented by gently bending the wick in a spiral when first dipping.  It worked just fine.

* As a side note…for a winter activity we ended up using a gloriously sunny January morning.  It was so hot outside that we had to make our own shade. Crazy huh!

]]> http://awoveneducation.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/make-it-monday-beeswax-candle-dipping/feed/ 2 littlehaskes IMG_4426 IMG_4366 IMG_4364 IMG_4368 IMG_4373 IMG_4377 IMG_4388 IMG_4415 IMG_4422 IMG_4378 http://awoveneducation.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/discovery-baskets/ http://awoveneducation.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/discovery-baskets/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:19:47 +0000 Ruth http://awoveneducation.wordpress.com/?p=731 ]]> Having a new little one around is making me rethink activities.  Her needs are so different than the ‘older’ children I have become used to being with!

Have you noticed how little children, babies especially, are often more interested in everyday objects than specially made baby toys?  Well, that led me to find out more about ‘discovery baskets’.  Also sometimes known as ‘treasure baskets’ these are simply baskets put together for little ones, using a wide range of found objects.  The baby can be offered the basket for short periods a few times a week to keep them special and interesting.  Frequently the contents of the basket are changed for variety.

There are some great resources online but this is my favorite so far.

I have tried a variety of baskets but my favorite is this.  No it is not a natural fiber, but it looks like it is and I love that it is flexible.  You can fold over the sides to make it more rigid, and improve access for little hands.  Oh yes, and it can be thrown in the washing machine!!!!!

This basket was filled with about twenty items, mostly from the kitchen – measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoon, whisk, jar, tea strainers, and also some felted rocks and toy eggs.  It has captivated her for a total of at least an hour so far!

Some future basket ideas;

* Fabric scraps with different textures, fake fur, leather, cotton, hessian, spandex, lace, balls of yarn ….

* objects that make a noise (not necessarily ‘instruments’), jars with beans inside, pringles cans are wonderful with small objects inside and then taped closed! egg timers, shakers, chimes….

*shiny things, gllittery things……

*textured things, sandpaper, bubble wrap, corrugated card…

*reflective things, mirrors, flashlights…..

Please do remember to be present and watching at all times as things are so often explored by the mouth at this young age.  We don’t want anyone to choke!