Kleas

Puppet Camp-final day

 
I was overly ambitious for Puppet Camp last week.  My plan was to have the children experience a wide variety of puppet making.  I quickly realized after day one, that I would have to tone it down a bit.  After-all, I am working with four-years-olds.  For the last day I planned a pop-up cone type puppet (kind of like one of these), but again...too ambitious.  The night before I thought up this simplified version and was thrilled how easily they came together.

Supplies:

• wool felt
• chop-stick
• 1.25 inch wood bead with hole on one side
• glue
• rubber bands
• (needle + thread optional)

 
I drew up a rough pattern sheet...nothing fancy...but it could easily be printed off.  The large oval is the body, the circle the collar (cut it fringe like, or scalloped...depending on how you like it) and the triangle is the hat.

 
Fold the hat piece in half and stitch (or glue) up the side.  (Here's a nice blurry version of me doing that)

 
Next, take a rubber band (or elastic) and wrap it securely about one inch below the pointy side of the chop-stick.

 
Assembly is easy after that...simply slide on the body piece, then the collar, then the head, glue on hat and you're done!

 
The kids were playing with them in minutes.

Puppet camp

With pre-cut felt, sequins, pom-poms, googley-eyes and glue...

 
We had fun making a variety of finger puppets.

 
And couldn't wait to have a puppet show.

 
(Resource:  Puppet-Making -Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell)

Puppet camp

I've been looking forward to this camp for weeks!  I carefully planned out four days of some serious puppet making at my preschool for camp this week.  However, anyone who works with young children already knows this, kids can so easily derail even the best of plans. 

Day one...we always begin each day outside in the backyard, and that is where I did a brief introduction to puppetry.  I went to the basics and explained how easily one could turn even a simple object into a puppet.  To illustrate this I picked up a twig and a leaf and made a simple puppet.  Their imaginations soared!

There was a dragon...

 
..."princess flowerface"...

 
...the dance of the poppyheads...

 
...and the presentation of Little Miss Muffet in the "outdoor theater".

 
I just love how four blades of grass speared in the middle with a stick so easily became a spider.

 
I just can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

random Monday

Almost two pallets of tile later...and the basement floor is ready for grout.

 
I'm not sure which is more exciting.  The basement project coming to an end?  Or dreaming about what to make with the empty pallets?

Tomatoes and squash are competing in my compost bin,

 

Happy vintage score

 
One of my favorite treats of summer...chunks of fresh, crisp cucumbers dipped in a mix of coarse sea salt and toasted sesame seeds.  Try it.  You won't be disappointed.  (My boys devoured these)

 
A five dollar bouquet from the farmer's market can buy a whole week of colorful cheer.

 
 

• Puppet camp at my preschool this week...care to make some puppets?  I'll be posting our creations as we make them
• Do you use Flickr?   My account mysteriously switched to Italian about two months ago and I can't figure out how to switch it back...so, no posting there lately
• There is still time to register for The Art of Giving e-course...it is sure to be awesome!  Come join us!!

Happy Monday!!!

the finished gardens

 Here are the finished gardens the children took home on the last day of build a fairy/gnome garden camp.

I love how each childs' personality shined through in each of their gardens.  The choice of house they wanted, the plants they selected (or didn't) one insisted on only ONE plant in hers, some wanted absolutely no furniture, a wood path, a stone path a cork path...each garden is unique, even for those who were heavily influenced by an older sister.  Each delighted in his/her garden and were so proud to show their mothers when they arrived.  Here they are...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beautiful...aren't they?  These were created by three, four, five and six-year-olds.

At the end of our day, we even had some time left for playing a little bit of gnome catapult.

 

fairy garden embellishments

Bowls of natural materials were left out during camp last week so the children had the opportunity to explore and come up with ideas for what they wanted to use certain things for and many were very creative in their planning.  However, most were too young to make certain pieces so I happily sat for hours creating little extras for the children to add to their finished fairy and gnome gardens.   

Wooden chairs

 

Cairns

 

Glue a shell on top of a wine cork, add some moss = birdbath

 
I was fortunately directed to The Magic Onions blog (who, by the way, are hosting a fairy garden competition this month) and learned how to make stone furniture.

 

Acorn cap and twig mushrooms...inspired by Lisa's

 
I carved up a dozen or so pecan and walnut shells (so many possible uses for these!).  I turned one pecan shell into a bird house by using hot glue to attach a branch to the bottom, then added moss and two white beans painted blue for eggs.

 
Maybe for next year, I'll make wind chimes.

the making of a fairy house

 
It just takes a bit of birch bark...which I soaked in water and let dry overnight wrapped around a glass and held in place with rubber bands.

 
With a hot glue gun, join the two sides and close up the seam. 
Cut a roof to the size of your liking.
While pressing the house down on to the roof, squeeze a generous amount of hot glue all the way around.
I always keep extra moss handy for pressing into the glue before it dries.  It not only hides the glue, but gives the house a very "foresty" feel.
I like the hole in the bark that looks like a tiny window.
It just needs a door.
With added moss and wool flowers (of course!).

More fairy garden camp

I love what the children at my preschool teach me.  Towards the end of our first day of fairy camp this week, I thought out loud how we needed to mark our gardens with their names so we would know whose garden was whose.  Someone volunteered, "let's make garden markers!!".  Well, why not.  With a slice of wood, a sharpie, 18-gauge wire, moss and some pink bits of wool for flowers, that is just what we did.

Each child chose a name.  Without hesitating, one little girl said "Silver Mist"...I love that.

 
Do you see "Silver Ansel Monster Truck" back there?  That would belong to my boy, Julen.  He is a bit obsessed with his cousin Ansel at the moment.  But, fine.  I encouraged each individual to make their own decision about their garden.

One of my quiet girls didn't want a name on hers, she simply handed me a shell.  Sweet.

 
It wasn't the best week for making fairy gardens.  It's something I prefer to do outside in the yard, but like most of the US we had record breaking heat temperatures all week.  Heat index hitting as high as 132 degrees.  Whew.  Too hot for me and too hot for the kids.  We reserved our short nature walks for the first thing we did in the morning and enjoyed the rest of the day having fun inside.

I used a hot glue gun to make more furniture, once again adding moss and wool bits for flowers.

 
The kids went home with their gardens today...they were so cute, and so excited to show their moms that it just melted my heart.  They bring so much magic to this project.  I have tons of photos of the gardens to sort through and can't wait to share those tomorrow.

Build a fairy or gnome garden camp

This is my third summer offering my preschoolers this fun and magical camp that involves creating a small fairy garden in a planter that they will take home at the end of four days.  Here is one of the gardens from last year.

 
This camp is my absolute favorite.  I love all the magic that the children bring to creating their gardens.  To see how we begin the process, here is a link to last years camp.

Over the weekend, I spent time creating little extras for the gardens that the children can add on the last day once the plants and the house and the stone pathways have been set in place.  I repeated these from last year...

 
(for simple instructions on how to make any of the above, click here)

I've also been making some new garden embellishments that I will share later this week.

Here are the books we will be reading.

 

• Gnomes by Wil Huygen.  This book offers a fun peek into the world of gnomes.  I am going to focus on the chapter on Housebuilding to open the children's minds to the possibilies of where a gnome might build a home.
• White Nineteens by David Christiana.  A sweet tale of Buttercup who goes in search of her very special wings that go missing one morning.  The illustrations are beautiful.
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.  I love all Carle books and this one is a favorite.  A good introduction to the life cycle of plants.  This provides a great starting point for our talk about the garden the children will be growing.
• The Fairy Who Lost his Wings by Gary Judson.  A  local publication and a sweet fairy story I love to share.
• A Donsy of Gnomes by Sieglinde De Francesca.  A wonderful book of stories about the magical world of gnomes and their busy lives.
• In the Land of Elves by Daniela Drescher.  I cannot say enough about this beautifully illustrated book with it's sweet story.  If you like Elsa Beskow, Drescher books are a must have.

Gratitute

Do you know my friend Regina?  I've know her since the beginning of my blog days.  She has been a constant source of inspiration over the years.  She is always pushing herself creatively and despite working full time and being a full-time mom, she manages to nuture her creative soul and follow her dreams through her artwork.  I've long admired her wide range of artistic skills and now, lucky for us, she is going to be sharing them through an e-course she will be teaching in August. 

 
What a wonderful theme...The Art of Giving.  Exploring gratitude through expressions of a variety of different artwork.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be joining her.  And you can too!  For more information and to register, click here.  But do it before Wednesday to get the discount.  Read more about the e-course here.

How I love this promotional video she created...

 

Come along and join us here for a fun and creative month...full of gratitude.