Crafty Christmas learning

I firmly believe as a person who worked with children and in the art sector, that children (and adults) can be taught so much via Art and crafts. My sons decided to Christmas crafts where the order of the day so we decided to spend a few hours making and playing. One set is from Usbornes big book of Christmas crafts, we have had for a few years now, and make some every year. We also purchased some kits from our local Spar as I really loved them, and they where inexpensive, but we also made one from recycled cardboard.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/snowflakes  Some videos and activitys to learn about snowflakes

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/xmas/trees.html  interesting facts about Christmas trees with beautiful pictures! 

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/xmas/decorations.html  This time decorations and facts . 

Have fun making !

MIND YOUR BOGROLLS!

The boys seem to have a current obsession with Junk modelling, Which is fab as it keeps all of them happy, (plus I enjoy it to having spent most of my adult life in the Art sector of retail) They wanted to make something Christmassy (Already?) . We decided on toilet roll models . We picked The fun Reindeer project from this lovely tutorial .
http://lafactoriaplastica.com/?p=19758

A cute old black and white You tube vid about children and life in lapland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaEFGGDYWa0

And a huge stack of Reindeer lesson plans and activities http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/reindeer.htm

Colouring pens are from this lovely company one end thick the other thin.Great coverage, nice tight fit lids great for children or professionals alike...perfect! http://www.smiggle.co.uk/shop/en/smiggleuk

Have fun!

CleanTrash sorting deciding what to make.

Lovely colouring pens sent by Smiggle

We have 9 reindeer and Santa on a sleigh

Paper play

What to do when your stuck indoors all week and under the weather? We decided to investigate the strength of Newpaper! Firstly we attempted to push a car over a "Bridge" The challenge was it had to be done with one sheet of newspaper. They figured out by folding the paper they could strengthen the bridge enough to allow the car to pass over. Then some gravity play (What falls faster the ball of paper of the sheet?) , and some Origami Boats, which we later floated and sank down Rochester river lol! All in an hours entertainment for nothing! I think we will be exploring more types of boats we can see which floats better!

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Paper-Boat

Halloween , And Bonfire night, Before you know it Christmas!

Cue learning of Guy Fawkes, how fireworks are made, Gun powder, Guy making. Cue learning about various Religions and styles of celebrating Halloween. This week has gone so quickly, Had a great week :D
Some of the resources we used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMNOnYxhpOY  Horrible historys gunpowder plot

http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/pumpkin-life-cycle-worksheets/ Fantastic site for educational resources

http://www.studyladder.co.uk/guides/halloween  Ks1 and Ks2 Worksheets as well as other pages.

Pumpkin worksheets

Painting and gluing

Bonfires and fireworks

Burning an effigy

There she blows, do not worry chickens are no longer present :(