Home makers insanity!

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 !

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

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

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 :(

I have a dear T.A friend who gave me some excess things she had collected. When I received them they looked like bags of junk, until I sorted through them. Why Had I as a qualified E.Y.F.S person never seen this, so simple! Basically one bag of shapes various including 3d/2d and another bag of all sorts of junk in different materials, essentially bags of stuff you sort into piles matching the correct labels. You could also do colour matching rainbow boxes. After we sorted the types of materials we also then decided to sort them into piles of combustible and non, Then also biodegradable and not.  Lastly magnetic or not (my just turned 3  is obsessed with magnetic force) So if you have a 3-7 year old,  Next time you have some junk laying about collect it into little packs even if you only use it once, you have had fun for free and learned new things !

Ive always wanted to make oneof these but never managed to gather enough husks. Luckily later our recent pumpkin trip the owner kindly let us have a load that he had peeled off the corn he had been showing is.Keon was feeling poorly today so wasn't really up to much and just wanted to sit and watch tv and do some gentle crafting , poor lamb had a temperature and a headache that was upsetting him a lot. Crafting took his mind off of it for a while. We plan on using these to retell the story of the corn husk doll on video From Wikipedia A   corn husk doll   is a   Native American   toy, a   doll   made out of the dried leaves or "husk" of a   corn   cob .   Making corn husk dolls was adopted by early European settlers in the   United States of America . [2]   Corn husk doll making is now practiced in the United States as a link to Native American culture and the arts and crafts of the settlers. Corn husk dolls do not have faces...

We had decided we wanted to explore inventions briefly, so we came up with a may to make it fun for the boys. Firstly the challenge was to design something and write about it's features what it did etc. They drew a picture and wrote a short story about what they had invented. Next we collected junk to make the item they wanted to, then lastly we made the item . Fun had by all. Covering Art, Design, Crafts, Writing practice, spelling practice ,story writing and construction methods. Later we will be studying a little of Victorian designs . Perhaps using Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a marker point ? Keons was "Rainbot" A Housework Robot that is powered only by the magic of rainbows (of course the flaw being you have to wait for a rainbow before it works :P) Bens, was a rocket pack to help you get to places faster powered by rubbish fuel (That composts apparently) .

Fantastic Home ed group meet up today, We learned a lot about  the life cycle of pumpkins, various types of Pumkins, Gourds, Butternut squash and Sweetcorn varietys loads of fun and mud! Definatly worth a visit if anyones over that way  and the owners are such passionate, kind hearted souls and where really happy to answer any questions we had. Eldest son has decided to become a Farmer now :D http://www.riversidefarmers.co.uk/pyo-pumpkins/4548053188 Some lovely worksheets http://www.itsybitsyfun.com/life-cycle-of-a-pumpkin-worksheet.html#_a5y_p=2372589 http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/pumpkin-life-cycle-worksheets/ And lastly a youtube on Growing! https://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=2WOrSPxegiw

We where introduced to the wonderful concept of a journey stick at Red tent camp in June this year, My middle son Keon decided to make one, As he had just left to become home tutored it seemed perfectly fitting. Journey sticks. When Australian Aboriginals went on their journeys they collected things and tied them to a stick in chronological order.After a long time they finally returned to their people. Referring to the objects attached to their stick, they were able to remember their journey and recount the stories.his formed a verbal map which described the journey to someone who wasn’t there. It was a very personal way of recording their journey and unlike a map, there was no right or wrong way. Talking sticks Australian Aboriginals used talking sticks as a means of ensuring just and impartial council meetings.According to tradition, he who holds the Talking Stick has the power of words. Only that person can speak whilst others remain silent and listen. Usually a speech was pre...

Lovely last camp of the year, proper old traditional woodland camp site, off grid, solar powered (hot!!) showers even though it was dark . Needed lots of blankets for warmth, only rained once. We all had a great time, simply doing nothing. No tv, just books and some good old fashioned fun. We plan on going again next year in May for the bluebells. http://badgellswoodcamping.co.uk/