I've been learning about the Waldorf method for a few months, and investigating the type of toys and materials they recommend using. I'm really trying to get a handle on the philosophy and put some of the ideas into practice with Kenna.
Now, I live in NC, and apparently acorns simply litter the ground for a few months if you know where to look!! Kenna and I were out dogwalking yesterday and stumbled across a thick layer of acorns all over the ground! I was so excited. Kenna and I started grabbing them- all sizes, all colors, and gathered them into a bag. When we got home, I decided to hot glue the acorn caps to the acorns, since many were loose or had come off. We have all sizes, shapes and textures. The plan is to set them out and use them for sorting, counting and studying with a magnifying glass. If we collect more, I may consider painting some, or possibly trying to "felt" a few like these cool guys!
What else can we do with acorns?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Inspired Fridays- Aug 27 Literacy rocks!
I don't know about you, but one of my favorite ways to be inspired is to google random things and see what pops up! Today I was inspired by this post by a wonderful mama at The Write Start. She is all about literacy and helping her preschooler to love to read and write. I'm a former teacher, and the ideas on her site are just wonderful to see... I hope lots of parents work with their preschoolers to get them ready to embrace literacy!
Since my daughter is only 18 months, I am not able to employ most of her ideas yet. This one struck my fancy, though, I knew I could modify it for my toddler. It's this one here.
I modified it by doing a limited amount of rocks, and opting to spell full words on the rocks, instead of one letter per rock. We spelled Mom, Dad, cat, love - one word on each rock. (Mom rock was commandeered by my toddler during this photo)
Then I made a few single letter rocks- the letters of her name (so we can assemble her name like a puzzle) and the letters I and S. that way we can make sentences:
I love Mom.
Mom loves Dad.
I love cats.
I figure we can expand this idea to the whole alphabet in a year or so when she is ready. Let me tell you- she picked up on this idea quick- when daddy came home for lunch, she ran to him with the "Dad" rock and proudly told him all about it. (in baby babble, with lots of emphasis on dada.) CUTE!
The rubbing took more effort than I thought it would, but basically took me an hour of Project Runway to finish. I bought letters that looked slightly aged, so that if/when they peel off a bit with rough play, it will seem intentional! I bought my rocks (ACK- BOUGHT- I know, I really wanted to travel to a quiet stream and collect them peacefully, one at a time...) but they were like 3 bucks at Michaels, and I am impatient crafter!
OHHH- and I contacted relatives and told them that Kenna has a rock collection now, so hopefully each special person in her life will donate a rock and we can add their name to it! PLus, it'll be a nice easy thing to collect on vacations. :)
Since my daughter is only 18 months, I am not able to employ most of her ideas yet. This one struck my fancy, though, I knew I could modify it for my toddler. It's this one here.
I modified it by doing a limited amount of rocks, and opting to spell full words on the rocks, instead of one letter per rock. We spelled Mom, Dad, cat, love - one word on each rock. (Mom rock was commandeered by my toddler during this photo)
Then I made a few single letter rocks- the letters of her name (so we can assemble her name like a puzzle) and the letters I and S. that way we can make sentences:
I love Mom.
Mom loves Dad.
I love cats.
I figure we can expand this idea to the whole alphabet in a year or so when she is ready. Let me tell you- she picked up on this idea quick- when daddy came home for lunch, she ran to him with the "Dad" rock and proudly told him all about it. (in baby babble, with lots of emphasis on dada.) CUTE!
The rubbing took more effort than I thought it would, but basically took me an hour of Project Runway to finish. I bought letters that looked slightly aged, so that if/when they peel off a bit with rough play, it will seem intentional! I bought my rocks (ACK- BOUGHT- I know, I really wanted to travel to a quiet stream and collect them peacefully, one at a time...) but they were like 3 bucks at Michaels, and I am impatient crafter!
OHHH- and I contacted relatives and told them that Kenna has a rock collection now, so hopefully each special person in her life will donate a rock and we can add their name to it! PLus, it'll be a nice easy thing to collect on vacations. :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Definition of a quiet book
Some, possibly many, of my posts will be directly related to my new crafting passion- Quiet Books.
I thought I'd start by explaining what a Quiet Book is for those who were unlucky enough to go through childhood, and church,without one.
A Quiet Book is a soft paged book, generally homemade, designed to occupy little hands and little minds during church, long car rides, and other places where kids are easily bored. I personally did not grow up with a quiet book, but I have seen many beautiful and inspiring ones in my time researching online. I set out about four months ago to complete one for my daughter, and I became completely and utterly addicted to making these pages! They are ridiculously detailed, meticulous and time-consuming, but I love it!
Many people feel overwhelmed at the thought of making a Quiet Book for their own child, but honestly, it is a labor of love and well worth the effort. Something special will come out of your work- a book to be treasured by your child, and possibly your grandchildren! So special. And really, these can be as detailed or as simple as you'd like. It is your project to enjoy.
My daughter was only 14 months when I began her book, so many of her pages are geared toward a young child. As she grows, and as I take more time to experiment, I anticipate the pages becoming more older-kid friendly. Look for posts tagged Quiet Book to follow my progress!
To get inspired, here are a few of the Quiet Books that sparked my creativity.
http://quietbook.blogspot.com/
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/
I thought I'd start by explaining what a Quiet Book is for those who were unlucky enough to go through childhood, and church,without one.
A Quiet Book is a soft paged book, generally homemade, designed to occupy little hands and little minds during church, long car rides, and other places where kids are easily bored. I personally did not grow up with a quiet book, but I have seen many beautiful and inspiring ones in my time researching online. I set out about four months ago to complete one for my daughter, and I became completely and utterly addicted to making these pages! They are ridiculously detailed, meticulous and time-consuming, but I love it!
Many people feel overwhelmed at the thought of making a Quiet Book for their own child, but honestly, it is a labor of love and well worth the effort. Something special will come out of your work- a book to be treasured by your child, and possibly your grandchildren! So special. And really, these can be as detailed or as simple as you'd like. It is your project to enjoy.
My daughter was only 14 months when I began her book, so many of her pages are geared toward a young child. As she grows, and as I take more time to experiment, I anticipate the pages becoming more older-kid friendly. Look for posts tagged Quiet Book to follow my progress!
To get inspired, here are a few of the Quiet Books that sparked my creativity.
http://quietbook.blogspot.com/
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/
Getting things up and ready!
I'm finally ready to start loading products up to Etsy. Check out the site at www.kennasfeltforest.etsy.com I'm still waiting on my custom banner and logo, but for now, I can at least get my items in the shop!
I'm all caught up with customs, and debating whether to take some September orders... it makes it so hard for me to keep things in stock when I do customs, but I love the chance to make exactly what a customer wants, soo... I guess it's more long hours at the sewing machine!
I'm all caught up with customs, and debating whether to take some September orders... it makes it so hard for me to keep things in stock when I do customs, but I love the chance to make exactly what a customer wants, soo... I guess it's more long hours at the sewing machine!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
First Entry!
Finally took the time to set up a separate blog just for all my crafty thoughts and ideas. Can't wait to get blogging! Check me out on Etsy for all of the little handmade things I'm creating. :)
I have a sweet little girl, a handy husband, and a lot of DIY plans. I am planning to homeschool, and start Tot School (montessori style) soon. I can't wait!
I have a sweet little girl, a handy husband, and a lot of DIY plans. I am planning to homeschool, and start Tot School (montessori style) soon. I can't wait!
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