Fence Weaving Fun!

The ribbon bin was getting pretty full, so we took the stash outside and decorated up our fence. It certainly pretties up the fence!

This all happened yesterday in the afternoon, and we were curious to see if some birds would use our ribbon to pretty up their nests. No takers yet, but we would be completely understanding if they 'borrowed' some. It does look quite nice doesn't it?

Toast and Jam!

What would be your favourite? 

Yesterday was Toast and Jam day, and we very excited to try out the Blueberry Jam and the Strawberry Jam. It was a tight race, but our Strawberry was the one that many took seconds on. That was some sticky fun! 

Bring the outdoors inside.

OK i'll admit, these blocks were purchased. I've been wanting a set of these for a long time, but A. I have yet to make a set myself, and B. my dad wanted to make some for me, but has yet to make them. So I gave in and purchased a set. You may notice that there is a hockey puck in the middle. This is how we roll, natural with synthetic. We thoroughly enjoyed building a tower with these, and knocking them over. 

I also invested in a set of fences from Natural Pod. This is my number one favourite website, and the fantastic thing is... it's local! We got pretty creative with them today, building a garage for our cars. I wonder what other ideas we'll come up with?

Our neat little wheel barrow basket got in the action too! It's always easier to transport things in a wheel barrow.

Here's a little something else we've been working on. Some movable fences for inside and out.

A little preview of our valentine's day art... mommies and daddies watch your mailboxes!

Ego Booster of the day:

While a child was watching me saw a piece of wood off our 'fences' the following conversation occurred.

C-"It's hard being a superhero isn't it?"

T-"Wow, how did you know i'm a superhero? Do you know what my power is?"

C-"Yep, you're super strong."

Well, that just made my day... it gave me an extra boost of strength when I pushed our six seater stroller up our hill. It also warmed my heart!

Tree Folk Welcome

We've had some welcomed visitors to our bird feeder.

And some not so welcome... you probably can't really see what's happening here, but a squirrel has discovered our bird feeder. So we discussed it, we will definitely be making a sign saying 'no squirrels allowed!'

Over the weekend our tree 'resident' put up a window. We think it's brilliant, but we still can't see anything. It's all very mysterious. 

We noticed that whoever it is, needed a little more attention on their door step, so here's the start.

We also decided we would see if it was home, but nobody answered.

Just a bit of randomness here, but we discovered that the little soccer ball balanced on our cones.

How about our big soccer ball?

Not quite, but it'll take some careful balancing.

Worms and Tape... Tape Worm?!?!

Our tape dispenser has become a huge hub of activity, who knew that tape would be so fun... well, of course it is. We've discovered tape everywhere!

On our table I had put out some medicine dropper bottles filled with some food colouring. It was more of an opportunity for the children to discover and explore. After all, it's all about the process, not the product. All the materials on the 'art' shelf are available for the children as well, so in a moment of creativity the tape, once again, got involved!

I love that in this process is was discovered that tape not only makes neat designs but it has a function too. So hanging on our wall is the 'blended' art. 

I am so grateful to New Creation Preschool for the design inspiration for the tape dispenser!

Now on to those worms. 

While outside yesterday we noticed that there was a handful of slugs on our water table, and one little worm! We watched that worm for quite a while, wondering where he was going. The worm reminded us of a rainy day, and how those worms love puddles. So after watching for quite a while, we did discover he was hurrying fast to find some water. While watching all this happen, there was a sudden burst of enlightenment, why not help him out with that water. So the hose was hooked up and the worm got his water! 

Funny quote of the day:

 When each child wakes from their nap I have always asked the same question: "What did you dream about?" I always wait in anticipation for some funny ones! Usually it's very endearing and the response is usually 'mommy and daddy', but today's conversation went like this.

T-"What did you dream about?"

C- "I don't know"

T-"Did you dream about pickles?"

C-"No" Giggle, giggle.

T-"How about cucumbers?"

C-"No" Giggle, giggle.

T-"Elephants?"

C-"No silly, I dreamed about sweet potatoes!"

What a good dream!

One last thing:

Why is there a picture of a toilet on here?

 On Friday evening I attended a keynote address that was given by Dr. Gordon Neufeld. He had some excellent words to share in terms of discipline that is effective with children, but also ensures that their hearts remain soft and empathetic. One of his examples that he gave stuck with me. It was that fun is an integral part of childhood. He casually mentioned putting food colouring in the toilet to encourage potty training. Yep, that's what's in our toilet right now, and we're LOVING IT!

Groundhogs Blasting into Space?

It seems that we were unable to get a straight answer from that pesky groundhog. Which one is it? Spring or winter? Whatever it is, we made sure to make our predictions, and we have yet to determine which one came true. I really recommend that we find ourselves a westcoast groundhog!
As we mentioned yesterday, we found ourselves in possession of an enormous box. As you saw from our 'plans and blueprints' we were about to create ourselves a rocketship. And what a beauty she is. It got so much use today, that we are now having to engineer ourselves a door hinge, as the current one broke right off!

What great adventures we will go on in this state of the art rocketship! Blast off!

Catching up

We have been rather busy! So much so that we have a lot of catching up to do. So here goes...

Our tinkering table is in process, as well as our creativity. One very important lesson we learn at 'school' is that our creativeness needs to be nurtured and brought to the surface! We encourage this process, and allow time to let it grow. So in the hopes of thinking outside the box, and using a variety of mediums, we hope that this has been sprouting the last few days. 

An important lesson was learned here. See the thumb on the safety glove? We learned that we need to watch how close our thumb gets to the blade, also that we NEED to wear gloves. What a great teachable moment.

After some nails and some screws, this was the 'final' product. I say 'final' in a way, that is not definite. I encourage the children to return to their creations, in the case that they have a spontaneous burst of creativity. They say they are finished when they decide. 

Power tools are a great way for children to feel like they are trusted! 

Creativity is developed in a variety of ways.

Naturescapes are a great way to apply elements of design.

This is project that is ongoing, and it's pretty cool to see the progression. We have learned many great lessons with this project, one discovery was that water does not flow up. What a great lesson on gravity!

This one is sideways, but you get the idea! This project has been an amazing example of teamwork. ALL the children have been getting involved in the process, from testing to application, all jobs are important. 

I love how everyday, the design changes. It's as if as the children sleep they come up with new and clever ideas, and can't wait to try them out.

This made me laugh! This is our puzzle that I guess became too easy for one of the children, so they decided to up the challenge. 

The other side of the puzzle challenge.

Some fun was had here!! Mud soup anyone?

While concocting the soup, the game became a blend of water polo, hockey and soccer. We couldn't get too close, otherwise we were pelted with muddy water! Some crazy laughter surrounded this game!

Indoor hockey anyone? This was a great opportunity to blend the ages and skills and to work together. There was lots of turn taking, and using of words during this game. 

I have had these 'bugs' for a long time, and no one has really expressed interest in them. They are kind of like Mr. PotatoHead meets 'bugs'. But we had a visitor yesterday, and he showed us the fun and creativity of these neat bits and bobs, this has become the 'toy of the week'

If you look closely, you will notice that our backyard is pretty appealing to the wildlife. What a great lesson! We learned a bit about raccoon safety today, and what to do if we encounter this 'little' fellow.

What child could resist this fun?

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers,water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade...bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to toll, sand, snakes and hornets; any child who has been deprives of these hasbeen deprived of the best part of...education".

- Luther Burbank

Just washing our boots off.

We love grandparents that bring us big boxes. I always have to fight my natural instinct to save the treasures for a 'good' project. But creativity comes in many shapes and SIZES!

After looking for a bit of inspiration on the web, we decided that a rocketship would be cool. But no project can start without blueprints, so here's the plans. 

Our inspiration, by the way, was this photo

http://www.instructables.com/image/FEUZOMNFOVX12K9/How-to-build-a-cardboard-Rocket-ship.jpg

We're still working on it! Progress reports coming soon!