Friday Thoughts - Family

I am slowly beginning to get to know the little ones that I am working with this year, their likes, their skills, their personalities and about their famiies.

Currently we are learning about our families. Even though this topic is perceived as basic curriculum or knowledge for little ones -  for children to state the members of their families -  it can be quite complex for some children. Sensitivity and an awareness of this complexity is a must, as this topic could trigger off a range of emotions inside these little souls. Feelings such as anger, sadness, grief and confusion may arise as these children realise that their family is 'different' to others.

However, despite this, children need assurance that even though there are differences between families, these differences are OK and that families are places of love, safety, support and care. I emphasise that the children in my care are valued, that I care about their learning and I try to ensure as much routine as possible to provide stability.

Despite the cautions, learning about families can be fun. Here are a few ideas...

• Paint a family portrait.
• Labelling copies of family photographs, identifying different family members.
• Browse through baby albums of the child and their siblings.
• Look at photos of celebratory and happy family events. Talk about why this was such a joyful event, maybe write a recount of this event.
• Make pop stick puppets of family members - drawing pictures of family members on small pieces of card and taping pop sticks on the back.
• Find where different family members live on a map.
• Write letters to family members that live in different towns/cities.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Thoughts - What's my name?

It has been wonderful getting to know a new set of little ones at work. They're eager to learn, eager to play and eager to have fun. One of the first skills that I encourage these little ones to learn is to recognise and write their name. For those children that have a short name, this skill is quickly learnt, however, those children that have longer names, it can be quite tough. Practice can be as simple as copying their own name onto some work that they have completed, however, I have found some fun ideas that can assist in name writing and recognition...

Make a puzzle using the letters of the child's name (by Happy Hooligans)

Making their name out of playdough (by Kindergarten Rocks)

Searching for letters game (by Teach Preschool)

Other ideas include:

• Use game pieces (eg. Scrabble letters) to make own name.
• Use magnetic letters - the child can write their name on the fridge.
• Find letters in magazines/newspapers and cut them out and stick them together on a piece of paper to make their name.
• Tear little pieces of coloured paper and stick them down on paper to make their name.
• Use pavement chalk and write their name on pathways.
• If chalk gets too messy, simply give a paint brush and water and they can 'paint' their name on pathways.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Thoughts - Keeping Cool

Phew...the weather has sure been hot this Summer. Trying to keep cool has been top on the priority list. I thought I would share some 'cool' ideas...

This is an excellent idea for little ones that would love to do some exploring on a hot day...

'Ice Eggs'  - found here

Icy cold and healthy...

Frozen fruit skewers - found here

An interesting concept to try...

Frozen lamingtons - found here

Hope you are staying cool!

Friday Thoughts - Now to put it into practice!

(Image source is here)

I mentioned in a previous post a blog that I had read that provided me with the inspiration to make handmade gifts for loved ones and friends this year (Click here if you wish to read it again).

Pamela, from 'Majorie Handmade' expressed all different emotions that are evident when giving handmade gifts (which I can totally relate to). In a way, giving handmade gifts is a risky business, as it involves giving such a personal gift. So much time and effort have been poured into it - a gift from the heart. The nagging thought of 'Will they like/appreciate this gift?' raises itself .

However, creating handmade gifts have many benefits. I found a list of reasons why one would bother making or purchasing handmade gifts here. The main reason that was repeated was 'love' - that someone would care so much about someone that they would give up time creating something. Uniqueness, cost, support of local artists, quality and the joy of creation were also some thoughts.

As mentioned in a previous post, organisation is a must in creating handmade gifts, which ended up as one of my problems last year. However, this year I have a calendar which contains important dates, predominantly birthdays of family and friends. I also have highlighted (at least) a two week bracket before these dates, showing me my 'window of creation' to make a card and gift on time. The more birthdays in a short period of time, the more time is given in my 'window of creation'. Time will tell to see if this method assists my organisation.

Thanks for viewing!

Monday in the making

Firstly, Happy New Year to all of my followers and friends! I pray that this coming year finds you well, happy and full of inspiration...

...It has been a little quiet here, as I spent Christmas (and time beforehand) celebrating with family. It was such a lovely time - catching up with siblings, relatives and little ones that I haven't caught up with in a little while. So special! For us, it means quite a bit of travelling, but it is so worth it.

I tried to provide each of our loved ones with a handmade gift, whether made by me or another crafty person, hence the lead up to Christmas was rather busy. However, a goal for 2013, is to be more organised so that I am not leaving 'gift making' to the last minute. Handmade gifts take longer to create as they are personal and made with love and care - factoring in the time into a busy schedule is challenging, but I feel that this is an important area I can work on next year. A blog post that has inspired me to create more handmade gifts for my loved ones and friends, is one written by Pamela of 'Majorie Handmade'. You can read it here.

As work has finished for a Summer break, I thought that I would squeeze in 'creativity time' over the festive season, however, family time and enjoying the sunshine took over. It was great to have a total break - it refreshes and rejuvenates. Since being back home though, I have reopened my 'Madeit store' and have started the blogging routine once again. I have also started with some plans and designs that I am now itching to get into. Hopefully I can show you some goodies soon!

On my list at the moment:

• Adding some more items to my store and creating some new releases.

I'll see you in the New Year!

Weekend Wonders

Oohh...excitement is mounting...

...holiday time is looming quite quickly. Despite the excitement that it brings, there is a lot to do before we go away for a break. I have been working on family presents. I also have been gathering little goodies together to surprise little ones (and bigger ones) at work.

It was our Bible study group's Christmas breakup yesterday and I made up little pudding truffles as gifts to give to members. I also spent time on the weekend searching for just the right fabric for a special Kriskringle gift...(now to make that one up). Hence, there has been a lot of searching, cooking and wrapping happening this weekend.

There was quite a large craft market in our city today and I enjoyed spending an hour or so looking around, buying some handmade goodies for loved ones. Markets are wonderful places as you get to view lots of lovely items and you are able to talk directly to the creator and designer - so personal! A few of the stall holders noticed that I brought my 'Christmas gift list' along with me and they asked who I was buying for. The ladies on my list were the easiest to find gifts for (or to match them with a Tupsy Turvy Design product), however, it was so difficult to find anything for the guys. The stall holders admitted that they didn't have anything available and that they too, find it difficult to produce items for men. Maybe that can be a goal of mine...

Anyway, I hope that you have a lovely week :)

Friday Thoughts - Christmas Trees No.2

Another decoration that the children have made this week at work were these popstick Christmas trees...

...to be honest, we made them out of wooden 'spatulas' that are a little bigger than popsticks.

The inspiration for this craft idea came from here. I got the children to paint the sticks with green water paint. When it dried, I glued them into triangles with a hot glue gun and the children decorated with sparkly things, stuck on with craft glue. They also stuck a brown rectangle at the base for the 'trunk' of the tree. I tied some gold cord at the top so that it can be hung up.

Have a lovely weekend!

Weekend Wonders

I can breathe a big sigh...

...I have now completed my assessment work, therefore, now I can spend some more time focusing on my craft and some ideas for Christmas. Assessment is such a huge part of my work and it is quite time consuming. So, to have it completed is quite a relief.

I did manage to squeeze in some time for craft. I have completed another necklace order and I have been busy designing and stitching a soft, little something for a couple of my favourite little people in my life. I hope to show some sneak peaks soon.

I hope you had a lovely weekend :)

Friday Thoughts - Giving rather than getting

We are well into the swing of Christmas...

...and into the season of giving. I love teaching the children fun Christmas crafts, but also teaching them that Christmas is not just about 'getting' but 'giving'. Young children are naturally egocentric, therefore it is important to teach them that there are others in this world, not just themselves and about putting others before themselves.

I develop a 'Kriskringle' type of idea, but instead of buying items, we make them. Over a period of two weeks, the children decorate a gift bag and then we make some Christmas items - a card, wreath, decorations, bon-bon, treats, etc, to place in it. The children know that what they are making is going to be a gift for someone else in the class, not for themselves. That also means that someone in the class is making something for them. We then have a special 'Christmas Day' and I choose someone in the class, then draw a name out of a pool of names (children in the class) and they then give their gift bag with their goodies, to that child and wish them a 'Happy Christmas'. They love making their special little items and they are focused on doing their best for their special person.

I thought I would share a photo of one of our gifts...a tissue paper wreath...

They are stunning! They put so much effort into them that you would not guess that they were made by six year olds. They are simply a ring (paper plate with the middle cut out) and squares of green tissue paper (approx. 8cmx8cm) gently scrunched over the end of  a pencil and glued on with children's PVA glue, closely together. I did cut some red tissue paper squares (same size) to place in the occasional spot for 'holly berries). This child chose to scrunch theirs up into little balls. To finish, I twisted a silver chenille stick around the wreath and twisted the end into a loop for a hook to hang it up. The finished product...

Have a lovely weekend!

Weekend Wonders

This year is fast drawing to a close...

...and this is particularly so with work. Presently, I am wading through assessment and reporting tasks. This afternoon was spent in front of my computer, typing up reports. It is great to cross items off of the list, knowing that I am one step closer to completion (I love lists!).

I have been finishing off some customer orders and packaging them up. It is such a thrill that others value your work. I have also been experimenting with a new ring design (which I will show tomorrow).

I love making hand made gifts (hence the beginning of 'Tupsy Turvy Designs') and I spent some time last night making up one of these gifts for a special person for Christmas. I must say, this little elf better get busy to finish them all in time before we catch up with family!

I hope that you had a lovely weekend too!

Friday Thoughts - Making a Japanese lady

This year is fast drawing to a close...

...we have just about concluded our last unit at work, before we start to unwind a little with some Christmas activities. We have been focusing on 'Japan'. Here is a craft that the children and I completed after focusing on traditional dress and the lovely hairstyles that Japanese women wear.

If you wish to find out how to make these lovely ladies, click here, as I give credit to this activity to the wonderful site of 'DLTK - growing together'.

Have a lovely weekend!

Friday Thoughts - Kimono Dolls

As mentioned in previous posts, at work the children and I have been learning about 'Japan'. We have been learning about the country side of Japan, culture, food and festivals. Another aspect we have been looking at is Japanese traditional clothing, in particular, 'kimonoes'.

I helped the children to make these Japanese inspired cardboard dolls that are wearing our attempt at 'kimonoes'...

• Firstly, the children cut out a paper outline of the doll. I made one up that was simply a head and a body.
• This paper outline is then glued onto cardboard and cut out again, in order to make the doll more sturdy.
• A length of fabric is wrapped around the doll to make the body of the 'kimono'. Try to ensure that the fabric covers the 'body' area of the doll (ie. from neck to foot).
• A length of paper around 7 or 8 cms wide and long enough to wrap around the body, is then wrapped around the middle of the doll to make the 'sash'. It is taped at the back of the doll. As in the above examples, the 'sash' could be decorated first.
• I then helped out by tying some yarn around the middle of the sash and then snipped the ends of to represent the 'cord' like feature.
• The children drew the facial features and hair to complete the doll.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Weekend Wonders

It has been a lovely weekend...

...it has been the first weekend in a while that we were blessed with sunshine for both Saturday and Sunday. Even though I love staying inside and crafting, I couldn't resist the warmth and the sunshine and headed outside for part of the afternoon to do some gardening.

I did also manage to finish off a ring that I was making. I also finished off the scarf that I have been experimenting with. I hope to show some photos tomorrow.

I was thinking that I also better start thinking about Christmas and what to make or buy for family and friends. I like to support handmade businesses and make items and cards for myself, which also means leaving some time to do these things. It could turn into a busy few weeks *smile*.

I hope that you had a great weekend!

Friday Thoughts - Mountains

We have been focusing on a new topic at work this week and I have been loving it! I love adding some new topics each year, to keep variety and interest. This year, I added a unit on learning about Japan. I haven't been privileged to visit this country, but I have enjoyed researching about it. This week we focused on the land, the flag, the difference in language and traditional clothing. It has been fascinating!

Japan has quite a mountainous landscape, partially due to volcanic activity. There are many photos taken of Japan's highest, Mount Fuji, showcasing its height, complete with snow on top. This week the children completed a crafty/Maths activity making a picture of 'mountains'.

How to make it:

• Firstly, each child had a 'mountain' coloured square of paper. We used dark green, light green and brown.
• The children then folded their square in half and cut along the fold line to make two triangles.
• The children kept one of these triangles aside in order to make their tallest mountain.
• They then folded the other triangle in half and cut it to make two smaller triangles.
• I gave the children the option of keeping both of their small triangles or swap with other children in order to have different coloured mountains. In the picture above, this child had one big, light, green triangle, but then swapped their little, light, green triangles in order to obtain one little, brown triangle and one little, dark green triangle.
• The children then arranged their triangles, biggest one at the back, two smaller ones at the front, on a large, white piece of paper and then glued them down.
• The children glued on cotton wool at the top of their triangles to represent snow.
• You could add more decorations if you wish.

We chatted about how the square could make triangles and how the big triangle could make smaller triangles, therefore, this activity incorporated some mathematical concepts about Shape.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Weekend Wonders

It is nice to relish some warmer weather...

...the only drawback for Mr T and myself is: hay fever. Where we live is one of the worst places for hay fever and as Spring blesses us with flowers, grasses and warmth, so does hay fever. My hay fever is particularly bad on heavy cloud/rainy Spring days, whereas when it is sunny and breezy, Mr T's hay fever is bad. Hence one of us is sneezing away. I never used to suffer from hay fever, however, after living here a few years it has developed...urgh. However, at least it is only for a time, so I can be grateful for that.

Whilst going for my Saturday walk, I had an idea to create something cute with a Christmas theme. As it is the beginning of November, I will need to get into it quite quickly. I will have to see how this project goes, otherwise it will be something that I work on for next Christmas.

I have been loving making up cycled t-shirt items for my 'Tupsy Tee' range. I have been focusing in particular on jewellery and I will show some items tomorrow.

I hope that you had a lovely weekend:)

Friday Thoughts - 'Brushing' up on Spelling

Today I thought I would share with you one of the crafty, Spelling activities that the children completed during the week. We have been looking at words that end in 'sh' this week and one of the Spelling activities was to make a 'brush'...

We used a wide strip of paper for the 'handle' of the brush. The children wrote words ending in 'sh' on thin strips of white/cream paper. I showed them how to curl the end a little, by using a pencil (some did choose to keep straight bristles). These 'bristles' were glued down one end of the 'handle'. The children then decorated their 'handle'.

Other Spelling activities that we did:

• I had a bunch of little, coloured paper squares. The children wrote the letters of their words on the squares and glued them on a piece of white paper to make their words.
• We ran out of time this week for this activity, but we were going to make a fish. First, find an outline of a fish. The children write words ending in 'sh' on paper 'scales' and they glue them down on their fish.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Friday Thoughts - Grandparents

Today was 'Grandparents Day' at work today...

...it was great to see the children so excited about showing their special visitor the classroom and to spend some time together completing activities. It was wonderful hearing and watching the interaction between the children and their visitors - the children proudly explaining items and routines, while the grandparents patiently listened and helped out with the completion of activities.

It reinforced one of the ideas that was promoted in a conference I attended yesterday - that humans are built for relationships. Right from the moment of birth, children are learning from the interactions between themselves and others. It even affects physical growth and brain development. If interactions are positive, loving and nurturing, the children positively grow and their brain develops into a healthy state. However, if interactions are negative, abusive and neglectful, the child's brain fails to grow into a healthy state due to the state of trauma and stress. This in turn, effects learning and their view of the world.

But what made me smile about today were the positive interactions: smiles, laughter, hugs, one-on-one valuable time, listening ears, positive and encouraging words. These grandparents (whether they knew it or not) were helping their little ones grow in a healthy way.

What activities did the children complete with their grandparents? Well...

• they coloured in a picture of an older vehicle.
• practiced cursive writing.
• drew themselves on a 'penny farthing' and decorated a border (see above picture).
• matched older items with their modern counterparts.

 I hope that you have a lovely weekend!

Friday Thoughts - Comprehension

I love teaching little children...

It is fantastic to see littlies grow in all aspects - in their confidence, in their independence and academically. Little children are like little sponges and seem to 'soak' up information and learning at such a fast rate. It is one of the rewards of teaching.

At the beginning of the year, you teach these little ones sounds of the alphabet and by the end of the year they can read sentences, even mini-novels for themselves. However, one draw back of being able to read more complex words, is that these little ones don't necessarily 'think' about what they are reading. Comprehension is a vital skill in reading, otherwise why read?? It is a skill to comprehend what is read and then respond to it, be it a form, a letter or a story.

One such idea to help with comprehension, is this fun activity (that unfortunately I can't source the original creator of this idea - I do apologise). The idea is to find a piece of short text that is age appropriate for the child(ren). I chose a simple poem about a boat that was blue, that had two red sails and oars. After reading the text, the child(ren) paint a picture of what the text depicts. Not only is this a fun activity (as painting always is for children) but it shows whether the child(ren) have understood what was in the text and their thinking about the imagery of the text. This activity could be used with children from a range of ages, not necessarily little children.

Have a lovely weekend :)

Friday Thoughts - Brown Paper Bag Bear

Well...today was the last official day of my 'holidays'. I have enjoyed having a little bit more sleep in the morning and having longer and leisurely lunches, however, it has been a chance to try and catch up on a bit of work and completing a few crafty projects.

I do hope, though, that the children have had a fun and refreshing time over the holidays. You may be able to squeeze in one more crafty activity before getting back to school. Maybe you might want to try and make a brown paper bag bear. I made these with the children during last term for Book Week after reading 'No Bears' by M. McKinlay and L. Rudge, but you could make these after reading any 'bear' based book (eg. 'Big Smelly Bear' by B. Teckentrup, 'The Very Itchy Bear' by N. Bland) or purely just for fun!

What you would need:

• a brown paper lunch bag
• paper
• textas, crayons, pencils
• scissors
• newspaper
• sticky tape
• glue

Steps:

 Position the bag so that the opening faces downwards, not upwards.

Draw a round nose and colour it in (about 3-4cms in diameter) and cut it out.

Twist the top corners of the bag a little and keep these twists from untwisting by using tape. These will become the ears.

Draw two little dots for eyes and glue down the nose, as per the photo below. You may wish to draw on a mouth.
Scrunch up a little of the newspaper and place inside bag, being careful not to overfill it. Fold up the bottom of the bag a little and tape up the opening.

All finished...however, little designers may wish to make a body for their bear. This idea could also be modified to make a bear puppet by simply omitting the newspaper.

Have a fun and creative weekend!

Friday Thoughts - Road Trip

It is school holiday time at the moment and it is a time when families choose to get away from it all and go on a road trip to a relaxing and peaceful location. This is the first break, in a while, that Mr T and myself are not travelling great distances and we are enjoying 'staying put'.

 With improvements in technology, cars are now equipped to make travelling long distances much more comfortable with improved seating, stereo, air conditioning/heating, better suspension...and now DVD players to entertain the kids in the back. Now, there is nothing wrong with this latest technology, but it got Mr T and myself thinking about our own travelling as children and what our families did to entertain 'the kids' in order to combat the complaining or restlessness that it brings.

This is what we came up with:

• Books - picture books, novels, magazines.
• Travel games - specially designed games with little pieces that used magnets or velcro to 'stick' to the board. Games included 'noughts and crosses', checkers, etc.
• Eye Spy - develop a list of possible items that you could see (eg. a tractor, a blue car, a car that has a number plate starting with 'S', a stop sign, etc). When travelling along, when a passenger spots one of the items on the list, they get a point. Person with the most points, wins.
• Car cricket - Choose colour cars to provide 'runs' and 'out' (eg. a white car=1 run, a yellow car=4 runs, a blue car=6 runs, a red car=out). The first passenger has their turn and is up to 'bat', calculates runs when the chosen cars are seen, however, when the 'out' car is spotted, that passenger is out and the next passenger is up to bat.
• Sing-a-long - Choose favourite songs to sing-a-long to (with or without music).
• Hand/finger puppets - to stimulate imaginative play.

(Of course, all of these ideas are purely for the passengers {ie. not the driver} in the car and need to be played with the safety and concentration of the driver in mind).

If you are travelling, take care...Have a lovely weekend :)