Jun5

Button Flower Art

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Placing buttons.

Placing buttons.

These old buttons have been made into flowers by A. She chose a centre for each flower, and then surrounded it with other buttons for the petals. Once the buttons were placed just right, I helped her to glue them down.

Drawing flower stems.

Drawing flower stems.

A used crayons to draw flower stems and leaves and grass. She wanted lots and lots of wild grass, and ended up drawing so much the flower stems were lost a bit, but she was happy. The top of the page looked a bit bare then, so I suggested some clouds. A decided that if there were to be clouds there should also be rain, and a sun. She told me that it needed a sun to be happy, but she also wanted it to be a rainy picture.

Button flowers stuck down.

Button flowers stuck down.

Jun5

Paint Stampers

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IMG_0262Using stampers with paint can be lots of fun. We have a few packs of stampers. In this set there is a heart, whale, star, butterfly, snail and smiley sun. Each stamp has a handle which makes them easier to use for young children, and it helps to reduce the amount of paint that gets on their hands during the activity.

Paint and stamps on sponges ready for stamping.

Paint and stamps on sponges ready for stamping.

I like to put the paint onto some clean kitchen sponges to use with the stamps. This helps with even paint coverage of the stamp, and makes it less likely there will be too much paint on the stamp to see the shape.

Using a stamper.

Using a stamper.

Both L and A got right into the stamping. A placed her stamps randomly all over her paper, while L made an earth picture. She used the whale stamp to create some water, before adding some whales jumping out of it, and there are stars and suns in the sky, and snails on the ground. She told me that she added the hearts to indicate that she would love the world to be full of nature’s wonders like whales for ever (she is environmentally conscious).

L's earth painting.

L’s earth painting.

Jun5

Paint Scrapers

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IMG_0266Big L’s birthday is coming up and A wanted to make some special wrapping paper to wrap his presents in. She chose to use metallic paints and paint scrapers for this activity.

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The paint scrapers we used.

The paint scrapers we used.

Spreading the paint.

Spreading the paint.

I bought the paint scrapers at Riot Art & Craft for a few dollars. They are sturdy plastic and each one has a different edge to make different patterns.

A used a sponge brush to spread the paint over the paper, and then while it was still wet she used the paint scrapers to make patterns in the paint. Most of her paintings were done in one colour, but the one I like the best has three metallic colours. It’s a bit hard to tell in the photos, but the metallic paint looks fantastic!

Creating a square pattern.

Creating a square pattern.

A really liked using the paint scrapers in one direction, and then in the perpendicular direction to create a pattern of squares.

Using one of the scrapers.

Using one of the scrapers.

L and A also did some paintings using normal paint and the paint scrapers. They both created some lovely artworks using this method. The patterns that the paint scrapers left were more obvious in the normal paint than in the metallic paint.

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Jun5

Button Rainbow

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Feeling the buttons.

Feeling the buttons.

A made another rainbow today, this time using buttons. We have a big jar of old or odd buttons that are great for crafting with. A tipped the jar all over the mat, and enjoyed running her fingers through the buttons. She looked for unique or special buttons, such as shiny ones or particularly large ones.

Sorting into colours.

Sorting into colours.

She sorted the buttons into piles of like colours in preparation for making her rainbow. This was a good sorting activity for A, where she sometimes had to decide what colour a particular button was. For example, she had to decide whether some of the buttons were more orange and should go in the orange pile, or were they more red and go in the red pile. Picking up the buttons and placing them was also good for her fine motor skills.

Placing the buttons.

Placing the buttons.

A laid out the buttons on a piece of paper to form her rainbow. She started with the green buttons on the bottom because green was the least numerous colour, which she could tell from the size of the pile. Then she worked her way out through the colours. She didn’t glue the buttons down though, so she could reuse them for something else later.

Once A was finished, she packed up all of the buttons very carefully back into their jar.

Jun4

There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook by P. Crumble and Louis Shea

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IMG_0169There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook by P. Crumble and Louis Shea, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2011.

P. Crumble and Louis Shea have created another Aussie twist on the tale of the Old Lady who swallowed the fly. This time it is an Old Bloke, and he’s swallowed a chook! And a galah and a possum and a number of other Australian animals, until he swallows his ute.

This is a funny book great for pre-schoolers and lower primary school children. The story is simple, fun and repetitive, and very appealing for kids. The illustrations are fantastic too, making both myself and my children laugh. My preschooler likes the chook that is knitting while sitting on her eggs, the mole that is using a map, and the dinosaur skeletons that were preserved mid-chase. I like the illustration of the bloke on the front cover with the chicken leg sticking out of his mouth. This is also a great book to share.

 

Jun4

Grug and the Rainbow by Ted Prior

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IMG_0160Grug and the Rainbow by Ted Prior, small format paperback picture book, first published by Hodder & Stoughton Australia in 1982, this edition published by Simon & Schuster (Australia) in 2009.

Grug is a creature from the Australian bush, and features in his own series of books. An Australian classic, these books have been republished for a new generation to enjoy.

In Grug and the Rainbow, Grug sees a rainbow in the distance for the first time. He is curious, and tries to get closer, but it keeps moving further away.

The story is simple and easy to read, perfect for lower primary school children. Grug is a lovable character. I like his adventures, and the solutions he creates for any problems that arise. The illustrations are lovely, and the small format is great for little hands. I loved Grug as a child. They were some of the first books I read independently, and now my children love them too. It is such a joy to read some of my childhood favourites with my own kids.

 

Jun3

Sheep on a Beach by P. Crumble and Danielle McDonald

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IMG_0167Sheep on a Beach by P. Crumble and Danielle McDonald, paperback picture book, published by Scholastic Australia in 2012.

This is a story about Sheep and what he gets up to on his visit to the beach. For each thing that Sheep does, there is a little crab there helping him out. My pre-schooler was very interested to see what the crab was doing in each drawing, from building a sand castle to stealing a dropped chip.

The story is cumulative, so that the story to that point is repeated and one new sentence added on each double page. It reads a bit like a list, and is a great use of repetition, which kids will love, but which may irritate some adults. Each new line was presented in a different coloured text than the previous parts of the story. I liked this, as it was easy for my pre-schooler to find the new information on the page. The illustrations are funny and colourful with the text overlaid on part of each picture (usually the sand, sky or sea for clarity).

This was an enjoyable read with my pre-schooler, she loved the pictures and the repetition. I also liked the illustrations and I liked what Sheep did at the beach, it was very Australian. A fun book for bed time (or any time!)

Jun3

Basher Basics: Maths by Dan Green

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IMG_0158Basher Basics: Maths by Dan Green, paperback non-fiction, published by Kingsfisher in 2010.

Covering the basics of maths in an amusing and informative way, this book is a good read for younger learners. It is divided into four sections, one introducing numbers, one for shapes, one for operations and one for data. Within each section, the different aspects of maths, such as Add, Fraction and Average, have been personified with imaginative drawings, and a brief overview of what each one is. There are also some examples to help reinforce the information. At the end of the book there is a glossary of maths terms for quick reference.

This book contained simple language and easy to understand explanations of math basics. All of the information is presented in an appealing way suitable for children. The colour illustrations are well designed and fun. I think this book would be most helpful for students in lower to middle primary school. It is a good addition to our home library for both our second grader and our preschooler.

 

 

 

Jun3

Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, The One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass

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IMG_0140Twice Upon a Time: Rapunzel, The One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass, paperback novel, 205 pages, published by Scholastic Inc. in 2006.

Rapunzel is an ordinary girl turning twelve when a witch arrives at her home and whisks her away as payment for a deal made with Rapunzel’s parents before she was born. The witch locks Rapunzel in a tall tower in the middle of the forest. The room is bare, there is no door, and the only window is so far from the ground she would probably die in the fall, and Rapunzel is all alone.

Prince Benjamin is also trapped, not physically, but by the constraints of being heir to the throne and all the responsibility that comes with it. His father wants him to act more like a man and begin his king training, while his mother is somewhat over protective, and doesn’t even let him visit the nearby village. Benjamin’s cousin, Prince Elkin, comes to stay with them frequently, and he often tries to get Benjamin into trouble. The two of them set out on an adventure for a horde of treasure guarded by a troll, but they find something completely different. And in the process Prince Benjamin finds a tall and solitary tower in the forest.

This is another book in Wendy Mass’s Twice Upon a Time series, in which old fairytales are retold in a new and refreshing way. Following both the side of Rapunzel and that of Prince Benjamin, this version of the old tale is interesting and different. The characters are well written and likable, with faults and quirks, giving them a sense of realism. There were parts of this story that made me laugh too. I enjoyed this book very much.

I have given this book to my second grader to read, and though she is only at the start, she already likes it. Most suited to middle and upper primary school children to read independently, younger children may also enjoy having this story read to or with them. A wonderful twist on an old tale.

 

 

 

Jun2

Wooden Peg Dolls

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Wooden pegs.

Wooden pegs.

A friend gave me an old tin full of wooden dolly pegs recently, which are just perfect for making little dolls.

L and A each took a peg, and then went through our fabric scrap bag to find something to make some clothes. A made her doll a dress by wrapping a strip of floral fabric around her peg. I helped her tie a thin ribbon around the doll’s waist. L used two strips of fabric to make a shirt and some shorts.

A's lovely hair.

A’s lovely hair.

They used some craft doll’s hair to give their dolls lovely flowing locks. I had to help A gets her hair glued down so that it only covered the back of the head. L also had a bit of trouble getting the hair onto her doll, as once it hit the glue, it stuck to her fingers as well.

L drawing on a face.

L drawing on a face.

A added some pipe cleaner arms to her doll, and L made shoes out of pipe cleaners for her doll. L decided her doll did not require arms. They both used markers to draw on a face, but A’s went wrong, and she ended up colouring the whole of her doll’s face in black. So we added some tiny googly eyes on, which make the doll look a bit scary, but A was very happy with it.

L also added some details to her doll’s outfit using the markers. She said this doll would be the perfect size to use as a worry doll. L sometimes likes to use a worry doll to help keep herself calm when she knows she will be in a stressful situation, such as going to the dentist or having a vaccination.

A's doll.

A’s doll.

L's doll.

L’s doll.