Happy Christmas

And everyone came to see the new Baby Jesus.

Big Seed didn't want anyone left out...everyone was invited.

This is his understanding...everyone equal.

Happy Christmas to everyone

xx

Happy Winter Solstice!

It's the first time we have celebrated the Winter Solstice.

We sat down for supper and turned off all the lights for a short while to

tell Big Seed a little about the Soltice and he then said...

"Wake up sun, wake up!"

Why do I worry about him understanding things? How we underestimate little beings!

We decorated the table with all the candles we could find in the house.

Big Seed made a needle felted sun which he positioned right next to his plate.

We used a cookie cutter as a template.

It's quite 3D - but he is only 3, a good first attempt.

We hung it up under the door frame after supper.

Happy Solstice to you!

x

Feed the birds - they sure need it right now!

The frost is turning to snow,
time to feed the birds.

We sewed monkey nuts and tied garlands to the tree.

Then Big Seed bashed nuts and seeds in a bag with a rolling pin.

Chopped up dried fruit...

Mixed it together...

And placed some strategically in the garden.

Good job...because the next day it snowed!

They needed that food!

We have lots left for them for the next few days.

x

Design Your Own Snowflake Game

Design your own snowflake like this one using your computer here

Lots of snowy day and winter activities here, including a lovely Winter Wonderland pack.

This is Big Seed's first computer design.

x

Beaded Christmas Decorations

So simple and enjoyable...
inspired by this.

Just beads, pipecleaners, and string...

Big Seed was really engrossed and made quite a few all by himself.

Little Seed liked picking the beads out of the bowl to give to me.

Big Seed practised his 2 colour pattern to make this candy cane.

x

Christmas Mouse

Shh... our Christmas Mouse is sleeping.

Hazelnut mouse, felt ears and blanket, with a leather tail.

Sleeping in a walnut shell, hanging on our tree.

x

My Favourite Christmas Hearts

When we open the box of decorations, these are my favourites.

Homemade salt dough hearts painted in a Scandanavian style
and a little gingerbread man.

Next year my favourites will be ones my boys have made...
Next week the boys shall make salt dough stars.

x

Make A Hedgehog Hibernate

We have been reading about hedgehogs and hibernation.

So we made our own:

His hedgehog made from self hardening red clay and cocktail sticks broken in half.

Yes they are prickly but he is sensible, and after all you do need gloves to pick up a real one...ouch!

(And most of all...I have the freedom of home educating...if I want to use dangerous sticks with a 3 year old...I can!)

I gave him a basket of natural materials:

twigs, leaves, teasels, branch blocks...

But instead he spent ages making his 2 toy hedgehogs have a chat. Sweet.

Then taught him how to hide the hedgehog for his winter sleep

so that the foxes can't see him and to keep him safe and warm.

Big Seed made him a winter home.

He did a good job.

Sleep well hedgehogs!

Amazing Spaceship And Christmas Offer For Blog Readers

We went to a local Eco Fair and saw these amazing Spaceships.

They also had pirate ships but as we are currently looking at the stars in the clear skies lately

this was more appropriate.

We bought one of these cardboard spaceships and put it together.

It was really easy and Big Seed really enjoyed helping.

He loved pushing out the holes.

As soon as the final touch was made he grabbed it and filled it with finger puppets

for astronauts. 

A few days later we stuck silver foil on it too.

This is a simple, Eco friendly well loved toy.

Our friends at Learning From Play are sponsoring a super offer for blog readers.

You can order 1 small spaceship like this for £3

or 2 for £5 

Postage is £2.50 for 1 or £3.50 for 2 in the UK.

Please note that these come unboxed, hence the lower price, but not lower fun!

What a great green Christmas gift idea

See Learning From Play website here 

and contact either by telephone

or email quoting Christmas Offer to order.

Overseas readers can contact them for further shipping info.

While limited stocks last.

x

Happy St.Nicklaus Day

Here is St.Nicholas, Patron Saint of children, about to go onto our Winter Table.

I always depict him in blue to distinguish him from the modern Santa Claus.

Here he is dressed as the Bishop that he became, holding a golden crozier as he is seen as the Shepherd of the People.

For further information, stories and celebration ideas visit this definitive website here.

This is such a fond memory for me, I love the simplicity of it.

Nuts and tangerines given with only 1 or 2 small gifts always unwrapped, just placed in the shoes left for him on the windowsill.

It's our call to decorate the tree.

Little Seed's knitted ball with silk streamers from Green Mountain.

Wooden carved 3 Little Bears from Mama Made Them

When I was little my Oma used to sing:

Knecht Rubrecht von drausen komme ich her,
Ich muss euch sagen es Weinachtet sehr,
Al ueber auf den tannen spitzen sah ich goldenen lichtlein blitzen,
Und droben am himmels tor sah mit grossen augen das Christkind hervor.
Lieber Lieber Weinachtsman,
Seh micht nicht so boesse an,
Steche deine rute ein,
Ich will auch immer artig sein.
Einen kleinen zuckerman,
alles bring der Weinachtsman.

Translates as:

Dear Dear Father Christmas,

Please don't look at me in anger,

Put away your cane, I promise I will always behave.

One little sugarman,

Father Christmas he brings everything.

Knecht Rubrecht,

From outside of the forest I come,

I must tell you all that Christmas is near,

I see Christmas tree tops everywhere sparkling with golden lights,

And above heavens door I see Jesus the saviour.

 ....

If you were good you would receive some gifts,

and if not you would get a lump of coal and a threatened with a broom.

Well this tradition goes back a long, long way when singing about thrashing naughty children was pretty ordinary stuff. (Think of The Old Woman in the Shoe nursery rhyme.)

You can get miniature brooms that look like witches' brooms covered with sweets in shops today.

I always looked forward to this much more than Christmas...it is an easy tradition to start.
The stories are heart warming and simple, the most renowned being the one about giving 3 poor daughters sacks of gold for a dowry to save themselves.

Enjoy this day

x

Winner of Fairy Giveaway

The winner of the Fairy Giveaway is

Eidolons

I still can't work out how to post the number from

Random Generator on here but it chose No.1.

Thanks to everyone for taking part

Rjabnnik says:

"Thanks sooooo much to all of You for partitipation and for Your unbelievable, lovely comments. It was like a kind of elixir made by some fairy to read Your words :-) I'm garateful for this inspiring way of promo. It was a pleasure to give my SnowFlake winter fairy to this giveaway. Especially thank You, Daisy, for featuring me! With wishes of the peaceful and happy winter time full of love: Rjabinnik :-) The fairy is ready to be shipped to the winner :-)

x

Hairdressers Role Play Area

Big Seed was not doing many orders in his online shop anymore so time for a change -

into a Hairdressers.

I moved the bookshelf against the main wall and put a large mirror behind it.

A small corner table with a till and cardboard laptop, basket full of toys customers,

small chairs for a waiting area and hairdressing tools.

Pluto the dog is having his (playsilk) cape put on him.

Teddy is having a look at his new haircut in the hand held mirror.

Big Seed is squeezing some shampoo ( plastic toy milk bottle).

We used a wooden toy knife as a comb.

(I don't have small spare comb and this was made off the cuff).

Here he is using his fingers as scissors.

A hairdryer made out of a cereal packet and sellotape.

He loves making the noise for this.

His tools neatly laid out.

Big Seed is very very tidy naturally.

His patient customers.

Big Seed was so engrossed that he refused to go to bed until he had 

seen to all his clients!

x

Jack Frost and Our Winter Nature Table

Jack Frost has arrived...and don't underestimate this guy's powers.

Ever since he was created it has been really frosty here!

Pipecleaner spiky crown, sparkly hairgrips in blue tones and

glitter glue spirals, stars and dots on his clothes.

Mr Frosty by name and nature.

Wooden pine trees painted in shades of green watercolours

from Clickety Clack

.

Blue playsilk, with an iceburg stacker, various winter colour crystals,

some polar bears and reindeer animals and glass beads.

x

Handmade Nativity Scene

I have made my own Nativity scene this year and will add to it

each Sunday of Advent.

The Parenting Passageway has lots of information and ideas on this subject

and tells it far better than I can.

Here is Mary and Joseph.

2 wooden peg dolls with a piece of white rectangular felt stuck around their bodies,

and a larger piece of rectangular coloured felt folded in 2 different ways and held together by a couple of stitches.

I have put white silk as the floor and blue tissue paper as the sky

held upright by taping 2 bamboo sticks to the back.

I have cut out 24 stars to line Mary's path,

each day in December Big Seed will stick a star onto the sky.

I got this idea from another mum's blog but can't find the link anywhere.

( if anyone knows where I got this from do feel free to correct me!)

I am going to create a large star for the 25th but haven't got round to it yet.

I have used a wooden stacking toy for the stable.

I have bought some wooden animals from the amazing Etsy shop

Clickety Clack here

We are going to paint them and then put them up on the 3rd Sunday of advent.

According to Steiner the first week is for stones, shells and bones,

so we have put some crystals on there.
2nd Sunday is plants, 3rd is animals where the stable scene will be created, 4th is people when the kings and shepherds will appear.

Big Seed really likes the scene, and I often find Mary and Joseph have found their way over to the Winter nature display to have a chat with Jack Frost.

His knitted Autumn gnome has had a kip in the stable and for some reason, this morning

he put some coins in the stable.

It's too sweet.

x

Have you entered our Winter Fairy Giveaway for a gorgeous

fairy for your Winter Nature table or imaginative play?

.

How To Make An Advent Wreath - Simply

I did not prepare for making this in advance, and just had to make do with what we had

in the kitchen and garden.

I did buy the candles though a few days ago, these are nice sparkly ones from our 

local crystal shop.

I used a small cake tin as a base.

This is an old rusty one from Big Seed's mud pit.

I taped some ivy to the outsides.

Then Big Seed helped to put some pine leaves in a circle.

We tried to stick the candles with playdoh but it did not work.

Then I found some empty glass baby jars and filled them with sand.

We put some glue on some pine cones and shook them in a tub of glitter.

Then took some acorns and dipped the heads into glue and then glitter

for sparkly hats.

Simple.

Enjoy your first advent.