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

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

some polar bears and reindeer animals and glass beads.

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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.

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Have you entered our Winter Fairy Giveaway for a gorgeous

fairy for your Winter Nature table or imaginative play?

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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.

Handmade Christmas Gift for 1 Year Old

I made this for Big Seed for his first Christmas

and have remade it for Little Seed's birthday.

It's a nice idea for a Handmade Christmas.

I took a set of 5 little wooden Ikea boxes that pull out of a wooden frame.

You could use any boxes, bowls, baskets, etc.

I filled them with these things:

1: Shells, cones, driftwood sticks

2. Felt balls, wet felted balls with bells inside

3. Buttons

4. Coins

5. Empty... so he has one to transfer objects into.

He always goes for the natural box first because of the great variety of texture.

At 12 months old he managed to transfer the natural materials box into the empty one by himself without being distracted or helped.

He also likes tipping it upside down too.

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Boot Peg Gnome : For St.Nicklaus Day

I have celebrated St.Nicklaus Day since a small child.

I love this celebration as it's a bit like Christmas without all the tackiness.

It's simple and the message from his stories is easy to understand

for little ones.

So in preparation we made this gnome who will go on Big Seed's boot

the night before the 6th.

The tradition is to polish your shoes/boots the night before and put them on the bedroom windowsill for him to see.

 In the morning if you have been good you will find nuts, a tangerine, chocolate

and a tiny gift.

St.Nicklaus is the original Father Christmas.

More of that in December, here's how to make it.

Draw this shape on felt and cut. I had to draw it on paper several times before I got it to fit my peg.

Sew running stitch but leave threads at each end to pull together later.

Sew the hood together.

Big Seed did this himself as I held the felt for him.

Blanket stitch looks good too if you are able.

Place the felt on the wooden peg, then pull the threads tight to create a ruffle

then tie in a knot.

Your gnome is ready to put on your boot, or make a pair.

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Have you entered our Winter Fairy Giveaway?

Once Around The Sun - Steiner Style Birthday

It was Little Seed's birthday.

Little Seed is One.

We had an intimate Steiner style birthday.

Homemade cards and gifts wrapped in silks and scarves.

Big Seed is teaching Little Seed to unwrap a gift.

We gave him a wooden xylophone pot.

You stir it to make music - a gentle sound.

We kindly asked family to avoid plastic/noisy toys and they all 

graciously obliged.

We had homemade cake and as I put him to sleep

I told him his birth story about his journey over the rainbow bridge, and how

he came into this world.

As I got to the part where he came out into the world, he stopped feeding and pushed against me 

in the perfect position as if he could completely understand my every word and acted it out!

What a fantastic memorable end to his day.

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Winter Gnome Giveaway

I am so excited to present our Winter Fairy Giveaway by Rjabinnik.

"SnowFlake is one of the miracles of Mother Nature.

 Her unique beaty and inimitability reminds us of the endless magic that Nature manages. 

One snowflake, one miracle...
We wish You Marry happy and blessed winter times.
Rjabinnik and Rounien"

Isn't she absolutely gorgeous?

To enter this giveaway...

click here to go to Rjabinnik's Etsy shop

and write a comment HERE saying which item you like the best.

The winner will be chosen on the 5th December.

They will ship globally...helping to spread the gnome/fairy love around the world!

Good luck everyone

x

Easy Peasy Bracelets

These are really easy for 3 year olds to make.

Thread beads onto a pipecleaner.

Twist one end around the other and tuck into a bead.

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We Are Making A Boy's Dolls House

I had asked Daddy Seed if he would make one of those amazing open-plan wooden fairy/gnome

houses...

I went out one day and came back to this!!

OK, it's not open plan but it is fantastic!
He made it with Big Seed one afternoon.
A plywood box with two floors and a secret floor in the attic.

Check out the fireman's pole and the tree to climb in between floors!
A real boyish house, that's not pink and plastic.

Here are the stairs made from a branch from the garden and one of the residents
who can't wait to move in, checking on development.

I am wondering as Big Seed will have input in making it, will he like playing with it more?
We shall see.

Next up...furniture.

Frosty Pictures - Discovering Ice

Today was one of those days when I was so glad to be homeschooling.

Sometimes it just comes together...

Today was a frosty morning and I asked Big Seed if he wanted to make a frosty picture.

I had in mind a drawing with pastels smudged all over as frost...but he already had his own idea. Great!

He went outside and asked for the chalks.

He drew some coloured swirls and said, "That's my frosty picture."

Then he went for a walk around the garden to inspect the frost.

He came back with huge panes of ice and threw them on his drawing.

He was really investigating ice...by himself.

He found them on his toy trucks.

They were thin but he could pick them up...

Some were huge!

He could see his picture through them and it would melt.

It would crack and you could smash them into tiny pieces like glass.

He learnt to share the tiny pieces with his little brother,

to feel how cold they are and how they melt in the hand.

You can slip and slide on them and pretend to wear ice skates.

See what it's like to use chalk on a wet surface.

Mix and melt colours.

Wow, what a science lesson, completely initiated and directed by himself.

I wish everyday was as good as today.

Martinmas

This is our first Martinmas celebration.

We made tin can lanterns.

We filled them with water, put them in the freezer, then hammered holes into the ice with a large nail.

Big Seed hammered while I held the nail...he was very fond of egg designs.

There are gale force winds tonight, so our walk around the garden had to be

replaced with a walk around the house with the lights off while we sang a few songs.

Big Seed enjoyed.

We ate our simple supper by lots of candlelight...Little Seed enjoyed that.

Hope you had a great Martinmas celebration.

x

Really Sparkly Fireworks Pictures

It rained this weekend so I lit our fireworks on Sunday and Monday...

Here is Big Seed's interpretation of his sparkler.

He dribbled the glue from his glue stick, then sprinkled 4 different tubes of glitter on top.

They look great when the sun shines on them...real sparkles.

His chalk fireworks in the sky.

Felt-tip drawing of fireworks.

Now we need a few dry days for a mini-bonfire!

Feeling Colour With Pastels

Pastels can make colour really tactile.

It's great for colour mixing, blending, hiding, layering...

playing !

Enjoy with pastels...they are therapeutic and so cheap too!

Meg and Mog Style Halloween

Here is my wonderful witch: dressed in his Autumn silk and hat ( and pyjamas!)

He is acting out Meg and Mog while the baby is napping.

Hunting for stuff for his spell.

I love Meg and Mog. It's just the best for witch stories.

He is trying to find the four objects from the sensory box to put in his cauldron.

Here is the Halloween Sensory Box.

He had to find 20 objects...then we decorated the house with them.

He made hat and pumpkin potato prints to make wrapping paper for a birthday party.

My gorgeous pumpkins back from Trick or Treating!

We hope you enjoyed yours

x

2 Squash Candles For 1

This gives your candle an organic shape,

and it's small and cute.

Big Seed could help with this too.

We bought a small squash from the supermarket for 40p.

 He scooped out the flesh,

 and then I melted some old beeswax candles that were finished.

Big Seed broke the apple and star into little pieces, then I melted them in the microwave.

Poured it into the squash and he held the wick in place.

Slice the sides of the skin in 4 places (like cutting an orange) but don't cut all the way down.

Then the candle will slide out.

Big Seed has placed the frogs for artistic effect.

Can you see where he poked the top with his finger?

A seed got caught in the bottom. Great!

It has a lovely rough feel from the flesh strings of the squash.

Poke the sides of the skin with a fork...

put a tea light in..

A squash candle holder too!