Ginger Kids Dressed for Travel

  
A couple of weeks ago we had a tour of a local grocery store. 
As we toured through the bakery the baker came out and handed
us an envelope.  
  
          It was from our Ginger Kids.
   
Our Ginger Kids had made a visit to the cake decorator at this grocery store.
 
They asked for help to get dressed so they looked great when they return back
to school. 

Tasha did a beautiful job.
   

Meanwhile back at school we are still receiving post cards and letters
in our mailbox.
 
        Some were local with wonderful stories.
 
Others were from much farther away, like Scotland, England,
New Zealand and California.
    
    
Thank you to everyone who has made this adventure a great success.

Back at school we continue to check our mailbox and
wait our Ginger Kids to return.

Painting Decorations

      
Another thrift store find were plain Christmas ball decorations.
      
 
We made them a little fancier using our regular tempera paint
in a multitude of colours.
      
The tricky part was deciding how to hold it –
wrapping your hand around it
or hanging it by the string.
    
It also helped to get a hand from someone else.
 
                                 Ta Da!
  
              Ready to be hung on a tree.

A Few More Star Activities

Wrapping Paper – cardboard stars were taped to the table
and newsprint placed on top.

Pastel chalk for rubbing.
 

Star Wands – sticks, paper and ribbons.

 
 

Star Shaped Cheese Crackers
 
 

For the recipe head over to Inspiration Laboratories.
The only change I made was to substitute garlic powder for the onion powder
because I didn’t have any.

They are delicious.

Star Gazers

   
Today we finished our study on stars by making star gazers.
    
They are very inexpensive to make and the materials you can
find around your house.

             
Start with a tube from paper towel or toilet paper. 
Then cover one end with a piece of paper, securing it with an elastic.

 
Use a pin, or like us, an embroidery needle to poke holes in the paper.
Some did random holes while others did shapes or letters.

      
We decorated the outside with star stickers (they were donated, yay) and markers.

 
Having a peek at the stars was a challenge for some. 
Which eye do I close? 
Which eye do I hold the tube to?
    
    But they all figured out how to make it work.
         
               The inside of my star gazer.

Colouring Sheets

     
After visiting the Wonders of Learning exhibit in Vancouver last month,
I was inspired to make a permanent spot for the overhead projector in our room.
 
It is placed on a low riser and illuminates on to the wall. 
   
The children have been experimenting with how it turns on and off. 
What parts move?  How does it work?  What will reflect on the wall?
   
They have been exploring with a variety of materials. 
Coloured blocks, rock mats, clear paper weights, old slides and more.
        
Making the connection between what they put on the projector, what they
see on the wall and describing it.

This week I added black outline pictures printed on transparencies. 
I was a bit surprised that the children wanted to colour them.       
     
I don’t provide colouring sheets in the program as I feel that they
don’t offer much for creativity but I was surprised how attractive
this is for the children.
 
And surprised that it is mostly girls that are attracted.

Driving home today I thought back to my experience with colouring books
and fondly remember colourfully filling in each page. 
I felt like an artist.

I talked to my daughter, who is now 24, about this and she remembers colouring
and enjoying it too.  She felt that it did offer her creativity because she could
decide if she wanted the tree to be pink or rainbow or whatever colour she desired.
     
So by not providing colouring sheets in my program am I missing
an element of creative art for the children?
I would love any opinions on this.