New Cardboard Toy

Gingerbread Bird Feeder

During after Christmas sales I picked up a cheap gingerbread house making kit with the idea to decorate it for the birds.  I've been pinning ideas from a variety of sites like this one and this one.

 

Yesterday I assembled the gingerbread house using the frosting included.  This morning it was solid and ready to be decorated.  I had planned on using popcorn and pretzels for decorations but after a bit of research learned that they are not healthy for birds.  So our decorations consisted of two kinds of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and oats.  Lard was spread on the house first to hold the seeds in place.

                   When it was ready we headed to the marsh to feed the birds.

                                         And they were hungry.

        We carried the bird seed house down the path, leaving seeds as we went.

                         Refilling some of the feeders that others had left.

                              Until we found a spot and left it behind.
                          We wonder what other animals might enjoy it.

 
As we spotted birds some of the children drew pictures.

                                 Others continued to feed the birds.
Standing patiently and quietly, hoping that one would land on their hand to eat.

 
It was exciting watching the birds fly from branch to branch. Showing their nerves as they came close then quickly flying away.

Mini Cherry Pies

     We started the new year off focusing on the book "The Three Little Kittens".

      The children have listened to the story and played with the characters.

                       This morning we made mini cherry pies for snack.

We used bread for the crust, rolled it flat, pressed it in the tin (discovered that using the end of the rolling pin works well to push the crust in the pan) then filled it with cherry pie filling.

Ten minutes in the oven and they're ready to eat.  No we didn't wear mittens to eat.

Our Rabbit Warren

We have a lot of rabbits living in our school yard.  Whenever we are out to play or go for a walk in the woods we see them out on the grass.  But where do they live?  Especially in the winter time.

This is the beginning of our first project for 2016.

Rather then removing the big cardboard box from our room I renamed it a Rabbit Warren.  Inside there lots of rabbit stuffies. 

Today one little boy spent most of his time in the warren with his mom.

Every once in a while he would pop out and ask me a question.  “Maureen can I stay in here and sleep?”  I responded, “Sure could you use some fabric to wrap up in?  On a near by table I had placed large pieces of fabric and he took one in to the box.

A little while later I heard my name being called, “Maureen we’re rabbits!”  I offered him some ears to wear.

His mom encouraged his imagination and participated in the role play that he was developing.

A little while later, from across the room, I heard, “Maureen do you have any carrots?”  I suggested he check in our play kitchen.  He found carrots and lettuce.

                          Next week we’ll add some tunnels to the warren.

Painting Trees

Our final art project for the season was painting trees; it seems like a theme came about.
              
Using cardboard I cut out a variety of triangles leaving both the inside and outside.
   
  
            
 
         Wishing you a Merry Christmas and will see you in the New Year.

A Different Kind of Tree

                  
A couple of weeks ago I set up this art activity that stayed up for just over a week; inviting the children to use watercolours to paint paper cut into Christmas lightbulb shapes.
   
The easels are little cardboard bookstands from Scholastic.  Our school librarian gave some to me after our school book fair.
     
The paint palettes I found at a thrift store, still in great shape.  Little cups of water provide the opportunity to observe how colours mix.
   
I had thought that we would string the light bulbs up in the window but the paint was not as dark as I had thought.  So instead we used the photo tree and clipped them on to it to become a second Christmas tree in our room.
                      
By Christmas break the tree was full and there was a pile of paintings littering the table.
  
What I always enjoy the most is seeing parent and child creating together and learning side by side.