Waldorf-inspired art for kids: block crayon drawings

In a recent kid's art class here we explored colour.  The kids were given simple yellow, red and blue block crayons and introduced to these colours one by one on paper.  We talked about how the colour felt, how it can be used in different ways on the paper, and where we see it in the world around us.   We played with simple form drawings, which allow kids to start to explore the art of cursive writing, as well as beginning ideas of basic math and geometry.  Drawing with block crayons is so simple, and yet it allows the kids to colour in a new way (without colouring inside lines but rather colouring a form itself).  By using the three different sides of the block they achieved different results on the paper.  Very beautiful and satisfying. 

Waldorf-inspired art for kids: peg dolls

Today's art class was all about peg dolls!  The kids each made one doll to take home, little Autumn gnomes with wool capes and hoods.  We read a few stories about gnomes (or tomtens) to get into the spirit of making our own gnome friends, and talked about how they are sometimes thought of as guardians of the home, garden, forest or farm. 

Making gnomes really brought out the creativity in the kids - each gnome had it's own personality as there were numerous embellishments added (eyes, beads, buttons, long braided hair, shoes!); there were different coloured capes and embroidered stitching by the older kids; there were leaves, feathers and acorns pasted onto the gnome outfits; extra clothes and scarves made for the gnomes, and so on!   We hope these unique gnomes will become helpful little guardians in each of the children's homes!

Petals & Roots Kids Herbal Club this spring (for 6 weeks, from May 24-June 28)

 

New!  Petals & Roots Kids Herbal Club

Tuesdays from 4-5:30 pm, May 24 to June 28 (6 weeks)
with Karin Kliewer, traditional herbalist
held at Little City Farm (508 Duke St West, Kitchener)
www.littlecityfarm.ca

Do you have a budding naturalist or green thumb in your family?  This kids herbal club will give the opportunity to explore the green world of herbal healing plants.  We'll spend 6 sessions outdoors at Little City Farm (a small permaculture-inspired urban homestead in Kitchener), tending & harvesting medicinal herbs of spring.  Kids will learn basic plant identification, make herbal smoothies, find a personal plant ally, build a botanical plant press, make botanical sketches in a plant journal, create several simple healing herbal remedies to take home, and more!  Hands-on, creative, informative, fun!

Limited to 6 kids.  Ages 7+
$15/per week ($90 total) - commitment for all 6 sessions please
Please contact Karin if you wish to sign up your child:
Contact: info (at) littlecityfarm.ca / 519-575-9174

A seed is sleepy (until it sprouts)

Our daughter loves helping her dad plant and tend the garden - today it was putting in more bush beans after the garlic was harvested.  I had to smile to see her reading one of our favourite garden books for kids "A Seed is Sleepy" by Diana Hutts Aston, right there in the garden as she was working, following along what will happen in the life cycle of a bean from seed to harvest.  We love the whole nature series by Diana Hutts Aston, each with such beautiful artwork and detailed explanations and illustrations (her great titles include: A Seed is Sleepy; An Egg is Quiet; A Butterfly is Patient; A Rock is Lively; A Nest is Noisy)!!

What to do on a cold snowy morning? Two delicious ideas

Oh, what to do on a cold snowy morning? Well we could stay in bed and read books, or make a cozy fire and play a boardgame...or bundle up and have some snowy adventures outside.

We always try to head for the outdoors.  Today, to make things different, we decided to use two winter cooking ideas from The Kids Outdoor Adventure Book - which is packed full of simple seasonal ideas for getting you and your kids outside.

First we collected the most pristine newly fallen snow to make snow icecream (strawberry coconut was our blend - yum), and then we built up a little bonfire in the backyard to bake bannock. There is nothing like hot smoke-flavoured bannock covered with melting butter and jam or applebutter, eaten right off a stick (it needs to be slightly burnt too to be just right). What a delicious morning it turned out to be, and no one seemed to feel too cold.  Here are our own slightly healthier versions of tried-and-true recipes.

Easy Snow Ice Cream (vegan, gluten-free)
Ingredients:
10 cups freshly fallen clean snow
1 1/2 cups organic sugar or slightly less maple syrup or sweetener of your choice
1 cup organic coconut milk
1 cup frozen strawberries (or other fruit)
1 tsp pure vanilla

To do:
Blend half the snow and the rest of the ingredients well in a blender.
Keep it moving quickly so the icecream doesn't get too warm.
Fold in the rest of the snow and stir gently.  Eat immediately.  It tastes like sorbet.
Store the rest in a tub in your freezer.

Wood-Fired Bannock (on a stick)
4 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
5 Tbsp baking powder

To do:
Mix dry ingredients in mid sized bowl
Mix in water and knead gently to form a sticky ball.
Take bannock outside to your fire (best to have some embers or coals on the side to toast over).
Wrap a small piece of bannock into a log shape around a thumb-sized stick.
Hold over the embers and let the bannock toast to a nice golden brown, so it's baked all the way through.
Enjoy with butter and jam, or applebutter (or your favourite spreads).
Best eaten outdoors on a winters day, near a hot bonfire, with friends.

  

Nature's folk wisdom - mild winter to come??

We have spotted two wooly bear caterpillars in the past two days.  They are actually the larva stage of the Isabella tiger moth, that seek shelter over winter and will become moths in the new year.  They are common in these parts (southern Ontario) and can be found hiding in protected areas like leaf piles - you will recognize them immediately by the distinct markings of black bands at each end and reddish-brown band in the middle.  The folk wisdom tells us that the width of the bands predict the severity of the winter ahead.  What is said, is that the wider the reddish-brown middle band, the milder the winter.  Well, we'll see.  These two wooly bears that we've seen have had significantly wide middle bands, equal to the black end bands.  How fun to keep learning about using nature's guides to help us understand the seasons, weather patterns, and more.