Annual Eco Handmade Holiday Sale December 8 from 10-2

Week 10 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Week 10 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Weather: grey cold day with beautiful light snow falling in the afternoon

Soup made by the kids: Carrot Coconut Curry


Art lessons today:

• sketching faces and features (from puppets and other shapes)
• making "postage stamp" sized art, coloured pastels on black paper
• needle-felting small animals with wool
  

Herbal project today:

• sewing dream pillows
• garden mint tea made outdoors for lunch

Other highlights:

• introducing the Thinking Tree mailbox, choosing a name and sending each other a small gratitude/appreciation card or drawing
• light beautiful snow falling in the afternoon
• the completion of many lovely dolls after many weeks of work on them

Week 9 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Week 9 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Weather: snow is here!  a light layer, but still enough for a snowball fight

Soup made by the kids: Sweet potato leek


Art lessons today:

• sketching pinecones (not as easy as it sounds!)
• trying out white charcoal on black paper, for sketching our outdoor wintery scene

Herbal project today:

• pine needle-rosehip tea brewed over the fire
• wood block postcard holders (sanded and coated with beeswax polish)
  

Other highlights:

• a snowball fight during free time (for those who wishes to participate!)
• back by popular demand, honey-baked apples for lunchtime dessert
•  doll making continued (and some completed!)
• fire-building with the kids

Week 8 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Week 8 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Weather: grey, gusty winds, the sense that snow is on the way soon

Soup made by the kids: Sweet potato coconut curry (a big hit with the kids!)


Art lessons today:

• cedar tracings to make paper lanterns
• mystery drawing exercise with half hidden objects
• doll-making continued (making hair, clothing, stuffing bodies with lavender)
  

Herbal project today:

• nature stamping (making book marks and wrapping paper sheets) using seed pods, flower heads, pinecones - especially great prints were made from sage leaves and dinosaur kale
  

Other highlights:

• a short walk to the community garden nearby to collect seed pods
• wood-fired oven to warm our hands
• honey-baked apples made in the outdoor oven (the kids have requested we make these every week until the end of the program!)
• seeing many of the kids eat two or even three helpings of our curry at lunch
• general enthusiasm and energy of the day - a very active group today!

Week 7 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program

Week 7 - Thinking Tree Art & Nature Program (the Halloween edition)

Weather: cool, grey and rainy today

Soup made by the kids: Not soup today, but festive wood-fired pizza

Herbal project today:

• herbal bath bombs with lavender and calendula petals
  

Art lessons today:

• graphite transfers (fancy stenciling) onto paper
• DIY shadow puppets
• extended doll-making session (making hair, clothing, costumes)
  

Other highlights:

• making personal-sized pizzas baked in the wood-fired oven outside
• Halloween games, such as the pumpkin obstacle course, apple-on-string bobbing, and relays
• wonderful costumes worn by all - we had two wolves, a fox, a few witches, a bandit, a red haired elf, a bat, a construction worker, and more!
• pumpkin puddings and hot apple cider by the fire to warm ourselves