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A kaleidoscope of colours
The definition of a kaleidoscope is a toy consisting of a tube with mirrors and glass that you can turn and create different patterns and colours, or an ever-changing sequence of colours or events With a clear plastic bottle along with clever fine motor skills and leaves and flowers gathered from a nature walk. LOOK – An ever-changing sequence of flower and leaf patterns. Did you know…. . … When the colour of the sky is changing constantly, this is an example of a kaleidoscope of colours. Read more...
A hands on project: developing fine motor skills, thinking skills and rethinking single use plastic water bottles
It was through Rudolf Steiner’s research on the connection between the brain,thinking and the hands that I fell in love with his quote “All culture and art is createdby the hands.” I love this! As an experienced early years educator I have observed over decades, youngchildren engaged in fine motor exploration and have come to truly believe their littlefingers are at work are like “10 Little Thinkers.” Subsequently, it is through fine motor skills that our young learners develop theircognitive abilities and is commonly known as “hands-on” learning. However, the... Read more...
FINE MOTOR never looked so good.
Did you know? Fine motor skills refer to how we use the smaller muscle groups inour bodies to perform tasks. The most common examples involve themuscles in the hands, fingers and wrists. Children use their finemotor muscles to tie their shoes, write their name and cut paper withscissors. When a child develops their fine motor skills, they’re also masteringtheir coordination. Using the smaller muscles requires thought, actionand precision CategoriesBlog Read more...
The CHILD AS A SCIENTIST is beautifully portrayed on a nature walk.
“Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before.”Loris Malluguzzi was correct. I watched with fascination as my great niece collected flowers and leaves in her basket, she took her time and seemed to gather each flower and leaf with a certain reverence and respect. Watching her filled my heart with great joy.   Think about something as ordinary and everyday as walking along the footpath totake the letters from the letterbox.... Read more...
The delight of Little Libraries
Oh what fun is to discover the little libraries in a suburb not far from our house! And the most darling thing about the discovery was to observe the little libraries being used!   At the first the little library was an elderly woman with her trolley, she retrieved a book from her trolley and swapped one book for another. At another little library, I watch a backpacker select a soft cover novel and place it into her backpack. I wondered what travels both she and the book would have together. I... Read more...
Science is a process of knowing about the world.
Science is observing, making inferences and testing hypotheses, classifying and integrating and communicating insight. Children are natural scientists. Sorting and Classifying  Thinking deeply  Science is a basket of flowers while being a basket of colour, shape and texture. Read more...
Art by the Masters and Creativity
Let’s explore the contribution of Art and Creativity to childhood and consider the role of our homes as galleries. The Sale Bins at the National Art Galleries and Modern Museums of Art have always held immense attraction to me. Why? Because for around $5 I have been able to purchase a Picasso! I have used a professional framing studio to frame my prints for hanging on the walls of my house. With a meagre budget, my first prints were block mounted and later I had the prints matt laminated and framed.... Read more...
Children and Papua New Guinea Canoe Shield
Let’s face it, children love all things that float, especially boats.    So you can imagine a child’s fascination with an old canoe shield! This one has been in our home for many years and measures over a metre high and wide.Apparently, shields bearing large wooden faces or masks at their centre were erected in the prow of large war canoes used in the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. The purpose of the canoe shield was to protect the canoe paddlers from enemy spears.  By exploring the artworks of other... Read more...
How to introduce Children to Indigenous Art
Have you considered sharing the beautiful indigenous art from other cultures with your children? If so, let me offer a piece of advice.  Consider looking on Facebook market place and Gumtree. It was through Facebook Market Place that I met a collector who was selling some of the indigenous art from his parents’ collection. His parents had lived and worked on the islands of Papua New Guinea and the Torres Straits. The collection was amazing! And that is how this old mythical wood carving of the Subut bird from the... Read more...
An intergenerational project: The birth of a Licuala palm nursery
An intergenerational project: The birth of a Licuala palm nursery
The Licuala Family Nursery tells the story of an intergenerational adventure,reflecting the experiences, ethical and social ideas of future generations of childrenin my family. It will be an unfinished story,... Read more...