Dandelion Songs

Let it snow!

2009-02-05T02:25:00.001-08:00

What to do with children on days like this...?

1. Wrap them up warm

2. Double up on socks and gloves

3. Open up the door

4. Go GO GO!

Lantern Walk.

2008-11-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

There is a lovely tradition we try to celebrate every year which I first came across through some Steiner/Waldorf friends. It is usually celebrated on Martinmas eve which is the 11th November, although it is a lovely thing to do once the darkness draws in and the evenings shorten, a simple symbolic way to entice the light back.

The basic premise is that the children make lanterns and then take a candle lit walk in the dark dark woods! You can either make them together as part of your evening together, or everyone can do them at home and then get together.

There are so many types of lanterns to make. What we did was very simple.

You will need:

A glass jar for each child.

A roll of thin wire eg. florists wire.

Some sheets of coloured tissue paper.

Some pva glue in a small container like an egg cup.

A small brush for each child.

A tealight for each jar.

To begin, tear the tissue paper into small pieces.

Start painting glue onto the glass jar and press pieces of the tissue paper onto it. Continue until the jar is covered.

Once the glue is dry, measure a length of wire to form a long loop, plus extra to wrap around the neck of the jar. Secure it by twisting the ends tightly around the wire where it meets the vertical lengths.

It's important to have a long loop so as to avoid little hands getting too close to the candle!

Once everyone has gathered together outside, the adults can help light the candles. Then we can set off into the dark, dark woods.

These next few photos were taken with a flash so of course it loses the candlelit atmosphere.

It was equal parts thrilling and slightly scary, even for the older children!

They really do get such a thrill out of doing something they would rarely get to otherwise.

There are simple little songs that are traditionally sung for the duration of the walk. It helps if a few people know them to start off. But any song that includes light or sun would do. The walk by the way need only be ten to fifteen minutes long. Believe me, after ten to fifteen minutes tripping through the darkness, their imaginations start to take off, and it's not long before everyone is ready to head indoors for some warming soup!

Hallowe'en!

2008-11-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

We'll stir the apples round about,

And watch the one who gets them out.

The time goes past with many a shout

At Hallowe’en.

Happy Hallowe'en!

Conkers!

2008-10-12T00:40:00.000-07:00

Autumn has come around again, and it's time for 'Conkers'! This is a game that has been around for generations and is very simple and satisfying to play.

First of all, unless you are lucky enough to have a horse-chestnut tree in your garden, a walk in the woodlands is essential. So on a crisp morning off we go hunting in the woods.

You'll often find the biggest and best chestnuts are the ones still in the shells.

If you do find one, standing on it is usually enough to open it and you can peel it back to uncover the shiny treasure inside.

We usually fill a bag or basket as there are lots of other things you can do with them, as we will show you later.

When you get home, the first thing to do is to bore a hole through the fresh chestnut or conker. Please make sure an adult does this bit! It needs to be a fresh one as a seasoned one would be very difficult.

Then if you have an old shoe-lace, or if not, a piece of string, about half a metre long, on a darning needle, you can thread it through. Again, best if an adult does this bit.

Tie a knot at one end and wrap about half of the string around your hand, with the conker hanging at the end.

The idea of the game is to smash as many conkers as possible. Your opponent holds out his piece of string on which he has his conker. To get a good hard hit, hold the string in your strong hand and pull it out tight, holding the conker between two fingers. Take aim, then take a shot at hitting it off your opponents conker.

You can take turns, or allow three tries each before swapping over, playing until one of them is smashed or disintegrates. If you manage to smash his with your own then your chestnut is called a conker (conqueror). Although over the years, all chestnuts have become known as conkers!

Traditionally, there were little rhymes you would say, for example, if you want to get the first hit when you see your friend with his conker you would say,

"Hick, hack,first crack!"

"Obbly, obbly, onker, my first conker!"

You would also give your winning conker a name which depended on how many other conkers it had destroyed. For example a 'Twoer', or a 'Fiver' adding them up as you beat each one. And a real winner would often be held over until the following year, when it was well seasoned and would beat all, hands down!

Paper People

2008-09-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

This is a variation on the paper people we used to make when we were small. It takes very little in terms of materials, and is a nice little occupier for those moments when you need a half hour to get dinner on.

You will need:
A sheet of A4 paper.
A scissors.
Some small scraps of fabric or coloured paper.
PVA glue.
A piece of ribbon or string.

Take a sheet of A4 paper and cut it in half lengthwise, then fold it back on itself four times, like this.

Younger children will need help with the cutting out. On the top fold, you can either draw a woman-shape and cut around it, or just do it free hand. We did a woman shape so that afterwards we could cut legs for men-shapes on every second one.

As you can see here.

You can also get creative with their shapes!

Then you can draw funny faces on the heads.

Next, cut the scraps into small squares.

Make sure you put down some newspaper to protect the table, and an apron or old clothes are worn. PVA does not wash out!

These are then glued on as clothes on the little figures.

When the glue is dry you can make a small hole at each end and thread the ribbon through, and you are ready to hang it up.

They look very sweet, and I find get lots of lovely comments!

One Two Three Do You Want To Play With Me?

2008-08-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Also known as 'GRANNY'S FOOTSTEPS'.

This is one of those games to play anywhere, at the drop of a hat, when you're out and about and you don't have any props. It can be played with any number of children and is one of those that is as much fun with three as with ten.

How To Play:

Choose a player to be Grandmother and then the rest of the children stand in a line a few metres behind her/him.

Granny turns her back and says quietly to his/herself 'One two three do you want to play with me'? While behind her the others have to make their way to her as quickly and quietly as possible.

Granny can turn around at any moment, although the rhyme gives the other players enough time to get moving, and when she does the players must freeze. Anyone caught moving must go back to the beginning.

The first player to reach Granny then becomes Granny for the next round.

A game like this is great for filling time or lightening the mood or just when a good run around is required!

Paper Fortune Teller...

2008-06-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Who needs a magic 8 ball? These clever little origami will keep 'tweeners amused for hours!

1) Cut a square of plain paper
2) Fold in the corners
3)Turn the folded side away from you and fold the corners in again.
4) Fold in half.
5) Get your index fingers and thumbs up under the outer folds and bring to meet in the middle.

6)Mark the outer corners with numbers, the inner corners with colours and inside each fold a result of the question, ie Yes, No, Maybe etc... (we ues perhaps, absolutely! you never know! etc)
7) Ask the paper teller a question, for example Will we have rain tomorrow? The questioner picks a number and the informer opens and shuts opposite corners of the teller that number of times, then the questioner picks a colour from inside and the informer spells that while opening the opposite corners... then finally the informer picks again from the colours and under the colour will be their answer!!

Waterfight!

2008-05-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Having a summer birthday, or even when they have a few friends around on a warm summers day is a great opportunity to let them have a water fight. It's definitely a 'more the merrier' game. And I have been astonished to have more than one young visitor who has never had one. Imagine.

They don't need fancy big water guns. Any plastic container will do. A hose is great fun, although you might consider limiting the time they use it as they use huge amounts of water. Also, you need to be sure they play fair as it can often be the cause of fights over who turn it is!

Nine Mice

2008-05-24T02:38:00.000-07:00

Nine mice on tiny tricycles

went riding on the ice,

they rode in spite of warning signs,

they rode despite advice.

The signs were right, the ice was thin,

in half a trice, the mice fell in,

and from their chins down to their toes,

thsoe mice entirely froze.

Nine mindless mice, who paid the price,

are thawing slowly by the ice,

still sitting on their tricycles

...nine white and shiny MICICLES!!

Duck.. Duck... Duck...

2008-05-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

...GOOSE!

How to play...

All sit in a large circle (spaced out if only a few) and the 'gander' makes his way slowly around the outside, touching each childs head and calling them a duck or a goose.

The fun is that when called a goose that child must jump up , chasing the gander around the circle to try and catch him before he sits in their spot. If they catch him, they sit down again, if not they become the gander... and so on... and so on...

Is that a rhododendron?

2008-05-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

When visiting your local park, or even better public garden see if they have a guide to the flora and fauna. You can play a kind of bingo (first to spot all on page 6 wins) or just get the children to tick off each specimen they see. It works with one child as well as a group, and is educational!!When I was a child there was the weekly 'nature walk' which doesn't seem to be done anymore, I remember being given a sheet with pictures of hawthorn, elderflower etc to find and identify in the countryside. I loved the challenge and my children do too!

Bealtaine.

2008-05-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Bealtaine, or May day, the first day of May, the first day of summer. At last it arrives and hopefully with it some weather which merits the title of 'summer'. Traditionally in Ireland, and still in some rural parts, and I'm sure England, some of the age-old practices are held up. The word Bealtaine comes from, buaile which is the high summer pastures which the cattle are moved to at this time of year, and tine which means fire in Irish. Bale fires were lit as beacons on hilltops.

It was also a good idea to leave out something for the fairies, as they are very active at this time of year too! Children love being involved with this. It's very simple really. Even just leaves and flowers along with some raisins, seeds or nuts arranged on a flat stone, or a wall or even a doorstep is enough. The thrill of knowing that the food will definitely be gone by morning is contagious! And it always is gone. Amazing!

There are lots of traditional games and songs associated with this seasonal celebration. While the May bush would have been popular, the Maypole would have been seen in areas that had an English influence. But it's such a lovely tradition that it has been adopted by a good number of people.

A length of pole with ribbons around one and a half times the pole length attached to the top is basically all you need. We stapled ours on and then wrapped another piece of ribbon around the top into which we placed fresh flowers.

Very few little girls need an excuse to dress up as a fairy, and even the boys get into the spirit of it. If the children are very young you can have them all walk in the same direction. But if they are slightly older you can have them weave in and out in opposite directions to each other. If your ribbons are in two different colours it looks wonderful when finished.

There are a number of songs you can sing with them as they walk. The most poular is 'Here We Go Gathering Nuts In May'. Some say it was originally 'Knots', which are posies of flowers, which makes sense to me.

'Here we go gathering nuts in May,
Nuts in May, nuts in May,
Here we go gathering nuts in May,
So early in the morning.'

If you are making a day of it you can organise lots of outdor games in celebration of the return of the sun. I'll be posting some ideas over the next week or so.

Grass Houses.

2008-05-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

I have such memories of hot summer days spent making grass houses with my friends. The big green spaces around where we lived would be cut a couple of times over the summer and we'd be out like a shot to gather as much grass as possible and then set about making mansions for ourselves, complete with en suite bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes and every luxury we could think of.

I was very surprised to realise my kids had never made one. So we waited a day or two for the clippings to dry out a bit and then got to work.

There was no competition between them, and everyone helped build the same house. Funny, it struck me that we always did that too. No discussion about it, just set to work.

I love how they wanted to decorate their 'bedrooms' with flowers, leave etc.

The whole project consumed them for over an hour which really surprised me. I thought my childish memory made it seem longer but obviously not!

Grass Fight!

2008-04-29T14:40:00.001-07:00

We have a birthday the first week of May and it almost always coincides with the first grass cutting of the year. Cue a boisterous grass fight.

It's so tempting to be clean and tidy with your clippings, but what is more fun than tearing around the garden in that first flush of summer, flinging freshly cut grass into the air, at your brother, and even at your Dad!

As the sun sets over the mountains, and the air starts to cool, it's time to finish up and go inside to a warm bubbly bath, before tired heads hit the pillow.

I'm Board Games.

2008-04-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

We have two shelves full of games. All the usual suspects are there. And they go for long periods where they gather dust, especially in the summertime. Unless of course it's a damp rainy summer like we had last year. Then we get a couple of weeks where they become favourites again and are taken down and dusted off. This is often when we have people staying for the weekend and the extra numbers make it all the more fun. When we do sit around a table yelling and laughing til our sides ache, I always, without fail, think to myself, why, oh why do we not do this more often? But of course, being on holidays is always all the incentive kids need.

However, we have discovered a number of absolute favourites that are always floating around and are just the right length and the right amount of fun to be perfect time-fillers.

These were one of those brilliant presents you recieve that you want to buy for all you friends. Rory's Story Cubes are so simple that even younger children can play. Throw the dice and then you make up a story from the pictures. It becomes more hilarious as they warm up and let their creative juices flow.

Personally, I love the games where there is no particular winner, just success and a sense of achievement for the players.

Though sometimes a bit of cunning does deserve to win.

And I love the fact that things like Tiddlywinks and a ball and maze are just enduringly addictive. The latter is very easy to keep in your bag for those times when you have to hang around waiting for something or someone.

Maps and Capps

2008-04-19T02:06:00.001-07:00

cartography(kär-tgr-f) n : the making of maps and charts, the study of maps for historical or geographical purpose, the science of maps.

Keep a few maps in your handbag or car, its great for when 'tweeners (8-12) get bored. The game is that they take turns to look and find a place on the map and the others then have to find it first. It works especially well with Ordanance survey maps of theme parks. My mother always pulled this one out of the bag when we were young, our favorite was the map of Six Flags! Its educational too, as map reading is usually part of the curriculum at some stage. You can take it one stage further and ask them to measure the distance between places with a piece of string and a ruler. They can make their own maps (all of ours love doing this) - or trace one and change it to suit...!

It promises much quiet and allows for full enjoyment of a nice cappucino!!

Are we nearly there?

2008-04-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard that, you aren't a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle... basically you've never travelled with kids. Bless them, they give the first ten minutes a good effort, but those travel games last all of five minutes and reading in the car can make some people ill (I do know one lucky mother whose children can read away in the car, even the thought of doing that, however makes mine feel rotten!)

You may also have an advantage when travelling with more than one child as they can interact with each other, and even better in the same age range, but what to do on a long journey when you've only one... or two but the small one is happy to spend the time mashing liga into the car seat while the other one does her (or his) best to prolong the inevitable...

"Are we nearly there?"

I once passed a very long train journey without once hearing that question, in fact when we arrived at our destination there was a fleeting look of disappointment. How did I do it?

I simply told her to take photos of things she found interesting from the window and that she could tell us all about them when we reached our destination.

There wasn't a peep... and some of the snaps were quite good too....

Monte Cassino

Taken from the window of the Cassino-Roma Train

by Mary

Enviromental Art!

2008-04-07T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there is just enough time in the day for a short walk, and if you're like me a nice stroll in the local wood is just enough. Its a nice way to "get in a bit of air" as my grandfather would have said!

I am so aware of the lack of daily exercise my children get - compared to my own childhood which consisted of long walks to school, fast spurts of chasing at playtime, and long afternoons of running, cycling or skipping... compared with todays sedentary inclinations of our children (faster traffic and fear playing a part in that)...

So when you're on a short walk why not set them a task, increase the activity in a fun way. One brilliant way to do this, and to encourage them to use their imagination and creativity is to set them the task to create art within the environment.

Give them a start by suggesting a theme, maybe a spiral or a star, and watch them run along collecting bits and pieces, as you stroll leisurely by...

This can be done by a solitary child or by a group and can be called upon at the drop of a hat when needed!

Enjoy!

Butter me up!

2008-04-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Making butter with children is great because its quick (for some), energetic, and they can feel very satisfied with the results. Its also something that once they learn, they never forget and it can be called upon whenever needed, or whenever they utter those three little words "I-am-bored" which make every mothers brain fizzle.

Grab a few clean jars, a sieve (or muslin if you have it) and some double cream and you are good to go. Outside or in, upstairs or down, even in the car!

Its so simple - Cream in the jar, lid tight, shake shake shake...

You can tell them the 3 stages of butter so they can feel in charge of the event.

1) it will go from creamy slooshing to solid

2) it will feel like you are shaking nothing

3) you will hear slooshing noises again.

When they hear the 3rd stage, tell them to look and see is there yellow butter in the jar. Cream or white is not butter! Any buttercup will tell you that!

When the butter is present, get them to tip it onto a sieve or into some muslin and allow any milk to run off.
Mash with whatever flavourings you have handy... garlic or chili or both, salt and pepper, whatever you like - blitz in a mini chopper or processor and mash through the freshly made butter. Wrap in parchment and refridgerate until they are hungry... Funny how bread and butter sandwiches aren't snubbed when the butter has been made themselves!

Easter Fun.

2008-03-31T13:56:00.001-07:00

Let's start off with some Easter fun. This is something that is perfect for those rainy spring days when everyone is climbing the walls. Or. Just for the fun of it! Make sure you invite some friends over and pool your resources. All you need is as follows:

Enough eggs to go round. I would suggest more than one each, as these are so quick to do everyone wants to do more than one, I find. Pipe cleaners, a pin, a toothpick, and some paint. We use a variety of whatever's in the cupboard, but, we LOVE the metallic paint that the Early Learning Centre do. It gives the finished egg a gorgeous lustre, and the paint doesn't get mucky when it gets mixed up.

So, first, pierce the egg with a pin, both ends. Push in your toothpick and jiggle it about to break up the yolk. Then BLOW the insides out into a bowl. This gets lots of laughs let me tell you!

The next bit is tricky, but using pipecleaners makes it a bit easier. Push it straight through from one end to the other. Bend up the bottom bit so it doesn't slip out.

Then get painting! The pipecleaner is also good for holding the egg while you paint.

Then bend the other end of the pipecleaner and hang them up somewhere safe to dry.

These eggs here have been given a first layer. You can then go back and give them more detail or colours when they dry. Just make sure you do light colours first! We also used some cute stickers which we got in an egg painting kit. They'll be peeled off after the second colour goes on.

An Easter Tree is a gorgeous way to display your creations, and any other lovely finds you pick up. Over the years it is nice to build up a collection of eggs to take out each year. The blown eggs are very delicate, and I would recommend an egg box for storage.

And I also recommend a yummy omlette for tea to use up all those eggs!

Posted by Ciara.