Thinking Thursdays: Chestnut alphabets

We've amassed a pretty huge collection of horse chestnuts from our walks around the area. Junior J cannot resist picking these up each time he sees them, which is almost every time we go for a walk, as we've at least 3 of these trees near our house. These can't be eaten, unlike the ones from the sweet chestnut tree, but many people pick these up for decoration or craft purposes. There's something rather inviting about them, the deep brown hue and that glossy exterior, and both the boys love to play with them.

Since we're a huge fan of playing with natural materials, I thought I'd do something with some of the chestnut stash. Junior J is currently learning how to read, and I thought having alphabets on the chestnuts would add some interest to the process. And even if you're living in the tropics and don't get access to these brown beauties, you can easily do this with pebbles, which may be even more fun since they come in all sorts of colours and patterns!

So here's how you can make your own alphabet toys:

:: If you are using chestnuts, do rinse them and dry them in the sun to prevent them from getting moldy.

:: Get a set of alphabet stickers. These have to be made of thin material, the puffy types and thicker versions may not stay on. I used some of the alphabet lettering from my scrap stash:

:: Stick the stickers down using glue, since they don't adhere very well due to the waxy exterior of the chestnut. We used PVA glue. 

:: When the glue has dried, brush a layer of mod podge over the surface of the letters and the surrounding area, and leave the chestnuts to dry:

You can try this also with other shapes too, and I'm thinking of making a shapes set for Baby J with some of the remaining chestnuts.

So now we've a new set of alphabets to learn reading with! Don't you just love these natural materials?

Do stay tuned, will be back later to share about our other autumn activities... 

Thinking Thursdays: Books about autumn

Hello! We've been reading about autumn, since we can't really go out to play (Junior J is still coughing!). Here are some of our favourite reads on this beautiful season, which are mainly on two very famous characteristics of fall: apples and leaves! 

:: Apple Farmer Annie, by Monica Wellington: We bought the board book version for baby J. Its a simple story about an apple farmer, and all the yummy things that she makes from her apple harvest. While its simple, even Junior J enjoyed the story!

:: Leaf Jumpers, by Carole Gerber: The book uses poetry and linoleum-cut illustrations to describe eight common types of leaves to be found during fall. Junior J loves this book as it is about his favourite outdoor activity: jumping about in piles of leaves! Its a really useful resource for identifying leaves, and also explains the colour changes observed during autumn.

:: Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, by Lois Ehlert: I simply love Lois Ehlert's illustrations! This book chronicles the life of a sugar maple tree through the seasons, and the textural collages were made from a variety of materials, ranging from water colours and crayons to seeds and roots. Simply beautiful! 

:: Apple Picking Time, by Michele Slawson: "When it's apple picking time, everyone has to help. The whole town knows we have only three weeks to get the fruit off the trees before it spoils." This story is told through the eyes of Anna, who helps at the apple harvest with her family and is determined to fill an entire bin of apples by herself. It's a heartwarming book about determination, family and community.

:: Red are the Apples, by Marc Harshman and Cheryl Ryan: Follow a boy as he explores a garden in fall, and describes what he finds in rhyme. The text is simple, and this book is great for introducing the colours and produce of autumn.

We obtained some of our recommendations from this post, hop over for more autumnal titles!  What are your favourite books about fall? 

Thinking Thursdays: Our leaf book

Hello!  Am just popping by to share something that Junior J and I have been making recently.  The boy loves going on walks and picking up leaves to bring back, and a friend suggested keeping those leaves in a book.  I thought that was a great idea, especially since Junior J would leave them lying everywhere in the house, and the leaves would crumble and leave a mess!

The book cover is made from a cardboard envelope (again, from the Book Depository!).  He got to stamp the cover with various types of leaves and paint, and we also used a home-made foam stamp (again, from a bottle cap and some craft foam).  

Open up the book, and you'll find loads of pages of leaves collected on our walks around the neighbourhood.  Before we stuck the leaves down, we put the leaves under the paper, and the boy got to make imprints using crayons:

I found it a really good exercise in developing finger strength, since you do need to apply some force to colour over the bumpy surface!

And everything is tied together with a bit of twine:

We're still adding to this collection, and eventually hope to get down to identifying the trees that the leaves came from!

Thinking Thursdays: Using natural materials for play

One aspect I really love about Waldorf education is the use of natural materials for play.  Kids these days have a tendency to play with quite a lot of artificial materials like plastic (especially since most toys are made from plastic), and I think its nice to provide them with other alternative materials/textures, especially those that come from nature.  

With that in mind, I just started by leaving a basket of pebbles (of an assortment of sizes, textures and colours) in the hall where the boy usually plays:

And the boy really loved them!  He would carry them around (in fact, he named one his "favourite pebble" and would bring it to bed along with him!) and would bring them to the table for meals.  They got incorporated into building projects:

And got carted around on various "shopping trips"...

Thus encouraged, I've been leaving out other natural materials, such as shells (picked during a Pangkor trip), corals and casuarina fruit.  I love how varied the textures, colours and shapes are, and how these are less likely to contain harmful chemicals compared to synthetic materials (of course, do give them a good wash with soap first!).

Do you let your kids play with natural materials?  How do you incorporate them into their playtime?