Springtime Bird Cookies and a Short Morning Talk for Children

The bluebird has a coat of Blue,

The robin wears a vest of Red; 

The chickadee is speckled Brown,

The crow is Black from tail to head.

(Such a sweet little verse to help with teaching colors.)

Today I'm sharing a very simple recipe you can do with the children to make Springtime Bird Cookies. It can be hard to find ways to include children in the kitchen and also inspire a love for getting outside. With the weather warming up a bit, this activity can be done in under one hour (including hanging them up outside) using things already on-hand in your pantry. And, once you get the children outside to hang up their cookies for the birds, they will be all ready to continue playing in the beautiful fresh air.

Have the children put on their aprons and tell them a simple story of the birds in the backyard of your home or school as you make your bird cookies together. 

Below is an idea of how to storytell during this activity.. but please add your own voice and ideas as you work with the children. It must come from your heart and should not be scripted:

 "Children, do you know that I heard such beautiful sounds coming from outside my window when the sun rose this morning in our backyard? Did you hear those beautiful little sounds also? 

There were many sounds... all different but still the same.. they were just like little songs. First it came from one place.. and then I heard another a little different but the same, and then another.. 

Can you guess what was making those sounds that I heard?

(Give the children time to share ideas and really listen.)

It was all of the sweet little birds that live in our backyard!! 

They are so very happy to feel the warm sunlight on their feathers again now that springtime has arrived. They are filled with gladness to live in this beautiful place and they are singing with joy. I feel happy to live here and share this space with you, just like those birds.

Many of the birds flew away this winter to keep warm. It can be hard to find food in the winter. Some of the birds stayed close in our backyard, but it was hard to keep their families warm and find enough food to eat. We are so lucky to be inside with blankets and food in the winter.

Today we are going to make the birds a special treat from us to show them how thankful we are that they chose us to be their neighbors. Let's make them bird cookies and hang them up on a little tree for them to eat".. 

Springtime Bird Cookie Recipe

Supplies Needed

1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour 

(nothing bleached or enriched)

2  Eggs

A Small Handful of Birdseed

A Sprinkle of Salt

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tbsp Real Maple Syrup or Honey 

(nothing with added flavors or artificial sugars)

Natural fiber yarn (no acrylics or synthetics) 

Have the children help you mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. There is not really a wrong or right way to make these simple little cookies. A little extra or less of an ingredient really doesn't matter much in the end. The important part is that you work together with joy and allow the children to do the work by imitating your actions. 

When the dough reaches a good consistency, make one large ball or each child can roll a small ball of dough of their own.

Roll it flat. This would be a wonderful time for singing. Even a simple song such as "This is the way we roll the dough, roll the dough, roll the dough.."

For adults and older children, you can get very creative and make your own shapes. Here we made a bird and even a rooster by hand! You can also use cookie cutters. But quite simply, letting the children flatten their little balls and poke a hole in the center is really just as good.

Before baking, poke a hole through each cookie in a place that will not pull and rip through when hanging later.

Put cookies on a sprayed cookie sheet and bake on 175 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. You are really only cooking the egg a bit and firming up the dough. Don't overcook it or overthink it.

Using a yarn needle, string your yarn through each cookie together. This is a wonderful task for children in Kindergarten and beyond. Also, please be sure whatever materials you use are natural and safe for animals and our environment. 

Put on your coats and shoes and sing a song as you go outside. Ask the children where they would like to hang their cookies for the birds. As with most things, whenever possible let them do it themselves. 

Then when you are done, find some meaningful work to do of your own outside and let them play. Nothing structured, nothing planned.. just natural, unhindered childhood play.  Like it was and should be.

Happy Spring from Little Acorn Learning! 

Homemade Butter Making with Children

This is such a simple and fun activity to do with small children.

First just fill a clean glass baby food jar half full with heavy cream and add a small amount of salt.

Then shake, shake, shake!!!!!! Shake for as long as you can - it will take up to 10 minutes until your butter is made.

Then watch their little faces when you open up the jars!

And enjoy your fresh butter on crackers or bread for snack!

Have fun!

'I Spy' Homemade Ornament

I Spy Ornament

Materials Needed:

• Plastic (not glass) clear ornament with top
• Beads
• Shredded paper
• Small items to look for (i.e. a dime, tiny lego, etc.)
• Glue 
• Sharpie Marker
• Tag

This is very simple and fun.  Have the children hunt around the house for very tiny items to put inside their plastic ornament.  We had letter tiles, marbles, hair ties, a piece of crayon, an acorn top, a dime, a tiny lego, a very small lego "head", a piece of a feather and more.  Write each item on your tag that you will later attach so children know what to hunt for. 

 Place all tiny items inside your ornament.  Then fill the ornament up with beads and shredded pieces of paper to make it challenging.  

We recommend using hot glue or regular glue before you put the top on so your ornament does not spill later on.  

Working with Beeswax

An old 2010 blog post that I am repurposing as this trick of the trade is well worth sharing again!


Over the years, the girls and I have had a love/hate relationship with modeling beeswax. In Waldorf circles, the wax is an integral part of a child's crafting and education. It is natural, safe and has such a soothing and beautiful smell. The color choices are endless and when left with their imagination - children can create the most beautiful scenes and items... the experience doesn't even come close to playdough or clay.
The difficulty (and frustration) that we often had with working with modeling beeswax was that it is very hard when it comes out of the packaging... and in order to manipulate the material, it must first be warmed until it becomes soft and workable.

The positive to this is that it supports what we are trying to teach the children in this super fast paced world.... that our creations, our art and our time should be spent mindfully and slowly - with patience and love. Warming the beeswax is just as much a part of the process as modeling with it is... which is one of the many reasons I love the Waldorf model of education, as it keeps the whole child and the whole experience in mind.

The negative to this is that it can become very challenging (especially when working with large groups or when wanting to use more than one color to create)... to warm the beeswax in your hands **all** of the time. So, we experimented with various techniques... using a warm blow dryer beforehand or tucking the wax under our arms as we worked on another activity. And sometimes it was good that way... but more often, the children lost interest and would choose something else to work with knowing the process would take a very long time.

It wasn't until we took Stockmar's instruction to place our wax in warm water before working with it that we REALLY began to enjoy the experience.

The girls are SO hooked. They will sit for hours creating full scenes and then playing them out... they make faces, and hair, and flowers, and trees... rivers and fish and I could go on and on...

Today they made flower children.... it is one of many simple tutorials that Stockmar offers HERE

For young children, I sometimes have them hold/warm a bit of modeling beeswax during nap time... its something soothing and quiet to do with their hands as they drift off and the smell is just as calming.

Here are the girls' flower children... but the fun didn't stop here..

Then they found every little ball that was leftover around our house and warmed it to make 'accessories'...

Here is a little scene they set up with a river (the blue silk), a bridge (the rocks), a boat (a flat piece of blue Agate) and their flower children and 'food'...

I had to pull them away to eat dinner and get ready for bed... and then they begged for a few more minutes to play....

The product is not cheap... but can be used over and over again. And, I think, that our children should be given the gift of working with quality material and learning to appreciate and care for their supplies.

Guardian Angel Day

Today is Guardian Angel Day. If you come from a Christian background, you may find this day to be a special way to connect with your angel. As caregivers, teachers and parents who practice this type of belief system, we can pray to our Guardian Angel for guidance, assistance, patience, courage and the strength to lead our children the right way.  

While those deeper concepts are too heavy to bring to the consciousness of very young children, sharing a new verse while lighting a candle at mealtime or at bedtime that welcomes our children's angel is a beautiful way to stay connected to the spirit world.

Here is a sweet verse and craft that may inspire you today.

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

To whom his love commits me here,

Ever this day be at my side,

To light and guard, to rule and guide

Guardian Angel Doll

Supplies:

Clothespins with Rounded Top
Yarn for Hair
Fabric or Felt for Clothing
Thread
Hot Glue Gun
Needle and Thread or Sewing Machine

Lay out clothespin on felt or fabric.  Cut the material the shape and length you wish for the doll’s dress.  Hand or machine stitch the two pieces together at the short ends with the right sides together – leave your threads long for gathering later.  Turn it right side out.  Hand gather around the long edge, turning the edge down as you go.  Put the dress on your clothespin and pull threads around the neck of the clothespin.  Gather tight and tie off.  Make wings out of fabric or felt.  You can cut a square and hand gather it in the middle.  Hot glue it to the back of the angel.  Add hair by wrapping yarn around your two fingers 8-10 times, slide off and tie in the middle and then hot glue on top of head.

Be sure to check out all of the Little Acorn Learning guides and publications for more activities like this.

Sew it Seams...

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to sew ... and if I'm honest, it's been even longer since I've put things aside and spent time crafting with my girls like I used to. When you become entrenched in things you are passionate about, it is easy to let go of the simple, less pressing activities that really bring the most joy into every day living. And when you take a step back and look at where your energy has been going - sometimes you need to make a conscious decision to readjust things. 

I'm committed to refocusing on many of the sweet little things I spent so much time on at home with my girls that I've not made the time to do in awhile... sewing, painting, baking, gardening, reading. the things we all love so much and that have helped us become so close with one another. The things that really matter and are valued by those you care about and love.

 We have a family thing of making eye pillows. I used to sell them to a yoga studio that was in town and the girls love them and sleep with them each night. We keep them in the freezer and they are a go-to in our house ... sometimes they are boo-boo packs, sometimes they are used for meditating and at night they always run to grab one right before bedtime. It's been awhile since we have made any and the ones we have left around have pretty much seen their day. It's also a really easy project for children who are just learning to sew.  And, ever since Bree took a sewing class after school.. that is all she has been asking to do.

Usually we just fill them with flax seed and lavender or another herb like mugwort (which is supposed to help inspire some pretty cool dreams). We didn't have much flax so we mixed what we did have with dried rice.  

Maia's eye pillow matches her new braces :) 

I saved my old machine with the hope that my girls would use it one day so it was nice to finally give it some use. I was considering getting another machine or two and maybe even teaching a children's sewing class once per week. There are cute children's sewing curriculums I found online.  I would also like to offer knitting and crochet classes for children if I can put something together too. And I'm trying to build up my nature classes and also write some new curriculum for Little Acorn Learning.  Focus.. focus.. focus - not always easy for me.

Just a remind that our Identification Contest ends later today... I will post the random winner later tonight.  

Good luck!

xoxo

The Easter Bunny's Coming...

Would you like to know a secret?

Well, I'll tell you one I know:

The Easter's Bunny's coming,

My mama told me so.

He'll bring a basket filled with eggs

And leave it in my yard,

And I will find it Easter morn,

If I look very hard.

I shouldn't tell my secret,

But I think it should be shared.

You ought to know that Bunny's coming,

So you can be prepared!

This year we planted our own Easter Basket Grass. The girls soaked the Rye Berries overnight and then planted them in their baskets. The grass is already coming up pretty good and they are so excited. We will leave our empty baskets out for the Easter Bunny this weekend and he will fill it up and hide it. Then he leaves a Easter Egg hunt filled with clues that lead to the baskets. This is a really fun and easy tradition to start with your family and the grass grows amazingly quick. The girls love looking each day to see how tall it has grown and there's something really sweet about natural grass rather than the plastic kind.

Oh and tomorrow is the LAST day of the Spring Sale at Little Acorn Learning! Hurry up and get some wonderful e-books at 25% off!