how we montessori

Making personalised beads with FIMO

Yesterday Caspar and I worked together to make some personalised beads using FIMO. Totally inspired by Etsy artists.  We wanted to make some gifts so we personalised the beads with rubber stamps and made necklaces. I love FIMO because it comes in some many different colours which stay bright after baking. FIMO needs baking but it doesn't shrink at all, which is good to know.  I written about this before how using (pinching, rolling, shaping) FIMO is really good for building hand strength in preparation for writing. 

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We rolled the FIMO into balls and pressed the sides flat. We used baking paper over the board so not to stain or get FIMO on the board but also so the sides would be really smooth. Caspar made a hole through each bead and with help used our rubber stamps to personalise the beads. For the most part we stamped in the names of people we made necklaces for. We also made a happy necklace, when I saw all of these colours 'happy' was the first word that came to mind. 

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We used an embroidery needle to make the hole though the bead. Then we put them in the oven at 110 degrees (celsius) for thirty minutes.

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Then we thread them onto leather or some twine. 

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We packaged them and sent them to some of our dearest friends. I hope they like them!

We keep modelling beeswax and FIMO on Caspar's shelves so even though today we made a specific item he can use these materials when he likes in an open ended way. He doesn't always choose to bake what he makes with FIMO but when he does he is fully supervised. 

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Handmade Gifts - Bath Crayons

If you have been following me on Pinterest it would come as no surprise that we tried this idea. We made enough for Caspar to give to some of his friends. You can see we put glitter into the yellow as Caspar wanted to add some sparkle for one sparkle loving friend. Thank you to Meryl for what I think is a fantastic and original idea. You can see the instructions on My Bit of Earth here. 

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Caspar tested all three colours. None of them stained or coloured his hands or the bath. The bath water ended up slightly brown as he used all colours at once. Caspar also enjoyed writing on Otis's back. So much fun. 

They don't have to be neon...

Do you have a toddler that likes to take all the baubles off the tree? Then likes to throw them?

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Otis is fantastic at throwing our shatter proof very bouncy baubles. I had to put them up high. Our precious baubles never made it out of the box. 

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How about some baubles made from cardboard? They won't break, they won't bounce. Sure he might still take them off the tree but he cannot do any damage. 

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They don't have to be neon, it's just the coloured card we had. Red, green and white would be nice but there are many colours that say Christmas.

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The first baubles (above) Caspar used tape to attach a loop of twine to one card circle. Then he used glue to attach the top card circle. Colourful flat baubles. 

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The second baubles (below) came about by accident. Caspar and I were trying to make a dodecahedron ornament but as it got a little tricky for a five year old's hands an octahedron appeared. This is not an easy activity for a five year old and not easy for a parent who prefers her ornaments symmetrical.

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We are going neon all the way this Christmas. Presents will be wrapped with brown paper, tied with this neon twine and labels/gift cards will be made from the same neon card. Very bright indeed. 

LOVE

I guarantee your child will love these. They super easy to make. I made circles of the same size so the children could focus on the colours but it would be just as easy to cut out different shapes for the children to 'build' on the window. I find this more of art expression than learning about shapes or colours. 

How did we get to this point? After making the Fun Colour Window Shapes (which I totally love because the black frames make a real statement) I laminated cellophane and then later tried contact and cellophane. Contact and cellophane didn't work so well as there were too many bubbles. At the stationary store I looked for coloured transparent contact which I thought would work well doubled over and cut out on the window. I couldn't find any contact that would work but I did find some colour plastic document pockets. I looked at colour plastic page dividers but the plastic pockets worked out to be more economical. 

To make these shapes I cut the coloured plastic document pockets at the sides to flatten them out. I traced around the outside of a small bowl with a pen to make a circle and then cut out all circles with scissors. I put the circles in a container by the window and invited the kids to play. 

To apply the circles to the window they need to be slightly moist. I lightly sprayed the window with water. They are easily applied and reapplied without any mess. Otis loves putting them on but also loves peeling them off.

They look great in the morning sun when you can get the coloured reflection inside on the floor. 

Beautiful. 

Fun Colour Window Shapes

Black cardboard cut out frames with some coloured cellophane = fun colour window shapes. 

I initially made them for Otis but Caspar liked them just as much. I was inspired by Kate's post on window blocks. 

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DIY Confetti Tablecloth

I had this fantastic idea for making children's bed linen. First I wanted to test my technique and my paints on a smaller project - a child sized tablecloth. 

The materials I used included:

• 1 metre square cotton tablecloth. I purchased the cotton and hemmed it myself. It's a bit big on the pictured round table but it fits Otis' weaning table perfectly.
• 1 round hole punch.
• Freezer Paper (this is my first project ever using freezer paper).
• Fabric paints.

1. I cut out squares of freezer paper and Caspar punched a hole in the centre of each one.
2. In a rough pattern I placed the squares onto the tablecloth (shiny side down) then used a warm iron to adhere them to the fabric.
3. Using coloured fabric paint I painted the punched out hole.
4. Allow the paint to dry and then iron on the reverse side of the fabric to set the colour. Then peel off the freezer paper. 

I was so pleased with the sharp edges on the coloured confetti dots. Bed linen here we come.  

My little sewist

Caspar has sewn with me many times before. Sitting on my lap he loves to use the sewing machine. It was time for me to take that leap of faith and allow him the opportunity to sew by himself. Take ownership of the project. Step in the Cloud9 Cut and Sew Panel. A fun way to engage my little sewist. 

Cut, pin, cut, sew, stuff, sew!

Yes, he did prick himself with a pin a couple of times but nothing more than an ouch. I don't sew with a foot pedal either so it was easy to show Caspar the stop and start button.

I love how the cushions have turned out perfectly imperfect! 

French Knitting and Pom Poms

Rainy day. Sick baby. From the moment I woke up all I could think about was going back to sleep. While Otis was sleeping I wanted to do something with Caspar that required very little energy. Why did I think French Knitting would be easy?

I thought this was for children. Once I got it started I realised this was way above Caspar's skill level, I found it difficult myself. Don't laugh, I'm no knitter. 

I remembered this idea below, it took me two minutes to make. 

To demonstrate Caspar sat on my lap. I put my arms around him so he could easily see and copy my movements. 

He liked that it looked like a spider web. This really worked his concentration. 

It was fun to do this together and I know with patience he can do it on his own. We agreed to leave it on his shelves. It will be interesting to see if he progresses with it. 

Next nap time we made a Pom Pom. With rainbow wool.

The best part was when he gave it to Otis. 

We knew he would like it!

Handmade Soft Blocks

After my first son Caspar was born, I purchased all of his toys, I didn't make any of them. I didn't make anything for him because I knew it wouldn't be perfect.

Wow, how things have changed. My confidence has grown and I am happy to give it a go and make a few things for Otis. But what I've let go is the meaning of perfection. To me these blocks are perfect in a non-perfect kind of way. They are not exactly uniform, my blind stitch needs some improvement. But they are made by me with love. For Otis for Christmas.  

They are soft, but stackable. Lots of colour. Perfect gift for a baby. Build them up then knock them down. 

I think he'll like them too. 

They were very easy to make. I took some photographs of the process. Let me know if you are interested and I can post some simple instructions. 

More Christmas decorations

Easy peasy garland. We used coloured paper strips and masking tape. Caspar loves to use the tape dispenser and for a four year old it was easier than glue or staples. These are a little addictive and we have them all around the house. 

Pretty Christmas flowers and coloured (and more glitter) pine cones. We started with a yellow and red theme but really ended up with multi coloured everything.