Posts Tagged ‘education’

‘Winter Nature Activities for Children’ by Irmgard Kutsch & Brigitte Walden is packed full of fun nature activities that will help children engage with the season and learn practical new skills. This book originates from Europe, so naturally their Winters are a lot snowier than ours and coincide with Christmas, but lots of the activities translate to our milder winters and include: blowing walnut ships, working with wool, weaving, knitting, making felt, woodworking and making things with willow or out of clay.

The activities in this book are based on practical experience from the Children’s Nature and Garden Centre in Germany, and are fully tried and tested.

In 1969 Iona and Peter Opie set about taking an exhaustive survey of the games that children aged roughly between six and twelve years of age play when outdoors – and usually out of supervision! The Opies weren’t interested in formal games and sports supervised by parents or teachers. They wanted the rough-and-tumble one child described as requiring “nothing but the players themselves.” The Opies also desired the spirit of the play, variety and chaos, should not be lost in their recording. The result was their classic work “Children’s Games in Street and Playground”.
Their original single book has been divided into two. Both volumes record games played in the street, park, playground of more than 10,000 children from the Shetland Isles to the Channel Islands, although the majority of the information comes from children living in big cities such as London, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow.

This first volume focuses on starting a game, and games involving chasing, catching and seeking, and includes favourites such as What’s the Time Mr Wolf, Stuck in the Mud, and British Bulldog, as well as around 40 other games. Each game is described in detail and gives the rhymes and saying children repeat while play them, together with the different names under which they are played with brief historical notes where relevant.

The second volume focuses on games involving seeking, hunting, racing, duelling, exerting, daring, guessing, acting and pretending. More than 85 games are described in detail including the rhymes and sayings children repeat while playing them, together with the different names under which they are played.

the Opies believed the children of the 1960s were often thought “to be incapable of self-organization, and to have become addicted to spectator amusements; to the extent that adults must be relied on to provide play materials, ideas and time to play with them.” Sounds familiar to our concerns about television and computer games, and over-scheduling children with oganized classes and play dates. “However much children may need looking after, they are also people going about their own business within their own society.” There are important lessons to be learned from this book about giving children the time and physical space to be themselves with other children.

On Thursday (14 March) St Kilda Steiner Pre-School is hosting ‘Let The Children Play’ –  Carol Liknaitzky talks about the importance and relevance of self-initiated play.

How play-based learning in the early years provides the foundation for health, emotional intelligence and creative problem solving.

In a world that is increasingly pressured, with education and play becoming more and more structured, it is even more essential to protect childhood. How can we support our children’s developmental need to explore, play freely and do their ‘work’? In a discussion about the Steiner approach for young children, and the benefits of choosing a Kindergarten, Carol Liknaitzky talks about the importance and relevance of self-initiated play, the supporting of imagination, the role of imitation and creating a nurturing environment for children. Carol Liknaitzky is an educator, development consultant, and creative artist. She has experience in all aspects of child development and has taught in, and founded Steiner schools in South Africa.

Carol teaches Inclusive Practice at The School of Education, Victoria University, and Painting and Conflict Resolution at the The Steiner Seminar. She also runs the Nourishing Early Childhood course at The Seminar.

‘Let The Children Play’ with Carol Liknaitzky

7.30pm Thursday 14 March

St Kilda Steiner Pre-School

435 Inkerman Street, East St Kilda, 3183

Entry to the side of St James-the-Great Anglican Church on Inkerman Street or along the lane on Alexandra Street. stkildasteinerpreschool.vic.edu.au

Entry is free, to reserve your place email stkildasteinerpreschool@gmail.com or call 03 9527 5168

Have you considered introducing your child to a simple musical instrument? Handbells are the ideal place to start. Beautifully designed and manufactured, this set of 8 musical hand bells are perfect for giving kids a fun introduction to the musical scale and rhythm as well as helping to build confidence, music appreciation and discipline. Each different coloured metal bell is 14cm high and can be identified by a numbered label on the handle. These sets of bells comes packaged in a gift box that includes an easy to play music sheet with 8 songs, so in no time these bells will be music to your ears!

Did you know this weekend marks the Chinese new year festivities? Does your family enjoy celebrations and learning about other cultures? ‘Festivals Together’ by Sue Fitzjohn is a comprehensive guide to all kinds of different culture’s and their special occasions. There are stories, things to make, recipes, songs, customs and activities for each festival, comprehensively illustrated. You will be able to share in the adventures of Anancy the spider trickster, how Ganesh got his elephant head and share in Eid, Holi, Wesak, Advent, Divali, Chinese New Year and more.

Enrich your family’s life by learning the rituals and meanings of events based on many cultures, including Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh. It draws on backgrounds as diverse as north and west Africa, the Caribbean, China, India, Ireland, Japan, New England, the Philippines and more. Its unifying thread is our need for meaning, continuity and joy.

Summer by Gerda Muller is from set of four seasonal books, however in this book the story is never the same twice! Full of vibrant and bright illustrations, Summer contains no text and is an excellent medium for creating your own stories or encouraging your children to make up their own. This chunky board book shows the joys of fishing for tadpoles, playing at the beach, eating ice-cream, and enjoying evening picnics. If thats no enough inspiration for your summer then take a look at this book:

Summer Nature Activities for Children by Irmgard Kutsch and Brigitte Walden is packed full of fun nature activities that will help children engage with the season and learn practical new skills.

With stunning illustrations and photos this book will provide the inspiration to create a summer full of fun with your children. The activities in this book are based on practical experience from the Children’s Nature and Garden Centre in Germany, and are fully tried and tested. Activities for summer include growing and cooking fresh herbs, caring for butterflies, activities based around water, fire, earth and air, and working with grain and making bread.
Irmgard Kutsch, born 1952, trained as a vet before working with children with special needs. She established the Children’s Nature and Garden Centre in Reichshof in 1994, where children and teachers can learn about nature and participate in workshops. We will be sharing each of her seasonal activity books with you this year, so look forward to making the most of the seasons in 2013!

How could anyone resist adopting an Eggling? These precious, tiny eggs are not real chicken eggs, but handmade ceramic shells containing little gardens waiting to burst into bloom with your care. Crack its top with a spoon and find the mix of fortified peat and seeds inside – just water and place it in a bright spot. Plants grow for up to five months in their eggling, after which they can be planted directly into soil.

Egglings are handmade in Japan and each comes with a terracotta tray and an extra seed pack. We have six varities for you to choose from: mint, petunia, lavender, and wild strawberry. Beautifully packaged, an eggling is a unique and delightful gift for anyone who loves the cute and curious.

Have you booked into one of our Spring classes yet? They commence Tuesday October 9th so don’t hesitate to call us (03) 90410103 and secure your spot over the phone, or pop in and book over the counter!

For more information on our knitting, crochet, needle felting, felt toy making, machine sewing and dollmaking classes, visit the workshops page.

We have a couple of very cool new sets from Haba in store, perfect for curious young minds…

Haba’s Discovering Technics: Basic Optics Pack is a fabulous set for ages 3 and up. Children can design their own rotating disks, make short zoetrope animations and exciting optical experiments.

Through playful experimentation, this construction set introduces basic physics concepts such as the principle of cause and effect, dynamics and gravity. It encourages spatial thinking, perseverance and helps develop fine motor skills. This set can be combined with all Haba construction sets.

Haba’s Terra Kids Experimental Box: Color Savvy is a cool set for sensitizing perception as well as for teaching children about colors and optical illusion.

It comes in a durable screw-topped canister with 8 cards, 2 color filter discs and 1 pair of glasses and an instruction booklet. This set would made a fabulous gift for a scientific minded 8 year old.

Pop into Little Sparrow during the last week of June and be treated to 25% off selected stock.
We’re hearing some savvy customers are even stocking up for Christmas, now!