Posts Tagged ‘natural childhood’

Sometimes the most simple is the best! We have pure cotton velour Taggy Teethers here at Little Sparrow. With lots of ribbon and braid, and a birch teething ring these Taggy Teethers are fun and practical!

“Little Dolphin” by award winning author and illustrator Mark Wilson is a touching story of an orphaned dolphin who is taken in by another pod. Amongst her new kin she learns to communicate with clicks, how to look for food, and most importantly how to protect herself. Equipped with all the skills she needs to survive, Little Dolphin is able to help out another dolphin in distress and save his life. This story is a beautiful way for children to learn all about dolphins, and the threats to their habitat.

Mark Wilson will be holding workshops at Malvern, Prahran, Phoenix Park & Toorak/South Yarra Libraries as part of the Stonnington Literature Live Festival, from May 13 to May 25. Contact Stonnington Library for Details.

Isn’t a blank canvas exciting? So many possibilities! New on the shelves here at Little Sparrow are unfinished wooden blanks – just waiting for you to breath some creative energy into them. Pictured above are our range including dolls in a variety of sizes, acorns – perfect for Autumn crafts, eggs and egg cups, and the most tiny and precious bean pots. Come in and choose some to transform today!

Wouldn’t you like to fly of on an oak leaf? Ride on a squirrels tail? Take tea in a tiny tree house, and deliver beards to gnomes? These are just some of the situations Woody and Pip find themselves in in this sweet seasonal book by the inimitable Elsa Beskow.

Adorned with Elsa Beskow’s classic illustrations on every page, the adventures of Woody, Pip and little Hazel are sure to inspire some fabulous backyard play – just watch out for the angry trolls!

Storytelling traditions all over the world tell of little folk – gnomes, dwarves leprechauns and many others. Gnome figures are fun for children to make and play with, and they appeal to their vivid imaginations.

Thomas and Petra Berger show how to make gnomes out of walnuts, twigs, wool and paper, as well as from a variety of other media. There are plenty of different types of gnome to keep children amused for hours. Any of the characters in the book would be at home on a seasonal nature table. The Gnome Craft Book includes instructions for making Astrid Lindgren’s classic gnome the Tomten.

At last it feels like Autumn so you can start shifting your mind to the next collection of seasonal activities you and your family can collaborate on. Like the last book we showed you in this seasonal series, Autumn Nature Activities is packed full of fun nature activities that will help children engage with the season and learn practical new skills. With so many factors coming between children and free exploration of their environment this is just the book to help them reconnect!
Irmgard Kutsch & Brigitte Walden have included a mix of indoor and outdoor activities for Autumn, including picking and cooking fruit, basket-making, building houses and shelters, looking after birds, working with beeswax (don’t forget we sell beeswax sheets from Queen Bee!) and making paper. The activities in this book are based on practical experience from the Children’s Nature and Garden Centre in Reichshof, Germany and are fully tried and tested.

Autumn by Gerda Muller is a sturdy board book, without text, making it ideal as a base for creating your own stories about. The rich tones of the season are captured in the charming illustrations and Autumn shows such seasonal activities as raking leaves, floating boats in puddles, apple picking, collecting acorns, and kite making and flying!

“The Children’s Year” written by Stephanie Cooper, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marije Rowling is 180 pages jam packed with straightforward, well-illustrated instructions demonstrating how to make children’s clothing, toys and gifts using natural materials.

Organized by seasons and including fitting poems and verses, the craft activities include knitted Easter chicks, spring flower fairies, summer leaf prints, cosy slippers and pumpkin lanterns, Christmas calendars and indoor forts and cubbies. As well as festive crafts more practical projects are included, such as headbands, rucksacks, baby jumpsuits etc. Small toys such as a tooth fairy purse can be made in an hour or two, while bigger projects can be enjoyed over a weekend or longer.

“The Children’s Year” has everything you need for the first 8 to 9 years of a child’s play life, and the satisfaction that comes from making things by hand makes this book a must-have – and an ideal gift for a new parent.

Are you finding yourself at the pointy end of summer holidays? It can be exhausting keeping the children physically occupied and mentally engaged – especially hard if you’re a working parent who doesn’t get a long time off work. We have a book that might just be the relief you’re looking for!

Based on many years experience of keeping children busy and happy, Anne and Peter Thomas have compiled a huge collection of summer activities that will help keep boredom at bay. It includes indoor and outdoor activities, things to make, things to see and things to do. It is packed with handy tips on food, health (such as sunburn) and safety. Everything from simple games that you may have played as a child to inspiring projects that will challenge the whole family. Fully illustrated in colour throughout, this book will get you through these last two weeks of “i’m booooooored!”

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.