Showing posts with label play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label play. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2020

The Dino Hunt

A little while before lockdown began, my boys and I went to a dinosaur museum to sketch. As an illustrator I’m used to bringing my sketchbook along to places to draw, but this was the first time that I took my sons along to draw with me. My oldest son Jonas, who is ten, is already an avid paleontologist. His enthusiasm for the subject had rubbed off on his two younger brothers, age 6, and 9 who were also excited to learn more about these huge animals that once roamed the earth.

Time to Sketch

We headed off to the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge, UK which in addition to having a few complete skeletons, is also so old that it is easy to imagine walking its aisles a hundred years ago looking for drawers full of bones. We walked around the museum for a few minutes until we found a fossil or skeleton that we wanted to sketch, pulled up some chairs and started drawing. It was a wonderful experience. My usually rambunctious boys were quiet and concentrated. They also wanted to learn how to sketch shadows and tips for proportions. There were no complaints and they all agree that we should sketch again another time. After a couple of hours we left with our heads full of dino ideas.

I was very impressed with my children's drawings. Of course, as their mother, I am a biased observer. Nevertheless, I loved how much attention they paid to the use of shadow and shape. The most realistic drawings, in my opinion, were from my ten year old son in the middle. In addition to their drawings, I also made a few funny ones to add to the mix. Who doesn't want to see a dino with a handbag?

Looking for Fossils

When we got home, the dinosaur fever didn’t stop. Out on the playground, the boys gathered rocks and began making dinosaur fossils. Then they asked me to search the playground for bones like a paleoentologist and to try to figure out what dinosaur I had found. Was it an Allosaurus? A Pterandon? A Triceratops? I loved looking at their dinosaurs. It was not hard to imagine the broken rocks as bones left behind.

Now, in the midst of partial lockdown, I am reminded of our dino hunt. The playgrounds just reopened and my boys are glad to be free again to use more space than just our mini-backyard. They are all still big fans of dinosaurs. 

I think its time to go hunting for fossils again...  

Keywords: Dinosaurs, paleoentologist, sketching

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Social Distancing Scavenger Hunt

In our little neighborhood in Cambridge in the UK, my children have a nice group of friends that they enjoy playing with after school and on the weekends. As for many children in the world at the moment, social distancing has been very difficult for them. Other than saying hello from a window or on a computer screen, they have not been able to play with their friends in two weeks and probably won't be able to for three months.

In order to make this time a little easier and to give them an indirect way to connect with the neighbor kids, my neighbor Michelle and I decided to start the Social Distancing Scavenger Hunt.

1. Getting started
In order to get prepared, the kids and I first picked up some large rocks on our morning walk, took them home, and then painted them. One of my boys painted dinosaur fossils on his rocks, my youngest just painted them with different colors, and my middle child had some funny ideas. I also painted a couple, including the very simple sleeping rock which is covered in the letter z. Once the rocks were finished, we put a sealer on them.

2. Hiding rocks
Then, on our next walk, we chose 8 large rocks to hide along the way and as we hid them we thought about clues and wrote them down. For example, one rock has the word "rabbit" written in brown on it. This rock we hid under a large white round sculpture in the dog park. The clue was, "Find the brown rabbit under the white planet." Another rock we hid close to the playground and made finding it like in a pirate's story, "go four paces forward, then five to the right..." Sometimes we made references to landmarks or street signs. It was fun making the clues. The final rock was put by our doorstep and I told my friend to ring the doorbell and we could say hi from the window. Then it was her turn to place the rocks and think up clues.

3. Precautions
If you are worried about cross-contamination and catching Covid19 when picking up the rocks, you can use an inverted plastic bag to pick them up (as if you were picking up after your dog). If you coat the rocks with clear nail polish or a good coat of sealant, then you can also wash them with soap and water. Make sure you always wash your hands when you come back inside.

I think you'll find that the more often you do a scavenger hunt with the same people, the more difficult you can make the clues and hiding places. I hope that you enjoy this idea. Please let me know what other ideas you have! Stay safe!

By the way, if this is your first time on my blog. Please check out my previous post about a children's book that I wrote and illustrated to help ease children's fears during this time. It's called The Day the Lines Changed and all proceeds go to Covid19 charities. For more info, see my website kelleydonner.com.



Thursday, May 16, 2019

Sensory Fun at Bangabandhu Primary School


This week I visited Maddi Outram’s special education class at Bangabandhu Primary School in London. 

Maddi has been using my book Ball! Ball! Ball! for topic this term in her class. As many of her students are autistic and have sensory processing issues, Ball! Ball! Ball!  offered various possibilities for tie-in activities and sensory fun. Her students are between the ages of 5 and 9.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my book: 

Ball! Ball! Ball!  is about an autistic boy named Tom who is obsessed with all things round and enthusiastically points out any object he can find that looks like a ball. From peas to balloons, Tom learns that “balls” can be smooth, squishy, pop, and even have different temperatures.

Maddi read my story to her class and then made various tie-in activities based on sensory play. She collected variations on all of the objects in the book, such as a rock, a round lamp, bubbles, etc. and placed them in a basket to be used as needed. 

Just as Tom is excited about the peas on his plate, Maddi made a table full of peas and let the children play and squish them as they wished. For science and physical education, they rolled and threw different balls. She even filled a trampoline with balloons and let the children jump in them. I think she is doing a wonderful job and it is clear that the children all really enjoy being in her class. I'm thrilled that my book is being used in such a positive way.

On the day I visited, we decided to do a sensory bag activity. I placed a round object, such as a ball, round Lego tire, marble, roll of tape, etc. into a bag and let each of the children feel the object with their hands. Many of the children wanted to see the object and take it out of the bag.

After this, I read Ball! Ball! Ball!  to the class again. One of the pupils who had been stimming with his hand in front of his face the entire time, stopped stimming for a little while. This made me happy, as this was the child that Maddi had told me loved balls more than anything. Another child sat very close to me and wanted to touch the page that I was reading. Although I received very little eye contact, I could tell that most of the students were listening and taking part in their own way. Having written a story about an autistic child, it was wonderful getting positive feedback from children who could directly relate to Tom's character.

Finally, we made a fabric collage together of a scene from outer space using a simplified version of the collage technique that I used for Ball! Ball! Ball! I brought pieces of scrap material and stencils and we glued the material onto a piece of poster board. The children needed some help with using scissors, but they all worked really hard and together we finished a nice piece of artwork. 

I really enjoyed visiting Maddi’s class and the staff at Bangabandhu Primary School were all very friendly and helpful. I love being an advocate for children with special needs and autism and I look forward to visiting more schools in the future. I am also planning on adding a lot of Maddi’s sensory activities to my webpage along with some ideas for sensory play so that other teachers can benefit from her creativity and dedication.

Ball! Ball! Ball!  is in the process of being published and will be available on Amazon in June of this year. The ISBN number is 978-1-73-395951-3. Please contact me if you would like to pre-order a copy and if you enjoy my books, please leave me a positive review on Amazon. Thank you.




Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Happy Jar

I brought out the Happy and Sad jar the other day. I'm amazed they still work, even though the boys are getting older. Here is how it all started.

About the time that Lukas turned two, he decided it was time to hold his own against his older brother Jonas, who was three and a half.  Previously, if Jonas had wanted a toy that Lukas was playing with, he would bribe him with a different toy and all was well.  Now, his formerly easy-going brother Lukas would say no, hold onto the toy for dear life, and hit, bite, or scratch him if he tried to take his toy away. Unfortunately, since toddlers are good at retaliating, this often meant that Jonas would do the same thing back.

After a while I realized that things were getting out of hand and I needed to up my game.  The time-outs and conversations with Jonas were not working at curbing the fighting and I felt like I was saying no all of the time.  I didn't like all of the negativity and I didn't feel like it was working either. Nevertheless, I knew that Jonas was old enough to know better and I needed to do something to curb his behavior.  After talking to my mother, the best childhood expert I know, and looking on the Internet for ideas, I finally came up with the Happy Jar.

I took two small jars and labeled on with a happy face and one with a sad face.  Every time Jonas or Lukas showed good behavior, like being generous with their toys or snacks or playing nicely with each other for awhile, I would put an M&M into the Happy Jar (as long as there were M&M's in the Sad Jar, I would use them first).  When they fought with each other or were mean to each other, I would take one M&M out of the Happy Jar and put it into the Sad Jar.  After suppertime, we would count the M&M's in each jar, mark it on a chart, and then they were allowed to share the Happy M&M's (a small hidden mathematics lesson for Jonas at the time).

I tried really hard the first few days to find as much positive behavior as I could to try to motivate them to continue.  I was amazed how well the jars worked.  Jonas loved being able to collect the M&M's and would always report to me when he was being really good.  Even though at the end of the day, they never had more than 8-10 to share with each other, I could tell that Jonas was really proud of himself (Lukas, being only two, was of course not old enough to entirely understand the jar concept).

Although I will admit, it didn't stop the hitting and biting entirely, it did bring it down to an acceptable level that I could handle.  I only needed to use the jars for about a week. Children love getting rewarded. The best anecdote from the whole experience, however, came from Jonas one night at the very beginning when he went to look at the jars. "Look Mom," he said, "the Sad Jar is happy now, cause he has M&M's, too."

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Easter Basket Zwiebach Frogs



I don't know about you, but my kids get way too much chocolate on holidays. They get a bunny from family, friends, and neighbors as well as from the school, Kindergarten, and the grocery store. We end up swimming in chocolate. I wish more people would offer fun, healthy alternatives. 

If you are interested in making your kids Easter baskets a little bit healthier this year, these Zwiebach animals are easy to make and a lot of fun (What is Zwiebach?).  They would also look great in an Easter nest ready to be nibbled up on Easter morning.

Making Zwiebach Frogs is a great way to combine fun with food.  These frogs are easy to make and this dough requires very little kneading making it a great activity for children. Your kids can make bunnies and chickens, too. Add vegetables or fruit for garnish or lay them out on a pretty plate filled with goodies. Enjoy!
Here’s the how to:

Easy Zwiebach Frogs

1 C warm water
1 ½ T dry yeast
2 T sugar
¼ C oil
3 C flour
1 t salt

For frogs, you will also need string cheese, raisins, and a toothpick

1. Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, then add oil. Blend in flour and salt with a fork until the dough starts to stick together. Use your hands to finish the dough by kneading it a few times, not long, and then forming it into a flat ball. Put dough back in large bowl, cover, and let rise until double in size. If it is still hot where you live, put the bowl outside to make it rise faster.

2. Pull off pieces of dough and roll them in your hand to form golf ball sized balls. These balls will be the frog body. Place them on a greased cookie sheet. Then pull off smaller balls and pinch them around the body to make the legs and feet. Roll very small balls to make the eyes.

3. Now take a toothpick, and poke a hole in the eye piece of dough. Move the toothpick around a little to make the hole big enough to fit a half a raisin. Cut a raisin in half and using the toothpick again, push the raisin into the hole. Do the same for the other eye.

4. Pull off little strings of string cheese. Wrap the cheese around the large part of the body dough ball and then use the toothpick to push in the ends into the dough, so that it stays in place. This part can actually be a little tricky. You may need to wet the cheese for it to hold better.

5. Now let your frogs rise again, about 15 minutes. I have also baked some Zwiebach, which you can also see on the picture. While they are rising, you can turn your oven on to 350 degrees. You may need to push some of the balls back into place, as the rising sometimes will push the balls apart.

6. Place frogs in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve the frogs on homemade lily pads. Cut out green hearts out of paper. I used a plastic flower, but you could also cut flowers out of paper as well. Eat with butter and cheese, but first have your frogs jump around the table.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Rainy Day Driving

The German rainy season has now begun.  Even though my children both have plastic overalls, rain jackets, and rubber boots that they can wear outside when it's muddy or drizzling, some days it just rains too hard.

Lukas is now 16 months old and he loves to ride his bobby cars (see picture of Lightning McQueen car) all around our neighborhood. Unfortunately, since Lukas has been driving his car outside all summer, the tires are all worn and rough. Most homes here have wood floors, not carpet, so those tires would easily leave a bunch of race track scratches all around the house.

Therefore, I decided to make Lukas's car inside-proof! I cut strips of flannel (felt would work, too) and glued them around the tires.  Then I added a strip to the front for a bumper.

This was a very simple project that made my son very happy.  He can now drive his car all around the house, which is good for his health and my wood floors.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Homemade Blocks

I made these two blocks originally when Jonas was only a few months old and couldn’t even crawl, yet. My grandma Janzen had had handmade blocks at her house, and I always liked them. I figured, that blocks would also be a good sewing project, since they could be made quickly and Jonas could start playing with them asap.

At the time I made my first block, Jonas could only hold it between his hands and feet and giggle. Now at 15 months, he’s gone from just being able to hold a block in his hands, to throwing one easily across the room. They’ve definitely gotten a lot of play time and soon, I’m sure, he’ll start stacking them, just like I did with grandma’s blocks (I've since made more than two).

If you would like a good baby project and haven’t sewn in a while, or just have a lot of scraps lying around, then this is a good project for you. Here’s the how to:

1. Start by collecting scraps of materials with different textures. I used a lot of furry material on mine, mixed with bright patterned material. Then cut out equal sized squares. My squares were about 8 x 8 inches originally.

2. Lay the squares down on a table and arrange them the way that you would like to have your block look. That’s four squares down with one square on each side at the same point, just like a cross. On one block, I sewed Jonas’s name on a black velvet square at the center of the cross before I sewed the pieces together.

3. Now take your cross and making sure all of the pieces are upside down, start pining the sides of the cross together so that they are ready to go through your machine. Then sew all five of these sides.

4. Now the sewing will get a tiny bit more difficult, but not much, since as you sew the other sides together, your square will slowly take shape. Make sure to leave about 2 inches open on the last side of your last square so that you can turn your square inside out.

5. Now stuff your square with batting or foam. You can add an egg full of rice or a bell in the middle, if you want your block to make a sound when it is rolled. I have even put a crushed plastic bottle in the middle of one, since the plastic makes a neat sound. You will just need to make sure that you have enough batting all around your inner noise-maker.

6. One more tip. You can stuff your blocks really tight or leave them loose. Jonas loved the block where I added the least batting, since he could get the best grip on the corner and really squeeze it tight between his fingers. A neat tight square may look nicer, but it may not get as played with as a soft one.

7. Finally, sew up the two inches left on the one side and your block is finished. Congrats! Now your child has a toy that they can play with for a long time that is original and won’t break like a plastic one. My grandma’s blocks are still in use and hopefully, my blocks will also be enjoyed just as long.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Flashcards of Family Members


Since my husband is German, our families are in two parts of the world. So that Jonas can remember who everybody is, I decided to make flashcards of family members with their photos. He's still a bit too young to recognize everyone, but that doesn't seem to bother him. He already loves the daddy flashcard and enjoys putting the flashcards all around the room.

How to:

Print out 5 x 7's of family members (crop the pictures so that it is just the heads). Paste photos onto construction paper. Then laminate and cut out. Finally, punch a hold in the corner so that you can easily put all of the cards on a shower curtain ring. Done!