Growing Up Creative

How to make a summer necklace

This necklace is made of everything I love about summer: going to the beach, and eating melons.

^{(almost due)}

You can make your own summer necklace; this is how I made mine:

You will need:
Shells
melon seeds
ocean color beads
fishing wire
a needle

how to:

get all your materials ready:

• Selects the beads you would like to use

• go to the beach and collect some shells with holes
  

• cut up a melon, clean up the seeds. Rinse them up using a strainer and let them dry on a towel for a couple of days.
  

String the beads and the melon seeds on the fishing wire. Use the needle to poke holes through the seeds (very easy). 

You may randomly select your beads like I did, or make up a pattern.


If you are not into necklaces you may make up a mobile to hang.

I hope to see some of your necklaces in the eco kids craft flickr pool

Have a happy and safe summer.

tali

Sparks: 005 drawing inspired by reading

I remember Shoshanna was telling me that her son’s kindergarten teacher often asks her students to draw a favorite part of a story after reading it to them, this way she knows they will be tuned to the story and their mind stays in focus. I remember thinking how clever that was; she gets their attention and boosts their imagination at the same time.

The other day we were reading flotsam by David Wiesner (again), it is a story told in pictures only, of a curious boy who finds an underwater camera at the beach; after developing the film he discovers some fantastic photos of unreal scenes that are illustrated in a realistic manner, such as an octopus perching on an arm chair reading a tale to his little ones

 
oversize starfish as big as islands walking in the clear blue ocean,

a small oriental village made of shells mounted on to the back of a sea turtle, etc. 

Somewhere in the process of telling the story, I remembered Connor’s teacher and a post I have  recently read of drawing inspired by “The Little Prince”; I proposed to Ori and Zoe to make a drawing of an imaginary picture that could have been one of the pictures the camera took… the idea was a success.
A VAST world of imagination has just open up to us.
When we were done with the story we pulled some paper, markers and colored pencils, and we drew an underwater fantasy.

I always thought this book was wonderful, but trying to create an image inspired by the book made me realize how brilliant the author is.

You will need:
The book Flotsam
Paper
Drawing material

What to do:
Tell the story
Draw an imaginary picture that the camera may have taken
Discuss each other’s drawing
Hang on the wall

Thoughts and variations:
This activity could also be done with any other book and with any age group.
Drawing inspired by a story helps a child engage with the story on a deeper level, it encourages him/her to concentrate in the story and gain a better understanding. It increases creativity, noticing details, drawing skills, and helps with rendering thoughts and ideas onto paper.

Here are some ideas of what you may draw:

• your favorite part of the story 
• a place depicted in the story
• your favorite character
• a different ending
• an instrument or a tool that was used in the story

Some other books that you may use for this exercise:

• It's Okay To Be Different : draw yourself and how different you are (you may offer to sit in front of a mirror)
• The Little Prince : draw a planet of your imagination (see Berlin's Whimsy: summer lists)
• My Father's Dragon : draw a map of the Island of Tangerina and Wild Island; make a picture of the dragon (one of my favorite books)
  

These are just a few books that were lying in front of me, If you have any other suggestions, please add them in the comments below or email me.

Happy drawing

The beach

Sunday, June 21st, was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year.  I have decided to take a break from museum talk and dedicate a post to my favorite place – the beach.

 
When Zoe was 7 months old (about 5 ½ years ago) we spent a month in Boca Raton, trying to figure out if we should move to Florida (for different reasons we have decided not to). We went to the beach almost every day; it was Zoe’s first encounter with the sand and with the bright reflective sunlight. She didn’t like it a bit.
Both Oren and I were horrified with the possibility that our own daughter will not like the beach. You see, we both grew up by the sea, spending weekends, holidays and casual afternoons immersing ourselves in the warm sand, cooling down catching waves.  The thought of our daughter not liking the beach was not an option, or as Oren says “it was an option but a really bad one”. It didn’t take much longer for Zoe to understand that spending time at the beach is essential for her development and her mom’s sanity. My cyber friend Emily (I know you are smiling Amy) writes a must read blog called “child perspective” in one of her recent posts she talks about the sensory sensation in playing with sand, I wish I read it 5 years ago.

The way we experience the beach changes from person to person and between the different ages.

For children the sea is a source of limitless imagination: 
The send and water are the raw materials of castles and fortresses
The shovel is the tool for digging and creating a complex tunnel system to be destroyed by high tides and little feet
Small hands transforming figures by sculpting them with mounts of sand, turning them into mermaids, giants etc.
Shells turned into necklaces
Rocks piled into walls
Discards rediscovered as treasure drawn from the sea
Etc.

Grown-ups use the beach in different ways:
Some people (like my husband) cannot sit or lie down at the beach, they must be active in some sort of sport such as surfing, kite boarding, playing soccer, Frisbee, etc. while others (like me) find the beach to be the perfect place to do NOTHING. For these kinds of people the best position is to recline with a great book which also blocks the sun in their eyes. And some find the beach as the perfect place to socialize (say no more).

Than…if we are lucky enough, we get to have kids and experience the beach like children all over again.

What is your beach experience?

2 great picture books about 2 different beach experiences you should read

Books 01: A day at the beach

When I find a good book I feel like I want to tell the world about it. So this is me telling the world about two incredibly beautiful children’s books I have read this week. Flotsam by David Wiesner, and Wave by Suzy Lee. Both are wordless picture books about the ocean (I know the beach is probably not the best topic for the winter, but, I couldn’t wait till the summer to tell you about them…). Wave is a simple tale about a little girl’s day at the beach, which begins and ends with a wave. Flotsam is about a boy that finds an object that swept to shore. This object opens a world of fantasy that will take your imagination miles away. With super realistic water colors that make the story even more believable (Zoe kept on asking me if this story is for real…). The story has a great little discovery that I can’t give away.
Both authors are telling a story with no words of most children’s favorite - a day at the beach.  Although each author is taking a completely different approach, both are done extremely well. Hope you and your children enjoy them as much as we do.

Enjoy