Insights into the 'Boy' Brain.

Watching my little boy growing up, I find myself constantly amazed at how different he is from his sister. His mind just works in a different way. I notice that he is drawn to the mechanics of how something works... he likes to watch the wheels of his truck turning around, sometimes spinning them super fast, sometimes slowly. He likes to unscrew and hammer, fix and pull apart.
I am mindful of the role I play in encouraging his mechanical brain. It is a conscious process for me as I am definitely not of 'mechanically intellect', feelings and magic and the emotions of my daughter are far more innate to me, but the workings of my boy's brain are somewhat foreign. I have been aware for some time, that I need to set about structure this 'mechanically inclined' play into our days, but have been at a loss as to how. That is why I am so thankful for this article, by Earth Mama, in the fabulous Rhythm of the Home online magazine.

(photo courtesy of Rhythm of the Home)

Bravo! Lisa, and thank you for the help.
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Make Bark Boats.

We made Bark Boats today and took them to our local nature center to race down the stream. It was such fun that we had to do it again... and again... and again. Mr T's boat was the fastest and won most of the races. He is a natural sailor. I took wonderful photos to show you but, alas, pressed the delete button on my camera and lost them all - all of the whoops, the sparkling eyes and the triumphant applause. Pity and sadness!

Anyway, in their stead, I direct you to a post from last year when we learnt how to make Bark Boats. They are such fun little whimseys and teach a wonderful lesson. Enjoy...

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Bark Boats

We made these sweet little Bark Boats at T's Waldorf inspired playgroup. He is very enamored with his boat, especially since he made it himself, and has played with it in the water tub many times. I love that it teaches him that all you need is to find a few natural things from what we have around us and you can make a toy more beautiful than any you can buy in the shops.

They are easy to make. Start off with a piece of bark that floats nicely. Drill a hole in the middle of it for the 'mast'. Find a straight stick to fit in the hole for the mast. Thread a big leaf through the mast for the sail. I have put a round bead on the showing end of the mast so that it is safer for little eyes.

T's favourite thing to do with his Bark Boat at the moment is use his 'bamboo prodder' to poke the boat around the tub. He thinks he is very clever that he can control it from a distance. A Good Man has dubbed it his 'Remote Control'.

And, as you can see in this next photo, he can even balance a car on his boat! Can you see how proud that makes him feel?

Blessings and magic.

Donni

How to make a Walnut Boat.

Waldorf education has been a great gift to our family. We happened upon it when K was 3 and fell in love with its gentle, nature based learning. Slowly, we have incorporated many of the Waldorf philosophies into our everyday lives. I did not expect to find myself raising my family in one of the biggest metropolises in the world and, for a while there, I found myself caught up in the frantic 'bigger, better, MORE!' syndrome that living in a huge city inflicts. I am so relieved that Waldorf has slowed us down, brought us back into connectedness with nature, helped us clear away the unnecessary clutter so that we can see the beauty in the dewey grass and hear the crazy calling of the mocking bird over the drone of the freeway. Life is much fuller with less stuff!

Making our own toys brings us particular delight. It is magical to watch my children start with a few natural materials and see their wonder as those plain, everyday things become a cherished toy. It is so empowering for them to know that they are creative... they can make things they really love!

Today we made little Walnut boats. This is a wonderful Waldorf activity... it uses natural materials, requires skill, hand/eye coordination, foresight, planning, patience and imagination. The delicate boats are magical... just big enough for an elf to sail. They inspire hours of imaginative and creative play... in soothing, calming water. All these things are a gift to a child's spirit.

To make your Walnut boat you will need,

walnut halves (look here to see our trick to splitting walnuts)

a knife

bees wax or a few natural colored crayons

a recycled jar

a few sticks

card or material for the sail

scissors

a hole punch

We used broken brown crayons instead of bee's wax. Mr T took great pleasure in breaking them up into tiny pieces and putting them into the glass jar.

He has always been a good crayon breaker!

Once all of the crayon pieces were in the jar, I microwaved it for one and a half minutes to melt the crayons.

I carefully (it is HOT!) poured the melted crayon into the empty walnut shells and set them aside for a few moments to cool.

While the wax was cooling, we broke our long stick into two 2 inch shorter sticks for the boats mast. When the wax was cooled to the consistency of peanut butter, we inserted the masts into the wax. As the wax cools further, it holds the masts fast.

To make the sails, we used strong card paper. K used my leaf paper-cutter to punch out an oak leaf for her sail. T preferred a triangle. They punched two vertical holes in the sails for the masts to fit through.

They threaded the masts through the punched holes in their sails and their boat toys were ready for sailing.

They looked too sweet sailing around our fountain.T and K discovered that they could move their boats through the water by blowing softly on them. Boat races ensued which brought much joy and laughter!
To find out more about Waldorf Education, visit Why Waldorf Works.

Happy boat making!

Blessings and magic.