Fibers and Flags

This week is Flag Day and Grandma, who likes to knit, is visiting so we will be exploring different materials and different things to do with yarn.  We started Monday off with a nature walk where we spent some time watching bees pollinate flowers and found a dead lizard.  Then we created paper bag puppets with yarn hair and had a conversation as puppets.  Since its Monday, we also worked on our Animals of the Alphabet book.  This week was G, H, and I.  For G, we found gorillas, grasshoppers, gharials, gerbils, and giraffes.  We stretched our necks like giraffes and pounded our chests like gorillas.  We explored horses, hippos and hummingbirds for letter H and had a horsey ride. There aren't a lot of I animals, but we included an impala and an iguana.

Tuesday, at story time, we heard stories to get us ready for Father's Day this weekend all about fun with dad.  There was a great Eric Carle book called Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.  We came home and talked about flags for Flag Day.  We looked at the American Flag, our state flag, and several flags from other countries.  We talked about how most flags are simple shapes, in part so that if you are ever lost and don't speak the local language, you can draw a picture of your flag and others can help you find your way to your embassy.  It also served as a way for troops to easily identify where they should gather to find companions.  We discussed the bold colors we commonly see in flags.  We talked about how the first American flag was not really made by Betsy Ross, but most likely by a group of women.  Betsy Ross did other work for George Washington though.  We also brought up the cool point that our current flag was designed by a kid.  Genevieve created her own flag.

We had an extra fun afternoon.  The library had a special fun summer activity in association with a local Raptor rescue.  A few of the rescued education raptors came for the kids to see.  We were able to see a kestrel, a great horned owl and a hawk.  Raptors can be identified by their sharp beaks and talons and the fact that they only eat meat.

Wednesday we started dance class.  It was cute seeing the ways the instructors introduced some of the elements of dance like arm positions and different jumps.  The kids danced with ribbons, creating small circles and big circles, then small waves and big waves.  They jumped in and out of hula hoops and over foam blocks.  Then they played a cat and mouse game, where one foot chased the other.  It's a cute little dance class for the 2-3 year old crowd.

In the afternoon, we looked at different knit and crochet items to compare the texture.  We also looked at some of my cross-stitch work.  Genevieve has been practicing stitching with her own plastic canvas and yarn so we looked at that as well.  There are all sorts of things we can make with yarn.

Thursday we made Huichol yarn art.  We used collage boards and stuck yarn to them.  The Huichol are a people native to Mexico.  They have beautiful, bright artwork.  Artwork is a divine practice for them, and often includes the peyote plant which is important to them.  They also often include other aspects of nature, like animals and the sun.  The colors may have meaning as well, often depending on the artist.  The Huichol are known for yarn painting, ojos de dios, and bead work.  Yarn paintings are created by pressing yarn into a base, often resin.  We used collage boards because it allowed us to press the yarn into a base as well.

We went to the park and continued to explore texture.  Genevieve used her magnifying glass to explore bark on different types of trees, a pine cone, and some ants.  (And we managed not to learn about burning them.)  Tobias has been exploring textures too.  He compared grass and his blanket in the park and at home he's been playing with tissue paper, crinkly wrappers, soft cloth, and a hard toy car.  We also read Puppy and Friends, which is a touch and feel book.

Friday, we started a new session of gymnastics.  This coach teaches a skill of the day, so we practiced safety falls.  Baby story time was focused on Father's Day this week.  We also read Mister Seahorse and No Naps for Father's Day.  I appreciate the examples of different fish fathers that take care of their young.  Some moms complain that No Naps sets a bad example but my daughter has been fighting naps anyway.  Its not always a parent's choice when your child decides to give up naps.

We finished our week of fiber activities with some fabric markers and a new purse for her to color.  Yes, this can be a scary activity but we talked before hand about how these special markers could ruin her clothing.  We also only had one marker out at a time and put them away as soon as we were done.

Saturday after soccer, we made our Father's Day presents.  Genevieve helped make brownies and cookies.  She loves helping in the kitchen.