Puppet Making with Paper and Cloth

Inspired by this simply magical post by Rima Staines of the Hermitage, the older girls and I decided that making puppets would be our Summer project.

 However, it was a far more complex undertaking than I realised it would be.

It took from August to late November to finish our puppets in the end.

The girl's each had quite definite and ambitious designs in mind.

 I wanted to be able to help them to accomplish these without too much frustration so the puppets really ended up being collaborative efforts. 

I provided, technical support when threads needed threading and untangling and re-stitching.

They engaged, with guidance only in the processes that they could manage without help such as applying glue and paper to the heads and shoulders, cutting out the hands, whittling the sticks that hold the puppet's strings and stitching the fabric squares that made up the puppet's clothing.

We worked together on  painting  the faces and on stitching around the puppet's hands.

 

 This little man is named Thorfinn after the enchanting fairy tale by Vivian French and Jackie Morris "Singing to the Sun"

 His hands are made of wool filled cotton interlock.
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His gown and hat are made of two squares of cotton print fabric.

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His head and shoulders are molded out of papier mache.
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 His strings are made of hemp twine strung to two hand whittled pieces of wood, kindly donated by one of the trees in our village green.

He also  has a little bell sewn to the top of his cap of which he is very proud.

I wanted to create a puppet design that would be easy enough for the children to handle and manipulate. 

This meant the design had to be pretty simple, flexible and weightless. 

However, I also wanted them to easily express their puppet's character by manipulating it's movement.  

I think this was achieved by using large squares of flowing fabric for the puppet's gowns as they gave the arms a good reach and lots of flexibility.

Thorfinn also, actually has two strings threaded through his head. 

One comes out through the front and one pokes out of the  point of his cap.

Using two strings for the head like this, allows the puppeteer to direct the angle of the head with ease.

Thorfinn can be made to look down by pulling the thread that runs through the back of his head while slackening the the thread that pokes out from under the front of his cap.

 

This gives poor Thorfinn a rather melancholy air. 

But never fear! 

By tightening the front string and slackening the back one his joie de vivre soon returns.

The girls' whittled the wood and rubbed it with my homemade beeswax salve.
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His hair is made of Merino wool roving and stuck into place using a non toxic craft glue. 

I used my longest, scariest doll-making needle to stitch the strings through his head and cap before gluing his cap to his hair line with more copious amounts of  craft glue.

Florence, as ever unmoved by the general chaos of her household.
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 Matilda and I worked on this elegant character. Her name is Lady Elspeth Barley.

Boo's creation is simply magical. He is a Celestial Bird Boy!

Here is poor Thorfinn looking a wee bit undone. 

You can see how we shaped the head, neck and shoulders from this picture. 

To paint the faces we made up a large batch of skin tone in acrylic; One pale, one cool and one slightly warmer in tone for shading. 

We applied the skin tones and waited for them to dry thoroughly before painting the facial details and sticking on the hair.

To make the basic head and neck structure, we scrunched up a sheet of newspaper in to a ball, leaving enough to twist a sketchy neck and shoulder shape with the same sheet to avoid having to stick pieces together.

We molded the face by sticking pieces of ripped up newspaper onto the structure with PVA glue.

The  bodies were made by placing two pieces of fabric right sides together and stitching all the way around leaving gaps along the top and on the top two corners for the head and hands to fit through and be stitched in place.

On a roll of sorts I decided to use a similar process to create some cloth puppets using the Waldorf method for molding their heads. 

It was certainly easier to thread twine through a wool filled head than a paper filled one!

More inspiration

  The video above describes beautifully why puppets and puppetry helps children connect with their imaginations.

I love the simplicity of this Waldorf style Puppet play using marionette style dolls.

what is essential is invisible to the eye

I blink sleep from my eyes. It is a dark winter morning.
For a moment all is peace in the solemn, light.

A long list of tasks rise up from the mute depths of sleep to the choppy surface waters of "awake."

A series of have to, have to, have to's scatter like post-it-note confetti in my brain.

Some "have to's" are mundane and repetitive, (sort laundry pile, clean out cupboards and whatever is lurking at the back of the fridge)
 Some are urgent, (makes appointments for my Dad, make breakfast, get dressed!)

I hear children stirring and the distant clatter of kitchen utensils.
The have to's simmer to whispers as little bodies, warm as bread rolls fresh from the oven, tumble into our bed.

Older children scuffle around in the half light complaining of lost slippers.
The dog scampers into the house with muddy paws and a slipper-less child chases after with a soggy dishcloth.

I look at the clock.
All the "have to's" bury under other have to's like odd socks in the laundry pile.
My chest tightens.  How will I get everything done today?

Hands wade in warm, soapy, suds, I swill bowls and cups and stare out the kitchen window.
My tired eyes wonder over random, abandoned toys and settle on the bare, stillness of trees.

Uncomplicated and patient, they stand.

 A cross hatch of branches, dense as crows nests; a metaphor for my thoughts; tangled and straining for light.

Winter sunlight, thin as whey, seeps through brittle capillaries of leafless bough.

The light draws them into stark definition.

The light is a being; a spirit they are immersed in.

It is a spirit that shapes them, forms them, giving them life and purpose.

Here under the stairs it's soft bloom anoints dusty corners brimming with toys, suspended mid play.

And in the motion blur of clattering spoons and tasks undone I catch a tremulous scattering of photons shine on the soft down of baby hair that curls around the nape of her neck.


“Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
 

{This Moment}

Joining Soulemama today for {This Moment} -
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Seasonal Un-school Curriculum

 I have noticed the same thing happens for us around this time of year. 

We go into hibernation mode.

I used to bookmark an abundance of seasonal crafts and activities imagining all the glitter flecked memories we would make.
But often, it would feel like we were list checking not meaningfully engaging.

The wonderful thing about the internet is the amazing amount of information, ideas and inspiration you can glean from the screen at the click of a mouse.

The terrifying thing about the internet is the amazing amount of information, ideas and inspiration you can glean from the screen at the click of a mouse!

It triggers a dormant type A within that I never knew existed.

I have learnt to trust our natural cycles and rhythms. 
 Usually they are in alignment with the natural cycles and rhythms of the seasons.

Modern life leaves little space in the margins for life's messy workings out.

With ever increasing work and school hours there is barely enough time for people to recover from the flu, let alone listen to their bodies need for seasonal rest and renewal.


Though seasonal cycles don't always match up with the modern 24/7 lifestyle they are good reminders of our limitations.

If I listen close the signs of the seasons, even this gloomy, rain specked afternoon, I will learn better what my real priorities are.

If I don't heed the whispers of the wild seasons both within and without I can end up ploughing through fields that need to be left fallow if they are to ever yield.

I can find myself pushing through tasks that end up being of little importance to the bigger picture once time gives perspective and retrospective "eyes to see."

As a result I'll only feel out of sync or like I'm trying to play catch up.
 Kids will pick up on the discord and begin to squabble.

They will also pick up that downtime or introspection is meaningless.
Thus buying into a materialism that values tangible product above inner process.

But the truth is that the quality of tangible products is always dependent on the inner processes that conceive them.

So we make time for process, however messy or disorganized it may look from the outside.

“We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.”― Rumi

Learning from the source.

Leaves tumble and rustle along curbs and margins.

A small, grey hedgehog waddles beneath rambling bracken, seeking a place in the margins to curl undisturbed.

The leafless trees stand mute in distant fields and along the margins of roads.

 I find, also, my own strength (mental, physical, emotional) waning with the ebbing light of the season. Like the hedgehog, I want to find a place to curl, undisturbed.

 Taking time to reflect, and filter the extraneous from the truly necessary is so important for me.

Like the trees, I need to shed the curling brittle leaves to make room for new, tender, green ones.

Yet, in today's fast paced world, nature is given the frayed edged margins of life and so is our own human nature.

John Trudell says we are beings first, the human part comes later.
Seasons remind us to honour our being: The part that is connected to the all.



My children know their needs.

There will be a week where one child will study nothing but owls, or astronomy, or stop motion, while yet another will simply potter about, sleep and play.

I am glad they are able to trust themselves.

I am still learning to trust myself.

I still often feel as if someone is looking over my shoulder judging me for simply being me.

I still often feel as if I should be looking for some external validation or justification for my life and the choices I make.

I'm un-learning this conditioned response. I am slowly but certainly learning to trust ever-more in my own placing of my feet upon the ground.

Thankfully my children are patient teachers. They don't mind waiting for me to catch up with them.

"It is no secret. All power is one in source and end I think. 

Years and distances, stars and candles, water and wind and wizardry, the craft in a man's hand and the wisdom in a tree's root: they all arise together. 

My name, and yours, and the true name of the sun, or a spring of water, or an unborn child, all are syllables of the great word that is very slowly spoken by the shining of the stars. 

There is no other power. 

No other name."

Extract from "The Earthsea Quartet" Ursula Le Guin

 

Homeschooling with Toddlers and Preschoolers ( 12 things I've learnt)

 

It feels like a "post it note to self" day today.
Here are a few reminders I blu-tak to my own wall when life gets hectic with littles.

• Rest as much as you can and don't feel guilty about it. 

 Dishes can wait. 
Real friends don't want to come and visit so they can see your perfect house.
Homely homes that are lived in, are a public service for the rest of us.

And if you only got three hours sleep last night, that field trip or craft project can wait.

From a place of rest you will be able to see clearly what is necessary and what is not.

You will also have the inner resources to work creatively and compassionately with  the inevitable ups and downs a day with littles brings.

We all strive to live up to impossible, media driven standards. Let's not.
    
Rest whenever you can.

• Don't panic, your child will learn what they need to learn when they are ready to learn it. 

Take your cues from your child not other people's children, others expectations or the standardized measurements of the eduction system.

When your child is ready to learn something they will show a natural interest.

To spark that interest, simply create, warm, happy, nurturing spaces in your home with lots of opportunity to play and rest.

You can strew a rotation of interesting books with engaging illustrations. 

Garden together and talk about the seasons. 
Provide art and craft materials and a cheap table they can wreck with glitter, glue, play-dough and finger-paints.

Up to the age of about 6 or 7, many academic principles will be covered through play and simply learning about the things they are naturally interested in.

•   It's about the Journey not the Destination

Littles love to explore the tactile nature of raw materials such as mud, sand, water, finger paints and play-dough. 

 Their efforts may not result in a perfect wall display but their minds will be nourished through experimentation for experimentation's sake.

Focus on the quality of the process not the end product or learning objective. My little ones seemed to absorb more when I gave them the space and freedom to go off on their own tangents.

Understanding the feel, weight, texture, possibility and limitations of the sensory world around them will give them all the tools they need for more academic work such as reading and writing. 

• You don't have to start planning for college just yet!

One step at a time.

Simplify.

If you tend well to the roots of a plant, it will grow healthy and strong with only three ingredients, water, sunlight and good earth.

• Ingredients for good earth are:

A warm, loving home.
 Not a perfect home.

Perfectly decorated bedrooms or the latest developmentally appropriate toys are not as important as connection, happy messes, enjoying simple things and jam jars full of carefully handpicked weeds.

Good earth also means having authentic human beings for parents.

Children don't need your idolized vision of motherhood.

They need you and your truth.
They chose you for a reason.

• Don't let external expectations or standards  compromise your connection with your children.

There is a wealth of  extracurricular activities and groups to join up to. 

Not all will add to the quality of your life. 
So don't sign up for everything under the sun.

 Just because your child doesn't go to school doesn't mean you have to compensate with any and every local activity or group.

Nurture genuine, friendships that grow organically and naturally from shared interests.
Only sign up to activities that really spark your imagination and don't feel like a chore. 

These days are fleeting.
Soon they will be over.
One day you'll have a nice clean dining room table, a new carpet and silence.
The relationship you forged with your child and the memories you made are what will endure.

• You don't have to hover

Some activities will have to be supervised and guidance is always good. 
But don't run yourself ragged micromanaging every second of your child's life.

 Learning how to play, manage boredom  and problem solve independently is a really important skill. 
It is not always easy to work through these developments but it is necessary.

The more you structure and manage their day the less able they will be able to cope with managing their own time as they grow. 

Allow them the time and space to look within for inspiration and validation.

•  Graze

Allow your children to graze on healthy food such as fruit, veggie sticks, hummus, healthy breads, raisins and yogurt rather than cooking complicated meals during the day. 

 Grazing is a natural way of eating and one that many children prefer.

I know that there is a lot of pressure to sit around the table and eat as a family but it's okay if that routine doesn't work for your smaller children.

Investing both time and expectation on a daily family meal that children only fuss over is an unnecessary stress.

There will be plenty of time to develop these traditions once they're ready to embrace them.

Children often have different priorities to adults.
Sitting down for an our at a dinner table may not be one of them.

One day your child may well look forward to deep conversation over good food.

Today may not be that day.
It is okay.

It is also okay if your child eats with their fingers and only takes two bites before running back to their Lego. 

Fill the cupboards with healthy food.
Eat well yourself and they will model your habits.

So long as healthy food is the primary option and treats are not taboo or forbidden altogether, children will eat what they need, when they need it and naturally receive the nutrients necessary for their growth.

• Some days you will feel worn thin

Build trusted friendships.
Connect with like minded families. 

Be honest about your limitations.
We live in a fast paced, pressurized world. 

There is no communal hearth or daily meeting at the well anymore. 
Life has been atomized. It is hard to raise a family these days.

Ultimately a happy, healthy Mama means a happy, healthy family. 
 Do what you need to achieve happiness, health and deep fulfillment and your kids will too.  

This could mean choosing conventional school or nursery for your child for a time. 

There are many wonderful Waldorf schools out there that offer natural, holistic curricula. 
Many schools offer  flexi-schooling as an alternative to exclusive homeschooling. 
This can be a great solution if you want to home-school but have work commitments during part of the week, health issues or babies and toddlers at home.

• Make the most of mornings

Try to take some quiet time to yourself before your littles wake up. 
Even if that means no more than ten minutes with coffee and silence.

Getting out of the house in the morning when your energy levels are highest will lift the rest of your day.
Aim to accomplish priority tasks in the morning too. That way by afternoon you will not feel as if the day completely unraveled under your feet. 

• Ask yourself whether your life looks like you want it to.

Does it nourish your heart?
What matters most to you.
Are relationships more important than results?  

• Above all

Trust your instincts Don't blindly follow lists such as this.

Follow the voice of your instincts. 
It is a good guide.

Every family, every circumstance and every life is different.
There are no hard and fast rules to this beautiful life we share.

Make up the rules that fit you and yours best.






Linking with "Tot School Gathering Place"

The Importance of Rest

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time”

 John Lubbock 

 Mulch and Motherhood

Last week we finally racked Autumn's mulchy brown leaves from the grass to the flower beds and veggie patch.

 I think Motherhood is the mulchy leaf stage of life. Life, post birth and life with little ones is like a season of hibernation. We form nests for our young from the moss, feather and fern of ourselves. And in order to form the warmest nest we re-connect with our inner life; our childhood, our deepest truth, our limitations and our courage.

It can be hard to embrace the falling leaf of slow motion living. We have all learnt to wrestle with the restless charge to do, do, do. And although life with little ones is not always restful it embraces the inner life.

It doesn't always "look" pretty or impressive, but things are happening at an integral level.

Ground is being overturned, hard edged stones are being removed and seeds are being scattered.

 

The most beautiful Spring blossoms grow from compost.

Growth happens in the deepest places. 

Secretly.

In places of rest, and renewal we can re-birth.

Like bulbs beneath Winter's womb.

That emerge, tender and green from Spring's sunlit thaw. 

Nature knows the importance of rest. She is a great teacher.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

— Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

Honouring our bodies need for rest is so essential.

If we want to accomplish things with the full presence of our minds, bodies, spirits and hearts we must be fully rested.

Fields that have been left fallow for a season always yield a greater harvest the coming year.

The  time we take to rest and nourish our inner lives reflects upon our outer lives.

 

Rest clarifies that which was foggy, hones our focus to a sharp point and brightens our perspective.

Instead of becoming frustrated with small details we are able to see the full panorama; the big picture.

Yet there is this inherent guilt in me that I must keep constantly preoccupied with something "useful".

I must be mindful to remember the false economy of that.

 We are still in the process of  un-learning our conditioned ideas about what is important.

 

We want to grow in awareness. 

And then live from that state of conscious awareness.

Life is so short.

What do we want to spend our "one wild and precious" life learning, being and doing?

We are not here to simply cram facts into our brains and pass tests.

So that we can trade the better part of our lives doing a job that neither nourishes us or our world.

We are not here to simply earn money, consume and expire.

 

We are not robots, statistics or numbers.

We are Human Beings each born with unique gifts, a vision, a purpose and a journey to embark on.