Recently we have had a few requests for more information about what we do and who we are.

Some ideas that are important to us:

• We enjoy doing and making things together and wanted to share that with the hopes of inspiring others.

• We like to re-imagine items, changing things into something else.

• We hope to encourage people to get out into nature and explore their surroundings.

• Many of our projects are geared towards showing appreciation for others.

• We hope people will “Make it Their Own”, taking an idea and personalizing it to suit their students, family members.  We LOVE it when you share your creations with us.

How do we structure our projects?

• Some or our ideas are processes that I would like to expose the kids to and others are inspirations based on materials we have or have been given.  Our children are starting to develop their own ideas for the site which is exciting!

• Over the week the kids and I work on various pieces of the projects when they are home from school (leaving time for them to explore the materials and make other things that come to mind) and then I round up all of the stuff we have been working on, organize the materials and then typically we take photos of the activities on the weekend while our youngest is sleeping.  (And when, Galen, the photographer is available!)

Above is a short video interview we recently did in our studio with Telus (a national telecommunications company here in Canada).

Over the next 3 posts, we will show you 3 simple (old-favourite) games that children like with small toys or objects.

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• A childhood favourite game from my babysitting days!

Materials

• A small toy or object.

Directions

• This is game for 2 or more people.

• Have person A pick a small object or toy.  Hide it in a designated area (such as your living room or playroom) while person B either has her/his eyes closed or has left the room. (Or maybe both!)

• Have person B open her/his eyes and look for the object.  When she or he is getting closer to the object person A says, “Warmer”.  As they are getting more close, “Getting hotter” etc.  As they move away, “Colder”, “Getting cool” etc. until the object is found.

• Switch roles and repeat.

Purpose

• Re-imagining items

Safety Notes

• Small objects and toys can be a choking hazard.  Be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.

Over the next 3 posts, we will show you 3 simple (old-favourite) games that children like with small toys or objects.

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• This is a game we like to play at the doctor’s office.  It is a good visual pre-cursor to the game 20 Questions.

*Please excuse the paint stained hands!*

Materials

• Small objects/toys
• Pencil case (for storage so you can pop it into a bag, purse etc.)

Directions

• Put a few small objects into a pencil case for storage.

• Upon playing the game have one person select an object, concealing it from the other(s) in her/his hands or a pocket.

• The person that selected the object will then give out clues about it, one at at a time, allowing the other person to make guesses as to what it may be.  It may be clues about what type of object it is, how it is used, the colour etc.

• See how few clues it takes to guess the object.  This is a perfect time to model and discuss the types of clues and how they might aid or challenge the guesser.

• Change roles.

• Once the child has mastered this, then you can switch to a question format where you ask questions about the object and the person can only respond “yes” or “no”.  We try for 3-5 guesses depending on the age and abilities of the child(ren).

• Rotate the objects that you put into your bag.

Purpose

• Practising developing ways to describe things (this might include categorizing, the use of adjectives etc.)

Safety Notes

• Small objects and toys can be a choking hazard.  Be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.

Over the next 3 posts, we will show you 3 simple (old-favourite) games that children like with small toys or objects.

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• A fun game, perfect for those indoor winter days!

Materials

• Tray
• Small objects

Directions

• Place your objects on your tray.  The number of objects will depend on the age and abilities of your child(ren).  Start with something simple like 5 or 10 and then build up from there.

• Have the children look at the objects on the tray.

• Have them close their eyes and turn away.

• Remove 1 object from the tray.

• Have the child turn around and guess which object that you removed.

• Switch roles.

• To make the game more complex, use like objects (e.g., all seashells or all animal figurines.), vary the position of the objects each round on the tray, remove more than one object at a time etc.

What’s missing?

Purpose

• Improving one’s memory

Safety Notes

• Small objects and toys can be a choking hazard.  Be sure to keep them out of the reach of children 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things in their mouths.