WEEK 9. Art food. Dinner with face shape.

The environment, along with the things around us, influences our physical, emotional and mental state. If we surround our children with beautiful, simple and warm things, they will develop tastes and trends towards them. We will be educating them in a culture of beauty that will provide many positive feelings and opportunities.

Monotony brings no new knowledge. New stimuli enrich the brain and promote further critical capacity.

When I showed Daniel the plate in the first picture, He asked me, "Mommy, is my birthday today?" I said, "No baby no not yet, why?" Daniel answered, “I thought it was my birthday.”

How beautiful, how simple, how cheap is thrilling a child! And why don´t we do it...?

When it is your birthday, believe me, I will try you realize it.

This week activity is very easy. It consists on making a face with what you have planned for dinner tonight, whatever it is. Small accessories can be used.

This picture is from insitemag and it has been made by a group of girls.

This plate is from "Food Face". It is only one model.

Do schools kill creativity? Sir Ken Robinson.

I want to share this great video of Sir Ken Robinson flooded with wit and irony. If the constant laughter from the audience let you listen to, you will discover more about the vision of this educator, writer and lecturer, British expert on issues related to creativity, quality of education, innovation and human resources.

His web page: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/

WEEK 8. Playing brainstorming to develop our mind.

Lamarck: "Function creates the organ."

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution of a problem. There are four basic rules in brainstorming.

1. - Focus on quantity: The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.

2. - Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'.

3.-Welcome unusual ideas: To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions.

4. - Combine and improve ideas: Good ideas may be combined to form a single better good idea, as suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". It is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.

Our week activity is to play our particular adaptation of a brainstorming. This game can be played at spares times as the way to school, in the waiting rooms ... It consists on saying "solutions" to a question.

I have created a pack of cards with three thematic groups:

1. - Green Cards: Naming real entities (objects, things, actions, sounds ...) (Download)
Ex: "Let's say carnivores."
2. - Yellow Cards: Name invented "entities". (Download) Ex: "Let's invent the sound each animal makes when laughing."
3. - Red Cards: Provide solutions to issues or outcomes of changed stories. (Download) Ex: "What would happen if the third little pig had not built a brick house?"

Process:

Once printed the cards in the corresponding color cardboard, cut to make the card pack. Then take a card and try to think on possibly solutions alternately, to one of the points. To encourage our particular game we can make funny comments on the other´s solutions (though in a theoretical brainstorming, criticism is not allowed.) Our goal is to make our child think.

I'm going to write, as an example, what Dani and I did today in the car on the way to school.

M (Mom): Dani, Do you want to play inventing things brainstorming?
D (Dani): Yes, yes ... Let's invent ... Let's invent ... Caves!
M: Caves...? "Caves...? Can you invent caves?
D: Sure mom, begin.
M: Well I will. I make up a cave ... a cave ... in a cloud.
D: But you're going to get wet.
M: No, because I have a rain coat.
D: Okay. Now I, I make up a cave of gelatin.
M: And what color is it?
D: It's green.
M: But if you eat it, the cave will fall down.
D: No because it is very large and you would have a stomachache before.
M: Okay I make up a cave in the bottom of the pool.
D: But you cannot reach it.
M: Yes, because I dive and there is an air cavity where I stop to breathe.
D: But you better go in a submarine ... Well I invented a cave made of acorns.
M: But squirrels could eat it.
D: No because I put them in a cage.
M: Okay, so I invent a crystal cave.
D: But then you will not get out.
M: Yes it has a door.
D: But you can cut yourself.
M: No, because they are harmless sheets of glass. But I could be discovered.
D: I think that is not a good idea mom. I make up a cave in a tree for birds.
M: How cool! And it can be communicated through a passage with another cave in another tree ...

(We continued with a dozen caves of different materials, sites, smells ...)

Colorful baby mobile.

This mobile is pretty easy to make with two dry cleaning hangers and colored felt.

It is sewn by hand with different beads.

Mila´s Daydreams

This is our little tribute to the patience and creativity of Adele Anersen and to her baby, Mila.

If you want to follow her blog Mila´s Daydreams. 

BOTTLE WITH MESSAGE FOUND!

INCREDIBLE! (If you want to read about the story, click here.)
Our travelling bottle reached El Prat beach (Barcelona) and a friendly dreamer found it on 11 March 2011. Only a dozen of miles and 24 hours lasted its unpredictable journey.

Will you be a non-adventurous bottle or perhaps eager to fulfill dreams of others? Jose surely will see his dream fulfilled. He told us that he would return the bottle to the sea. Thank you very much.

Sail away, we hope to hear from you and from dreams fulfilled ...

 

WEEK 7. A creative dung for Father's Day.

Creativity is important but so is tradition, because it takes us closer to our roots. For this reason I had thought that keeping alive traditions is important and I have decided to make the “typical” dung gift for Father's Day. I recommend that you read my article: "Is dung creativity?" before, by clicking here.

Materials:

White clay.
Tempera.
Brushes.
Various objects (treasures): Coins, shells, stones ...

"To smile"

Tips:
1. - Invite your child to model. If the adult begins to do it, surely the child will want to make his own.
2. - NEVER intervene in your child´s  work; unless you perceive huge structural problems. Then explain how to fix, or help him subtly with his/her consent. It is better that kid works in our sculpture that we do in his. Remember that all this work is for him/her, not for us. (It might be difficult to control ourselves at some point but please do not kill his creativity by teaching him/her all our vast wisdom ... in modeling?)
3 .- Let him/her do, and encourage him/her at all times with constructive criticism but not with free praises.

Process:Modeling, dry. Paint, dry, give away.

If you want to, you can download our sheet with the banner for the work here. (Té-quiero-papa/I-love-dad.)

I dedicate this post to the excellent restorer Marga Ors. She might be thinking about how less prolific where her modeling master classes, from an island.

Message in a bottle. Following his path. Dreams.

Sometimes I wonder what happens with all those messages in bottles that shipwrecked persons desperately throw to the sea. Will they be swallowed up by the ferocity of the water and will they be in the "bottle with a message" cemeteries? Will they be treated as dirt by casual walkers? ... There are headlines of bottles sailing for a couple of decades and then found in neighboring seas. (See here)

My big curiosity made me to embark us on a possible messages adventure. March 10 at 12:30, adventurer Daniel went on a ship called swallow in the historic port of Barcelona and under the watchful eye of the great Christopher Columbus who raised his hand showing the way to the horizon, Dani left. After 45 minutes of arduous journey, Daniel hopeful threw a bottle with a message of dreams into the sea, with these words:

 "My name is Daniel I am 3 years and my dream is to have a secret house of children. I will fulfill my dream and you? You are very lucky to find my message in an ocean. Sure your dream comes true. Please fill this role and returns the bottle to the sea.

My mom has a blog: http://creamomentos.blogspot.com/
We would be happy if you write us a comment in the post of March 15, 2011 saying when and where you found the bottle, along with your dream. You can also mail mom to: creandomomentos@gmail.com Please be sure to put in the subject line or heading, " xxx "....Hope your dreams come true, mine too."

We hope that our bottle is found by other dreamers who can see their dreams fulfilled ...

Dreamer 1: Daniel. Date: 10/03/2011 Place: The Sea Inside, coast of Barcelona. Dream: A wooden house.

Dreamer 2: Jose. Date: 11/03/2011 Place: Prat beach (Barcelona). Dream: Unconfessed. (Click here)

Dreamer 3: Maybe you?

WEEK 6. Dinosaur theme day.

Dani had a day off, dad was a skiing in the Alps for a week and David had to go to the nursery. Dani and I decided to make an elder’s trip, but the day did not smile us. So we stayed home and as we had in mind a visit to a dinosaur exhibit soon, we decided to enjoy a dinosaur day theme.

Dani thought dinosaur would be a good audience for an exciting race.

We bought a dinosaur book and we tried to identify our friends in the book.

Then we drew a portrait for each one.



During the lunch, Dani decided to share salad with herbivores and meat with carnivores.

In the afternoon we watched a movie about dinosaurs. Dani loved it.

We had for dinner, dinosaur soup.



And finally we made a book to remind us that day with photos and drawings.

Sure you can also make your day theme. Will you share your ideas on comments?

Tailor costume. Carnival.

On Friday, Dani disguised himself as a tailor with all his classmates.

He loved the fabric roll to use it as a sword. He did not like his brown mustache.

Attire:
Dark pants and white shirt.
Hackett jacket, two sizes larger, purchased at an outlet, threaded, and fitted.

Accessories:
Tape mesure.
Bag with buttons.
Scissors.
Roll of cloth.
Glasses.
Mustache.
Tie.
Wrist needle holder.

WEEK 5. Dreaming of a secret wooden house.

(see more here)



When I was a kid, one of my dreams was to own a secret house. My parents had to work hard for our future and they did not have time to think of our weird quirks. My brother, I and our cousins built houses with towels and ropes; we hid in “silos” and finally found a giant laurel plant that became "the great host of adventures." It had its entrance, narrow hall and function room. It was the most magical place on earth.

Today, we often forget that we are here to fulfill dreams and not to accumulate properties that only bring a short pleasant feeling of pride and an eternal investment of time to guard them.

This week activity is to achieve a dream through the implementation of goals and obtaining rewards in return.

Materials:
Bank.
Budget for one season.
Activity Sheet (download here).

Process:

1 Define a dream. This is the hardest part of the activity as we're pretty rusty in fulfilling dreams. We decided to get a house of wood, then paint it and turn it into a kid house.
2 Estimated cost. In our case 500euros.
3 Establish a deadline. Ex 5 months.
4 Ways to raise money:
    a) Set goals and rewards. Each month, Dani and David had their goals. Eg Dani: brushing teeth alone, at least 6 nights a week. Reward 5 euros.
    b) Each time we went out and they asked for a whim: egg kindergarten, little toy ... if I thought I would have bought it, the I negotiated with them to put its cost in a piggy bank instead of buying it.

Children learned the cost of things, the value of effort and finally the satisfaction of achieving goals.

When we were already advanced in the activity, I saw a super offer of a house.

"Little house", size (2.7m * 1.8m), was a bit bigger than what I had on my mind, but I thought the low prize could compensate it. My husband was reluctant to set more junk in the garden. I needed one week to find the right time to inform the decision that we both had taken without his fully aware. We went to the store, and while driving, I told him that the house was very nice although a tad larger. His face changed, he looked up and said: "I am very worried about what means a bit big for you." Once there, we put up into the car, board by board, a pallet of 350kg. Our dream is on! I hope to have it mounted and decorated for spring. I will show you the result. I wish you many dreams achieved...

(You can see a house built by a mom here.)

Thanks to the anonymous benefactors, grandparents...



Pajama costume.

I love the theatricality of the H&M pajamas.