As I mentioned last week, we have been preparing a garden in our spare time. It is defiantly been a family project. We have had gardens every year for as long as I can remember. You know a couple raised beds. This year we took the plunge and creates something grand. We dug up our blackberry field and brought in some topsoil and compost, laid out a fence and began preparing to sow some seeds. We put our tomato plants in the ground (a little early, but I have little green houses to put around each one). One of the benefits of gardening is the mindful and mindless time it provides. Mindful, in that I have a chance to be still and think, to organize my thoughts, or work through my feelings. Mindless, in that digging requires very little brain power, and I can give my brain a break from the work it does. I have compiled a list of other benefits kid might get from working in the garden. Gardening engages all of the senses. Squish your hands in the dirt. How does it feel? Let’s add some water. What does it look like now? How does that flower smell? We grew a vegetable... let’s eat it and see how it tastes! Hear that crunch when we bite into it? As you can see, it’s easy to incorporate sensory play into a gardening activity! Gardening encourages healthy eating. Have a picky eater who turns their nose up at the sight of a vegetable? Try growing one from a seed. Your child will be so proud to have grown a food, they might become curious enough to taste-test the fruits of their labor. Encourage them to sample the vegetable straight off the vine or ask them to help you prepare it in the kitchen. It may become their new favorite! Gardening enhances fine motor development. From picking up tiny seeds, to pulling weeds, and gently caring for your seedlings and plants, gardening encourages the development of fine motor skills every step of the way. Gardening introduces kids to scientific concepts. What makes the leaves green? What do plants need to thrive? How much water does the plant need? Explore science together while gardening -- once again proving that learning can be fun. Gardening fosters family bonding. Looking for a great family activity? Gardening is your answer! More hands make lighter work and although gardening can definitely be a lot of work, doing it together as a family makes it fun. Consider a “pizza garden” -- one that grows ingredients each member of the family loves on their pizza, such as tomatoes for sauce, onions for mom and dad, and green peppers for the kids. Harvest time equals pizza night! Gardening teaches responsibility. Plants require a lot of care. Forgetting to water them could lead to the sad death of your plants. Not paying attention to whether your plant thrives in direct light or indirect light can also affect the health of your plant. Learning how to care for the plants properly is a great lesson in responsibility for kids. Gardening helps learn to plan and organize. Some plants grow better at certain times of the year. Others do well next to another specific plant. Some grow nicely in rows, while others like wildflower seeds can be sprinkled around. Gardening is an opportunity to chat with your kids about how to best help your garden grow through planning and organization. Once planted, deciding who will care for the plants each day and when can be another opportunity to plan together. Gardening creates environmental stewards. Once children see how much time and effort goes into gardening, they will likely become more empathetic towards those who help put food on our tables every day. Use this time to talk about the importance of local farmers and taking care of our planet by recycling and not littering. Gardening develops math skills. How many seeds can you plant in each row? How many seedlings can fit in each garden box? How much water does each potted planter need? Math is a big part of gardening! Gardening teaching patience. Growing from seed to producing plant can take weeks! There’s no better teacher of patience than gardening. But we promise, it’s always worth the wait! Get out and dig up some dirt!
Until Next Time, Shaun Cornwall
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Over the spring break I was busy with my family working outside and preparing our garden. The weather was beautiful and the sunshine felt so good. The garden might be a little big (20ft x 40ft) but we will use the space. I will write more about that after we gets plants in the ground! As, I was looking ahead at the weather coming up for the next 10 days it looks like rain and more rain. We are in need of a good inside activity to keeps us engaged.
Do you remember when you were a kid and used the post-it notes to make little flip books? I use to stack them together to make a giant flip book. I was not that great of a drawer at the time, but it was always fun to see the completed work. I wish I had some of those early flip books to show you but, alas I don’t have them anymore. I do however have a little stop motion I made with LEGOs and a camera. See below! Crossing Guard from Buddy Films on Vimeo.
Flipbooks and stop motion animation is so much more accessible today. It is an activity that takes time and planning, and can produce some really fun results. Students might also be able to use a flipbook or stop animation to complete a school assignment to make things a little more interesting.
Stop motion can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. I am including a like to a couple apps that I have used to make animations. If you make something send me a link, I would love to check it out! Have a great week. Check out some of the videos in the links below and try making some animation you your own. Until Next Time, Shaun Cornwall
LINKS
FLIPBOOK DOT CHALLANGE – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCPdPc553yE HOW TO MAKE STOP MOTION VIDEOS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ppedXZHhE0 FLIPACLIP APP – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vblast.flipaclip STOPMOTION STUDIO – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cateater.stopmotionstudio
This past week my family and I have been taking a lot of walks. It has been good for us to get out of the house and stretch our legs a little bit. It is interesting to note that our children don’t always want to go on walks with us, so the fact that they are willing and happy about it, is saying something.
We live out in Maple Valley, not too far from the Cedar River and our walks often take us that direction. On day while we were down throwing rocks into the water, I noticed some rocks that were sitting on top of each other in a very beautiful way. They almost looked like they were defying gravity in a way. It really caught my attention. After we returned home I went online and did a little research regarding rock/stone stacking. Precariously, one by one, stones perch upon stones, rising above the ground in seemingly gravity-defying towers. The art of rock stacking can be practiced on a scale from miniature to massive with some of nature’s most basic and abundant materials—ordinary rocks! No support materials like glue or wire are used, just the rocks themselves. And the stack or sculpture you create can be as simple or complex as you like. After watching a ton of videos on the process and theories behind rock stacking on our next walk I decided to try a little on my own. It was a lot harder than it looked. However, there were some really interesting lessons learned. Remember last week when I talked about Grit? Well, this was a perfect example of needing Grit and perseverance. Stone stacking is an art from that takes time and focus. I cannot count the number of times my rocks fell or slipped from my hands. It was difficult and frustrating at times to find the perfect spot or position, but I keep trying. I invited my children to participate and it was awesome to see them work. They were calm and quiet while they worked. It was a very meditative and mindful process. I realized as we were leaving, we had all spent 30 minutes working intensely on our rock stacks.
But how can the rock stacks stand up if nothing’s holding them together you might ask? The answer lies in the science of gravity.
The trick to getting an object to stand up without falling over is to keep its center of gravity directly over its base. Move the center of gravity away from the base, and the object falls down. So if you start with a wide, solid stone as your base, you’ve got a good foundation for a successful rock stack. As you add each additional rock, go slowly. Each new rock adds mass and pressure to the stack as a whole, thus affecting the whole stack’s center of gravity. When you add a rock to your stack, try it in a few different positions to see how it will best fit with the entire stack. How can you align this individual rock’s center of gravity with that of the stack?
Try stacking rocks of similar shapes from small to large for a pure balance column. Or mix rocks of different shapes and sizes for a free style sculpture. Try turning some rocks on their sides to achieve a more difficult balance and a more stunning visual illusion.
This week I want to invite you to take your activities outside if you can. Check out some t=of the videos in the links below and try stacking some rocks of your own. Until Next Time, Shaun Cornwall LINKS THE ART OF BALANCING STONES - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqU19dR0bFE&list=WL&index=5&t=0s HOW TO BALANCE A ROCK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd6_r3M9zuk&list=WL&index=3&t=0s |
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September 2020
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