Quick, easy, effective. A ‘Jumbles’ Dragon made as all the Jumbles are from 100denier tights, elastic bands and the stuffing from inside a pillow!
The only remotely tricky part is making the wings.
I’ve used a tie dye method to colour the fabric from the cover of the pillow but you can use a scarf or similar.
If making the wings looks too complicated then a couple of bought lightweight fans would do the job just fine!
Gardeners don’t like Snails for obvious reasons but kids are fascinated by them AND they are incredibly interesting creatures AND very gymnastic AND make very good pets!
CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO ON SNAILS
Looking at them through the eyes of a child they are quite incredible creatures with their slippery silver trails and waving tentacles. What other creature carries its house on its back! It’s the stuff of fairy tales.
In the video Lizzie finds a snail eating her plants and decides to find out how she can stop this happening without hurting the snail. There is also an investigation for parents or teachers to carry out with their children.
This is the first of two programmes. In the second programme Lizzie will be looking inside the snail shell and exploring spiral shapes in nature and buildings. Click on the link below for a programme on spirals.
Learning for Under Fives
Today’s programme introduces the letter Ee, the colour white and number 5.
There is also a guest! A Jumble Tuft Easter Bunny who brings lots of Easter Eggs.
Lizzie shows you how to make some rather cool eggs and also a delicious quick and easy desert.
Lots of extension activities.
This link takes you to today’s programme.
Don’t forget there are lots of Lizzie Witch and Jumbles Books to enjoy . See the ‘books’ page on this site or copy and paste this into your browser: amazon.com/author/judibrereton
Some of the books are also available on Amazon as ebooks.
Don’t miss: More Easter Crafts here.
Happy Easter from Jumble House!
Adult supervision required.
Easter is close and everyone is busy with the usual Easter crafts. Coloured eggs is one of the most popular but very predictable!
Today we made our own dyes by boiling onion skins. We used red skins and predicted that the egg shells would be red. They came out more purple but maybe they would have been red if we had used eggs with white shells. That’s something you can find out!
We cracked the shells of some of the eggs before putting them in the dye to make ‘spider man’ eggs. Again our prediction was that we would have a network of spidery red lines but that wasn’t the case!
There was dye left over so we used it to tie dye a white handkerchief.
Then we tried dying pieces of other material to see which took up the dye, always predicting first what we thought would happen.
Last but not least we looked at some pieces of onion skin through a magnifying glass.
Some very interesting discussion arose from the questions asked during all this work with eggs.
Why do chickens come out of some eggs but not others?
Why do we give eggs at Easter?
Why are eggs and chicks symbolic of springtime?
Why do eggs have shells shells?
Why don’t we lay eggs?
It’s fun trying something new!
Make a rainy day fun by finding out more about rain.
What is rain? What shape do raindrops make in puddles? Why do wet pebbles look shiny?
There are so many questions to find the answers to and so many art and craft projects to continue the theme and explorations.
Follow the link below and watch the short video with your child. Then start to look, to listen, to investigate.
It’s Raining. Art meets Science
Simple answers to those difficult questions:
What is rain?
Rain falls from clouds. Clouds are made from lots and lots of tiny water droplets. These droplets move around and bump into each other They stick together into clumps that get bigger and heavier. Eventually they get so big and heavy they can’t float any more and they fall to the ground as rain.
Why are wet stones and pebbles shiny and darker than dry ones?
The water coats the stone giving it a smooth surface. Light reflects off this surface just like it does in a lake or in the sea.
What shape do raindrops make on puddles?
Rain drops make concentric circles. That is one circle inside another. You can illustrate this by putting a very small plate on a slightly larger one and that on top of a larger one still.
Why do raindrops stay on top of leaves?
Leaves are covered with a kind of waxy coat. Some leaves are more waxy than others. This makes them waterproof and so the raindrops stay on the surface..
Why do raindrops on a window always go down and never up?
its all to do with the pull of gravity. Gravity is like a great big magnet pulling everything down towards the ground. Without gravity we would float in the air and so would all the cars and buses! When raindrops land on the window they are pulled downwards by gravity. As they travel down the window they bump into other drops and be one heavier. The heavier they become the faster they move.,
For related art and craft projects please see the previous two posts. Or search for raindrops and Concentric circles.
It’s FUN learning at Jumble House so come on in! (The link below will take you to the programme)
Thematic Preschool Learning. Short programmes (typically around 6/7 minutes) for 3 to 5 year olds. Phonics, Number, Art and Science connected to a central topic.
The programmes are presented by Lizzie Witch and friends!
Designed as a ‘ Watch with,Mum, Dad, Auntie, each programme suggests follow-up activities.
The introduction to each programme is the same encouraging interaction and learning of rhyme and numbers to 10.
BALLOONS. It’s fun learning at Jumble House
Today the theme is balloons
The letter is: Pp
The number is: 3
The colour is green .
And the narrated story is all about PEDRO PEAR and the folk who live on FIVE A DAY HILL.
The Jumbles have been writing stories.
Here is the one that TuTu wrote about Mandy Melon.
Illustrated and narrated.
Creativity
Why is it important to develop a child’s creative thinking skills? Because it’s probably the most important skill they will ever learn!
Developing creative thinking is about developing self esteem and self confidence. It is about developing a love of learning. Of having the means to deal with the confusion, risks and failures that are part of everyday life. The confidence to lead and to be different from the crowd.
I believe that all children are creative by nature but, unfortunately, many lose their creativity before reaching adulthood. In our education and social system where examination success, conformity and peer pressure reign supreme, creativity is often squashed or at least buried.
Creative thinking is vital in all areas of life. It is a skill which will give your children the edge over others in their chosen career enabling them to be the person who initiates new procedures rather than one of the majority who follow already established routines. It opens the door to new opportunities and new inventions.
So how do we recognise a creative thinker?
A creative thinker is able to think 'out of the box'. They are curious and questioning and not afraid of making crazy suggestions knowing that there may be many possible answers. They make mistakes and learn from these mistakes being happy to try and try again. Creative thinkers don’t feel guilty about daydreaming knowing that often this is when the best ideas are born and when they realise these new ideas they put every ounce of energy into making them a sucess. They are optimistic, have boundless energy and, despite accomplishing a great deal, still have free time to enjoy their family and hobbies. Last, but not least. They enjoy life, their work and are never bored!
‘Jumble Fun’ aims at developing creative thinking by:
Asking open ended questions:
The stories and programmes from Jumble House use narrative which includes open ended questions which require more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. “What do you think we should use to make …?” “what would happen if …?” “What could we change…..?” “What choices do you have….. ?” They encourage children to think for themselves. To see that often there are many possible answers not just one. To think 'out of the box'.
Making choices
The programme encourages children to make their own choices. To make decisions and try them out. If their choices fail to achieve the desired result they are encouraged to try again. From this they learn to view making mistakes as a new beginning and not as a failure or the end of a project.
Story telling and dramatic play
There are opportunities for children to make their own ‘Jumbles’ and to weave stories around them. They are encouraged to daydream. To make up stories. To tell stories. To present their stories in many different ways , as story boards, picture stories, puppet shows or in video format. All the movies, pictures and stories featured on 'Jumble Fun' are produced using only an iPad and basic, usually free apps so children are able to obtain a similar product easily at home.
Creating
The ‘Jumble’ characters enjoy inventing and making things from well, …… jumble! In other words, from ordinary, everyday household items and objects they can collect in their local environment. Using the characters as inspiration and role models, children will become collectors and inventors, viewing ordinary objects as blank canvasses on which to stamp their own individuality. Hopefully they will also become more conscious of the environment and conservation.
Challenges
The Sunday Challenges present children with a range of challenges. They may be art and craft challenges like 'what can you make from ….. ?' or creative thinking challenges, ' Why was the fridge empty?' or “How many uses can you think of for ……” or perhaps a word association game to play. Whatever the subject these activities encourage children to think creatively.
Fun !
Fun is important ! Learning should be fun.
The JUMBLES are fun and they encourage your child to have fun being creative and being active in mind and body. To be inquisitive. To ask questions. To be independent and resourceful. To enjoy learning.
What are you doing today? Maybe you can write a little story like Maisie? You can use drawings to tell your story or ask a grown up to write it down for you.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then Maisie Jumble will tell you the Jumble Story.
Children are encouraged to make up stories and record them just like Maisie has.
Georgie, TuTu and Alfie show their percussion instruments and present a new challenge.
Hands-on Activities designed to encourage children to be resourceful and to think creatively.
We advise adult supervision and guidance.
Creative Learning for Young Children 