Harvest Season

 harvest season

Wild prairie arrangement.  Gathered wild grasses, 

ironwood,  birch,  willow, and grapevine branches.

Spring's yarrow, and baby's breath found in the road ditches, 

(and sweet clover for sachets to freshen the house - good to  take away the musty smell of closed in  winter.)

Summer's golden rod,  fox tail, tansy, pepper grass, and curly dock.  
Wreath arrangement tied together in number nine wire - 

or left-   left on trees, in fields, and in  road ditches for me to enjoy on my walks…

Saltiness

 

Salt and Light: Tasty and Bright;

 "Salt" maintaining its saltiness,  through faith.    

Puppet dolls to make

For a season,  I created flat felt hand puppets that were used in interactive story telling  during children's library hour. 

A flat felt puppet pattern can  be used to make a small doll.   

 Cut a 1" slit at the bottom of a flat felt hand puppet and sew to create the  legs. 

Three Bears  basic felt hand puppets in front.  
Small bear doll  or soft sculpture is  shown in the back row. 

Felt Hand Puppets can be altered

 to make small dolls or soft sculptures.

Use a basic felt hand puppet: 

make a cut for legs, sew 1/4" around body and  feet,

clip curves, turn inside out, stuff.  Then close 

with a hand stitch inside leg seams.  Decorate!

I

Small dolls or puppets are

  wonderful teaching tools for interactive story telling.  Check out the tips below for interactive story telling with the 3 Bears.



INTERACTIVE STORY TELLING:   

     The teacher narrates a well known fairy tale, and children in the audience volunteer to hold the doll or manipulate the puppet.  They can repeat  familiar lines such as Papa Bear saying,  "Who's been eating my porridge?"  
     A hand puppet is easy to manipulate.  Slip it over your hand like a glove,  and wiggle your fingers until you get used to it! The story can be adapted to fit the needs of those who participate.  

     Here’s an example: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 

1. Goldilocks likes to stir things up,  like porridge and trouble!
2. Baby Bear likes to have fun and jump on the bed.  Boing, boing!
3. Papa Bear likes to growl!  GRRR.... 
4. Mamma Bear likes to tidy up the house and knit.  Tut Tut Tut.  (Perhaps Goldilocks sat on Mother Bear's knitting needles and they got bent and the chair got broke!  With interactive puppetry, the  narrator can ad lib! ) 


Puppets at HollyhockJunction 
See basic hand puppets to make on my  Oct 30  2012 post  , and also   many other character  ideas on other posts in 2012.  

Children in a classroom setting telling the story of the Three Little Pigs.