Shadow Puppets

This is a good gloomy-day activity, especially when it's getting dark earlier: shadow puppets. There is a printable template here for these super-lovely polar bear and musk-ox puppets by Orange Moon Toys.

We're going to make them this afternoon, so I'll see if I can do a better image, but for now this is via Martha Stewart vis pinterest. You could do a version of the Donkey in the Lion's Skin (see below) by Aesop — the Muskox in the Polar Bear Skin?

If you prefer to buy some pre made puppets (no shame in that) then you can find some gorgeous ones here.

Also this week: Aesop's Fables as told by Mitsumasa Anno and non-stop nature walks.

mix mix rice

We took home a book from the library recently that really caught Auggie's imagination, which was Bee Bim Bop by Linda Sue Park. The story is about making bibimbap (which she calls mix mix rice because you mix everything up at the end) for dinner. At the end of the book is Linda's family's recipe, split into tasks for a child and an adult. We copied the steps in the book, going shopping for the ingredients and making the dish together. Auggie was really enthusiatic for all the steps, especially mixing up the ingredients at the end in his dinner plate. He wasn't so interested in really eating much of it. However, that is true of all non-noodle food and he has been more into rice, since. It was fun and maybe another little step towards being a less picky eater (sheesh). I found a simplified vegetarian recipe, Vegetable Bibimbap, via pinterest as well.

ringo atelier

Ringo atelier is a creative studio, and resource, for children and their blog is lovely, too. Lots of their drawing activities have a PDF to print out and do at home. They have loads of pages to colour and develop, like this invent the fruit that goes with this leaf, which we tried yesterday during a rainy day

and this construct a city (this one is meant to be for collage, but we painted and scribbled them)

There are also some really great projects that we haven't yet tried, like the à la manière de section, with projects inspired by the work of artists like David Hockney or Sonia Delaunay. I think the David Hockney one is perfect for July, and I will put in a little translation here (find the original project here). Observe water (in your bath, swimming pool, by the sea or edge of a lake...), in the style of painter David Hockney. Have fun trying to reproduce the waves, the reflections, the colour of the water. To do this, use watered-down paint, sponges, tissues and different papers. Look carefully at this painting of a swimming pool (below, left)

The 1 livre—1 book section has a nice library of books, too.

When I was Small

This post has moved.

Seasons

Spring will soon be summer. Here is a beautiful book about all the seasons: Seasons by Blexbolex

Munari's Briefest + a Sack of Snow and Stars for Santa Claus

You might know Bruno Munari from some of his more famous children's books, like his Bruno Munari's ABC or Bruno Munari's Zoo. We talked about his book Drawing the Sun a few months ago.

Bruno Munari was an Italian artist, poet, writer and designer. He originally began making children's books for his son, Alberto. Find out more about his work here at munart.org.

To blog for the fewest of minutes, here’s Bruno Munari’s "Chair For the Briefest of Visits”. It is petite and sloped downwards, for an immediate slip off.

And here is

a Sack
of Stars
and Snow
for
Santa Claus
(from Bruno Munari's ABC)

Katsumi Komagata

Here is one of many incredible books by Japanese children’s book designer, Katsumi Komagata. It’s called Feuilles (leaves) and is co-published by all of these amazing people: One Stroke (the author’s company), Les Trois Ourses, Les Droigts Qui Rêves and the Centre Pompidou in 2004. Every single one of Komagata’s books is better than the last, but this one is double fantastic as it tells the life of leaves and it’s clever tactility is as captivating for visually impaired children as for colour obsessed designers.

You can start here, click on the orange arrows, and take a tour through Komagata's work.