We are starting the second 3 week session "Halloween and the Light of Remembrance":
October 28 - "Playful Halloween" - exploring history and traditions of the holiday; spiders, spiderwebs, turnips and more.
November 4 - "Holding the Light" - variety of candle-holders from natural materials.
November 11 - "Glowing memory" - candle-making.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Halloween and the Light of Remembrance session
Corn - the Symbol of Life - corn husk art
Another class full of fun, exploration and discoveries both for children, teachers and parents.We learned some serious and funny facts about corn. Some of them:
Corn s a type of grass. Its Latin name is Zea maes.
Corn was first grown as a crop by Native Americans, probably in the country that is now Mexico more than 7,000 years ago.
Corn is a major source of starch in many diets in the world.
One bushel of corn will sweeten more then 400 cans of Coca-Cola.
75% of all items found in grocery stores contain corn or corn from animals who were fed on corn.
Corn s a type of grass. Its Latin name is Zea maes.
Corn was first grown as a crop by Native Americans, probably in the country that is now Mexico more than 7,000 years ago.
Corn is a major source of starch in many diets in the world.
One bushel of corn will sweeten more then 400 cans of Coca-Cola.
75% of all items found in grocery stores contain corn or corn from animals who were fed on corn.
Corn is a source for fuel alcohol (fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution, and it doesn't pollute the water).
Farmers grow corn on every continent except Antarctica.
About 800 million tons of corn are produced annually around the world.
More than half of the world’s corn comes from the United States.
Half of the corn grown in the United States is fed to livestock.
Most boys were fascinated by making pokeons - native hacky sacks, and playing with them later in the park.
Adam and Paul were enthusiastic of making corn husk dolls after listening to Seneca story. And results were amazing.
SENECA STORY OF THE CORN HUSK DOLL
This legend is told by Mrs. Snow, a talented Seneca craftswoman.
Many, many years ago, the corn, one of the Three Sisters, wanted to make something different.
She made the moccasin and the salt boxes, the mats, and the face. She wanted to do something different so the Great Spirit gave her permission.
So she made the little people out of corn husk and they were to roam the earth so that they would bring brotherhood and contentment to the Iroquois tribe.
But she made one that was very, very beautiful. This beautiful corn person, you might call her, went into the woods and saw herself in a pool. She saw how beautiful she was and she became very vain and naughty.
That began to make the people very unhappy and so the Great Spirit decided that wasn't what she was to do.
She didn't pay attention to his warning, so the last time the messenger came and told her that she was going to have her punishment.
Her punishment would be that she'd have no face, she would not converse with the Senecas or the birds or the animals. She'd roam the earth forever, looking for something to do to gain her face back again. So that's why we don't put any faces on the husk dolls.
From: Our Mother Corn Mather/Fernandes/Brescia 1981
Another project - corn husk flowers. Girls had a wonderful time making beautiful bouquets.
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Supermarket of the Swamp - cattail projects
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| New hairdo: braids |
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| beginning of a box |
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| Working table. Note, we are working outside! |
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| preparation |
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| work in progress |
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| kids and parents alike |
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| Ninja in progress |
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| ready for battle |
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| box |
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| hair band |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Some reflections
I was thinking for a while about some reflections on classes we already had.
I have a feeling of love and gratitude for the material that cooperates so beautifully with us, for our hands – bigger and tinier that works so nimbly with that material, and for our creations – in some way alive and breathing the air of fall and imagination.
Our first class pine cone and felt gnomes with thistle beards, wool and corn fairies, burdock hedgehogs, rose hips ants and all the different creatures without names living silently in our nature corners and shelves. Our second class cattails baskets, ducks, mats, ninjas, horses and ropes finding place in our toys, jewelry and maybe Halloween costume corners. This is our way to invite nature to our homes and hearts and to keep that warmth during long winter months.
Violeta
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