Twelve Days of Homeschool

A friend recently shared this with me and I really enjoyed it.  Be encouraged and make sure you watch it all the way to the end.



Blessings

Upcycled Nativity

Thanks to Pinterest I discovered this wonderful up-cycled activity which was first showcased on Catholic Icing in December 2009.

It's a printable DIY Nativity for Kids. One word of caution this is not an hour long activity, it took us six hours to colour and glue onto the toilet rolls on Wednesday. In future I will definitely plan to do this over a few weeks rather than one day as Sir N found it a lot of colouring in. Needless to say Mom had the pleasure of colouring in most of the pieces and together we enjoyed constructing the set.

We printed the pages and coloured in.

It took us over 3 hours to colour in the pieces

Our pieces ready to be applied to toilet rolls.

Glitter Glue
I really wanted to use the glitter that's been sitting in the cupboard but did not want glitter everywhere. I decided to make our own version of glitter glue.

• I used a water based PVA glue.
• Add a generous amount of glitter in a container. This is the holder for roll on deodrant from the local store. When ever I do my shopping if I see empty ones on the shelf I bring them home for glue / painting projects.
• Next I added around 3 ml of glue to each one and mixed. I then used a paintbrush and added two drops of water to each. Do NOT make it runny. If it's runny then it spreads too thin and you don't get a solid glitter look.
• Use a paint brush and apply glitter mix where you want it to be.

Our Nativity Up Close

This in turn has inspired Sir N to design his own take of the nativity using toilet rolls.

Elsewhere on the www

• One of my blog friends son has also made an up-cycled Nativity pop on over to see how Jude created his Nativity after reading This is a Stable.
• Mary and Joseph Toilet Paper Tube Puppets at Make Learning Fun.com
• Nativity Week at Katherine Maries
• Amy's Free Ideas has a comprehensive step by step How to make a Toilet Paper Tube Nativity Set
• Cardboard Box and Toilet Roll Nativity Scene over at Create with your hands 
• Christmas Crafts for Toddlers over at Rhyme Time 

What are some Nativity projects have you done this season ?

Blessings


This post is linking with: Look What We Did

Healsville Sanctuary

This past year has been an amazing experience for us as a family.  We have been blessed with tickets to return home to South Africa for a 50th wedding anniversary family reunion, a trip to Queensland and family from South Africa visiting.

With all these wonderful adventures I've got a little behind in recording my memories and so have decided to set aside Saturday mornings to share some of the beautiful places we have had the privilege of experiencing.
 
We had the most delightful week last week.  Aunt T and Uncle G came for a flying visit from South Africa.  Their daughter plays water polo and was chosen to represent South Africa in the first World Youth Water Polo Championships and since they were in Australia they decided to come and see where we live!  It was an amazing time of catching up and showing them our beautiful city and the unique diverse wild life that Australia has. We spent a day looking around Healesville Sanctuary and here are some of our moments.

One of my favourite aspects of this zoo are all the sculptures and braille notices of the animals on display.

Top: Healesville Sanctuary Entrance

Bottom: Aunty T with Koala sculpture, Sir N with an Emu sculpture

 Top: Koala, Wedge-Tailed Eagle Sculpture

Bottom: Tasmanian Devil, Echidna

We took a walk up to the Australian Wildlife Center where we met a baby Tasmanian Devil up close and personal, later in the day we hoped to see Spirits of the Sky but due to renovations (enclosure upgrades) the show had been changed.  It was still great to see Wedge Tailed eagles, baby Kangaroo's and wombats.

 Top: Baby Tasmanian Devil (male)

Bottom: Baby Wombat, Kangaroo, Wedgetailed Eagle

Directly across from the arena is the new Land of parrots display where you have the opportunity to hold and feed a number of Australian parrots.

 Clockwise from top left: Sir N with a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo, Sunbird, Cockatiel, Cockatoo,

After lunch we explored the Animals of the Night display and Woodlands track.

Top: Echidna, Bilby

Middle:

Bottom: Tasmanian Devil, Flying Foxes

Gouldian Finch, Female Gangang Cockatoo, Wonga Pigeon, White eared Honeyeater

Having grown up in Africa (South Africa and Namibia) and lived in New Zealand I am amazed at the diversity of wildlife here in Australia. The colours, sounds and variety are astounding.  Australia may not have 'The Big Five' but they certainly make up for it with the colour and variety of fauna and flora.

What is your favourite part of where you live ?

Blessings


This post is linking with: Look What We Did