Hearts and Trees Spring 2011 Kit!

I am so happy and excited to finally have my newest kit available to share with you. Thank you for your patience. There are a lot of fun projects in this kit that I am sure you and your children will enjoy. Each kit includes the instructions and materials to complete easy and fun handicraft, art and nature study projects with a minimum of effort. (Please note that you will need to provide common art supplies such as scissors, colored pencils, etc.)

The sewing project for this kit is a felt cupcake pencil topper (colors may vary slightly). Your child will learn some simple techniques to sew pencil toppers. After completing this project, he will have the ability to create and design his own pencil toppers. Your child will also learn how to make French knots while completing this project. The felt, embroidery thread, needle, pencil instructions and templates are provided in your kit.

The handicraft project for this kit is so much fun! Your child will learn how to make a freezer paper stencil. I have provided two options (either goldfish or a flower). The freezer paper and easy step by step instructions are provided. Please note you will need to provide a shirt and the fabric paint for this project. (I bought fabric paint at Walmart for less than $2.) Once you have learned how to make a freezer paper stencil, the possibilities are endless!

The featured artist in this kit is Henri Matisse. There is an art print of his painting Goldfish as well as a notebooking page focusing on Matisse.There is a fun, cut paper collage project where your child will create his own version of the painting Goldfish using Matisse's technique of "painting with scissors." The construction paper, cardstock and instructions are included for this project.

The art element worksheet for this kit discusses point of view. Your child will learn about high and low points of view, as well as complete a simple sketching project based on what he has learned.

For the nature study portion of this kit, the focus is goldfish. I have designed a lapbook featuring goldfish. Your child will learn about characteristics of fish, parts of a goldfish, the life cycle of a fish, goldfish facts, as well as observe goldfish and then write a goldfish poem. All the elements and instructions, as well as a colored file folder are included in this kit.

In all this kit includes:

1 sewing project, 1 handicraft project,
1 art project, 1 art print, 1 artist notebooking page,
1 art element notebooking page and 1 nature study lapbook

These kits were gathered with children ages 6-12 in mind. Parents may need to help their students, especially younger children, with some aspects of this kit.

To purchase a kit you will just need to make a PayPal payment to my account. You can do that using the "Add to Cart" buttons in my sidebar. Just be sure to use the button for the right number of kits you would like to purchase.

The cost per kit is $12. plus shipping. Shipping for one kit will be $3 First Class. Shipping for two kits will be $5First Class and shipping for three kits will be $8 First Class. (Please note if you purchase 3 kits they will come in 2 envelopes.) For information about purchasing more than three kits, please email me for shipping information. Shipping prices are for the US and Canada. (For information about shipping outside of the US and Canada, please email me.)

All kits will ship within 4 business days after I receive payment. Feel free to add any of my PDFs to your cart before you purchase a kit. I have purchased materials for a limited number of kits so be sure to purchase your kit soon.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at mailto:heartsandtrees@yahoo.com. Please note, I currently DO NOT have Internet at my house, so it may take me a day to get back to you. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Mental Habit: Observation and Attention

How many times have we seen something without really seeing it? We walk past flowers and trees and insects and works of art all the time without giving them much notice. Charlotte Mason encourages us to develop the mental habit of observation and attention in our children. The following excerpt from Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series Volume 1 sets forth an example of why it is so important to help our children to cultivate the habit of both observing the world around them but also the habit of giving attention to things.

"Is little Margaret fixing round eyes on a daisy she has plucked? In a second, the daisy will be thrown away, and a pebble or buttercup will charm the little maid. But the mother seizes the happy moment. She makes Margaret see that the daisy is a bright yellow eye with white eyelashes round it; that all the day long it lies there in the grass and looks up at the great sun, never blinking as Margaret would do, but keeping its eyes wide open. And that is why it is called daisy, 'day's eye,' because its eye is always looking at the sun which makes the day. And what does Margaret think it does at night, when there is no sun? It does what little boys and girls do; it just shuts up its eye with its white lashes tipped with pink, and goes to sleep till the sun comes again in the morning. By this time the daisy has become interesting to Margaret; she looks at it with big eyes after her mother has finished speaking, and then, very likely, cuddles it up to her breast or gives it a soft little kiss. Thus the mother will contrive ways to invest every object in the child's world with interest and delight."

If we are trying to encourage the habits of attention and observation when it comes to picture study we first need to present a work of art to our children and let them look at it. For this example we will use VanGogh's Starry Night, a painting many of us have seen hundreds of times. Our first inclination, and the inclination of young children, might not be to give it too much attention... "Oh that's VanGogh" we might say to ourself, or "It's a picture of night" a child might say... but we need to train ourselves to really pay attention and to observe works of art. What are the colors VanGogh used? Look at the buildings. Count the stars. Trace the brushstrokes with our fingers. By pointing out and helping our children to see the details in works of art we help them develop the habits of observation and attention and to develop a love and connection with the works of art they study.

----------------
I still have quite a few Hearts and Trees Spring 2011 Kits left,
so be sure to check them out.