Felt bag making with children 1.
I hope that you will look at the bags above and be impressed that they were made by a group of three to six year olds! They are actually quite simple and a lot of fun to make, especially if you like to get wet and bubbly!
This is us working away in the art room.
Wool is a wonderful material for this age group to work with, they love the texture and really enjoy speading the colours in order to blend them. Of course the best part comes a day or two later, when you cut them open for the big reveal!
I have outlined the basic steps below.
- Help the children to draw and cut out a simple template for the bag, just a simple circle or square is all that is needed, not too big as this will make more work of the child, maybe four or five inches in diameter.
- if you are working with a group it is a good idea to write their name on the template. This will help later if they all take a shine to the same bag!
- wrap the template well in cling film, working in both directions, this is to make it as waterproof as possible, though it will soften a little as they work anyway.
- Template wrapped the children now get to chose their colours, I usually let them work with two. the felt can be broken off the ball gently in sections large enough to go around the entire bag at least once. Spread the colours before you wrap your template so that one will show through the other.
- Now that the bag is covered in the chosen colours it can now be wrapped in several layers of un-dyed wool or batting. This will be the inside of the bag, it provides the strength so do cover all holes, working in several directions.
part two of this process to follow!
Artfarm afternoons @ An Feirm beag
Artfarm afternoons are starting again, these were hugely popular and ran during term time up to the birth of my last baby and now he’s old enough, we’re up and running again. These afternoons are suitable for children aged 3 to 10 years and they are offered from 3.30pm to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and on Saturday mornings from 10am to midday. Children can attend all sessions or come once a week, it is not ‘taught’ so they do not miss out on anything, projects can be picked up and left off as suits the child.
I firmly believe that as Picasso said ‘all children are artists, the challenge is remaining an artist when we grow up’. As an adult that has had the honour of working with these artists for the past 12 years, I know I can teach them nothing, but I can facilitate them. I can offer my materials, my home, my garden and the space and time to experiment and be creative.
The evening is made up of a combination of arts and crafts and outdoor play. The experience in nature is vital after a day in school, whether it was the relatively short one in pre-school, or the longer day in national school. The children will have a small garden plot which they will develop themselves, and enjoy the experience of seeing something they plant grow, and hopefully, they will eventually enjoy the fruits of that!
So, I will not ‘teach’ your child anything that is not already within them and they will not traipse home with their arms laden with pictures identical to their friends ones(I promise!), but they will have fun, they will make bags and boxes and other objects, they will knit and paint and sculpt as this kind of work with their hands is so good for them. Most importantly, they will make a mess. The experience of making art, the interaction with colour and three-dimensional form is calming and theraputic for all children and helps them to develop creative thinking that will impact on all aspects of their lives.
My Autumn schedule
- art, nature & care
Schedule of classes and sessions for September 2010
- Morning nature kindergarten sessions – this is a session which will run daily Monday to Thursday, from 9am to 1pm. It is aimed at the 1 to 3 age group and will incorporate a rhythm of outdoor play, arts and crafts, baking, sharing a meal and a rest time. Children may attend for one or all mornings.
- Saturday sessions – From Saturday September 25th I will be offering Saturday sessions, from 10am to 12.30pm for 1 to 3’s and from 3pm to 5.30pm for school age children. This will be similar to the nature kindergarten or our very popular art camps, emphasising rhythms of activity and rest, with outdoor time and arts and crafts.
All sessions incorporate a shared meal so children should bring a small healthy snack.
Morning kindergarten is €20 per morning or €65 for a four day week.
All Saturday sessions are €15 per session.
Contact Deirdre:
086 2626525
061 374100
info@anfeirmbeag.com
www.anfeirmbeag.com
Deirdre has worked as a teacher and childminder for the past 12 years, she holds an honours degree in Fine art, Fetac level 6 in childcare as well as many other relevant qualifications. Deirdre has worked previously in national schools as an art teacher and in Raheenwood Steiner national school as the afternoon care leader.
What a busy summer!
I don’t know where the summer has gone! With a new baby settling in, a little pre-schooler art camp in July and another coming up next week, the months have flown.
I’m enjoying being so busy, each day is filled with so much action though, its hard to get time for ‘me’ things!
Every day we take a walk,either here in the hills near my home,
or we go to the beautiful lake beach and forest we are blessed to have only four miles away. We feed the ducks and swans and check out whats growing, my daughter is particularly interested in what is edible!
I have started to get up every morning between 5 and 6 to fit in a bit of writing time before the children wake, this seems the best way to fit it in and the silence at that time makes a nice change of pace!
The art camps are fun, I do felt bag making, collage, painting, gardening and baking, its wonderful to see their excitement as a project unfolds.
So this is how I end my days, exhausted but happy, loading the dishwasher before collapsing in the corner with a book, because it all begins again in a few hours!
Now offering…art and minding sessions!
In the past I always found it popular to offer flexible sessions which incorporated a little arts, crafts, gardening or baking just as part of the normal routine in my home so I am going to begin to offer these again. In fairness to the children who are here full-time (both my own and others) this is going to be at times that fit around the rhythm of our normal day of daily care, naps, and feeding.
The sessions are going to run from 9.30am to 11 am and from 3.30pm to 5pm. These sessions are ideal for parents who have an errand to run but do not need to avail of full time care. These are times when other children can take part in some of our activities in the company of the full time children, and part take in a snack.(10.30am and 4.30pm)
A session costs €8 and includes art materials and snack.
In line with other RIE services(and a family home!), as they say ‘the curriculum is what happens!’ so activities are not set and often child led, but always fun!
Contact me for further details.
My summer ‘camps’
As an art teacher I’m always being approached for art camps and classes for children. I ran art summer camps here at my home for a few years before baba no. 3 and they were quite popular. So this year I return to the madness and exciting chaos that is the world of summer camps.
This year I am starting a little camp specially for pre-school children. I am running it in conjunction with the local music school, ‘Music in the Glen’ which is run by Diane Daly, a musician from the Irish chamber orchestra.
(Click the image to see the flyer full screen.)