Welcome to Australia!  When the kids chose Australia as our first place to visit, I was a little unsure of where to start, since I hadn’t really thought through the “lesson plan” of the project.

Aborigine-inspired Dot Painting

I decided the easiest thing to do would be give the kids a basic overview of the country and see what interested them most.  We could take it from there.   Since I decided that we would not be using the internet as our sole source of info, we hopped in the car and headed over to the library.  This, in itself, was actually a great educational experience since it was the first time we actually had to use the dewey decimal system to find specific books. (usually, we just browse the shelves for kid’s stories).  We found a great book on Australia which highlighted all the basics like geography, resources, industry, population, etc.  As it turned out, they were most interested in aborigine lifestyle, local animals, and food.  I guess imports/exports, industry and geography just don’t cut it with the preschool set these days.

Honestly, they were fascinated by anything to do with the aborigines’ culture.  We checked out kids’ crafts for an Aboriginal Mask and Aboriginal Snake Painting, but in the end, we decided to do an art project inspired by the aboriginal dot paintings.  This ended up being one of the coolest projects we’ve done, and I’ve outlined the instructions below.  We talked about how the paintings represented something in nature or told a story in lieu of written books.  I like Deirdre painting the best — she said it is a mother snake with eggs and newly hatched baby snakes.  Jonah make Tuck the Turtle from the Wonderpets (basically, everything he does these days involved Tuck or Diego).

Then we listened to some didgeridoo music, and they managed to find some pretty funky Didgeridoo Trance/Beatbox which, although not traditional, was totally fun.  We tried making cardboard tube didgeridoos, but then Jon made some out of PVC pipe which sounded a hell of a lot better!

As for the wildlife, we read a book on marsupials, another book on snakes, and watched some you-tube video of sharks.  As luck would have it, I found a movie on-demand about a boy who rescued a joey, which fit in perfectly with our theme.

Yummy Meat Pie!

On Thursday we decided to cook an Australian inspired meal. (no, we did NOT go to Outback Steakhouse).  Jon found a website with recipes from around the world, and we decided to make Australian meat pie and apple/carrot salad.  We topped of the meal with cookies shaped like kangaroos (once again, not traditional, but the kids thought up the idea by themselves).

All and all, a good start!  Next…Bangladesh.

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Directions for Dot Paintings

Materials

1. Cardboard or wood
2. Acrylic paint
3. Q-tips (at least one for each color)

The Artists Hard At Work

Process

• decide what you would like to paint, such as a scene from nature, abstract design, or story image
• dip Q-tip in a darker color and outline the image you would like to paint.  Use a straight up and down motion to get a round dot
• dip Q-tip in a different color and fill in your object with dots
• use your dots to create different designs in the background
• when the paint has dried, you can go back with a different color and add features (eyes, mouth) to your images or more details to your abstract designs

Where Shall We Visit?

Maybe I was a little bit inspired by Julie and Julia, or, perhaps, its just the adrenalin rush preceding the first day back to school next week, but we are embarking on an “Around the World in 52 Weeks” project.   The concept is that we will “virtually visit” 52 countries in alphabetical order (looping through twice).  I figured we could learn a little about the culture and history, try out some recipes, do a few traditional crafts, listen to a little music, and (for Jon’s sake) drink a local beer.  I decided to let the kids pick what countries we focus on, the only caveat being that we will cover counties of our families’ heritage.  Of course, that means our country list will be somewhat Northern European-centric the first time through.  So, I proposed the project to the kids.  They thought it was a great idea.  In fact, they said they wanted to start with Maine, and could they please ride the horses when we get there.  Ummm… this was followed by a quick explanation of states vs. country, the concept of alpha order, and that, no, we would not actually be visiting all these places (as appealing as that would be…).  After running through a list of countries that started with the letter “A”, the kids unanimously chose Australia for our first visit.  And, for some reason, Deirdre has requested that we learn about funerary rites practiced by each culture (or, as she said, “what they do with dead people after they die”).    So, check back in next week to learn about our adventures in Australia!

Orange Tabby Kitten

Amigurumi are cute little critters crocheted in the round and then stuffed. The name comes from the Japanese words for “crochet/knit” and “stuffed doll”, and they seem to be popping up everywhere these days.   Toys, though they are, they seem to appeal even more to adults than to kids.  I started making these guys over the winter in preparation for a craft fair and just can’t seem to stop.  They are downright adorable, work up quickly, and make great gifts.  Although amigurumi can come in all sizes (I even made an 18″ Ponyo doll for my daughter), most of them tend to be pretty small, so they are a great way to use up odd stashes of yarn.  Also, they are primarily done in a single crochet, so they are easy for beginners.  Etsy has a myriad of reasonably priced patterns ranging from dolls and animals to fruits and veggies.

If you are just getting started and want to give it a try, here are links to a few of my favorite free patterns.  I have a tendency to tweak patterns as I make things, so my pictures aren’t exactly identical to the original, but should give you a pretty good idea.

Baby Triceratops

This baby triceratops was made with 100% wool yarn, and I used snap on safety eyes.  Although the pattern called for making the body and tail as two separate pieces, I crocheted them as one to reduce the number of seams.  I found the pattern through Crochet Pattern Central.

Fiona and Freda Fish

These sweet little fish were based on a cat toy pattern from Lion Brand.  I elongated the body, modified the tail by sewing it on vertically rather than horizontally, and added bows.

Winston and William the Whales

I love this little whale pattern from Bittersweet!  It is such a simple pattern, but so adorable.  I modified it slightly by crocheting fins for these guys.  Also, I embroidered eyes, rather than using safety snap on eyes.

Three Kitties Hanging Out

Last, but certainly not least, are my trio of kitties. This pattern was generously made available though By Hook, By Hand.  This pattern was the most complicated of all, and I did run into trouble figuring out the legs on the first kitty.  Also, I felted my kitties which was not part of the original pattern.  If you decide to felt them, use 100% wool yarn and stuff them before you put them in the washer.  (Be sure not to overstuff them or the stuffing will be visible between stitches.)

Many thanks to all the websites that made these patterns available!