Camp Creek Press

As the twig is bent, so grows the tree. Or so the saying goes.

In our home we want to encourage reading, writing, and drawing as daily activities, so we purposefully have several spaces that are very inviting for curling up with a book, drawing a picture, or writing a letter. (Or, this week, drawing a comic book.)

In the preschool and Kindergarten classroom (and sometimes, if you're lucky, older grades), there are usually "writing centers". Sometimes these areas are a bit school-ish (institutional) and perhaps big enough for several children.

We've devised small, personal writing centers in classrooms -- big enough for perhaps two children to work side-by-side. The best ones are the most home-like, utilizing a thrift-store or garage-sale wooden desk, with all the things you would find in a desk at home: stationery, envelopes, stamps (blank labels cut into squares, to be decorated by the sender), address book, etc. We've used old-fashioned rubber stamps and small canvas bags for delivering mail. And writing isn't only about mail -- we always stock our writing centers with small mini-books with decorative covers, clipboards for taking surveys and doing pretend office work, etc.

Even the smallest classroom (or home) can find a tiny corner for a desk that will beckon to children to sit down and write a letter, a poem, a book .. or a comic book. Even a large classroom (or home) could benefit from a small writing space. There is just nothing like a cozy nook to draw children in, whether it's a single floor cushion half hidden behind a curtain for reading or a tiny desk for writing.

soulemama's corner of my home: his desk

geninne's studio/homeschool

israel's desk

little birds' new drawing corner

maisie's desk

syko's drawing corner

duchamp blinks' desk

Live pets are wonderful to have at home or in the classroom, but if you can't have something alive -- or can't keep something alive -- or are unwilling to purchase several very similar-looking hamsters in a row (I'm not pointing any fingers here, Emily) -- a wonderful and easy display for your science table or child's bedroom is a terrarium or paludarium (if you are willing to buy a series of very similar-looking goldfish).

The above display, so inexpensive and easy, was cobbled together after the untimely demise of a pair of hermit crabs. So inexpensive! So great!

Martha Stewart Kids magazine had a great article on making paludariums -- a combination of a terrarium and an aquarium. Her version is quite involved, as you might imagine, and looks beautiful. I could imagine, however, an easier version (my version is always easier) combining, say, an inexpensive aquarium like the one above (less than $10) holding plants and a lift-out large glass jar holding a couple of tiny fish. In fact, that sounds like something my younger son would love, so maybe we'll try that as a project.

With one inexpensive aquarium, you can create a lot of different looks over the year: a desert with sand and miniature palm (live, of course) or cacti (buy the needle-less ones!) .. then a beach with shells .. then a forest with plastic animals and dense foliage .. then a boggy area, perhaps with a guest toad. (Keep the lid on if you want to keep tabs on your toad. Right, Emily? And plan on letting him go in a few days or needed to clean the tank.)

And remember: plastic dinosaurs never die. And you don't have to clean their tank.

Martha's paludarium online (unfortunately picture's not so great on the site; i'm looking for the original issue with much nicer pictures)

Build a Terrarium (National Geographic)

For those who work in education, fall is the beginning of the new year rather than January 1. Our teacher friends are getting their classrooms ready for their new students -- always exciting and fun. This week we'll share some of our tips for making a beautiful classroom (or home!) space for children without spending much money.

Our preschool classrooms, like many in America, were located in the basement of our building. Yet we still managed to have a very bright and open space, and we received a lot of compliments on its warm and welcoming feel.

One way we accomplished that goal was the right paint color -- light, bright, but also warm. It was a very light yellow, and it even managed to warm up the overhead fluorescent lighting.

We also bounced our natural light around with several mirrors, making the most of our two windows. In the picture above, you can see students choosing art materials from mirrored shelves. Mirrors not only bounce light and reflect views, but they give the illusion of extra space. Setting a mirror behind a plant gives you two plants, and so on.

These mirrored shelves were easily (and cheaply!) accomplished with inexpensive metal shelving hardware, wood planks, and five-dollar door mirrors (bought at this time of year, meant for dorm rooms) laid sideways and attached to the wall in between the shelves.

Set out art materials in garage-sale wooden bowls and berry baskets, and you have a beautiful, affordable display.

Karrie from Girl on the Rocks is starting a week of weaving information about looms, patterns, and more. Check out her blog for great ideas about palm-sized looms and weaving projects.

For young children, you can't go wrong with a classic plastic pot-holder loom and a bag of nylon loops. This is the type we use with kids age 3 and up in the classroom and art studio.

The loom pictured up above was a heddle loom we used in the classroom. It is useful for weaving belts, skinny scarves, bracelets, bookmarks, and headbands. You can make your own heddle with popsicle sticks; maybe we'll show you how in another post.

For large weaving projects, or shared projects on which several children can work together, you can purchase large classroom looms for about $215. Or you can do what we did -- find a big, cheap wooden picture frame (thrift store, garage sale, junk shop, or clearance), drill holes along the top and bottom, and insert pieces of dowel rod you cut yourself. Total cost: approximately $4.00. We added a couple of pieces of wood at the bottom to serve as feet, strung it up, and we were good to go.

Of course, I have just looked through 500 pictures of the kids in the art studio and can't find a good picture of our loom in action. I will ask Leisa if she has one and post asap!

Read about it elsewhere:

Purl Bee: The Lure of the Loom

eloomination

eloominator blog

For a nice selection of plastic and wood looms, check out Dick Blick. Be careful: art supplies are just as enticing online as they are in person.

This is a picture of hands sewing, not weaving. I'll ask Leisa if she can find a picture of our homemade loom!

Enclosure

At White Oak, we made our own clay tables.

First, we browsed the junk shops and used furniture stores for cheap wooden tables. (Habitat for Humanity ReStores offer both used furniture and used building materials.) We paid $10 to $20 for each table.

Once we had them home, we cut the legs down to size so the height was appropriate for the age of the children using the table. (Measure the first leg, then hold it up against the others to make sure they match exactly.)

Purchase enough plain canvas (about $2 to $4/yard from any fabric store) to cover the table top. Be sure your fabric is wide enough to wrap around each side! Before you go to the fabric store, take a look at the edges of your table to see how much extra material you'll need. Simple table tops will only require four inches or so; tables with elaborate skirting will require more.

At home, center fabric on the table top. (You don't have to cut the material to size -- just leave the extra and you can trim it off later. You just need to make sure it's wide enough and long enough to cover.)

Using a staple gun, put one stable in the center of one side of the table, wrapping the material around and stapling underneath the table top. Stretch material and continuing stapling, finishing first one side, then its opposite side, then the final two sides.

The finished canvas-covered table is perfect for working with clay. The canvas absorbs excess moisture, and clean up consists of just brushing away extra dried clay pieces the next day. If your clay starts to become too dry, give the canvas a spritz of water.

If you don't have room for a whole table, you can cover a piece of chipboard or plywood cut to your desired size, and bring it out when you're ready to pinch, poke, and roll. Just be sure you lay a towel or other protective layer between your clay board and table to prevent scratching.

Since we no longer have access to our beautiful and huge art studio at school (pictured above), we've made our own art-making space at home. We managed to squeeze in an easel and a drafting table (bought at the used furniture store for $20) for drawing. What are the must-have items for the home studio? We've started with a space where it's okay to make a mess, with room for two to draw or paint. Pencils, markers, watercolors, pastels. Paper. And just outside, plenty of inspiration.