Needle felted puppets: Three bunnies?
When I first made my Easter puppets, I set them up to look at them as I always do, to see/feel if they were finished or if they needed a little something extra. Many things came to my mind, the first being that the chick, so different from the bunnies wanted to fit in with the crowd, so I needle felted the chick a bunny hat. Now the chick looks like his friends, more or less. This reminds me of my girls, dressing in “IN” clothes and having the right shoes or accessories to be in style. It also reminds me of myself in college, I usually dressed “artsy” or differently as a statement of individuality. The chick dressed as a rabbit struck me as sad; I felt sorry that he needed to be like the others.
Needle felted chick puppet: in disguise
After my thoughts of “fitting in” and my musings over my slightly humorous photo of “three rabbits” had passed, my light-hearted Easter puppets moved in a more somber direction, a different idea came to me. What if the chick needed to pass for a rabbit, what if he is in disguise, a disguise to save his life?
Needle felted puppet: Jewish chick
In 1940, my mother-in-law was 12 years old and her parents sent her to live with a family, in a small village outside of her town of Krakow, Poland. She was to live as a Christian because she was/is a Jew; later in history, we refer to the “hidden children” of WWII as those living with a different identity, different names, in foreign towns and with people who were not always a part of their family. These children were hiding from Nazis or in the case of Poland, they were hiding from every day Polish citizens who would turn them into the Nazis, who would kill them. The little girl (my mother- in- law) was given a different (Christian) name and she needed to be careful to answer to it when called, she remembers going to church and tells of how much she loved the stained glass windows. Luckily for my mother- in- law, she had white-blond hair as a little girl and big blue eyes, she easily passed for a Christian child in 1940. I can’t imagine the trauma of sending a child away to save their life or the trauma the child must have felt living away from the family; I have a 12 year old daughter now. I imagine my mother-in-law’s parents were grateful beyond words that they had found someone who would take their daughter in (I’m wondering if they paid the family to take her in). The people who took in my mother-in-law were helping to save her life, but the lady of the house wasn’t very nice to her and she used her as a maid. The man of the house noticed that the little girl read a lot, so he started to cut out all the articles related to the war and what was happening to the Jews from the newspaper. He told her this after the war, he said he cut out the articles so she would worry less. He told her he always knew she was a Jew because of how much she read (sterio-type?). She lived in hiding (as a chick amongst rabbits) for about a year and a half. We don’t know a lot of details from the war time about my mother-in-law’s life because she can’t bring herself to talk about it. She says after she talks about this time in her life, she can’t sleep for weeks afterwards, so we don’t ask a lot. Sometimes after a few glasses of wine at dinner, she starts to talk about the war and this is the time that we listen very intently, to hear her fascinating, heart-breaking story. She moved on from the small village and continued her journey through the war with her brother who had been in hiding in another town, working and living on a farm. The brother and sister never saw their parents nor their home again and from the stranger’s homes from which they worked, they moved on to live in the forest, accompanying and fighting with the Polish partisans….
Barnyard puppets
I started needle felting puppets again, I haven’t made any in about a year. I used to make a lot of puppets and the girls and I would play with them together. I used the puppets to help tell bedtime stories and I would put up my doorway puppet theater and the girls would put on puppet shows for me. My girls are a little old for that sort of puppet play now, but we still use them to help teach English to our little students. I think the puppets prolong the attention span of the kids and help them to be more interested in what I’m saying when I’m teaching them English. The puppets also prompt the kids to participate more than usual; they’re really a very helpful teaching tool.
Needle felted cow puppet
Sometimes I finish a puppet and I don’t like it, so I tear off the parts I don’t like and start again. As I was working on one puppet imparticular, one of my girls walked by and said “WHAT…….IS……..THAT????!!!!!” I indignantly answered “it’s a cow“. She went on on to tell me that she really didn’t like the way it was turning out. “OH MY GOD, is it a mutant cow or something?” Did you ever see in the movies when an artist was working on a painting, they would always cover it with a cloth until it was finished and ready to show to the world, there was a reason for that. The problem with working at my kitchen table is that everybody and their brother (my husband and kids that is) see everything I’m working on and they coment on it.
Needle felted pig puppet face detail
Now I’m not opposed to contructive critism, but overly truthful, premature comments sometimes rattle me: “that is really ugly“, “that’s scarry” and “whoa!” are not usually helpful. I also get alot of “awwws” (said in a very high pitched voice) from them, so their feedback is not always critical.
Needle felted Rooster Puppet
But I will have to say that I took a good, hard look at that scarry, alien cow puppet and I went back and changed it and now I like it better. Thank You peanut gallery!
Children, to Facebook or not to Facebook
Many people have Facebook these days and some people don’t feel that Facebook is for them. I enjoy it, I think it helps keep me connected, seeing as how I live so far away from my family and friends. One day about a year ago, my oldest daughter (14 years old) decided that I should have a Facebook account and she set one up for me (she is much more computer savvy than I am)! I check in every day to see what my friends and family are up to, what new recipes are up on my friend Eileen’s cooking site and what cool crafts have been posted on my favorite craft site or my other favorite craftsite. I also have a business Facebook fan page called Laura Lee Burch Studio to promote my artwork; I post my artwork and photography every day on my Studio site.
I post my photography on my Laura Lee Burch Studio Facebook site
The girls know that they must not “friend” anyone they don’t know and that they need to tell me if someone is ”bothering” them. I go over the friends with my younger daughter to make sure she really knows the people in her group of friends and how she knows them. My oldest daughter has a Facebook account and almost 400 friends from all over the world. (who knows that many people?) She chats with many people at the same time, in 4 different languages; when this happens, she has 3, 4, 5 chat boxes up simultaneously, she’s an advanced user. Now that is too much for me. I feel like the kid who sits at the back of the class and rarely participates compared to her.
Facebook for kids?
I think all people using Facebook should imagine that all their Facebook friends are sitting around a big table at a dinner party and act as such. To help my children determine what is appropriate or inappropriate to say, to help them stay out of trouble, I tell them to ”pretend all your Facebook friends are sitting around a big picnic table together”. What is appropriate to tell others about yourself, your family or about your friends? Would you gossip about others in front of their face or should you be gossiping at all? Would you risk insulting a friend by saying something insulting or mean? I often need to discuss with my children examples of something they might feel like saying but others might deem insulting. One of my daughters has forgotten her manners once or twice and suffered the social consequences, I think she’s learned her lesson now. I have to keep a close eye on my children and their Facebook accounts: I watch that they don’t post inappropriate photos or links and if they do, they need to take them down. I insist on being a Facebook ”friend” to my kids so that I can see what they post. My oldest daughter sometimes accuses me of “stalking” her if I comment on something she posted on Facebook (choosing my battles, I keep my comments to a minimum), but I tell my kids that as their mother, this is how it will be if they are allowed to have an account-no discussion.
Children's computer activities should be closely monitored.
My youngest daughter is definitely not old enough to have a Facebook account even though many of her friends have one (8years old). How do I know this? I know she’s not ready for Facebook because she says things to people (face to face) that she shouldn’t. I know because she regularly gets thrown out of Fairy World (a kid’s computer game) for inappropriate behavior such as calling other fairies names! (Those fairies are mean, I much prefer that she plays with the penguins). No matter what age, I limit all the girls’ time on the computer, if I don’t it takes over their lives. I stress diversity in their daily activities because the computer and Facebook especially (many are attracted to the games offered on Facebook) will turn them into computer zombies.
NOTE: What I deem appropriate for my children, may not be what is best for your children.
Friends are important.
School is about learning, discovering, making friends and learning how to get along with others. Sometimes our kids have to learn to deal with a bully and it’s not fun, for you or your kid. My children have had to deal with bullies a few times already.
It's hard to confront a bully
I sought out advice from several teachers, mothers and a psychologist about the best way to deal with a bully situation. From my own children’s experiences, I believe communication is of the utmost importance, an adult should be informed to help the child deal with the problem. With one of my children, I had no idea she and several others in her class were being bullied for two years till another class mother told me. I was upset that I hadn’t known and I asked my daughter why she hadn’t told me about the abuses she suffered at school. At 7 years old her response was “oh mama, it’s so embarrassing!” She had dealt with the bullies on her own by fighting back, she’s a tough cookie.
Kids can be very mean to one another.
Children often don’t want anyone to know that they are being bullied for fear of being made fun of, shame or reprisal. The parent of the bullied child should not initially confront the parents of the bully; this takes power away from the bullied child which can further distress the him/her. The teacher is usually the most important problem solver in a case of bullying. I went to the class teacher in all situations and I informed the teacher as to what was happening outside of the class room, but on school grounds. Teachers often opt to talk with the class about what’s going on and sometimes a weekly class discussion time is implemented to talk about problems, thoughts or concerns of the students. I found that these discussion times were helpful for the children. Teachers often have no idea bullying is occurring and they should be told. If the problem can’t be solved by the teacher talking to the bully, the teacher should have a meeting with the bully and their parents.
One of my children reacted with tears, the other one reacted with her fists.
If a child’s teacher does not step in and deal with the problem for whatever reason, seek the help of another teacher, counselor or principal at the school. If no one at the child’s school takes a bullying situation seriously and fails to act upon the best interests of a child, you may consider changing schools. Just because a teacher intervenes and parents have been informed doesn’t mean that the problem will always go away. Children often need outside help to learn to deal with aggression, talking to a therapist is a good way for a child to learn social coping techniques. I told my children that they need to stand up for themselves; this seems obvious to me, but not always obvious to some children. Learning to deal with a bully is a skill that one will use their entire lives; I’ve run into plenty of bullies as an adult. Bullies are not always peers, teachers can also bully students, we have encountered this problem as well. After my husband and I learned that our child didn’t want to go to school and was very stressed out because of what went on in the class room, we set up a meeting with the principal and the teacher to inform them that our child felt intimidated by the teacher’s yelling in the class and from insulting comments that the teacher made to the children. Sometimes just telling the teacher how you feel about his/her actions in class is enough to get them to stop or at least tone it down a little. I’ve found that many parents are afraid to speak up.
childhood friends
For a parent, knowing that your child is suffering at the hands of another is frustrating and at these times I think most of us would like to step in and “do something” about it to help our children. Stepping in (for example, informing the teacher) is one thing, but acting for our children (for example, speaking to, yelling at, threatening) the child or children tormenting our children is unacceptable. Parents are offended (rightfully so) when other parents reprimand their children. I’ve seen parents become hostile about a bullying situation, screaming at the offending child, the child’s parents and even the teachers for not being able to control the situation; these people were later banned from the school grounds. Each case is different and should be dealt with as so. Parents are not always open minded (sometimes downright blind) to the idea or fact that their “little darling” is bullying another child and they become defensive (sometimes nasty) when told so, this is why letting the school authorities handle the situation is a better idea for everyone. I am happy to announce that my children have come through all their challenging social situations and we’re working our way through the new ones that come up. The best piece of advice I can give is, when “a situation” arises, take a deep breath before you proceed.
world map playscape
Playscapes are toys meant to give the fertile minds of children a place to romp. I thought maybe a playscape could also be a means of learning and a way to make learning more fun. How many times have you copied the map, whited out the names of the countries and oceans and given it back to you child to fill in? My playscape has no names so your child can learn to recognize the shapes of the continents, oceans and seas.
playscape figures: ship, tree, mountain, dune, fish, volcano
I figure you can make a game out of the playscape, play figures and suggested areas for discovery. With the help of an adult or older sibling, two or more can play the game. One player should ask where the Sahara desert is (for example), the other players will place their dune on the area they believe the famous desert to be. If you’re right, you get a point, and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins. The adult or older sibling can help the other players research certain areas of interest on the Internet or on an atlas, further explaining the list of places suggested for discovery. I needle felted the little play figures to help mark the special areas like deserts, dunes, volcanoes, forests, oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, plains, islands and mountains. I made a list of five of the most well known in each category, as a guide for discovery. The little ship sails the world, discovering interesting places.
world map playscape and play figures to make world exploration fun
I haven’t studied geography in years and I really enjoyed the research I did for the location card. Not too long ago, I was in the United States shopping for groceries. I struck up a conversation with the check out clerk and bag boy. They asked me where I lived, I told them Israel. They replied “Israel!, isn’t that like another country?” Let me tell you, there is a need for a game like this!
needle felted world map
I think this could be good cocktail party game for adults too, let’s call it World Traveler. If you find the suggested location, you get to do a shot and the winner is the one who can find their way home at the end of the game!
The map comes rolled with the playing pieces inside
