Lovely Art Supply Suggestions

Some friends and I were discussing art and craft supplies.

 I thought I might take some photos of art supplies I have enjoyed over the last couple of years.

I am not a "trained artist" I haven't been to art school, I don't sell art equipment - I'm just a mum who likes doing art!

If you like my style please be sure to check my Facebook page - Doodles By Debbie Ball - where you can see more of my work, and can purchase my colouring Postcard books!

I also have all my books - including the Handbook and Journal, for sale on  Trade Me

But without further ado: Lovely Art Supply Suggestions!!!


First up are Sharpie markers (first pic shown above).  They have a nice tip on them, are permanent, but do bleed through, so make sure you protect your table!

Next - Promarker.

The Promarker is an alcohol based marker pen also - nice solid colour, satisfying to colour with.  Also bleeds through.  This brand is dual tip.

Alcohol markers can be used for shading - two coats of the same colour make darker areas.

My favourite non-permanent felt-tipped pens are Staedtler Tripuls color (above and below).  They are a bit pricey, so the children don't use these ones in our house!

Felt pens can tear up the paper if they are scrubbed over the paper, and they can often leave lines when colouring (as shown on the light blue and light green parts below).

Staedtler also do the Triplus Fine Liner.  I don't recommend colouring with these, unless you are doing really, really fiddling little small pieces of colouring.  But they are fabulous for journaling and colourful writing. 

The cheap metallic markers above are great for lettering, but not very good for colouring as you can see by the liney squares I have coloured on the left of the picture above.




We bought some Crayola glitter pens which are a bit scratchy, but fun to play with.

This next photo shows Reno marker pens (bought open stock - you choose what colours you like) alongside coloured pencil - Faber Castell Classic Colour.

Faber Castell Classic Colour are very affordable, not too scratchy, easy to sharpen, and come in really big packs of beautiful colours.

Faber Castell also have the more expensive Polychromos pencils which are beautifully creamy and easy to blend.  These are more "artist" quality.   Because they are softer they wear down more quickly.

 Faber Castell Gelatos are fun to use - they have a texture a little like a lipstick, and glide over the page easily.  They can be blended with a wee sponge - wet or dry, or a wet paintbrush.  They are great for journaling and making colourful backgrounds.

I also love using watercolours - the ones I have here are Sakura and I use them with either an aqua brush, or the brushes shown.  The flat brushes give me a little more control as I tend to be quite messy with paints, but have got a bit neater with practice.

Cartridge paper or thick art paper is fine for watercolours unless a lot of water is involved.  Watercolour paper is more expensive, but a real treat to use and gives beautiful results when using watercolour paints.

My favourite watercolour pencils are the Stabilo shown above, but I'm not sure where they can be purchased now in New Zealand - however, the Faber Castell Watercolour pencils are readily available.

In the picture above I have gone over the dry watercolour paint with some sparkly gel pens.

This is a Sakura aqua brush or water brush.  They are lovely to use, and I highly recommend everyone trying one of them!!

Gel pens are fun and popular. These are cheap ones that don't work overly well.  I don't use them for art, but they are nice to use for quick notes to people.

I believe the top-of-the-line gel pens are Sakura Gelly Roll pens.  I have a few to show you:

This is the Sakura Star Dust pen - I like to use this pen to add sparkle over the top of felt pen or dry paint.

I also have Sakura Moonlight, Metallic and Glaze pens all of which are "icecream smooth"!!!

My newest purchase is the Wink Of Stella metallic brush pen.  A bit of fun, and helps me to get a bit neater at working with a brush!

I have saved my favourite coloured pencils till last:

Staedtler ErgoSoft pencils - lovely to hold, lovely to use.  A bit expensive for everyone to use, so they are just for me.

One sensible rule in purchasing art supplies is that you need to have a place for them to live so they are accessible and don't get damaged.

These plastic drawers are very, er .. plasticky, but do the job.

 

I would love to go on and on and on about art supplies, but time has run out!  I hope this blog post inspires someone to have a go with some nice equipment!

I'm Cross - Muddy Parenting "Advice"

May I just say a few words, if you will bear with me, on "imbalance" in society/media which is evident in the behaviour of many children, and the lawlessness and disrespect from a great number of youth.

An example of something I see going on a lot is the rolling eyes and sighing that goes along with:

" ... and they told the children off for going UP the slide."

Check the attitude of the child who is going up the slide.

Is it a challenge and fun to go up the slide?  Are they extending themselves in a healthy way?  Providing much-needed sensory input?  Great!

or 

does the child have an attitude of "I own this, nobody else is allowed, it is constantly MY turn - SEE, I go down, and then I go UP straight away. Ha! MY TURN!"

Not so great.

If you're at someone else's property (a school/cafe/friend's place) do they perhaps have a reason for the "No going up the slide" rule?

Check the attitude, stay respectful.

Don't get caught up on the eye-rolling bandwagon, immediately judging anyone who wants their children (or visiting children) to only go down the slide.

Another one that is bugging me is the term "helicopter parent".

I've seen this used so often, thrown around, and used in the same way one might say "abusive parent", making diligent and considerate parents feel overbearing and overprotective. Once again, the balance is being pushed over and trampled on.

Check your reasons for, and the attitude towards protecting/checking on/prohibiting things. SERIOUSLY check them, and then stand strong if anyone questions or challenges you.

Also something that came up in my first point - "eye rolling" and speaking disrespectfully about other people/making fun of other people.

Always (as much as you can) model to your children what you wish them to be like.   And one would hope that eye-rolling is not a goal.

One last thing, the term "mindless obedience" has become mixed up with "obedience". Teach your child to be thoughtful and wise - that they will consider WHY they are doing things in EVERY situation - whether it be obedience or any other area. 

I have got a bit grumpy about these things of late - very, very weary of reading constant unbalanced opinions stated as fact, and potentially confusing and bullying new parents.

Parents are responsible for the safety of their child. They are responsible for the balanced, respectful, careful, rich, loving, mindful raising of their child.

Children NEED parents to be responsible and solid,  to lead them to independence gradually, but not give them too much decision-making and responsibility too soon - or in moments of exhaustion, confusion, when they are overwhelmed or screaming out for direction!

So, as I have mentioned before - figure out what works for YOUR family, what you want your future to look like for yourself and your children. Treasure healthy relationships, forgive yourself for being a human if things come undone, and determine to do better in any way you can.

If that means reading less, distancing yourself from media, blogs, articles etc, then do so.   

Things are getting really muddy out there. 

Mud Kitchens

A few years back we built the children a mud kitchen.  It got A LOT of use!  It never looked like "the ones on Pinterest" because we used it and made big messes.

I was reminded of this today because I came across this family in the Isle of Wight who make the most beautiful mud kitchens.

 Does that inspire you to make something in a suitable corner of the garden/deck/patio for your children?

Let me know if you do build something fun!

BITS AND PIECES AROUND OUR PLACE

Newcomers to the lifestyle of home education often wonder what "resources" they should collect.  There are as many opinions on this as there are families home educating!  And for good reason.  If your children are sporty/outdoorsy sorts then you might be wasting your money buying lots of board games, puzzles and DVDs.   However, if you have children who are heavily into arty/creative pursuits then it would be a nice idea to collect bits of fabric, glue, cardboard, old car radios to demolish etc.

So my advice:  

- start with YOUR family's interests, and go from there

- look for toys and belongings that will be enduring

- remember that very young children really don't need much at all to play with, and often are happier with household objects and having you involved in the game.

 
Some parents don't like faddish, trendy toys.  I don't particularly, but if one of my children (at the age of having some maturity and reasoning) has saved their money and is making purchasing decisions by themselves, then it's part of real life to buy what you like.  Perhaps there will be buyer's remorse.  Perhaps it will become a treasured item to remind the child of that time in their life.    A parent with a healthy, respectful attitude towards this sort of thing will find the lines of communication open, and the child may receive and enjoy advice/stories of "when I was younger I bought a <fill in the blank> and <consequence> happened."  
(My children like the story of "When Mummy bought the "Roar Power" accessory for her bicycle ...")

Enough talking!   

I took a few photos from around our place to give young families some ideas of what they might like to look out for in op-shops, garage sales, or even request from grandparents etc.

(Remember - we have been adding to our stash for over 20 years, sifting out the things that arn't worth keeping, and trying to maintain the ones that are used a lot.)

 

 

 

 

 

Nice little bits of fabric, easily accessible to be grabbed and used.

Jigsaw puzzles and some of our games

Our crafting suitcase - felt fabric, embroidery floss, needles, embroidery hoops etc

Beautiful soft wool roving (sliver) for wet-felting, needle-felting or adding as a loose part to a game (I sell this!)

LEGO!!!     Fantastic for the fingers and the brain

We have a little stash of notebook, art books and stationary so people can get one at any time for a project (we usually buy them at the "Back To School" sales in late January/early Feb.)

Something nice for when Mummy plays with someone - I like to enjoy the game too!

Cars, cars and more cars

A personal library

One of my TOP recommendations is that every family should have their own library

Our library is in our hallway - even in a small house it's imperative to have a personal library!!!

Beautiful art equipment that is only used by careful arty sorts

Pens, pencils, washi tape, scissors, sellotape ... you might probably guess that I love art stuff!

Things that make you feel good when you look at them - when you are at home so much it's important to personalize your home, make it work and feel good for everyone living there

Some children love em, some children can't be bothered - soft toys and puppets

More bits of fabric for projects

More books that won't fit in our library (this is our storeroom)

Must be time for a tidy-up in the storeroom ...  I see a mess - he sees ADVENTURE

Minatures (not for little people who SCATTER them far and wide)

More puzzles in our storeroom

Magnetix, and magnet tiles (not photographed) highly recommended

Things you might not consider to be fun. 

Playmobil

Wooden dollhouse furniture - an acceptable scale for Sylvanian, Kelly Dolls, "Wooden and Rope people" and Fisher Price Loving Family dolls etc

Marble Roller kit (would prefer a wooden one, but am grateful for this one)

Favourite stash of marker pens!

And just to show you what my little guy was playing with as I was photographing some of our resources!

 I hope this has been interesting for you to look at.  Do you have any resources you would definitely include in your "we have loved these" list?

The "No thank you bowl"

The "No thank you bowl" is one way we show respect to our youngest sweetie.

I introduced the concept to him when he was very little, and he picked the idea up right away.  Next time he sat down to eat something, he asked for the "No yank you bowl peeze."  I was quite surprised!

It means he can put food aside that he isn't keen on eating.  Often he will come back to those "cast aside pieces" and eat them at the end of the meal.  Or other times, the chickens are happy to have them, and give us eggs in return!

The other day I took a snack to him in the playroom where he was playing with one of his big brothers.  I saw him come running back down to the kitchen.

"What do you want?"  I asked.
"No yank you bowl."  He said as he ran to the drawer, got another bowl out and headed back to the playroom.

I went back down to check on him a bit later, the children were playing on the deck and the snack plate was empty.  So was the no thank you bowl.  
Very clean in fact. 
Licked-out sort of clean.  
Oh well.  The chickens missed out that time!

 

If I was 'Queen For A Day' - no, I've a better idea!

Instead of being "Queen For A Day" (no thanks!) it would be far more interesting to be "The Head of the Ministry of Education For The Day."   (or if necessary Prime Minister For The Day).

If that ever happened I'd like to remove the words "At least as regularly and as well as in a registered school"  from anything to do with home educators.

Quoted from:  http://www.ero.govt.nz/how-ero-reviews/ero-reviews-of-schools-and-kura/homeschooling/


 
To homeschool a child (also known as home educate), parents can request and receive from the Ministry of Education a ‘Certificate of Exemption’ from enrolling their child or children at registered schools.
The Ministry will only grant an exemption if they are satisfied that the child will betaught at least as regularly and well at home as in a registered school.



and further on the same page:

On completion of the review, ERO will write a report that includes:

• a judgement about whether the exempted student is being taught at least asregularly and well as in a registered school
• a conclusion stating whether the Chief Review Officer can assure the Secretary for Education that the terms of the exemption have been met.

ANY teacher, or home ed parent who knows what's what will testify that you can TEACH till you're blue in the face, till the cows come home and till the moon turns into blue cheese - but it makes absolutely no difference unless your pupil/child is LEARNING.

teach

tiːtʃ/

verb

verb: teach; 3rd person present: teaches; past tense: taught; past participle: taught; gerund or present participle: teaching

1.

impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) as to how to do something.

Is the problem with the word "teach" or is there something deeper going on? 

Is the word "teach" used because it is somewhat "measurable"?

It reminds me of one of my favourite movies -

Watch it here:
Summerhill (2008)


One can put the timer on and TEACH for 3 hours in the morning, ending with a very satisfied feeling and a big TICK on your daily planner, BUT the children retain very little/nothing if they weren't involved, engaged and interested.

I know home educating parents who tie themselves in knots trying to present information (teach) in an exciting and relevant way so the children will be interested.   The same information, when stumbled across naturally by the child, or left for the child to find (by the parent who has "strewn the path" with the information at the right time) may be absorbed and understood and delightfully added to their "storehouse of knowledge" BECAUSE THEY WERE READY AND INTERESTED by themselves.

A child can sit in a classroom for years, being exposed to hour after hour of teaching and still not learn enough to pass the required exams.

If a child has learned to fake it, they can look engaged and interested from the outside, whilst inside their heads they are going through a playlist of current favourite songs, planning a outing for the weekend, wondering what's for tea, stressed about a threat they've received, worried about the family's financial situation ... in which case NO AMOUNT OF "TEACHING" is going to make an impression on them right at that time.

So yes, to remove the words "At least as regularly and as well as in a registered school" AND THE MINDSET BEHIND IT would be a major step forward for the MOE.
 

And they would say "Thank you" to me.  
They would say "We never realised how inefficient and silly that statement was."
And they would all be grateful that I had explained, and that they now had a better understanding of the situation.
And it would make life easier for home educators who are applying for exemptions, and easier for the MOE staff who are processing those applications.
And a WHOLE lot easier for the ERO if they ever had to review a home educating family.

And I would be pleased to have helped. 

If I was the head of the Ministry of Education for the day.






NB

I honestly don't know how teachers find the energy to carry on every day with multiple children who have multiple needs/difficulties/backgrounds/things happening in their lives that impact their ability to learn.  Let alone the politics of the classroom/relationships with parents/massive weight of responsibility/school policies/board of directors/government policies ...  I have highest respect for those teachers who continue in the face of all that.

And of course I have the highest respect for parents who diligently, responsibly and respectfully home educate their children.  And that is why I do what I do.    xxx