The Parable of the Sower - Observing Plant Growth in Different Environments

The seed exploration and planting activity which I carried out with my son last week was so popular that he has been asking every day if we could do some more planting.  We had plenty of seeds left and a spare seed tray so we had another planting session, but this time we planted the seeds into different environments to see how the environment would effect the growth of the plant.

We based our activity on The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-9) where Jesus tells the story of a sower planting seeds in a field.  Some seed falls on the path (which the birds eat up), some on rocky ground (which causes the plant to shoot up only to wither later as the soil is too shallow to let the root grow deeply), some among thorns (which eventually choke the plant) and some on good soil where it thrives.  (In our scene I had to use weeds instead of thorns, but the principle is the same).

The parable itself is a story Jesus told to demonstrate the fruitfulness of God's Word in people's lives. The seed that falls on the path to be eaten by the birds signifies the "evil one" who snatches away the truth that is sown into the listener's heart, the seed that falls on rocky ground refers to the person who receives it, but does not let it take root and is overcome by persecution and trouble, the seed that falls among thorns signifies the person who hears the the word but is choked by the worries of this life and the seed that falls on good soil is the person who receives the word and is fruitful.

Wugs has been observing our Parable of the Sower scene for a couple of weeks now and we have plants shooting up in good soil, one in the weeds, some in the rocks and none on the path.  It has been outside for almost the whole time so the birds could have eaten the seed or the wind may have blown them away or to other parts of the tray.  It will be interesting to see if that tall shoot that has grown among the rocks will wither away as it becomes bigger and whether the shoot among the weeds will eventually be overcome by them (as the parable describes).

Whether our little activity will demonstrate these agricultural principles perfectly is unlikely, but it was a fun way to let Wugs participate in the parable by being the "sower" who has planted the seed, watered it, observed it and will hopefully see some "fruit".

What we used:
Seed Tray
Potting Mix
Seeds
Trowel
Weeds (from the garden)
Stones (from the garden)
Stones to create a path (store bought - something more level and without gaps would have worked better like a stone slab)
Craft sticks
Label
Marker

Please click here for more Botany-related activities:

Exploring and Planting Seeds

Today's activity was about helping Wugs appreciate how a plant is grown from a seed and the basic requirements that plants need in order to survive.

We picked out a variety of seeds: bean seeds, sunflower seeds, pansy seeds and sweet pea seeds and emptied each packet into a bowl so Wugs could examine them (with the help of Teddy!) before sorting them into their correct compartment in the tray.

Once the seeds had been sorted, I set up another tray to help him plant the seeds into some clear cups. I chose clear cups so that we could observe the root system beneath the plant once it started to grow.

The bean seed required a different treatment as it would show the process of germination.  For this, I asked Wugs to spray a piece of kitchen towel and then tuck the bean seed in between the towel and the side of the cup.  (Sadly the only process that the bean seed showed was the process of moulding! It didn't work.  I'll update this post once I find one that does!)

The other seeds were planted into soil, labelled and watered and each day we have been observing their growth, checking the dampness of the soil and have been astounded at how quickly the sunflowers (in particular) have shot up!  This weekend we will be planting them in the garden!

What we used:

Seeds (bean, pansy, sweet pea, sunflower)

Sorting Tray

Tweezers

Magnifying Glass

Plastic Cups

Potting Soil

Digging Tools

Kitchen Paper Towel

Squirty Bottle of Water

Please click here for more Botany-related activities:

The Anatomy of a Plant

My three year old has been fascinated with plants this month and especially enjoys running his finger over the different parts of the sunflower plant he grew.  This afternoon, I thought I'd introduce him to the names of the different parts of the plant using this handy picture and puzzle from The Natural Homeschool.  Wugs doesn't enjoy abstract learning, so he identified the names of the different parts of the plant, by running his finger over the same part of his sunflower plant (or at least the ones he could touch) and saying the name aloud before matching the word to his picture.

Play Therapy for Families Living Apart

        

When I first began researching and setting up activities for Wugs 18 months ago, I was especially interested in the idea that children can express their thoughts and feelings and experience healing through play.  What a wonderful, natural capacity to have at our disposal!  Back then I couldn't see how it would apply to my own children.  That is, until a month ago...

My husband's job in Singapore draws to a close in just three weeks time and it was about a month ago that I started packing up the toys to be included in the shipment to the UK.  It was whilst doing this, that I discovered that Wugs had associated certain Duplo figures with members of our family. Our family are in Malaysia and the UK and the children see them only once or twice a year. On this particular occasion, my husband's family had visited us in Singapore and their departure was especially distressing for Wugs.  I used this as an opportunity to talk about the family members - what Grandma, Uncle R and Auntie T would be doing back in Malaysia. During this activity I uncovered a whole world of emotions that Wugs doesn't readily express.  I decided to put aside some of the Duplo figures, other figurines and accessories and bring them out again for some more play to help him understand our move to the UK.

         

We revisited this activity today as my husband's family paid a final visit at the weekend and Wugs has been asking where they have gone. Also we skyped my parents yesterday evening, so Wugs has overheard a lot of conversations about our impending move.

I set up the play worlds using two Duplo baseboards - one representing the Malaysian family and one representing the UK family.  Each baseboard was divided up into different scenes that reflected the typical activities carried out by the family members.  There was Grandma cooking and going to work at the doctor's surgery (we had the doctor Duplo figurine so that was helpful!), Dadda watching telly, Uncle R and Auntie T shopping for toys and cakes. There was Nanna trying on new clothes in the bathroom  (Wugs discovered the joys of clothes shopping and make-up during Nanna's last visit.  I included the toilet as Wugs is being potty-trained at the moment so he is fascinated by it), Grandad sitting in the garden with the cat, Kitty, having a cup of tea, Uncle M and Auntie J looking at a map (they enjoy travelling) and cousin G sleeping and using his slide in the garden. I added a couple of other activities to the play in case Wugs didn't want to use it in the way I intended - in Grandma's kitchen we used a couple of bottle tops to represent saucepans and bowls and gave Wugs some Fischer Tips which he moulded to create the food that Grandma was cooking.  Wugs filled the bowls with "chicken rice and kai lan" and "ice cream" and gave it to Dadda.  The other activity I included involved making clothes for Nanna to try on.  We used tissue paper and stickers to create the clothes and glittery pipe cleaners to make jewellery.  Wugs also decided to dress up Uncle M and we made a glittery collar for Kitty.

             

   

             

I set up the baseboards on separate tables with a Duplo aeroplane on each so we could "fly" to Malaysia and the UK, hoping to convey the idea that each family was only a plane ride away. Thankfully Wugs doesn't appreciate distances yet!   

The real value in an activity like this isn't really in how it looks visually (although I've included lots of photos - mainly for my family who may be curious to discover which Duplo figure they are!  The only ones I influenced were Grandad and cousin G), but in the conversations we had.   Wugs used words like "sad",  "enjoy", "I'm worried", "I've lost [person's name]" and took charge of the flights from one country to another.  It made me realise that another important aspect of play was Wugs' control over what happened during it, in a way that he cannot necessarily control the upcoming events in real life.  I would imagine that this type of activity could be beneficial for children whose families are experiencing divorce or the loss of a loved one as well.

In some ways, what we did wasn't any different from a normal free play session.  The difference is in the detail.  The items included in the play worlds were specifically aimed at evoking positive memories or preparing Wugs for what he will see in a few weeks time - giving him a chance now to work through these changes before they actually occur.  As he was talking away, I didn't direct the conversation, but let him talk about both the positive and negative emotions he was experiencing.

What we used:

Duplo/Happyland Figurines and Accessories

Duplo Bricks and Baseboards
Bottle tops

Fischer Tips

Coloured tissue paper

Stickers

Pipecleaners

Containers

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Singaporean Shop Tiles: Exploring Patterns, Colour and Symmetry

A stunning decorative feature that you cannot miss in Singapore is the beautiful tiles that adorn the traditional Singaporean shophouse.  My parents bought me a book called "Singapore Shophouse", by Julian Davison and Luca Invernizzi Tettoni.  The book is full of the history and images of the shophouse and Wugs loves to flick through it pointing out the pretty designs. Following on from our coloured "glass" tile craft yesterday (that I've featured in the picture on the bottom left), I painted some more tiles in traditional shophouse colours for Wugs to decorate.

The craft yesterday made me realise that Wugs' interest would only last long enough to decorate possibly two tiles, so I decorated the tan-coloured tile using a black marker pen to show what an older child could be capable of.

What we used:
Egg cartons
1 Packet of Heinz Baby Pasta Stars (which looked like miniature flowers)
Le Fantasie flower-shaped pasta
White, red, green, tan-coloured paint
Yellow, red, blue food colouring
White Distilled vinegar
Ziploc/freezer bags
Black Marker pen
Fake flowers
Cornstarch/Corn flour Glue

Yesterday I coloured the pasta by placing it in Ziploc bags, adding the food colouring and a teaspoon of Distilled white vinegar and squishing it around until the pasta had soaked up the colour. Then I left it to dry overnight.

This morning I laid out the materials including the cornstarch glue we prepared for our tile yesterday.  (This was made from 30g of cornstarch/corn flour mixed with 150ml of water.  I mixed just a little of the water and cornstarch to remove any lumps and then I added the rest of the water gradually to the mixture in the saucepan over a low heat).  We covered the egg carton with glue first and then Wugs added the decoration.  The egg carton was a good material to use for creating tiles because it encourages a certain amount of balance not only because of its shape but also because Wugs has used one for counting and sorting before.  It also enabled him to explore the materials and colours without them sticking firmly to the tile.  In fact all day he has returned to the red and green tiles and added bits to them from around the house such as real flowers, pennies etc. I like the fact that the patterns are not permanent, so we might leave them that way, but if we want to display them on the wall, we can easily tap out the pasta that didn't directly stick to the glue and then add another layer of glue to seal them down.

This tile craft was easier (so definitely appropriate for a 2.5 year old) than the glass tile craft we attempted yesterday as it wasn't necessary for Wugs to cover the whole tile and the pasta shapes formed the intricate details and gave a sense of balance to the tile.

Exploring Colour, Symmetry and Light with "Glass" Tiles

Today's craft was inspired by my love of a place in Singapore called Kampong Glam, a neighbourhood with Malay and Middle Eastern influence.  Along its streets are rows and rows of shops selling jewellery, rugs, lamps, fabrics and coloured glass tiles - all with intricate patterns, bright colours and a variety of textures.  I wondered how we could re-create some of this beauty through our crafts and a craft that a 2.5 year old could do.

I managed to get hold of an egg carton that carries 30 eggs and I cut it into squares (so that there are 9 egg holders to every tile).  I will use the other 3 tiles for a Singaporean Shophouse tile project that I have planned tomorrow.  I coloured this tile in white paint so that the tissue paper would easily shine through.  Meanwhile I cut out squares of blue and red coloured transparent paper and squares of tin foil (the tiles I've seen have a combination of coloured glass and mirrors in them) and I thought it would be nice for Wugs to handle a different material other than the coloured paper.  As Wugs would also be sticking the paper to the carton, I made some child-friendly glue using 30g of cornstarch and 150ml of water.  I added some of the water to the cornstarch and stirred it around to remove all of the lumps.  Then I placed it into a saucepan on a low heat and kept stirring the mixture until it boiled.  Once that had cooled down we started to add the glue to the egg carton with a brush.  I found it easier to cover the egg carton with glue before adding the paper as the paper tends to get stuck to the brush and hands and can be frustrating and distracting.

What we used:

Egg carton 

White paint

Blue and red coloured transparent "sweet wrapper" paper

Tin foil

Cornstarch Glue

I found this craft a little challenging for a 2.5 year old as it involves creating symmetry and balance.  Wugs did so in terms of adding the tin foil squares, but I think a child of 4 years or older would appreciate it better.  Having said that, Wugs enjoyed sticking and using the brush to spread the glue and appreciated the reflectiveness of the tin foil.

Hari Raya: Weaving Rice Dumpling Cases - "Ketupat"

The "Ketupat" decorations are very popular at this time of year in Singapore as they have become associated with the end of the Muslim fasting month.  The weaving of rice dumpling cases is a traditional craft of this region and one that children as young as seven have mastered. I decided to give it a try with a lot of help from this video.

"Ketupat" refers to a rice dumpling that is packed and cooked in palm leaves and can be found in South East Asia and the Philippines.  As the rice cooks, it expands to fill the casing and becomes compressed creating the dumpling-like texture. Although the Ketupat's significance is not necessarily religious, it is often connected to the end of the Muslim fasting festival Ramadhan and the beginning of Hari Raya Aidilfitri or Eid ul-Fitr.  According to Javanese tradition, the criss-cross pattern of the woven palm leaves is believed to symbolise sins for which fasting and deliverance is required.  The white rice dumpling is meant to symbolise purity and forgiveness after the fast.

We are hanging our decorations in Wugs' and Dooey's room to remind us to pray for the children who are living in conflict in the Middle East.

What we used:
Balloon ribbons (15mm width and 1m in length for each colour)

Using "Wayang" (Javanese-style Shadow Puppets) to Depict Bible Stories

"Wayang" is the Javanese word for "shadow", but it is commonly used to refer to the shadow puppet shows that are famous across Indonesia. Although Wayang is commonly used to depict the Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, I decided to use the beautiful form of "Wayang" and apply it to the Christian love story of Isaac and Rebekah. Wugs and Dooey love standing up in their cots and playing with their shadows so I thought it would be a fun way for them to interact with the story.

I created the templates of Isaac, Rebekah, the camel and the jug on card and then cut them out.  Although Abraham's servant plays a big role in the story, I decided to use the camel to fill his part - knowing that Wugs would enjoy holding the camel.  For the arms, I followed the template on this website.  The arms are in two sections and are held together with brass fasteners which enables them to move.  Before connecting the arms to the main body of the puppets, I gave Wugs the pottu ("bindis"). They were a little difficult for him to handle, as they are very small and delicate, but he did manage to add some to Rebekah's dress. I used black and gold pens to draw some basic features on the puppets.  Although the decoration cannot be seen on the shadow, the puppets are an art form in themselves and this was a nice way to get Wugs involved in the making of the puppets.  I added some decoration that would show up in the shadows such as the doily (on Isaac) and the cup cake border (on Rebekah).  Finally I fixed coffee stirrers (from Costa!) onto the hands of the puppets and a chopstick to the back of the puppets so I could hold the puppet whilst manipulating its arms.

I placed a lamp on a stand by the boys' beds and narrated the story with them both standing up in a cot and Wugs holding the camel puppet.

What we used:
A4 Card sheets
Pottu ("bindis")
4 Coffee stirrers
3 Chopsticks
8 Brass fasteners
Black marker
Gold marker
Doily paper
Acrylic gold paint
Cup cake decorative border
Masking tape
Glue

Note: If I carried out this activity again, I would have doubled up on the card that I used for the puppets' bodies and limbs as they seemed a bit fragile in action.  I would have also experimented with narrating the story by projecting a light behind a white sheet as the shadows may have been clearer than they were on the wall.