Froglife

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Eye Green Christmas Crafts

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Come along and join our Transforming Lives trainees on our winter-themed family event!

Make your own reptile and amphibian themed Christmas crackers and great crested newt puppets.

We also have a nature art collage which we encourage all family members to get involved in, forage for sticks, leaves, feathers, rocks, plants and lichens to create your very own nature-themed art piece using all natural materials on the bowling green.

We will also have hot chocolate and biscuits available for a small donation to keep you warm on a cold day!

If you have any questions please contact Clare.Middleton@froglife.org

Children’s Art Week

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Written by Kaitlin Oliver, Transforming Lives Trainee. 

Bringing children and art together in Children’s Art Week!

Children’s Art Week is a UK-wide programme run by Engage, the National Association for Gallery Education. Its three weeks of exciting, creative events hosted across the country to explore the arts. Engage is very passionate about increasing advocacy where everyone can have access to the visual arts, regardless of people’s ecological circumstances.

Children’s Art Week is a wonderful celebration that inspires and encourages young minds to explore their creativity, express themselves, and discover the joy of art. Art is incredibly important for children’s development and providing the opportunity to express their ideas and emotions, whether it be through crafting, painting, sculpting, singing, dancing or roleplaying.

This annual event, held in various locations, aims to provide children with opportunities to engage in diverse art activities, fostering their imagination, self-confidence, and artistic skills. With its inclusive and vibrant atmosphere, Children’s Art Week plays a pivotal role nurturing the next generation of artists and creative thinkers.

Parents, carers, educators, galleries, museums and community groups will be coming together to inspire self-expression and support well-being. The aim is to encourage families, young people, disabled people, older people and early years groups to be more engaged with visual arts. 

Engaging in art activities with your child is a fantastic, enjoyable way of spending time with them.

Children’s Art Week will include different themes for each week. Below is a great idea to get you started!

 

 

Tissue paper lizard:

 

You will need:

  • Our lizard template printed on white card (or draw your own!)
  • Brown felt-tip pen or pencil 
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Brown tissue paper
  • Pritt stick

 

Method:

Step 1: Print our lizard template onto card, colour it in and cut it out.

Step 2: Cut out a 12x5cm rectangle from your brown tissue paper.

Step 3: Fold your tissue paper into thirds, then twist into a thin, long strip.*

Step 4: Use your Pritt stick to put glue onto your lizard’s body. Then, starting from the tip of the tail, stick down the twisted strip. 

Step 5: Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times. Glue each strip as far down the lizard’s body as it will fit and trim any that are too long. 

Step 6: Repeat steps 2 and 3 again. Curl this strip into a roughly triangular shape so that it fits the shape of your lizard’s head. You will probably have to make the length shorter. 

Step 7: Glue the edge of the spiral and stick the end in place. Hold while it dries. 

Step 8: Glue the head shape onto your lizard as shown.

*Tip: Instead of twisting the tissue paper, you could scrunch it into lots of small balls to stick on instead. 

 

You can find even more fun activities to do at home in our Idea Zone. 

We’re dreaming of a green Christmas….

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Go green this Christmas with natural decorations. Consider bringing the outdoors in this winter and surround yourself with the goodness of nature. There are plenty of garden favourites that we can adorn our households with. You may even be able to ask your local greenspace manager for permission to forage for a few items too.

 

Sticks and twigs

Something as simple as putting some bare twigs or skinny branches in a vase look great with some led fairly lights wound around them. Try adding a few baubles here and there too. Why not try framing mirrors or picture frames with a few twigs?

Or have a go at creating small decorations out of twigs like these fabulous three ideas from: https://www.diyncrafts.com

Natural greens

Even at this time of year we can find some lovely greenery to brighten up our decorations. Some firm Christmas favourites include ivy, holly, mistletoe and conifers. Tie together conifer sprigs and slot in some splashings of ivy and holly to make a garland. Or to make these into a wreath try and find some willow or dogwood to create your wreath structure and then weave in some of the greenery. Here is a how to: https://blog.bay-bee.co.uk/how-to-make-a-real-christmas-garland/

Or if you don’t fancy having to weave branches all together, you can simply place individual branches down on the surface you want to decorate, or slot in behind frames, or attach to a picture rail. This is probably best if it is out of reach!

Fragrance:

Why not bring in some fragrance from rosemary, bay, thyme and sage. You can include these within your garlands, wreaths or branch decorations or you could create a mini herb wreath. They also look lovely in a vase on their own.

Other popular Christmas fragrances are oranges, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg so try adding these in too.

Colour:

Don’t forget to add splashes of colour to your decorations. There are plenty of winterberries that you can grow in your garden which are also great for the birds so always make sure to leave some behind, these include holly, spindle, rowan and rosehips. You can be as creative as you like or even just add these to glass jars on their own.

The possibilities are endless and we would love to see some of your creations so do send us over a picture or two! Happy festive decorating!

 

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