During this very different time of lockdown, those of us who have been able to get out on our daily walks have noticed and enjoyed the rainbows in windows and messages of hope on the pavements. With things at the very beginning of change, it is an ideal moment to send a positive message to others by making a flag and flying it from your window.
Out and About – Nature’s Music
If you are lucky enough to live close enough to a woodland or park with plenty of trees, then this activity is a good one to try. Collect a variety of different length and thickness of sticks. Bang different sticks together. Do they all make the same sound? What makes the sound higher or lower? Can you build a xylophone using different length sticks? It helps if you lay two large sticks on the ground first and balance the other sticks on top. This allows the sound to vibrate better. You could create a natural stick percussion and leave it for others to discover and enjoy.
In the garden – Rambo Duck This is another stalking game which has exactly the same rules of play as the ‘Duck and Fox’ stalking game (see Monday’s blog post 28). The only difference is the the duck is still blindfolded but has a water pistol to squirt instead of pointing. The other difference to the rules is that the duck is only allowed 3 squirts of the water pistol each time. It helps the duck to really focus on their listening skills to be able to aim accurately. It is also a lot of fun!
Staying at Home – Make a mud flag You will need: mud (or paints or felt tips), paintbrush, recycled plastic container, a long stick, water, white or pale coloured cotton fabric (an old pillow case can make several flags), stapler.
Cut some cotton fabric into the flag size you want.
Mix up some mud and water in the plastic container with a stick to make a paint paste.
Use a stick, feather or paintbrush to draw your design.
Leave to dry.
Fold the fabric over down one of the shorter edges and staple along it. Leave enough space for the stick to thread it through for the flagpole.
This activity can be made with mud paint but is equally fun with coloured paint or felt tips. If you are using felt tips, why not write a positive message and fly your flag for your neighbours to see?