Saturday, August 1, 2009

Count on Nature




At Syrendell, we are surrounded by the artistry of nature. The bounty of the garden vegetables glisten in the sun like jewels, the beauty of flowers smile like ballerinas on a stage, and even the humble ivy twist about like Celtic knots in the shade of trees. With the branches of felled trees, among abandoned heaps of clippings, in a quiet corner of the yard, one may think the artistry of nature had run its course. But no!

Revived by Syrendell, the tree branch is awakened and revitalized as homelearning counting and imagination blocks!



Daddy cut the branches, sanded their edges and rough parts of the bark, and some sets he finished with beeswax, others without (he seems to prefer to leave them unfinished to see the natural patina of the wood). In sets of twelve, with diameters averaging one and a half inches, with lengths between one inch to about three inches, they make excellent counting blocks, just the perfect number to learn basic operations. Mommy dyed a circle-shaped muslin fabric with onion skins, Joey sewed the edges, and Ricky and Wilson did a simple single crochet as a tie, and voila! A handy pouch to carry the wood blocks in. And with some imagination, both the fabric and the tie can serve so many other uses.






Nature continues to inspire us, feed us, protect us. We honor it by sustaining its vital force through the appreciation of all it can offer us and teach us.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

How inspiring! I love how you all work together as a family. Most of my family think I am a freak for preferring a more natural (and thus slightly harder/more involved) lifestyle.

Tammy said...

So many lovely projects...

Lisa said...

Your family amazes me. A visit here is always so beautiful!

Lisa ;)

themagiconions said...

Such an inspiring post... your creations are so beautiful.
Blessings and magic.

Kelly said...

I always love stopping by here! What a wonderful, nature inspired project.

dongdong said...

so sweet. I love how everyone contributed something. Just lovely.

renee ~ heirloom seasons said...

Great tree blocks. And I love how the whole family contributed. We made some nice apple tree blocks last autumn. They have a lovely green color just beneath the bark!

Kathleen Scott said...

What a lovely life meditation.

suzanne said...

Good morning Jennifer

I do love visiting the very creative family... Seeing your post reminded me of riding past a very large tree that was cut down in our neighborhood. I jumped out and gathered the trunk and other pieces for a table and chairs for our fairy mushroom garden. I just love wood. Thank you for sharing.

Warm regards
Suzanne

Stephanie said...

These are so, so pretty!

I love the clock.