“A monthly
subscription box, inspired by the magic of books”.
Last month, I
blogged about our first ever Little Hands Learning box – and good news if you
enjoyed that post, I signed up to a three month subscription, so here is
October's Box. Titled ‘friendship’, as always, there were four activities inspired
by a book and these were all centred around the theme of friendship.
The book was The
Boy and the Bear, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Sarah
Massini. The two title characters spark up an unlikely friendship – the boy is
looking for someone to play with, and the bear is not only a bear, but also
very shy. They start communicating via notes on paper boats and then become
friends. As the seasons change, the bear goes away, and the boy is on his own
again. But thankfully there's a happy ending and the bear returns – the boy is
no longer lonely. It's a really sweet story which Alfie and I love reading
together.
The activities
included in the box were:
- Paper boat crafting
- Design and play your own game
- Bear hunt
- Boy and Bear small world
Let's sail away…
The first
activity we did together was making the paper boats. We were supplied with
three pieces of coloured paper – high quality stuff that even withstood water, without
going completely soggy and ending up in a crumpled heap. There were also some
crayons for decorating. And thankfully for me there was a QR code to scan which
took us to a YouTube video on how to fold the paper to make the boats. Now I've
done origami in the past, but I'm certainly not an expert.
The video was
really easy to follow, although I did have to re-watch it to make the other two
boats afterwards. Once they were folded, it was time to decorate. I followed
the book and decided to write a “Hello” message, while Alfie went wild with an
orange felt tip pen. We then tried them out in a paint tray which I filled with
warm water and bubbles, and they floated well.
Time to play…
Oh, I was in my
element with the game. We received another sheet of card which had a 5x5 grid
on it, and those crayons from earlier came in handy. As well as the game board,
we were also provided with a large wooden dice and two peg dolls to play the
game. At this stage, we hadn't decorated ours and just had to remember who each
peg was when it came round to playing.
Again, I
decided to base the game on the story, to some extent. Keeping with the change
of seasons, we had snow and ice, wind, and sunshine – and I added some fun
elements too. Once I got started, I had some kinda creativity spark and literally
couldn't stop. The board ended up getting it a little crazy with plenty of
actions and illustrations, but Alfie loves playing the game – even if he always
lands on the same two spaces: “Go back to the start” or “Go back a space”.
We're going on a bear hunt!
We have also
loved exploring the garden and neighbourhood, using the bear frame. Seeing
different scenery at different times of day, and weather conditions, and so
much more. I've not been able to take any photos, and on our most recent trip, it
was so windy, I couldn't get the perfect frame shot I was after. But autumn is
the best time for an activity like this: the piles of different coloured leaves
on the floor, the bare trees, the moody skies. And what a frame for firework
night, too!
We also decided
we'll use the frame to trace some more bear shapes onto card and create collages
using natural treasures and items from the cupboard like lentils or pasta… A
collection of bears ready to hunt for another time.
--
As I mentioned
in my previous post, all the items can be reused or recycled, and if there
wasn't enough fun in the box, there’s also a QR code to scan in the lid, which
offers even more activity ideas and fun. I 100% appreciated the Clippers tea
bag, which was the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon of crafting.
November's box
is here, and I cannot wait to share it. Keep your eyes peeled next month. In
the meantime, head to the website to find out more on subscription boxes,
gifting boxes or even purchasing a one-off box and enter discount code: LUCYLOCKET at checkout. And follow Little Hands Learning
on Instagram for the latest news, experiments and inspiration.
Love, Lucy xx
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Love, Lucy xx