Waldorf education has been a great gift to our family. We happened upon it when K was 3 and fell in love with its gentle, nature based learning. Slowly, we have incorporated many of the Waldorf philosophies into our everyday lives. I did not expect to find myself raising my family in one of the biggest metropolises in the world and, for a while there, I found myself caught up in the frantic ‘bigger, better, MORE!’ syndrome that living in a huge city inflicts. I am so relieved that Waldorf has slowed us down, brought us back into connectedness with nature, helped us clear away the unnecessary clutter so that we can see the beauty in the dewey grass and hear the crazy calling of the mocking bird over the drone of the freeway. Life is much fuller with less stuff!
Making our own toys brings us particular delight. It is magical to watch my children start with a few natural materials and see their wonder as those plain, everyday things become a cherished toy. It is so empowering for them to know that they are creative… they can make things they really love!
Today we made little Walnut boats. This is a wonderful Waldorf activity… it uses natural materials, requires skill, hand/eye coordination, foresight, planning, patience and imagination. The delicate boats are magical… just big enough for an elf to sail. They inspire hours of imaginative and creative play… in soothing, calming water. All these things are a gift to a child’s spirit.
To make your Walnut boat you will need,
walnut halves (look here to see our trick to splitting walnuts)
a knife
bees wax or a few natural colored crayons
a recycled jar
a few sticks
card or material for the sail
scissors
a hole punch
We used broken brown crayons instead of bee’s wax. Mr T took great pleasure in breaking them up into tiny pieces and putting them into the glass jar.
He has always been a good crayon breaker!
Once all of the crayon pieces were in the jar, I microwaved it for one and a half minutes to melt the crayons.
I carefully (it is HOT!) poured the melted crayon into the empty walnut shells and set them aside for a few moments to cool.
While the wax was cooling, we broke our long stick into two 2 inch shorter sticks for the boats mast. When the wax was cooled to the consistency of peanut butter, we inserted the masts into the wax. As the wax cools further, it holds the masts fast.
To make the sails, we used strong card paper. K used my leaf paper-cutter to punch out an oak leaf for her sail. T preferred a triangle. They punched two vertical holes in the sails for the masts to fit through.
They threaded the masts through the punched holes in their sails and their boat toys were ready for sailing.
They looked too sweet sailing around our fountain.
T and K discovered that they could move their boats through the water by blowing softly on them. Boat races ensued which brought much joy and laughter!
To find out more about Waldorf Education, visit Why Waldorf Works.
T and K discovered that they could move their boats through the water by blowing softly on them. Boat races ensued which brought much joy and laughter!
To find out more about Waldorf Education, visit Why Waldorf Works.Happy boat making!
Blessings and magic.
18 Responses
I’ve been thinking alot about toys and pretties made from acorns and walnuts. :)
Glad to see this!
Also, I was thinking of you yesterday when finishing my room… and getting ready for my zen garden. :) Soon!
Hallo :) This is just great !! Ands I agree with you : Life is fuller with less stuff !!
Have a nice day !
So precious!
Wonderful! The melted crayon even added some nice counterweight for a delicately balanced elf boat.
What a charming project – I love its simplicity and sweetness.
so very sweet it looks like a wonderful project to try!
I love the microwaved melted wax part. Our mother used to do things with melted crayons with us (6 kids means lots of broken crayons). but I really didn’t realish the idea of giving up a pan to a coating of crayon wax! and the other alternative I remember was melting it in an empty tin on the cooker. But there is a bit too much chance for danger there.
If you used a bit more crayons than you had there, (say for the candles you make with ice cubes in empty milk cartons) would you still nuke it the same amount?
thanks,
Sandy in the UK
D, what lovely little boats.
And holy moly to all the delightful pumpkin colored acorns in the previous post!
lisa
This is something I want to do when my babies are a bit older. Thanks for the detailed tutorial! Also, I have given you an award. Please check my blog for the details.
Lovely post – thank you for sharing :o) I have a walnut boat activity for new year which I’m really looking forward to.
stunning. my daughter has been noticing acorns a lot this year. i feel as if my arms are never free long enough to help her do anything with them! keeping this in mind for next fall.
Cute, cute, cute!!!
you do realize you are already homeschooling, right?????? i love all that you do. you keep me inspired!
You always have the best ideas! How fun!
That is a great boat. I want to make one right now. Thannks for sharing.
I love that you make toys with your children!
Thank you for inviting me to enjoy your Friday celebration of nature!
Very beautiful! I want to try it with my boy. He would love it. And thank you again for nature table. It brings many visitors to Acorn Pies, and I am grateful to you! love, Beth