Hello Friends!
Today I have a different kind of post for you guys. Today I introduce you guys to my best friend Nance. She will be joining my blog in the future as a regular guest and contributor.
Nance is a school teacher so I thought this was a great idea and the perfect time to have her join me in the blog and be a guest. So we will be talking about the craft idea that Martii Maclean kindly shared with us.
“The Adventures of Isabelle Necessary” is a fun book filled with tales of Isabelle’s amazing adventures and creations. Below is a craft activity inspired by chapter one, “Isabelle Necessary and the Super Sand-sculpting Competition.” So keep it in mind for the new time you go to the beach.
I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, and Martii for the allowing me to join in the fun and by being a part of the blog tour with this different post.
Craft Time
~Making Sand Sculptures~
I’ve had so many adventures with my friends
at Saggy Beach that I thought I’d write a book
and share all the fun stuff with you.
Sometimes I’m not sure how to do something,
so I ask one of the oldies in the retirement village.
They know loads of amazing things and they are very happy to help and lend me all kinds of cool equipment.
If you’re not sure how to do some of the fun stuff in my book then ask someone to teach you.
Always remember to ask before you borrow things and say thank you, it’s just the right thing to do.
~Making Sand Sculptures: an octopus~
You will need:
- Sand (at the beach or a sand-pit)
- Water
- A bucket and spade
- A collection of found objects
- And, most importantly, your imagination.
Method:
- Think up a thing you want to make and draw a quick plan
- Collect some found objects to add to your finished sculpture (Tammy and I found loads of shells and some seaweed for our mermaid).
- Dampen the sand just enough to make it stick together without crumbling or being too sloppy.
- Pile up the sand into the rough shape of the octopus and press the sand down firmly in place.
- Smooth the body and legs with your hands.
- Use your shells and other found objects to make a face and maybe add some tentacle bangles.
Always remember,
trying new things fills your life
with amazing adventures.
-Isabelle Necessary
Our Thoughts
Since we live close to the beach, this activity is close to our hearts and childhood memories. Not only did we went to the beach with family and friends, we went there with school too, at the end of the school’s year. That been said, we have made animals, castles and we have even buried our feet or even our body from feet to neck. And we laughed and had fun, because that’s the magic of a fun beach day with family and friends.
But what about the other days during the year?
Well, we talked about it and as a teacher (Nance) and a social educator (Jess) we thought about some extra things. We can do this activity with kids by using plasticine, plaster or any molding material you can think of.
And talking about plaster… This activity actually inspired another that could be done with kids, maintaining the beach or nature themes:
~Molding: a process of fossilization~
- You could use objects of natural origin, associated with living beings, such as shells or leaves, and make the mold in plaster.
- After drying, you would be left with a trace, in this case a molding of that living being, and that molding is one process of fossilization.
- This activity shows what happens to many living beings or vestiges of their activity from thousands of years have reach us through this type of conservation, allowing us to learn about living beings that no longer exist today.
We thought about that idea because from our experience children like to be it involve in the activities as a learning process, since we learn better when we move and experiment things than when we are simply told what happens. Besides, children likes the nature and are always curious about paleontology and this type of content.
That’s just some extra something we thought it would be fun to add, since this is a fun book about adventures and promotes creativity and having fun. As young women in the education system as educators, we like to learn about different fun and interesting activities, because not only can we use it in the future, but we can also get inspired to figure out other activities we can do. Like this one we shared with you guys.
Blurb
One gutsy eleven-year-old, a cool beach town, a hilarious crew of friends and oodles of adventures.
Once upon a beach, there was a girl called Isabelle Necessary. A girl with an unusual name and a rather extraordinary life. She roams around a sleepy beach town with her loyal team of friends. Follow Isabelle, Tammy, David, Nin, Draino the cat and Champ the wonder dog as they navigate one sticky situation after another and figure out how to turn a frog into a movie star, deal with a never-ending milkshake and escape being trapped in a lighthouse.
The type of book that brings back childhood memories and captures the essence of being a free-spirited kid.
Perfect for teachers and educators as the book comes with a teacher’s resource guide and student maker kit by Isabelle Necessary herself. Middle-grade reading level.
Purchase Links – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Author Bio
Martii Maclean lives in a tin shack by the sea, catching sea-gulls which she uses to make delicious pies, and writing weird stories. She likes going for long bicycle rides with her cat, who always wears aviator goggles to stop her whiskers blowing up into her eyes as they speed down to the beach to search for mermaid eggs. Or how about this…
Martii Maclean writes fantastical, adventurous tales for children and teens and sometimes adults. She was born in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Brisbane with her husband Trevor and her cat Minerva. Her work as an educator and librarian, allows her to share her love of stories and of story-telling with many young people. This inspires Martii to create thought-filled stories that explore the wonderful world of ‘what if’.
Social Media Links – Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook
Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers that given their contribute in this Blog Tour, from reviews and basic promo/spotlight posts.
Don’t forget to comment, don’t be stranger. If you have any book recommendation you can leave a message using the form on my Contact Me page.
If you are an author and want me to do a review of your book you can go check out my Request Review page.
I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books.
And if you would like to join me as a guest on my blog, check out the Guests Post page to know more and contact me so we can start planing your visit.
Love,
Jess
Jess Bookish Life 