SELIGOR'S CASTLE - FAMILY FUN TIME
BOTH THESE BEAUTIFUL CRAFTS COME FROM THE WEBSITE BELOW

YOU WILL FIND MUCH, MORE THAN I CAN PLACE HERE AT MR. WOO'S
http://www.craftjr.com/dr-seuss-cat-in-the-hat-craft

Cat in the Hat                              Finger Puppet

Cat in the Hat Finger Puppet Craft

For the Cat in the Hat, you’ll need 2 red pipe cleaners, one white, and two black

(the black used together to make the finger puppet base)

Plus a 4 inch black piece bent as shown to make the arms.

First, wind the puppet base with the two black pipe cleaners.

Then make the "Cat in the Hat" hat

Pipe Cleaner Seuss Hat

First you’ll wind a red and white pipe cleaner around your finger to make the top then after three turns, start winding them together to make the brim. The wire is so easy to work with and so forgiving, don’t worry if it seems to come out all wonky – it’s super easy to fix into whatever shape you want. To make the top of the hat, simply coil the top pipe cleaner piece a little smaller as shown in the last photo in the series above

Glue the hat to the white pom pom

Bend two small black pieces of pipe cleaner as shown for ears, and glue them to the sides of the head just below the hat

Cut the thread into two 1½  inch pieces, and glue them to the back of the tiny black nose pom pom. This is a little tricky because both are so small – younger children might need help with this part

Glue the nose to the middle of the front of the cat face

Glue the googly eyes right above the nose

Glue the head to the puppet base

Slide the cat’s arms in between the coils of the puppet base body

Tie a ‘bow’ with a red pipe cleaner around the neck, and use your wire cutters to trim the extra length of the ends off

Thing One and Thing Two Finger Puppets

Thing One and Thing Two Finger Puppets Craft

The materials shown will make both of these puppets – 4 red pipe cleaners plus two sets of arms bent as shown, two 2 inch pieces of white pipe cleaners, two white pom poms, one turquoise pom pom, 4 googly eyes, two tiny light blue pom poms.

Wind the puppet base with two red pipe cleaners coiled together.

Find the middle of the blue pom pom and snip it in half with your wire clippers or scissors:

Thing One and Thing Two Hair

Pull them apart very carefully so that the two sides stay intact. Quickly put a LOT of glue onto the blue hair and get it on top of the white pom pom head – otherwise the fuzzies will fly everywhere and make your nose itch.

Glue the nose onto the face and the googly eyes on top of the nose.

Slide the arms in between the coils of the puppet base body.

Coil the small white pipe cleaner into a tiny circle, and glue it to the front of the puppet body

Glue the head to the puppet body.

SCOOBY, SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU.....?

Not many Cartoons about for use to copy, but here are some clips from the Scooby Doo Games, with some hints and help if you get stuck. xxx Seligor

A MESSAGE FROM SELIGOR'S CASTLE TO

MARGO FALLIS & ELECTRIC SCOTLAND FOR KIDS
WE WISH HER AND HER DAUGHTER A SPEEDY RECOVERY, BLESS YOU BOTH. 

 Colouring Book is here with me courtesy of

  www.ElectricScotland.com



This is where you can get some more wonderful pictures to print out and colour at home with coloured pencils or crayons.
http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/colouring.htm

                   Oh dear! I don't like Spiders very much!

Print and Colour for your Art Book

What you'll need:

• 1 large sheet of craft foam (12" x 17.5")
• 1 child safe sewing needle
• Yarn
• Tape
• 4 dots of self adhesive hook and loop
• White craft glue
• Scissors

How to make it:

Fold the craft foam sheet so that you end up with two sections that are 6.5" and one that is 4.5" (x 12"). (See photo.)

Print out the word  "PENCILS" . Lay the foam out flat (not folded) and place the pattern onto the 4.5" section. Poke the sewing needle through the paper and make an impression in the craft foam. Do this all the way around the letters.

  Thread sewing needle with a 48" piece of yarn. Pull completely through and tie both ends into a knot. Sew the yarn through the holes you created to create the word "PENCILS" on the craft foam. (See photo.)     

When finished, thread the yarn through the back of the letters and tie off. Trim and secure with a piece of tape. (See photo.)

Thread a new piece of yarn onto the needle and sew both 6.5" sides together to create the pencil case. Tie off and secure with tape.

Turn pencil case over to the backside and pipe a generous line of white craft glue along the stitched edges to secure. Let dry. (See photo.)

1. 
   

Place 4 self-adhesive hook and loop circles along the edge of the pencil case flap to keep the case closed. (See photo.)

Fill with pencils!

Foam Pencil CaseBy:

Amanda Formaro

Difficulty: Easy

Of course you could use the same pattern to make any kind of little case. A nice one would be for Mum to keep her jewellry in, maybe Dad could have another to keep his cuff links and tie pins in. Gosh I think there is many different use's and you can stitch a different name on the front of each case. Decorate the one for Mum with some pretty sequins or craft flowers. When I was little I used to save buttons, especially mother of pearl ones. When I went to boot fares or Charity shops, I would look through all the button tins, some Charity shops will save them for you, if you ask nice. They look so beautiful when arranged on the foam.
I just took a quick peep at some of the "Craft with Buttons" and there are many. Take a peep for ideas, but try to make your own so much fun.

Seligor. xxx

Save the shells you find on the beach this summer and make these adorable little seashell critters.

This activity is a great way to test the childrens' creativity--have a seashell critter fashion show when you are all done!

What you'll need:

How to make them:

1. Arrange shells together to form different animals and creatures.
2. Have a parent glue them together with hot glue.
3. Add wiggle eyes to your creatures.
   

Tips:

What you'll need:

How to make it:

1. Have an adult help you cut a hole in the bird feeder – it should be big enough so a bird could come and sit and eat the feed, but not too big or the carton will become unstable. Leave at least three inches at the bottom to hold the seed. (See photo.)
2. Have an adult help you cut a hole using the hole punch in the top of the milk carton and put a string through the hole. Alternatively, you can poke a hole on either side of the flap at the top of the carton by poking a pencil through the top. (See photo.)
3. Tie a knot in the string. (See photo.)
4. Fill the carton with bird seed until it reaches the top of the hole. (See photo.)
5. Hang the cart on a tree branch and watch the birds enjoy their snack! (See photo.)
6. Remember if you have squirrels they will demolish your feeder pretty dashed quick, I hang mine from the washing line
   

Tips:

• A quart size carton works perfect as it isn't too large and holds a decent amount of food.
• You may choose to decorate the outside of the carton but keep in mind that it will be outside in the elements and decorations may wash off in the rain. Also, you wouldn't want the birds pecking at flaking paint!
• Check your bird feeder regularly and refill as needed.
• 
  
• thanks for the idea from http://crafts.kaboose.com
  

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There is another beautiful story that of Heidi. It was the most successful and best-known "literary" child of that most famous Swiss author, Johanna Spyri.
In the eleven years since Heidi first appeared, her presence has continued to shine as a significant life force. Heidi has been translated into about 50 languages and printed in an equivalent number of millions of copies. Heidi has appeared in print, in film, and on television all over the world. She has maintained her character despite the changing styles of children's books today. The pointed pens and pencils of her critics, and even the generosity of her closest admirers. How can such a phenomenon occur?

First of all there is the force of the fable itself, coherent and at the same time so simple, that every child can "see the light". Moreover there is a certain dependable differentiation among the personalities that appear in the story: genuine, loveable, humorous, and completely natural Heidi; clumsy Peter ("close to being a fool, but not quite", as C. F. Meyer observed); grumpy, patriarchal, strict but ever so kind Alm-Uncle (Alpöhi); blind, pitiable Grandmother; rich but at the same time poor, crippled Klara; stupid, hard-hearted Fräulein Rottenmeier; smart, loving Grandma; the friendly, understanding doctor. In all these cases it's clear what kind of people these characters are.

Doesthis paint too much of a "black and white" picture? In a certain sense, yes, but the story is depicted in such beautiful fashion that it helps the reader imagine events all the more colourfully. Is there a simplistic separation of Good and Evil? That may be true too, but this should not be considered alone - and in general this is the appeal of most fairy stories that comprise the most beautiful treasure of all folk literatures. Does it have an unrealistic "happy ending" in a world that is anything but happy? Partly, yes, but we don't want to begrudge our children this small joy - they will learn about the other side of life soon enough.

And how was this all interpreted when it first appeared? At the time, the story of Heidi must have seem quite revolutionary. Someone actually dared to understand the world from a child's perspective, rather than, as usual, that of an adult! With the story of Heidi, Johanna Spyri gave children the opportunity to return to their natural world rather than forcing them to act like dolls that are forced to dress and act like adults. To put it another way, Johanna Spyri was a pioneer in the field of youth literature, celebrating the value of children as children in a way that is still relevant today.

But isn't Heidi just a little too good, too pious, too religious? Well, whoever denies any possibility of the existence of wonders and the power of faith can't be helped much anyway. Looking at things from another perspective, isn't the challenge in today's world not to lose faith entirely in things that represent goodness, truth, and beauty?

However you look at it, Heidi speaks to us with the voice of love - and we shouldn't tire of listening to her. A child moves the world and is able to bring about positive changes among mankind - isn't that a complete education programme in itself? 

Jürg Winkler