Mother’s Day is about stopping, about honouring mothers. Mother’s Day is not so much about buying as it is about the simplicity of spending time with our kids. Mother’s Day is whatever it means to you, however you choose to celebrate it.
The importance of spending time with my kids was reaffirmed for me last weekend when my eldest daughter Sammi and I were lucky enough to spend a mother-daughter weekend in Noosa. Even though this kind of quality time together doesn’t require a holiday, it was a privilege to be one-on-one with Sammi and create such special memories. I was also grateful to have some quiet time in which to consider my mission, which can so often get lost in the various stresses of our busy lives. I was able to visualise and thereby recapture the meaning and purpose of what I am doing.
On one of our walks, I was struck by the beauty and majesty of the trees – trees being our theme for this term! Like in so many cultures, trees operate as potent metaphors. I was reminded of the macro and micro of life and how, while we often get caught up in detail, it is so important to step back and see the macro of our world. Giving ourselves a wider perspective has a calming and grounding effect.
Trees emphasise a balance between roots, and the idea of being earthed, and having our branches in the air. I try to strike a similar balance in our classes: meditation allows the kids to ‘land’ in class and keeps them rooted, while the loftier side of things comes alive through visualisation and the creative process itself. We need healthy doses of both in order to be present in our world.
I heard an age-old wisdom the other day about how we leave a living legacy through the three actions of living, loving and learning. This of course resonated with me: through artistic exploration and the sharing of new ideas, the kids are not only developing physical pieces but are also cultivating intangible yet powerful legacies.
This was demonstrated to me at our last holiday workshops, which were a fantastic success. We did yoga and used Lego and clay to explore the theme of gadgets and gizmos, as well as producing our own Andy Warhol style portraits. We also made tie-dye t-shirts, which is such a simple but effective activity.
Here is a fun Mother’s Day activity, you can bond over with your kids and create something together. Just follow these steps:
MAKING SUPER EASY AND COOL TIE-DYE T-SHIRTS
We made these t-shirts at our last creative holiday workshop and the kids loved doing it and it creates something really cool and awesome, also a practical item that they and you can use and enjoy.
What you will need:
- White t-shirt (perhaps one for each member who is participating.
- Permanent markers – Sharpie Brand from Kmart are good. They have nice bright colours
- Paper cups (the number depends on how many images you want to create or fit on your t-shirt.
- Elastic bands to hold your t-shirt fabric over your paper cup.
- Pure alcohol with a dropper, which you can purchase from your local Chemist. (you will need to ask the Pharmacist for this)
- A fun and creative spirit and some time to be in the moment.
Step by Step Guide:
- Take the paper cup and stretch the fabric across the opening of the cup and secure with an elastic. (see photos)
- Arrange these cups where you think you would like your circular design to be. You can be creative here and place them on one side in a row or randomly. You can also repeat this process on the back of the t-shirt.
- With your Sharpie permanent markers you can now create different patterns with lines and other shapes in different colours. You will love this part which you can alternate doing with a partner too.
- Take the alcohol and drip it with the dropper onto each of your designs from the center outwards.
- The alcohol dries quickly.
- Remove the elastic and paper cup and voile you have a stunning and colourful design.
- You can create however many you like and also cut and style your t-shirt so that it has your creative touch.
SHARE THAT SPECIAL MOMENT ON MOTHER’S DAY ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE
Lastly, in the spirit of Mother’s Day, I am inviting you all to post a photo of yourself and your kids to our Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/LiveLoveLearn.CreativeWorkshops
Hashtag #livelovelearn and show us what you are doing! The most creative post will win a Full day at our Creative Holiday Workshops in July.
I hope you all have a beautiful, meaningful and memorable day tomorrow and I am looking forward to a spectacular term!
