DIYA Creations

Again, I took a little hiatus from blogging…but this time I’d like to share something I am passionate about…education.

For awhile, I thought I lost my passion for education after becoming a mom, because let’s face it, being a parent is all about passion, devotion and love. My daughter is my greatest accomplishment and being a mom is the most fulfilling journey I have taken. And so for the last couple of years, as I said before, I thought I lost my drive as a teacher.

However, this is far from the truth. I think my passion has increased by becoming a mom as now I have a vested interest. Teaching and learning is something that all of us have a part of us whether its reading to sports. We are always learning. I enjoy teaching and feel that I’m really in my element when I’m teaching. I especially enjoy working with children with different learning styles as it offers a way to teach creatively and I love that!

At the beginning of my career, I had a chance to work in India and work with special needs children ranging in ability. I absolutely loved working with my students and creating a center called “Indradhanush” which in Hindi is rainbow. The center was a part of Eklavya School, Ahmedabad and is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The main premise of the center was to give support to the students whether through pull outs or in their own classroom. I met many wonderful people whom I’m grateful for that have helped me become a better person and teacher.

One of these people is Keshav Chatterjee. He has started a school called Prabhat Alternative Education. Prabhat serves many families and children all over Ahmedabad which is a great feat. The children come to his center because traditional learning centers are not working for them due to physical and cognitive challenges. What they find at Prahbat is a place of belonging, caring and understanding. I love that Keshav and his team have this center for all kids from all backgrounds. Hats off to you all!

http://www.prabhatedu.org/about_prabhat.html

I’m hoping one day I can make a difference like this in our community and for my daughter. I think I rekindled my passion…

One of the best resources I’ve come across, thanks to my hubby, has been TED talk. There are amazing videos about almost everything. It’s a great resource for education and tons of information.

Here are a few links I’ve enjoyed:

http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html

Pretty cool!

So this weekend, Aishani and I did some marble art. This is a super easy project that takes literally no time at all and with little mess (as long as you don’t lose your marbles).

First, find a tray that you feel comfortable messing up. Place a paper in the tray and add a number of marbles.

Paper in tray

Next, add tempura paint. You can use any colours, I stuck with the primary colours this time so we could see the colours mix a little.

Then, move the tray back and forth and side to side…and voila your toddler has a masterpiece completed

Splash of Colour

You and your child can talk about what it looks like, how the colours mixed and even discuss what would happen if you used another colour.

All in all its a great project that is easy to do, even for a two year old!

Having a 2 year old run around has definitely kept us busy and so I’m always trying to find ways to be creative with her. I did an art project last week with my class at school that I though I’d try with Aishani. I got the idea from a book called 1,2,3 I can paint! by Irene Luxbacher.

First, make sure you have a flat surface and with masking tape, tape the edges of card stock to the surface.

Next, after ensuring the toddler is paint protected, add drops of blue finger paint and let her spread the paint around until the entire page is covered.

After that, add a drop of yellow to the top left corner of the page and make wave patterns to the top right corner of the page.

Now, add a drop of red to the bottom left corner of the page and move the paint to the other end of the page.

Then, mix red and yellow together, and use the orange to make a few dots through out the page.

And voila you have an underwater scene! A simple project that looks great and is easy enough to do.

Further, this project teaches the science of mixing colours, textures, fine motor skills and patterning. My colleague at school also introduced the project using a YouTube clip of an aquarium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtMmJJYb1hQ

You can make connections with so many books and movies such as Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, Swimmy by Leo Lioni, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seus, Blue Plantet, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and Shark Tales. Maybe even a field trip to the local aquarium might be something fun for you and your little one.

Thanks for dropping by!

There are so many ways to enable learners these days that sometimes we can’t seem to keep up. Literacy, especially is evolving, as technology enables us to access information at our finger tips. How do we teach students with this in mind?

I think literacy now entails being able to extrapolate information and be able to understand and share it with others. Our world has become smaller and we have so many ways to communicate with each other.

The Internet for example has helped us find information about almost anything. Teaching students how to filter the information, retell what they have learned and explaining their views is what teachers need to make themselves aware of.

Perhaps learning in the 21st Century will be more exciting with more interaction with their world.

http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/literacy-21st-century-hope-and-promise

Christmas is around the corner and most of us are scrambling to get last minute shopping done. I came across Indigo’s campaign for the love of reading foundation in support of libraries in elementary schools in Canada. If you are on Facebook and like their page http://www.facebook.com/loveofreading, Random House  of Canada will donate $1 towards books for these libraries by December 24, 2010. I think its a fabulous idea and something very close to my heart. I believe all children need access to books and deserve opportunities to enjoy reading and learning. Happy Holidays!

Since I’ve become a mom, I have had a new perspective on my life. I have not had a lot of time to craft, as I am a full-time teacher and more importantly a full-time mom. I’ve decided to use this space to share my ideas I use in my class more than sharing crafting ideas. I will continue to share my creative side as ideas come along. I figure being a teacher, in itself leads to creativity and if I can share ideas and create a space for parents and teachers alike, I’ve passed on some of my passion. Happy reading!

Hi everyone,

Because of recent events, I have had to change my scope of thinking and have decided to resign as an Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. I still love the products and the ideas I’ve learned from the process. I will continue to make cards, scrapbook and share my ideas on my blog. I will also continue to have classes so I hope I’ve stirred some interest and sparked your creative side.

Neelam

Hi all I thought I’d share with you some cards I’ve made using punches. I love my punches they are so versatile. Hope you enjoy the cards. If you are interested in learning how to make them or to order some ready made cards for yourself, email me at neelam@diyacreations.ca

Lion card

Card Stock: Bashful Blue (105120), Pumpkin Pie (105117), Whisper White (100730), Summer Sun (103124), Garden Green (102584) and Pretty in Pink (100459)

Punches: Full Heart Punch (113693), Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1′ 1/4″  Circle Punch (104403), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390),  and Scallop Oval (114889)

Stamps: Love Bug (115233), On Your Birthday (111664)

Other Accessories: I used some discontinued rub ons and stickers from previous catalogues to finish the look.

Frog Card

Cardstock: Bermuda Bay (115317) , Whisper White (100730)

Punches: Full Heart Punch (113693), Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1′ 1/4″  Circle Punch (104403), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390), Small Oval (107304) and  Trio Flower (109183)

Other Accesories: Discontinued Cardstock and Stampset

Bee Card

Cardstock: Bashful Blue (105120),  Whisper White (100730), Summer Sun (103124), Garden Green (102584), Basic Black (102851), Chocolate Chip (102128) and Melon Mambo (115320)

Punches: Full Heart Punch (113693), Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1′ 1/4″  Circle Punch (104403), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390), Scallop Oval (114889), Boho Blossoms (110711) and Ornament Punch (Winter Holiday Mini)

Stamps: Bugs and Kisses (116580)

Other Accesories: Discontinued Pattern Paper

Monster Punch Pals

Here are some monster cards that may remind you of old favorites like Big Bird, Elmo and Cookie Monster. I’ve been using some discontinued stock as I had some left over as well as some cardstock from a local craft store. Below will indicate which punches and cardstock I used to make the characters.

Big Bird

Punches: Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390), Small Oval (107304)

Cardstock: Summer Sun (103124), Bashful Blue (105120),  Whisper White (100730),  Pretty in Pink (100459), Real Red (102837)

Accessories: Basic Black Stampin’ Writer (100082)

Elmo

Punches: Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390), Small Oval (107304)

Cardstock: Whisper White (100730),  Real Red (102837), Basic Black (102851), and Pumpkin Pie (105117)

Accessories: Basic Black Stampin’ Writer (100082)

Cookie Monster

Punches: Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1/2″ Circle Punch(104390), Small Oval (107304)

Cardstock: Brilliant Blue (100721), Whisper White (100730),  Real Red (102837), and Basic Black (102851)

Accessories: Basic Black Stampin’ Writer (100082)

Hi everyone,

Today I’m sharing with you a card I made for a card swap I created for my upline’s stamp group, Treasure Stampers. I used my new two step bird punch and matched the In-colour, Bermuda Bay card stock (which will be gone by June) with Certainly Celery card stock. It was a lot of fun to make and real easy too!

Supplies:
Stamps: Whimsical Words (118386 – W) – free with a $65 purchase
Cardstock: Rose Red (102544); Whisper White (100730); Bermuda Bay (115317); Certainly Celery (105125)
Inks: Rose Red (101778)
Accessories: Two Step Bird Punch (117191); Scallop Oval Punch (114889); large oval punch (107305); Top Note die (113463); Big Shot die cut machine (113439); Bermuda Bay polka dot ribbon (115610)