Buddies ~ simple advent wreaths

In September 2011, 6 families got together and started Buddies Home School. We meet each week in each other's homes and follow a simple rhythm: music and movement, craft or baking, snack, free play and story time. Each part of the session is led by a different family. We are sharing this week's activities with you here...

This week's Buddies started, as usual, with movement and music. We began with singing our welcome song in which we name each child and tell them we are glad that they came. Then we sang another few songs that we have been repeating since the start. For the rest of the singing time we used these wonderful finger puppets. Each child had a chance to choose a puppet and hold it on his or her finger while the rest of the group sang the nursery rhyme with them.

a very serious incy wincey spider

a very favourite humpty dumpty
hickory, dickory dock
baa baa black sheep
and 1,2,3,4,5 once I caught I fish alive.

After this we moved on to crafting. As next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent Roisine helped us to make our very own Advent Wreaths.
We started with a ring cut out of a paper plate.

We painted these bright green.

For the candles we painted 3 small rectangle shapes purple and one pink. Roisine told us that the three purple are to show melancholy in waiting for the birth of Christ and the pink is a celebration of his birth (I hope I got this right if not Roisine will correct me).When the little candles had dried we stuck them onto our wreaths.
Roisine then gave each child 4 little yellow cut out flames to take home and to stick on each advent Sunday. It was a really lovely activity and I am going to enjoy lighting the 'flames' each Sunday with Benny.

After our snack the kids had some free play time. Us mummies grabbed a cup of tea and chatted about ideas for a Christmas party. We've had some lovely ideas and are feeling very excited about it.

To end our session Zoe read this wonderful story.

Don't you love seeing kids engrossed in a story. There is such magic about it :-)


Being a buddy can be pretty tiring work...
and we would all like to welcome our newest, tiny and sweetest little Buddy who arrived earth side on Monday morning and whom we are all very excited to meet. Congratulations to Susan and family :-)