The Salamander Room - Anne Mazer

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Today's Creativity Workshop featured The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer.

We started with the story, then did some sensory art/play (foot painting). Next it was time for a snack, a game of Uno, and feeding and petting the rabbit.

The kids all went outside to play for a bit, and then walked around the yard looking for a perfect rock. We are working on Christmas presents and my student has a pet snake. What do you give a snake for Christmas besides a frozen dead mouse? Well, in my research on How to Create the Ideal Snake Habitat I learned that snakes appreciate a rock to rub on while shedding. Just make sure the rock isn't too abrasive.

The kids found the perfect rock and painted it. (This was the connection to The Salamander Room... the idea of thinking carefully about what your animal needs and creating a wonderful living space.)

After rock painting (and some day I DO want to make garden markers by painting stones), we made our recipe of the week (Creamy Celery Soup) and then had a needle felting lesson while the soup simmered gently on the stove. My student did her very first needle felting project: a little rabbit! It was very sweet. The soup finished up, we blended it, and then she squeezed fresh lemon juice for it. She was sitting and enjoying a warm mug of soup when her dad pulled up in the driveway.

I love my Creativity Workshops. They are so lively, and yet relaxing and fun to teach.

Now it's the end of the day. We are sitting down to Slow-Cooker Sausage Lasagna and broccoli, and Leah is putting a Sweet Black Cherry Crisp in the oven. The Christmas tree is decorated and beautiful and casting a colorful glow. The house is warm and I'm grateful for the heat. Outside it's nasty, cold, and rainy. Leah and I went horseback riding together today, Becca is knitting, Natalie is writing an essay about Animal Farm for high school, and the baby's new word is "duck"! (By the way, Natalie won Fun Friday Dinner. The theme was animals. Natalie was a cat. Leah was a horse. Becca was a slug. I was a turtle. And we had a fun evening, going out to an opening night reception of an art show instead of our usual board games after dinner.)