Have you ever plucked dried corn kernels from the cob? My four year old has been very industrious since last night... plucking row after row of corn. It was the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up. It's one of my favorite November projects for young children. The extraction of each little piece is thoughtful and meditative. It also strengthens the muscles in little early writing fingers. Sort them, count them, collage them... you get the idea. We buy decorative corn from a farmer nearby. Being surrounded by cornfields has some advantages. You can also buy it at most supermarkets, pre-Thanksgiving.
My daughter thinks of them as jewels... and they most certainly are. As soon as she's done with the plucking, we'll soak the kernels in water over night. Then (with a little help from mom , a sturdy needle and thimble) she'll string them into harvest jewelry. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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17 comments:
What a great idea to make jewelery out of it. Looks like lots of fun.
great colors!
This is such a great idea. I'm going to pick up some ears today for this very purpose.
Ahhh!!! I have ears and ears from the last delivery of our CSA and had been hoping for some ideas of what to do with it. Can wait to try this with my boys.
What a lovely reminder of the dsys I spent doing this when my children were little. Those "rubies" are priceless.
I love this idea. I am going to the grocery store to see if they still have some and take them to my five year old grand kids tomorrow and see if we can do this too. they are just learning to use needle and thread. Any chance they'll soak in a few hours and be ready to thread before the next day?
I remember spending hours doing that one year - I must have been six. My parents put the bowlful of kernels produced on the crafts table at our church's harvest festival, among the other, "legitimate" crafts.
We used to grow popcorn in our garden when I was a kid and I would be paid .05 for each cob I could de-kernel. My thumbs had perma-blisters on them, but it gave me enough money to ride my bike into town and buy candy. :)
Hi Maya! Oliver is going to LOVE plucking the corn. Thanks for the keeping-busy idea for this weekend.
I have this activity in my Montessori classroom - we have it set up with some tweezers to pull the corn off - it is one of the favorite activities at the moment
Beautiful heart. Great idea.
Wow. Cool idea,thanks Maya. Happy weekend.
Lynn-
we've been stringing this morning and I wanted to reiterate the importance of a thimble! Give it a try with less soaking... I never have, but I'd love to hear about it so I'll know for the future.
I use broad bean too
Ah, now why didn't I do my blog reading before I went to the supermarket. I think that this would have bought me a few hours of peace at least...
Hello! Your blog is beautiful and your creations are wondwerfull. I always read your posts. Switch to view my blog, you have a prize to be withdrawn
Hello
Francesca
I love corn jewelry and made mine in September. However, after poking myself full of corn and making over a dozen necklaces and bracelets to use up the soaked kernels (prepared for a party), it will be a long time before I do that again!
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