Culture Swap partners wanted....

I have joined the culture swap that Melissa at Chasing Cheerios organised and I have two sets of goodies left over. Our Africa and Asia boxes are quite lacking in items so if you are in Africa or have ties to somewhere in Africa and can put together a few items and the same goes for Asia, specifially Mongolia, any of the 'stans' except Pakistan, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar or any of the Arabian countries then please get in touch.

The package I have put together contains several small items from Japan and I also made a PDF written in the voice of Ebi-kun and with loads of printables for you to use.

I plan to give Ebi-kun a package at the start of each month and we will concentrate of that continent for the month. I want to make him a passport to go with it but I haven't got round to that yet.

Where In The World Postcard Swap - round up

We have had most of our postcards from the swap, and some great postcards they are too.

Ebi-kun has been getting his encyclopedia out each time a new card arrived to find where in the world it is and we have also been reading Children Just Like Me which is a great book that looks at children from all over the world.

The cards haven't made it into their respective continent boxes yet instead we have left them out and they have sparked numerous conversations. One of my swap partners mentioned that they had a tough time finding suitable pictures due to her being assigned a war torn country, I must admit that this hadn't crossed my mind when I dished out the countries, something to consider for next time. I do have a soft spot for Zonnah's cards purely because they are from North Korea, when the first one arrived I had left it on the table, my husband is used to finding postcards from far flung places but his face was a picture when he picked it up, he did the whole double take thing and looked completely confused, ahh well, I am easily amused.

I would like to thank everyone who took part and helped to make it a successful swap, I hope you and your kids had fun with it too, no matter how your use the cards.

Where in the World Postcard Swap

The swap has closed and I have sent out the groups, if you haven't received yours please check your SPAM folder before mailing me. I am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

Where In The World Postcard Swap

To answer a few questions...

• If you have joined more than one group, you will be sent more than one email, one for each group you joined, with a new country for you to represent for each group.
• If you are from a country where I think normally gets no representation then I will send you a country to represent and the option to represent your own, you can decide which you want to do.
• How to make the cards? You can do it however you like, I didn't want to specify because it depends on the equipment you have. You can print out and cut and paste the images onto a postcards, you can design the postcard on the computer then print it out, you can attack an old national geographic and do it that way or, if you can get your hands on real postcards from the country you represent then you just need to write on the back. One option is to use software such as bighugelabs, once you have an image you can make the postcard in a matter of minutes, save to you computer then print it out. This is one I made as an example...

If you have already signed up you will get your country to represent soon, if not you can sign up here, I will mail out all the groups when the sign up date has passed.

Where in the world postcards swap update....

Thanks to a comment by Child Central Station I have discovered that I can do the sign ups with a form, IF you have already emailed me you DON'T need to sign up again, I will put your info in. It is the first time I have used google docs like this, so please stick with me....

Where In The World Postcard Swap

Rightie, who is up for another swap?

When I organise swaps I always get about 70% of people from the USA sign up and then a mix for the rest, so to try and mix it up a bit and to get some of the more obscure and small countries included I have come up with a plan..... now, I know this isn't authentic and isn't as good as the real thing but it might be the spark that leads to something bigger, plus you can get the kids involved with the research....

Each person will be in a group of five so you will need to prepare 4 cards (and one for yourself if you like).
When you sign up I will mail you with the name of a country, you then have to make your own postcard to represent that country, so some research will possibly be needed and remember to put the name of the country on the front. 'Greetings from ... ' or the such like. The internet is a wonderful resource for images but I do request that you ask permission before using some one's image or at the very least give credit on the card with the web address where you found it.
How you actually make the postcard is up to you.

On the back you need to write 2 facts about the country - anything you like and a short message, remember to sign it so your swap partners know who sent it.
For the stamp you will obviously need to add a stamp from your own country but it you wanted to paste a copy of a stamp from the country you represent that would be cool too.

That is all. I will mail you back with your designated country within a couple of days. You can start making your cards straight away.

When the sign up date is closed I will send you your swap group, keep your designated country a secret but exchange mailing addresses. If, you sign up and you are from a country that doesn't usually get much representation then I will give you the option of making a card from a different country or using the real thing from where you live.

Sign up date closes September 25th. you will get your assigned country by Sept. 30th.

I will send out your swap group the first week of Oct.

Your cards must be mailed by Oct. 15th

This bit is important - if you wish to join a bigger stake swap in the future, such a culture swap, you must sign up and complete this one. The only people who don't have to follow this rule are those who have already done 2 or more swaps that I have organised. Anyone who doesn't stick to their end of the deal doesn't get to participate in bigger swaps.

any questions, pop them in the comments section, don't try and sign up in the comments, it won't work!
and please spread the word!

Swaps...

I know, it has been a while, I have had a number of messages asking when I will be doing the next one. My first swap was with Meg, I was quite new to blogging and Montessori and it sounded like an exciting idea, I sent her a box of goodies from Japan and she did the same with some Mexican goods, many of which we are still using.
Once I got into the whole blogging game I decided to organise a few swaps, admittedly it was purely selfish to begin with, I was trying to expand our classroom collections and I have joined a few other swaps run by other bloggers, mostly it has been good but I have been stung a few times, my swap partner from Meg's seasons tradition swap disappeared off the face of the earth (strangely after she knew I had mailed her gift) and the last couple of swaps I have organised I have had complaints about swappers not living up to expectations or simply not sending out swap packages. I know sometimes life gets in the way and I like to think that when a swapper doesn't follow through it is because they have something big going on in their life but in my heart I know that is not the case with some swappers and they are just out to get free stuff.

I have been feeding my swap habit by having private swaps, I have one in the works just now with one of my favourite bloggers, so I am very excited about that.

But, I am in a strange place right now, I have been putting off organising another big swap, I do enjoy the swaps and I have had some great swap partners yet I have lost heart knowing that some people out there are not joining for the right reasons. I feel awful when I get those emails from good swappers saying that their swap partner hasn't replied/sent anything. I have tried swapbot but it wasn't really to my liking, I'm not sure how I can 'vet' potential swappers, any ideas?

Fabric swap

Just a few days left to sign up! Here is an example of some fabrics, the top is a very traditional Japanese design on indigo dyed fabric, a way of dying fabric that has been used in Japan for centuries. The bottom fabric is a linen/cotton blend by Echino, Etsuko Furuya's label, her prints are becoming popular worldwide and she uses a unique combination of colours, I think she represents the modern Japan very well with her bold and funky designs.

You are not expected to buy designer fabric, often it is very expensive, and I only buy it if I drop on it in a sale, so either go with a design or look that you feel sums up the country you are representing right now. I am not going to specify what type of fabric you get but I would recommend steering clear of cheap and nasty polyester types, if in doubt go with cotton.

As for the size of the fabric, I think most countries use metric these days, just go with whatever your country uses, there is very little difference at the end of the day. You will need 2yds /2m of fabric, one of each type, a traditional and a contemporary. Fabric is usually sold off the bolt and is usually 44"/110cm wide (knits and upholstery weight fabric is often different). So you should have 2 pieces like this....

So, simple cut into 4 quarters like the diagram above, you send three to your swap partners and keep one for yourself.

I haven't received emails from everyone who has left a comment, so if you want to sign up drop me a line with your details. If you haven't received an email today from me then you are not signed up yet (remember to check your Spam box too).

Can you help?

I have about 13 people signed up for the fabric swap so far but would like to get more, more people, the more diverse the groups can be, so if you have a blog would you mind giving the swap a mention and direct your readers to this post, I would be extremely grateful.

http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2010/02/about-time-for-new-swap.html

The swap is open to everyone, you don't have to be into Montessori or on the other hand you don't have to sew, everyone is welcome :o)

I am still here...

We have been busy, but a secret, can't show you because they are Christmas presents type of busy! We have been doing some work too, Ebi-kun is reading everything in can lay his hands on and yesterday started making up a story with these magnets. That was, until he ran out of words to make proper sentences with!

We have also been working on our continent swap goodies, I have tried to include Ebi-kun as much as possible in the process, he took some of the photos we are using and helped make the 'festival' poster. It was a bit of a production line kind of job since we have 6 sets to make. He has also helped with picking a recipe and picking which photos to use for other parts of the swap.

I didn't have time to write this morning since we left early for a coffee/lunch/shopping date. I don't know why I thought it would be a nice relaxing day out with 3 kids in tow, I am sure Mel was as shattered as I was by the time she got home. I had made a treasure hunt card for the two older kids to do together, they had a list of things to 'spot' whilst we were shopping, didn't work so well with the two of them, they spent most of the time racing around the shop. Once Ebi-kun was on his own and had no one to chase, he got right into it, so much so, that he refused to leave the mall until we had found everything on the list!

Right, bath time for a certain little one, who is going through a spate of nose bleeds at the moment, so he is off to bed early, I don't think we have made it through the night for about a week and i maybe following him, after I have got through this massive pile of cutting out first....

Chris in Australia

This one is just for you :o)

We need your contact information, please email me

montessori.swapshop at gmail.com

cheers

The rest of the swap members should have got some info through today, if you didn't get it, let me know, ta.

Continent Work

Ebi-kun has finally finished his world poster, he has been working hard on this for the last couple of weeks. We used a dinner plate for the two circles then he traced around the pieces out of the continent map and coloured them in. He labelled them all and then picked 3 pictures out of the continent folders to represent each continent.
I am pretty sure some continents have either gained or lost land! He spent an age trying to pick just the right pictures. When he was working on it, I put on some world music, it was funny listening to his comments about the music, there were one or two tracks when he would say something along the lines of 'I am glad that has finished, it was giving me a headache' LOL.

I also found this song on youtube, we checked loads of them before we found one we liked, be warned, it gets stuck in your head and you will be singing it all day Yeahh

We have got a swap group together....

Jo - Asia
Martha - South America
Rebekah - North America
Mammalisa - Europe
Chris - Australia
My Boys Teacher - Africa
Chaucey - Antarctica

and possibly a second group...

Asia - My Child's Diary

North America - Montessori Moments

Australia - Karmiec

Europe -Paumon

If you are interested and would like to join, you could choose to represent one of the missing continents for group two, they need Africa, South America and Antarctica. Leave a comment on this post along with a contact email address. Make sure you know what you are letting yourself in for by reading this post first.

Group one, I will set up something with google docs so we can easily share files etc. If you have any ideas on what to include or how to go about doing it let me know, I must admit, I hadn't really thought it all through!

Scavenger Hunt

A couple of months ago a new yahoo group was started for Montessorians to organise swaps. You know I like a swap or too! I haven't had the time to organise one for quite a while, it is a time consuming process and I don't like to do things half heartedly.

Anyway, Colleen, one of the regulars for the swaps I have organised in the past, started a virtual swap, the brief was to take photographs of signs in and around where you live. I thought this would be fun to do but our camera was out of action, we got the camera back but by that time I had completely forgotten about the swap! Well, we did eventually get round to it, I let Ebi-kun have the camera so most of the pictures are taken by him whilst sitting on the back of the bicycle, hence the strange shots :o)

I have uploaded the rest of the pictures to Flickr, find them here. If you are interested in organising your own swap, then sign up for the ContinentSwap group.

Swaps

I know! I have been a bit slack with the swaps recently and I really enjoyed the last one.

I have been thinking of doing A Day in the life.... swap but haven't figured out the logistics of it yet but it will more than likely be a virtual swap.

I was thinking it would be great to make up little books or cards of kids from around the world and their daily routine, I was thinking of making a standard template for everyone to use and then we can print them out and they would make some nice sets, what do you think? interested?

Also, there is a new Montessori continent swap group set up, find the info here.

Postcard swap 2009

The groups have been sent out, if you didn't get your let me know!

happy swapping :o)

Last chance

to sign up for the postcard swap

Just an idea - and I might be doing this, if I don't have a flash of inspiration soon!

If you can't get hold of postcards or (as in my case) come up with a good snack recipe you could always print your own postcard with a picture from another country and find a snack recipe to go with it.

The problem I have is finding something with simple ingredients, there are plenty of snacks both sweet and savoury but most of them have some obscure ingredient!

If you want to sign up, get your email to me BEFORE 7am Japan time on Monday. Come on, you know you want to...

2009 Phonics Swap & bags

Everyone should have had their packages by now, I hope it all went well. I know a couple of people changed the details between themselves and that some new friendships have been made too - which is great!

My swap partner Schelle, was a late comer, I wasn't actually going to join the swap this time but didn't want her to miss out, I am so glad I decided to swap because we got some fab little goodies. Ebi-kun went straight for the lion and I love that little necklace.
P.S. Montessori has blogged about her swap here and What We Did We Do All Day blogged here, here and here! Montessori Spanish blogged about hers here. 

***update*** more swaps over at Our Montessori Story and DAng Adventures has started making her own pouches.

Once Inch World has her swaps up, I love the box idea for storing them all in.

If you joined in the swap fun and have blogged about it please send me the link. It is great to see what everyone else sent, there have been a couple of 'light bulb' moments when I wondered why I hadn't thought of that :o) For those just starting to build up their miniatures collection, I did a tutorial of sorts for the phonics pouches I made, they were easy but because I hand sewed  them it took me about 3 weeks to do the lot, on the machine I could have done then much quicker!

I also managed to get some sewing in, I made this bag for the shop, I need to take some decent photos first though. It is super cute, I am tempted to keep it but I think hubby with throw me out on the street if I introduce another bag to the closet.

That said, I also tried to make another bag, I have had the idea in my head/sketch book for a while and I finally got round to making it, it wasn't a total disaster but it didn't come out as planned, I have had to lengthen the strap and it didn't sew up quite right. I think I figured out what was wrong, so I will try another one, I'll show you when I have got it sussed. I tried the test bag out yesterday and it is really comfortable and quite roomy.

We have had glorious weather over the weekend, warm and sunny, we went to the local park on Saturday and yesterday we met up with friends for a farewell picnic, it was lovely to be outside in the warm air again except Ebi-kun wasn't feeling well and we ended up having to leave early with him running a fever :o( He didn't want to leave though and kept saying he wanted to stay with his friends. We had a sleepless night and I am hoping he will want a nap very soon, because I could certainly do with one!

Swap Partners

have been sent out.

If  you don't get an email from me let me know but check your Spam folder first!

Thank you to everyone who signed up and a special thanks for those who offered to send a package to India, you are stars!

Would you like a swap partner in India?

I have someone wanting to join in the swap BUT she is in India and where she lives the postal system in notoriously unreliable so the only option for her is to send and receive parcels by registered mail.

If you are willing to send a registered parcel to India please let me know and drop me a line at montessori.swapshop at gmail dot com

I am going to leave the swap open for a couple more days to see if we can fix her up with a partner.

Thank you!

****UPDATE - swap partners have been found, thank you!*****

Phonics Miniatures Swap 2009

Just a reminder.

If you missed the post for the next swap, all the details are HERE.

If you want to sign up twice, and send out 4 packages instead of two, just let me know in the sign up email.

Cheers.