How can a writer not go to a writer’s museum?

This museum is dedicated to Famous Scottish writers, such as Robert Burns, and it’s free to go in! I loved the curly wurly staircase.

Pressing or stamping

At the very top of the museum is an example of the Ballantyne Press. Two brothers in Scotland invented the pressing machine so that could print books.

You can buy alphabet stampers and press your names or other words out. With your child, can you press out a sentence and read them to each other?

For our younger learners, use potatoes to do some printing. Holding the potato will be a good first step into practising gripping. Then think outside the potato, and choose other things to print with. Dried pasta is an old favourite. What letters can you make with these? The thinner and smaller the implement, the more practice they will have of holding like a pencil grip.

Writing

A long time ago they used to have pen nibs and dip into ink. Everyone knows that authors such as Shakespeare used feathers. But let’s think outside the box.

Collect things that might be good to mark make with! Feathers, sticks…fold piece of card so it has a point and dip in paint. And obviously, fingers are ALWAYS fun. When I do finger painting with the children, I have them paint in their underwear as it doesn’t matter if they get paint on themselves.

I also prepare bubbly lukewarm water in a basin so I can get them cleaned up fast. Once, with twins I looked after, we just did the artwork/body paining in the bath, so as soon as they’d finished, I could clean them and the bath at the same time!

Theatre

At the very bottom of the museum is a theatre with characters and scenes drawn by children. Make your own theatre out of a cardboard box and you can even make yourselves as characters.

Make backgrounds such as a forest, a living room, a kitchen but also things they are not used to like a jungle or desert. Look up pictures in books and choose your favourite to copy.

Children’s books from the past

These are books for children in the 1800s!!!

More to books…

Show me pictures of your Pressing, writing with feathers or home-made Theatres!

Love Kat x