Some Very Cool Swaps: Peace Cards & Nature Items

This summer, a group of us has been doing different types of learning materials swaps.


Honey from Mondorfment set up a nature swap and Karen from Little Acorns private blog set up a peace card swap.
For Honey's swap, we are sending all of our nature items to her home and she is going to repack and re-mail out the items.


For Karen's swap, we are all sending our  swap items to the person we have been assigned, but then, we are going to all share photos and such from the swap.


Swapping items for your homeschool or your classroom is really an awesome way to expand your collection of materials with unique items from others.
As we are getting ready to mail in our items for the swaps, thought that some of you would enjoy seeing the photos of the swap items...


Nature Swap Photos:

Nature Swap:
List of items our family is sending out:
Shells from area Florida beaches
Sand from area Florida beaches (St. Pete Beach and Clearwater)
Florida Rat Snakeskin from G Wiz Children's Museum's snake, Mrs. Moo
Sea Fan purchased from Florida Shell Shop
Miniature Sand Dollars and Sea Stars purchased from Florida Shell Shop
Pine Cones from our neighborhood
Mexican Petunia from the bush in our yard: photo plus activity to make one out of tissue paper (they are too fragile to try to mail)
Palm branch art - from the palm pieces in our yard


Thanks to Honey for setting up this swap...and thanks to my swapmates, as the items you are sending all sound neat!


Peace Card Swap Items - Some Notes & Some Photos:
As I was doing this post, I realized that the boys glued their peace / paix  words upside down and are holding their peace signs upside down, so guess this is a work in progress...here are the peace cards after taking them apart and putting them right side up...oops!

Glad that I caught this mistake before popping them into the mail...here are the boys making the cards and proudly holding them upside down...oops! My fault! Did not realize 'til arranging the photos for this post...

Peace Swap items our family is sending:

Pen pal style notes from Big Bro and Little Bro
Peace cards made by Big Bro and Little Bro
Traveling peace banner, made out of a baby t-shirt - These tees have traveled to many different places. Big Bro and Little Bro painted them earlier last year.
Plus, some extra goodies for our friends who are getting this package.


Thanks to Karen for setting up this peace card swap...and thanks to Sandra for being my swapmate for this...hope that your family will love the cards the boys made for you!


The peace banners are actually part of something that we started last year, but since this is a peace card swap, we are going to pass the peace banner shirts on to our peace card swapmates...
I had written an article that was published in the January issue of Montessori Leadership called Continents Swaps and Peace Banner Exchanges.  The photos and the directions for the how-to's for this peace banner exchange were highlighted in this article, but basically, we took tiny tot sized t-shirts, painted them with the message of peace, and then, we have sent them to various schools all over the world. 
When the shirt arrives to a homeschool or school, people just have to hang the shirt with a wooden dowel and then, they send us a letter, email, or some photos about what peace means to them and how they liked having the banner sort of message.
 
If you and your family or school would like to have our peace banners visit your homeschool or school this school year, please contact me and I will work out a schedule for when these banners can make their way to you.


 In addition to the nature table items swap and the peace card swap, we are also working on a native tribes / indigenous peoples cultural items / art swap and a light table items swap.


If any of you would still want to join the light table swap, you are most welcome to join...just please contact me if you are interested..I am coordinating the light table items swap.
Here is a link that tells about the light table swap.


Swapping is so much fun!