Author: Sherine

Focus Shifts to Felt & Flannel

Posted on by Sherine

South Haven Press is a micro business that changes focus as I get new ideas.  I started out with Clothespin People and Writing Resources, and then started making face masks when Covid came around.   Thankfully, the masks are no longer needed.  Only a very small group of people were interested in making the Clothespin People, so I decided to shift away from that focus.  Instead of providing craft kits that need to be put together, I am now offering a fully fucntioning tool for creative play and story telling.

Felt & Flannel is ideally suited for preschool and primary aged children (providing they don’t put things in their mouths).  The sets are a bit like paper dolls,  in that you can change the clothes on each person so that they can play different roles in the story.  Because they are made of felt and flannel, there are not paper tabs that need to be folded back.  The clothes just stick with friction!

My primary goal with the Felt & Flannel is to provide a tool for teaching Bible stories, so I have organized the sets by Bible story.  The pieces are somewhat generic so that they can be used as multiple different things (a table can also be a bed, an alter is a well if you add water).

The one thing that I did not include in the sets is instructions on how to tell the story.   I feel that it is very inportant to actually tell the story and not read it from a book when using the story boards in order to keep the children’s attention.  However, many moms who are new to the faith asked me for some basic ideas on how to teach the stories.  I would love to support parents who are seeking to share their faith with their children, so  my goal for this spring is to create cards for major Bible stories with the main point of each story and suggested placement of figures.  I hope to have some of these available by the OCHEC Convention this spring.

Easter Garden

Make an Easter Garden

Posted on by Sherine

Last spring I made an Easter garden, and used it to film The Good News of Easter for my virtual Sunday school class. This spring we are able to meet in person, and I decided it would be a great craft for my class to make.  Over the past few weeks we have been making small parts of this project. Today we planted some seeds.  Next week they will take home their gardens, and then during Easter week, each family can use the garden and the Jesus Clothespin doll to act out Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. The garden will last all summer as a visual reminder of the true meaning of Easter. I am including the instructions here in case you want to give it a try. 

Find a Face Masks that Fits!

Posted on by Sherine

Not all face masks are created equal, and yet we are all equally expected to wear them. 

Face masks don’t really fit in with my theme of educational resources, but this seemed like a good opportunity to be a blessing to my community. Covid 19 will likely be around for quite a while, and if face masks help us get back to some type of normal, we might as well have nice ones!

As I am out and about, I am always looking at people’s face masks to see how they fit. So often people are pulling at their mask because it is bothering them. Other masks are way too large or too small for the face that they are covering. And then there are the people who wear their mask only on their mouth or under their chin…

A face mask is a bit like a bicycle helmet: unless you wear it properly (and clean it regularly), it will not be of much use to you! A proper and comfortable fit go a long way to making it possible to function for long periods of time in a face mask. This is what I am hoping to achieve with these face masks. There are three different styles of face mask available. Click on this link for a full range of Face Mask Features.

Conference Season is Coming Soon!

Posted on by Sherine

If you live in southern Ontario, you might just be able to see these products in person!  South Haven Press will be exhibiting at both the KWCHEA and OCHEC Conventions this spring.  Perhaps I can inspire you.  I will be doing a workshop entitled “Encouraging the Writer in Your Child” at KWCHEA, and one entitled “Co-oping for the Fun of It” at OCHEC.  In both of these workshops I will be sharing from my own experience as a homeschooling mother of four.

Debut of South Haven Press at OCHEC 2018

If you are able to make it to one of these conventions, please stop by my booth and say hello.  I would love to show you my products and hear ideas about what other creative educational products you might be interested in.  I am hoping to have the Old Testament Bible story characters available in time for the convention season.

Christmas is Coming!

Posted on by Sherine

It is that time of year again where people begin to think about how to celebrate Christmas.  I am working on a few new products this year to help you decorate and celebrate.

If you are wanting to celebrate the original meaning of Christmas and have young children, our Clothespin Nativity Kits will be a great tool for you.  As you make the dolls together, you can talk about who the people were and what each might have been thinking on that first Christmas night.  Once the glue has all dried, you can use the nativity set to act out the story.  The deluxe set now comes in a wooden box that doubles as a stable and storage.

Angel ornaments and Christmas Carollers are currently being developed and should be ready by the middle of November.  Here is a sneak peak of what they might look like!

The Origins of Clothespin People

Posted on by Sherine
I invented Clothespin People in 2002. I was looking for a nativity scene craft for a group of preschool children and wanted one that would be simple enough that they could participate in making it, and nice enough that the parents would keep it from year to year.  Our original dolls have had lots of use, and are still around today.  This photo shows the original Mary and Joseph.