Thinking Thursdays: Chestnut alphabets

We've amassed a pretty huge collection of horse chestnuts from our walks around the area. Junior J cannot resist picking these up each time he sees them, which is almost every time we go for a walk, as we've at least 3 of these trees near our house. These can't be eaten, unlike the ones from the sweet chestnut tree, but many people pick these up for decoration or craft purposes. There's something rather inviting about them, the deep brown hue and that glossy exterior, and both the boys love to play with them.

Since we're a huge fan of playing with natural materials, I thought I'd do something with some of the chestnut stash. Junior J is currently learning how to read, and I thought having alphabets on the chestnuts would add some interest to the process. And even if you're living in the tropics and don't get access to these brown beauties, you can easily do this with pebbles, which may be even more fun since they come in all sorts of colours and patterns!

So here's how you can make your own alphabet toys:

:: If you are using chestnuts, do rinse them and dry them in the sun to prevent them from getting moldy.

:: Get a set of alphabet stickers. These have to be made of thin material, the puffy types and thicker versions may not stay on. I used some of the alphabet lettering from my scrap stash:

:: Stick the stickers down using glue, since they don't adhere very well due to the waxy exterior of the chestnut. We used PVA glue. 

:: When the glue has dried, brush a layer of mod podge over the surface of the letters and the surrounding area, and leave the chestnuts to dry:

You can try this also with other shapes too, and I'm thinking of making a shapes set for Baby J with some of the remaining chestnuts.

So now we've a new set of alphabets to learn reading with! Don't you just love these natural materials?

Do stay tuned, will be back later to share about our other autumn activities...