Negative Space Picture Puzzles

I have always been fascinated in the Coles Funny Picture Book. It was first published in 1879, and has had a number of further reprints. It is packed with line illustrations for children, plus stories, poetry and out-of-the-box humour reflecting life those days. It spoke to a young audience that all knew their nursery rhymes. The book presents the good and the bad in children, the thoughtful and the thoughtless. It includes many well-known animals with humorous personalities. Various toys and popular dolls are also found in their related sections.

At the annual break up of Whittlesea State School, Victoria, on 20 December 1918, the Rev Douglas Bruce, Chairman of the School Committee, spoke about E.W. Cole and his Book Arcade to inspire the pupils in ‘How to make the most of life’ reflecting on Cole’s success from humble beginnings through ‘hard work’.

The part of the book that has always intrigued me was the picture puzzle collection. I was first introduced to them when my elderly great-aunt took out her own copy and showed me how to “see” in a way I had not before. I was captivated by the magic of the “negative space”, as most of these puzzles relied on it to “hide” the object to be found. I poured over the puzzle pictures for hours whenever I visited my Great-Aunt Ruby. Sometimes the answer was not hidden in a negative space but built into the positive shapes and revealed on another angle. I am posting a small number from the publication. Remember to look for the negative spaces, those are the “gaps” that are made mostly by the trees. But there is one of the four pictures below where you can’t do that. Enjoy the challenge at finding them all and learn about “negative space”.

For this additional puzzle (below) I’ll give you some help to get started. It goes like this:

Mr Cole’s Book Arcade

coals book arcade.

It is in Melbourne town,

of all the book houses in this land

it has the most renown,

(Now it’s your turn – it’s a promotional jingle)

Great Finds for Remote Learning

I was shown a large number of online learning links that might prove helpful, especially around numeracy. I investigated them all and these four I thought the best, in that I thought these offered great learning interactivity with minimal “outside” intervention and/or cost. Some of these sites expect students (or teachers/parents) to register and that feels painless enough for most people. Below is my 'prize' group. Of course I may find other good sites at a later stage.

Geoboards online: https://apps.mathlearningcenter.org/geoboard/?fbclid=IwAR1d2q6S42gDCeMh6nuYTEL1HPZWR3TMW-iP3BPy1WiNt1KdPUWjl8QP0Jo 
This is using virtual rubber bands on a nailed board with pencil support if it's needed. I was amazed that there was no advertising or requests for personal info.

Maths is Fun: https://www.mathsisfun.com/index.htm 
Jenny Cottle of https://jennycottle.wixsite.com/jennysmathslinks led me to this good site. Her own site was crowded with other tempting links. I thought “Maths is Fun” has the full range of maths disciplines and seems clear enough for students to engage with and learn unassisted.

Interactive maths tests like the example above: https://au.ixl.com/math/year-5/word-problems-with-extra-or-missing-information
Interactive maths challenges are provided to those who have the ability to read carefully. You can become a member for unlimited practice after a very brief 'trial' to get you in. It is good that there is immediate feedback and instruction when an error is made instead of waiting until the end and that makes it good in my eyes.

This final choice provides a finite number of maths challenges encouraging a growth mindset, labelled as brain teaser puzzles: https://illuminations.nctm.org/BrainTeasers.aspx 

Internet Woodcraft

I have worked toward creating a woodcraft experience for children that is somewhat online except for having to go out and purchase the materials and physically make the puzzle pieces. 

So is it really online? People are able to leave their homes and purchase the things they need from the shopping centres. The wooden cubes and the glue are easy to obtain from the variety shops that are quite prevalent. That part is not online. 

The instructions are online. The results can be shared online. Children need some physical activity away from online gaming and this project offers physical "hands on" time, creating the seven puzzle pieces which then leads into a new activity - figuring out the puzzle. It can even become an economical gift to paint to give to someone afterward. That's two activities in one and can be shared by a number of family members during these days of relative isolation. Enjoy.