The Write Start

Look Mom! A Kangaroo!

The theme of my life lately is this:

When I least expect it (and quite possibly when I need it the most) my kids are teaching me.

Case in point:

The other day, two-year-old Gracie stepped outside the front door and called back to me "Look Mom! A Kangaroo!" At the time I was busying about in the kitchen and, since our little neighborhood in the suburbs of New York is not know for its kangaroo population, I almost didn't stop what I was doing. I almost didn't pay the comment much mind. Almost.

Instead, I stopped. I went over to the door and looked out. Gracie was standing on the front porch pointing up to the clouds. With that wide-eyed expression on her face that kids get. (You know the one.)

When she saw me next to her she cried out again, "A kangaroo! A kangaroo!" And there it was. A kangaroo in the clouds.

Do you ever have those times where you wonder if what you do all day is of great significance in the grand scheme of things? With everyone else rushing around you, hustling, contributing to big things, prioritizing, making plans, taking meetings, moving and shaking, building, reaping rewards. What I do all day may be ordinary, by some standards, but I really like to think that I have always made it one of my top priorities to highlight the extraordinary along the way.

The movers and shakers sometimes balk when I do the stop and smell the roses thing. It slows down the works. Yes, I have been called a daydreamer. Since I was young, actually. And yes, it has been occasionally called to my attention that I, at times, have my head in the clouds.

Well now, apparently, my kids do too.

In fact, just a few minutes ago six-year-old Jack jumped on my lap while I was typing this post and read it to himself. He looked at the picture and said, "I thought it was an "F." No, actually it's a unicorn. Definitely a unicorn."

My children read the clouds and that makes me happy. Taking the time to stop and wonder opens your mind up to all the possibilities out there, big and small. It is a great way to see the world. And I hope they will find that this way of thinking will serve them well as they explore all the opportunities that this world has to offer.

That kangaroo cloud was a reminder to me that the small stuff is big, and the rewards are priceless. And being the person who is there to bear witness to them each day is an honor and a privilege. And stopping to smell the roses is time well spent.

And yet, I know there are those who would say: You got all that from a cloud? Oh, well. So be it.

What's Up, Buttercup?

I have such distinct memories of doing the "butter test" when I was a child.

And, since we spied the first buttercups of the Spring on our walk the other day, Jack initiated Gracie into the ritual.

It's simply this: You hold a buttercup below someone's chin. If their chin turns yellow, they like butter. (Um, yeah... who doesn't!) 

The secret yellow glow is either the result of sunlight reflecting off the super-shiny petals of the buttercup, or, as I speculated, magic.

However you look at it, it's a ritual that's definitely worth passing on.

And I really do believe there is magic in those little moments shared, especially the ones that bring you back to your own childhood. Don't you?

Another Holiday Workshop

Remember last year's holiday workshop? This year's version is all about making ornaments as gifts. Right now, Jack is loving the process of coloring pre-made wooden ornaments from the craft store using markers. (A great activity for strengthening his grasp of a writing tool, working on eye-hand coordination, and learning to stabilize something with one hand while working with the other hand.)

So I re-purposed a set of little drawers (that I've had around for years) to create an ornament station to the left of his desk. Each drawer holds a part of the process: unfinished ornaments in one drawer, markers in another, glitter glue... gift bags... tags... and so on. Everything he needs to complete his handiwork independently is at his fingertips. He's all set to make his gifts, wrap them, check off his list, and squirrel them away in his big red sack.

For a fun touch, I decked-out each drawer with a bell, which makes for some festive little jingling sounds. I usually put some carols on the radio too -- because there's nothing better than listening to kids singing while they work.

He wrote a BIG list of family and friends, which is rolled up Santa-style. And there is a carpenter pencil for checking it twice, also decked out with bells.

The little drawers to the right of the desk hold all sorts of card-making supplies: blank cards, envelopes, holiday stamps, ink pads, etc. To encourage writing, there is a word ring of seasonal sentimets, including: "Merry Cristmas," "Happy New Year," "Season's Greetings," and "Jingle all the way!"

Oh, and a Santa hat is definately a necessity. Once I see it go on, I know it's workshop time, and my boy will be very busy for quite a while. Happy at work, he is learning the joy of giving, and isn't that one of the best gifts of all?

What activities are getting your kids in the holiday spirit?

Family Tree

I have been in the Thanksgiving spirit for a while now, even though we still have a ways to go until Turkey Day. I am particularly thankful for all of you, and the support you have given me and my book. I really and truly thank you -- you don't know how much each and every one of your kind words have meant to me.

And, as always, I am constantly and evermore thankful for my family, which is the inspiration for this particular project. We invented this crafty family tree a few Thanksgivings ago, and have been re-creating it in slightly new and different ways every year since. It all began when my son started asking some of those "who's who" family questions where you find yourself explaining all the relative relationships: Mommy's sisters are your aunts... Daddy's brother is your uncle... Our parents are your Grandparents. I drew a family tree to illustrate the concept, but it somehow fell flat. So we whipped up this 3-D family tree, in between pie-baking and potato-peeling. Conveniently, all the ingredients for this craft can be found at the grocery store. So it makes the perfect accompaniment to the Thanksgiving festivities, not to mention the perfect reminder of why we all gather together.

 
We typically start this project with a nature walk, collecting autumn leaves to use as models, and a fallen branch to use for our tree. Then we set up all of our supplies, which include:

     a leaf from nature

     a pencil

     natural-colored coffee filters

     a scissors

     red, yellow, and green liquid food coloring

     water

     newspaper for covering your work surface

     dark-colored marker or alphabet stampers

     white glue

     clothespins

 
The basic how-to:

First, trace around a leaf with a pencil. Kids can place their leaves right on top of a coffee filter, carefully stabilizing the leaf with one hand while tracing its shape with the other.

 
Next, kids can cut along the edges of their leaf outlines to create individual leaves.

 
Make liquid water color paints by squeezing many drops of food coloring into a cup, and then adding a small amount of water (the more intense you want your colors, the more food coloring you'll add.) Make sure your work surface is covered thoroughly with newspaper -- food coloring can definitely stain.

  
 
My favorite part of this activity is painting the coffee filter leaves. The filter paper absorbs and diffuses the watery paint in such a wonderful way. The colors blend and bleed into each other as you dab at the leaf with your paintbrush, creating that dappled look of real autumn leaves. And when the painted coffee filter leaves dry, they get the crispy feel of dried leaves, but without all the crumble. This part is a hit with kids (and grown-ups) of all ages.

When all of the leaves dry, kids can start writing family member's names on each leaf. The first year we did this project, Jack was a pre-writer, so we used alphabet stamps for the names, which worked beautifully.

  
Last, but certainly not least, we glue a clothespin to the back of each leaf. This simple addition makes this project what I call a "craftivity," a craft that turns into a forever activity. The clothespins make the whole family tree endlessly interactive. I put all the clothespin leaves in a basket next to a big branch that we "planted" in a flower pot (using scrunched up paper bags to stabilize it). The kids clip, unclip, arrange, and rearrange the leaves over and over again, learning more and more about their family as they play. And getting a fine motor workout all-the-while. I just love it.

 
A variation of this project is in my book, along with 50+ other activities that can be adapted to all different skill levels. I have to say, this is one of my personal favorites. Please let me know if you try it, and if creating it and playing with it becomes a Thanksgiving ritual in your house, as it has in ours.

Oh, and so many THANKS, again.

Nature Table

We've had a nature table on our back porch for a few years now. In its former life, it was actually a shoe bench in an old office of mine. (I got it from IKEA years ago, I don't see it there now, but this bench looks like its cubby-less cousin.) It changes with the season, of course, but this summer it has gotten so much use as a sorting station for all of our beach booty. 

The basket-filled cubbies are perfect for storing other nature finds, such as acorns, pine cones, bird nests, egg shells, and rocks. We also keep important nature-related tools in the baskets, such as binoculars, magnifying glasses, a flashlight, a jar with holes for bug catch-and-release, and little notebooks for recording observations.

Recently I added the little chalkboards for labeling flora and fauna and flotsam and jetsam.

A little nature-lovin' + a little learnin' = so. much. fun.

By the way, I'm in total denial that summer is drawing to a close. You might have to indulge me with my backyard posts until December....