I'm Beat.

 

 

I haven't had the energy to blog much recently. And, after a difficult night getting up constantly with the baby, I don't have the energy to write very much right now. But, I thought I share some photos of our recent Going-ons.

Let's see.

We went to Bobby Flay's new restaurant before a trip to IKEA. We split one killer Kahlua milkshake. (Which may have been the high point of our week). I enjoyed the tiny house ideas from IKEA's 380 square foot home.

Went to a lovely Baptism.

Organized, organized, organized. Built two Bookshelves and one Crib (Papa Bear did the crib).

Went through TONS of old paperwork. May be my LEAST FAVORITE thing to do.

Set up Nye's Playroom complete with a Nature Center and a Light Center.

Held off on buying a Desk, so the Dining Room Table got more organized.

Managed to stay Married during our Week of Organizing.

Went to my Parents to pick up Nye. The baby tried out a Saucer and the Pool for the first time.

Coped with a Toddler who is suddenly very clingy and feeling very jealous of the baby.

Nye and I have been doing lots of "play" centered around pretending to be a baby, as well as role reversals. It seems to be helping a little bit.

I'm worn out. Looking forward to some sleep this Week-end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using Real Art Materials With a Toddler. Oil Pastels.

 

 

 

 

The latest craze sweeping through our Family?

 

Oil Pastels.

 

I have been busting out daily with nice paper with some good weight to it and a decent box of Oil Pastels.

 

Tons of fun. We now have a Mama/Daughter Art Hour after Dinner. It's nice because it's something we can do together and is a very calming activity before Bed-time.

 

It's been interesting watching her work progress. The photos of the drawings show her first 6 drawings in order. Which is your favorite? I think mine is #4.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dye Your Own Playsilks

This may be one of the coolest Craft Ideas I've seen for children. It's cheap, it's easy and it encourages Open Ended Play. Kool-Aid, White Vinegar and boiling water...how hard is that?

Although, it does make me glad I never drank much Kool-Aid when I was a kid. Seriously, this is the best dye EVER.

I bought several plain white silk scarves from Dharma Trading Company. The cheapest was about $2 and the largest one was $8. I don't even want to think about how much the large one would have cost, if I bought it from a Waldorf site.

It took less than an hour to "dye the Playsilks" and was very easy. (The biggest issue was a whiny Toddler who wanted to stir the boiling water).

I am definitely looking forward to doing this again (especially for some Christmas Presents). I can't wait to experiment with more colors.

Nice tutorial here.

Wonderful photos with another tutorial here.

Reggio: Mirrors and Glass Stones

 

 

 

I first heard about Reggio Emilia Approach to Education when my Mother was back in school studying to be an Art Teacher, many moons ago. I vaguely remember her telling me about the "100 Languages of Children."

 

I stumbled across an interesting-sounding Reggio Playgroup for children 6 months-30 months that is held at Glen Echo Park. Unfortunately, Nye-Nye is now too old to join.

 

I started doing a little research and quickly discovered Kate's gorgeous and inspiring blog "An Everyday Story." She has a little girl close in age to Nye-Nye, so her blog has given me TONS of ideas of future activities.

 

Here is our first Reggio-inspired Provocation.

 

Mirrors and Glass Stones and Sunlight.

 

I spent $2 each on two bags of Glass Stones and $7 on a Mirror from a local Thrift Store. Hours of fun for $11. Not bad.

 

Nye-Nye is NOT wanting to be photographed these days, so I was only able to snap one photo of her in action when I first introduced the Glass Stones. She also really wanted me to sit next to her and join in all the fun. Making patterns with the Glass Stones turned out to be very meditative. I highly recommend it!

 

An Everyday Story is chocked full of Reggio-inspired activities and has inspired me to start using high-quality Art Supplies with my Toddler. I will be sharing our experiences over the next few weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sneak Peak: Bee-hive Daily Activity Chart

 

 

 

 

My daughter has been gaga over Bees, recently. So I decided to make a magnetic "Daily Activity Chart" with a Bee Theme.

 

It doesn't photograph well, but I'm very happy with how it turned out! And she loves putting each Activity Magnet on the board.

 

She doesn't seem to quite understand what the whole thing is about, but I think she is really going to benefit from having a visual reminder of what our plan is for the day. (I know I will).

 

I had a lot of fun making this Chart on Tuesday night. It took around 3 hours to complete and I spent around $30 in materials. More photos coming...

Watercolor Ice-cubes

I haven't use these yet. But, they are merrily sitting in my Freezer just waiting for the right time. I just added a touch of liquid watercolor to some water in a ice tray and mixed it up.

I've heard that they are fun for kiddos to play with on a stretched out piece of cotton. A fun way to paint. I'm thinking of cutting up one of Papa Bear's old under-shirts and giving it a try on a hot, sunny day.

I'll let you know how it goes!

River Farm. So Many Places to Hide. So Little Time.

 

 

 

 

My 28-month old is REALLY into hiding right now. She loves tents, teepees and Little Secret Places. River Farm is the perfect place to visit with it's amazing "Children's Garden" in full bloom. The Banana Tree Forest is amazing.

 

I took my Mama there for the first time. We hiked down to the Potomac River through a field full of native Plants.

 

As the Head-quarters for the American Horticultural Society, River Farm is a fascinating place for Gardeners and has some wonderful ideas for Back-yard Children Playspaces. I love seeing how different it looks in each Season.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at that Sweet Face. Bright Eyes loved looking at all the trees and flowers. Here is my post about visiting River Farm less than 24 hours before she was born.