A GIVEAWAY!! Origami Owl - Kerri Pouliot, Independent Designer

A fabulous giveaway

(Just in time for Mother's Day.)

Sponsored by Origami Owl's Independent Designer, Kerri Pouliot

Please check out Origami Owl's Independent Designer, Kerri Pouliot!  She's giving away TWO complete lockets to one of our loyal readers!!

TO ENTER:
 LIKE her page at:

www.facebook.com/origamiowlbykerripouliot

and let her know we sent you! 
AND
You must also enter into her rafflecopter to be eligible to win.  Its the blue tab at the top of her page.


The winner will be chosen at random on 4/21 at 12am EST. You will be able to customize your very own locket to tell your life story.

**giveaway includes locket up to a $28 value, ball station chain & your choice of 3 charms - individuals in all 50 US states are eligible**

*tax and shipping excluded*

Mobile users follow this link to enter...

http://bit.ly/YESdVC

*Current designers and DiW are not eligible.*

You may also check out her shop at www.kerripouliot.origamiowl.com

You have read this article Giveaway with the title January 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-giveaway-origami-owl-kerri-pouliot.html. Thanks!

Sparkle Stories

I love stories, storytelling, books...even movies with a good story. And I'm a mom, so I also enjoy finding ways to connect with my daughter. And as every parent knows, sometimes it's really nice to connect in quiet, cuddly ways. Admittedly I've been known to seek quiet cuddly time in front of the tv when I'm too tired to read (even though studies show tv doesn't really calm children down in the long run, it just slows their bodies down for the moment while their brain spins into overdrive: see articles here and here).


Then a friend of mine (whom I trust and respect as a mother) told me about Sparkle Stories. One day several months later I saw a post to download a free Sparkle Story, so I downloaded it to my podcast app. Soon afterward my daughter and I were in the car driving someplace new and I was having one of those "I need a bit of quiet space in my brain to think" moments. Then I remembered the stories on my podcast, so I asked her if she wanted to listen to a story. "Yes!" she was definitely interested, and then quietly mesmerized for the 15 minute Martin & Sylvia story. It was a good story with a talented storyteller. We talked about the story over the course of several days and soon I noticed Addi incorporating the story into her pretend play. It's always a marvel to witness our children's innermost thoughts and feelings while they play. And these are just the kinds of stories I want influencing my daughter - they embody the kinds of positive parent-child interactions I try to emulate myself.

Listening while mama cooks.


I was pleasantly surprised to find that 4 more Sparkle Stories appeared on my podcast, and Addi and I enjoyed each one. In fact, over the holidays we drove to visit family and she was content to listen to Sparkle Stories rather than watch a movie toward the last third of our 6-hour drive. Score!

Listening on the couch.

Sparkle Stores is an unfamiliar model to me. They are original audio stories available by subscription. We listened to the free ones available via the podcast (here) and website (here) for several weeks. Then Addi grew tired of hearing the same 5 stories and wanted new ones. We decided it would be enjoyable to incorporate a quiet Friday afternoon storytime to our weekly rhythm, so I subscribed to the Martin & Sylvia series (Addi's favorite).

 

Enjoy!

 

Amy

You have read this article with the title January 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/01/sparkle-stories.html. Thanks!

10 minute glimpse

A lot of you often ask how you keep younger siblings from interfering with older siblings projects/play etc.  I think it's impossible to avoid it at all times, but there are many things we can do to hopefully make the situation go over a little more smoothly.  Here is a 10 minute glimpse into our day on how some of these things are played out.

A little background....

This morning my oldest built a fort and my middle girl had knocked it down.  I ended up setting it back up but my oldest was quite frustrated.  My middle girl also took off all the clothes on the babies... and it was close to lunch/nap time.  I knew their would be some conflict, so I started taping.

You can clearly see my oldest is frustrated and having some big feelings.  She is also pushing my middle girls buttons many times throughout the beginning (pulling her picture apart, calling her naked girl, etc.").... which kinda trickles down into how my middle girl treats my youngest.  You can see the whole mood change in the middle of the video just simply by stating what had happened and talking about it.

Typically, I would be more involved in play.... especially with my youngest instead of video taping.


The video is kinda long but I hope you find it helpful.

Ages here are 4 years, 2.5, and 14 months.

Click on link below to watch video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdnFbmQN8Eg

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Appliance Play

It's always been my philosophy that we live in a world full of electrical outlets, tables with sharp corners, and non-padded areas - so I was going to teach my child to navigate the world he lives in safely.  It's a personal choice, and one I will never regret.  For me, it meant no baby proofing - no covering outlets, no putting away fragile or breakable items throughout the house, no hiding chemicals, etc.  It's definitely not the "right" way for some....but it was for our family.  This meant I spent a lot of time - during the crawling years - following his lead, exploring with him, talking to him about safety, allowing him to touch and pick up things in his environment, etc. 

Things have not changed.  I embrace opportunities to teach him about his world - and that includes things like kitchen appliances - which he LOVES!  

Yesterday he got out the air popper and wanted to pop some popcorn - sensory style.  We were out of kernels, it was raining ALL DAY, and quite frankly - my hormones were telling me I just didn't have the energy for it.  I assured him that we would get some the next day - and I'm a Mommy of my word - it makes for a trusting relationship.  :)  So I set up this invitation today.  I think he played with it for a total of 3 hours - with a trip to the playground in between.  It may seem like a pointless activity to some, but there are so many opportunities for learning during ALL play.....and in the meantime he felt happy, confident, competent, and trustworthy.

The invitation

He added a measuring cup and bowls

He decided he needed to use the blender.  Yum.  LOL

CLEAN UP

ALL CLEAN

And then we made homemade ice cream.  

- AK (MESE, MECD)

You have read this article Outdoor Play / Sensory Activities with the title January 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/01/appliance-play.html. Thanks!

Letter Hunt

My girls love playing hide and seek and have taken a huge interest in letters lately.  I thought I would combine the two and do a letter hunt.  We chose letters, but you can use anything you have on hand. This invitation was for my 4 year old and my soon to be 3 year old.   

The invitation. 

 I wrote out the letters on paper and laminated it.  This way we can use it over and over again.  They just put a mark with dry erase markers next to the letter they find.  

I also laminated a basic map of our playroom.   I wrote out the letter on the map in the general area where it was hidden.   

A couple buckets for collection

Dry Erase Markers

Letters.  

Close up of the map.  

No, I did not get the artistic gene!  However, my girls were able to figure it out just fine.  :-)  

I tried to make the difficulty mixed.  I wanted them to have a challenge, but also not get frustrated at the same time.  The map provided a great tool for them to find the letters.  

They did have to open a few things to find the letters.  

Letters D and I hidden on the white board. 

I also left some in the open.  

My oldest said "That was not a very good hiding place, Mommy."  LOL  

Marking off her letters. 

They also rubbed off the letters on the map after they found them.  

My middle girl (2.5) searching for letter A.  

So proud!  

"I found letter A.  I better check that off so we know we found it."  

"Letter B was in the barn!!  That was a tricky one!"  

I always try and involve my youngest in everything we do.  I helped her search... and she did find one letter on her own!  

My oldest getting a little frustrated looking for the hidden letter in the wipe container.  

"I DON'T SEE IT ANYWHERE!!!!!  Can you give me a clue?"

"It is inside of something."

"Hmmmmm... maybe it's inside the lego box.  No, not there."

"I found it!!!!!"

A few letters left. 

Our map with a lot of the letters wiped off.  

After the girls were all done they wanted to hide the letters for me.  

My middle girl would point to where they were.  

"Look under the table."

Gotta love them.  :-)  

"Maybe you should look inside of here.  I hid this one."

When they hid them, they didn't mark anything on the map.  

Be aware.... letters may go missing!!  We are still searching for one more.  They sure are good hiders!  

RL  

You have read this article Letters/Numbers / Rainy Day Play with the title January 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/01/letter-hunt.html. Thanks!

Memory Books

Something I love about taking pictures.....lots and lots of pictures.....is being able to kind of "freeze" moments in time.  I thoroughly enjoy watching my son play and discover.  I find I have many, many "kairos moments" throughout my day and I often marvel at the simplest things when it comes to my child - 'look at the joy on his face', 'I love the way his little calf muscles are defined as he runs through the puddles', 'wow, I'm so amazed at his coordination and abilities', 'look at that adorable "wing" of hair that's flopping around as he runs', etc.  Is that weird?  I can even recall smells in certain moments that we spend together - like the salty, beach air.

We recently went on a mini vacation to the North Carolina coast - thanks to some dear friends.  Creating memory books is something I attempted with him when he was younger, but he showed no interest.  This time, he was so excited to make a book.  There are so many ways to create a memory book, but I wanted him to be a part of the entire process - picking the pictures, printing them, laminating, cutting, pasting, punching holes, sequencing, and most importantly - narrating.  (For the record, he declined on the cutting part.  I think it looked a bit overwhelming - all of that cutting that needed to be done.)

Here are the things you need (or things I used, anyway).....

pictures

construction paper

scissors

glue stick

laminate

laminator

comb binding machine

comb binders

My son chose the pictures he wanted to use for his book.  He printed them and then we sat down together and I asked him to tell me about each picture as I wrote what he was saying.  I typed/printed his words and cut everything out.  Then we worked together to paste all of the pictures onto orange construction paper - his choice.  Once the pictures were on, I read him his words and he matched them to the corresponding picture.  He laminated each page and then we sat and sequenced the events of our trip together (with very little help from me - I basically asked questions to assist him in the sequencing).  Once the pages were in order, he used the comb binding machine to punch the holes and then thread the pages.  

I didn't get to take a lot of pictures of the process, but if there was one picture I wish I had, it would be a picture of his face the first time we read the book together when it was complete.....priceless!!  He told me - "Mommy, I made that book, and it makes me happy.  It makes me want to laugh".

printed pictures

Proof reading is always a good idea - as I have misspelled a word on this page!  ARGH!!!

He titled the book "Jellyfish Adventures" and drew a jellyfish for the cover.  He only wanted the picture, no title.

His book now has a home on the book "shelf" in his bedroom.

- AK (MESE, MECD)

You have read this article Do It Yourself / Story Time with the title January 2013. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2013/01/memory-books.html. Thanks!