Summer, 1980.
Are you diggin' the polyester? My Great Aunt Molly was visiting from England, and decided it was high time this girl learned how to knit. In the picture you can (sort of) see my brow furrowed in concentration as I SLOWLY, painfully work one stitch after another. My mom still jokes that it was the quietest she had ever seen me...both in all the time before the picture, and all the years since ;)
I think about teaching my own kids to knit. I have a hard time imagining that at 6 years old they will be able to concentrate long enough to figure it out....but there I am, living proof that it's possible. I can't wait to pass this tradition on.
I'd love to hear about the traditions you plan to pass on to your own kids.....
I have Multiple Craft Personalities Disorder..... (Alternate title considered for this post : Help me, I'm an Indecisive Gemini....)
Something about spring causes me to pull out my all-time favorite book. Dying to knit is filled with eye-candy that lights a fire in my creative soul! Every spring I lovingly pour over the pages of this how-to guide to fiber dying. I always find something new, something I swear wasn't in there the previous spring. Some new tid-bit of information, or a new picture with colours so beautiful I can hardly wait to heat up the dye bath. Over coffee the other morning, I found this....
On these pages the author, Elaine Eskesen, talks about looking for colour inspiration in your child's art work. How timely!! In the top left corner of the page, she shows readers a batch of newly dyed wool, the colour-way inspired by the art work in the lower right corner. I started rifling through the kids art portfolio almost immediately, pulling out several pieces that caught my eye. I was already imagining what I would knit with the not-yet-dyed wool.
And then I got side-tracked (not hard to do with the young Birds around). The day went on....and then the mail came. And this arrived:
I ordered this pattern last week. Last night I was telling the hubby with a sigh that I want to sew as well as I knit. His response,
"well, then I guess you should sew as much as you knit"
Are men really that simple? Why couldn't he read my mind and understand that what I was REALLY saying is that I want to sew as well as I knit RIGHT NOW....not 27 years from now, which is how long it has taken me to knit this well. In 27 years my kids will have NO interest in wearing anything that I make for them. This is URGENT! I must sew well NOW!
To soothe my panicking soul I went to SuperBuzzy to find the perfect fabric for my sweet Baby Bird's sundress.
As I was straightening up before bed, I stumbled (literally) over Dyeing to knit where I had left it lying (laying? I'm grammatically challenged) earlier in the day. A shot of guilt went straight through my heart. I felt as though I had been caught in a moment of infidelity. Am I seriously considering cheating on my first true love, knitting? Is it possible that I am moving on from an almost 3 decade long relationship, for something new and more exciting? Is there room in my life for 2 loves?
Why is it so hard for me to make a decision about where to start?! Please tell me that I am not the only one out there who suffers from this kind of indecision.....am I?
With the mind of a child....
It started about a year or so ago. One night, while looking at a waning gibbous moon, Big Bird asked me
"mama, what's wrong with the moon?"
It took a few minutes to get to the root of his question. It turns out that he was concerned about the size of the moon. Apparently it was too small. Apparently in his mind it was supposed to be Full all the time.
I explained how sometimes the moon is big, and sometimes it is small, but that it's always changing size.
"That's okay mama, Ito will fix it."
Ito is one of Big Bird's grandfathers. He is legendary for his ability to fix pretty much anything. I realized that in the world of my then 3 year old, it was completely plausible that Ito would climb up his ladder, use his hammer, and "fix" the moon. At the time I thought, oh how sweet, but didn't think much more about it.
Fast forward a year. Last week, I was trying to distract the kids attention away from something they were not supposed to be doing (beating on each other, if you really want to know). Look! A herd of Velociraptors is walking through the yard.... I point out the window, both kids rush to the door to check it out.
"where mama, I don't see them?"
"there, by the mailbox, don't you see them?" I ask
silence for a few moments.....
"oh. you're pretendin'."
And with that, Big Bird walked away. I'm sure I saw a look of disgust on his face.
It dawned on me in that moment, that in his world, it was completely within the realm of possibility that a herd of flesh-eating dinosaurs was indeed walking through his yard. Where he would have thought oh cool! let's go play with them!, I would have thought oh sh*t....., call 911!
And then a couple of days ago....
"mama? is jelly made from jellyfish?"
I rush to reassure him that jelly is definitely NOT made from jellyfish. Poor child...he must be traumatized....but then, I saw the look on his face. And I could tell that he wasn't worried, he was just looking for clarification. He would have been just as willing to accept "yes" for an answer as "no". Again, it was completely within the realm of possibility that jelly is made from jellyfish. If I had said "yes", he would have said, "oh", and wandered off to keep playing. I would have gagged, and thrown the PB&J in the trash.
Okay, I'll get to my point (and I do have one, I promise). Over the weekend, I was at my twice weekly yoga class. At one point I was standing on my head trying to do this. And it wasn't going well. At all.
I was fighting a bit against muscle fatigue (it was the end of a long class), but honestly, I was fighting mostly against my own mind. ummmm, robyn? what are you thinking? this is impossible! you can't do this! That sort of counter-productive internal dialog that most of us (except maybe Buddha) are familiar with. And then, in less than a second, all of those moments with Big Bird flashed through my mind. And it all came together for me. If I approached this pose with the mind of a child I would be just fine. If I believed that it was well within the realm of possibility for me to stand on my head, balance on my arms and just DO the pose, then it would happen!
Of course, it didn't happen.....by then I was too exhausted. BUT.....I have class again on Tuesday. And between now and then I'm working really hard on changing the pictures and the dialog in my head.
Imagine all the things we could accomplish if we approached challenges with the mind of a child.......
We have been sick. All. Week. Coughing, drippy noses, fevers, hallucinations......you name the symptom, we've had it.
And frankly, we've been grumpy too. It's hard to be kind and loving when you feel like....well, like crap. Both kids are at that stage of sickness where they want/need lots of comforting, but they can't find it within themselves to be nice to anyone. Which makes mothering a bit of a....oh, let's call it a challenge. Especially considering that I am sick too, and really just want to lock myself in the bedroom and crawl under the covers.
That said....I did manage to pull it together long enough this morning to get some paint out.
My intent was to use acorns, but in my delirium I couldn't remember where I had hidden them (I can hear the squirrels laughing at me). So we opted for the next closest round object I could find; wooden lacing beads.
Lay some paper in the bottom of a box (conveniently, the average size Amazon.com box is 8.5 x 11 inches) , roll the beads around in some paint, toss them in the box, shake and roll at will.
Voila! A Masterpiece.
Big Bird noticed that this picture looks like it has a T-rex in the middle of it. Of course he did.
Anyway.....my point this morning is not really about this project. It's about what happened after this project actually.
I went inside to find some clothespins so that we could hang our pictures on the fence to dry. Again, in my semi-delirious state, I left the kids outside. Alone. With the paint.
You can imagine what happened next. And I have to tell you, it turns out that covering your entire body with paint is really, REALLY good therapy for sickie kids! And sickie mommies too. Unfortunately for you, I had to put the camera down in order to participate in the fun. I did manage to capture this pic before they attacked me though.
Okay....I'm only going to give this topic about 30 seconds of my time (which is more than it deserves)....but my Bad Idea of the Week award goes to this idiot.
Seriously. If his publishers are that hard up for a children's book idea, put them in touch with me. I've got a million. And none of my ideas aim to teach young children that their mothers will be more beautiful if they get plastic surgery.
Okay...moving on to things that are much more worthy of my time (and yours).
This fabulously inspiring mama is taking the Hope Revolution to Rwanda! And she's asking for our help. Part of her time in Rwanda will be spent with school age girls, working to inspire and motivate them to stay in school.
Find out how to send your Hope Notes to the girls of Rwanda here.
What I love about this story, is that Jen Lemon is a regular ol' mama like the rest of us. And she has found a way to make a huge difference :)
Now stop reading my blog, and go write some Hope Notes ;)
I recieved 2 pieces of information this weekend, both related, both unsolicited....and better yet, both validating something we feel very strongly about in this house.
The first was an article my mom sent which she clipped out of Maclean's magazine (a mainstream Canadian news mag, for those who are unfamiliar). Titled Free-Range Children, the author spends 3 pages saying essentially, that if we're not careful, our children (that is to say, the children of post-boomer babies) are going to miss out on their childhoods. He says,
"Parents want to raise risk-takers (without exposing them to risk), to give them the freedom (to follow parental dreams), to be spontaneous and imaginative (pencil that in between judo and piano, if the homework is done.)"
Can I get an AMEN????
So many parents I know have their (young) children's days scheduled from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed. I feel like a bit of a loser when asked "what classes are your kids in?" Ummmm...... er.......well.....we go to gymnastics once a week (which is really a time where Big Bird and one friend run around and go nuts in a big padded room).
"really? that's all you do? how do you keep them busy?"
Keep them busy, are you kidding me? They're kids! They do "busy" by nature....they certainly don't need my help.
Ok, I could go on and on...so I'll move on to the next bit of info I stumbled upon this weekend....
Somehow I found myself online looking at the UK's newspaper The Telegraph. Turns out they have a regular column called The Idle Parent, written by Tom Hodgkinson. This man, whoever he is, is my new personal SuperHero. He puts what we believe soooooo much more eloquently than I could ever do!
He starts by explaining his philosophy,
"I call it idle parenting and our mantra is: 'Leave them alone.' "
and then goes on to say at one point,
"Paradoxically, the idle parent is a responsible parent because at the heart of idle parenting is a respect for the child, a trust in another human being. It is the irresponsible parent who hands the child over to various authorities for its education and care, whether that is childminders, schools, CBeebies or the virtual world of Habbo Hotel. Or it is the parent who tries to impose his own vision on the children and does not simply let them be. "
Okay, so I have no idea what a "CBeebie" is, or a "Habbo Hotel" but, sigh.....I think I might be in love with this man.
Now why can't I write like that?
Definitely check out his column. His writing is very tongue-in-cheek (which obviously I love), and I would put money on it that at least some of what he has to say will ring true for you too.
Do this.
And better yet, have your kids help you do it..... who knows what you might start? Join the Revolution! It's infectious, trust me ;)
Tomorrow is a big day for our family, so in the event I don't get a chance to check-in....have a great weekend everyone!
Oh...I just found this link to a beautiful video showing mothers and daughters (from a mother-daughter bookclub) creating the notes they are going to go out and leave in places they think could use some hope!
Cheers -
The kids reminded me about a few of parentings most important lessons today....
#1 is that playdough is still a heck of a lot of fun, no matter how old you are and no matter how often you have played with it in the past week....
#2 is that playdough tastes REALLY good....
and #3 is that you should never, EVER, underestimate the determination of an almost-4 year old.
It couldn't have been more than 50 degrees outside this morning. Apparently, though, that was NO reason to delay bringing out the water table any longer. And to prove his point, he stayed out there until his fingers were BRIGHT pink and all his little teeth were chattering.
He says it was fun....but I don't think he would have admitted it even if it wasn't ;)
Playdough recipes are a dime a dozen. I've tried a few, and here's the one I like best:
1 cup water
1 tbsp vege oil
1/2 cup salt
1 tbsp cream of tartar
food colouring
saucepan
1 cup flour
Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food colouring in a saucepan and heat until warm. Remove from heat and add flour. Stir until smooth, the cream of tartar makes this stuff last for many months, so use it if you can find it (in the spice aisle....I'll admit, I had to ask the first time I went looking for it!). Store the dough in an airtight container or plastic baggy.
Cheers :)
Oh, and don't forget lesson #1!
Little Miss Bird picked out her watercolour pencils this morning.
I love the versatility of these pencils. Sometimes we colour with them first, and then paint over our work with water and a paint brush.....discovering how the water moves and mixes the colours. Other times we brush the paper with water first, and then use the pencils...same tool, completely different effect. And then there's one of Baby Bird's favorite techniques - dipping the pencils into a container of water, and then drawing with the wet tip.
Oh, and let's not forget her other favorite technique.....
As I write, I'm realizing how often we use watercolour paper in this house. Not just for the obvious watercolour pencils and painting....but also for finger paints, tempera paints, scissor and glue parties....you name it! I guess it's because I really prefer that the paper my kids are using not fall apart mid-way through the project. Maybe it's just here in this house, but "art" in its various forms seems to involve a lot of experimenting with just how much force can be applied to the tools before the paper rips ;) Watercolour paper really does stand up to the abuse.
Here's where I get mine, and most of the other art supplies we consume in our home. This company, although quite large, still manages to have quite a bit of environmental integrity. And the best prices I've seen for the quality of the products...which never hurts, does it?
Good morning!
I'm happy to report that we managed to get around to this little project over the weekend. The delay had nothing to do with a lack of enthusiasm, but more to do with a serious lack of Sculpey....everywhere....in the entire county. We headed "down the hill" this weekend for our monthly retail therapy session, and located some of the elusive clay at Michaels.
For what it's worth, I have to say I like the terracotta color better than the others we tried. For some reason, it's MUCH easier to roll into balls and to push down over the flowers, which is important when you're working with small hands.
True to form, Big Bird enjoyed the rolling and pushing part, and even enjoyed the finished product for about 10 minutes.....at which point he discovered they made great hockey pucks (what can I say...it's in his DNA).
Baby Bird, on the other hand, wasn't so interested in the rolling and pushing part, but has been finding great joy in carrying the finished treasures around in a basket and taking them all out....putting them all back in.....taking them out.....putting them all back in....you get the picture.
The sculpey captures an amazing amount of detail. The kids (and I) find it very gratifying when projects turn out well....they seem to appreciate quality, things that last. Give this one a try.
Goodbye Butterflies......
Today was the day, we decided. Warm, not much of a breeze, good weather reported for the next few days.... prime butterfly releasing conditions.
We are a little bit sad, but also a little bit happy. Glad that our beloved butterflies will be able to spend their last few days outside where they belong.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone :) Let us know if you see our butterflies.......
We've been having fun lately writing stories in Big Birds "special book". This book started out as his Nature journal, but has evolved into something more general over time. It is a great reflection of the things that interest him at any given moment.
The kids recieve Ladybug magazine, a gift from my parents. After each issue has been loved to pieces (literally), I hide them away in the craft closet, to be resurrected at a later date. One use we've discovered for the back issues is to cut out many of the beautiful illustrations, which we then use as inspiration for our stories.
Big Bird dictates and I write. Occasionally I ask questions to get the process moving along, but once he started to understand that really, anything goes....Big Bird was off and running!
Recently, Baby Bird has caught on to the fun, and solved the age-old homeschooling dilemma of "what do you do with your toddler when you are working on a project with the older child?" Yesterday she disappeared for a few minutes while Big Bird and I were working on his latest story. She returned with this book (an empty sketch book) and sat back down at the table. I wasn't quite sure where she was headed, and so just watched while she did her thing. She chose a picture from the pile of cut out illustrations, and then asked for the glue. With my help she glued it into what was now obviously HER special book, and then set to 'writing' her story on the page above it. Problem solved. Now we can all work on our stories together :)
Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling?!
Hello.
My name is Robyn, and my son is an addict. He is completely, totally, and utterly addicted to dinosaurs. Big ones, small ones, long ones, short ones, and especially, baby ones.
I can only blame myself I suppose. Well, myself, and of course Nigel Marvin and the BBC. Damned Chased by Dinosaurs. While I'm at it, I think I'll blame Netflix too.
Does it disturb anyone else that at not-quite 4 years old, Big Bird can pronounce words like Stenonychosaurus and Parasaurolophus ? Most adults I know can't even pronounce them. Including me.
I have been listening to dinosaur-talk for almost a month now. 14 hours a day, non-stop. He eats, sleeps, and breathes dinosaurs. And I'm about to lose my mind. Completely.
If you've ever known an almost-4-year old, you know just how much they talk. This boy can tie the topic of dinosaurs into just about anything that might come up during the day. Even, and this is probably more than any of you wanted to know..... the potty. I am not kidding. And you'll thank me for sparing you the details.
Just when I think we're in the clear, and that just maybe we've managed to move on to another topic - such as what we should eat for snack.....
"mama, the parasaurolophus likes to eat apples too. did you know that? did you mama? did you know that? mama? he uses his big teeth to crunch them up! did you know that mama? did you? mama?"
Save me. Please.
Good morning :)
I had a very satisfying thrift store adventure this weekend - I found a sweet tea set for the kids (part of which is pictured above), some fabric that will work well for a doll I'm thinking about making, and this hand-embroidered piece of linen that I plan to turn into something else for Baby Bird.
I'm pretty sure I was glowing when I left the shop, coveting my treasures.
I also spent some time this weekend putting together our dress-up trunk (the whole reason I went to the thrift store was to find some additional items for the dress-up stash...obviously I got side-tracked)! We have a ton of items strewn about the house that could be used for dress-up, but rarely get noticed. I was hoping that if we put them all in one place the kids might find them more enticing. Turns out I was right- No sooner had I placed all the hats, scarves, handbags, and costumes in the trunk when both kids started investigating. Big Bird was soon parading around as "Strong Guy" and Baby Bird was wearing a scarf as a toga, complete with a belt and a swimming mask :) Big Bird continued to role play until well after dinner time. I couldn't have been happier watching them deeply engrossed in their pretending.
Enjoy your Monday everyone!
I'm in the middle of reading Amanda Soule's new book The Creative Family - How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections.
In it she spends some time talking about toys. She has created 6 criteria that are used in her home when choosing toys for her kids. It was so nice to read someone else's thoughts on this subject, especially someone who agrees with me - we all need a little validation every now and then, right?
1. Is it beautiful? She is, as am I, a big fan of hand-crafted toys. Toys that feel good to touch and hold and are visually pleasing. Toys that are beautifully designed can be a great source of creativity and imagination.
2. Is it simple? She puts it well, "If there's a toy that does it all for you, there's little room left for creativity." She advises to "select toys that can be used in a multitude of ways and that evoke imagination and creative expression."
3. What is it made of? "Does your children's toy selection show an adequate representation of nature? Is there wood? Cloth? Natural Fibers?"
4. What Senses does it use? We all experience the world through our senses, and our children are strongly programmed this way (anyone else have kids who taste everything?) Soule suggests having toys in our homes which represent each of the senses.
5. How is it organized? Toys get used more when they are accessible, easy to find and available. This is SO true for my own kids! If our kids have to spend too much time looking for what they need, creativity often goes by the wayside. "Keeping toys organized in baskets, boxes and on shelves where kids can reach them helps so that children know just where they are when inspiration strikes."
6. Is there too much? Less is MORE!!! I try to do fairly regular toy rotations where I clear out most of the toys in the living areas, put them in boxes, and bring up another box (from a previous rotation) from the garage. Not only does it keep the toy chaos and clutter down to a minimum, but for a few days afterwards it's like Christmas all over again as the kids get reacquainted with old toys :)
I can't recommend this book enough. It's an easy read (for those of us with minimal free time), visually pleasing, and full of inspiring suggestions and ideas. Amanda Soule also has a great blog which I visit often.
Cheers!
