Children and Nature Awareness Month

Good morning! I would love to say it is a beautiful one and the sun is shining but alas, it is a beautiful one with rains and grey skies. But that is ok, it is a good day for puddle jumping in bright yellow boots!

I know that I usually bring you a tutorial on Tuesdays (at least I have been trying to keep up that pace) but today I wanted to talk to you about something super important. Children and more importantly, children in nature. In today's hustle and bustling society with dance classes, homework and family dinner time it is hard to squeeze in that outdoors time. Doubly hard in colder, wetter climates like ours here in South Eastern Ontario. But it is so important! And to help us realize the importance, and to motivate us to get out more it is Children and Nature Awareness Month.



Who does not love honeybees?

Too much of a good thing?

With he cooler weather approaching we don't get outside as often as I would like. To make up for it I am trying to create some real quality activities for Wednesday. Easiest of course is arts and crafts. Today, I pulled out some paints. Twice. This morning Wednesday painted for about an hour. But she was tired from an early rising and we were cleaned up without any sort of protest. Here are some photos from the fun.





Apparently though, I have created a monster. After Wednesday went down for her nap I went out for some much needed shopping. I came home to her crying. Just beside herself. Apparently she woke up from her nap and was ready to get back to painting. She didn't want lunch she wanted to paint. It took everything we had to redirect her attentions whilst the pasta cooked. (Can elbow macaroni take any longer to cook?!) I managed to talk her down long enough to eat some lunch and we were back to painting.

As it happened, whilst I was doing some much needed thrifting I came across a basket of tempera paints for two bucks. Sold. I was excited to bring them home for Wednesday, I had no idea they would be the end of my entire afternoon. I undressed her, put her in her booster seat, covered the table, put paint(s) in the egg tray and let her go to town. After she used up all the allotted paint I had givene her and a lot of paper she of course wanted more. I felt bad but had it been up to her she would have painted herself out of the paints I had bought her. So I told her we had to clean up the paints so that we could play with sparkly stuff.

Oi vey. there went my evening. We played with the sparkly stuff. making butterflies, that we had painted that morning we added glue and rhinestones and marker etc. Whilst she cared little for the butterflies, she loved the glue and rhinestones (obviously) but when it came time to pack it up for a stroll outside things got a bit hairy (is that how you spell it in that instance?).

I completely understand it was more about bounderies than glitter. Daddy was home and he has a habit of giving in whereas I am the enforcer of rules (naptimes, sugar content etc.)But this time he had my back and I think that bothered her even more. she became grabby with things and cried when she couldn't have them. It happens I know. But, afetr we got home from our stroll to the store she was adamant about glue and sparkles. Right up until bedtime. Carzyness.

Here is my dilemma though; I love love love to encourage her creative side. Her fatehr is both an artist and a carpenter and I am a craftbot so it is truly wonderful for both of us. But. Between the paly dough, paints, markers, colouring books, crayons, pencil crayons, glitter, pipe cleaners and pom poms I am forever fetching and cleaning. For serious. Today we painted twice, pulled out the play dough once, played with glue and glitter and coloured with markers before bed.

Is this normal? How do I get anything done? How do you mamas get anything done? And another problem has creeped up. Now with the glitter and paint Wednesday is too good for her colouring books and crayons. She went from colouring on and off all day and loving it to turning her nose at the suggestion. For that I have a solution. No more paint and glitter until she appreciates the simpler things a bit more. I know she is a toddler, not even two years and three months but she is both smart and too smart. So I think for both of us this is a good decision. The whining will drive me crazy but I am just as stubborn as she.

The artwork she is making is great though. When she draws, she draws a shape and can give it eyes, ears, nose, smile, feet and now hair without any help. She has been colouring as much in the lines as possible for her age since summer and is really getting the hang of play dough. Her imagination is growing every day and I want to encourage it but I also need her to love the little things again. Everyday cannot be twice painting. I think everyday cannot be painting. I'll figure out a schedule maybe...what do you do?



Bye!~

To be or not to be...homeschooling that is.

Since falling in love with sewing all over again and stalking the blogosphere for tutorials and inspiration I have found that many of my favourite blogs of late are also homeschooling moms as well. As I followed these blogs I noticed that their lives with their children were all that more enriched and rewarding and the gears in my ehad began to creak and moan but the turning began and I thought that maybe homeschooling was something that I should be considering. But as I kept reading these few blogs I thought more and more that maybe I was not cut out to teach my daughter anything more than her ABCs, 123s and colours and it made me sad. I too wanted to share in the wonder that is a child learning.

I talked to a few moms at Livejournal (my favourite place for instant feedback and answers) and my fears were quickly abated. Most importantly I was reminded that children do not start off learning grade ten algebra (seriously, if algebra was a person they would be my arch nemesis) and that was probably what I needed to hear most. After a few discussions I learned that homeschooling was very parent friendly and that not every parent need be a teacher in one of their former lives. *phew* Also I was informed that if I thought it necessary I can buy lesson plans and teaching aides that even tell you when to "point at the board". *phew*

That night during a leisurely drive through the country I (as nonchalantly as possible) asked Ron how he felt about the subject. Since I was expecting him to put up a fight (seriously, I was waiting for him to draw the line at my crunchy behaviour right then and there) I was speechless for a moment (even a little flabbergasted) when he said he was for it. After I closed my mouth and collected my thoughts a moment we talked about all the reasons to do it. We talked about how rewarding it would be for the entire family I had to mention how it would ensure the library I had been building (and moving cross country multiple times) over the last few years would be put to good use! By the time we got home we were both quite excited about it and have even discussed it with a couple friends who think it is a great idea too. *phew*

So, with some reassurance and a little advice I began looking into homeschooling. First exploring the aforementioned blogs in more depth. Then I googled for any support networks in my area (one lonely Christian homeschooling network) and then I started requesting books from my local library network. My first book made it to my hands yesterday. The Homeschooling Handbook (1st Edition) written by Mary Griffith.

This edition is more than ten years old (I realized that when I tried googling a cover image and could only come up with the 2nd edition until I found the one pictured above. Regardless, the book has already given me much food for thought such as theories of learning, learning practices and grading (or not). A definite jumping off point for more research. And although the book is definitely written from a very pro-homeschooling perspective it does give a lot of anecdotal evidence from other homeschooling families who use different techniques, schedules and disciplines.

Particularly interesting is the case for unschooling. At first when I kept coming across this term in my research I shied away from it more and more. I was worried that it was another neo-crunchy term that would serve as yet another pissing contest between parents. I have my own thoughts on the crunchy movement even though I feel that I am firmly entrenched in it. But I digress. This book actually turned me around. A little bit. Like much of my life and parenting 'style' (for lack of better word) I found comfort in knowing there were a lot of parents out there who found a way to blend the best of both worlds (school at home and unschooling). I am of the 'everything in moderation even moderation discipline' in life.

The book is also written for homeschoolers in the United States and although Canada and Canadians are very similar we can be worlds apart when it comes to bureaucracy and laws so I will definitely be researching further into Canadian laws regarding homeschooling most likely through the internet and support groups because I just have not found a lot of Canadian titles on the subject. Expect updates on that area most definitely.

Also something to note is how the homes of homeschooling parents are most definitely full of life, chaos and thereby the mess both create! It is nice to know (even if it just secretly) all of these wondermom blogs I read have messy kitchens too. That will just be our little secret though. ;)

I have a few more books to pick up though, I had thought they were to be sent to my local branch but apparently I must go to the next town over. I can't wait though. I am so very intrigued by the entire idea that sometimes I forget that Wednesday just turned two in July!

So, that is where we are right now. Still very early in the research stage but definitely falling in love with it the more and more we look into it. I will leave you with the aforementioned wondermom blogs I mentioned that are truly inspiring (and even a little intimidating).

In no particular order because they are each equally wonderful.

Ordinary Life Magic
Lapaz Home Learning
Collecting the Moments
5 Orange Potatoes

Happy Tuesday!

Colour of Grey is A-Ok

Today is absolutely gorgeous. We have already been to the park, had a nature walk and back. Wednesday is just winding down for her nap while I type this. But most of the week was under the colour of grey. The skies were full of dark clouds and sometimes rain. So we pulled out the big guns. Glue sticks! And markers of course.

I put down a table cloth and let Wednesday go to town with the glue stick (which rarely actually glued anything down) and markers which she rarely gets to play with. She was easily entertained and quiet for a good forty five minutes. Long enough for me to make four loaves of lemon zucchini bread.

Although she loves colouring in her ever expanding collection of colouring books she also likes to colour different pages printed up sometimes with her favourite characters, sometimes pictures of things she loves like butterflies and sometimes just random papers that need colour. This is a great way to use up scrap paper and don`t forget to print on both sides of the paper!

Here is some of my favourite links to free colouring pages.

Toopy and Binoo activities here. Some colouring, some finger puppets some activities. Right now Wednesday`s favourite show is Toopy and Binoo so needless to say these go over well.

Here is a link to some great Sesame Street pages. Wednesday likes the show Play With Me Sesame so Ernie and Grover are always welcomed.

Treehouse TV is the equivalent of Nick Jr. (I am assuming since many shows on this channel are Nick Jr. labeled) and they have a host of fun stuff at the website. For now I just print up these colouring pages which are very plentiful.

Here is a site for very simple one dimensional (mostly) drawings of animals and flowers etc, This is where I print up the butterfly pages for Wednesday to colour.

And finally here is some art history colouring. I like these pages in particular in the American Gothic couple.

Happy colouring mamas (and babes)!

On Play Dates...

Today is Thursday and that means play date day! Wednesday and I both look forward to this day for essentially the same reasons. She loves her playmate Sydney and I love my mommy playdate Tara. We have a standing date on Thursday afternoons to get the kids together and let them run around like monkeys for a couple of hours. It just keeps getting better every week.

When we started the play dates the babes were a couple months shy of their second birthdays. They were well socialized with adults but not really kids, especially their own age. don't get me wrong, they were both great with others neither being biters or hitters or even snatchers of toys really. They just didn't have a lot of experience with kids of a like age. So we have tried to get them together once a week since mid summer with great success.

Each week we watch their development as children with both their cognitive and fine motor skills but even more so we see them develop socially with each other both on a superficial level but on a friendship sort of level as well. In the beginning they played in the same room or in the same yard but not so much with each other. One would play with a toy and they other would take an interest, that was about the level of interaction you could expect the first couple weeks. But as the weeks went on they would begin to participate in the same activities together until one day they were actually playing with each other. They would shout the same words for fun and shout at each other in jest. And now Wednesday not only knows where Sydney lives and asks to play with her but she talks to her on her play phones and in the truck when amusing herself. Sydney has become a part of Wednesday's life just like friends do.

This warms my heart to the core. I could ask for a more perfectly paced friendship to form. I love to watch their development as little people and likewise little social people. Sydney is a wonderful child who is quite bright and incredibly active. A more perfect playmate I think we could not ask for.

As for the mommy, well we have a bit of history (not really but kind of and all good) we knew each other briefly in high school so it was not so strange a meeting. The meeting as moms was arranged by a mutual best friend who had managed to stay friends with the both of us since high school. She set us up when she realized we lived just a couple blocks away from each other with little girls who were less than two months apart in age. Bless her heart.

More than having a mom who thinks and parents very very very similar to me (which is a blessing let me tell you) but she is around the age as me, a stay at home mom like me, reads many of the books as me and funny as heck. So it is not just about Wednesday having a radical playmate but me too. We can talk about mommy stuff and agree on just about everything, we can talk about non mommy stuff and if we don't agree we can agree to disagree. We have started a 'Mommy Movie Night' once a month. We went to see Inglorious Basterds last week and the night was great with good food and conversation and the movie was awesome with Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino! We are hoping to see Sherlock Homes next but I am not sure when the release date is so who knows but whatever it is is will most likely be violent because we like it that way. She even gets along really well with Ron as sometimes he joins our play dates.

Speaking of Ron and husbands hers and mine also have a lot in common and get along well. So this toddler play date is slowly turning into family play dates and really that is what it is about right? Friendships on all levels. Support networks? Understanding your neighbor?

But sometimes, it is just about little girls being little girls.


In June


Last month


Last Week

Happy Thursday~!

Sugar Nazi 1 - Them 0

I have been crafting up a storm lately but nothing is finished yet so I thought I would talk about something very important to me. The sugar intake of children.

Wednesday is one of those children who has a lollipop and then climbs the walls. So, she does not get lollipops. She had one once. Once. And her head nearly exploded after an hour of constant babbling and running. I think she was fifteen months at the time. That was our get out of jail free card. Wednesday had never really had sugar before that so we had no idea what her reaction to it would be. We were with the in-laws who were in from out of town and so she was mostly occupied and indoors (the lollipop had come from having dinner our earlier int he evening and I had popped it into my mouth without realizing someone would be watching)where she could babble and run until she crashed, almost literally. She had tripped over a toy, fell on the carpeted living room floor and started to half-cry. The sugar high was over and we as parents were much wiser.

The next dose of sugar she had came months and months later in the form of a juice box. We were at a friends place visiting and their little guy was drinking a juice box and so, Wednesday being the curious one wanted one as well. I couldn't find it in my heart to deny her one and seeing how we were just about to leave I thought we could manage it. Well, for the twenty minute car ride home Wednesday sat in the back seat just babbling away. And I mean babbling. Total jibberish all the way home. So we learned, again, how Wednesday reacts to sugar.

Now, Wednesday gets sugar through fruit. NOT fruit juice. We try very hard to keep fresh and/or frozen fruit on hand for Wednesday daily intake. Fruit is always offered first and foremost at snack time. At the park I have container after container of grapes and apples and such. She does get 'cookies' but they are Heinz Toddler biscuits and it takes five cookies to amass a whopping 7g of sugar. She likes them and I like that.

I am not going to lie, it is a constant battle with others. Thankfully Wednesday is still too young to know better. But, I have the nick name 'Sugar Nazi' because no one is allowed to give Wednesday sugary treats without first asking me. And I say no 99% of the time. She can have one fruit juice jujube or a teaspoons worth of ice cream from their bowl etc. But on the whole my child lives a relatively sugar free diet.

The reason I decided to write about this today was brought on by what I did yesterday. I babysat a four year old boy. I thought it would be fast times at Sweet household high. But alas, the child was very well behaved, very polite and above all, very mellow. Which was a blessing because it rained the entire morning so I was not able to take the children to the park to burn any excess energy. For breakfast they ate MultiGrain Cheerios with fresh blueberries, for snacks they had all the fruit they could eat (which apparently he detests) and Ritz peanut butter sandwiches and Heinz toddler biscuits. For juice I gave them watered down lemonade which both children were happy to have. For lunch he had a peanut butter sandwich and milk and then it was nap time. He woke up and his dad came to take him home.

All in all it was a breeze to care for the child. I was happy to offer to do it again tomorrow. Upon talking to his grandmother (my aunt) I found out that he reacts to sugar the exact same way Wednesday does. A single juice box or glass of chocolate milk will send him into a sugar induced frenzy. So, score one for the 'Sugar Nazi'.

I have just never understood people who give children sugar in the form of candy or the well meaning juice box and then marvel or become angry at the child who "bounces off the walls". And then when they crash they get sent to bed for a nap because "they must be tired". That is no way to spend a day constantly getting high and crashing and then being punished. Imagine that in an adult's day, being given speed a couple of times a day and then being given trouble for the poor decision making skills that come with it and THEN being sent to sit in a room by ourselves to think about it or sleep it off. Just reeks of unfairness I think.

I am looking forward to tomorrow at the park with two children though. And I am looking forward to tomorrow with a well mannered boy and my well mannered Wednesday. maybe, I'll have my big craft finished in time for them to enjoy it. But that is another post for another time.