I have lost track of how many times we have wandered in to the children’s section of Powell’s City of Books and emerged with a masterpiece. Our most recent discovery is I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.

Klassen is an illustrator who has published his first book, and it is hilarious. The story is simple, repetitive, and entirely dialogue. A bear goes from forest animal to forest animal in search of his hat. Each animal responds differently. The bear becomes depressed about his lost hat but then has a Eureka! moment when he remembers where he last saw it. This is the moment that is surprising and hilarious.

I won’t spoil it for you because it is equally hilarious for grown-ups and kids. Elliot asks to read it again and again because, after a first reading, she’s in on the joke.

Is your kid bored? Are you out of awesome craft ideas? Well, Sticky Mosaics are here to help!

I’ll be honest, there are times when I am zapped of creativity and energy. I love to come up with fresh ideas (or steal some from Pinterest) when we have a block of free time to get crafty. But sometimes it’s nice to turn off your brain and indulge in some mindless activity. Enter: Sticky Mosaics.

Sticky Mosaics are mosaics you create by applying stickers on a pre-printed board. That’s it. Think color by number but using square color stickers instead of paints. It’s easy for kids to get started and complete the activity all by themselves. They only need to know their numbers and be able to manipulate peeling the stickers off their sheets.

In the few years we’ve been using them, Sticky Mosaics have come a long way. They’ve transformed from kind of boring foam primary colors to sparkle-glitter squares and transparent jewel shapes. These more exotic tiles really excite our five year old girl, who insists on always applying the “shiny ones” first. Her favorite kits have involved princesses and dragons and mermaids. She hasn’t seen the 3D Ocean Magic set yet – but when she does, I know it will be a hit as well.

The kits range from around $6 for the smaller more simple designs to $17 for the more involved decorative designs. We’ve found those high-end kits at retailers like Home Goods for around $7, so it may be worth checking your local retailers for deals.

“Once upon a time a little girl named Laura lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin in a little house made of logs. She lived in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her big sister Mary, her baby sister Carrie, and their good old bulldog Jack.”

This is how almost every book in the My First Little House series begins and it warms my heart each and every time I read it aloud to Elliot, age 4. These are picture books adapted from the original Little House series, for ages 3-5.

The stories are simple vignettes from the original series – for example, Going West gently explains why Laura and her family leave The Big Woods in Wisconsin. We learn why her family does not pack up all their belongings, like beds and chairs, because Pa can always make new ones. It’s a great way to start a conversation about the way life was for American pioneers. Other books, such as Winter Days in the Big Woods and The Deer in the Woods, tell how the Ingalls family grew and hunted for their own food (spoiler alert: no animals are killed). The books are written in a way that is reminiscent of the longer stories, in that they are simply a telling of pioneer life. There’s no big lesson or mystery in each story – just a window into Laura’s world.

The drawings in the books are sublime. They are inspired by the artwork of Garth Williams, the artist who drew the cover art for the original series. The drawings are soft and warm, complete with important details such as the fashions of the day. The Ingalls family looks bright-eyed and friendly.

Elliot and I frequently check out these books from the library – I think we’re currently hoarding six different books. I did purchase Christmas in the Big Woods, which we bring out at the holidays. It’s a fabulous way to remind parents and kids that the holidays are about spending time with family and not about receiving a mountain of loot (the girls each receive a piece of candy, mittens, and a toy in their stockings – all of these things are homemade, of course).

All the lessons about pioneer life and appreciating small treasures are told in a very passive way. They are not in-your-face or preachy, by any means.

I should also note that the series does include several books about Almanzo Wilder (Laura Ingalls’ husband) and his experience growing up on a farm in New York. These do not interest Elliot much, as she is on an anti-boy kick these days!

My First Little House Series: 

Summertime in the Big Woods
The Deer in the Woods
Winter Days in the Big Woods
A Little House Birthday
Sugar Snow
Christmas in the Big Woods
Going to Town
Going West
Prairie Day
A Little Prairie House

I recently found The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories at Goodwill. It features simple, whole food recipes that Elliot and I will definitely try and review here.

A small fly flew by Nephew startling him. He thought it might be a bee. He really dislikes bees. I assured him it was only a fly and not to worry. When he asked me why there would be a fly in my house… I lied to him.

Uncle: We keep them as pets for our cats.

Nephew: What?

Uncle: Well, our cats are getting older and they still like to play with flies, but it’s getting harder for them to go outside and find them — so we are growing some in the house. That one will get much bigger. We have a nest with a bunch of baby flies.

Nephew: [a little worried] Where?

Uncle: Well, we keep moving it. It was right by the cat dish, then we moved it by the front door, but now it’s in that closet. We hope to have some really big flies by the end of the summer.

 Now I have to convince him to keep the front door shut so that none of our flies GET OUT. 

When Elliot was a baby, I was a big fan of library story time because 1) it’s free and 2) we love to read. Elliot and I have been to several different storytimes in the Portland metro area. We’ve found some classes that really suck, and some that are wonderful.

What people may not realize is that story time really is very beneficial for babies. Listening to words, rhymes, and music during the first 24 months of life assist in developing language and physical skills.

Here’s how to do storytime for babies, age 0-12 months:

1. Get the word “story” out of your head. Babies will not sit and pay attention to someone who is sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, reading a book to them. They can’t see the pictures. They don’t know what is going on.

2. Sing. Very young children learn language through repetition, rhyming, and gestures. A baby storytime should be all about singing songs. And not just 1-2 songs- up to 10 songs (sung twice each) will keep them entertained. Combining those songs with gestures (think: Itsy Bitsy Spider) helps them associate words with movement, firing all sorts of synapses in their little brains.

3. Books. Yes, there should be books! But they should be short and super simple. As mentioned above, they don’t even need to be a story. Books with photos are the best. Pass out copies of the same book to the babies and let them look at the books with their parent. Most babies will eat the book, and that’s okay! Baby storytime is really just an opportunity to introduce little ones to books.

4. Toys. Playtime at the end of storytime is a great thing. The best libraries wash down the toys with alcohol after each storytime so the kids can do what they love to do: chew on toys. Pouring a pile of toys in the middle of the room brings the crawlers and walkers together to socialize. It also allows the parents time to meet each other.

5. Relax. Parents shouldn’t feel like they have to keep their kids in their laps. If the babies are crawling around and checking each other out while you’re singing songs, so be it. You can sing the songs with your kiddo when you get home. Just letting kids explore and check each other out is the true benefit of baby storytime. Don’t worry, the books will come later.

Then one day, we were walking up the sidewalk to our home when a stranger approached. He told us he was homeless and had no money. Could we help?

I said no, that I was sorry. That I couldn’t help.

And we walked inside the house and we shut and locked the door. I don’t give money to panhandlers at my home. That just seems risky.

Then I realized how strange that may have looked to my 5-year-old. Where was all that compassion I talk about? How could I reconcile the fact that the one and only time my daughter saw the face of someone who asked me for help, I said no?

I wrestled with this for a few days before settling on an idea – rather than trying to explain to her why I said no in that situation, I would show her how to say yes to compassion. I began searching for a community service project we could do together, which was not as easy as I’d hoped. When she gets older the possibilities are vast, but what would be appropriate for a 5-year-old? Something in which she could really contribute, and something that would be fun?

An email to our local senior citizens center revealed an answer. The center runs a Meals on Wheels program, providing lunch to many area senior citizens. The center suggested we make cards for the seniors, and the volunteers could drop them off with a meal.

I knew my crafty girl would like this idea and I knew her crafty friends would too, so we made it a party. Six girls stamped and stickered and colored and drew on construction paper all afternoon, making cards as we parents talked about the importance of caring for the elderly.

In two weeks we’re getting together again, this time to assemble care packages to go along with the cards. I look forward to bringing Camille with me when we drop off the donations. I’m hoping we’ll have a chance to say hello to some of the seniors there – perhaps some of the same ones who will receive a card and care package.

I wish she could hand-deliver each card herself, but no matter who delivers them, I imagine these cards will be met with smiles.

I’m finding additional opportunities at my church as well. When a group of church members got together to pack boxes of donated shoes to be sent to children in the Philippines, I brought Camille along, too. When our church hosted a dinner for a group of homeless families with children, I brought Camille with me so we could eat with them. I’m realizing that there are things we can do – from big projects like the care packages, to small gestures like a meal with strangers – to help her understand what it means to be compassionate.

I’d love to hear other suggestions as well. If you have found a great project or a fun way to teach your child about compassion and community service, please share with us!

About MAQET

MAQET is a service that allows you to design your own collectible figurines. The process is straightforward:

1. Pick a body shape
2. Add your design
3. Get a real-life figure in the mail

How To

There are currently 13 different body styles available for customization. They range from the cute teddy bear Dankeschoen to the much more adult CellPhoneKills (a mobile phone outfitted with a knife and gun, naturally). Once you’ve chosen your base figure, you can use the online designer tool to add colors and features from their online library. However, if you want an even more custom toy, you can download their templates and create your own design from scratch.  The PDF files can be opened directly in Photoshop if you’re graphic-savvy. Or, if you’d like your kid to hand-decorate their own, print out the PDF, let them color to their heart’s content, then scan their artwork. Once you’re satisfied with your template, upload it to the online designer and you’re done. Figures come in two sizes and start at $22.

Our Experience

Printed and colored template

Our five year old daughter Camille was thrilled at MAQET’s value proposition. Having recently discovered Disney’s Vinylmation line of figurines, she quickly got the concept that it was more of an art piece than a traditional toy.

We reviewed the body styles and she (unsurprisingly) chose the cute bear. One day she’ll want the gun-toting cat-girl. I’m thankful we’re not there yet. I printed out the design template and she went to work coloring with magic markers, sure to fill in every nook and cranny. I tried to explain how the templates would wrap and if she didn’t use the same color there would be hard lines where the templates met. She assured me she was fine with that and went on coloring: An ear. A tail. An arm.

When she was done, I scanned into Photoshop and set the dimensions per MAQET’s specs and uploaded to the designer application. After uploading, you can view your toy in 3-D (pretty awesome) to make sure everything lines up as expected. Adding to the cart and checking out were fast and easy. The figure arrived a few weeks later and she was thrilled. The feel of the product is almost like porcelain. The sheen is bright and reflective and the colors came out very similar to her original illustration. She named her bear “Rainbow.” Pretty apt.

3-D Rendering before purchase

The Verdict

At $22, it’s too expensive to do this all the time. But for special occasions or gifts, it’s really exciting to see your child’s artwork translated into 3 dimensions. We’re already brainstorming what our next creation will look like.

If you’re not the artistic type, you can also go rogue and cover your figurine in photographs of a family vacation or quotes from your favorite book. Anything you can illustrate by hand or compose in a computer graphics application can be placed on a toy.

While we haven’t dropped ours yet, they do seem a bit fragile. So for young children or those that can’t resist using these statues as playthings, you may want to keep them on a high shelf.

For the cool factor alone, MAQET’s offerings are totally worth the price.