Randi from Swoon is with us today and has a lovely collaborative art project to share—the possibilities are endless!

My favorite thing about art is how it transcends the normal lines that divide us. You don’t have to have incredible technique to create something meaningful. Seasoned experts can learn from the perspective of young beginners. For this reason, I love to see my young daughters create. They can’t tell you why placing that line there, or drawing that flower looks so good, they just do it. I find their inhibited approach refreshing and I love to come up with new ways to challenge them.

My five year old daughter and I recently decided to make something together. She loves to paint, so we started there. We took a special trip to the art supply and picked out a few things. We started with watercolor paints, but ended up switching to acrylics for a more vibrant look.

I set up a little work station with our supplies at one end of our dining room table. We also set a few guidelines before we got started:

1. We would each add one color to the canvas everyday.

2. We would do our painting while the other one was out of the room, so they would be surprised.

3. We would try not to paint completely over the other persons art work.

We worked on our project for 3-4 days, sticking to the guidelines and each adding a new color each day. At that point we both decided we could each starting adding more than one color each day. After about a week, we both agreed the painting was finished and we added the final colors together.

I love this project for so many reasons! It was a pleasure to sit down everyday and see what my daughter had added to the painting. I was impressed by her focus and ability to stay within the guidelines (she normally finishes a whole painting within minutes). I could also tell that working on a project as my equal made her feel really special. And now I have tangible proof of the beauty that is created when we come together and treat each other with respect.

This project could be easily modified to fit any type of art form. Does your child like to cut and paste? Why not work on a large collage together? Or perhaps a pencil drawing or clay sculpture. The important thing is to work together to create something you both love.

It has been an interesting year as a parent…

As my children get older, it is harder and harder to shelter them from the uncertainties and harsh realities of the world.

We started the school year with a terrifying hurricane, then we experienced disbelief and deep pain for the victims and families involved in the Sandy Hook tragedy, and more recently tried to comprehend the brutality of the Boston Marathon bombing. Throw in the everyday stresses and strains that our over-scheduled, heavily tested, and generally exhausted children experience—and it is no wonder why our children sometimes melt down, feel anxious, and are easily distracted.

As parents we work hard to filter out this type of information for our children. My husband and I carefully plan together the what, how, and when, of every conversation we have with our daughters related to these types of world events. Yet, we are finding, if we don’t open up dialogue first, they hear about it from their friends, in often much more gruesome detail than need be.

It is difficult to know where to begin when discussing these topics with the children in our lives. How can we help our children feel safe, happy, and productive in an unpredictable world?

I intimately remember teaching first grade in New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was the first day of school and suddenly parents were arriving in droves to pick-up their children early. At our school (and across the city) children lost fathers, uncles… and the ability to feel safe in their own homes, neighborhood streets, and communities.

As a result of this traumatic event, the children, my co-teacher, and I transformed the curriculum so that the students were actively working, writing, creating, and sharing in order to make a difference in the world. It turned out to be an amazing year as we watched our students transform from being victims of war into international peace makers. While I still hear from these students (who are in college now) about how pivotal that year was for them, I feel that I came away with powerful, life changing lessons as an educator and now as a parent:

1. Anxiety, fear, and stress INHIBIT LEARNING
2. A great way to help children during difficult times is to EMPOWER THEM TO HELP OTHERS

And so, one morning after a sleepless night thinking about the explosion in Boston, I began writing this online class about stress management and finding peace within.

I believe that people often teach, what they need to learn most, and as it turns out this was true for me and my family. In this online class we share our favorite techniques for dealing with stress and are excited about all of the amazing ways that participants will find peace within themselves and spread peace in the world. Since the filming we have been noticing when one of us is approaching a situation with a “glass half empty” point of view and appreciate when someone sees the “half fullness” of everyday situations. That language alone has made a big difference in the little and big stresses that arise in our lives. On a personal note, I appreciate the gentle nudges I now receive from my daughters when they notice that I am feeling stressed and suggest a few techniques to help me relax and find my own inner peace.

I hope that you and your family enjoy these valuable lessons as much as we have!

To register, click here.

Joey from Made by Joey is with us today to share lots of inviting ways to engage our young mathematicians in meaningful and educational activities…

I just love it when art and learning go hand in hand!  We have several of Ed Emberley’s drawing books, so when I saw the books “Picture Pie” and “Picture Pie 2“, I thought-what a great way of introducing all kinds of learning!  Being a paper saver, I also love any opportunity to use up the small scraps of papers that we accumulate!

There are so many ways of using the activities in these books depending on your child’s age and abilities…

For early learners:

Adults can help children cut circles and shapes in a variety of sizes and colors.  Matching colors and shapes is an excellent way of starting the first step of recognition.  Finding other circles (and parts of circles) in your home or drawing pictures of items is another way to  help your child recognize circles.  Have  your child watch you arrange the shapes and ask “What have I made with these shapes?”

*note:  with young children always be cautious of choking hazards when collecting things for these activities.

For preschoolers/kinders:

With supervision, preschoolers/kinders can begin to trace/cut their own circles with child safe scissors, draw circles on paper and find items around the house or classroom. (have them collect items in a basket like a scavenger hunt!)  Print the words: circle, half, quarter, third, whole, part, and divide on paper for the children to “read”.  Use the paper circles and shapes to make patterns (for example:  red circle, blue half, green quarter, red circle, blue half, green quarter)  Believe it or not, understanding patterns is a very  important step to learning math concepts in future grades.

For school aged children:

Children can begin to work more independently with the Picture Pie books by following the directions to make specific patterns.  Working with and understanding how to divide the circles into halves, quarters, etc. and then combining those parts can aid in learning division and fractions.  Hands on learning for these types of mathematical concepts are excellent as the children can see and manipulate the shapes themselves.

Supplies needed:

• Circle punch (in a variety of sizes) *Note:  children can cut the circles by hand or you can print the “Picture Pie Parts” from Ed Emberley’s website.

• scissors

• glue stick (for some of the activities)

Printables to use:

On Ed Emberley’s website there are free printable booklets that are available to download here.  Each month offers different seasonal projects that use the Picture Pie method.

To print any of the projects into a handy little booklet:

:: select the project

:: click on the “printer icon”

::  select the “multiple” button

:: select “print on both sides of paper” and “flip on short edge”

:: select the “booklet” button

::  click print

Trim the pages down if you wish and round the corners (always a nice touch for children’s materials), staple down the spine and you are ready to start making art, learning and recycling!

I have also designed a few free printables that can be used for learning with different age groups.

*Note:  you may need to download the file from Google Docs in order to see all of the shapes on some of the documents.

Learning with Circles for Early Learners

• Collecting shapes
• A rainbow of circles

Learning with Circles for Preschoolers

• Words that relate to circles
• Making patterns

Learning with Circles for School aged children

• Pie Shapes Activity sheet
• What can you make? Activity sheet

Annie from Alphabet Glue is with us to share a handy printable to help enhance the our beloved library visits…

As you and yours prepare for the upcoming lazy days of summer vacation and all that they bring, you may find that you have more time for trips to the local library. This is often the case at our house, and it seems that along with all the reading that happens, there is also a lot of trying to remember what we’d like to toss into the book bag on the next trip to the community library. Books get recommended by friends, or sighted in the window of the bookstore as we walk downtown. We might see or hear about something that seems great, and then in the haze of summer relaxation, forget it right away.

But here’s an easy solution: printable library lists, sized to easily slip into a pocket. Keep a stack handy, and use them to guide your book gathering all summer long. You can even check off the titles on them as you go, making sure that no good book gets forgotten!

To download the library lists, click on the image above. Enjoy!

Becky from a Sweet Hot Mess is with us today to share all of her favorite resources for teaching children anatomy...

While we are a Homeschooling family, I have come to value more and more the idea that all parents can pick and choose the supplemental material they introduce to their children.  What subjects we introduce can range from the traditional to the offbeat – from piano lessons to pitching practice to folk dance.  In our own family, we have tackled all sorts of extra interests beyond our traditional schooling choices – from studying the California Missions to Geography to Jiu-Jitsu.

Over the past year, my children have developed a natural and lasting curiosity about their bodies and what makes them tick.  And in the vein of following their interests, we are currently studying Human Anatomy – which I know seems a bit of a reach for young kids.  I have learned not to underestimate kid’s ability to retain new information and build systems of knowledge.  Double bonus, this is a supplemental subject that can grow with your kids, as they absorb more and more of the information over the years.  The key is to not underestimate the level of knowledge they can absorb.

Here is how I have approached Anatomy:

1. Collect Materials

I have a deep love affair with science books for kids.  I never realized I had this love for them until I had children and realized how many truly amazing people are out in the world creating learning resources for our children.  Here are some of my favorites –

• Bones, Steve Jenkins This book is AMAZING.  It is not only beautiful, but informative and might rank up in my top ten for children’s books – it’s that good!

•  The Skeleton Inside of You, Philip Balestrino This is not the most aesthetically pleasing book, but it is a great source when learning about your Skeletal System.

•  Human Body, easy make and learn projects, Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this book is.  While it requires a bit of copying and cutting, every single model was worth making in the end.  Silver and Wynne were able to design simple paper patterns to be built into models that are very effecting at teaching kids about these different body systems.  If I had to choose one book to get – it would be this one!

•  My First Human Body Book, Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne This book is a backup to Silver and Wynne’s Human Body, easy make and learn projects book.  It’s more of a coloring book version of the previous title.  I love it for the days when the kids just want to color and talk.

• See Inside Your Body, Katie Daynes

•  Learning Resources Human Head This is a beautifully illustrated book with lots of information.  I actually think it might be too much information in one place for many kids.  I find this to be less of a teaching tool and more of a library addition.  These dense books with lots of captions and sidebars tend to lean themselves towards personal reading times for students.

• Learning Resources, Tabletop Magnetic Human Body Chart I adore this tool.  It sets up easily and breaks down quickly for simple storage.  The kids love it as well, in that they can work on it independently.  My only complaint is more of a wish – I would love the people over at Learning Resources to add more body systems to the board.  As of now it is available with the muscles, skeleton and digestive track.  I would love to see it with the circulatory and reproductive systems.

And bonus, leave these in convenient locations for the kids to peruse or play with on their own time and the learning continues.  Our foam Brain Model from Learning Resources floats around our house and is always popping up in surprising places.

2. Invite Friends

I invite a small group of kids their age over and we all learn together – and learn better.  Plus, the parents get to review all of the things they’ve forgotten over the years.  There’s nothing more humbling than your child correcting you about which type of muscle lines the digestive track – It’s Smooth Muscle, in case you’re wondering.

3. Get Hands On and Move Around

We have had so much fun with this, as we’ve built models, poked at bone marrow and danced around as we rap about our bones.  I’ve found that hands on learning makes these concepts more real.  In addition, anything that lets kids move while they learn seems to help them learn quicker and faster.  So, take breaks and dance and jump up and down while you quiz the kids on the basic concepts you’ve just learned that day.

4. Dig Around On YouTube

I adore YouTube.  Again, there are so many creative and wonderful people out in the world working very hard to teach our kids in fun and inventive ways.  Now, the only trick with YouTube is that a number of the educational series have been made by well-meaning people who speak English as a second language and many of the words are enunciated incorrectly (which is tricky when kids are hearing these words for the first time) – so choose carefully.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The Bonified Rap

Learn about Human Body Parts for Kids: Lungs

Muscular System

5. Review and Repeat

Other than adding these new resources to our home library, I’ve taken to reviewing the material occasionally with the kids – which sounds a bit more studious than it is.  Mostly I’ll quiz them in the bath, such as “touch your patellas!” or “there’s a little more dirt to wash off your mandible!”…or when we go to the bank or doctor’s office and they’re bored – I’ll start running them through all the fun facts they’ve learned.  It’s like a more advanced version of Head-Shoulders-Knees-And-Toes!

There is so much that I love about this post from Heather of Poppy Haus—time spent together as a family, cooking for one another, the comfort and excitement of a favorite family tradition…

Every Friday for the past two years, almost without fail, we make our own pizza and have a family movie night.  I thought I’d share our recipe and tradition with you today!

Friday marks the end of the school week, the work week, and marks the beginning of our weekend together.   It’s something that we all look forward to. When the kids get out of school that day we make homemade pizza dough using a simple recipe that yields a soft, crispy crust.  Everyone picks their own toppings, and we all dig in while watching the movie from the coffee table in our family room.

 Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups warm water (between 105-115 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast (one packet)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 ¼ cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt

In a medium sized mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the water.  Sprinkle the yeast in and allow to activate for 5-7 minutes.  Once foamy and opaque, add olive oil and stir.  Meanwhile, in a stand mixer like a Kitchen Aid combine the flour and salt. Add a dough hook, and pour the yeast mixture into the flour.  Mix on high until smooth and falling away from the hook (about 5 minutes).  Lightly coat the inside of the bowl with olive oil and cover with a cotton towel for one hour.

To cook pizzas, preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Divide up dough into desired sizes, placing on an oiled pizza stone or sheet pan. Kids can help roll, pat, and press the dough.  Add toppings and bake until lightly golden brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on size.

Kate from An Everyday Story is here to share the next post in her series about introducing authentic art materials to toddlers. Today she is exploring charcoal…

Hi everyone. So tell me, how did your little one enjoy playing with clay? Today I thought I would talk about one of our other favorite art materials; charcoal.

Charcoal is another inexpensive art material that is really responsive to a toddler touch. The dark contrast of the black on crisp white paper really invites a little one in to explore.

I often find that when presented with black, particularly with painting or oil pastels, it seems to dominate the other colors. Sarah will use the black more heavily than any other color. Now I offer black by itself and charcoal is the perfect medium.

I think a little bit of effort to create an inviting art activity goes a long way towards an authentic experience. You might like to consider:

• a plain table cloth so as not to distract from the materials and activity
• crisp white paper
• a shallow bowl or tray for the charcoal
• a clipboard or background for the paper – to focus your little one’s attention on the materials

While your toddler is exploring you could encourage them to:

• hold the charcoal in their hand
• explore the texture of the charcoal
• see what happens when you press lightly, or really hard
• see what kinds of marks they can make

After they have had a chance to really explore this new medium, maybe after a few sessions, you could:

• show them how to blend the charcoal by dotting their finger on the paper
• press down and run their finger across the page
• see what happens when they use their whole hand
• show them how to rub the long side of the charcoal across the page
• introduce some coarser, thicker paper and see how this changes how the charcoal moves

My daughter Sarah is still discovering how charcoal works; how it moves and how much pressure it takes to make a mark. She isn’t creating representational drawings yet, rather still enjoys the rhythmical motions of moving the charcoal round and round and back and forth across the page.

These early experiences with authentic art materials allow her to become highly familiar with a range of art mediums. Toddlers explore mostly through their senses and so this is a wonderful time to introduce different art materials, like charcoal and clay.

So, have a damp cloth handy for wonderfully blackened hands, set out some charcoal sticks and enjoy exploring with your toddler.

Have fun and I’ll see you again next month for the 3rd part of our Authentic Art Materials for Toddlers series.

Monique is with is today to complement her Yoga series with her favorite Yoga inspired children’s books…

As you have seen from my past Yoga posts, most of my inspiration for creating Yoga sequences for children comes from books.  I love bringing the stories to life in such a creative, active way.  This month, I thought I would share with you some books that have Yoga poses built right in.  They are perfect for introducing Yoga to children and for when you’d like to have your child practice some Yoga but aren’t sure where to begin.

You and your children will have fun as you read them together and stop to try each pose.  The poses are so well-illustrated that children can also look at the books independently and be able to try each one on their own.  You might like to keep a few of these books handy for those times that call for refocusing a little one’s energy…

My Daddy is a Pretzel by Baron Baptiste – Introduces Yoga poses by relating them to familiar professions and activities
You Are a Lion by Taeeun Yoo – Children learn Yoga poses by pretending to be different animals
The Happiest Tree by Uma Krishnaswami – A young girl gains confidence and a better understanding of her body through the practice of Yoga and is able to remain calm as she takes on a new challenge
Stretch by Doreen Cronin – This book is not really about Yoga but is a fun one to read to encourage little ones to stretch and move
Like a Fish in Water by Isabelle Koch – Although more instructional, it contains lovely photos and easy to understand directions

I know that there are many other wonderful books that are helpful when introducing Yoga to children.  Do you have a favorite Yoga book for children that you’d like to share?

Joey from Made by Joey is with us today to share the amazing process of keeping Mason Bees in your own backyard…

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up it’s time to get outside and explore nature! Mason bees are a fun way to explore insects right in your own backyard.  They are native to North America and are a very docile bee that do not tend to sting.  The males do not have a stinger and the females will only sting if trapped.  This provides a perfect opportunity to safely explore the bee life cycle with children.

Orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria propinqua)

The Mason Bee Life Cycle

Spring:  When the weather starts to warm up in the Spring (mid March) you will start to see newly emerged mason bees flying about your garden.  This is the time that the males and females mate and the females are looking for a location to lay her eggs.  Putting up a mason bee home is an excellent way of collecting free cocoons and continue your studies in the Autumn!   The female bees will lay eggs in the home until the end of Spring(mid June), and then they will die.

Summer:  After one week the eggs will hatch inside the home and the larvae will feed on the pollen and nectar that the Mama bees packed inside the tube.  In late June the larva then spins a cocoon and begins to develop into an adult bee inside the cocoon.

Autumn:  In the Autumn(October) you can then get a close up look at the cocoons that the bees have made inside the tubes.  Using a mason bee scoop, clean the tubes and cocoons and store in a container in the refrigerator until the following Spring.  The cocoons need to hibernate for 6 months.

The following Spring:  When the weather is a consistent 14°C (57°F) and there are lots of blossoms bursting with pollen, you can start to put out your cocoons for them to emerge.  Protect the cocoons by putting them inside a small box with a 8mm(5/16″) hole at one end.  When the bee emerges from its cocoon it will follow the light and come out of the hole for you to observe!   The males bees are the first to emerge.

Types of mason bee homes:

There are several types of mason bee homes available to purchase or you can build your own.  The home itself can be made from untreated wood or something as simple as plastic pipe.  Inside the home are tubes for the female mason bees to enter and lay their eggs.  These tubes can be made from wood, plastic or paper.  The wood and plastic tubes can be reused year after year.  The paper tubes must be replaced every year.

Learning materials to use with your children:

How to build a mason bee home with viewing boxes

Mason bee lifecycle chart

I have also designed some free printable materials that you can use with your children or students.

• Body parts of a mason bee
• Mason bee observation sheet
• Mason bee true or false quiz
• Looking inside a mason bee home

Books on Mason Bees:

• Pollination with Mason Bees – Dr. Margriet Dogterom
• Mason Bees for the backyard gardener – Sherian Wright

Links to interesting videos and websites:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usdq7R2wQMY
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuL17aqExs

Mason Bee Life cycle: (excellent photos of each stage)

• http://www.crownbees.com/life-cycle-of-the-mason-bee/

I hope that your family takes advantage of this amazing opportunity to observe and learn about nature up close.  I have only touched on a few topics that can be incorporated into your lesson, there is so much more to learn!  If you are not able to put up a mason bee home at your home, I suggest looking up public gardens in your area that may have them, and go take a peak!

*Thanks to the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific and to Hutchings Bee Service for allowing me to photograph their bees.

Randi from Swoon is with us today to share a wonderfully nostalgic DIY on how to make stilts for the children in our lives…

If your children are anything like mine, they have days when they grow weary of their usual toys and games and boredom creeps in. With summer just around the corner, I’ve been looking for simple and engaging activities for my children that can be completed fairly quickly, but enjoyed for days to come. These “stilts” are super fun and have the added bonus of encouraging the children to go outside and move. They can be made fairly quickly with materials you may already have on hand. Hopefully you will enjoy racing and running through the yard with these as much as we have!

To make one pair of stilts, gather: 2 28-oz tin cans, hammer, medium or large nail, string or twine, tape, scissors, hole punch, paper, and markers or crayons.

1. Remove label from cans. Wash in warm soapy water, rinse, and dry.

2. Cut two pieces of paper that are 13.5″ wide x 4.25″ tall. Decorate with crayons or markers!

3. Punch two holes in each strip of paper, about 3.75″ in from each end and about 0.5″ from the top.

4. Turn cans over (bottom side up), wrap paper strips around each one (hole-punched side on top), and secure with tape.

5. Using a hammer and nail, punch holes in each can where the holes in the paper are. Do this by tapping the nail in with the hammer and then carefully pulling it out. You should end up with two holes opposite of one another on each can. The nail pictured above didn’t give me a big enough hole, so I switched to a slightly larger nail (not pictured).

6. Grab one end of a roll of twine or string and push it through one of the holes in your can. Pull the string through the inside of the can and push it out through the other hole. Keep pulling string through until the strings on either side of the can reach thigh-height on the operator of the stilts. Tie a knot at the top of the strings, creating a loop.

The operator of the stilts will make them work by standing on the cans and pulling up tightly on the string loops as they walk. With a little practice, your children will be running around with these in no time!