In Defense of Dandelions

My family and I live in the suburbs, which means we are Lawn Care Masters. Or at least we’re supposed to be. With lawns mowed to just the right height at regular intervals. Grass watered so it stays green and not brown. Trimmed edges. And, by golly, NO dandelions.

But I always wonder why dandelions are so bad in the first place?

1.) Look at how cheerful they are!

So bright and yellow and sunny! (Image by Joe Schlabotnik on Flickr)

Little yellow flowers dotting a field of green–a carpet of color. Some people pay really good money to get this kind of color in their flowerbeds, and yet we pull, dig-out, and spray nasty chemicals on the flowers that grow for free in our lawn. Yes, I called them flowers.

2.) If it weren’t for Dandelions, I wouldn’t get nearly so many flowers as gifts from my kids.

This is the first flower my son picked for me. Perhaps my favorite flower of all time.

Come on! When a toddler stumbles toward you with a fistful of dandelions saying, “Fwowers fo you, mama!”, your heart melts. Unless you are totally made of stone, that is. If we get rid of all the dandelions in the yard, how will I ever get flowers from my kids?

Plus, let’s just add to the honesty here, it keeps them from picking the flowers in the garden. Isn’t it nicer for me to say, “Oh! Thank you so much, I love them!” than it is to say, “Oh no! We don’t pick Mommy’s daffodils.” Help me be the nice mom here! Let the dandelions stay!

3.) Survival of the fittest, yo!

I mean, is it really the dandelion’s fault it can grow anywhere, multiply like crazy, and crowd out everything else? Just because it’s hardier than any other non-naturally occurring plant we want to keep? That’s like hating the Yankees just because they beat everyone else. Oh wait…

4.) They’re edible.

Those leafy things in the red circle? Dandelion greens. And you can totally make a salad out of them. (Original image [minus the circle] by Keira on Flickr)

So just think about it: Come the Zombie Apocalypse, there aren’t going to be grocery stores. Wouldn’t it be nice to know you could sustain yourself on the weeds growing right in your very own backyard? That’s so Man vs. Wild. So bad ass. So…probably not possible unless you have a huge yard and store up for over the winter…BUT in theory you’d have at least a few days advantage. And, according to the Leaf Lady, dandelions rank in the top 4 among leafy greens for nutrition. And apparently they have the power to cure all kinds of diseases. Yeah. I know. Take THAT big pharma!

5.) Entertainment

Make a wish! (Image by LifeSupercharger on Flickr)

Who doesn’t remember picking a dandelion after it had turned to fluff, making a wish, and blowing the seeds away? Sure, you probably gave your parents and neighbors more weeding work, but it was fun! And that’s what matters. Sadly, Steven Adams never did ask me out in the fourth grade, so my wishes didn’t work. But whatever. I was in the FOURTH grade. What did I need a boyfriend for anyway?

You can tie dandelions together and make necklaces. You can rub them on your friend’s arm and leave a yellow mark and make a crude joke about dandelion pee ( That’s elementary comedy GOLD). You can put them behind your ear and look all flower child-ish. So much good stuff!

So SAVE THE DANDELIONS! These hard-working, under appreciated, weeds flowers deserve more respect. Plus, it’s a royal pain to pull them and I’d like to avoid it if possible. Bring me another lemonade so I can relax, please!

4 Creative Outdoor Games for Kids

The weather has been lovely lately and as such, my kids and I have been spending our time outside. But even with the glorious temperatures, playground equipment, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk, my kids get bored. This is when inventive and fun games come in handy. My son has made up quite a few that have turned into household favorites. As you will see, all of these games are so different from one another. Truly. Unlike any game we’ve ever played before. Erm…

1.) Dinosaur

This guy provides a pretty accurate portrayal of proper Dinosaur playing arm position. (Photo from Brent Moore on Flickr)

Step 1: Making a claw shape with your hands, bend your arms so your hands are at approximate face height.

Step 2: Make “rawr” noises.

Step 3: Chase your child around the yard. You are the dinosaur, he is the person (please hold back from trying to teach lessons about the extinction of dinosaurs and the dawn of man). When you catch him, eat him up*. Now it’s his turn to chase you.

Step 4: In other words–it’s like tag, but with rawring.

2.) Bear

Bears are scary. They also inspire fun childhood games. And football teams. (Vector art from Vectorportal on Flickr)

Step 1: Making a claw shape with your hands, hold your arms out straight in front of you.

Step 2: Growl. A lot. And loudly.

Step 3: Chase your child around the yard. You are the bear, he is the person. When you catch him, eat him up. Now it’s his turn to chase you.

Step 4: In other words–it’s like tag, but with growling.

3.) Bee

Yes. I know this is a picture of a wasp, not a bee. But the stinger looks scarier, don’t you think? Better for game playing purposes. (Photo by jemasmith on Flickr)

Step 1: Hold up your pointer fingers. These are your stingers. In this special game, bees get two stingers.

Step 2: Buzz.

Step 3: Chase your child around the yard. You are the bee, he is the person. When you catch him, tickle him with your stingers. Now it’s his turn to chase you.

Step 4: In other words–it’s like tag, but with buzzing. And stinging.

4.) Police and Robbers

Image from Dave in the Triad on Flickr.

Step 1: Twirl one hand in the air over your head.

Step 2: Make loud “WEEeeeeOOOoooo WEEeeeeOOOooo” siren noises your neighbors are sure to love.

Step 3: Chase your child around the yard. You are the police officer, he is the robber. When you catch him, take him to a designated jail. Now it’s his turn to chase you.

Step 4: In other words–it’s like tag, but with sirens. And jail.

 

As you can see, I spend a lot of time running around my yard chasing kids. I BETTER LOSE WEIGHT THIS SUMMER! Er…I mean…I can hardly wait to see which fun, new version he comes up with next. Shark? Monster? Cowboy? The possibilities are truly endless.

Have your kids “invented” any new games my kids might enjoy? Do you play the same game, new name over and over everyday too?

*All eating is figurative. Please do not ACTUALLY eat your child. Or sting him. Or throw him in jail, for that matter.

The Questionable Parenting of Nursery Rhymes

If you have kids, chances are you’ve read and sung silly nursery rhymes. Some are meant to teach kids lessons like how to count. Others are meant to relax children before they go to sleep. But have you ever stopped to analyze the words and what they really mean? There’s some questionable parenting out there in nursery rhyme land.

I present to you three case studies.

Case #1: Mother Duck of 5 Little Ducks

To give you an idea, this nursery rhyme is designed to teach kids how to count backwards from five to zero. It’s beginner subtraction. Which is fine and dandy, until we go all Dateline on Mother Duck. For those of you who are unable to watch the video, the words go like this:

“Five little ducks went out one day. Over the hill and far away. Mother Duck said, “Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!” But only four little ducks came back.”

And then the song repeats with four ducks, three ducks, and so on until no little ducks come back. At the very end of the song, sad Mother Duck calls one last time and all five ducks come back to her (I’ve also heard versions where the ducks don’t come back until angry Daddy Duck calls for them. For now we’ll ignore all that line implies).

Now, if this were real life, here’s how this nursery rhyme would turn out:

Three little kids went out to play, over the hill and far away. Mother Erin said “Hey kids come back!”, but only 2 little kids came back.

Mother Erin said, “Well that’s OK. It’s just you two for dinner today.” CPS came, “Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!” Mother Erin placed under key and lock.*

*Ignore my crap rhymes. There’s a reason I don’t write children’s songs.

Verdict: Bad parenting  

Uh, here’s a clue, Mother Duck! You don’t just let the missing ducks stay out. In the words of Billy Madison, “You get your @ss out there and find those effing ducks!” At the very least call the police and fill out a missing child report and possibly set up an Amber Alert.

Case #2: The Parents in Rock-a-Bye Baby

Most of us know the words to this one, but just in case:

Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetops,

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,

And down will come baby, cradle and all.

So let’s take a look at the evidence. The unnamed parents have placed a baby on the treetop. Then the wind blows so hard the cradle rocks and it falls down. Baby and all. I can only imagine this resulted in a dead baby.

Verdict: Bad parenting (in most cases)

Unless the parents were superheros (in which case, maybe this is how little superheros learn to fly and who am I to judge?), I can’t imagine any modern-day scenario where placing a cradle in a treetop is safe. I mean, I know. I know how it goes. Babies sometimes need crazy soothing methods to fall asleep at night, and maybe the rocking boughs were the only thing that used to work for parents. But not anymore. Parents, I urge you, do not become tempted by the words of this song. Get yourselves a bouncy seat and a truck load of D batteries instead. Problem solved.

Case #3: The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.

She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread,

And whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.

Verdict: Bad parenting

Um, can we say child abuse? Hey, I know how difficult it can be to stay home with the kids all day. I imagine it would be especially hard if you lived in a shoe. The smell alone. *shudder* But the solution to the issue is not to whip the kids and send them to bed. Let’s try Time Out first, ok?

There are countless other cases (Mother Monkey who repeatedly lets her kids jump on the bed, Mother Hood who lets Little Red out into the dangerous woods alone without a lesson in Stranger Danger, and so on…), but I think the evidence is clear: Nursery rhymes aren’t so much lessons for children as they are cautionary tales for parents. Don’t be like these horrible mothers and you should be OK.

World Book Night: April 23, 2012

In case you haven’t heard of it, World Book Night will take place on Monday, April 23, 2012, and is a celebration of books and reading. Officially, it is this:

World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books. To be held in the U.S. as well as the U.K. and Ireland on April 23, 2012. It will see tens of thousands of people go out into their communities to spread the joy and love of reading by giving out free World Book Night paperbacks.

World Book Night, through social media and traditional publicity, will also promote the value of reading, of printed books, and of bookstores and libraries to everyone year-round.

Successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, World Book Night will also be celebrated in the U.S. in 2012, with news of more countries to come in future years.

The goal is to give out one million books in the U.S. on the night of April 23. Person to person.

I’M A GIVER! WOOHOO!

My fellow Book Givers and I will each pass out 20 copies of a book in the hope of spreading our love of reading. How amazing is that? We had 30 titles to choose from and I chose The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. There were so many great books available (The Hunger Games, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and Wintergirls to name a few), but there was something about passing on the awesome power of the Word Shaker that struck me. Words have power. Use them wisely. Use them for good. Use them for justice. Use them to show the truth. These themes are true whether fighting the propaganda of the Nazi party or the school bully. It gives me the chills and I can’t wait to pass it on.

“Wait!” You might be shouting. “How did I not hear of this?”

I’m not sure! But that’s why I’m telling you about it now. Keep your eye on this, spread the word. If we’re successful this year, maybe we can pass out TWO MILLION books next year.

“I tried to sign up, but never heard from anyone.” Others of you might be saying.

Contact your local pick-up location. I know mine, Anderson’s Bookshop, had a few extra boxes for just this reason. You might still be able to participate.

I’m so excited for this opportunity and can’t wait for next week! I’ll be sure to share any pictures and stories from that day with you all.

Here is where you can find more information about World Book Night:

Twitter: @wbnamerica

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbooknightusa

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/worldbooknight/

Tumblr: http://wbnamerica.tumblr.com/

Are any of my readers also Book Givers? If so, what book did you choose? If you’re not a Book Giver, which book would you  have chosen if you were (and then be sure to sign up next year!)?

Conflicting Moments of Pride

Parenthood is full of milestones. You can’t help but swell with pride for all of your child’s firsts–first bite of solid food (or not-so-solid, despite the terminology), first crawl, first steps, first words, first day of school, and everything before, between, and after. But there are some moments which shouldn’t be prideful, yet show a step in cognitive development none-the-less. For instance:

1.) First swears in context

Part of a child’s verbal development is learning to use words in context. It’s one thing to say, “Ball.” It’s another to say, “Throw the ball.” Just like it’s one thing to say, “Dammit.” And another to say, “Pass me my toy truck, dammit.”

I shouldn’t be proud. Especially because my children most likely learned this word from me and now I have to help them  unlearn it. But some small part of me wants to high-five them for using the word properly in a sentence.

2.) First movie quotes

Yeah, my kids watch TV. Sometimes too much TV. Even if I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. My four-year-old can quote too many movies, name too many characters, and sing too many theme songs. I get oddly proud when he can sing the Spider-Man theme song circa 1967 by heart. He’s so vintage.

3.) First observations of mommy’s habits

After parent-teacher conferences this past November, my son’s teacher sent me home with a development worksheet to fill out. It contained everything from spaces for him to practice pre-writing strokes to questions for him to answer about everyday things. For example–Question: What do I do if I am tired? Answer: Go to sleep.

So I asked him, “What do I do if I am thirsty?”

And he said, “Get some wine.”

I wasn’t sure whether to tell his teacher the truthful answer or not. (And that answer is no! I changed wine to water. The opposite of a miracle.) But I had to admit his answer was both 1.) Correct and 2.) Hilarious.

4.) First innovative use of dangerous kitchen utensils

In the age of ordering things on the internet, we receive a lot of packages at my house (or, is it really a ploy to get more cardboard boxes to make stuff with?). My kids have watched me, over and over again, get a knife from the knife block, slice open the packing tape, and open a box to get what’s inside.

This past weekend my kids were home with my husband while I was out having crazy times at the RT Booklover’s Convention (and I’m telling you that not to blame him, but so you know I was not an eye-witness. And also to brag about being at the RT Booklover’s Convention). He said he’d noticed my 2-year-old daughter had grown especially quiet, which as you know always means trouble. He found her in the kitchen with the step stool from the bathroom pulled up to the counter, and she was a second away from slicing into a box with a knife. What was in the box? Her chocolate bunny from Easter we haven’t let her eat yet.

First, we take a big, deep breath and thank our lucky stars nothing bad happened with the knife. Then we make some proud observations: 1.) She is obviously her mommy’s daughter if she goes to such great lengths for chocolate. 2.) She is obviously driven and willing to do things herself. 3.) She doesn’t take no for an answer. 4.) She is observant and resourceful. And also in a lot of trouble. 5.) We need to put the knife block even higher now.

And now that you all know what a wonderful parent I am, I’m off to undo all of the bad, yet sort of pride-inspiring things my children have learned.

What Not to Put in an Easter Basket: Jelly Beans

Image by Oatsy40 on Flickr

Maybe it’s just me. Often times with this sort of stuff it is. And that’s OK. But Easter is on Sunday and I’m going over the list of things I need to fill three little baskets. Chocolate bunnies. Peeps. Little toys. Plastic eggs. But I refuse. REFUSE. To buy jelly beans.

I don’t know who on Earth decided these things were tasty. But I have never liked them. Let’s look at the reasons why jelly beans are evil.

1.) Oh hi, cavities!

Once you bite through the shell-like exterior of the bean, your teeth dive into the soft, chewy center. And then comes the sticky, sugary, stuck-to-your-molars mess time. I always end up picking remnants of jelly beans out of my back teeth. Which is highly unattractive. So not only does every bite mean large dental bills, I’m also pissing off Miss Manners (who doesn’t really like me anyway. But still…).

2.) What do beans have to with Easter anyway?

Image by Aunt Owwee on Flickr

I did some research (read: a five-minute Google search) and didn’t turn up much. It seems some people have started using jelly beans in religious celebrations of Easter. Mainly the color of each bean represents part of the Christian doctrine (black jelly beans represent sin, white forgiveness, etc.). But I think that’s a recent adaptation.

Easter takes place in spring, which is about new growth. That’s where things like bunnies and flowers and eggs come in. Maybe jelly beans represent that? Like they’re seeds? Hmm.

Or it’s just a convenient and colorful way to pack in some sugar. No matter what, I won’t let the jelly bean lovers bully me into thinking omitting them from my baskets is anti-Easter (OK, OK, no one has actually ever said that to me, I’m just justifying here.).

3.) Gummy candies are for bullies. 

So once I went to the movies with my BFF and these two boys we were friends with in high school. I had a mega crush on one of the boys. So naturally I wanted to look , like, really sophisticated and cool in front of him. Which is hard to do when said boy bites a gummy bear in half and then throws it at the back of your leg and you don’t feel it and it sticks there THE WHOLE NIGHT and everyone giggles about it behind your back for years. And I know gummy bears and jelly beans aren’t the exact same thing. But close enough! Even thinking about it now makes me want to hide in my locker and I don’t even have a locker anymore! *Phew* Thanks. I feel better just talking about it. But jelly beans still aren’t going in the Easter baskets in my house.

4.) You can’t trust jelly beans.

Your standard jelly beans come in flavors like strawberry or lime. But then people decided to get fancy with them and now you never know what you’re getting (unless you open the bag with the label yourself). Mmm. Is that purple jelly bean grape flavored? Or clove? I mean, if you were expected to bite into a grape bean and got clove instead, it’d be pretty shocking to your system. You just can’t rely on jelly beans to give you what you’re expecting. And I, for one, don’t need that kind of stress on Easter.

5.) They aren’t chocolate.

Image by Willie Lunchmeat on Flickr.

If I’m going to indulge in something that’s going straight to my hips, it better be made of chocolate. Why would I want to waste my sugar binge on jelly beans when I could be eating Cadbury Creme Eggs? No contest. And to raise my children right, I’ve got to show them the way. That’s what good mothers do.

So like I said, it’s probably just me. And if it is, enjoy your jelly bean filled Easter morning. But I’m reaching for another Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. Yum!

To those who celebrate–have a very Happy Easter! To those who don’t–enjoy your weekend!

Keeping Secrets

Photo by Muffet (liz west) on Flickr

This past Saturday was my husband’s birthday. He turned the big 3-5, which felt momentous to us for some reason. Maybe because those 0 and 5 ages always feel that way.

Anyhow, it struck me this weekend that birthdays aren’t what they used to be for my husband and me. They used to mean a whole day of gloating about it being my birthday. Now…well…actually I still do that. But no one has ever accused me of being super mature. But I remember we used to celebrate with fancy dinner, then drinks at a bar with live music. Now? Birthdays mean I get to sleep in and don’t have to change diapers (provided my birthday falls on a weekend). They mean ordering in and having a bottle of wine at home. In my pajamas. And if I’m lucky, I’ll stay awake long enough to watch a movie. This is also true for my husband.

Of course, the trade-off is our kids get so darn excited about the prospect of birthdays. They love them. In fact, they like to randomly shout, “Happy Birthday, Mommy!” on days which are not my birthday. I suspect it’s because they hope I’ll forgot it’s not really my birthday and I’ll rush to serve everyone cake. Which isn’t a bad idea, to be honest.

But their excitement can backfire when it comes to things that are supposed to remain secret. Like presents. Now that my son comprehends things like giving gifts, I let him pick the presents he wants to give my husband. Some of my friends like to guide their children’s choices so Daddy doesn’t end up with the latest Transformers action figure and gets something more practical instead. Like a coffee mug. I don’t like to do that though. I figure if I didn’t want my son’s opinion, I shouldn’t have asked him for it (even if he is only 4).  I find my son really does pick things he thinks his dad will like. Usually these are remote control helicopters or airplanes. My husband loves them. So does my son. It’s something they do together.

I’ve had to be careful of when I buy these gifts so my son doesn’t have to keep a secret too long. We’ve got about a 24-hour limit, I’ve noticed. After that, it’ll all spew out. Of course, my husband can probably guess what my son will give him. But still. One of these days I will get my son to stay silent long enough to have at least one present be a surprise. As it stands, my husband’s birthday morning went like this.

Daddy plods down the stairs after having a healthy birthday sleep-in. He says, “Good morning, everyone!”

I say, “Good morning. Hey, guys. Today is Daddy’s birthday. Did you remember?”

The two-year-old twins chime in with some version of, “Happy Birthday, Daddy!”

My four-year-old shouts, “We got you a toy helicopter. It’s really cool!”

Oh well. We can try again for Father’s Day.

Dear Month of March 2012:

Photo by Aunt Owwee on Flickr

Dear Month of March 2012:

You have me perplexed.

Normally this time of year I’m cursing snow and another day of freezing temperatures and wind. Usually I’m begging for it to just be spring already! But not this time, oh Month of March 2012. You’ve been pleasantly July-like all week.

And while I’ve enjoyed the fact my kids have been playing outside so much. And I’ve loved the early peek at flowering trees and budding tulips. I’m worried.

For one, this can only mean the glaciers are melting and New York City will soon disappear into the rising sea levels and the citizens will have to run to the highest floor of the public library and will have to burn books to stay warm (except for that Bible which symbolizes industrialization). Just like in that movie.

But, more importantly, I’m faced with a wardrobe crisis.

You see, I really love that time between winter and summer. It’s called spring and is a very elusive period in our changing seasons. It’s not cold, but it’s not warm either, and you can go outside in jeans and a long sleeve shirt and be comfortable. Fall is another period where this happens, but then I like to toss things like denim jackets into the mix. This season I have all these fun scarves and colorful ballet flats and I can’t wear any of them! It’s too hot for a scarf. And ballet flats plus sweaty feet don’t mix so well.

Darn it! You’ve gone straight to flip flop weather on me. Don’t get me wrong. I love my flip flops. But…it’s too soon. My feet aren’t ready for that kind of exposure yet. They need to ease into these things after a winter of thick socks. I mean, what kind of feet do you think they are? Ready to be stripped practically naked already? No way, Jose!

So, if we could slow things down a bit, that would be great. Nothing drastic. I’m hoping we’re done with snow (and so are my flowers). But dial it back ten or fifteen degrees. That’s all I need. Until we get to May and then it’s no holds barred, m’kay?

I knew you’d understand.

Love,

Erin

Losing. My. Mind.

I never wanted to be one of those parents who had to buy three of everything so that each of my children would have all the same stuff. “They need to learn to share!” I figured. “Realizing life isn’t the same for everyone will be character building!” I thought.

Of course, that was before my kids were old enough to fight. It’s easy to say the things you’d “never do” before you’ve actually lived through a situation. Like, back before I had kids and I’d say stuff like, “I’ll never take my kids to McDonalds.”

*pauses so I can stop laughing*

I’ll be honest. I STILL don’t want to be the “buy three of everything” mom. But. THE FIGHTING IS DRIVING ME CRAZY AND I MIGHT HAVE TO HOP A PLANE TO CANADA BY MYSELF FOREVER OR JUST HOOK UP AN I.V. OF WINE.

For example.

We have this thing called the Aquadoodle.

It’s basically a mat with some sort of white fabric sewn over colored fabric. You use this special pen that you fill with water, or a brush you dip into water, to color on it. The water–like water does–makes the white fabric see-through and the color shows from underneath. Like mess-free painting. Or something.

We gave this to my 2-year-old daughter as a birthday gift. It’s pretty cool. But we only have the one. And we only have 2 coloring utensils for it.

So this morning my kids were all gathered around the Aquadoodle and it was all sweet and wonderful and like the example of happy parenting: LOOK! This family is enjoying their time together! And you can, too!

*click*

Yeah. Take a picture of that crap because you know it only lasted about 5 1/2 seconds before sharing the brushes and taking turns turned into a cage match. To. The. Death.

So, being the “creative mom” I am, I went on the hunt for other kinds of brushes. I figured if I gave them a few choices each, there’d be no fighting.

*pauses to wait while YOU stop laughing*

I found toothbrushes, and basting brushes, and q-tips, and basically anything that would spread water across the Aquadoodle. Heck. They could have even used their fingers after dipping them in water. But once I brought out the choices, it did NOT turn into a situation of pleasant abundance. It turned into The Brawl for the Orange Toothbrush.

*sigh*

I really just couldn’t win. It made me wish for three Aquadoodles.

So I took a breath and thought, “This is the Universe telling me I should have just stuck to my guns and made them take turns to begin with.” I did a few rounds of, “Now you get the brush. Good. Good. Now pass it to your sister. YAY! Good sharing!!”

And after less than 2 minutes they were over the Aquadoodling and onto other things and I wanted to crawl back into bed but it was only 9am.

This parenting thing is exhausting. Huh?

Cardboard Box Creations

One thing we never seem to be in short supply of in my house is cardboard boxes. Between diaper boxes, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, shipping boxes, etc., we’ve got them in just about every size.

Something I started doing with my kids was making crazy things from all of the boxes. Race cars, vacuum cleaners, houses, mailboxes, fork lifts, and cranes (yep,  cranes):

Cardboard box crane made from a diaper box, paper towel tubes, paper plate, ribbon, and a random piece of toy packaging.

The thing about these projects is that while they were great fun for the kids, they were very ME-heavy in creating them. Which is fine. It’s good to be involved with my kids. But what I worried about was that me doing so much of the work in creating a project meant my kids just watched and didn’t get to practice any skills, because this type of thing was beyond their capability. I always gave my kids the opportunity to decorate and color these things, but they wanted nothing to do with that when they could jump in and use a functioning crane. I can’t say I blame them.

So, with that little worry nagging at me–that these projects were fun, but didn’t teach much–I stopped making them and concentrated on smaller things. Stuff my kids could do with me or on their own.

But lately I’m thinking I was wrong in my assumption that the kids weren’t getting any benefit out of them. I mean, right off the bat they’ve got some role-playing and imagination going on. They could be construction workers, or mailmen, or race car drivers. There’s great benefit to that. But also, they watched me take ordinary items and find out-of-the-ordinary uses for them. Not only is it a lesson in re-using/upcycling, but I was showing them how to be creative. And I didn’t even realize it until recently when my 4-year-old began finding items around the house, bringing them to me, and saying, “Let’s make ________ out of this ____________.” (Like: a parachute guy out of this piece of tissue paper, or a bulldozer out of this strip of corrugated paper.)

This is amazing to me. It’s renewed my motivation. He’s looking at something like a strip of corrugated paper (which came as packing material in a box we received) and he’s connecting that it looks like the caterpillar treads on a bulldozer and he’s asking to make the bulldozer. I love that! So here’s today’s project (*note: these are never meant to be pretty, they’re about creating the general idea and letting the imagination take over):

A bulldozer made out of a cardboard box, a paper towel tube (you can't really see it, it's attached to the pusher on the front and inserted through a slot in the box so my son can push it forward like a real bulldozer), two cardboard tubes, corrugated paper, tape. P.S. Forgive my crap photography skills.

It’s almost enough to justify some more online shopping, huh? To get more materials for our creations .