 The little ones and I have been watching the squirrels in our yard switch from playful clowns to creatures on a mission to gather every last nut known to humanity! The truth is that gathering in nature is a serious business both for the animals preparing for winter and for our children. Items carried home in pockets are evidence of early years learning happening in your own backyard. Here are three kinds of natural treasures our children gather in the fall and what they mean for your child's growth and development! 1. Fall Leaves
The variety of crisp and colourful leaves in my house is unending as the trees in our neighbourhood shed their finery. As my little one gathers and then places her discoveries around the house, she is - perhaps unknowingly - comparing shapes, colours and textures and even categorizing and grouping them according to their similarities and differences. It doesn't get more STEM than this! 2. Acorns
Acorn season arrived at our home concurrently with the introduction of our new play kitchen. Suddenly, my little guy was preparing acorn soup and other delectable acorn treats for a local squirrel. This kind of play with natural loose parts encourages the develpment of the imagination and wonder! Not to mention kindness toward local wildlife. You can imagine the squirrel's delight when he found this pot under our maple tree! 3. Apples This year we went apple picking with the kids and watch them delight in climbing trees, reaching for the biggest, brightest apples! Their amazement at the abundance available to them and their sense of gratitude for the simple pleasure of the sparkling juice of that first bite tells me that gathering in this way is an activity that forms such values as: a willingness to take risks, being grateful and participating in the process of harvest so central to this time of year.
So while it may seem that the appearance of fall items like leaves, acorns and crab apples in your home is just more meaningless clutter - it's important to realize that these gathered items are actually confirmation of real learning going on in your child's heart and mind! Are you finding little fall treasures scattered about your home? What kinds of learning is your child doing in nature this season?
0 Comments
 While millions of parents worry about the summer slump, I gotta say, I just let summer be summer y'know? Luckily, the world conspires to teach my kids stuff anyway. This year, the family - including our beautiful American niece Della - learned about Canadian history... in the most beautiful garden! Truly the Mosaiculture (running for a second year in my home town in the National Capital region) is a gentle and gorgeous exhibit that features the provinces, territories and stories of Canada. From a beautiful Anne of Green Gables (made almost entirely of grasses and succulents) to the Native Canadian Mother Earth - caring for the Canadian landscape and its creatures - the kids were completely blown away by our walks through this sacred space.  As ever, Canadian diversity and Native Canadian history featured prominently and the kids actually would shout out when they knew a Canadian story connected to one of the pieces! Mostly, though they had no real idea that they were "learning" anything and isn't that the best way to learn?
We were blessed to share this summer with Althea's very dear friend Hannah every Monday and a special visit from cousin Della meant that even though we mostly "staycationed" - it felt like a very exciting season! Hoping you guys did a lot of completely ignoring the summer slump to really learn some new and amazing stuff too! The next few entries will be all about gearing up for Fall so take a peek at the Fall semester below: 
8 Weeks in Fall
$96.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
 We often think of mobiles as something for the nursery but truly mobiles are for all ages! Nobody knew this better than Alexander Calder who's wonderful mobile sculptures changed forever the way we think about what an art exhibit can look like! His wire sculpture embraced the idea of 3D art that could move simply with a small current of air which meant that everyone who visited the exhibit would view a completely different version of the same installation each time! I love to show the kids the work of an artist before we start our study and so I set up the Calder website on the dining room table alongside the pipecleaners we would use to create our own mobile sculptures! However, you could just as easily show your little ones this short but lovely video clip! First! Show them This Video!Set up!Next! Simply set out the pipecleaners on the table - making sure that you have many sizes and colours available for them to form into different shapes. I propped up one that I'd formed into the shape of the letter A but that was just as a jumping off point! This activity actually was a HUGE hit with my little ones and they spent the better part of an hour just watching the videos of Calder's mobiles moving in air and also twisting, bending and connecting the pipecleaners into abstract shapes that were alternately animals and any other twists of the imagination that came up!
Proudly Display!Isn't it amazing how you can make great art with just the stuff you have around the house already? I love that and so do my little ones.  Now to go place this in front of the window and wait for a cool breeze. C'mon breeze! Actually I may just put this in front of the fan... Stay cool, guys!
 I am a huge fan of the illustrations of animator extraordinaire Mary Blair. She is most popular for being one of the first women to bring delightful use of colour to Disney's animation in films like Alice in Wonderland, Peterpan and Cinderella! She also illustrated several lovely children's books including Baby's House, I can Fly! and the Golden Book of Little Verses. You can get all of these and more in the Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books.    I love the simple childhood innocence of these pictures and the use of bright colour and doll-like eyes! Here are a few new illustrators who's works have unmistakably been influenced by Mary Blair! Take a peek: Tim Hopgood Christian Robinson Brigette Barager For more book recommendations for you and your little one, subscribe to the Artsy Startsy Newsletter today!
 What to do with all the flowers your little one brings home at this time of the year? I mean, yes, there's nothing lovelier than a bunch of flowers in a tiny clasped fist but beyond sniffing them and maybe shoving them in a cup of water - how can you make use of these gathered treasures? Well... what if you could use them to give back a few moments of peace to your child throughout the day? Here are 5 ways to do just that! 1. Healing Waters for Boo boos My kids are always walking in with scrapes and booboos at this time of year and I'm convinced that most of the injury is to their sense of pride. In the book Seven Times the Sun, the author recommends keeping on hand a bowl of "healing waters" that contains fresh tap water and gathered flower petals to ease the emotional pain of the hurt. 2. Scattering Wild Flower Seeds If you look closely at a bunch of flowers, you will see lots of tiny seeds that can be gathered and then scattered to encourage new growth perfect for picking in the future. Just the focus required to gather and scatter the seeds can bring moments of calm to the day. We planted some english garden flowers this year with the intention of gathering and spreading the seeds each year! 3. Setting the Table Having your little one be responsible for bringing the beauty of a freshly picked bouquet to the table in the evening, is one way to bring peace to mealtime. When your child feels part of making the gathering special, you'd be amazed how open they might be to trying new things and participating in dinner conversation. 4. Making a Fairy Potion Want to attract fairies to the yard? Do you believe in magic? Use the petals from gathered flowers to make a fairy potion sure to bring fairies to the garden at night. You can add drops of essential oils like lavendar whose perfume is sure to bring even the shyest fairy to your home. Use a small dropper to deposit the potion here and there in the garden! 5. Bathing in Fragrant Petals Scatter a few petals in your child's bath and maybe even light a candle or two (with supervision of course). The same things that bring peace to our own lives - can be bring calm to little ones too! A lovely way to prepare for bedtime. All these ideas offer new ways for your little observer to use flowers to create mindfulness during the day and to introduce moments of calm in what can sometimes be a very hectic time of year for so many families.
What do you use to create mindful moments in your home? Share your ideas in the comments below!  Everything for us right now is about flowers! Planting them, gathering them, smelling them, picking them, arranging them, drawing them, reading about them, and, yes!, even listening to them. Take a moment to listen to these three essential classical pieces with your little one! 1. The Solo Piano Piece: Bruyeres by Debussy2. The String Quartet Piece: Chrysanthemums by Puccini3. The Orchestral Piece: Waltz of the Flowers by Tchaikovsky I've always said that this obsession that adults have with the ABCs and discovering what children "want to be when they grow up" speaks volumes about how little we value our children as they are in this moment in their lives. I mean really, who cares?? Are we all so over the moon about our current careers and jobs that we just truly can't wait for our kids to be in the cubicles we now occupy? Christakis examines just this idea in her book The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups. This week, our book club examines Chapter 2 called "Goldilocks Goes to Daycare" and as usual we tackle the big idea that each chapter presents. (To join the book club simply hop on over to the Artsy Startsy Facebook Page and/or join the Gentle Preschooling Group! We'd love to hear your ideas about these issues even if you aren't reading the book!) In this case, the big idea is that adults are starting in the wrong place when they go about planning our children's preschool curricula, books, and activities. We start with what seems to be most important to us ... as adults. Our preschool resources, books and plans often try to "explain in often mind-numbing detail, the mysterious industry of adulthood." And then we wonder why our children seem so bored in class! Academic Failure What frightens the author is how so many preschool aged children (even as young as two and three years old) are being labled as having disorders which might simply be a complete lack of interest in the subject matter being taught "at" them. Indeed, as Christakis notes, if a child is "failing" in preschool we need to be examining the lessons and instruction itself instead of holding our children back or assuming they are in someway inept or incapable. Is it right to be rushing to have our children diagnosed as being psychologically impaired before we even think to reexamine the curriculum itself? Why is it necessarily the child that is flawed and not the pedagogy we are feeding them? When children are unable to reach our predefined goals in preschool and beyond, we need to closely examine the programs of study. By doing so, we may be better able to identify some very real problems with our education and early care systems that have nothing whatsover to do with our kids. In this case, the author states that, ...academic failure in the preschool years should.. describe the failure to ignite the flame of inborn curiosity." After all, "what's the point of reciting the days of the week if you can't share something interesting you've done on one of those days?" The key question seems to be, why are we dumbing down curricula to ideas that seem very important to us but that really only matter to our adult worlds? As we all know, adults are overly obsessed with the idea of being on time to make more money. Is that really what we want our kids to care about? The day of the week that they have to rush into the office on time for a job they may or may not love? What do you want to do when you grow up and will you be on time to do it properly? Hmmm... this needs some examination and then some reexamination. Let's ask ourselves, why do we care so much about rushing our children into adulthood and why don't we care as much about what our child can create today in her own sweet time and in her own wondrous way? Wait! Mom, is this Book about a Woman??? So while I've been reading this book about preschool aged children for my own interest and for this lovely little book club, I have also been gathering books together for my little ones to read about rain, rain drops and the generally stormy weather of spring. (It's been a really lovely April reading theme actually)! Anyway, in our book basket was this little treasure called The Pink Umbrella. As we read the book cuddled up on the couch on a rainy afternoon, my daughter and I gradually began to realize that this book was not your typical kids' book. We began to discover that the main character wasn't an animal or a child - it was ... "Wait! Mom, is this book about a woman???" I had to confirm, it was! From my perspective, this wonderful book is a bit of a revolution in writing for children since it's subject matter is quite simply about a woman - a coffee shop owner beloved by her community - who hates the rain. Suddenly, various pink rain gear items begin to appear on the coat rack in her shop. They do not seem to belong to any of her patrons and they are all the perfect size for her! Wouldn't you know? The items are little tokens of affection left by a co-worker who hopes to entice her out into the rain. In fact, the story ends with the two falling in love under an umbrella. "What on earth is this?" I asked myself after closing the book. And then I answered: It's a book about falling in love that in no way "dumbs down" the experience for children or assumes that the reader needs to see through the lens of a child. It is a book written by an author who respects a preschooler enough to believe they could understand the idea of falling in love. That they could enjoy the mystery of courtship. That they might care about the adult world in a way that has nothing to do with the rudimentaries required to become some sort of "professional" when they "grow up." Wonder of wonders! 
8 Weeks in Spring
$96.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
2 Weeks in Summer
$24.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
 If you're looking to improve the quality of screen time in your home during rainy days indoors, look no further than a fun-loving musical! Old movies are wonderful to watch with little ones and you will be amazed at how much they enjoy singing the songs, dancing and laughing at the slap stick sketches you find in them. Here are 5 musicals that integrate the theme of rain and that are perfect for cuddling up together with a bowl of popcorn to watch! 1. Singin' in the Rain (duh...)2. Mary Poppins3. Easter Parade4. Bambi5. Top HatThere we have it! No need to feel guilty about screen time on a rainy day and when it's well selected so that you can spend quality time together as a family!
8 Weeks in Spring
$96.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
2 Weeks in Summer
$24.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
 Photo courtesy of Amer Kobaslija For all Artsy Startsy's focus on process art and setting up easel starters for our kids to get them creating, I also believe strongly that children love to observe examples of great art and are stimulated by the challenge of recreating the style of a particular artist or period. For this reason, the program focuses on both art imitation as well as process art which we call easel starters. “The little child, up to the age of seven, up to the change of teeth, is essentially imitative. He learns by doing what he sees being done around him. Fundamentally, all activities of the child’s early years are imitations.” ~Steiner~ Each weekly lesson in Artsy Startsy offers a new artist or period in art for a child to imitate allowing them to create their own unique version of a masterpiece! This month we have the April Showers theme going on so we tackled Jackson Pollock because he is the drippiest artist we know! Here are 3 activities for you to try! Ladder ArtPollock was often photographed high up on a ladder splattering paint down to a canvas below! A tray of shaving cream, a step stool and some food colouring... What fun! We drip dripped colours onto the tray and then used the handle of a butter knife to make swirly designs in the cream. Once we had a design we liked we pressed a piece of heavy paper into the design, scraped off any remaining cream with the flat side of the knife and voila! Marbled paper to use for greeting cards!  Melting Colours ArtFrozen food colouring ice cubes are perfect for creating drippy art as they melt onto watercolour paper to create more droplet art!  Yarn ArtThis is a perfect, perfect, perfect easel starter invitation my friend set up in her childrens' lovely little creation corner and the end result looks just like a Pollock drip painting! Set out some yarn and as many paint jars as you like. Let your little one "draw" with the yarn!  Photo courtesy of Ileana Belanger More for Mama and Child: Action JacksonNow cuddle up on a rainy afternoon with this lovely book called Action Jackson to find out even more about how Jackson Pollock worked in his studio to change the face of art forever!
8 Weeks in Spring
$96.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
"Will I ever read again??" I wailed to my friend when I first got pregnant. Her response told me all I needed to know, "Apparently, you don't know how boring breast feeding can be." Sure enough - as soon as the littles latched at the teet, a new world of reading opened up to me and I realized I could actually read more and more varied books than I might have tackled before motherhood!
Here are a few of the things I've been reading lately! I invite you to join me in embracing reading as a part of maintining your own creative and intellectual person. In particular, I hope you will join our book club to help us tackle some of the big issues we face when raising preschoolers (see below). But.... first up - escape to Provence! A Good Year by Peter Mayle
Didja ever want to inherit a chateau and vineyard in Provence so that you could escape the grind? Exactly. Enter this delightful read this Spring that a dear friend lent to me in the dark days of winter! However, if you're too busy reading "Passing" (see below) - feel free to check out the movie with Russell Crowe instead.
Passing by Nella Larsen
Just cannot believe I hadn't read this one before! An incredible examination of race, friendship and the identity stories we tell ourselves and others. So very timely. Take a flip through above to see if this read is for you!
Book Club Read!
This Spring we begin something a little different - a book club! This club will help us to tackle some of the big issues we face in our lives with our little ones. This season, we have chosen Erika Christakis' book "The Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need from Grownups."
One of the big preschool problems Christakis tackles straight out of the gate is that adults struggle to understand that "schooling and learning are often two different things." From her perspective, preschoolers are incredibly powerful individuals capable of learning anywhere! Woah! Of course we know this to be true, but on occasion we need these ideas spelled out for us don't we?
So! Let's dive right in with a review of Chapter 1 shall we? Chapter 1 "Little Learners": In this chapter, Christakis reminds us that an enormous shift has taken place since the 70s when most women had not yet entered the workforce and most moms remained at home to care for their little ones. As a result, most of the preschool environments children experienced came in the form of a playgroup setting a few hours a week where children were encouraged to socialize with one another and maybe to experience toys and craft materials they did not have at home. Jump to the world of the past few decades and we see an incredible change in what preschool looks like for little ones. School readiness skills are often top of mind for parents when they go about selecting a full day preschool for their children. But what does this mean? How are these skills chosen? As Christakis asks, Why should we settle for unimaginative goals (as we find in so many early education settings) like being able to identify triangles and squares, or recalling the names of colors and seasons?
Indeed, if preschool is getting better at preparing little ones for academic learning, why are so many preschool instructors reporting that children are lacking the excitement and curiousity we generally associate with being a young child?
Let's tackle these questions and more over at the Artsy Startsy Facebook Page and Gentle Preschooling Group! Follow and join today!  Let's freshen up our read alouds shall we? It's time to get out into the sunshine! These lovely reads all feature illustrations with outdoor scenes and joyful stories!  April: Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the TeaAn old man adopts an old cat and the rest is non-stop activity. This one is a quick one so you might decide to take a few of these out of the library in case it is much adored! Luckily, Mr. Putter and Tabby do many, many things together. Mr. Putter and Tabby Spin the Yarn, Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill the Beans, Mr. Putter and Tabby Dance the Dance and Mr. Putter and Tabby See the Stars are just a few of the titles in this lovely series.  May: Anna Hibiscus"Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa." Come along and pick oranges in the yard, play on the beach and keep Anna's twin brothers "Double and Trouble" out of mischief!  June: In Aunt Lucy's KitchenSo. Ok. We're on a bit of a Cynthia Rylant kick over here as you can see! It's entrancing to see the range of works she has produced. I have been wanting to try out the first in the "Cobble Street Cousins" series for a while now but if you'd like something even more "Springish" by Rylant check out Poppleton in Spring  Spring Easy Reader Series: Frog and ToadWe have the audio versions (narrated by Lobel himself) to accompany these classic tales. I've discovered that sometime's it's very nice to let my little one "read along" even if she is not following word for word. Just being read to and flowing her finger over the page brings joy to her!
8 Weeks in Spring
$96.00
The Seasonal Lessons are designed to help you spend more quality time with your little one exploring the arts and nature. All Seasons are digital purchases which provide lifetime access to a secure, members-only section of the Artsy Startsy web site.
This Season Includes:
 Every birdy needs some love especially during these freezing cold days of winter! Here are a few ideas to help you show the birds (and let's be honest - the squirrels are gonna eat some too) that you care. 1. Fruit garland!Shared (This is the one we tried this year - giving our Christmas tree a second life near the bird feeder outdoors!)  2. Berries and Cheerio Heart Ornaments for Valentine's Day! 4. Apple Birdseed Feeders 5. Orange-ya Glad the Birds Visited? 6. Last but not Least! More for Mommy:As ever, mama needs some special time to go birding on her own in the winter. Try keeping a nature journal of what you observe during a nature walk- either writing or sketching or both. This article by Claire Walker Leslie is good for inspiration! Scenes from a New England Winter   The Hygge You Say?According to The Little Book of Hygge, Hygge is the Danish term for "cozy togetherness" and there is nothing like a good picture book and a hot cup of cocoa to bring you and your little one together during the cold of winter! Here are 10 books that offer you a little bit of Hygge with your preschooler: Your List of 10 Hygge Books to Cuddle Up With Together 1. Owl Moon 2. Owl at Home 3. Very Hairy Bear 4. Mouse and Mole: A Winter Wonderland 5. Fox's Garden 6. White Snow, Bright Snow 7. Winter is the Warmest Season 8.Angus Lost 9.Zoom Away 10. Wolf in the Snow More for MommyAs ever, this blog is not just for the little ones in your life - it's for you too! I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you wouldn't reject a hot cuppa tea and a good book by the fire so here are a few ideas for getting your hygge on this winter too! Nothing is more cozy than a village mystery and the first selection by Louise Penny offers three Inspector Gamache tales taking place in small town Quebec. Next up "Le Grand Meaulnes" is a beautiful French classic about a boy who comes across a "lost estate" in the deep of winter and his search for the feelings of childhood warmth and magic that this space created for him. Finally, explore more about the whole idea of Hygge with the last selection which offers practical ideas for integrating coziness into your home and life. Click on the images below to explore each title:     My daughter and I recently went to see and hear Stravinsky's Firebird performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra here in Ottawa with accompanying theatrical performance by Enchantment Theater Company. She is now 6 years old so - not a preschooler anymore - but there were many younger ones there - even one expecting mother sat behind us to soak in the sounds of classical music! (It's never too early!) Now. It's important to note that this performance was part of a series designed with children in mind and that is enormously helpful when introducing your child to classical music performances - but not necessary. If you are thinking of taking your little one to the symphony - here are a few ways to be sure you both can enjoy the experience. 1. Know the Story Taking time to order a few books from your local library a week or so before to get acquainted with the story is a lot of fun. Many classical compositions take their origin in a legend or tale and if not - there are usually some picture books about the composer that are out there waiting to be read! No time for all that? Check out cute little sites like Seed Learning to get everyone up to speed! 2. Listen to the MusicDuh. I guess this one is a no-brainer, hey? It's always fun to see the look of recognition come over your child's face when they have been listening to the piece before they arrive at the concert. Take out some markers and let your little one colour while listening to the music. 3. Go time! Tips for during the performance: Arrive early! When we got there we found many little pre-performance activities had been planned for the kids. We went to the washroom, got cozy in our chairs and got all our sillies out including the delight of being so light that our chairs folded us up like little tacos. (Ok. My chair was fine .. I'm sure it was just a defect). While we waited we talked about the times that are best to clap, how to sit properly in the chair and what we would order to drink and munch on at the intermission. 4. Take Advantage of the After-Effect The concert's over and it was wonderful and you both enjoyed yourselves! So. What now? Well.. the fun has just begun! Now you can explore other performances and videos online like this original interpretation of Firebird by Disney in Fantasia 2000! 5. More for Mommy As an adult, who has now attended the Firebird, you may wish to learn more about Stravinsky's artistry. I sure did! Take a peek at this wonderful video called "Discovering Stravinsky's Firebird: The Story and the Music"
 Would you and your little one like to explore Picasso's portraiture in a hands-on way that brings you closer and lets you reinterpret the idea of what a face "should" look like in art? Try these activities: In the Mirror!Grab a mirror with your little one and sit together to paint your own self-portraits! The goal is to make it as mixed up a face as possible. Next, leave the mirror aside and draw portraits of one another. Do NOT show each other until you have a finished product to make each other laugh! Picasso Head: A Digital Game!Visit Picasso head where you can drag and drop ears, eyes, lips eyebrows and hair in any manner you please! Next, have fun enlarging or rotating each feature to make your own unique Picasso head. More for MommyI'm starting a new feature on this blog called "More for Mommy" where each time I provide a resource or idea for your preschooler to pursue their passion for the arts and nature, I will also provide something more for you as a parent or caregiver (you don't have to actually be a mommy to get something out of this). Here is the first more for mommy! Take a peek at this lovely and insightful article/gallery on Picasso's portraits called "Pablo's people: the truth about Picasso's portraits."
1. Picture Advent Calendars Initially developed in Germany, these 24 little cardboard doors opened by chubby little fingers revealed magical pictures each day to help build a child's excitement for Christmas morning. The last image is always of the nativity to remind us of the reason for celebration at this time of year. Because my mother spent some of her childhood in Germany, several of our family traditions are connected to those she remembers from this magical time of her life. As a result, chocolate calendars were highly verboten in our home growing up although my sister recently got a tea one - each day a new tea - and that was begrudgingly permitted. (Hee hee!) It is always fun to guess what the picture might be! One year my husband and I got a very strange advent calendar with several images of crows with bones in their beaks whose meanings we are still trying to decipher.... 2. Christmas MarketsAlthough our hometown has hosted a Christmas market for the past few years, this year we had a most glorious one in our town square that was truly reminiscent of Europe but with a Habitant twist. We live in Quebec and so there were many folksy crafts (beautifully braided mangers) along with the requisite mulled wine and pretzel stall. I was thrilled to purchase a beautiful organic tourtiere (the traditional meat pie served in French Canadian culture) for my grandmother who recently moved into a retirement home and who no longer bakes her lovely pies. 3. Ghost Stories on Christmas EveFor my sister, The Nutcracker sparks the ultimate Christmas magic but for me the reading or watching of "A Christmas Carol" means Christmas has arrived! I love the idea that families used to gather before the fire and tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Clearly, there was a desire to work through the idea of the afterlife as part of a thoughtful Christmas tradition. By the way, have you seen the new movie about how the story was born out of Dickens' serious case of writer's block? And there we have it! European Christmas truly is the best! Prove me wrong! Are there North American traditions that can rival these?
 Read alouds are now officially a huge hit in our house and we are ready to spend more time by the fire this winter as a family reading together after supper. We've discovered that being super flexible about when and where we read makes it more likely that we can commit to the process. Sometimes, my daughter and I will read on the couch while little brother gets his bath and other times we all get in our jams and under the covers to find out what happens in the next chapter. Last season, The Princess in Black was a huge winner and because it was the first in a series, I may have a lead for Santa on what to bring down our chimney for next year's reading. Ok! Let's get this reading started and what better way to kick off the Christmas season than a book about toys? December: Toys Go OutOne little girl packs three of her most beloved toys in a backpack and takes them on many wonderful adventures! Have you ever wondered what your toys are thinking? Wonder no more! Each toy takes a unique perspective on the world around it and on the little girl that they love. (Having just started out - we are discovering this one may be a bit of a stretch for my toddler so we have this one as back up at the library for those nights when he needs more pictures to sustain his attention. Bramble and Maggie: Snow Day.)
 Lately, I've been reading a wonderful little book on beauty called "The Invisible Embrace Beauty: Rediscovering the True Sources of Compassion, Serenity and Hope" and it is having an enormous impact on my daily living. So much so that I am compelled to share a little of it here with you. So you know that phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Turns out, I've been reading it wrong all this time. Have you? I always presumed it was about subjectivity and how the aesthetic judgments of individuals differ from person to person but what if that's not the meaning at all? What if the "eye of the beholder" means that you need to alter your visual perceptions of the world to encounter beauty on a regular basis? This is one of the primary questions O'Donohue is asking in this book. I have been on the look out for beauty every single day since beginning the book and it turns out it's sitting there around every single corner of my life but I have to remind myself to do it. It doesn't come to me automatically to seek out the beautiful in the world. However, I've noticed of late that this is not the case for my kids. They seem not only to bump into beauty on an astonishingly frequent basis but I'm beginning to think - beauty has a way of finding them! So here are a few images of my children finding beauty and a few quotations from the book to inspire you!  Mushroom in the Lawn There is something in our clay nature that needs to  Leaf Pile If our style of looking becomes beautiful,  Shadows and Reeds When you regain a sense of your life as a journey of discovery, I realize that most of these photos are of us in nature and of course it's true that beauty is so easily found there when you are on the lookout for it. However, moments of beauty are not limited to nature trails! The way your parent places a spoon beside a bowl full of soup, the well worn spine of a favourite book, the tip of your husband's tongue when he's concentrating. I am learning and finding. Every day. Where is beauty hiding in your life?
 Chances are if you ask your child to draw a tree, this is the kind of thing you're gonna get. Am I right? Ok ok... I know you're child is Picasso - so is mine but - if I'm honest with you and myself - when she draws a tree - she draws something along these lines.  Now, in truth, this isn't the full picture of a tree is it? If we think about it for more than a moment, this is only half the picture! A whole network of beautiful roots underground gets completely ignored when we try to depict a tree. I don't think I realized how this so strikingly until I visited Cambodia many years ago - before children. Suddenly, I was able to see the full power and impact of tree roots at the Ta Prohm temples. Here is an image I took of a small doorway overtaken by roots. Enchanting huh?  Want to share the enchantment with your little observer? Try this simple nature journal entry: 1. Settle in near your favourite tree.  If you have one you visit regularly that has become "your" tree - lay out a blanket near it. Otherwise, just choose a tree that feels right! Next, walk several meters away and survey the tree from a distance. What do you see? Leaves, branches, needles, a trunk? Next, examine the tree up close - perhaps some roots are even visible above the ground! Explain to your little observer that trees have a whole network of roots below the ground that we can't see. That's how the tree drinks and eats!
 Fall is the time to get cozy with little ones with a cup of something warm, a blanket and a good read aloud. Right now, I target my read alouds to my daughter's age (she's 6) but usually my toddler will listen in for a bit off and on and many of these books could work for preschool-aged children too. You're the best judge of what will keep your child listening at story time but occasionally introducing and trying a few pages of a chapter book can never hurt. My daughter tends to love books with maps in them so last year Milly Molly Mandy was a hit and so was My Father's Dragon among others. This fall, we're trying something a little bit different! Here is our reading list month by month! September: Basil of Baker Street I know! It's not just a movie! I was as surprised as you are. Just re-published this summer - this book is the first in a series of books that make up the "crumbs and clues" collection. The collection includes 5 of the books that were originally published in the 1950s about a detective mouse who is inspired by the real Sherlock Holmes! (If this is too advanced for your little one - try out the same author's "Anatole" series that we read last year about a mouse living in Paris. eek! too cute.)   It's funny how all the talk of gardening with little ones tapers out almost completely at this time of year. It isn't until children are carving their pumpkins in late October that any of us really appreciate the value of time spent in the garden with our little ones as summer transitions into fall. Not to get too overly existential here but there is a circle of life that happens in the garden and while we are excited to teach our little ones about planting seeds and watching life form - we forget that there are also valuable lessons to be learned as life matures and the garden goes to sleep for another year. Here are 3 Life Lessons we can share with our kids during Harvest Time: 1. The Fruits of their Labour "So. Remember all that work you did to plant, water and weed the soil for this little seed? Voila! Here are the fruits (or veggies) of your labour... literally!" What better life lesson could we share with our children than to teach them that when they tend something with love and care it comes back to them one hundred fold and in such magical ways? 2. Cycle of Life Life is part of a cycle. We must have a balance between the energy and vibrance of spring and the rest and cozy periods of fall moving into winter slumber. Plants and animals understand this instinctively and so do our children! Watch as neighbours chop wood and don sweaters. Maybe leave one vegetable to rot in the garden to enrich the soil and as an example of how all living things make up part of this wonderful circle we call life. Visit it regularly and observe the process as it goes back into the earth with all its seeds. Check in the spring to see if it comes up again as a brand new plant! 3. Preserving and Cooking Make a big batch of soup with your little one either with the harvest from your own garden or from a local veggie patch! Allow him to select the spices to season the soup, and to be part of all the steps from picking, chopping, simmering and maybe even pureeing! Cooking and preserving are both excellent life lessons for little ones especially little boys!  All this talk of cooking has me hankering after a smooth butternut squash soup! You? What other life lessons does gardening teach our little ones? Please share what you have learned in the garden this season with your own kids!
 We have been listening to composer Erik Satie in our house recently and discovering that he was actually a pretty cool and quirky guy! In fact, he was probably a little bit like my preschooler and maybe your's too! Here are three ways your preschooler and Erik Satie are probably alike: 1. Satie's room was a big mess! Satie didn't have people come into his space a lot mostly because it was a huge mess! When people finally did go inside, they found enormous piles of stuff everywhere. Mostly an outrageous number of umbrellas (I guess he liked puddles like your preschooler too) and two grand pianos stacked on top of each other! And you thought your preschooler's room was hard to clean...
 What oh what will you and your little reader read this summer at the cottage, on your picnic blanket or at the beach? If only someone could compile a list of the perfect summer picture books!
Voila! A simple list of the picture books we read every single summer!  Why Classical Music in the Summer?Yesterday morning we went to the park and got so hot, run down and covered with sand and sweat that we were all short tempered by the time we panted into the front door at 11:30. Collapsing on the couch with ice cold waters, I immediately turned on the fan AND the classical music station. Within a short time, we were all much cooler physically and emotionally. Classical music has long served to calm and bring moments of peace into the lives of adults - as well as to the children in their care - who may be experiencing emotions of frustration, anger, or sadness occasionally throughout the busy day. Here are 3 Beautiful Classical Pieces written especially for the Summer months that will help you and your little musician to cool off. So open the window wide, lay out on the grass and watch the clouds pass while listening to these lovely little pieces together! 1. Summer Skies (Leroy Anderson)2. Summer Music (Samuel Barber)3. Summer Evening (Frederick Delius)Deep breath. Wasn't that grand? Now you should be rested and ready to run through that sprinkler with the best of them!
 Summer means simple. Hula hoops, skipping ropes, wading pools, bubbles, and the good old stand by: sidewalk chalk. At this point if your kids have gotten into a big box of sidewalk chalk they are already well into it and the pile of chalk is full of broken pieces, smoothed down sides and dust! Messages have been written on the driveway for the birds to puzzle out as they fly overhead. Maybe sidewalk chalk is even getting a bit boring by now? Well... maybe it's just time for a new surface! 1. Sidewalk Chalk on Planter Pots 2. Sidewalk Chalk on Different Colours of Construction Paper3. Sidewalk Chalk on Sandpaper Apparently, even your little brother can be a new sidewalk chalk surface! (Poor fella)...
What fun stuff have you tried with sidewalk chalk (inside or out)? |
RSS Feed