and I suggested that we have a bit of fun in recycling an old phonebook.  

Oh my.

Best 30 minutes they’ve enjoyed in a long time!

Dear God,

Thank you for your constant presence in my life. 

Thank you for joyful playtime before sunset, smiles,

and your loving arms that wrap me with grace and love when I stumble. 

Thank you for these children and all the joy they bring to my life.  

Love, Me  

Enjoy the little things,

for one day you may look back

and realize they were the big things.

–Robert Brault–

I took the big boys to see the Harlem Globe Trotters last night.

I loved their dunks and their crazy ball handling skills.  

 The humor was good, but the talent was spectacular!  

And of course the boys suckered me into getting an official BALL—-

Galdwell’s book BLINK: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking really inspired me during this shoot.  The premise of Blink is that spontaneous decisions are often as good as— or possibly better than– carefully planned out ones. Doesn’t this just make sense?  BLINK reminds me that my most treasured photographs are those where I didn’t think about what I was doing;  I just clicked and loved and laughed.

Here’s to wind blowing on our cheeks and carefree days of thinking without thinking.

I can’t sew. 

I was lucky to find JODY via her online shop… just look what she whipped up for the birthday girl!

Check out the detail on these felt envelopes.  Is this to die for or what?  Jody hand stitched the post marks— HAPPY, LOVE, FUN on wool felt, used her embroidery machine for the addresses & then lined the inside with pink and green fabric.  The flaps close with velcro.  Eventually, when Emerson learns to write, we will use small pink card stock to “write letters.”

  Playful and educational—I’m so tickled that with this gift!!

To complete the b-day gift I made a little matching mailbox out of a recycled OJ carton.  I painted the juice carton pink and added green polka dots with modge podge.  Can you guess what color her room is??  The mailbox stand is a soup can with pink paint and polka dot paper.

I have made a commitment to purchase only recycled, vintage or handmade gifts for the kiddos now from now on.  How can Toys R Us compete with something like this pretend post office set?  I just can’t buy those cheapy-plaistic-mass producted toys anymore.  If you have never shopped at etsy.com—do it.  If you can’t make it yourself there is someone out their that probably can! I truly love supporting local, small businesses.  I’ve known, first hand, the struggles of the “small retail” shop owner.

But I also how this— when we make a promise to support each other and buy locally— we can make anything happen!

 Imaginative play begins in early toddlerhood and continues, for some us (ME!), on into adulthood.

Pretend play is not only fantastically fun, it is critical for healthy childhood development.  It allows children to try out different roles in life and to practice their ever-developing verbal and problem solving skills.

Children reenact life to learn about life!!

One of my favorite roles as a parent is to encourage my kids to enjoy a creative world of imagination. It is such a thrill to see them learn while they are having fun. Sometimes we forget that learning can be and should be fun! When kids create colorful real life scenarios they are not only mimicking adults, but they get to be in control; momentary masters of their own destiny!!!  As parents and educators I believe it’s critical that we support and promote play as much as possible.   Sadly, most kids aren’t getting this in traditional schools. 

 I say toss the worksheets and bring out pizza! 

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We are all inspired by what makes our heart sing and kids are no exception.  The greatest kind of learning comes packaged as fun.

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Facilitating imaginative play can be as simple as setting out some recycled cereal boxes for grocery store or as detailed as providing material for a grocery sign, price tags, shopping cart and sales receipts. I happen to enjoy the little details in setting up scenarios, but the true benefits come when the child is in control. I let my kids take the lead. If they seem interested in something, I help them with the set up and then let their imaginations soar!

Last week our family made fake pizza for Family Fun Night.  I loved this activity because the ENTIRE family was involved.  Krischan (13) even got into the idea and made a custom pizza box and topped off his pizza with detailed multi-level paining!!  Now Mason and Emerson have a huge assortment of pizzas for their very own Italian-style eatery.

I confess, I have as much fun as the kiddos.

Our favorite top ten imaginative play scenarios:

1. Post Office
2. Library
3. School
4. Carnival (game booths, prizes…)
5. Kitchen
6. Workshop (tools, screw drivers, hammers for older kids)
7. Office
8. Restaurant/Snack Shack
9. House
10. Beauty Shop
    

So have yourself a slice of munchie-crunchie-cardboard style pizzia and start playing will ya!???

The ribbon needs replacing?! Any ideas where I could find one? His office “job” is to call out the letter as he types.

Cleaning up toys can be a beastly task!  I wanted to create a storage system in our playroom that would make clean up a breeze.   The key to this strategy is that each bin is clearly labeled with a PHOTO and NAME.

The photo labels are laminated and adhered to each bin with Velcro.  I adapted a card template from  HERE!  I’m disappointed that the velcro isn’t sturdy enough and the kiddos pull it off— so I need a new plan for this?  Ideas?

The actual storage unit is ITSO from Target.  Itso is terrific because it’s durable and adaptable… but way over-priced.

Inspiration for project: HERE– she has the most ingenious organizing ideas!

This has been my pet project for the last couple of months.  I wanted to make an unforgettable gift from Santa… and here it is!!  I gave my scetch to a super creative carpenter and then Mason and I painted and decorated.  What I love most about our brand new kitchen is that it is made from *almost* 100% recycled products!   The little knobs on the stove are real knobs from an old maytag.  The spay nozzle and faucets are oldies but goodies.  Even the inside of the oven is a re-used wire rack.

Inspiration Kiddee Kitchens:

Family Fun’s Version Ultra simple and super cute.  You could put this together in a day!  This is where I got the idea for using stainless steel bowl for the sink…  you’ll notice ours has double sinks… this was my carpenters idea!

Cardboard Kitchen This design caught my eye too…  I think she may even sell them in her etsy store!  Talk about creativity!

Entertainment Center Kitchen This mini-recycled masterpiece was probably my biggest source of inspiration!

I wish I could sew like this! Quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Sweet girly kitchen Love how whimsical and girly this play set is.  Isn’t the clock adorable?  Got my idea for curtains here!  I’m so pathetic when it comes to using a needle and thread I actually used stitch glue to make the curtains… hehehe… 

Basic Dimensions:

length: 6 feet
height: 4 feet
ground to top of stove/counter top: 2 feet
oven width: 2 feet
sink width: 2 feet
counter width: 2 feet
microwave: 8 in
storage space above counter: 1 foot

After we finished the kitchen we need cool stuff to stock it with, right??

I hunted my favorite antique and etsy stores for mini pots, pans, muffin tins, aprons, cans, jars and FELT FOOD! 

Happy Cookin’ Kids!