make: trash bag kite

A few weeks ago I got Ella involved in my making.  She gave me the inspiration (or directive rather) and I looked up a few examples and got to making our fist kite (while she promptly got to tangling all of the string).  We used cotton string (to tie dowels together), both duct tape and washi tape, small trash bags, 1/4" diameter wood dowels, and a pair of trusty scissors.

I loosely followed the tutorials here and here. 
  

 

I was happy with things at this point but then Ella wanted me to use some purple tape.  So I kept going . . .

  

and then added a braided, trash bag tail with bows too.  We're just waiting for the perfect, windy day to take it down to the big field near our house and let it fly.  And hopefully it will fly.

Happy making!

toys we love: basic wood blocks

Nothing beats a set (or two) of  basic, wood blocks.  When Ella was little, I ordered a bag of basic blocks from a seller on eBay who now has his own website, Bag O' Blocks.  I was initially inspired to make her a set of dominoes with them but, before I could tackle the project, she pulled the back out of a bin in my office and started playing with them.  And she continued to do so many an afternoon as I worked in my office.

A few months ago I pulled out a hand-me-down set of counting blocks from my Great Aunt Roberta, who was an elementary school teacher.  It's been awesome to see Ella build towers, make beds, create meals, and incorporate the blocks into other toys we have in the house.

It's so amazing to see that, despite the technology within her reach or the battery-powered toys in her cabinet, she is happy to play with blocks of wood!  And I especially love to hear her say, "I'm building my ideas."  I hope she never stops.

the last snow day

I am praying that the title of this post will prove true, making last Wednesday officially the last snow day of this winter season.  And though I won't miss the snow, I will miss spending these days inside with Ella.  Most of them anyway.  

On the last snow day, we spent the morning making homemade play dough, something I have been meaning to do with Ella for a long while.  I grabbed the recipe from here, and they grabbed it from somewhere else.  There are a million recipes online for play dough so I just picked one.

The coolest part was watching mixture become doughy on the stove top in a matter of minutes.  Not so fun was the part where you have to color it all.  I  definitely overestimated the amount of time required for this part of the process and had to keep Ella at bay while I kneaded, and kneaded, and kneaded, and kneaded . . . you get the idea.  By the time I was done turning six lumps of dough into the colors of the rainbow, Ella had found something else to do.  I put each lump in a plastic bag and stashed them in her craft cabinet for a rainy day.  Or on those days when a missed nap requires something extra special to distract her from herself (like today).

*Pictures shown are not illustrative of the happy play dough playing times had immediately after said play dough was made.

happy making!

make: washi tape hearts

Love is in the air and valentine making season is at hand.  It has become tradition around here to hand make valentines for our loved ones each year.  Last year, we tried our hand at potato and tp roll stamping to create some paper love.   This year, we decided to use washi tape.  We also added Ella's colored masking tape, featured here, into the mix.  And the results . . . they just make me happy.  I made some basic punched hearts and Ella, some heart stickers. We then attached the hearts to cards and added a note (or drawing in Ella's case).  Here's how we did it!

supply list:

washi tape
heavy weight paper (like cover stock)
full sheet adhesive labels (if you want to make stickers)
scissors
heart paper punch

to make:

1_Adhere washi tape, in strips (or other desired pattern), to your heavy weight paper or full sheet adhesive labels.  To make things run smoothly, I pre-cut manageable strips of the tape that Ella selected.

2_Use a heart paper punch to punch out as many hearts as your heart desires.

3_To create other shapes, simply draw shape with a pencil on the back of the paper, and cut with scissors.

Easy!

 

Happy making!

toys we love: the sneaky, snacky squirrel game!

Ok, so it's technically a game, but it does involve a little toy squirrel and acorns.  Who wouldn't love a game with a little toy squirrel?!

This Christmas I asked the elves, aka Ella's grandparents and aunts, for games for her.  She is now about that age where I thought she might be able to get the ideas of taking a turn, waiting patiently for her next turn, and follow basic instructions with some basic concepts.  On most of these points, I was right on.  The "waiting patiently for her next turn" is one we will continue to work on!  But it has been fun, in any case, to play a few rounds of this game with her and watch her get better every time!

The basic premise of The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game! is this: spin the spinner, use the squirrel to pick up the acorn from the tree that corresponds to the color indicated on the spinner, and place said acorn onto your individual tree stump in the correct spot according to its color, then wait patiently until it's your turn again.  There are few special spots on the spinner designed to trip up a happy toddler.  I especially like (I mean dislike) the one that requires her to dump all of the acorns she has accumulated thus far back into the tree.  There is also one that allows you to steal an acorn from another player (the sneaky part of the game).

The design of the game is fantastic.  The concepts are easy to grasp and the graphic design is clear and, dare I say, pretty.  Ella also received the classic Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land games, but their newer boards are so convoluted that we've been sticking with this game more often than not.

this weekend: bowling!

The weather around here has really become quite a drag!  I have learned that, in order to survive (meaning stay sane) winters here, one must become comfortable with driving on snowy and slippery terrain and bundling up to keep warm in below freezing temperatures to make it out of the house.  Because, let's be honest, staying inside for more than a day with a toddler is just, well, insanity!

This past weekend we did just that: bundled up and headed to the bowling alley.  This has become a new favorite, family activity.  My husband got a ball and shoes for Christmas and he's been quite intent on getting the most use out of them as possible.  I'm not gonna argue, because frankly, it's a great activity for all of us.

For the first time, though, they had shoes in Ella's size (6)!  She was so in love with them, she didn't want to give them back.  I kind of liked them too.

Sometimes we just help her to push the ball down the lane, but this weekend she used the ramp contraption where she could place her ball atop a metal frame and simply push it, down the metal frame where it would pick up speed and continue on down the lane.  Handy for all so that her balls didn't take several centuries to reach the pins!

abc photo hunt

Since we returned to Ann Arbor, we've gotten back to our Stroller Strides classes with Fit4Mom Ann Arbor.  We returned during ABC & 123 month (each month has a theme - for the kiddos mostly) and it got me thinking about one of the items left over on my "surviving summer" list: to work on Ella's ABC photo book.

I began compiling photos of Ella in the spring illustrating activities and things beginning with each letter of the alphabet to create a custom ABC book for her.  I still need images for quite a few letters of the alphabet and I thought it might be fun to complete the rest of the photos with her help.

And, viola, the ABC photo hunt was born!  The day before I wrote each letter of the alphabet on an index card and posted them on a large wall.  I filled in the cards for the letters we already had photos for like, F is for Family . . .

and S is for Sipping through a Straw . . .

I then made sure to fully charge my camera overnight.  The next morning Ella and I began our hunt.  We went through each letter.  Sometimes she could give me a word that began with the letter but more often than not, I had to make a suggestion.  We would then go on a hunt to find that item or illustrate that activity and I would capture it in a photo for the book.  I'm still working on editing the photos and adding text, but I'll be sure to share the final product when it's complete.

loose parts: goofy spider

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about our own loose parts bin that I started after being inspired by The Loose Parts Project.  And this week I'm super excited to introduce you to three new friends made from the contents of our bin.  What perfect timing with Halloween decorations going up all over town!

Our loose parts bin has been living in my workroom since writing the post and it's been getting a lot of use.  Usually Ella just loves to pull everything out, pour out the jar of assorted caps, and occasionally stack various items to create a "tahwer," as she likes to call them.  But last week she pulled out a set of three cardboard shapes and immediately identified them as spiders.  I couldn't just sit back and watch after this announcement.  It was such a great idea!  So we got to work completing the spiders using other items from the bin.  

She picked the yogurt containers for the body and the bottle caps for the eyes.  I suggested using the pipe cleaners to hold them all together and reminded Ella that she had some googly eyes left over from a previous project that she could use.

We now have (according to Ella) a spider family - daddy, mommy, and Ella!

To make these at home, I've created a handy template for the small spider legs. They can be cut from any piece of scrap cardboard or heavy paper you have around the house (cereal boxes would work great).  For the small template, a plastic applesauce cup served as the body.  Create two small holes, one in the center bottom of the plastic cup and one through the center of the cardboard spider legs.  Pull a pipe cleaner through both holes and tie off on both ends.  I created a loop at the top of the spider by folding the pipe cleaner over my finger and wrapping the loose end around the base of the loop several times before trimming.  Then dress him up any way you'd like!  And, if you're looking for a sea theme, go ahead and call him an octopus . . .

Happy making!

fabric painting

A friend texted me a link last week to this blog post over on Young House Love.  While I've been known, on occasion, to spend the entirety of nap time reading through past posts on their blog, the occurrences are, I assure you, far and few between and so I miss things.  And I would have missed this post had it not been for my fellow crafty friend.

I was immediately inspired to break out the fabric paints and stamps I already had lying around (from a baby shower  long ago, I think) and experiment with some fabric painting techniques with my favorite painting partner.  We used scraps of a heavy white twill fabric I had leftover from a pervious project, taped onto the table with painters tape so they would stay put.  The sheet metal I have left over from my sheet metal box project just didn't provide a large enough pattern for use as a stencil so I opted to use a handful of round sponge stamps in varying diameters that were in my stamp supply.

Ella was stamping it up on her piece of fabric until the stamps found their way to her face and hands.  I did eventually go back and stamp her name onto her piece (I suggested, she agreed).  And I decided to follow suit, and created a throw pillow for the rocking chair in her room.

And it was good practice for me as I plan to tackle a bit of fabric painting myself in the next week or so.  More to come . . . 

loose parts

We spent this past summer away from our home after temporarily relocating for my husband's summer job.  Aside from being away from my friends and my established routines, leaving my workroom behind, with all of it's making tools and supplies, was a bit of a bummer.  It is a great place to raid when I need something to keep Ella (and myself) from growing bored of staring at each other.  But this past summer we had to make do with what we had available to us in our sublet.  And that means, for the most part, everything in the recycling bin.  We spent countless hours playing with cardboard boxes and paper tubes.  Who'd have thought?

Well the founder of this organization did!  Back in June, at the beginning of this workroom-less summer, a good friend pointed me to an organization called Loose Parts Project, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Their mission: "to encourage creativity and collaboration through community based, child-directed play experiences using recycled and repurposed materials."

The idea of child-directed play is great, but it can be tough as a parent of a young toddler to restrain yourself and just let them dive into something without directing them.  I mean, it's natural.  You ushered them into this world and cared for them so intensely when they couldn't do much of anything on their own that, in order to help them begin to realize their independence, you have to let go (just a little).  And, let's face it, it's a difficult idea to get used to.  For me, the pursuit of true, child-directed play is an exercise in re-focusing my parenting on the stage of life my daughter is currently in and moving towards, with the goal of helping her to become a confident and independent child.

I really admire the premise of Loose Parts Project and want to explore how their mission could be adapted and applied to the time I spend with Ella during the day.  To start, we recently created our own loose parts bin, stored in her art and crafts cabinet, where I keep clean recyclables including bottle caps, yogurt containers, cardboard shapes, paper tubes, and all manner of other items we happen to find interesting.  Kept right within her reach, it's become a go to for her.  And watching her just explore from my seat on the floor nearby or while folding laundry in the next room is super gratifying.

Does anyone else keep a loose parts bin for their children (or themselves)?  I'd love to see what you've collected and the imaginative creations that have resulted! 

books we love: I Can Do It Myself

I began writing the toys we love and books we love posts this summer while we were away from our home.  They ended up being pretty popular. Getting a text message from a friend with a photo of her daughter's Stackadoo tower or an email with a picture of someone's granddaughter holding up a new gift was pretty awesome.  So, I'm excited to continue these posts today with a few new favorites in our house; Stephen Krensky's board books I Can Do It Myself! and Now I Am Big!, both illustrated by Sara Gillingham.

I picked both of these books up from a local bookstore just before Ella's second birthday (she got a lot of books from us for her birthday).  I was immediately drawn to the simple and colorful illustrations -   they have an almost fifties, retro vibe - and the stories were short, rhymed, and carried perfect messages for any toddler.  Both books celebrate the newfound independence of toddlers and help remind them, and us, of all the things they can now do on their own.

CLE Metroparks Zoo

Last week we visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and I'm ashamed to admit that it was not one of the items on my CLE To-Do List.  That was a big miss!  We met friends at the entrance gate a little after 10am on a rather chilly morning and, because they are members, we were able to get in free with their guest pass (thank you Carolyn and family).  Otherwise, at $12.25 for one adult ticket and $8.25 for Ella 

(kids under 2 are free), admission would have been fairly reasonable had we planned to stay for more than just a few hours in the morning.  If we lived here . . . or rather, when we move here (yea!), we'd definitely cough up the $95 to become a member, making those morning, two-hour visits much more doable.

Getting to the park early was, as usual, key to enjoying the trip.  All of the animals were out and active, eating breakfast or lounging in the morning sun.  We got to witness a giraffe eating from a bush between his enclosure and the pedestrian walkway and were so close that I think, if he had tried, his tongue could have reached my head.  A zebra was chasing a gazelle around in circles in their enclosure, and the merkeets were so busy digging new holes to hide in that I had trouble following their movements (man those suckers are quick).

Two hours allowed us to cover a good portion of the zoo (maybe 2/3 of it) and see the most recognizable animals, at least to a two-year-old.  On return I will definitely be taking a camel ride, visiting the primates, cats, bears and the other animals we missed, packing a lunch so I'm not stuck buying the expensive and/or unhealthy available food options, and taking my husband along. 

super Ella!

One of the crafty projects on my "surviving summer" list was to make Ella dress-up clothing.  I've so far created patterns for a crown, several masks, and a cape.  And, after watching Ella wear a blanket over her shoulders around the house several times, I thought the cape might be a hit; so I'm tackling it first.

I picked up one yard each of two colors of felt (the cheap stuff) - one for the outside of the cape and another for the lining - from a local craft store.  I also grabbed a few of the small 9"x12" sheets in several colors to create a custom super logo on the cape.  I made a cape pattern by taping a few larger pieces of scrap paper together and, using a string tied to a pencil, drew an arc with a radius of approximately 24".  I then created another arc, concentric to the first, with a radius of approximately 4".  Because I didn't have a huge roll of paper to create my pattern, I ended up just creating one smaller "pie piece" of the cape, and then cutting three "pie pieces" from each color of fabric to create the fullness required for an awesome cape. It was a happy accident that I decided to construct the cape this way because my fabric wouldn't have been wide enough to have just cut the cape as one large piece.

I stitched together all of the "pie pieces" (3 for the lining and 3 for the outside) and then, wrong sides together, pinned the lining to the outside fabric, and top-stitched around the perimeter, about a 1/4" from the edge.  This allowed me to trim the edges about 1/8" after all of the sewing was done in order to ensure that the front of the cape and lining of the cape aligned.

Oh, and let's not forget the grosgrain ribbon neck tie - I pinned these in between the lining and the outside layer before stitching the perimeter.

I'd like to officially introduce Super Ella!

surviving summer

So here we are, t-minus three days until our return to Ann Arbor, and I'm trying to figure out how to pack as much into our last three days as possible!

In addition to my CLE to-do list, I created a personal list (titled "surviving summer" - can you tell I was pretty apprehensive about this little adventure of ours this summer) of crafty projects and activities that Ella and I could do this summer on those days where, inevitably, I'd wake up and not feel like battling crowds at the zoo or sweating it out in the heat at the playground, or to occupy rainy mornings and gloomy afternoons.  

On this list: 

1. homemade popsicles

2. picnic in the park

3. picnic in the backyard 

4. make an indoor/outdoor tent (so I could check this off my Love To-Do List)

5. plant seeds to start a garden at home

6. make a doll house

7. make dress-up clothes, including a cape, masks, and hats

8. work on Ella's ABC photo book

Yes, yet another list to remind myself how LITTLE I've actually accomplished this summer . . . or, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge myself so poorly!

So, Ted and I can check off the first item - we made our own pops one evening after Ella had gone to bed.  They were good, but we just used fruit juice we already had in our fridge.  I guess we've picnicked in the park, though we dined on take-out.  We have the definite beginnings of an herb garden in the backyard (holy crap, I grew something), in a planter we can take back to Ann Arbor with us.  And, I have sewn together the pieces for a cape for Ella, complete with a "E" in script, appliqued onto the back.  I just need to trim it out and add some ties at the neck (post to come!)

OK, so I guess we've done more than I thought.  What's on your summer-to-do list to help you survive the long, hot days with your kids?  

toys we love: YBIKE Pewi

Summer is, of course, a great time of year to spend as much time outdoors as possible.  So, I thought I'd give the YBIKE Pewi a mention for those of you looking for a solid starter bike for your little ones.

We added the Pewi to Ella's collection shortly after her first birthday, and I wish we had gotten it sooner.  The Pewi is a walk-to-ride toy that babies can use as soon as they are able to stand and "walk", but still need the aid of your hands or a push toy for stability.  And then, as they grow taller and are able to balance themselves on the seat of the bike, they can ride it, propelling themselves forward with their feet.

Like I said, I wish we would have gotten it sooner for strolls outside when Ella was walking but not independently.  We would have headed outside a lot more, because, really, it's difficult to play outside on pavement with a kid who's not walking yet.  Hello sore knees.  And then there was a short period of  time where Ella was walking just fine, but wasn't quite tall enough to propel herself on the bike without help.  She continued to push it, often with a stuffed toy propped on the seat, and we would also push her, though that became a back-breaker.  Now, she's tall enough to ride the bike all on her own and has even figured out how easily it can turn (on a dime).

Happy weekend!

the CLE Botanical Garden

Today we made a date to meet some friends at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  It was hot.  OK, it was VERY hot.  But the gardens were beautiful and well worth the sweat.  The Hershey Children's Garden was particularly fantastic.  There is a sundial fountain to splash in (bring a bathing suit if you plan to stay awhile), a larger-than-life treehouse with a ramp for complete accessibility, a pond full of turtles, tadpoles, fish and frogs that the kids can actually reach, and an activity area complete with sandbox, craft tables, and potting bench.  Ella made a turtle sun catcher (way cooler than the construction paper turtle I came up with) at the craft tables and planted sunflower seeds at the potting bench.

    

A few tips for your visit: We arrived just before they opened at 10:00am.  The pros: We got to enjoy the Children's Garden for about 20 minutes before droves of summer camp aged children descended on the garden.  And it wasn't as hot at 10am as it was when we left just before 1:00.  The cons:  Droves of summer camp aged kids crowded into the children's garden around 10:30am.  There were at least two buses full of kids waiting in the drop-off drive when I arrived in the morning and I'm sure more followed.  I'm sure this typical for the summer, and even during the school year, as the gardens would make for quite a wonderful field trip.  We enjoyed ours!

books we love: For Just One Day

Happy 4th of July!  I don't have a special 4th post for you, but if it's raining where you are (which, there's a good chance it is or it will be), you could head to the bookstore for a spin around the train table OR this book!

So I've been writing about toys lately, but books occupy just as much of our play time around here as the actual toys do.  And this one is JUST too good not to mention!  We gave this book to Ella for her second birthday and it has become a fast favorite - we read it before every nap and as a part of her bedtime routine every night, and it is recited usually several times a day, mostly from memory, by both Ella and us.  To say it's caught on is an understatement.  It is an institution around here.

The book is For Just One Day written by Laura Leuck and illustrated by Marc Boutavant.  It's a great, rhyming story, encouraging imaginative play and introducing different animals on each page, but with an overall moral that the best person to be is yourself!  I mean, what could be better than that, right?!

OK, maybe I am a little overly excited, but this is a good one, trust me!

toys we love: IKEA Lillabo Vehicles

On a recent trip to IKEA, I spotted this set of toy cars and trucks.  While I'd like to think that the days of gendered toy selections are long gone, Ella has yet to be given any toy vehicles.  About six months ago, I bought her a toy tractor to go with a red barn she was given as a gift.  But that's been about the extent of her vehicle collection.  

Until several weeks ago when I picked these up for her.  Her interest in all things that move, especially on the road, has been in full swing for a while now and this set of cars and trucks has been the perfect play solution for it.  The toys are made of plastic and wood, are durable, and have interchangeable parts.  All of the top "vehicle" pieces come off of the wood bases and can be placed on another wood base with a different back or front, depending.

These were also the perfect toy to use with our transportation network, or map, that we created for Stroller Strides' June transportation theme.  Check out my guest post here for a great, rainy day activity this summer.

the CLE children's museum

You know those Sunday nights, right before bed, when you check the weather for the week on your phone only to discover that the times you'll be able to get your kids outside to run around are going to be few and far between because rain is forecast, in some form or another, for the entire week.  That was my Sunday night just a few weeks ago, just before what turned out to be a dreary week of on and off rain showers, thunderstorms and tornado watches and warnings.

I was in a bit of a panic Monday morning - what was I going to do with Ella for the week if we couldn't do our usual walks with the dog and playground hops?  I mean, this is the stuff of life when you are living in an unfamiliar place with a very, very short friend list.  Then I remembered my list and decided we'd visit the Cleveland Children's Museum.

To be honest, the place doesn't really look like much from the outside.  I was a bit skeptical, and at $7.00 per person for admission, I really hoped there would be something great inside.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The exhibits were fantastic - well made, and with a lot of moving parts and pieces (key when you have a toddler who wants to touch everything).  The first room Ella ran into housed the current, temporary exhibit Centuries of Childhood: An American Story.  The room was filled with toddler-sized scenes of children's bedrooms, train dining cars, houses, school rooms, woodshops, fishing boats, and kitchens all representative of different cultures and centuries, and focused specifically on some aspect of the lives of the children at a particular time.  We played all by ourselves in the room until we needed to make a  diaper change pitstop.

While heading to the bathrooms, which were located on the lower level, I was surprised to discover the rest of the museum hidden at the back of the building down a short stair and in the lower level (hello water table!).  We made a stop in the Big Red Barn themed infant and toddler room for the Toddler Team Up program.  The room was fantastic, with a chicken coop, apple trees, garden tools, climbing mats, and a large barn with an upstairs loft, but the program itself left much to be desired.

A few tips if you want to plan a visit: We arrived just before they opened the doors and played for two hours, the last of which was extremely crowded.  The museum isn't huge so if you dislike crowds and want a more low key experience, get there early!  And, maybe I was there on an off day, but I'd pass on the toddler program.  If you're willing to explore and play with your kids in the museum, than stick with them and let them lead.

Oh, and remember to bring your best camera.  I forgot mine and only had my iPhone to document the trip (this is my bad pic apology).  It's hard to catch all the action clearly unless you bring the good camera.

I think $7.00 was worth this!  She fell asleep so quickly after we left, she didn't even finish her apple slices.