Mission: Simplifying Toys

If you had asked me what I thought about toys before my quest to learn more about the "whys" behind them, I would have said that the more the better. But that is natural right?
Kids = Piles 'o Toys.


But now after really thinking about the toys that I own and the toys that benefit my kids. I understand that Kids - Piles 'o Toys= Freedom. Sounds so cliche, I know. But it's true. I found that my toy piles had been skipped over in simplifying my home, but why? The book Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne answers the questions that I think everyone needs to hear. Here are a few points paraphrased that he makes in the chapter on a child's 'environment'.

• Toys are marketed now adays so that if the child doesn't have them, their imagination is gone. The toy is responsible for play, not the child.


• Kids feel entitled with more. They are not able to take care of what they have, because they know there will always be something else.


• Having lots of toys mean that none of them will truly have the child's full attention. The full potential of that toy won't be reached, because they're already on to the next thing.


• Boredom is a gift. Children don't need piles or a certain educational toy to develop who they are. They need unstructured time for play.

• Most children have 150 toys. If your child can't pick them up in 5 minutes they probably have too many.

• Books also are included in the simplifying. Too many books do not equal a well educated child. When not regulated they can become a form of clutter & excess. With too many to choose from they become disposable, commercialized, and overexposed just like toys.

He also says that many parents feel surprised by this assessment of their children's things. "It's as though parents realize they're on a runaway train, but they can't believe they never noticed it speeding up. Even in the span of one or two generation, there has been a sea change, a flood of items marketed to parents for their children."

My hopes for my kids future things are this....

Play Wooden food.

A miniature tea set.

A how-to book about simple wood projects for kids.

Different size play silks.

Nature. Rocks. Big. Little. Huge.

Piano.

Hula hoops.

Set of small real tools hammer, saw, etc.

Small rolling pin.

Little wheelbarrow.

Experiences.

I don't want to take away the joy of them experiencing life. I want to take away the outside pressure of more, and give them the joy of living with less & finding contentment with the things they do have.

"When you act to limit what you don't want for your family, you clarify what you really do need, what is important to you. Your values clarify. Simplification is a path of self-definition for the family."- Dr. Kim Payne

Practicing Independence

"We must support as much as possible the child's desire for activity; not wait on him, but educate him to be independent." - Maria Montessori

Having the plates and food already prepped, ready for my helpers.

It was the two year olds task to take crackers and transfer them to red plates. Next came the meat that was already pulled into pieces & she put it on top of the crackers. Some for her, & some for her brother's plate.




Meanwhile it was my four year olds job to slice the cheese. Take the pieces and place them on the crackers. Make drinks. Carry plates outside where the picnic awaits.



"A child is an eager observer and is particularly attracted by the actions of adults and wants to imitate them. In this regard an adult can have a kind of mission. He can be an inspiration for the child's actions, a kind of open book wherein a child can learn to direct his own movements."
- Maria Montessori

Kids Springtime Lanterns

We decided our house needed a little extra punch of color for Spring, and hunted for a fun craft to incorporate into our cheerful mood. These paper lanterns fit perfectly into our decorative disposition!

:::Supplies:::

• Scissors
• Tape
• One plain piece of construction paper & then different colorful pieces

1.) Fold the paper in half, longways.

2.) Cut the paper into strips, being careful not to cut the paper all the way through. Look at those mad cutting skills!!

3.) Open folded paper. Cut long colorful strips of paper-enough to weave all the way across.



4.) Admire work. Have adult tell you how you are so stinkin' good at weaving! If you are four years old, ask adult what "weaving" means.



5.) Fold paper together, into lantern shape.
6.) Tape
7.) Add last long colorful piece to top to make a handle.

8.) Hang lanterns from kitchen table with friend bird--hatched from recycled CD's & lots of glue.

9.) Proudly gaze at your new additions, and then swiftly run outside to swing in the warm Spring breeze!

The "Real" World

This topic has been stirring in my head for days. It has to do with the "whys" of parenting. I don't know how to properly write about this topic, because I have so many ideas and I'm not quite settled on my approach to tackling them all.

I want to give you some insight into what has been streaming on the channels of my mind....Beginning with their amount of choices.

They have quite a bit of stuff. More than I do. More than my husband. How do a four and two year old have so many belongings? Some I have bought, some were presents. Why? I bought them toys, because I wanted to be a good mom. Says who? People around me and the tv image, says that if I love my kids I will buy them things to illustrate that physically. Do they play with them all? No, they certainly do not play with them all. Not even half. Do they take care of them? No, I do. I tell them to pick them up and I have to constantly monitor their clean up. Do I like having extra work? Ummm, not a chance.

In summary I now know that I have things in my house that I don't love, things that aren't being taken care of, and that are causing me extra work. Now that I have come to the conclusion that I do not need/want/love these things in my house what to do?

Get rid of them. This thought absolutely blew me away. I argued with myself. You spent money on these toys, what will the kids say, and what will they do all day?

I laugh now at these statements, because they are born out of ignorance. Just because I once spent money on something doesn't mean it will always align with my views in the future. The kids don't really care (older kids might have), because anything he/she truly loves will be kept. Plus, they have the best toy with them always, their imagination. What will they do all day? Well, since they didn't really "play" with their toys to begin with this is a non-issue. But for the sake of argument (with myself) I have a completely different strategy to help them through their days. Things that will help them grow, not only as a person, but create character.... or maybe just let them be bored and see what happens.

I have been reading the blog, The Lazy Organizer, and she has pointed to some fantastic resources and ideas that she is implementing with her own children. One of the resources is a speech given on the topic of raising children for their heavenly home. I LOVE this speech. It is wonderful and gives me such motivation. No matter what is said around me I know that this is the right path for our family. Why? Because I feel at peace with simplicity, education, religion, and true culture. I want to learn how to be different. The world has forgotten about classical music, art, nature, and reading. The few things that have had an impact on countless men and women over the ages (and are mostly free). I want to rediscover the magic of those things in our home.

As I take my son to preschool, all I see in every hallway are licenced characters smiling or glaring (if you are a super hero) from backpacks. I would say that 90% of the children there are endorsing some kind of character from their book bags, which do not even hold books yet!! Children, as a consumer, are a huge market now. This website shines the light on the subject. They report that children are easy to target because they are a captive audience most of the time, by watching an average of 25,000 to 40,000 commercials a year. Which then in turn equals about $130- 670 billion dollars in parental purchases which the children (12 and under) influence directly!

I, of which have been one of those parents influenced. Let me say that I don't think all Disney movies are bad, they just have their place and time. Just like all junk food isn't evil. It just needn't be around everyday. I want our home to be one of limited choices/moderation, with a focus on the "real". Real entertainment, cooking, chores/work, and relationships. I have a lot more research to do on this subject, and hope to learn as much as possible through books, blogs, but mostly by just experiencing it with them. :)

Eco Easter Crafts

We made two free crafts this Easter week. One being the Resurrection Eggs and then what I like to call the "Eco-Easter" bunny.

This is a wonderful way to make the story more hands on for the kids. Each part in Jesus' journey to the cross, grave, and rising again has a prop and then an explanation. We are keeping the story simple this year, because they are so young. For older ones you could go further in-depth and maybe make up your own props. This craft is free (if you have plastic eggs leftover or bought at a garage sale:) ) and will last quite a few years down the road.

However our bunnies stuffed with plastic bags will be seeing next Easter in a different way. More than likely as a trash liner in the bathroom or a reusable sack to take to Aldi's. :)

A Seusstastic Birthday!

March 2 is Dr. Seuss' birthday. It is always written on our calendar like a beloved friend. His books harvest the imagination in children and remind adults that life is not to be taken so seriouloos.

Some comical background information on Seuss' pen name. He got it while in his college years during the prohibition era. There he worked as editor on his school's paper. One night he and his friends were having a drinking party and got caught. That was the end of his leadership role, but he still managed to write in the paper, under the name of "Seuss". A combination of his mother's maiden name and his middle name. Had they had only known it was one in the same!



So, for a whimsical craft we pulled out of the craft closet (on a cold, not rainy day)- An easy Cat in the Hat project.

The most wonderful stuff.....

Cylinder container, Folder's coffee lid, and white/red paper.

• Cut red and white paper into strips
• Glue onto the cylinder
• Cut red paper into a circle and glue to coffee lid
• Cut another red circle and glue onto top of cylinder
• Tape cylinder to coffee lid
• Way to go making fun things that are funny!

Next, we took miniature Popsicle sticks. My son drew the Lorax, truffula trees, and then printed the title underneath just for kicks!

These Truffula trees, looks like the artist has had quite a sneeze!

Oh, the places you can go........ when you celebrate a hero! (98 percent and 3/4 guaranteed)

A Homemade Thank You Card

Here's a fun and different way to say or spell out Thank You to your friends and family!

Directions

• The first step is to make sure that you have an editing program or two, on your computer. I use Picasa through Google and Photoscape. They are both free and user friendly.
• Then, grab your subjects. My participants were more than willing to stay perfectly still for the shoot, which included quite a few "do overs". We had fun with it. I would let them see each letter after they finished and oooh and ahhhh over it. ( This could have also been used as a wonderful teaching tool. Making your body into the different letters of the alphabet, printing and having them spell different words. )Don't worry about it being perfect just have them contort and get creative with the lettering! Spell your word out one letter at a time. I did this by having them lay on the floor while I was standing on our bed looking down.
• Upload your "people letters" onto the computer and then open up Picasa. They have an option on the toolbar that says "Create" and then go down to "Picture Collage".
• Take each individual "letter" photo and put it into the program's collage. Play with the spacing and other options till you get it how you like it and then SAVE.
• Once it is saved. I exported the now "Thank You" grouped lettering out of Picasa, and into Photoscape. Once in Photoscape, click on Editing. Find your saved picture that you exported out of Picasa, then start editing. I made this one black and white so you couldn't see how all over the carpet they were, and how the lighting was always different. Made a black border around the photo. And added individual letters to each of the "people letter" panels. Viola! It was done! Almost....
• Finding a deal on Seehere.com and getting shipping free. I made them into Photocards and wrote "Thank You" at the bottom.

A classic project that will involve the kids in the thanking process and make for a fun afternoon! :)

The Gift of Song

The best FREE gift that you can give to your kids, grand kids, nephews/nieces today?








Learn a new song.

Teach it to a child.

Repeat.


It is a fun activity that can be taken anywhere, anytime, and anyplace. That is guaranteed to put a smile on their face.


Today, we spent time together, learning about birds with feathers.

Then drove around and pretended to be a fireman, saving the land.

And learned about Father Abraham. (Hey, if they have time to sing a silly song. So do you! )


Days of the week.


Months of the Year.


Turned the lights off and tried to go to Dreamland. But if they take the road less traveled, and get lost, maybe even detoured. Help them find their way back again with your voice.




What is your favorite lullaby or kids song?

Let Me Count the Ways....Worksheets

I once asked a teacher, who is a friend of mine, what her kids struggle with the most in third grade. She quickly answered, "counting money and making change." Well, no surprise there! I can barely function adding and subtracting coins in my own head.

So, wanting to get my son more comfortable around coins and numbers I turned to the Internet for resources. I was not disappointed! I found this website comprised of all kinds of homeschooling worksheets. Donna Young is the creator, and she has a numerous list of different subjects and age appropriate worksheets!

Here are the worksheets I printed out, about coins. Having them laminated at a Teaching Supply store (not UPS, they are very pricey to laminate! I found out that the hard way.) These were only $1.30 at the Teaching Store and will last forever.

I cut out the ones that I am going to use as flashcards, and the rest are ready for an erasable marker!

Oh, Internet let me count the ways I love thee free and abundant resources!

Winter Wonderhouse.

It's winter and I wonder what the kids CAN do? There's no going to the park, no walks, no bikes, and no outside. But inside the house there is plenty to do! It just takes a pen and some to Popsicles sticks to visualize the possibilities...

I made these last winter and even now I can think of quite a few more activities that the kids would enjoy like puppets, play house, dollhouse, legos, and jump on a bed.

These are all good activities for kids to do by themselves. So, when cabin fever sets in, and the tv looks tempting, tell the kids to take two of these and don't call you till after dinner is ready :)

Dinosaur Birthday Party

Some tips on how to have a homemade fourth birthday party.

Printed off the Internet "dinosaur footprints." Cut them out of green card stock and used clear packing tape to stick them to the doors and floor. The kids drew lines on old boxes and I pasted on pretend ivy leaves with crepe paper.

The footprints lead down the hall and up the wall. Fun facts about dinosaurs were posted on construction paper on the wall.

Place settings were made from this website (which I altered just a bit).

My son's birthday is in November. Let me say that there is nothing dinosaur related in the Dollar Store at that season. The best time to look is in September/October. I found these reusable bags in the dollar bins at Target during that time. Also, the Dollar store had mini dinosaur egg excavating kits, coloring books, and crayons. To add a touch of personalization I printed off a certificate with the child's name that said they did "dino-mite" job at the party. The hats came from Michael's and I wrote each of their names in black marker.

I had around the house some soft foam-like poster board that I made into a dinosaur. Then out of the extra pieces made his tail(s). I drew dots and Happy Birthday (his name) on an extra white shirt of his. The tail pieces all had the kids names and whomever got the closest, got to unlock the birthday treat (cupcakes)!

As a side note, my four year old would not have anything to do with a game that made you cover your eyes and be in the dark (even for the sake of birthday fun.)

The decorations were mainly library books borrowed a few days before his birthday and I also had some fake ivy to put around the windows.

Printing out pictures and placing them around the house is a tradition I have come to love too.

The cupcakes had fake mini-dinosaurs that I got with a coupon from Michael's too. The best part is that he still plays with these all the time!

I wasn't sure if going to all this trouble would be worth it. But, let me say they only ask for a Dinosaur or/Kitty Kat/or Elmo birthday once. Go wild with it, make it handmade and personal, and enjoy the magic of birthdays!