Post-Christmas: It is ALL ABOUT BOWS

It is the day after Christmas and I am struck by the attention all the bows and leftover tissue are getting. I suppose the adornments of gifts are the sparkly counterpart to the empty box from which the toys came. And I'm here to tell you that is OK to stop cleaning up. Let your children play with the day-after debris.

Perhaps they will decorate their pet snake...

...Build a home for a frog, complete with lake, bed, and sparkling lilypads...

...or any other number of ways.

Kick back. Relax. And let the children play.

Merry merry.

How Custom Decorative Bows Make Gifts All the More Amazing

Pint-sized Independence at the Pumpkin Patch

In October, I wrote a story about finding a safe and appropriate place to let young children have complete freedom to make choices for themselves at the pumpkin patch. It is based on the premise that children learn to make good decisions by practicing making decisions, not following directions.

Past the Pumpkin Patch: Gift-Giving

The pumpkin patch isn't the only place that is low risk, high reward for inviting a young child to have full creative license. Any time you wrap a gift is also a good time to stop trying to control everything and let your child do it.. Since October, this is the first opportunity our family has had for a blog-worthy 

It was the day before Christmas. I had finished putting wrapping paper and labels on all the gifts I would be giving the next day. I turned to the box of bows and ribbons and thought, "I bet my daughter would like to do this with me." It was another opportunity to bite my tongue and let my daughter have free reign over something. (A rare thing when we are constrained by travel during the holidays.) 

Custom Bows

I invited her in to the gift-wrapping room. "Would you like to help me decorate the gifts with bows?" I asked. I imagined her choosing one bow for each gift, putting some tape on it, sticking it on the wrapped box, and being done. 

But no.

My daughter looked at the materials: bows, ribbons, yarn, tape, scissors, and saw an opportunity to be creative. Luckily, I wasn't in a hurry and I could stand by, watch in amazement, and be her assistant. 

Amazing Adornments

She proceeded to surprise me with her artistic aesthetic: 

• Ribbon was cut and wrapped only part-way around the box (the front, not the back). 
• Some ribbon was sliced up the middle into two strips of narrow sparkle. 
• Colors were certainly NOT coordinated with the wrapping paper. 
• In fact, when yarn and ribbon were alternated to make candy-cane stripes across the entire package, the paper was redundant.
• Tape was used down the middle of things instead of on the edges or hiding discretely underneath things. 

What resulted was a collection of completely custom-designed, hand-made adornments for our family. Treasures, indeed.

A Variety of Materials, Plus LOTS of Tape

If you're ready to hand over the job of decorating gifts to your young child then you'll need a couple of things:

• Patience (possibly in the form of a glass of wine while you watch your child work)
• An open mind
• Materials for decorating: stickers, ribbon, scissors, (developmentally-appropriate arts/crafts stuff).
• Tape. Lots and lots of tape.

Gift-giving is the kind of thing that happens year-round at birthdays, Thursdays, and holidays. I invite you to make time and space for your child to help make the gifts even more special, more unique, than you can probably imagine they could ever be.

How to Invite Color Wars to Make Awesome Art

We are several weeks into the school year and I find myself returning to an often-used quotation by Pablo Picasso:

                    “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

No place makes my son dustier than school. Every day we spend a non-trivial amount of time decompressing from the pressures of first grade and coming back together as a family. The most potent tool I have to guide this process is art. The most heartwarming of which is art my son does with his little sister.

Together Art
Doing art together is tricky business. The artists have to share a canvas, share materials, and share a vision of what the process will be. And, like many siblings, there is sometimes conflict around these issues.

Here is how I approach doing art together that has been successful... Read the rest at Fat Brain Toys!

A Bowlful of Memories

It can be overwhelming for me to have a plan that I don't follow. So anything seasonal or attached to the holidays needs to be simple enough that it fits into our busy lives. Care in point - Easter.

I love the idea of tradition - doing something every year to celebrate. This year I started a tradition that is simple enough that a small child can do it but open enough that the activity can grow as my children grow: decorating keepsake eggs.

I went to Michaels in search of wooden eggs, thinking that would have the longevity I"m hoping for. Unfortunately I couldn't find any. But to my delight I found a really cool alternative. Cardboard eggs.

They are lightweight and the outside covering seems like the perfect consistency for taking color from everything from sharpies to watercolor paints. In fact, it comes with color for dunking, which I think would be a lovely way for a young toddler to participate.

So my ever-so-small plan for our spring tradition is for each person in my family to decorate an egg each year. I will stash them away in our crowded garage and bring them out to display in the spring in a pretty bowl. In a few short years we will have a colorful bowlful of memories. Memories of sitting together painting, drawing or dunking eggs, leaving our impression of the day on a small treasured token of the season.

Nature's Alphabet Art

Laila Kujala is a hard artist to track down. I only know her because my mother-in-law is resourceful, has great taste and stumbled upon Kujala's "Alphabet Art" in her local Michigan travels. A quick peek at Kujala's blog shows a few pictures of her Alphabet Art and with some digging one can find her artist page on fineartamerica.com. But her work is so cool and right up our alley so I have to share it with you.

Among other things, Kujala makes "Alphabet Art." Seeing shapes in the world is just what our preschoolers need to be doing in order to develop pre-literacy, pre-science and pre-math skills. Kujala's art shows us a new way of finding shapes, particularly letters, in nature. 

She has three series of nature alphabet art: one alphabet made of flowers, one made of forest trees, and one made of sand. 

This art is something special for families of preschool engineers. Not only do we get to enjoy some beautiful art but we can draw inspiration from it. Just imagine going on a letter scavenger hunt! With a camera in tow, look to find each of the letters of the alphabet in nature. It will certainly be a game to play this summer!

Butterfly Basket

Ever since they saw the Jeff & Paige album release concert, where performers dressed as monarch butterflies for the finale, my children have been asking for their own wings. So this spring we will be celebrating new beginnings with a butterfly-themed basket.

Dreamy Dress-up Wings available at fatbraintoys.com.

I love this theme because it is a lovely blend between science and art, which is essentially engineering. While they have pretended to emerge from chrysalis (a blanket) as butterflies (with imaginary wings) before, a new toy will enhance their play. With wings dangling from their shoulders and wrists, I am certain they will have newly affirmed confidence in their ability to be butterflies. They will feel the drag on the wings when they flap, they will see the color of bright orange as it shines in the spring time sun. They will read about butterflies and they will revisit the Jeff & Paige song "The Great Monarch Migration" to learn music and science.

"The Great Monarch Migration" is the last track on this science-packed music CD. Available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jeffpaige.

And when they are ready to curl up and read, we will open our new copies of our old favorite library butterfly books including "Butterfly Colors and Counting" and "My oh my, A butterfly!"

A simple but beautiful book that depicts (and names) real creatures.

A longer and more informative butterfly book by Scholastic.

So there is a simple list to make a Butterfly Basket for your preschool engineer. A toy, some books, and CD of great musical science. You can always toss in some butterfly wall stickers,  arts & craft stickers, or tatoos if that suits you.

Peel and Stick

Ooh! I almost forgot something for our smallest butterfly lovers out there. Check out this push and pull toy! I have recommended it before but I'll put it at your fingertips here for you... Not all push toys are created equal. There are little lawn mowers, popping ball push toys, animals that move, and more. But the Hape Dancing Butterflies Push and Pull Toy puts them all to shame, mechanically speaking. It is your child's first bevel gear. It is your child's first Rube Goldberg machine. As the wheels move forward, a rubber ring connects to the horizontal platform to make it spin. As it spins, the dangling butterflies begin to rotate and "fly."

Hape Dancing Butterflies Push and Pull

Tinsel Games

"One of the hardest lessons I have learned since becoming a parent is that I cannot (and should not) control everything. 

Before having children I organized my life with checklists. I would write down my list of things to do and then do them in a timely manner. I held myself accountable to doing things well if I were to do them at all. Once I had completed my task to my satisfaction then I could cross it off my list. 

After becoming a mom I still organize my life with checklists but I do not do them in a timely manner. Everything seems to have turned into a group effort, which means tasks are not necessarily done well or even to completion. A good case in point is decorating."

Read more at Fat Brain Toys...

More Small Toys

Magic Scarf.

When we were checking out at the grocery store the clerk, a retired preschool teacher, couldn't resist doing a little magic for my kids. My kids loved it and it gave me an idea for a gift...the color-changing hanky. It is mechanically interesting, appropriate for small children (I think), and relatively inexpensive. What is funny about this scarf is all the ways my child has discovered for playing with it. Of course, figuring it out was first on the list. Then it turned into a snake (because snakes are big around here these days). Lastly, and I don't know why this surprised me, my kid discovered how centripetal force can be exploited. He could change the colors by twirling it around like nunchucks.



The rest of these are on our wish lists but I don't actually have experience with them. They are just ideas I'm saving for later...

Bug Lite.

In search of gifts ('tis the season), I was perusing all sorts of things in our local small toy shop (Into the Wind). I could imagine spending all of our money in that store because it is jam-packed with interesting and fun toys. But that is beside the point. The point is that I found this little "Bug Lite" there. It is a great take on a flashlight as a small gift because it has bendy arms and legs. Those bendy arms and legs make it wildly versatile because it can be mounted just about anywhere. Plus, it looks like a bug, which is a plus around our house.

Picture provided for scale.

Glow in the Dark Stars.

OK. Sometimes it is just hard to remember all those magical things from childhood that were just cool. When I saw Glow in the Dark Stars, I remembered. What a fun project for preschoolers to help decorate their space with glow in the dark stickers. And since we're approaching the solstice and we have an abundance of darkness during our waking hours, glow in the dark stars could be just the cure we need for a cold winter day.

Toysmith Crank Music Box

I saw the Toysmith brand music box at Into the Wind but I didn't see any available on Amazon. The Toysmith brand boxes at Into the Wind played Christmas songs. But the Kikkerland brand one available thru the link (above) are only available in other classics (including Stairway to Heaven). Toysmith ones were available thru sites that I'm not familiar with like "Toydoo.com" and "Finneganstoys.com." It appears as though they are also available on eBay. The one I handled in the store was cool. It seemed sturdy enough and the sound was nice enough for a $6 hand-crank music box. It was smallish in my hand but the right size for a preschooler, I think. Kind of fun and definitely up the alley for a mechanically-minded person. I did find a different branded one on Amazon so I put the link, below.

3D Doodle Kit.

Believe it or not this kit is recommended for 3 years and up! I think the pencils have a special device to hold them together, which is necessary for creating an image that will appear 3D through the glasses.  What a fun way to explore vision and various aspects of STEAM!

[Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I receive a small referral fee at no cost to you. To see how I spend the money see my "Philanthropy" page. ]

Happy Holidays!

Peace image from http://thegatheringsanangelo.blogspot.com/

Thank you, readers, for your interest in preschool engineering. It is my pleasure to share my ideas and discoveries with you. With the holiday season upon us I am writing to sign off for the rest of the year. I do not plan any more original posts until January 2014. Never fear! I will continue to pass along fun stuff on my Facebook page and Google+. Plus, you can review my lists and other writing whenever you want in the archives. Here are links to my most recent "Gift Ideas" for mechanically-minded toddlers and preschoolers:

- Favorite Picture Books with Awesome Machines
- Kitchen Gadgets
- Apparel
- Around the House
- Gears for All Ages
- Top 5 Play Dough Toys
- Top 5 Slow Toys
- Top 5 Songs
- Top 5 Truck Books
- Stocking Stuffers
- Top 5 Apps
- Top 5 Working Trucks

Peace.

Around the House

This is not a list of toys. This is a list of cool stuff for your home that would inspire a mechanically-minded person. It is a collection of stuff I've found on my travels (both virtual and real) that I thought I would pass along for you to enjoy.

Belt Fans. Belt driven ceiling fans are just plain cool. I wrote an article about how we discovered them at a brewery in Michigan back in July. Take a look...if you're redecorating then this could be a unique, super fun way to add mechanical wonders to your home.

Timberkits. I don't even remember how I found this wooden Caterpillar Machine...probably surfing YouTube with my preschooler. These are assemble-your-own toys so you will have to have a patient child but they are pretty cool mechanical fidgets for enjoying on a desk. All the machines having moving parts that go when someone moves a crank. Some have a cool marble run that goes on and on while you crank. There is even a motor attachment you can buy if you don't want to hand crank for minutes at a time.

Kinetic Sand. Wow. Look what I found at www.fatbraintoys.com! 98% sand, 2% I don't care because it is the most interesting material that I have seen in a long time. Watch the video, below, to see how this sand holds shape without being "wet sand" and pours without being dried out. Listed for 3 year olds and up I can't help but think, "I want this for ME!"


Mobile. This is another one for adult (ages 8+) assembly but it is a beloved mobile in our home. It is colorful and designed to balance in a way that is more interesting than most mobiles that I've seen in stores.

Wall Stickers. Roommates is a highly distributed line of wall stickers for decorating your child's space. They have a handful of themes including vehicles (pictured below). I also found some gear decals (pictured below) at Trading Phrases. A cool thing about the Trading Phrases gears...you can choose the color of the gears!

Roommates - Vehicles

Trading Phrases - Choose a Color

[Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I receive a small referral fee at no cost to you. To see how I spend the money see my "Philanthropy" page. ]

Belt Fans

Picture from beltfans.com.

Children are perceptive. It is their blessing and, sometimes, their curse. At the worst of times, my kids are overwhelmed by all the amazing (and not-so-amazing) things that surround them. They cry, run scared, or freeze in a tantrum. But as they grow up they are learning how to tune out the not-so-amazing things and give their attention to things in order of importance. I feel joyful when Mikey or Anna pulls me aside and exclaims, "Look at what I see!" They slow me down, they remind me to be present in the moment, and they almost always show me something really cool.

During our week-long stay at Crystal Mountain Resort in Michigan we ventured to Frankfort to play at the beach. Frankfort is a little lake town with all the typical trimmings - a marina filled with motor boats and schooners, a main street with shopping and restaurants, and a brewery. Stormcloud Brewing Company looked like a good place for our family to grab an early dinner. It served beer, pizza and popcorn and had a patio. The lot next to the patio was empty and grass-covered and Mikey and Anna made many friends with whom they could run and play while adults enjoyed our drinks. Little did we know that there was a preschool engineering discovery to be made!

I sat at a table outside with Anna while the boys went inside to place our order. Minutes later Mikey exploded onto the patio with all the excitement of having made a discovery. Anna and I toddled inside and followed Mikey's pointing finger to the ceiling. There they were - the most unbelievably cool ceiling fans I had ever seen. The hardware that held the propellers was vintage-cool. The blades were sleek and simple. But the truly remarkable thing about these fans was the motor and the belts. There was a single motor that drove three fans. A belt stretched between the motor and the first fan's base; a second belt stretched between the first fan's base and the second fan's base; then there was another belt and another fan. As the motor turned, the belts moved and all the fans turned. It was a preschool engineer's dream come true!

As my family stood there with our necks craned, other patrons stopped and looked up. People remarked to me that Mikey is so observant and said, "he'll be an engineer." I smiled. I don't really care if Mikey becomes an engineer, an artist, or a race car driver. I just hope that he maintains his curiosity and nurtures his aptitude for being present and perceptive.

If you have the opportunity to design a space in your house for your preschool engineer and you want these fans, here is the site: Fanimation.