I got a groupon for an art class at the Chicago Art and Design Center way back, most probably a year ago. As per the norm, of course, I decided to book my class one month prior to the looming expiration date. I went alone but most attendees were in groups. It is a BYOB event. Everyone had their wines. I recommend that you eat before the class, … [Read more...]
Book review: Omnivore’s Dilemma
This week’s book is not a children’s book. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a non-fiction book about nutrition and health, which I highly recommend everyone, who wants to figure out how to eat healthy in the age of industrialization, to read. Definition of Omnivore in the dictionary is “an animal or person that eats … [Read more...]
Robot themed birthday party
This year, my son wanted a robot themed birthday party. We always hold the parties at our home. Kids play in the basement, parents mingle and chat. Since the kids have grown, they tend to come up with mischievous plans together, move around the house instead of playing with toys in the basement. So I decided to bring in some type of an activity to … [Read more...]
Decorating my daughter’s headbands
When I saw this starfish headband on my friend's blog and I immediately pinned it to my Pinterest board. I ordered starfish, and some seashells while I was at it. As I gathered all the beads, ribbons, laces, old gift decorations and my new glue gun along with the starfish and the shells, I realized this was a headband overhaul. I used only … [Read more...]
Questioning homework: Is it worth it?
Our son goes to a public school and is about to finish first grade. It is a magnet school that enrolls students through lottery drawing. He is at school almost for 6 hours, from 8:00am until 1:45pm. Unfortunately, within these 6 hours their lunch break is really short and they do not have a proper recess time where students can spend their … [Read more...]
DIY: Hand-made Star Wars rain boots
I was trying to buy new rain boots for the kids last fall. As you might imagine, there were lots of colorful boots with great designs for girls but none for boys, especially in size bigger than 1. So I talked my son into getting these plain black boots, telling him we can decorate it as he wants. I got permanent metallic markers. He wanted to … [Read more...]
How to make toy robots from used materials
I see lots of different stores at the airports during my business travels. I saw these robots in one of the stores at an airport. They were adorable. I took few pictures as a mental note, to replicate these at home with all the boxes and stuff I have been collecting to do crafts. The body and head parts were easy to find however I had to … [Read more...]
Nail polish for girls and guns for boys
The culture we pass on to our kids is so particular that it not only changes from country to country, or region to region but differs even from neighbor to neighbor. From how we dress our kids, what we feed them with, the toys we buy for them, to the things we allow them to do, everyone’s "normal" varies. Still, we expect everyone to be similar. … [Read more...]
My educational utopia
In yesterday's post I wrote on various educational philosophies and the certain aspects of which I like about these philosophies, was the summary of what my children learn at their school, the research I have done to learn what I can provide them better as well as things I came across due to selective attention. As I wrote yesterday, I think it … [Read more...]
Pottery work with children
Kids like arts and crafts activities that keep their hands busy and messy. One of "our" favorite activities is pottery. This pottery wheel toy was given to us as a gift, at a birthday party where I asked the guests to bring only arts and crafts related gifts, f they were to choose to bring any. We immediately opened it and put it to use. The … [Read more...]
Book holder for exercise equipment
Two of my daily goals are to workout and to read every day. Sometimes 24-day is not enough to squeeze these two tasks into. If I can get them both done, then I feel lie I've accomplished a major goal. If I run outside, then I listen to audio boos. If I workout with DVDs then I have to read another time. If I cannot workout another way, I get on my … [Read more...]
Painting with marbles
Materials: Tempera paint Old muffin pan to put the paints in Trays Marbles Tea spoons Put the paints in each cup of the muffin pan. Put a marble for each color. Put your paint paper in the tray. Tell the children to take the marbles with cpoons and put them on the paper in the tray then let the marble run on the paper by … [Read more...]
Organizing LEGOs: Alternative storage idea for LEGO pieces
LEGO - at least the basic sets - are considered to be the toys that foster children's creativity. It is also the main source of the mess in the house. Kids go crazy when they cannot find the piece they are looking for. Parents go nuts having to clean up and store all the itty bitty pieces. Not to mention that one of the worst painful moments in … [Read more...]
Picture lists for children
The most effective, if not the most practical, method to include your children in the house chores is to prepare picture to-do lists. To-do / house chores list: When tell my children to clean up, they just stare around as if they've seen the house for the first time. What works best is when I make a to-do list in pictures and assign a task … [Read more...]
Word-matic: Word generator from spiral notepad
My son is very much into reading. Therefore, I am consciously selecting activities to feed his interest. I saw this spinny speller and also found crafty parents, who replicated this toy themselves. I decided to take shortcut and use a spiral bound notepad. Materials: 1 small spiral bound notepad. Scissors Marker Instructions: … [Read more...]
Souvenir shelf for kids’ room
We painted and installed the souvenir shelf that I've mentioned in my Traveling with 2 kids - Part 4 post. The shelf is a left over shelf from a past planned but never realized project. It's one of those unfinished plain shelves from a craft store. The paint is IKEA's water based furniture paint. The furniture in kids' room is white. My son … [Read more...]
Halloween activity – Skeleton puzzle
This is one of the kids' favorite activities around Halloween. I was inspired by Chasing Cheerios‘s building skeleton post. I downloaded the printable skeleton from this address and printed them on cardstock. Then I laminated and cut them. The set has a visual guideline. I am planning to let my son play with it as a puzzle for a while. Then maybe I … [Read more...]
House rules poster for children
Lately, sharing and jealousy issues have drastically escalated between the siblings. Big brother has been less than cooperative and agreeable. As usual, I started thinking about proactive solutions or help them find their own solutions. Sibling rivalry, as I have accepted, is inevitable. My daughter is more interactive and she is trying to do … [Read more...]
Toys, games and activities Rolodex for kids
Kids' playroom is organized in a way where they can easily see and reach their toys and materials. Everything has a place. I rotate some of them in order to reduce disinterest due to ADD and stimulation overload. I decided to create a toy, game and activity Rolodex as a reference guide for them as well as myself, to refer to, when we scratch our … [Read more...]
Games and tips to make your next museum visit with kids the best one
During the winter, especially places with colder climates, museums are the top destinations for indoor entertainment. We, as an example, visited, at least, one museum every week during this past month. Children's museums aside, I find museums here in the US quite kid-friendly. Even for younger children, they offer many areas where kids can play, … [Read more...]