Taking the Time for Fun and Messy Play

I know a mother who does not like for her son to get dirty. She doesn't like for her son to play outside because he might get dirty. She doesn't let her son paint at home because he might (or will) make a mess. She says that is what daycare is for.

I feel sad for her, though I respect her point of view. I just don't feel the same way she does.

I can't imagine not painting with my son, or playing in a big tub of shaving cream. I can't imagine not watching my son splash in the water and play in the mud. I'm the mom who has four boxes of cornstarch and two boxes of food coloring in her pantry waiting for the next play inspiration.

I did hours and hours of "research" when I found out I was expecting. After reading many wonderful articles and many wonderful blogs, there were two things that really stood out for me. One was reading aloud to my son and the other was the importance of play.

Life does get in the way. I work full time and sometimes I don't feel like coming home and making a mess.

Though I must remember that my son will be little for only a short time. These are the most important years. The years he may not remember, but I will.

I want to remember his little fingers swirling around in vibrant colors of paint.

I want to remember the delight on his face when he shows me his finished masterpiece.

I want to remember the squeals of laughter when jumping through puddles.

I want to remember cleaning tiny but dirty hand prints off the white walls in our living room.

I will never forget because I promise to provide my son with fun and messy play whenever possible.....



Snowman in May....

Hello! I know that it's been awhile... Loads and loads of stress from work, personnel changes and such (still doing three jobs)... All I feel like doing when I get home is relaxing with my family. I'm also behind on my blog reading and commenting. So everyone that has stopped by to read and comment on my ramblings....I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise I will catch up.

My little guy is sick again... Which means we have spent this whole weekend inside. We relaxed on the couch all day yesterday. I think we watched more television yesterday than we had the whole month of April. At about 7:30 last night I hear a little voice ask, "Mama, I want to make a snowman."

My first reaction is to say no. It's May, it's ninety degrees outside... It's Arizona... Winter is over.... Who makes a snowman in May? I can think of a million excuses...Then I thought about it... My poor little guy was running a high fever all day, and he actually felt like doing something. He was really excited about this. So, I said okay.

"Mama, I want to make my snowman with buttons." So after cutting the body and finding the perfect paper for the background I pull the jar full of buttons out of the cabinet. This delights my son immensely, he loves my collection of buttons. I pour some in a glass bowl then hunt down the pipe cleaners for the arms.

"Mama, I want a blue hat and blue eyes." So, I cut a hat out of blue construction paper, and he picks his blue eyes from our collection of googly eyes. Now we are ready to assemble the snowman.

This is his project and his idea, not mine. He takes the bottom of the snowman, tips the glue to get it flowing.... after the glue starts to pool I say, "I think that is enough glue."

"No Mama, I need lots of glue." After that statement, I bit my lip and didn't say anything else. I just let him create. I helped him with the snowman's body placement, only because he asked. Otherwise, he did everything else. He even methodically put a dot of glue for each button placement down the snowman's body.

He was so proud of the finished product. He couldn't wait to show his dad who was at the grocery store when all this art making commenced. I'd like to think that it was more than an art project, it was an idea we made happen. It was a process, his process, and it was amazing to watch his idea transform into something concrete.

I love that childhood is magic, where a snowman can be made in May in Arizona in ninety degree weather. It was perfect.

Charlotte Zolotow's In My Garden

 Since tomorrow is Earth Day, I wanted to share a book about nature. To me nature is the earth. Last night we had a picnic at a local park, then we did some star gazing. It was a beautiful spring night in the desert. I am trying to learn how to take pictures of the night sky with my camera, unfortunately, I need a whole lot more practice so no pictures here. Anyway, on to the book....

 







In My Garden by Charlotte Zolotow is a beautiful book that is illustrated by one of my favorites, Roger Duvoisin. The story is about a little girl and what she loves best during each season in the garden.

"In the spring what I love best in my garden are the birds building nests. Of course there are other things I love in my garden-red tulips like a patch of fire under the pear tree, violets and hyacinths and daffodils."

The story is simplicity, and the illustrations are divine. This book reminds me of a time when all children played outside. They experience seasons in the out of doors, the picking of wildflowers, the discovery of worms and bugs, the collecting of rock, and the climbing of trees.

So for Earth Day, lets take our children outside, plant a tree, plant a garden, find worms or bugs, or hunt for rocks or shells. Or just take your shoes off and run barefoot in the grass with your child. Experience nature, and hopefully our children will have an appreciation of our earth and take better care of it than we have.

Deep in Thought

Do you ever wonder what goes through your child's mind? I know I do.

We Finally Read Knuffle Bunny

Confession....we just read Mo Willems Knuffle Bunny for the first time last week. I know... We have quite a large collection of vintage books and I seem to forget that there are a ton of wonderful new books waiting for our discovery.

My son is absolutely crazy for this book. He has asked for it to be read to him about a dozen times now. In case you haven't read it yet, it is about a little girl named Trixie who runs an errand with her father. During that errand something tragic happens to Trixie, she loses her Knuffle Bunny. Poor Trixie, she tries very hard to convey to her father that she has lost her Knuffle Bunny. In a way that only babies know how, but to her dismay, her father doesn't understand her. Fortunately upon reaching home, Mom notices that Knuffle Bunny is missing, so ensues a mad rush to go and find her. It is a wonderful story, and I love that real pictures are used for a backdrop against the characters. I can't believe that it has taken us so long to read it.

When I was a little girl I had a pink and white crocheted cat named Boo Boo Kitty. I got her in my Easter basket when I was about six. Her and I were inseparable for years. I still have her.

My son is not attached to any particular stuffed animal or blanket. I constantly carried him in my Moby Wrap when he was a baby and he mostly sleeps with us, so I think this is the reason why he has not formed any of those kind of attachments. He has been very attached to me, though as time goes by, he is showing more and more independence.

My sister and mother both warned me about carrying him all the time, but for us anyway, I think giving him the love and attention he needed as a baby has helped him to become the independent three year old he is today. He still loves to snuggle and cuddle, but now it seems that it is I who needs the cuddling, not him. 





Mama I'm Superman

It's funny how one thing can influence a child. A thing like watching a small snippet of Superman one night while eating dinner. You know the scene, reporter Lois Lane in her flirty yellow dress with matching hat getting ready to fall out of the helicopter as it teeters off the side of a skyscraper. She is barely hanging on by the radio when all of the sudden she starts falling to her death screaming all the way? Then lo and behold Superman comes flying in to save the day? Yeah, that scene...

I think my son was about two and a half when he saw that one five minute scene... But since then he has been obsessed with being Superman. This is what he wanted to be for Halloween last year, which was his idea totally, and I could not persuade him otherwise.

So my son will go through phases where he wants to be Batman (he has never seen it, so I have no idea where this came from) or he is Superman. I'm still not sure if this is a good or a bad thing?

Anyway, the other night he was standing on the couch looking just a cute as could be so I walked over to him and gave him a big hug and a kiss, just because. He crosses his arms, looks at me, and says, "don't kiss me Mama, I'm Superman." I look at him for a few seconds and replied with, "that's okay, even Superman loved his Mama."

Indeed he did.

Finding Balance...What is really important....

I can not believe that it is almost the middle of March! It seems like we just celebrated Christmas. Time is flying by for me. St. Patrick's day is a few days away and Easter is not far behind. I haven't even got out the Easter books yet. Yes I know, I am so behind on everything this year. We haven't done any crafts in forever and I feel like such an awful mother.

I am trying to find some kind of balance between working, being a mom, and being a significant other. Trust me, this is a very hard thing to do.

I am so glad I take the time to read aloud to my son. It is the most cherished hour of my day. It is the calm to the storm my life has been weathering. I always know that we will have that precious time together at the end of our day.

I know that there are parents like me out there with the same dilemma of trying to balance it all and make it all work. Trying to be the best at work, and the best at home. Sometimes things have to take a backseat. Please don't let it be our children. They are the most important thing in the world. 

I have been doing three positions at work, and the other day I had to finally tell them that I can't do it all anymore. This was a very hard thing for me to do but the hours are killing me, and more importantly I am missing precious time with my son. Before he was born, work took center stage in my life, but it can't be that way anymore.

I am thankful for the job I have and will work as hard as I always have, but I am even more thankful I get to come home and be a mom. I just needed to remind myself of what is really important.

So no book reviews today, just please spend time with your children. And if you choose to spend that time  giggling over the mishaps of Curious George, or following the adventures of Jack and Annie from the Magic Tree House series, or laughing and crying over the trails and tribulations of Jo March and the lot from Little Women, then know that your time with your child is being well spent.

Thoughts on Reading Chapter Books to My Three Year Old

We started reading Jenny And The Cat Club by Esther Averill last night. My son was entranced, especially since Pickles the fire cat appears in some of the stories with Jenny Linsky. (By the way, he loves Pickles the fire cat. You can read more about Pickles in The Fire Cat by Esther Averill)

Every time I told him it was time for bed, he begged for me to read more. Until, next thing I knew, we were on page ninety four, and it was eleven o'clock at night. He wanted more, but it was very late, and we had to be up all the earlier this morning due to an early morning meeting at work. 

My son just turned three last month, and I am reading chapter books to him. Am I being a pushy mother? I don't know, maybe, but he loves them. He begs for them, he loves Jack and Annie from The Magic Tree House series. He now loves Jenny Linsky and Mercy Watson. (He wants buttered toast with every meal, just like Mercy Watson.) 

I tried reading his first chapter book to him when he was about two and a half. I was able to gauge his comprehension by asking him questions about what was happening in the story as we read along. I still ask him questions, and know that he is retaining what I read to him, because I will ask him things about the book

the next day. He usually remembers, bits and pieces of the story, and what he can't recall, he tells me he can't remember, and he asks me to tell him what happened. 

I have been reading to him since before he was born. I think this is the reason why we are now reading chapter books at three. I gave him a good foundation because when he was a baby, we logged hours and hours reading books like Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, tons of vintage Little Golden Books, fairy tales, Peter Pan, and Beatrix Potter's The Compete Tales. We also frequented the library, so he was also read countless picture books.

We never sat our son in front of the television as a baby. (He does watch it now, but if you can keep your child from watching, please do. It is a very addictive habit, that I think causes behavioral issues. This is something my other half and I disagree about, but that is another post for another day.) When he was with me he was in my Moby Wrap, or when I couldn't carry him for safety purposes, such as while I was cooking or doing laundry, he was in his bouncy chair. I always placed him where he could see me, and would explain to him what I was doing. 

As he got older and started toddling around, we still read the picture books, the Little Golden books, and the age appropriate baby books because he didn't want to sit still for longer books. He was ready to explore the physical world around him. I still always offered to read him a story, because by this time, he was able to tell me if he wanted to be read to or not. Most of the time, but not always, he wanted still wanted to be read to.

I never force my son to sit for a story, it's always his choice. I think that is what makes our reading aloud time so precious, it is not forced, which means we both enjoy it so much. 

I went back to work full time when my son was twelve weeks old, the only quality time I was able to spend with him is at night and on the weekends. Raising a child is hard work, the most important job in the world. Reading aloud is a sacrifice on my part. It takes up a lot of my free time, but building a strong family unit is more important to me than anything. Reading aloud to my child is one of the most important things I will ever do in my life. It is building a bond that I hope will last a lifetime. 

So if you are a new parent and asking the question, when should I start reading aloud to my child? The answer is right now! If your child is older and has never been read to, don't think it is too late, start small. Take them to the library, let them pick out a few books. Turn it into an adventure. Then sit down with your child, get cozy and read to them. Trust me, it will be the one of the best decisions you will ever make.

Winter Is Here, Resolutions, and Thoughts

I can't believe winter is here and the new year is just a few days away. Where has this year gone? I can't believe that my son is three! How does this happen? One minute he is a tiny baby, the next, he is a thirty seven pound boy full of energy. He has his own ideas, likes, dislikes, and agenda.

I feel like I am missing so much because I have to work. I hate putting my son in school all day, but at this point and time we really have no choice. He has just transitioned into the three year old classroom, and I have noticed he is picking up some really bad habits (whining). This is frustrating, but we just have to teach him the right way to behave.

My son is starting to play a lot more by himself, I have mixed feelings about this. It's great because I get more done, but I miss that time with him. Maybe I am missing his dependence on me? Which is selfish, because I want my son to be independent.

There are some positive things. I have really noticed in the past few weeks, his language development has progressed in leaps and bounds. He is speaking full and complete sentences that strangers and other family members can understand. When people find out he just turned three, their eyes go wide, as they can't believe that he is only three. I feel embarrassed about this, though I know I shouldn't. He has always amazed  people with his language abilities. I give all the credit to reading aloud to him and talking to him just as if he were an adult.

Since the new year is upon us, I wanted to make a few resolutions. (I never make resolutions... I never keep them.) I wanted to record them here, as a reminder to myself to be a better person and a better mother.

Limit television watching to two hours a week.

Limit computer time.

Teach son how to read.

Do more art with my son.

Read two chapter books a week with my son.

Read more non-fiction books to my son.

Read one book a week for myself. (I only read 28 books in 2012. Must read more!)

Enjoy the small moments, and not stress over silly things.

Limit family sugar usage.

Cook more homemade meals.

Get us outside everyday.

The resolutions I have listed are doable. Limiting personal television time will give me more time to read for myself. I don't watch much anyway, and neither does my son. I am really excited about teaching my son to read. I am not sure how this is going to happen, but I'm sure it will happen as it's meant to.

Again I have no book to share with you, even though we are reading daily. We did go to the library today, and I started gathering up all the Christmas books to put away until next year. I guess putting away the Christmas books made me a little wistful, which resulted in this post.

Spontaneous Life....

Today was a busy Saturday, daddy was home, so did our weekly grocery shopping, plus we went to a few extra stores which took up most of our morning. Once we got home, it was time to rest, watch a Christmas show, and just spend time with each other.

The pictures in the collage above are from a walk we took last Saturday. The white in the cotton field is the only white we will be seeing in these parts unless we take a trip to the mountains, where it is suppose to snow tonight. We may go to the mountains in the morning, we may not. We are generally not planners, but live a spontaneous life. The only trip we have ever planned was a cruise to Mexico, which of course, you have to plan for.

We also didn't plan on a child, he just happened. Oh, and what a joy he is! I didn't plan on becoming obsessed with reading aloud to him, but I did, and it has been a wonderful adventure for both of us. Sometimes the most wonderful things in life aren't planned.

I think we spend to much time planning, instead of leaving our time open for spontaneity. To spend time with family, take a walk, read a story, do art, make a gift, or just talk to each other face to face. It disturbs me that we live in such a materialistic and selfish society.

How many children experience the joy of touching their first cotton plant? Or picking a flower? Or running through the grass barefoot, or making mud pies? How many children are read to? How many are missing out on the stories from the bible? Or the stories of our heritage? Or stories of fairies, gnomes and pixies that fill the imagination? Or fairy tales filled with giants and nursery rhymes where a cow can jump over the moon?

There is no harm in letting our children have these experiences. In fact, I believe that our society is suffering because our children are not having these experiences. So if nothing else this Christmas, give your child the gift of nature and read them a bedtime story. You never know, it could change your child's life forever.