A Boy And His Drum

We have a variety of drums in the living room and he loves them all.  He's also excited that he now has his very own little drum (metal, synthetic head so it can withstand a 4-year-old).  We went to a hafla at Zafira Studios recently and drummed most of the time.  We also chatted with and he got lots of tickles from friends. :) Next time, we may even take his mini-zills!

Altered Book Beginnings

I thought it would be fun to teach Angelo how to make altered books.  He listened carefully while I explained that we only do this to books Mommy says it's ok to alter and repeated it back. :)  He was very interested in putting on the coat of white paint after I removed the excess pages. But, I think I had too much of a plan.  He wasn't all that interested in doing the crayon resist.  Mine is shown with crayon doodles and a water color wash over top.  We did do some more work on the book this week, though, and I'm happy about having one place to keep some of his artwork.  

Speaking of kids and art, I was excited to find out about BIG magazine (saw this post here first) and Create With Me.  I'll have to check them out.  Has anyone else out there seen these?  What do you think?

I'm also excited about some kid/parent art classes over at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts!  Ceramics, jewelry making, finger knitting.  I'm considering some classes for myself too.  Looks like we'll have plenty to do in the Fall! :)

Bank on It

Angelo was developing a lot of interest in putting small things through slots, so I pulled this paper mache   house out of my supplies for bank making.  I cut a small rectangle out for the money slot, put the painters' tape around the top of the bottom piece and helped a tiny bit with putting on the coat of Folk Art's Wicker White (non-toxic).  He did the rest of the painting with his washable (non-toxic) paints, and as you can see, he took it a bit further, using himself as a canvas.  This is not unusual, so we were prepared.  He also stamped on top of his, IMO, wonderful color combinations with his Melissa and Doug dinosaur stamps.  Fun and easy project!  Now he can have a place to put the change he finds, learn about money values, and develop fine motor skills without losing things down the vent. ;)

Healing Mudras

About 5 years ago, I found my copy of this book in a used book store.  I leafed through it quite a bit over  the years and was always impressed with the possibilities; healing yourself by reciting mantras and holding your hands in different positions.  Probably every time, I said to myself, "I've got to start using this".  Not sure why I waited...

Now that I've begun, I'm feeling really good about taking care of myself in this way.  Angelo even meditated and chanted with me today!  We repeated the mantra many times and he was very engaged, despite being tired (why we were meditating in the first place... no more nap time here since he's stopped staying in bed.)

It really is a well-laid-out book.  None of the hand positions are really complicated and not even all the mudras have a corresponding mantra, so if that part is intimidating, you can just start with the hand positions and deep breaths for a few minutes.  

3-6 minutes a day sounds like an attainable goal to me.  :)

Our Pirate Adventure

We went to the Dora's Pirate Adventures show at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.

First, the play area was open with dress up and pirate hat making... no picture of the hat, but he's worn it on other occasions.

We found some "booty" on the side of the road.  Really cool old trunks. Not sure where they're going to go, but couldn't pass them up.  As the sign says, the price was right.

Waiting for the show with a proper hat.  Went back to walk the doggie in between play time and show time.  (First show was sold out.)

We've read the Magic Tree House Pirates Past Noon and the research guide, an informative pop-up "I wish I could be a Pirate" book, this Pirates book (at least a good bit of it. It's long.) and The Night Pirates(which we just adore!  Thank you, Joanna and Bella!) We also have several dress up pirate options at home.  So, going to this show was a natural following.  :)

DIY Facial Toner Parts I and II

You can see the ingredients I used on the first attempt in the picture above. I was trying to skip the whole "wait 2 days to make the rubbing alcohol and lavender oil become floral water" part because I waited until I was out of toner to look up the recipes again. In this case, hoping for the best just didn't work. In any case, I have sensitive skin, so I avoid toners with alcohol in them anyway. Duh. So after a few days of using the first formula, I gave up and cleaned the sink with it.

My second attempt I am much happier with. No bright red face and "ow, ow, ow"; just a nice, effective toner that does what I want it to do. It even works better than the toner I was just using, which was all natural, but too harsh for my skin. Keeping in mind that I have oily and sensitive skin, I came up with a formula that I thought would work:

-almost 4 oz. witch hazel extract (which is in alcohol, but the witch hazel would not keep otherwise and this variety has more witch hazel than the drug store versions.); soothing, calming

-about 20 drops of lavender essential oil (soothes acne, increases elasticity of skin and is one of the most gentle essential oils there are. It can even be used neat. Even so, I used less than what might normally would be called for.)

-about 6 drops of vegetable glycerin (moisturizing)

Even with my "learning curve", this toner still probably cost less than the 4 oz. of toner I just ran out of. Or is at least a wash and the next batch with be "free". Also, it gave Angelo a chance to help Mommy in the kitchen again- observing the scientific process, learning about solutions, measuring, fractions, volume, practicing pouring and one his favorite activities- opening things (building more fine motor skills.)

The sky is beautiful here today! If yours is not, I hope it will be tomorrow! Have a wonderful day!

Pancakes and Pizza

This could also be called "we made creepy looking food". :) But, we both had fun. Making faces on food is probably great for all kids. Angelo requested a face for the pancakes- George used blueberries, but we only had blackberries. We made gluten-free pancakes, which turned out to be more crepe-like (if crepes are heavier and thinner, I don't know.)

Zombie pancake.

Monster pancake (berry juice poured in randomly).

The only recipe here is for the pizza sauce- one can tomato paste, one can tomato sauce, Italian herbs, garlic powder, and mix it up. We have left over sauce for pizza bread later. The crust is Glutino (gluten-free, of course) frozen crust. This is not exactly made from scratch, but we did have our hands in it. :)

Mushrooms for facial features.

I love Angelo's Cyclopes! :)

An Almost 4 year old Boy

We have decided to home school. I had hoped that my visit to the school would blow me away one way or another, but no such luck. So, it was up to the good ol' pros/cons list. The Montessori school, though it has the potential to be wonderful, also has the potential to be a huge financial strain, a source of extra stress (especially with getting out the door by a certain time), and a host of unknown problems because I couldn't guarantee they would educate my son the same way I would. I got _no_ reviews on this particular school, though I asked a list of very active and vocal Pittsburgh Mamas (who have been around a while and appreciate home schooling, alternative schooling, attachment parenting, natural health, etc.). I also have at best only heard mixed reviews for Montessori schools in general (lots of "my kid loves it, but I have problem with x, y and z.", "they think my 3 year old has ADHD" [though no one would/ at least should _ever_ diagnose it that early, and I know this because of my experience in the medical field; young children just don't have long attention spans, even the "advanced" ones! This clearly speaks of teacher ignorance and an absence of Montessori principles.] I don't know if people who are 100% satisfied with the experience simply don't report that or if mixed reviews or worse are what you get (or if I just haven't found the 100% positive reviews). I love the Montessori philosophy, but I can only guarantee it as far as I can guarantee the way it is filtered through modern individuals... and it's a big financial investment and other physical and mental strains that I can't justify for our family. Besides, I have all these skills, many of which I'm still paying for (OT student loans) and have already bought all these museum memberships (which would not get used as often if he were in school). So, if we sent him to school, not only would we be straining to pay tuition, we would be wasting money on top of it.

I read somewhere (I believe in "Raising a Son") that around 4 boys have a rush of testosterone making them even "crazier" than before. (I wish I could think of a better word, but right now I can't.) I believe it...

He also astounds me on a daily basis with his new-found skills and affectionate sweet-boy demonstrations. He will be 4 in about a month. It never fails that I am surprised and amazed when this time of year comes around.

He took this pic of our beautiful pup, Dana. :)

He wanted to put the 4 pieces of styrofoam the insulation guy gave him "in a hole" because said guy explained that's how they insulated Daddy's office, so I made him a game from a cup, cardboard from the recycling bin and tape (one side taped with packing tape to hold more permanently and one held with freezer tape so he could pull it up and get all the stuff out and start over.) I'm not excited about him playing with styrofoam, but those 4 pieces gave us a new game and work on spatial relations, hand-eye coordination, fine motor coordination and more.

You know the pom poms had to get involved. We don't clear the table off that much and it works so very well...

Every child should be allowed to play in the mud. He's ready to go...
and the ice/melted snow...

This education decision,other not-necessarily household family issues and my father being in and out of the hospital frequently have had me pretty "full to the brim"; thus all the art lately. It has been a truly soothing balm.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to share!

Lunchtime Lessons

Angelo will be 4 in about a month and a half!! So, the great school debate is in the forefront of my mind. Public school is just not for us, despite living in an area that has a reputation for having really great schools. I believe change starts at home and the way public schools focus more on test scores and managing children rather than truly educating them just won't work for us (this is a really great speech by a Valedictorian who feels like she wasn't truly educated, just was great at doing what she was told). I really like the Montessori philosophy and have an appointment tomorrow morning with the Mt. Lebanon Montessori school to see if it is a good fit for us. Being an Occupational Therapist, especially one who's worked in the school system, I really appreciate the focus Montessori puts on learning through the senses. As a Mom and artist who admires and appreciates individuality, the Montessori method of allowing each child to go from activity to activity at their own pace and showing profound respect for each child really speaks to me. Of course, budget is always something to consider, especially here.

I'm also still considering Unschooling, especially since there are such wonderful resources here, like PALS, a group that organizes outings, classes once a week and has a resource library for home schoolers without a religious focus or those who are open minded toward those who are not religious. There is also the Children's Museum, which we've been frequenting (and have a membership for) and is completely amazing, the Carnagie Museums, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (which we also have a membership to thanks to a great Groupon) and more, which all have programs for home schoolers. With all these great resources, most of which we will take advantage of regardless of whether he goes to the Montessori school, I'm wondering just how impressive this school will have to be ...

In "practicing" for home schooling (we really already do Unschooling and have semi-structured activities, but I wanted to add some more in preparation for ... the "real" thing), I've added some "Lunch Time Lessons". They have been fun and have kept him engaged enough to get through lunch a little more quickly. We'll do a step or two of the activity and then he takes a bite and repeat until he's finished. We've had some physics/grammer lessons involving Thomas the Train, and the pictures below are of some sorting activities we've done. These pom poms have really gone far. First, he scooped them from one bowl to another (for dexterity and coordination, spacial relations; this one he did all on his own), another time, we sorted by size and in these pictures, we sorted by color. If you can't tell, he really enjoyed it. :)

This picture shows Angelo in his "portable safe place". He found this hamper I used to transport laundry and it has become a really fun toy for him. He walks around, bounces around and sits around in it. I think it's especially cute since I used to clear out the lower cabinets and hang out in them at his age. :)

Oh, and I found this Flicker group (via Http://www.syko.typepad.com ) all on hand made crafts for boys and it is just adorable! Very inspiring, especially since I have a ton of sewing to do for Angelo's birthday and my sewing space isn't set up. I at least brought the serger down and have thread for it now! I'll keep looking at all this cute stuff to help me brave the cold in the attic and get the material and things already cut out. :)

I'll keep you posted on the great school debate! Please comment below if you have thoughts to share! :)