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Montessori Letter Tracing

At any given moment, my son is obsessed with at least thirty different things. Two-thirds of them relate to sports or food. Then you have the chinese erasers, Oliver Jeffers, cool pens, etc. category. Within this last group falls his obsession with script, and his love of similes. Yes, similes. He’s talked in similes for a couple of years now, and they always make me laugh. Similes are the way he expresses himself when he wants to make his point. What I love most about his similes is that they give me a glimpse into the inner-workings of his fascinating seven-year-old brain. He thinks pumpkins are clean and chickens are hungry! He’s a poet (or a comedian)…both are awesome.

His obsession with script is because his cousin in London of the same age has been writing in script since birth, practically. Our school doesn’t teach script until third grade which, in my opinion, is missing the boat. Montessori educators believe that at around age 4 1/2, children “explode” into writing. This is the perfect time to start them tracing letters with a pencil (before that age they can trace with their finger). Thank God for cousins abroad who inspire! For about a year now he has been tracing my script letters. This time, I decided to mix his love of similes with his passion for script. We used these neon Bistro Chalk Markers, which are so cool to write with as they glide smoothly along the black surface.

As the little guy was tracing his similes with his tricked out pens, he told me that he was as psyched as a cow!

14 May 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Easy, Explore, Featured, Inspire, Teach Tags: chalk, chalkboard, simile, writing script

Travel Art Bag

We’re back from our February vacation! It was beautiful in the Dominican Republic and we feel so fortunate that we were invited to share a very memorable family vacation with grandparents. Despite several trips to the infirmary for various problems (which I will not elaborate on because I am pretending none of that happened), we were able to relax, read, eat, play and best of all…create some pretty art! I threw together this little travel bag for the trip and it was perfect. I’ll include sources, but you can really just grab anything that you have on hand (or make a run to CVS) and even just put it in a ziplock! My goal was to get the kids to draw and paint from the beautiful nature that surrounded us. (I will share their art later this week.)

Here’s what I put in our travel art bag:

watercolors // colored pencils // washi tape // 1 pencil, 1 eraser, 1 sharpener, 1 sharpie // sketchbook // brushes // tempera paints // merimekko tote

I hope you had a nice little break as well (or will have one soon!). Don’t forget to pack a few art supplies when you travel!

{Travel tip: Remember, when traveling to a foreign country with small kids, curtail the habit of picking off of your kids’ plates or having your kids share any food. Also, don’t share utensils or have the whole family drink from the same water bottle at the airport. And wash hands frequently! Sickness could be spreading and you won’t even know it until it’s too late. And that’s all I have to say about that.}

27 Feb 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, DIY, Easy, Explore, Featured, For Moms, Travel Tags: art bag, art supplies, travel, travel art bag

Homemade Playdough // Glitter Recipe

If you have never made homemade playdough, I hope this post compels you do it already. It’s really easy and cool to make. (By cool I mean sciency and awesome). The kids loooooooove making it, but the true bonus is that it lasts forever and ever! (By forever I mean in playdough-time, which is about 6 months). We used food coloring but you could also experiment with natural dyes.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

dye & glitter

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a big-ish bowl (big is good because then little people can stir without losing too much). Add the water, oil, food coloring and glitter. We used about 2 tablespoons silver glitter. When fully mixed (it’s ok if there are still a few lumps), pour into a non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture draws away from the pan. Cool until you are able to handle it. Knead until smooth and place in an airtight container (we use zip locks).

{Note: Although homemade, this playdough is not edible because it’s too salty.}

We’ve collected many tools over the years for playing with our playdough. On this day, we used a roller, spatula, potato masher, and an old set of heart cookie cutters.

Playdough never gets boring because it’s so tactile. Even my 13-year old will knead and roll and cut. And there is something about homemade playdough that is softer and even more satisfying to squeeze!

Make some today before Nemo hits (for all of you New Englanders), and stay safe!!

{Here is a video that shows you how it’s made. They used essential oils which is also a great idea…rose scented play dough!}

8 Feb 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Create, DIY, Easy, Explore, Featured, Play, Science Tags: glitter, homemade, playdough

Amsterdam Bike Trip with Kids

Today I am revisiting one of my favorite European excursions ever. Three summers ago, we stayed in Amsterdam for a week. We spent most of the time visiting relatives and sightseeing. Day after day, we discussed whether or not we should take a bike trip into the countryside. My little guy was sick, my middle was ‘not in the mood’ and all my mom could see was danger (no helmets, fast cars…).

My dad and stepmom, thankfully, insisted that no Holland vacation was complete without a bike trip. To this day, we still talk about how it was the best day of our entire European vacation!

Here are some photos from our time in Amsterdam:

We stayed at Mae’s B & B on Herenstraat in the Jordaan district – a lovely place in a great location owned by two cool guys, Ken & Vlad. Here are the sisters on the hotel stoop.

On the way to rent our bikes, and taking the ferry across the canal to our starting point.

Broek in Waterland, the picturesque village where we stopped to have pancakes just north of Amsterdam.

Pannenkoekenhuis (Pancake House) with Bompa, and other vignettes from our stroll through the village.

Our scenic ride back to Amsterdam (the ride back is twice as long…but worth it!)

It took us about 5 hours from door to door. The girls, who were 7 and 10 at the time, were able to make it the whole way. And the little guy was a trooper, fever and all. The bucket in the front of our bike is called a baakfiets, and they are brilliant. I would totally get one for home, but we have hills in Connecticut. There is a reason people bike so much in flat Holland!

If you ever have the chance to visit Amsterdam and go on this bike trip, do it! You will remember it forever.

18 Jan 2013By: Barbara Rucci Category: Explore, Featured, Outdoor, Play, Summer, Travel Tags: Amsterdam, bike trip, Europe

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

Every year, we are lucky enough to see the Macy’s parade from my dad’s apartment. It is a complete and utter luxury that we try not to take for granted. A slice of Americana that is so festive and unique. Our favorite part by far is watching the marching bands. Top bands from all over the country are invited to represent their state. This year they came from High Schools and Colleges from Tennessee, Ohio, Florida, Texas. The NYPD marching band is always there, and this year the US Air Force band marched. Listening and watching these bands always gives us goose bumps.

A little back history on how the parade got started: In 1924, Macy’s was already a leading department store in Manhattan. As a way for its immigrant workers to celebrate their new American culture, Macy’s organized their first parade. That first year there were no oversized balloons marching down the sidewalks. Instead, live animals were borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. For various reasons, including the safety issues of parading live animals, the parade began to feature balloons in 1927. Goodyear Rubber and Tire made the balloons, the first of which was Felix the Cat. Balloons are inflated the night before the parade outside of the Museum of Natural History, and the public is invited to watch (another fun parade event).

If you aren’t one of the lucky few who has a friend or relative living along the parade route, Time Out New York has some great tips on the best spots to view the parade.

Oh, and another of our favorite parts…the cheers that errupt for the pooper-scooper men who follow behind the horses!

Let the holidays begin.

25 Nov 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Explore, Featured, Outdoor, Play, Travel Tags: Macy's Parade, New York City, Thanksgiving

Color Study // Liquid Water Color

Aren’t these paintings so pretty? I had a little art class with the kids in the neighborhood to try out these color studies and they really got into it – creating some stunning pieces. To read the full post, hop over to Melanie’s blog You Are My Fave. Her blog is just lovely, with a winning combination of the cutest ideas + photos + writing. And not only that, she is so nice! Today I am a guest on her blog and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you Melanie!

7 Nov 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Create, Explore, Featured, Teach Tags: color study, guest post, painting, watercolor

Drawing Books for Kids

I came across this Fingerprint book by Marion Deuchars and it sparked something in me. I loved making fingerprint animals when I was a growing up! I can’t believe I haven’t tried this with my kids. I am definitely adding this book to my Amazon cart for Christmas, I’m so excited.

I decided to do a little research to find the best drawing books that ignite creativity in the little ones. As you can imagine, there are many books on drawing out there. I wanted to keep the list short and pick just the ones that I thought would instantly excite the kids, with very few directions and good graphics.

I could not make a list of drawing books without including award winner Ed Emberly. I would spend hours as a kid learning how to draw from his books. I still have one of them on my shelf! Granted, it’s not the open-ended art experience that I promote in our house. But the kids do LOVE it, and it keeps them busy. Also, there comes a time in their young lives when they realize that they can’t draw something perfectly. This usually happens around the age of 7 or 8. I found that my girls would start to draw lots of hearts, peace signs and rainbows. I can’t tell you how much this drives me crazy. So taking out Ed Emberly can actually free them up and remind them that drawing is fun and that they should try new things. This book is also great for the reluctant artist. (Ages 4 and up.)

Fotoplay by Mj Bronstein is an art activity book that blends realism and fantasy. It’s rare to find a book like this that uses photos as prompts to spark the imagination. It’s smart and funny and gets kids to think outside of the lines. Great for road trips or vacation days. (Ages 5 and up.)

642 Things To Draw is the perfect inspirational sketchbook. With its collection of offbeat and clever drawing prompts, this book is perfect for that child or teen who loves to draw. Inside this simple book are blank pages with just a prompt at the top: A rolling pin, a robot, a pickle, a water tower, a hammock, a wasp, a safety pin, a kiss. I am getting this for all three of my kids (and will secretly fill some pages myself!). (Ages 4 and up)

I will keep searching for more great art books and share them with you again!

Ed Emberly Photos via Trula Kids.

23 Oct 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Crafts, Create, Explore, Featured, Inspire, Read, Teach, Teen Craft Tags: 642 Things to Draw, Books, Ed Emberly, fingerprint art, Fotoplay, kids art books

Museums with Kids

We live about an hour from New York City, which is very lucky. One train ride and we are in the Big Apple! We try to take advantage of this perk whenever possible, although I’ve found that it was actually easier when they were little and didn’t have homework and activities. One of my favorite trips is to the MoMA. I just love this place! If you’ve never had the chance to visit the Museum of Modern Art, I would suggest planning a trip to NYC, pronto.

My kids didn’t used to jump up and down for joy when I mentioned going to a museum, but now they do because I have a museum trick! Well, it’s not really my trick, it’s one that was told to me by a wise friend. You probably already know this trick, but it’s so good that I just had to share.

Here is what you do:

When you get to the museum, go directly to the gift shop. Let your kids chose a handful of postcards that excite them. You can use this time to talk about when the piece was made, the artist’s style and color choice, and anything else that stands out. Then it’s time to go on a search! My kids love this part…finding the real art that matches the postcard. I love it, too!

These pictures are from a few years ago but I remember this day like it was yesterday. After we did our museum search, we went out for lunch at Rockefeller Plaza. They had their backpacks full of little surprises, and we had the day to ourselves…just the girls. When we got home, hot and tired, they taped their postcards to their doors. A little trick they like to do to let everyone who enters know what they have been up to. We still have the postcards, I used them this summer to decorate my studio. Have I mentioned how much I love postcards?

Right now at the MoMA (through 11/5/12) there is a wonderful exhibit called Century of the Child, a survey of 20th century design for children. With over 500 items to look at, this curated show examines the intersection of Modernist design and modern thinking about children. I can’t wait to take all three of them!

Here are some more exciting ways to use museum postcards.

Have fun!

27 Sep 2012By: Barbara Rucci Category: Explore, Featured, For Moms, Play, Teach, Travel Tags: explore, museums, postcards

Flubber Recipe

This past weekend was my son’s birthday. He turned six! We broke our own rules of 1) having birthday parties at home and 2) inviting no more than 10 guests. This year he wanted to invite all of the kids in Kindergarten (oy!), no one was to be left out. With so many invitees, we had to come up with a new plan. We decided to rent out the local movie theatre, and make a homemade party favor that wouldn’t cost too much. After some investigation, and many lengthy discussions, we decided to make flubber!

I researched and tried several variations on the recipe. We made 10 batches, each batch filling 4 containers. That’s 40 party favors! I designed a little label which I had printed on sticker paper at my local print shop, color coordinated, of course, and we were done. Moms were happy there was no candy, and my son was happy that he could share something he made himself.

Here is the simple recipe we used:

FLUBBER

Mixture 1:

~ 1 1/2 cups very warm water

~ 2 cups white school glue (I used Elmer’s)

~ Food coloring

Combine in a small to medium bowl and stir with a clean spoon.

Mixture 2:

~ 3 teaspoons Borax (found at the grocery store)

~ 1 cup very warm water

Combine in a large bowl, stir until dissolved (or almost dissolved) with a clean spoon.

Pour mixture 1 into mixture 2. Because of the science behind this recipe, the borax combines with the PVA in the glue and makes a polymer. You could do nothing at this point and it would turn to flubber after a while. But what fun would that be? Your kids will want to stick their hands in immediately and start mixing. It will take about 10 minutes, but eventually all of the water will be absorbed, and you will have flubber!

Since I am an eco-mom, I did some research on Borax. (I had read on a few blogs that it was toxic which freaked me out). Borax (sodium borate) is a mined substance, just like salt is mined, and occurs naturally in the Mojave Desert, Chile and Tibet. Borax is only slightly more toxic than salt, and in some countries it is used as a salt substitute. Caffeine is 14 times more toxic than Borax! Flouride is more toxic, too. Breathing Borax powder is not a good idea, so don’t let your kids handle the powder. But once it is in it’s polymer form, it is completely safe.

Remind your kids that flubber is not a food! Also, just to be safe, have them wash their hands after playing with their flubber.

Tip: Keep your flubber in an airtight container, or a ziploc baggie. it’s shelf life is about 3 weeks. When throwing out your flubber, use the garbage not the sink.