Oh, the birthday parties! You plan and work hard to make the day unforgettable, and usually things go really well. Then everyone goes home and you are left with a pile of presents to open. This is the part that causes me angst. We have so much already! My house is filled to the brim…
Parenting
Old Jeans // New Bag
I had a favorite bag when I was little that looked like an old pair of Levis. It was a tote with red straps and a pocket on the front. It even had an authentic little red Levi tag. Oh, how I loved this bag! In fact, I still have it. My daughters use it…
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…
Happy Mother’s Day
I’ve been collecting mom quotes lately. Sometimes I read something and it’s perfect…exactly what I would want to write or say if I were actually eloquent or poetic. And other times, I read something that makes me laugh out loud. Today, in honor of mothers everywhere, I am sharing them with you. I hope something…
Art Bar is a Year Old!
One year ago today, I wrote my very first post! (It is still one of my favorite photos of the little guy learning to jump rope.) When I started the blog, my plan was to create a photo journal for my kids so that some day it could be printed, bound, and put on a…
Tell Them “I Like You”
I made this poster for my kiddos for Valentine’s day today. It is Version 2. Funny story, actually, about how those three influence me creatively, and push me to be a better parent. You can read it below, or just enjoy the art! So the other night, as I lay next to him on his…
A Quilt for her 13th Birthday
My oldest turned 13 right before Christmas. I have been saving her old clothes since 1st grade for this very day! I made her a quilt a long time ago from her baby-to-kindergarten clothes, but that one was a small little doll quilt. This one was going to be big enough for her bed! She and…
Parenting // Discipline Less + Understand More
Every once in a while, I come across something that I really feel like I need to share. This chart was created by Carol Tuttle, author of the book The Child Whisperer, which I have never read. I wish I had had this book when my girls were little to add to my parenting-book library. I’m…
Self-Portraits: What They Reveal
I recently did small paintings with the kids, which I wrote about here. One of their “assignments” was to paint a self-portrait. I helped them a little bit by drawing the proportions for them lightly in pencil. This way, they all had the same starting point. I had them use a black sharpie to draw…
Wall of Sight Words
My son is six and learning to read. To learn his sight words, we use little cards and put about 10-15 in a baggie next to his bed. Once he knows them cold, we tape them to his wall. Now that we have so many up there, we can make full sentences! Me: The old…
