Children Who Gather

I think my son was a raccoon in a previous life. The way he gathers and collects things throughout his day, is like a raccoon who steals shiny objects and hoards them in his den.
At some point, he decides he has enough items and then spends a fair amount of time placing them in a specific arrangement.

Sometimes I will walk into his play room after he has left and there on the rug arranged in a precise pattern, I will find assorted wooden food items, shapes, cars, parts of Mr. Potato head, plastic eggs, a few animals and maybe some furniture pieces. It reminds me of the scene from the movie Poltergeist, when the kitchen chairs re-arrange themselves if no one is looking.

I could understand if perhaps the things he gathers were related, but to my adult brain, they appear random. They are definitely not because if I move one, he promptly tells me I‘ve ruined it! Ruined what, I don’t know.

I have asked him a few times what he is doing and he says he is making a maze or a map. Other times he says he is having a scavenger hunt. I think it looks like he’s making a game board, maybe something he saw on a computer game. Once he said “ It’s a pattern, silly”. That part I get.

I’ve watched him run suddenly into a room, open a draw, grab something and say “ Ah ha, perfect”, then run off to add it to his collection.
He does the same thing when it’s time for bed. He can’t get tucked in without a collection of objects (maybe 10 or 15) arranged on the bed with him. I always have to go in and clear them away after he falls asleep.

So far he has only gathered up things that belong to him, but I’m putting a lock on my jewelry box just in case.

Things That Go, Felt Board Images

New in the shop, a fun set of transportation felt board images!
Set of fifteen laminated paper images mounted on card stock and backed with hook and loop dots.
For use with "The Story Box", sold in my shop or any felt board.

Mommy's Feelings Faces

Happy Wordless Wednesday!
For more photo fun visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Mom.dot.

How To Make A Play Mirror

This is a very easy, fun make believe mirror project!

• Cut any size or shape of stiff cardboard
• Cut a matching shape piece of aluminum foil, small enough to leave a 1-2 inch border.
• Glue matte side of foil to center of cardboard
• Smooth out wrinkles.
• Decorate the border however you like!

We made ours totally mess free by using stickers, but you could paint it or glue on pasta, sea shells, etc. It's simple, quick to make and perfect for fairytale plays!

Should Your Preschooler Play Online Games?

How do you limit you child’s game playing online? Do you let your preschooler play them? My son has just discovered online games, well really just one, Sonic.
It was not my doing, an older boy that was visiting was playing and my son watched him. Little did I know, he had figured out by himself where the game was bookmarked and has been addicted now for a few weeks. It looked harmless at first, but now that’s all he wants to do. I’m hoping this is a phase and he will go back to playing little boy games soon. Until that older boy visits again and I either let them play or tell him the computer is off limits and become the mean mommy!

We use the Internet for lessons and he goes to children’s learning sites ( NASA, PBS, etc.) by himself and plays the games and does the activities. He is very computer savvy and I can see that he has learned a lot from these sites, but this is the first time he’s played a game that has no real meaning other than winning and destroying "bad" guys (a term he never used before ).

I’m not comfortable with too much of this and can see that it can become a problem quickly. As he is only 4, I am going to limit how much time he has playing these games. At the moment I’m getting a lot of whining and tears when I tell him it’s time to turn it off.
So I’m asking you all for some creative ways to limit his game playing that makes sense to a 4 yr old, who can’t tell time.

Mommy is in the dark here. I don’t get the fascination with video games (online or anywhere else), I have never been interested in them and don’t know how they are played. He doesn’t have any electronic toys or the like, so I was very surprised to see how fast he learned to use the mouse and keyboard to play.

I would love to hear your opinions on these games and whether or not you think there is any benefit from them. I’m somewhat shocked that my 4 yr old boy enjoys them to the exclusion of other activities. Not to mention the whole conquer and destroy mentality that seems to go with along with them. I was not expecting to see that until he was older.

I know because he is a boy, he’s bound to be drawn to good guy / bad guy conflict, but as far as I’m concerned, he will never play the violent war and crime games I’ve heard about while he’s living under my roof! I also know that gaming is very popular and just because I don’t like it, doesn’t mean he won’t. That said, my goal is not to let him grow up too fast and to shelter him from much of the world’s harsh reality for as long as I can.

Can I spin this into a positive thing or are they really brain draining, character depleting activities that should be restricted? Are there skills that can be learned from these games? What do you think? What would you do?

How To Apologize To Your Children

Do you apologize to your children if you lose your temper with them? Do you think it nullifies the event or do they respect you for it? I feel compelled to do it if I have been too harsh with my son. I think it reinforces our bond and the lesson at the same time.

As much as I try to be composed at all times, it’s just not realistic. If I feel my tone or actions have been over the top and confused or scared my son, I wait until later in the day and then talk to him about it. We talk about feeling frustrated and tired, and how sometimes we both overreact, but we still love each other. Then I remind him of an example of when he behaved badly and how I knew he still loved me anyway.

I have found that he still knows he needs to behave but he seems comforted that I don’t hold a grudge. It’s funny because now he is very aware of when he is feeling tired and will tell me he needs to rest. However, he also tells me when I’m tired and need a rest!

For more examples on ways to say your sorry to your children read,
The Fine Art of Apologizing to Your Children and Stressed-Out Parent Moments: How to Recover and Reconnect with your Kids.

Be Still My Heart

It's almost Valentine's Day and to celebrate,
I hopped over to Etsy to find some heartfelt treasures.

These sweet little heart ornaments

are from The What Knot Shop by Emilie

Love the jute bow!

This Love card is from Bombus and gave me a sixties retro feeling.
You can choose what map locations you want
used on your card, very cool!

The color contrast on this frame really caught my eye!
It's from The Funky Art Queen and you will find other
creative escapes in her shop.

This wonderful deep red rose necklace is from Fanciful Form.
I just love the warm rich tone of the clay rose
hung on a simple black ribbon, stunning!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Waiting For Rain

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Mom.dot for more fun.

Stand In Story Teller

Grandparents.com has an easy new way for grandparents (or anyone) to share a story with a child. It's called StoryTeller and all you need is a phone.

What you do is dial the phone number and listen for the prompts. When your done, it will be emailed to the children you list. That way your child can hear her favorite story being read by a grandparent any time they wish.

Just think, on those nights when you can't find the strength to read just one more story, you can let them listen to grandma, over and over again!

StoryTeller is free of charge. Your telephone provider's long-distance rates may apply.

Remembering Walnut Grove

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born today in 1867. As many of you know, she is the author of The Little House On The Prairie series of books.

When I was a girl those stories were the first I'd read about women being strong and surviving by using their strengths. I also was in love with the pioneer lifestyle. My Grandmother made my sister and I prairie bonnets and aprons to dress up in. Of course when the TV show came out, I cried every week watching the drama.

Her stories taught me about learning to live with the earth and to celebrate the smallest things. They also taught me about devotion to family. I think all children today would benefit by reading her work, especially now when times are hard from some of them.

You can read more about her at Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum.

Google Earth Dives Below The Deep Blue Sea!

Google Earth has now released version 5.0 which includes icon links to ocean life videos of the region. You can now track migration patterns of the Great White Sharks and view topography of the ocean floor. According to Google:

"Ocean in Google Earth is a new feature that enables users to dive beneath the water surface and explore the world's oceans. Users can swim through detailed underwater terrain and browse content contributed by some of the world's leading ocean experts and advocates."

Dr. Richard Spinrad - NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research "This allows anyone, anywhere, and at any time to explore virtually the ocean from their home computer. And during their journey, they will benefit from abundant contributions of information and imagery supplied by NOAA."

This is a wonderful upgrade for home educators. We love Google Earth for world geography and solar system exploration. Now we can explore the oceans from our desktop for free!

New Felt Board Images

I just finished this new set of felt board images for my Etsy shop.
Sixteen laminated paper images mounted on card stock

and backed with hook and loop dots.

For use with "The Story Box", sold in my shop or any felt board.
I love all the colorful fruits and vegetables!