Tag: Big Kid

Postcard Writing with the Amabie (the Japanese Yokai that can stave off epidemics) | #curatedquarantineideas

Mandy

Day one of quarantine with the kids, and we’re (knock on wood) off to a good start. I recognize I have a huge advantage in that a) I am primarily a stay home parent, b) I homeschooled my oldest for a year, c) I am an early childhood teacher, and d) my backyard is pretty much a playground. But even with all this on my side, the reality of social isolating is daunting and a huge pressure on parents. Luckily there are amazing resources and ideas being shared all over the place for folks to do with their kids, and I thought I’d share some ideas too.

Atlas’s Amabie Postcards

Today’s activity is a simple one: postcard writing, but with a pandemic twist. 😉 My dear friend Rebecca shared this amazing website which taught me about the legend of the Amabie in Japan.

“As legend has it, in the 1800s a mythical yokai appeared off the coast of Kumamoto, Japan. The Amabie, as it was called, was described as a mermaid-like creature with long hair, a beak and 3 legs. It made several predictions related to bountiful harvests and, before disappearing back into the sea, left the locals with some advice in case of an epidemic. According to records, “If an epidemic occurs, draw a picture of me and show it to everyone,” said the yokai.”

So we ran with the idea for our daily writing activity (one of the two more structured times we have scheduled). Using blank white postcards* (an easy purchase on Amazon), Atlas drew his version of an Amabie on the front of the cards (I encouraged him to reimagine it a little for every postcard). Then on the back he wrote asking his friend to send him a joke and signed his name off. We researched jokes online (which was a lot of fun) and I wrote down his favorite joke under his message, so his friend got to enjoy it too. We will find a new joke daily.

*The beauty of using postcards is that there is a nice space to draw, a small space to write (so there is no pressure to write a lot), and postcard stamps are less expansive than regular stamps.

We made a list of all the friends he would like to send a postcard to, and he chooses two a day to write to. Then he crosses them off the list once he is done. This way we can keep track of who he has already written to. 🙂

Creating an Early Morning Play Invitation (which equals more sleep for you!)

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My Atlas is an early riser but the rest of us are not. The temptation is always to wake us, so in an attempt to earn a little more sleep, we’ve started setting very intentional play invitations for him to wake up to. Plus snacks! 😉 This one was left for him and a buddy who slept over. It only took me a couple of minutes to set out, but it bought us quiet until after 7am! #winwin

A Basement Climbing Wall | #mylittlehome

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A couple of years ago I had a sudden late night epiphany that we should build a climbing wall in our unfinished basement, and low and behold, Thomas made it happen. As we look to finish our basement this year, we decided it was time to spruce the climbing wall up too. Out came the white paint late last night (why do we always start these things around midnight?) and the kids got into the swing of things today too. What they don’t know is that we ordered some fun new holds from Atomic Climbing Holds, are making a huge sensory hammock for play, and have monkey bar holds to add to the ceiling too. Although we have a million other projects to finish up (looking at you kitchen + bathroom), we’re suckers for the fun stuff for our little humans. Can you blame us?

The next morning the kids woke up to a whole new space for them this weekend. We’re not quite done (sensory hammock and expanded section with Swedish ladder to come), but there is plenty there now to keep them busy. Who’s coming to play? 🙂

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A LEGO Space in LA | #inspiredbyCPS

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I have been in full pudding mode thanks to the flu, but my dear friends in LA have been working hard to create this #inspiredbyCPS LEGO space for their (almost!) six year old son. His baby sister is now on the move and Oliver was desperate for a nook in their apartment where he could build away from interested little hands. With a few clicks on Amazon, they had the perfect place for him to build – a wall mounted shelf desk, organized LEGO storage drawers, wall shelving for displaying his creations, and artwork/lighting for aesthetics (the lightbulb in the hanging light even changes colors so Oliver can set it for “different moods” :). He was so excited at the finished product he didn’t even wait for them to clean away their tools before he started building!

Addie + Charlotte’s Play Space | January 2020

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Addie and Charlotte are such creative kids, with art and craft materials to rival a professional artist. Charlotte loves American Girl Dolls, and has an enviable collection of dolls and their fashions/accessories. Both girls also love LEGOs. All of this adds up to a lot of stuff but not a lot of space to put it all. This equaled a main level play space that was overflowing and muddled with art supplies and toys, while their basement play space was being underutilized.

  • Main Level Play Space | Before
  • Main Level Play Space | Before
  • LEGOs | Before
  • Random Toys | Before
  • Kids’ Sewing Supplies | Before
  • Art Papers | Before
  • Basement Play Space | Before
  • Basement Play Space | Before
  • Basement Play Space | Before

This is where I come in. 🙂 Their lovely parents were keen to find ways to maximize their play spaces and create better storage and organization. They also wanted to keep with the same beautiful aeshtetic on the main level they had created with their custom pieces from Forty Third Place. Here’s what we did:

Continue reading “Addie + Charlotte’s Play Space | January 2020” →

Thrifting with kids | #curatedpsa

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Dropped my first post-holiday load of things at the thrift store and popped inside to look for some more storage options for a play space I am installing this week. A quick browse turned into the motherlode (most of which was for me 🙈). Lots of retro linens for my boys’ beds, wool blankets for when we sit around the fire, plus a vintage blanket for our bed. Annnnd a few things for play spaces too, which totally justified the trip in the first place. 😉

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Note how at home my boys make themselves there – haha. A little #curatedpsa, I’ve found by saying yes to a toy or some books (always our first stop when we arrive), it makes the whole thrifting with kids things a breeze (and only costs me a couple of dollars – #everyonewins).

Creating an art cart!

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Ladies and gentlemen – the art cart. A perfect gift idea for the kid who has everything but doesn’t know where to find it. 😜 Giving is 1000% my love language – not physical gifts per say, but just the act of doing something kind for someone else. This holiday season I offered my services to a dear friend and we decided creating an art cart for her girls would be the perfect gift for me to give them. So today I headed over with a cart, paper sorter, and wide mouth mason jars (#theessentials) and turned their jumbled art supplies into organized creativity ready to happen.

  • BEFORE + SUPPLIES
  • THE CART
  • AFTER

Create an impromptu obstacle course (outside and in!)

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It may be #Friyay but I’m already counting down the days til next Wednesday and our weekly #humpdayhangout (aka playgroup). We spend the majority of the time outside and the littles always flock to the sandbox and mud kitchen, however right now my play area is in flux and dismantled so we had to get extra creative this week to keep bodies and minds busy. Cue – the impromptu obstacle course!

Using wooden boards of different lengths, ladders, cones, a saw horse and blanket, cushions, a soccer goal, and a tight rope, + bubbles to celebrate reaching the end, we created a play invitation that everyone wanted to try (over and over again). This is something so simple and opened-ended you could set up at home too (inside and out). Get creative and let me know what you come up with, or even better, send pics!

Swings (you need one!)

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Planning an outdoor play space for your favorite tiny human! Make sure to add a swing (or even better, two). On top of the gross and fine motor benefits of swinging, it’s a really lovely social activity for friends of any age. Little ones will feed off each other’s giggles and glee, and older kids will open up and really chat! It’s also a naturally calming activity and amazing for sensory integration, so it’s no wonder swinging just makes you feel good!
Looking for the perfect place to hang a swing but lacking that magical perfectly placed tree branch? We had the same issue. The solution for us was to build a simple arbor to hang them from. To add some greenery we grew banksia roses up and over it – a really lovely fast growing thornless climbing rose. The arbor now also acts as the unofficial (and I think very beautiful) gateway to our boys’ main outdoor play area.

Loose parts in the sandbox | #unexpectedtoys

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It was out with the mud pies and stews today, and in with ravine digging, ramp building, and car racing. Today’s #unexpectedtoys were wood offcuts and old bricks. I took cues from my oldest’s spontaneous play (ravine digging) and brought over some loose parts I thought might extend his play arc. They were met with enthusiasm, and with a little trial and error and lots of big ideas, my boys worked together to build a ‘car racing water slide’ that kept them busy alllllll morning! #winwin

⋒ Don’t have a sandbox? No worries. Loose parts like scrap wood and bricks make for great play anywhere outside (and they’re free!). Build fairy houses for small world play, obstacle courses for gross motor play, faux fire pits for dramatic play. Your child’s imagination has no limit!