leaps and bounds

Posted on November 23, 2009 - Filed Under kiddo life | Leave a Comment

Sophie, 5, just took a leap in her brain somewhere. You can see it in her drawings, which suddenly, within the space of a week, have developed foreshortening. Look at this one, she calls it Angel Kitten:

It’s so cool when their brains take a jump in ability, in conversational complexity, or getting more complex jokes, [...]

more found art

Posted on September 25, 2009 - Filed Under kiddo life, making things | Leave a Comment

I found this little critter while cleaning up the other day.
  
I’m pretty sure it’s made out of chewing gum.

found art

Posted on September 1, 2009 - Filed Under kiddo life | 2 Comments

Sometimes, going about my day, I run across remains of the play. (I’ve talked about one kind of play remains before.) In a household of creative people, it’s a lot like found art.
Sometimes it’s an actual arty project, left behind.

But sometimes it’s the marks left by the flow of the day…

Other times I find a [...]

in which we cross a bridge many, many times

Posted on May 30, 2009 - Filed Under adventures, kiddo life | Leave a Comment

We’re all about attending local events. With little kids, doing the local scene is so much better, imo, than big trips or expensive vacations, (1) because everything is new to them, so they love it, even if it’s low key, (2) no long car rides (nightmarish with small kids) and (3) you can go home [...]

seeing through Luc’s eyes

Posted on May 15, 2009 - Filed Under kiddo life | 1 Comment

It’s only very recently in the history of the world that a three year old might have the freedom to take as many photos as he likes. Digital cameras are awesome. I love seeing the images Luc snaps—the world is different when everything is new to you and you are only three feet tall.

Portrait of [...]

garden people

Posted on May 14, 2009 - Filed Under adventures | Leave a Comment

We went to a garden art show last weekend at a local artist’s home/garden/studio. Her beautiful land was filled with outdoor art pieces from a variety of local artists. The combination of the gorgeous grounds and the art was evocative and interesting for all of us.
Here is Pirate Luc by the entrance. “Mom, there’s a [...]

cool felt picture fun for kiddos

Posted on February 19, 2009 - Filed Under making things | 1 Comment

Kids dig crafts. Want to hear that engrossed silence of kids making stuff? Here’s a quick and dirty project:
Get a stack of felt squares from a craft store and a bunch of scissors. Designate a few of the felts ‘backgrounds.’ You might be able to get a few stiff pieces for this. Set the kids [...]

close up eyes…A-ha!

Posted on October 23, 2008 - Filed Under geeklife | 2 Comments

“Take on Me” has got to be the quintessential 80s pop song. I just ran across this very…literal…interpretation of A-ha!’s wildly popular (at the time) (at least among my friends) (hey, I was twelve!) music video. Remember when music videos were all still new and amazing? If you do, you will probably [...]

tux paint, kalidoscopes, and mazes, oh my!

Posted on October 1, 2008 - Filed Under geeklife, reviews | 2 Comments

I have mentioned before our love of the free, open source drawing program for kids, Tux Paint. Lately, Paul and Sophie invented a new game to play using Tux Paint: Supermaze!
But first, to give the non-initiated a quick tour of Tux Paint, here are some pictures, made by Luc, who is not yet three years [...]

sophie’s people

Posted on September 17, 2008 - Filed Under kiddo life, making things | 1 Comment

Sophie has been drawing lots and lots of people, oodles of them every day. It’s getting crowded in the yurt!

Don’t they look like people you’d like to meet?