Yoga for Labor and Birth

Did you know that yoga provides excellent benefits and "tools" for a natural childbirth?  Read about what those benefits are and learn 3 active poses for labor in my article, Yoga for Labor and Birth, at the Natural Parents Network today.

We would love to read your comments or get a chance to answer your questions. Also, be sure to check in with Natural Parents Network all week as we feature articles on natural childbirth.

You might also be interested in these articles I've written for feature at NPN:
Nursing Beyond the Breast
Bed Sharing wth Two (or More) Children

Let's Talk About Art Spaces

After having lived in our duplex now for five months, I have finally finished organizing our art room. It is a small room attached to our kitchen that is intended to be a breakfast nook but when seeing the space, I envisioned that it would be a perfect location for our art making. The art supplies are sharing space with a few non-art items, and there is no room for any adult work surfaces currently, but it works!

Ours is not the pretty art room either. No, we don't exactly have the budget or the time for an adorable art room like this one at Childhood 101, or this one at the The Artful Parent but I'll keep dreaming and working towards it! By the way, that last one is a good post about making a toddler-friendly art space.

I did, however, meet my priority of making the art supplies readily available for Everett to use. It was a bit trickier for now because some of them had to be stashed away in closed containers so Kellan couldn't get to them. For example, I originally organized our large collection of re-purposed materials into open bins but ended up combining them in one big bin with a lid because Kellan kept digging into the paper products to eat them!

Furthermore, I plan on adding to the decoration gradually, making it fun and funky. Next time I post about it perhaps the walls will be covered with Everett's best art and there will be sculptures hanging from the ceiling!

So, why post pictures of my not-so pretty art room? For two reasons. First, I am actually quite proud that I was finally able to complete it after these five long months. And second, to motivate you to do the same if you haven't yet! If you've been wishing (like me) and waiting for the money, time, or whatever to create a cute matching-furniture type art space and, thus, haven't created one, I want you to stop waiting and do it! 


Art spaces can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be organized into door-less closets next to a dining room or a corner in the kitchen. They can be organized into a modge-podge of drawers, bins, and boxes like ours. The important part is that they have art and creative supplies that are easy to access so that your child can create whenever he feels inspired!

Our Road to Independent Play has been Long

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about life as Pirate Freckle Face. Everett wouldn't let me leave his wonderful fantasy world of pirates. Well, this week it's been dinosaurs. We started pretend playing with his two large dinosaur toys last week and I, of course, made voices for them. I actually had a lot of fun anthropomorphizing these little toys into two dinosaurs with quite complex personalities (in my mind). But... it didn't stop there. I was ready to put them down later that day but Everett has since then, begged and begged for me to talk for his dinosaurs every day.

Today, I tried to get him started on a bit of play with the dinosaurs and some blocks, hoping to take my leave after a while and let him play independently. Probably the wrong thing to get him started on, but it's what he was wanting to play with at the time.  Needless to say, my plan failed.

See, I've been thinking about a great article I read several months ago on the Parenting Passageway. It was a post from 2008 called Fostering Creative Play. It's about the importance of children's independent playtime and how to foster it. So I took a look again and the last sentence in her opening statement popped out at me.

If you constantly entertain your child, you will be giving her the false impression that the world exists for her own pleasure and that she is without resources of her own. This is bound to cause difficulties later. 

Perhaps my difficulties aren't exactly what she was talking about. After all, Everett has no problem inventing his own games or songs, and has a very vivid imagination. Or.... perhaps, my difficulties are some of what she was addressing?

From the day he was born Everett has had several adults and children around him that were available and willing to engage him in play. The benefit is that he knows how and enjoys playing with anyone of any age and makes friends everywhere we go. The disadvantage has turned out to be that he has a hard time playing by himself. It has taken a decent amount of work over the last several months to a year (I don't remember when I started now) for him to become comfortable with independent play.

And not that I would change how wonderfully interactive he is with people, but there is definite value in being
able to play independently. Along with giving me a break, it nurtures his creative spirit and helps him become more familiar with his own desires, interests and dreams. It encourages resourcefulness and innovation.

So, I'll continue to encourage boredom a little bit each day. And as tough as it is sometimes, I'm going to keep repeating, "Everett, you need to play by yourself right now," and steering him towards his toys or art supplies and walking away.  It may be a long road, but we'll get there!

Forward and Backward Homemade Board Game

We found a fantastic new book at the library last week, Games (Action Math), that contains the directions to create and play games that indirectly teach or enhance math skills. The majority of the materials used are ones we would already have on hand, or cheap to buy, and a lot of them can be created from re-purposed materials.
As I mentioned before, Everett is very interested in games and math right now, so this was a particularly perfect find.

The first game he chose to make was a board game called Forward and Backward. We  created a checkered game board, with each space numbered, up to 36. We used a piece of corrugated cardboard on hand, and cut squares and a border out of some green and brown contact paper, since we had it on hand and using the sticky paper would eliminate the need for glue. We made a couple of game pieces out of re-purposed wine corks and for now have been using a die from another game, as we are yet to make our spinner.

The concept of the game is simple. You start off the board. If you roll a 4, 5 or 6, you move forward that many spaces. If you roll a 1, 2, or 3, you move backward that many spaces.  When Everett and I play, every time we land on a space we identify the number.Everett's math skills are already improving with this game. He is able to count further and identify more numbers by sight. I can also see this game being valuable when he learns addition and subtraction. Overall, a quiet and simple but fun game!

Library Love in February

A Pirate's Guide to First Grade by James Preller


The story of a little boy's first day at school in first grade, cleverly written in the perspective of the boy's imaginings as a pirate. A load of fun to read because it's written completely in pirate-speak and reminds us of how deeply  a child can become entrenched in their fantasy world.




Energy Makes Things Happen (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) by Kimberly Brubaker Brakley

This book covers well the ideas of energy in active form and stored as fuels. It was easy for Everett to understand and really captured his interest in the subject. My only complaint is the author's example of the stored and active energy of a rock on a hill. It does not take into consideration the laws of gravity, therefore, seems to me to be misleading for someone just learning these concepts. We did also enjoy the activities at the end of the book.


My Father's Dragon: The Bestselling Children Story by Ruth Stiles Gannett


In its brevity and adventure, this has been a perfect beginner chapter book. We haven't been too successful in finding ones that capture Everett's interest for long enough to finish them. This was a delight in creativity and imagination. We're excited to find that there are several more after it.





Traction Man Is Here! by Mini Grey

Last year we came across the second book by Grey, Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog, and it fast became a favorite. We finally borrowed the original book and love it just the same. Cleverly written in the perspective of a little boy pretending with his superhero throughout the day. Witty and fun, Grey creates each fantasy within the true context of the day, such as scuba diving in the dishwater or saving fallen spoons at Grandma's house.

Nursing Beyond the Breast

Many mothers find their dreams of a beautiful and easy breastfeeding relationship diminished when faced with a reality of a low milk supply, babies refusing to nurse, illnesses, and more. It can be devastating, even heartbreaking. But reality is that nursing can go beyond the breast. It’s not the only way to bond intimately with your child, and it is not the only way to be a natural parent....

My aunt Lishchkaya was faced with this same challenge and through staying positive and being determined to find out what can best serve her son outside of breastfeeding, she has an inspiring story that offers mothers a different look at nursing and natural parenting. 


Read more of the article, Nursing Beyond the Breast, and her full story at Natural Parents Network today. I would love to read your comments and stories of how you or your loved ones have faced the same challenge. 

Scrabble- Pre-Reading Style

Everett has entered a stage of natural learning where he has a constant and more intense interest in words, reading, numbers and math. He writes what letters he knows, identifies and asks about letters he sees, and calls out words he recognizes. He tries to tell time and counts endlessly. Most of all, he is really into games. War, Hearts, Cootie Bug, Chutes and Ladders, Hi-ho Cheerio, dominoes..... you name it, he wants to try to play it. Even if its a game beyond his capabilities, he isn't always satisfied with that explanation. 

Take Scrabble, for example. He badly wanted to play Scrabble when we brought it home from my parents house. In fact, he wouldn't leave me alone about it until we finally took it out. I figured we could invent some way to play that could help him learn more letters, words, or sounds. 

This is what we came up with....

Hop on Pop has become a recent favorite because it's so excellent for beginning readers. This book alone has dome much for Everett's recognition of words and sounds. We pulled out our copy and decided to take turns picking out a word to spell with the Scrabble tiles.  

We practiced a few times together so he understood what to do. Then we took turns and tried to start connecting them to each other like the game is played. This part was, of course, much more challenging for him to grasp, but none the less, doable. He really enjoyed our game, and since we didn't have much time to continue, we're going to have to pull it back out soon!

Pirate by Day....

Through a dark cave and the Jam (yes, as in strawberry jam) Passage, passed the Mean-Pirate-Eating-Ogre's Swamp and onto the Island of Infinite Laundry, Captain Shanty, Captain Freckle Face and first mate Pirate Eyeballs searched for their buried treasure. The day was long, the play was fun and the treasure was four-fold (literally, we searched for treasure four times and the boy could have done it twenty)! 

This week, I've not been a mommy, but a pirate. All week. Instead of calling out "Mommy?" when Everett needs me, I've had to answer to "Captain?"  Except when talking to my mother-in-law, my husband, and the mommies at our preschool group, I haven't been allowed an identity beyond Captain Freckle Face. 

We searched for treasure over and over again, complete with our own maps...

This is when the Island of Infinite Laundry had treacherous mountains,too!

Then, we decorated our own treasure box after a few of those hunts...

We made up our own pirate songs while I brushed his teeth at night. We read A Pirate's Guide to First Grade about 20 times, and thus expanded our pirate vocabulary tremendously. We had sword fights (I wish we had pictures but we were home alone). And, as if the timing couldn't be more perfect, this morning we talked about Pirates and the letter P at our preschool homeschooling group. I can't believe I'm not dreaming pirate after this week!

Mealtimes during Infancy and Toddlerhood

Infancy and toddlerhood are the formative years in a child's relationship with food. These years should be full of exposing him to wholesome, real foods in child-friendly form several times a day.

Real foods meaning whole foods- fruits, vegetables, full fat (preferably farm fresh) dairies and eggs, (preferably grass fed, all natural) meats and whole grains after 9-12 months. This does not mean the easy to-go foods in the baby food aisle. Freeze dried yogurt puffs, dried fruit twists and corn puffs do not constitute as wholesome, real foods! Child friendly form simply means they are in smaller sizes, easy to hold and easy to bite from. They may be in stick form with dips available, too. Toddlers do love to dip! Served to him several times a day so he can follow his natural cycles of hunger, as little ones do have a fast metabolism and are easily distracted from eating.

Select a variety of flavors, textures, smells and colors for him to eat. Our society heavily tends towards sweet and salty flavors but there can be so much to enjoy with vinegary, savory, spicy flavors even for a toddler! Expose him many times to a new food and let him see you eating and enjoying it, too. Don't fret if he isn't getting all his food groups perfectly eaten in one day. Instead, look at his nutrition over a few days to a week span. Keep in mind that toddlers can tend towards particular foods for a while and may possibly just need something nutritional from that food for a period of time.

Lastly, habits such as sitting at the table for a whole meal, scheduled snack times, etc. should be saved for preschool age or beyond. Toddlers are much to absorbed in their world of new things to explore and do and should not be expected of any sort of eating schedule yet. What's most important is that you set the foundation for that by inviting him to sit with you for meals and snacks and making them an enjoyable experience of togetherness.

Laugh Until I Cry

Welcome to the February Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting Essentials
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared the parenting essentials that they could not live without. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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It's infectious and addicting. It comes in many forms. It feels so good doing it and I feel euphoric after doing it. I can't simply stop doing it all together, even if I really wanted to. Sometimes, I end up doing it when I'm frustrated or so mad I'm about to start yelling. Can you guess what I'm talking about?

Laughter! Hands down, when I thought about what I parenting tool I couldn't do without, I thought about how much I laugh.  It fuels us.  It connects us, it heals and grounds us. We laugh at jokes, we giggle between tickles.  We split our sides laughing at clumsy mishaps. We chuckle at each other's quirks, and try to hide our laughter when the other looks funny getting mad.

One of my favorite ways to laugh is through just being silly with Everett. We'll tell jokes or funny stories, making them as absurd as possible. The best jokes began with my dad, really. Everett spent the night with my parents a couple months ago. My dad was relaxing with Everett in the morning when he began joking with Everett about noises in the bathroom.

"Everett," my dad says, "the other day I heard some noise in the bathroom cabinet. I went in there to see what the ruckus was all about and the toothbrushes were playing poker!"

Everett proceeded to crack up and they continued making jokes about inanimate objects for a while. Now, it's a regular thing with us. We'll joke about the pots and pans dancing in the kitchen, or the dinosaurs in his room throwing the toys all around. We make up absurd names for each other and duel it out calling back and forth, "banana pants!" "monkey brain"! "pencil head!" "spaghetti fingers!" We're sent into giggle fits and I feel like a child again.

Despite myself, I often can't help but laugh when Everett is "in trouble" either. I am reminded not to take myself too seriously when he came out of the pantry with a face covered in cocoa powder and half the can sprinkled on the shelf and floor, or when he blurts out a (very funny) potty word in the middle of a quiet, but full grocery check out line. What do you do, you know? I figure that during most of these instances, the connection is worth more than the lesson.

***

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Not Without Him — The love Starr at Taking Time shares with her husband is the foundation of her parenting.
• I Cannot Imagine Parenting Without B(.)(.)bs — From an uneducated dreamer to a breastfeeding mother of a toddler, nursing has forever changed Kristy at Strings to Things's relationship with her daughter and her outlook on life.
• Raising a Child in the Internet Village — When Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction has a question or concern about parenting, she turns to the Internet. What did parents do before Google?
• Partner in Crime and Parenting — Bethy at Bounce Me to the Moon can't imagine parenting without her husband's sense of humor - he brings her laughter and love every day.)
• I Make Milk — Patti at Jazzy Mama can't imagine trying to mother her babies without her breasts, but she could do it if she had to.
• New Perspectives Bring New Beginnings — MJ at Wander Wonder Discover, who is a former authoritarian mamma, has gained perspective via parenting.
• Time Out! — Mrs. Green at Little Green Blog explores how time apart can increase your capacity to give unconditionally.
• Unimaginable Without Him — Kristina at heyred designs is celebrating her amazing partner, without whom none of her parenting experience would be possible.
• My Parenting Necessity — Claire at The Adventures of Lactating Girl needs "me time" in order to be the Mama she wants to be.
• Babywearing As a Way of Life — Darcel at The Mahogany Way talks about the benefits of babywearing in everyday life.
• Parenting Partnership — Sometimes Abbie at Farmer's Daughter doesn't appreciate her husband enough, but she definitely couldn't imagine parenting without his help.
• Parenting Essentials — Momma Jorje loves her parenting products, but she needs you even more.
• My Parenting Must-Have: Support — Joella at Fine and Fair wrote a letter to her daughter about the role that support from friends and family plays in her mothering.
• It's More Than Just Hair — Think doing hair is full of fluff? Too girly? Useless? Karli from Curly Hairdo Ideas used to think so too.
• The Minimalist Parent — The parents at Living Peacefully with Children embrace a minimalist perspective when it comes to baby gear. A good sling is all they need.
• Without My Breasts — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama can't imagine parenting without her breasts; here's why.
• Loves Books, Loves People — Seonaid at the Practical Dilettante discovers that the library is a perfect fit for her family's needs.
• An Ode to the Maya Wrap — RevMama's next child might be named Maya, because of her fondness for the sling.
• Avoiding the Padded Room — Pecky at Benny and Bex is here to testify that it takes a village to raise a child.
• My parenting essentials, from Tivo to battery-operated monstrosities — Lauren at Hobo Mama presents a list of parenting essentials you didn't even know you needed (and probably don't…).
• Attachment Parenting Through Separation: It Makes It a Little Better — Jessica at This Is Worthwhile talks about how she couldn't survive her separation without attachment parenting and the bond it's afforded her with her 3 year old son.
• Parenting Essentials — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares the principles she used to parent her children from infants to adults.
• My Parenting Essentials — The things that are truly essential to Kim at In Desperate Need of Entertainment aren't things at all.
• I'm No One Without My Sling — How baby carrying is essential to the parenting of Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama.
• I Cannot Imagine Parenting Without... — Isil at Smiling Like Sunshine talks about what she needs to raise her children.
• February Carnival of Natural Parenting — Through her experiences over the last five and a half years, Casey at Love What Is has discovered her most important tool for parenting is using her instincts.
• CNP: I Cannot Imagine Parenting Without __________. — The Artsymama discloses the one thing that gave her back control of herself as a parent.
• Laugh Until I Cry — Laughing with her sons keeps Acacia at Fingerpaint & Superheroes connected and grounded.
• I Cannot Imagine Parenting Without — Luschka at Diary of a First Child realizes what the one thing she can't imagine parenting without is, and it turns out it's not a thing after all.
• It Takes Two — Here are a few of the reasons why Jenn at Adventures Down Under cannot imagine parenting without her fabulous husband.
• Stopping to Listen — Though it wasn't easy at first, Knocked Up - Knocked Over cannot imagine parenting her daughter without listening first to what she is telling her.
• The Essence of Parenting — There are many wonderful resources that make life easier for Michelle at the Parent Vortex to parent, but the essence is the relationship between parent and child.
• What I Cannot Live Without — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker considers her computer to be a parenting lifeline.
• True Blessings: White Noise and Grandparents — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment can't live without her white noise machine and the support of her parents.
• The Necessities! — What "stuff" does a natural parent like Lily, aka Witch Mom really need? Not much, it turns out.
• Mama Showed Me — Mama Mo at Attached at the Nip writes about how parenting wisdom is passed on by example.
• Ode to the Loo — For Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch, the bathroom is her safe place, where she can take a minute to calm down if she is feeling touched out.
• Go, Mama. Go! — Andrea!!! at Ella-Bean & Co. has been able to integrate her many roles through her get-up-and-go parenting essential, exercise!
• My Other Half — Becky at Old New Legacy realizes what a relief it is to have her husband parent alongside her.
• Grace, Love, and Coffee — MrsH at Fleeting Moments realizes that lifelines can take the form of the profound, or the mundane. Both are ok.
• Supportive Spouse, Check! — There are so many parenting tools and gadgets that are superfluous, but the one essential, for Danielle at born.in.japan, has been her supportive spouse.
• Why I'm a Babywearer — Meredith at Becoming Mamas reflects on the ways babywearing has enhanced her mama baby relationship...and made life easier to boot.
• It's Marvelous Out Here, Kiddo! — Rachael at The Variegated Life can't imagine parenting in the big city without the marvels of Prospect Park to share with her Critter.
• Yes, Thank You — Amy at Anktangle offers tips on how to ask for and accept help, an essential for successful parenting.
• Parenting Essentials Checklist: Mom’s Inner Rebel and Her Kids’ Voices — Olivia at Write About Birth reflects on raising global citizens and saying no to societal norms.
• Eco-Mama Online! — An Eco-Mama living in the mountains of a nature island, Terri at Child of the Nature Isle finds it essential to connect to nature and to connect online.
• Sorry, We Just Sold the Last One — Nev at The Adventures of Lime confesses she missed out the day they handed out patience.
• Laugh — Tashmica at The Mother Flippin' Blog reveals her super power, her talisman agains mean mommy.
• My Priceless Parenting Resource — What do books, a magazine community, my mother and the local playgroup have in common? Lucy at Dreaming Aloud tells us...
  
• The Gift of Shared Time — Tree at Mom Grooves strives to experience the world from her daughter's perspective.
• Follow the Giggles — Dionna at Code Name: Mama can’t live without the sound of her child’s giggles - come watch her video and you’ll agree!
• Can I Mommy Without Boob? — Emily at Crunchy(ish) Mama shares her fears about weaning and losing part of that the mother/child bond.

The Perfect Soup!

I'm reposting this for the carnival completion of January's Families Create! and I've added links below to other participants. There are some great books and activities shared in their posts so check them out and show some comment love!

For January's "Families, Create! Make and Play Carnival" my family "cuddled up" for a hot bowl of soup with grilled egg and cheese sandwiches.  We were inspired by the book, Perfect Soup, that we borrowed from the library.

We read it before bed one night and decided that we, too, would make the perfect soup for dinner this week. It just so happens, we read another book the night before we made soup called Dancin' in the Kitchen! So, of course, making soup the next night turned into a dancing party. We cranked up the music and jammed as we pulled out veggies and grains and tossed 'em in the pot. Then as it cooked away we made up our own songs about soup and danced to them!

Since we are regular soup makers and eaters, we thought it appropriate to share our little formula for the perfect soup.

You must have:

• About 4 cups of several veggies, cut into bite sized pieces. A few of our favorite combinations are potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, celery and broccoli or green kale and potatoes or sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots, onions and parsnips. 
• About 8 cups of vegetable or chicken broth, or a combination of broth and tomato juice (from canned tomatoes, perhaps)
• A couple cups of grains. Some of our favorites are small pastas, rice and barley.
• A couple cups of protein. We like to toss in small pieces of chicken or steak or make it vegetarian with lentils.
• A few tablespoon of herbs and some garlic. A couple of our favorite combinations are (with the first veggie combo) oregano, parsley, and bay leaf or (with the second veggie combo) rosemary, thyme and bay leaf.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

It's easy for kids to be involved in soup making. Everett gets to chop soft veggies with a butter knife. We make our own chicken stock and made some that day to use for our soup, so Everett got to reuse the carrots for our soup and cut them up. 

It's also easy for him to tear kale or chard into pieces and add it straight to the pot.

As a time saver, when I cook up some grains like rice or barley, I double or triple what I need and freeze some. Then all we have to do for nights like this is defrost it (at least a little) and Everett can pour it right in.

We soak, rinse and strain our lentils then add them to the pot.

I add the herbs and stock. Then we bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for a few hours to let the flavors meld. Delicious!

There is nothing like the perfect bowl of soup and a grilled cheese (or egg and cheese) sandwich for dinner on a cold winter night.... Especially if you're cuddling up to read afterwards!

Visit Code Name: Mama and Living Peacefully with Children to find out how you can participate in the next Families, Create! Carnival.

Our February theme is "Heroes and Heroines" - what can your family create this month to celebrate the heroes and heroines in your lives?

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• What's the perfect way to snuggle up on a cold winter night? Acacia at Fingerpaint & Superheroes knows the answer: make the perfect soup!

• Simply decorated jars by children bring warmth and light to cold Winter's days at Living Peacefully with Children.

• The ArtsyMama teaches us how to create a no sew fleece throw inspired by your favorite snuggle time book.

• Movies made from books are often pretty poor representations, but this family-made movie from Dionna at Code Name: Mama is monster-ific!

• Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes created a cozy for her Kindle, to protect it from little hands that think they need to cuddle with it.

• What better way to cuddle and get cozy than in new jammies made by Mama G @ Z everyday things?

• Inspired by her family's love of the Harry Potter series, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children decided to make a series of ornaments based on the theme.

• Laura at Nestled Under Rainbows shared a reflection on and a celebration of snuggies, lovies, cuddlies and specials.

• Little Hedgehog got a wonderful idea when his red hat from Father Christmas didn't fit, and Megan at Purple Dancing Dahlias got a wonderful idea to knit a sweet hedgehog!

• Monster-inspired artwork by a monster-clad kid. Despite the growling, he really is cuddly! Monster love courtesy of Dionna at Code Name: Mama.

• Arpita at Up, Down & Natural shares a quick tutorial on how to make your very own Pippalily inspire pouch sling, with zippered pocket & key ring, and a matching nursing cover to boot!

• Amy at Anktangle finally completed something cuddly and warm for her son Daniel: his very own afghan, crocheted with love by Momma.

• Who'd want to cuddle with a cuttlefish? Aunalise at My Sweet Potatoes thinks you might want to cuddle up with this sweet plush cuttlefish!

• In an attempt to slow down and relax while watching her children, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children decided to give knitting another chance.

Chalk Painting

Being his curious little self, Everett grabbed my zester out of its drawer last week and ran to his easel with it trying to grate his chalk. I repossessed the zester before he could get anything grated, but I told him that he had a very creative idea and that later we could try that out in some art. 

On Friday, when his cousin came over, we pulled out the artist chalk (soft pastels), my grater (not the expensive zester), and a tub of water. We spent an hour exploring how to create with the chalk and chalk dust. 

Everett loved grating the chalk and then painting over it with water. It sort of has a watercolor effect but a little thicker and sometimes grainy. 

His cousin, Ryan, preferred to dip the chalk into the water and draw with its brightness. 

Of course, I had to play, too. I used both techniques to doodle around a page...and then filled in a little more with the artist chalk when it dried.