Happy Earth Day - My Green Place

Like 'My Happy Place', get it? Today, on Earth Day, when most are celebrating in their yards or in parks, it snowed here in AK and I am celebrating indoors with my little container garden, a complete success so far if you were here for my post on my gardening skeeeelz (and my lack of them!)but I figure someone has to show these kids dirt is more than dry mud.

Chile Peppers

Basil

(I Think...Next Time I'll Remember to Label)

I didn't have a lot of funds so these are just the big buckets that cocktail fruit come in when you buy them from a wholesale store. And they have been under a lamp because it has not been very sunny this week.

This is fun (albeit messy) for kids. We did this in the laundry room and spent a long time describing textures, what we were doing, counting seeds, etc. My son isn't talking much, he's a late-talker, so I try to do things hands-on so as to draw out a lot of excitement, surprises, and questions.

Earth Day giveaways going on:

The earth-mother of all giveaways here - all week long!

Short Sleeved Shirt

Fountain Jet soda stream 

A Yoga Mat

Cascadian Farm products

Love, Amanda & Cubs

Father and Son Pinball Board Project

It's Monday and I am just dragging. Monica's birthday was sweet and I think that this week I'd like to do something for Elijah as a gift. It's his birthday this coming Saturday (I know, they're 2 years, 1 week apart) and I found this little project gem on the blog Journey into Unschooling.

For those who know me, I am a little bit of a lot of things. Attachment parent and prescribed unschooling teacher are probably the top two. I think projects are a wonderful way to bond, show interest in the child's interests, and it's not pencil-pushing paperwork or regular glue-down crafts.

Elijah learns hands-on and visually the best. I think that I can get Jeremy in on this since he has fun with these projects too. Now off to find some hardware store coupons!

Here's the link to the project!

Love, Amanda & Cubs

Train Set Fun

Thanks to Jennifer and Body, we have ourselves a little train set good for some classic indoor fun! Elijah loves it and is figuring out how to set it up better and better, with a little help from mom. It gets a little aggravating when I think, "Again! That's already three times today!" but I'm starting to see results in his critical thinking and manipulation of the objects, hand-eye coordination and all that - very great! Great gift! Anyway, I thought this post would be better than a thank-you card! ;)



However, Monica likes to play Godzilla, messing up everything and Elijah is racing to fix everything behind her before the train comes. She looks like Godzilla too (not in the green reptile kind of way), toddling and towering over the little tracks, knocking over bridges, and picking up the trees and eating them - very funny. Well, not to Elijah.

Anyway, off to more train fun...