An Easy and Fun Toddler Project!

Now that warm Spring breezes are blowing, it's time to start doing art projects with the kids. If you've felt like I have, Winter was a time best spent hibernating and getting fat. Well, enough of that! Yesterday, I decided to do a fun project with Emrys and his BFF (and her awesome mom). They are both one year-old, so I figured this project could go really well or really badly. As it was, it went pretty okay.

First you need to make the Finger Paint:

1/2 cup Corn Starch
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 cups Cold Water
Food Coloring

Mix all ingredients in a pot (minus the food coloring) and cook on low heat until the mixture is smooth and thick - about 10 minutes. Let it cool completely. Then separate the paints into storage containers. I added a couple of drops of food coloring and stirred until mixed.

Here's what it looked like when I was done:

Next, we read some of One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue Fish.  Most of you probably have it in your kid's library. The book is too long to hold their attention for a lengthy amount of time. 

We focused on the first page. 

Next, I bought some poster board.  Here is how I decorated it. No comments about what a pitiful drawer I am. An artist, I am not!

Then, with a lot of assistance from the mommies, we introduced the paint to their hands. That turned out to be pretty interesting. Emrys wanted to eat it, and I think his friend thought it felt yucky! Remember, at this stage of development, it's not about the finished art project, but more about new textures and stimuli. We also counted and talked about colors. 

Who knows what stuck in their little baby heads?

Emrys seems pleased with his project.

That's art project number one! Stay tuned and see what we try next! Send us pics of your kids doing projects. We love to see them!

Amanda Z
Domesticology

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Should we encourage girls to be Princesses?

Hi friends! Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately, but I've been working, traveling, visiting family and handling a sick baby. Many of you know how that goes, so I'm assuming you'll cut me some slack. I'm also going on the assumption you want to read my blog and have actually missed it. Let's go with that!

On to today's topic...

I'm a weird girl - I readily admit that, so maybe I'm reading more into this than I should. I have a thick skin, so if I'm wrong, tell me. I can take it.

Yesterday, I received a notification inviting all girls to come to a Girl Scout meeting that was a Princess Party.  Young ladies are encouraged to dress as their favorite princess and earn their....princess badge. Duh what? A princess badge? Is this really a thing? What else do they earn? Their toenail painting badge? Their skin-care regimen badge?

I'll be the first to admit I don't know a lot about the Girl Scouts.  I tried to take daughter #1 to meetings, but one, we were too poor to buy the materials, and two, it kind of sucked. Daughter #2 pretty much hates most people, so she had no desire to make lifelong friends and do chick things with other girls. So yeah, my GS experience is somewhat limited.

My darling hubby was a boy scout and did it until he quit, because and I quote, "he wanted to get laid."  At least he was honest.  All the stories he tells me, however, are pretty awesome. He learned to swim really well and make camp. He became a great archer. He can make fire without a match, which I think is pretty cool!  The things he learned were the kind of skills a young boy can take into manhood. They had value. Where is the value in learning to be a princess? He never mentioned getting a Prince Badge.

I think this bothers me in the same way beauty pageants bother me. Little girls are more than the value of their appearance. I never tell my granddaughter or my son's BFF that they are pretty (they really are pretty though) without also saying how clever and smart they are (because they are and that's WAY more important).  In the grand scheme of life, no way gives a shit if your kid is "Tiny Miss Junior Miss Little Miss Wee Wee."  I'm pretty sure her future employer is not going to care, since they are hiring her for her brains...unless they are a weirdo and are hiring her for her looks which is super creepy.

Again, I could be making a mountain out of a molehill. It wouldn't be the first time. Do you learn survival skills in the GS's? Do you get other cool badges learning things of value?

Let me know in the comment section!

Quizzically,
Amanda Z
Domesticology