Holiday Gift Picks & Ginormous Giveaway!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

- Oscar Hammerstein II & Richard Rodgers

It is hard for me to put into words just how grateful I am for the opportunity to try out some of the most creative and imaginative kiddie coolness on the planet or how honored I am to give away such gems on behalf of the generous souls who help nurture the playful spirit of childhood. It is my thrill to present to you these tried and true faves from Satch and I. We are certain they will bring your family much joy this holiday season! (Giveaway items are marked with a * )

Think-ets: Ingenious, creative, imaginative are the three words that best describe this game. Contained in a pocket sized tin (or pouch depending on the set you choose), this is highly portable, major fun. I actually keep it in my bag so we can play it anywhere. I brought it out in the waiting room during S's OT appointment, and it produced much laughter from the children as well as their parents. Inside the tin is a handful of interesting trinkets. The game can be played a multitude of ways and with various age groups. Our favorite is the "Story Telling Game". Ages 8+

eeBoo's United States Bingo: We are HUGE fans of eeBoo! eeBoo is well known for their beautiful, educational and high quality products. The gorgeous art is commissioned from beloved children's book illustrators. It should come as no surprise that many of their award winning products are sold in museum stores.

Their United States Bingo Game is a such a fun way for kids to learn about our country's states, industry and landmarks. Terrific for home or classrooms. *The generous people at eeBoo are allowing me to giveaway this awesome game to one lucky winner!

eeBoo also makes a wide variety of beautifully illustrated classic memory matching games that are a pure pleasure to play with. We have our favorites, as I'm sure you will too.

*Thanks to the generous peeps at eeBoo, you will have a chance to win their new Wildlife Memory Game!

eeBoo, we love you so!

Meta-Forms by FoxMind is an award winning game of reasoning and logic. The visual clues are intuitive and easy for young children to understand, yet it's challenging enough to entice adults. It can be played alone or with groups. In short, we LOVE it and highly recommend it! Ages 5 +

Family Funtime's Dinner Games: Terrific fun for family meal time. There are 51 game prompts in the form of recipe cards, neatly stored in a nifty tin. A wonderful way to add a bit of playfulness to your holiday dinner. Handy for restaurants and rest stop meals during the family vacation. We especially love the game "What's Missing"! Ages 3+

For kids who love to help cook, you should check out these cool tools by Kinderkitchen.

The Dog knives are designed to cut soft food, not fingers. The ears and the tail help keep your child's paws centered on the handle. We had the good fortune to test-drive these puppies and our son had a terrific time helping with meal prep.

Kinderkitchen is a division of Kuhn Rikon, Switzerland's leading manufacturer of cookware and cook's tools for over 70 years.

What's Gnu? by Think Fun: Played like their classic, Zingo, this game is a great way for early readers to practice spelling, and word recognition. There's this cool, soothing aspect to the sliding "letter-getter" that adds a little sensory touch to game as well. There are two levels of play. Ages 5+

Another great gift for early readers are the new Sight Words BOB books from Scholastic! I had the honor of interviewing this Mother-Father-Daughter team last Fall, when I discovered a set of their books at our library book sale. My son LOVES them!

*The Maslens, Kertells, & the generous folks at Scholastic are allowing me to giveaway a set of Sight Words Kindergarten and Sight Words First Grade!

Drum City by Thea Guidone has become one of my son's favorite bedtime stories. The rhythmic text and whimsical illustrations are delightful. I particularly love the bits of collaged text peaking out from beneath the images. Satch loves the expressions on the kids' faces as they march through the city banging their drums.

The book would make a lovely gift paired with a small drum like the one we have by Remo. The drum has a nice sound and is extremely sturdy. We bought ours when S was just a year old.


For the creative family or for families who would like to tap into their imaginations, I highly recommend MoMA's Make Art Mistakes! It's a sketchbook filled with fun, imaginative prompts & inspiring quotes to get the creative juices flowing - FEARLESSLY! Our favorite page, "Draw a shape then color OUTSIDE the lines"! This book is great for a family art night, yucky weather days, or to toss in the backseat for road trips.

And for the big people in your life, you should consider giving a copy of Patti Digh's latest treasure, "Creative is a Verb: If You're Alive, You're Creative".

If you wish to live your life as a work of art, this book will feed your creative fire!

I am honored to announce that my art appears on 156 and 187. *The generous peeps as Global Pequot Press is allowing me to giveaway a copy of this gem to one lucky reader!

For music lovers, you MUST grab a copy of Brandon Campbell's new cd, "Ten from the Galley"! I can tell you first hand how addictive Brandon's gypsy jazz stylin's are...our respective families once shared a pond side cabin in Squam, NH so the mama-bears could attend an art-retreat. Every time I think about our adventures there - watching the neon sunrise paint the pond pink - standing motionless in the loon kissed evening air watching bats arabesque (so close I could touch them) making me feel as though I was flying with them, the art, the friendships, the laughter....when I think back at that time our families spent together, Brandon's music swirls around in my head like my own personal soundtrack, and let me tell you...that's mighty nice. Brandon's music stirs me in many ways. At times I want to grab a partner and bust out my Lindy moves. Sometimes, it makes me want to light candles and just melt into the night. It's haunting - it's hot - it's hip! *Brandon is allowing me to give away a copy of his new cd to one lucky reader, how cool is that?

 For the art lovers in your life, check out the work of Pixie Campbell! Pixie is one of my dear friends and yes...her hubby is Brandon. They are a talented, dynamic duo! Pixie is Native American of the Choctaw tribe. Drawing from her knowledge of animal totems, her beautiful and soulful work is both a reflection of her heritage and her love for the spiritual aspects of life. *Pixie would like to give away a fine art print to one luck commenter!

Once more, It is a great pleasure to share with you a few of our favorite things. It is an honor to introduce you to the extraordinary and generous people who create them. May this holiday season bless you with fun, laughter, creativity and a big imagination!

To win one of these 6 items listed above...

1. *eeBoo United States Bingo
2. * eeBoo Wildlife Memory
3. *BOB Books
4. *Creative is a Verb
5. *Ten from the Galley cd
6. *Fine Art Print by Pixie Campbell

simply share with me a favorite holiday moment.

You MUST specify which item you're wishin' for....

Also include an email so that I may contact you if you win. Comments must be posted by midnight on Friday December 3rd. The winners will be picked by random generator and announced on Monday December 6th!

Good luck and good tidings to you where ever you are...
Wendy

Earth Delights

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." - Kahlil Gibran

I've noticed that my son's SPD often manifests in a need to control some situations. Sometimes it's to avoid unwanted touches, other times it's to avoid the unexpected. I notice that he misses cues about personal boundaries, hence his need to orchestrate the play. I know that as he matures, this will be a valuable leadership quality, but at present it can sometimes make play difficult. To help him (and others like him) I've been looking for more cooperative games to play with the delightful gaggle of children that visit us daily, games that require group participation and foster a sense of connection.

I was grateful to have received a review copy of Todd Strong's "Great Games For Big Activity Balls". This book contains 75 games that can be played indoors, outdoors or in the pool. The games help develop social skills, trust, cooperation, problem solving, appropriate touch and communication. In addition, the games aid in the development of perceptual, physical and motor skills. Our favorite games so far are "Orbit", "Planet Pass" and "Parachute Ball".

When played with the "Earth Ball" by Orbis, one can further illustrate the message of connectedness. The Earth Ball features realistic NASA satellite imagery. One of the coolest things about the inflatable Earth Ball is that the cities glow in the dark. Earth Ball comes in 2 sizes and includes a 20 page booklet of facts and games.

In short, it's educational, inflatable, portable FUN!


I am also had the good fortune to review "Parachute Games" by Todd Strong. It is a terrific resource for parents a/o teachers that want to engage children in cooperative play. The parachute is a useful developmental tool that allows children to explore personal behavior and social skills while offering an opportunity to improve perceptual and physical skills. Parachute play promotes cooperation and what I like most about parachute games is that everybody wins! The book includes 59 games with variations and teaching tips as well a DVD to see some of these games in action.

On a personal note, whenever I bring out our humble parachute, the wee folk go crazy. I'm always amazed by how that a colorful billowing piece of nylon induces so much joy.

Most Alive Monday: Make a Joyful Noise

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. - Friedrich Nietzsche.

For some time, I've wanted to make a banging wall for S, but I didn't think it would go over well with the neighbors. Last week I saw this tutorial on how to construct one of those giant xylophones seen in children's museums. So, we went to Home Depot after lunch, and my husband, The Great Robinsky, whipped it up in no time flat.

It's fabulous and sounds lovely!

He cut one dowel in half to create two short sticks and left one dowel long so the wee folk can hit the high notes. I added a rubber cap to the sticks to soften the tone for the neighbors.

We hung it on a tree in the corner of the front yard nearest the trail so wandering kidlets (or kids at heart) can tap a tune whenever they want to. Now I would like to add a wind feature to the music tree, perhaps some chimes.

I'm totally obsessed with Wind Harps and want to make one or at least go see/hear one. And we're looking forward to seeing Billy Jonas again this summer! As you know, we are huge fans.


*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

Most Alive Monday: Snow Castle

or why all the neighborhood kids flock to our nest...



The robins have arrived and the daffodils are beginning to emerge and I fear they both may be a tad early as we received TWO respectable snow storms just three days apart. Satch began making tiny snow castles, his very own twist on sandcastles, and I was so inspired by his idea that I couldn't resist making him a giant snow castle to play in.

We started building it after a warm breakfast of oatmeal with fresh strawberries and cream...

After stockpiling the fortress with a stack of snowballs, we went inside to eat lunch...macaroni n' cheese and hot cocoa. We enjoyed the ethereal scenery, the muffled hush that accompanies a good flurry, and the excuse to toast marshmallows in the fireplace.

Here's how to make your own Quick n' Easy Snow Castle:

1. Dig out a square for your interior floor
2. Dig a trench around the outside of the square to form the base of your castle's foundation (formally called a Battered Plinth), approx. 12" wide - you can shave off excess later.
3. Pat down to good, firm foundation.
4. Begin filling a square storage container to make the stones. We used an Ikea food storage container.
5. Lay the stones, staggering them as you go.
6. Use extra snow as mortar to fill grooves between stones. Satch his Ikea Sandig tools for this.
7. Add turrets, crenelations and perhaps a flag!

I'm thinking they should rename it Snowdig because it makes awesome snow bricks!

*Castle jargon glossary can be found here! And a book of inspiration here!


This is the super cool snowball maker that Santa brought!

THEN...just 2 days after we built our snow castle, we were hit with a blizzard! So we hunkered down with some java logs and some - good - books and some serious comfort food. There were fresh banana muffins (sans the espresso) for breakfast.  There was steamy homemade vegetarian "chicken" noodle soup with warm Tofurkey sandwiches and mushroom barley stew and tomato risotto with fresh mozzarella.

There were experiments...

to learn about color.
(and the left over potions were used to color snowballs)

There were Lincoln Log constructions with demolitions via remote controlled car. There were card games by the fireplace, visits from neighbors and also some body markers.

When the big snow let up, so began the big dig.

Our street was no longer recognizable and people walked right down the middle of what was once a road to take photos.





















Here's the same view after the storm passed. There are many trees down, completely blocking the road.





Our snow castle was buried, but identifiable by its red flag, and...
branches, heavy with snow and ice, created wonderful natural winter forts and tunnels to play in.

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

Play All Day!

After a busy day of chestnut boats and fairy forts, we returned home to find a rather heavy brown parcel on our doorstep. I was beyond excited to discover that it was a review copy of Play All Day: Design for Children from Gestalten!

We ran inside, tossed our wintry layers in a heap, threw some pillows on the floor and slowly leafed through the pages. WOW! WOW! WOW! - this word repeated over and over from my son while I sighed and swooned over this gorgeous tome of kidlicous design. Play All Day is a book that creative parents will want to keep permanently on their coffee table to be devoured by wee folk and big people alike.

No stone is left unturned in this beautiful, ginormous exploration into the art of play - architecture, toys, playgrounds, decor, furniture, illustration and photography - made by creative parents and talented designers around the world.



From the cardboard castles of one of my favorite artists, Ann Wood, to the engaging kid-craft projects of Arounna Khounnoraj of BloesemKids.


In three words...

Innovative,

Imaginative

and

Inspiring!

Holiday Recap & Happy New Year

A glimpse at Christmas morn! (Click here for redirect to Flickr set with toy links)

Happy New Year!

Holiday Gift Picks

Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things - Rodgers & Hammerstein

T'is the season! I thought I would share some great holiday gifts for the wee folk. On this holiday, we look for imaginative, creative indoor toys for cold weather play. Here are the pics on our Xmas list:

Satch is seriously into building and we have all sorts of sets. At the moment we're loving the ZOOB Mover by Infinitoy! ZOOB is an award winning, open-ended building toy that snaps, pops and clicks together. What makes the ZOOB Mover so interesting is that it comes with a little remote controlled contraption to transform the creation into a kinetic sculpture, or bug or robot or whatever the wee one can dream up. See video below a bit of coolness...

Infintoy also manufacters the Quizmo, an interactive palm-sized quiz game that knows the answers to 693,135 questions. It's a brilliant travel toy in my humble opinion. The generous folks at Infintoy will give you a chance to win a Quizmo at the end of this post.

Since Satch loves his marble track so much, we thought we would expand upon his marble play with Kerplunk, a game that I loved when I was a child.

Speaking of marble love...the generous folks at Fundex sent us a sample of Labyrinth to try. It's a classic, high quality, wooden marble maze that takes precision, concentration and patience. It's great for those cold winter days. For ages 8+.

And we'll be sending peepers to our puppet lubbin' peeps! They make great stocking stuffers, & party favors.

As you know, Satch is learning to read and since he doesn't go to preschool, I've been researching products that will help nurture his interest in a fun and natural way. There are some wonderful products on the market that foster learning through play and would make ideal holiday gifts for the Pre-K crowd....

We love the Simple Word Puzzles by eeBoo. We received a sample and gave them a test run in our home. My son really enjoyed them. It was a great confidence booster for him. The words are simple, though there are a few that will certainly challenge beginners. The illustrations are as lovely as one would expect from eeBoo.

Another learning game that we had the good fortune of sampling is Er-u-di-tion, the sight word game. There are several ways to play this game that will accommodate the skill level of various players. The color coded cards enable beginner readers to play along with advanced readers. The game was created by Denise and Kelly Bossard to help their children learn the sight words that were part of the Kindergarten curriculum. The Bossards designed a game that would help their children learn to read in a fun and engaging way, through play. Er-u-di-tion is the winner of Creative Child Magazine's, 2009 Game of the Year Award!

Another nifty gift for the wees who are trying to learn days and months is the Sukie Perpetual Calendar. I looked at several different calendars for Satch trying to find just the right one. I liked the idea of a magnetic calendar, but I couldn't find one that was fun to look at. Then I found out that our beloved Sukie created a perpetual calendar, so I bought it. It's made of durable heavy gauge cardboard and is way too adorable. It is designed as a desk calendar, but I attached it to the refrigerator with a magnetic bulldog clip. What makes this calendar extra cool is that kidlets can not only turn the dials to change the day, date, month, but there is a dial for weather too. We love the little tree house!

We always like to include books in the gift mix and this year we're getting Satch...


Around the Year by Elsa Beskow. We just love her other books and this little book is perfect for the Pre-K set who are learning their days of the week, and months.


We're also getting Return of the Light to add to our Winter Book Basket.

Speaking of books...the cool peeps at Black Dog Publishing are offering a 40% discount on Making Stuff for Kids to all Mother Rising Readers until December 31st. If you'd like to purchase a discounted copy of this book, just email Jess @ blackdogonline.com and let her know you're from Mother Rising. She'll place your order directly.

If you would like a chance to win the aforementioned wicked cool Quizmo toy, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday November 28th. The winner will be picked by random generator and announced on Monday November 30th. *Please include your email so that I can contact you in the event that you win.

Most Alive Monday will resume on December 7th!

( See last year's gift picks here.)

Presto Puppet Theater!

We took Satch to Ikea a while back to pick out some fabric for his portable stage curtains. We bought an Ikea tension rod and PRESTO! Instant stage! It fits most doorways AND in our case, the dining room archway. It's ideal for all sorts of impromptu plays as well as some quick fort making. I kept the curtains long for kidlet performances, but the bar can be lowered for puppet play.

By the way, my friend Pixie is giving away some of her awesome Animama note cards....go check them out!

Have a good weekend.

c'mon

"Mama loves you so much, baby
watcha gonna do with that love
Papa loves you so much, baby
watcha gonna do with that love." - renee & jeremy

Hey! Have you heard that renee & jeremy have a new album out?

YESSS!

Last year, I had the honor of interviewing Renee about motherhood and the first album.

Well, life got even sweeter because Jeremy sent me their new cd in September and we've been groovin' on it ever since. Their voices are soothing, the lyrics are meaningful and the music is funky! One of our favorite songs (and we have many faves on this cd) is "Share" which I'm hoping will have a subliminal effect on Satch as sharing has never been easy for him.

Speaking of sharing, the generous and talented renee & jeremy would like to share a free track from their new cd with YOU!  Have a listen to their righteous new grooves, won't you?  And check out this cool vid! Then head over to their site and buy some music! You and your kidlets will be groovin' all weekend....



See you Monday.

*Jeremy, Satch REALLY wants you to play DC (I do too)!

The Science of Sound

Who's gonna make our music?
We're gonna make our Music!
What'll we do?
Bang 'n sing!
What'll we use?
Everything! - Billy Jonas

Inspired by The Science Book of Sound and motivated by evening bath drama, I gave my wet headed wee one a project...to make music with his marble track. The marbles ran down a ramp, across a xylophone, bounced off one tambourine, hitting a bell, then landed in another tambourine. The teamwork coupled with our successful mission put us both in a much better mood.

Imagination Box

"Imagination will take you everywhere" - Albert Einstein

I've mentioned our "Imagination Box" before, but not in great detail. This is my son's latest invention, a "Breakfast Cooker Flipper" for helping with pumpkin pancakes. It is comprised of two spools, a rubber band, and the display hook from his crocks. It is a levered spatula!

Although Satch has some wonderfully creative toys, he often pulls out his "Imagination Box" and invents gadgets. Here's what's inside...

• 0ld shoe box with cut garage door in case
• rubber bands in various shapes, sizes, colors
• clothes pins
• empty spools of all sorts
• assorted twist ties and chenille stems
• wire
• wood bits and sticks
• floss
• assorted pieces of string, yarn and ribbon
• tape
• golf tees (to hammer into the box bottom)
• empty match box
• scraps of heavy cardboard
• shipping tags and ring tags
• paper clips
• bells
• plastic hooks from socks (he uses them for pulleys and cranes)
• felt ball a/o pompoms
• net bags from onions etc.
• misc. found objects like springs etc.
  

Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

"That very night, in Max's room, a forest grew, and grew - until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became a world all around..." - Maurice Sendak

Did I happen to mention that the film "Where the Wild Things Are" opens on my birthday! I'm beyond excited to see this film because it's one of my all time favorite children's books.

And did you know that Crocodile Creek sells the beloved puppets?



YES......PUPPETS!

They are super plush for cuddling with the added bonus of being a puppet for pretend play.

We're all about creative play, especially puppets. These puppets really bring the story to life. As Satch told his daddy during dinner, "we had a wild rumpus and it was AWESOME!"

WE LOVE THEM SO!





The cool peeps at Crocodile Creek are offering FREE shipping to Mother Rising readers! Just use the code WILDTHING at check out and get your little wild thing a puppet or two (or any of their other wonderful products). The offer expires January 1st 2010. You can tuck them away for a holiday gift...


(or try to)

Travelin' Tot Giveaway Part Two

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

We're off to the outer banks for a family holiday in a cozy cottage with friends. Props to P for finding the affordable little gem...it even has a little observation deck on the roof for star gazing, so I may have to pack my trusty old telescope, if there's room in the trunk.

One thing I will certainly be bringing is the Life-tech compact binoculars by Brunton. These are super handy for impromptu star gazing and observing the local wildlife. They are solid yet light weight and portable. They can fit in your pocket and yet the optics are just as good as some of the larger models I've tried. Best of all, they are reasonably priced.

For Satch I packed the Echo Pocket Scope by Brunton. It's the coolest little monocular I've ever seen and surprisingly powerful. It's the perfect size for the kids to carry on nature walks. We plan to check out the local nature center as well as go look for those wild horses.

I made these summer constellation cans to amuse the wee folk in the eve. They'll be using them with a flash light to project the summer sky on the ceiling.

I've been planning some beachy crafts and activities for the wees, like sea weed prints, cyanotypes, fossil rocks with shells and clay, and beach bottles. (I will post photos of them when we return.) I put together two super simple kite building kits to be decorated with some sea life rubber stamps and highly coveted Sponge Bob stickers. I plan to do some kiddie science experiments like how salt makes things float and another regarding those little black specks in the sand so I packed some magnets.

I made this little family game for the car. I printed some tiny question cards to fit in a pocket sized candy tin that I had in my studio. Every 30 minutes, we'll pull a card from the deck and take turns answering the question. (This idea was given to me by my friend, Julie who found it somewhere on the web). And I have just enough time to make a couple of these sponge balls.

I should mention that in Satchel's car caddy, I keep a container of these learning links (I don't know why, but he loves them). I also keep a small set of Wikki Stix, a box of eBoo's Musical Friends lacing cards, some early reader "I Spy" books and a magnetic robot playset by Mudpuppy.

I've packed sea related story books and guides and eeBoo's Go Fish Game in case of rain. I packed the nets, funnels and a Zak mini colander to sift for creatures. I Tucked away some glow bracelets for night time crab searches and acquired a secret stash of Sponge Bob tattoos to last the entire week.

I've put together a little treat for our lambies. I've made some shadow puppets with which the grown-ups will be performing a shadow play of House for Hermit Crab. Of course, the kidlets will be playing with them post show. They are quite easy to make. You can draw the characters freehand, as I did, or trace them directly from the book and transfer them to black poster board. To do so you would need to trace the drawing using a white grease pencil then place it (white side down) onto the black poster board and go over your lines using a hard tip pencil or pen. Cut the drawings from the black poster board and use hot glue to attach sticks. Our show will be performed behind an illuminated white sheet. However, I photographed the puppets in front of blue tissue paper taped to the window because it looked purdy!

*I used poetic license on the lantern fish, and made it part Anglerfish, (because Satch loves that hanging light thingy), but sans the scary teeth.

Click to enlarge image!

As you already know, I'm big on packing a small trip related gifty or two. For our beach adventure, I chose the following:

These Juggling Scarves by Wizard of Math are colorful, light weight and easy for little ones to juggle. They float in air quite beautifully. Since they are so portable, it makes the perfect activity for rest stops and rainy days.

The Buddha Board Mini is a perfectly portable canvas for the travelin' tot. I've written about the larger version here. This 5 inch mini verson comes in 5 colors and folds right back up into its easel stand. It's small enough to take with you for some creative play at restaurants or rainy day destination play. All you need is water and imagination! The generous folks at Buddha Board will give you chance to win one of these awesome boards at the end of this post.

Splash Attack by Fundex is a clever little game that comes in a little fabric pouch for easy transport. Perfect for the family beach vacation, restaurants and rainy day play.

The adorable Piscari by HaPe Toys.

Piscari was designed to nurture the imagination as well as concentration. It is perfect to play at the beach, rest stops or on rainy days. The toy can be played with solo or in pairs. It is made of natural bamboo and is small enough to fit in your purse. It's a different spin on this fishing game that I made for Satch.

And since the Indigo Dreams cd was such a big hit during "the nap that dares not speak it's name", we thought we would try out Lori Lite's other guided relaxation cd, Ocean Dreams.

We LOVE Sun Print Paper by Lawrence Hall of Science to make some beautiful prints and a bit of tot science regarding the importance of sunscreen. The paper is very easy to work with and the kids love it! Here are some prints that Satch made.

The kind people at Lawrence Hall of Science is giving you a chance to win a pack of Sunprint coolness at the end of this post.


As you may have guessed, I fancy small things that I can carry in my bag and whip out when the need arises. I like the Fingerprinting Art Set for rainy day destination play. It's messy, yet washable fun and very Ed Emberley!!!

Satch is a bit too young to launch the Maple Seed Copter, but I figure his daddy can do the launching and Satch can do the chasing and catching to burn off some pent up energy from the ride. Designed to look like a real maple seed, it can soar up to 100 feet, then gently spins to earth like the real thing. There are some interesting seed facts printed on the package for fellow nature lovers.

A great toy for rest stops and outdoor destination play!

This Sea Animal Ball by Crocodile Creek is a must for the beach. The illustrations are beautiful and it's made of heavy gauge rubber so it is built to last and it won't blow away like classic beach balls.

It was time to get Satch an extra water bottle because we've been worried about losing the one we bought him over a year ago. We're not big on having "extra" of anything, but in this case it's good to have a backup. So we bought our nature boy this Animal Tracks Bottle also by Crocodile Creek. The bottle is stainless steel and BPA free! He's been diggin' animal tracks ever since the Track Lab program at our nature center.

There are not only wild horses roaming the beaches, but there are also deer. We will be bringing this deer call by Knight & Hale. It's easy to use, even for the wees, and certainly gets their attention. Hunters use them to lure the creatures near. Nature loving vegetarians like us, think the deer call is awesome for observing these beautiful creatures.

We've also packed this super cool gadget, the Audubon Bird Call to observe our feathered friends. These pocket sized beauties are handcrafted and sound like the real thing with just a simple twisting motion. It drove my cat nuts when I gave it a test run. They were created by Roger Eddy who has since passed away. His grandchildren have carried on the tradition of crafting the Audubon Bird Call in their attic workshop.

By the way, the Eddy family also manufactures the Soda Bottle Feeder.
They are perfect for recycling drink bottles into bird cafes and because they are made of zinc, they are built to last and the squirrels can't destroy them. I would like to add that we have a rather well endowed male squirrel who is on a mission to destroy our feeders...so well endowed, in fact, that my son has named him, "PLUMMY".

The extremely generous Eddy family has allowed me to host a giveaway! SIX mother rising readers will win this wonderful Audubon Bird Call and One lucky winner will win an awesome Soda Bottle Feeder.

Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday September 6th:

• First Prize - Buddha Board Mini (1 winner)
• Second Prize - Sunprint Kit (1 winner)
• Third Prize - Soda Bottle Bird Feeder (1 winner)
• Fourth Prize - Audubon Bird Call (6 winners)

The winners will be chosen by random generator and announced on Tuesday September 8th. Good Luck and enjoy some Music From Sand...



The winners of last week's giveaway are posted here!

Summer Magic

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is
in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the
nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.
- Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux 1863-1950

There are some things that are just undeniably summer... watermelon, picnics, bare feet, popsicles, bubbles, fireflies, hammocks, kites, ocean beaches, mud pies, swimming pools, sprinklers, campfires and of course, TENTS! One of my favorite childhood memories was the summer fort. Oh, there were pup tents, blanket forts, and a tree house or two...outside, inside, campgrounds, and even the back yard. Those mini adventures in those cozy nests were so special, powerful, magical... and I want my son to have that experience too while the window of wonder is wide open.

Last year, you may recall, I grew a living tipi in our front yard and it was a big hit amongst the neighborhood wee folk. However, it rapidly became a big hit for the gnats and mosquitoes too and we could no longer play in it, 'else risk being eaten alive. Early this season, Satch asked if I was going to make another tipi and I felt a pang in my heart that sent me on a quest for the perfect summer hideaway.

My search led me to Magic Cabin, a toy company created by stay at home, Sara McDonald. There I found this magical tipi. Once assembled, the tipi takes mere seconds to set up. It is very portable and can be used both indoors and outdoors. The tipi is made of high quality canvas, which can be painted in traditional design. Satch is going to put his hand print inside with fabric paint and one day, his own child will do the same...and perhaps even his grandchildren.

*To celebrate the magic of summer and the spirit of childhood, the generous folks at Magic Cabin are offering 15% off any purchase of $100 or more to Mother Rising Readers. Enter code SUMMER at checkout. The offer will be good through 7/31/09! So, fly over and get your little hatchlings a nest of their own. Have a memorable weekend. See you Monday.

Soft Rain

I look out on my patio after a soft rain.
The birds won't stop singing.
The geraniums are an impossible pink.
I want to swallow them, whole. - Penelope Barnes Thompson

a bit rainy...and so we did a bit of painting.

Some of you asked what we gave Robert for Father's day...

a Satchelicious Sigg, of course! Satch made a special painting upon which he proudly wrote "Dad" all by himself. I uploaded it and that's was that. My only complaint with the platform is that it doesn't allow you to wrap the image completely around the bottle.

Sidewalk Games

I keep thinking about the games I used to play when I was a child, games that were played outside with neighbors and friends. I keep looking around the yards and wondering, where are all the kids? Are they inside playing Wii?

We keep little baskets of rocks and sidewalk chalk outside in Satchel's wagon for instant gratification. I found that the chalk sticks are actually more vivid after they've been rained on. Satchel's great uncle sent him a set of 3D chalk for his birthday...really work! All the kids in our neighborhood were over our house drawing on the sidewalk - cool!

I want to start an anti-Wii movement and get the kids outside interacting with other children, instead of machines.

Sterling Publishing has a wonderful little book that is sure to bring back memories and bring back the fun!!!

What was your favorite game?

Some of my favorite games were:

• Whiffle Ball
• Chinese Jump Rope
• Running Bases
• Freeze Tag
• Tinikling
• Skully
• Jacks
• Hop Scotch
• Crack the Whip

Parsley the Pillar and Friends

"I'm going to name my callopilla, Parsley and I'm going to name all my ants, Alicia, because ants are mostly girls!" - Satch

(It's true most ants are females - When the harvester ants arrived, he took one look at them and renamed them all "tweezer")

Parsley the caterpillar played a round of Hi-Ho Cherry-O. Satch had to spin for Parsley because all those legs could lead to multiple spins. He placed the green apples atop it's jar lid. I should mention that Parsley is rather portly and looks exactly like this...too difficult to photograph inside the jar.


Parsley played a round of Memory too.

Parsley had a sleep-over, but the next morning had spun itself a webbed hammock suspended from the jar lid. Turns out, Parsley is attempting to become a Giant Leopard Moth with a 3 inch wingspan, so I picked up a fine mesh cage thingy on Freecycle, removed the lid and suspended both lid and silky hammock from a branch in the cage.

We've been waiting a few weeks for some action - nothing. I've sent an email to a local entomologist and we're waiting for a reply.

The fireflies have showed up on cue and are performing each evening. There seems to be less than years before, but we're happy to see them. And lastly, we're still patiently waiting for our baby mantids to emerge...

Puppet Show

"Miracles are made in the heart" - Pinocchio

Satch is fascinated with the story of Pinocchio and asked for me to make him a puppet. I made a crude cardboard marionette and promised to make him a better paper maché puppet soon.

Satch fastened the pieces together and drew some pink eyes (atop the hat) and a mouth. (click to enlarge) Then I attached the strings. We clipped a vintage table cloth to his Learning Tower for an instant puppet stage.

There was a flurry of activity and not a single clear photo to be had.

I'm off to find an inexpensive tension rod for the archway of our dining/living area. I need to make a removable portable, stage curtain. You see, Satch is planning a volcanic interpretive dance set to the song, "Old St. Helen" by Billy Jonas. He has a lists of guests and has requested that his friend O, play a drum for the volcanic rumbling.

He has assigned me the task of "making and taking" tickets and of course, snacks.

Have a good weekend.

The Hour of Toad!

"Toad talked big about all he was going to do in the days to come, while stars grew fuller and larger all around them, and a yellow moon, appearing suddenly and silently from nowhere in particular, came to keep them company and listen to their talk. " - Kenneth Grahame


Satchel has had two tadpoles guests whom he named, Sponge Bob and Sandy! This is their story...please stick with me, you'll love the ending!

Last year, Satchel's aunt "Lola" gave him this Tadpole catcher and pond book which sparked a mad hunt for tadpoles and a fascination with frog/toad metamorphosis. Unable to find any tadpoles, we used it to catch, observe and release minnows at our local nature center. Then, magically, a friend whom I made through Freecycle rescued some tadpoles from a puddle and phoned to ask if we would like to adopt some. We went straight away to get a tank.

We settled on this little Tetra kit because it was small, self-contained and inexpensive. Satch put together the filter by himself (he's a clever little chap) and helped rinse and prepare the new home for our new friends.


Info raising tadpoles here.

We waited and watched and had several readings of Fish is Fish (a story of a fish and a frog). We used our Life Cycle stamps and played with these toys during bath time....

AND approximately one week later our tads turned into toads and....

we released them!



Afterward, to make the bittersweet parting a bit cheesier, we celebrated with pizza. I said a toast, "Hoppy Toad Day to Sponge Bob & Sandy" and Satch added, "Hope you have a good life" and we both drank to that. I promised that we would do it again next Spring.