We have immediate openings!

Looking for a safe and educational environment for your kids? The Kids' House has immediate opening for kids ages 2-5! Check out our website for more information on our programs and to contact us! Now get outside and enjoy the summer!

Learning about sailboats!

What are you doing Wednesday?

I am going to a tea party at the Madison Children's Museum!

It's almost Twilight Wednesday! That means free MCM admission from 5-8 p.m. This month, join us for Twilight Tea in the Log Cabin. Dress in your finest from our dress-up trunk and sip on homemade sun-tea from 4-6 p.m. Tea partygoers will make their own herbal tea sachet to bring home. We can’t wait to see you there!

Can’t make it this month? Join us on Wednesday, September 11 for next month’s Twilight Wednesday!

 Hope to see you there!

Get up and dance!

As it happens : "Tom! We are on the Television show!!" hehe... this morning we participated in Wisconsin Public Broadcasting's "Get Up and Go!" event to encourage physical activity. They rebroadcasted the event after our nap time....and the children started doing the same dance they did this morning! Plus they walked three miles today! Boy will they have some good stories tonight!

Framed: An ongoing collaberative art project

We got our frames!!!! This is our third year of community collaborated art with the wonderful folks of Geswerk Madison . Their mission : "GESWERK facilitates an annual (and ongoing) community building project called Windows of Worlds, and we help to promote and collaborate with other creative endeavors that do the same. In essence, the intent of GESWERK is to create connections. And it is our sincerest hope that these connections will lead to the deeper roots of the Community we all share."
 
On Sept. 29, our five window frames will hang with 300 more frames at Edgewood College ....on trees....where children and adults will see that many different views of the world. We are thrilled to a part of this ongoing art program!

Father's Day means pancakes and hi-fives for me.

Yesterday I drove down to Chicago to spend time with my nearly three-year-old grandson, Ellis and give my daughter and son some needed time to work on their new yard. We visited my old haunts in Chicago, our apartments in Boystown and Lincoln Park and of course numerous parks and the Lincoln Park zoo. Needless to say, the kid was worn out.

Wrigley Field!

The second window from the top was our second Chicago apartment and first daycare spot!

He must get the silliness from his dad's side ;)

Lincoln Park ham

Tongue-out time

A boy and a bear

We returned to my daughter's Irving Park home to find mountains of pulled weeds, a lawn mowed, and two people with very sore muscles. After a good nights sleep, we headed out to a father's day breakfast and fun at the park before I headed back to Madison to work on my own yard!

Syrup-laden smiles!

Swings!

Hangin' tough

Father's day flowers

Hope your weekend was as great as mine! Happy Father's Day, everyone!

My STAR of Madison is the Madison Children's Museum!

Vote for the Madison Children's Museum in the 2013 Star of Madison Awards. It's one of our favorite places to visit downtown!

The museum is nominated for Madison.com's 2013 Star of Madison Awards. Show your support and vote for us starting today through June 23. Click here to cast your ballot now!

It is berry picking time in Wisconsin! Check out these fun U-pick spots nearby

You don't have to drive all the way to Michigan to pick your own berries! Thanks to the folks at hulafrog.com, you can jump in the car, visit a farm and be back in time for dinner.



Appleberry Farm, Cross Plains | 608-798-2780

Blue Skies Berry Farm, Brooklyn | 608-455-2803

*Bures Berry Patch, Barneveld | 608-924-1404

*Carandale Farm, Oregon | 608-835-5871

Harried U Pick Umm, Edgerton | 608-774-2936

JenEhr Family Farm, Sun Prairie | 608-825-9531

*Lutz Family Farm, Marshall | 608-655-3664

U Pick Strawberry Farm, DeForest | 608-417-9485

Don't forget to put on a little sunscreen and have fun!

*Recommended by Hula-friends


Source: hulafrog.com

Water safety: A primer on the signs of drowning

Summer means fun time! And for many children, swimming is a favorite activity. Did you know that very seldom does a drowning person flail or call for help? The below article, courtesy of Slate, will help you learn the signs of drowning whether watching children or around other adults.

(See a video of the Instinctive Drowning Response.)


Source: Slate.com

This article is reprinted from Mario Vittone’s blog. Join him on Facebook.
 -------------

The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine; what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not 10 feet away, their 9-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know—from 50 feet away—what the father couldn’t recognize from just 10? Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for is rarely seen in real life.

The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In some of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening.* Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:

1. “Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.

Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:

• Head low in the water, mouth at water level
• Head tilted back with mouth open
• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
• Eyes closed
• Hair over forehead or eyes
• Not using legs—vertical
• Hyperventilating or gasping
• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
• Trying to roll over on the back
• Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder

So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.

Correction, June 5, 2013: This article originally cited a CDC statistic in referring to the number of child drownings in which a nearby adult watches the child with no idea a drowning is occurring. According to the CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, no CDC studies have measured the number of such occurrences. The reference has been removed. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

Summerpalooza!

Summer is here and this event promises to be awesome for kids (and adults) of all ages!

From their website:

The Rotary Club of Madison is celebrating 100 years! Madison Children’s Museum is thrilled to invite you and your family to the first annual SummerPalooza to help celebrate RCM’s anniversary and century of service.

This downtown family festival is sure to entertain. Boasting free museum admission all day, live outdoor performances by local Madison acts at the Rotary Plaza, a parade around the Capitol Square, a traveling farm with live animals, bike decorating, games, and plenty of fun!

Museum events run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with the parade around Capitol Square beginning at noon.

Rotary Club of Madison and MCM are pleased to present SummerPalooza with the generous support of BMO Harris Bank and additional sponsorship from American Family Children’s Hospital and Madison Gas & Electric.

SUMMERPALOOZA FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Rotary Stage Performances
10 a.m. - Ken Lonnquist and the Kenland Band
11 a.m. - Boys & Girls Club Black Star Drum Line
1 p.m. - Kiddy-Oke with the Gomers
2 p.m. - The Madgadders

MCM Parking Lot Activities
10 a.m.-noon - Henry Vilas Zoo EdZoocation
10 a.m.-noon - Obstacle course on N. Hamilton Street
DreamBikes bike tune-ups and decorating
Jolly Giants Stilt Walkers
Wisconsin Historical Museum activity station

Parade Performers
Handphibians
Mama Digdowns Brass Band
Cycropia
Wild Rumpus Circus
Wacky Wheeler
Yid Vicious
Wisconsin Historical Museum volunteers
17 local nonprofit organizations

Get more info here and I hope to see you at SummerPalooza!

The Madison Half Marathon and time with my grandson

This weekend my grandson, daughter and son-in-law (Lee) visited Madison so Lee could run the twilight run and half-marathon (aka the Capital Challenge). I am proud to say he succeeded with flying colors! And I got to run around downtown with my favorite (and only) grandson, Ellis. Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Me with the kiddo!

Congratulatory hug!

Twilight finish

Making his way to the finish line...with hurt calf and all

Hi-fiving dad near the finish line

Kids' House kids out and about!

Spring is so close I can almost taste it! Today I received the below picture from daughter, Annie. Looks like my grandson is settling in to his new yard quite nicely.

She told me she has been having a little trouble getting Ellis to listen to her when they are out and about. Given the date, I think it's appropriate to say there are THREE things certain in life: death, taxes and selectively deaf toddlers. I reminded her of what we do at Kids' House: art hands.

If you live in Madison you might have seen our group around looking a little something like this:

August 2012 at the Chazen.

Voila!  It's as simple as quietly and firmly announcing "art hands" and all of the kids can go pretty much anywhere as long as they lock their little fingers together behind their backs. If they don't listen, they hold on the stroller; and we all know that is a BUMMER. By using "art hands", we get to go museums, stores (including places like Orange Tree with LOTS of breakables)...really anywhere. I am a firm believer that if you give the children the opportunity to surprise you, they will. Plus, who wants to stay home all day?

Try it out at home. Be consistent and your little ones will soon realize the freedoms they can enjoy if they exhibit a little self restraint. I start with toddlers as young as two and they quickly fall in line. Look for us next time your out...we are always running around town!

Attention Kids' House alum! I miss you! And am so proud of you all.

I strive to keep up with Kids' House alumni wherever they end up in the world. One of my first Madison kids recently got married; it seems like only yesterday he was three.

On more than one occasion I have I had the privilege of having siblings enrolled in my program. The German family had not one, not two but THREE kids at the Kids' House. Simultaneously! Now one of them is studying abroad in Finland and has kindly set up a blog so I can live vicariously through her travels. Check it out here.

Former clients now have PhDs, full-blown careers and even, gasp, kids of their own!

Did you go to the Kids' House? Get back in touch, please. I would love to know where you are today.

What to do while we patiently wait for Spring's arrival

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit...it's been crazy wrangling these kids while we wait for spring to arrive in fair Madison.

 Today we headed to the Monroe Street Library to fill up our rolling cart of books to bring back to the Kids' House for the week. It's such a wonderful, small library; I can't believe we have been visiting them weekly since in 1988!

While we wait for the temperatures to to rise and grass to dry out, below are some creative indoor activities to keep feelings of stir-craziness at bay!


1. Puppet show! Put a show on for the kiddos or sit back and enjoy their imaginations. Decorate paper bags with felt, beads, yarn or just color faces onto them. If you don't have a theater, make your own with some fun fabric and tension rods. Click here for a super easy tutorial.

2. Make homemade playdough. Yea, you can buy it but why not go green and help your kids learn how to create their own creative medium.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• a few drops of food coloring

Mix all but the last ingredient in a small saucepan. Cook over a very low heat until it turns into a dough (it’ll take just a few minutes). Knead the dough on a floured surface until cool enough for kids to touch. Separate the dough into as many colors as you want to make. Put just a few drops of coloring in each ball and knead until evenly mixed. When done, put it in an airtight jar and store in the fridge

Source: SimpleMom.Net

Be careful that you DO NOT get any of the food coloring on your countertops (especially porous) stone or you might stain them. My daughter has a few flecks of neon blue in new new countertops. That increases resale value, right?

3. Cook! Kids love to help out. At the Kids' House I make food in large batches and freeze it (homemade burritos, lasagna, soups). Kids can help spoon beans, roll tortillas, lay pasta...you name it! And they get nearly instant gratification when they can eat what they created. Who doesn't like that?

4. Mystery Feely Box - Grab and old shoebox and cut a hole in its side so large enough for a little hand to wiggle in there.  Place an object inside the box and see if they can guess what it is. If they can't guess right away, let them ask questions or provide them with clues until they figure it out. It's a safe adventure and hones their deduction skills.

5. Pasta Art - I don't know about your kids, but Kids' House Kids LOVE fun shaped pasta. A plain old yellow pasta necklace, however, won't really bring out mom's eyes. Instead, place a handful of dry, uncooked pasta, such as ziti, bocconcini or itty bitty pennette, into a plastic zipper baggie. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar and 2-3 drops of food coloring (one color per baggie). Close the baggie and have the kids shake the bag until the pasta is completely colored. Spread those glorious little "beads"onto a paper plate air dry.  Once the pasta is dry, kids can use yarn to string together pieces to make necklaces and bracelets, or glue them to paper plates or construction paper to create a work of art.

Now go play!

Fun side note -
And for those of you born in the 1980s, my daughter Annie recently penned a blog post of her own taking a nostalgic look back. Check it out here. I bet I still have a few of those treasured items safely nestled into boxes in the basement.

How to you document those flitting moments of childhood?

Over the course of my daughter's life I took thousands of photos to try to capture every moment...always feeling like I was grasping at air while relishing those moments in real-time. Now, as a grandfather, I enjoy watching her do the same - although she combines video and photos to document young Ellis' development. Below is her most recent video (January 2013). I hope you enjoy! And please share how you capture those special moments.

Valentine's craft ideas that are fun and easy!

Valentine's Day is one of our favorite holidays at The Kids House. Candy, love, hugs, CANDY! :) Actually, the making of the valentine's to share with friends and family is just so much fun. Daily Candy Kids has some very creative ideas for DIY valentine's this year (hint hint, grandson Ellis!)

1.  Use cupcake liners to make award winning Valentines. Click here for step by step directions.

2. Use clay to make faux rocks to immortalize your love. Check out how to here.

3. Use scraps of pretty fabric to whip up easy v-day cards.

 

4.  Towel tube heart stamps might be the best idea yet for little hands eager to make some crafts. Check out how to make your own "stamper" here.

 

5.  Don't want to give out candy? Check out these homemade crayons made with love!

Now get crafting! And have fun while you are at it.

Sleds away!

Looking to hit the hills for some sledding? Check out the below fabulous Madison Parks (hours: dawn 'til dusk)

1. Park: Arbor Hills Park   Warming House: No      Concessions: No 
2. Park: Berkley Park        Warming House: No      Concessions: No
3. Park: Elver Park             Warming House: Yes     Concessions: Yes
   Notes: Madison Parks has snow making equipment for the sledding hill. Snow can be made when temperatures are below freezing for several days. Sledding hill has lights for evening sledding. 
4. Park: Garner Park          Warming House: No      Concessions: No
5. Park: Hiestand Park        Warming House: No      Concessions: No
6. Park: Olbrich Park          Warming House: No      Concessions: No
7. Park: Warner Park          Warming House: No      Concessions: No
    

My grandson, Ellis, enjoying some fresh powder.

If you are looking to go skating, our favorite spot is Vilas Park and lagoon. The warming house is wonderful and don't forget to bury your Charleston Chews in the snow for a post-skating frozen treat (at least that is what my daughter, Annie, did :) )

Have fun and be safe.

Check out our early-learning program at our website. Now go hit the snow!

Turn your house, or at least a room, into a museum!

How do you display the zillions of pieces of artwork kids bring home? TimeOut Kids - Chicago has some great tips:

Over the years, your kids gift you with countless presents of precious paintings, pottery and crafts. But what are you supposed to do with umpteen custom-painted piggy banks, watercolor portraits and brownish ashtrays/candy bowls/jewelry holders? Candice Blansett-Cummins, owner of Wishcraft (2312 W Roscoe St, 773-348-9474), a workshop for wee artists, shared some tips for displaying mini masterpieces without having them take over your stylish abode:

1. Attach a ledge that’s a couple of inches wide to a wall for pottery and other 3-D art. “This is an awesome way to elevate the projects to ‘fine’ art,” Blansett-Cummins says. Another option: Smaller crafts can be displayed in glassware, like hurricane vases.

2. Make a frame shape on a wall with patterned duct tape and use ticky-tacky to affix art inside and swap in new art when it comes home. If there’s so much stuff that even regularly rotating in new pieces doesn’t put a dent in Junior’s inventory, it’s time to pare down. “Keep one piece from every developmental milestone ” Blansett-Cummins says. (The handprint stage, the stick figure stage, etc.)

3. Hang some twine, wire or fishing line between two hooks and clip on paintings, drawings and more with clothespins for a dangling art display. Showcasing kids’ art in a playroom or family room—a casual space that gets lots of foot traffic—tells them their work is important. (And won’t clash with your pricey art.)

5. Designate one wall in a playroom or bedroom for your child’s “gallery” and paint it a different color than the rest of the room. “Let them curate their art collection and display with no rules from you,” Blansett-Cummins says.

6. Use poster tubes to store additional art. Ask your kids to help you label each tube so they know how much you value their work (even when it’s out of sight). Write a note on the back to help you both remember their significance.

Our favorite is #5 - let them be proud and showcase their work. It's a win-win!

Check out the Kids' House for more information about our early childhood program.

Kids' House Alum Jake Stampen on the mic!

Check out Kids' House alum Jake Stampen and his band Autumn Underground's newest single. We are unbelievably thrilled and hope jamming out on pots and pans at the Kids' House was part of your inspiration. Remember us when you go big!

Check out Autumn Underground's other tunes here

And I can't talk about a former Kid's House kid without posting a picture! Below is a shot of Jake (left) celebrating his brother, Tucker's birthday circa 1999. How time flies!

Visit our website for more information about The Kids' House. See you around!