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.