Evaluating art is a dicey topic – particularly in relation to how teachers evaluate and assess the visual arts in elementary school classrooms and how that affects our children. Peter Catalanotto’s book Emily’s Art covers this subject appropriately by illustrating a story of a young inspired artist encounter a less than inspiring art contest experience. […]
Last year I was inspired and inspired to document my little girl’s first day of school… On our way out the door this morning I made sure to capture the moment this year as well. My oh my, how quickly they grow!
There’s something very freeing about drawing with sidewalk chalk. Maybe it’s the large canvas or perhaps it’s knowing that it’s not permanent. Whatever it is, I have to say I was kind of impressed with the graphic nature of my husbands drawings! They’re expressive yet so simple. If I’m not mistaken, this one is called […]
I’ve been dying to post about this but didn’t since we didn’t make our baby’s gender public prior to her birth. It’s a long and complicated story.. husband didn’t want to know, I did.. which made for a bit of a dilemma until we decided I would take a peak into the envelop provided by […]
Baby Evelyn! Baby #2 (as she was formerly known) arrived last Sunday early morning weighing a healthy 8lbs even just like her big sis. How unusual is that? The *exact* same birth weight. She’s an absolute angel and has already brought so much joy into our home. Her arrival has also renewed my interest in […]
A lot of research and articles exist talking about the value of free play for kids. The Ontario Kindergarten curriculum highlights it’s new play-based program, IKEA has done extensive research studies discussing the importance of play for families and child development in their Play Report and this article published just a few days ago called […]
In all of my reading and research of teaching and learning philosophies, the poem below (written by the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach) has stood out more than anything. It encapsulates my excitement in watching my little girl explore and learn through the ‘hundred languages’ and my fear in what school and culture might […]
Ever have those moments when you think you see something but your eyes are playing tricks on you? Say the lights are dim and you think you see an image of a dog reflected in the shadow of furniture or you might see an image in the clouds. Well, the other day getting out of […]
This is truly a brilliant idea. I can’t take credit but I’ve enjoyed participating in a holiday craft exchange for the second year in a row now. Here’s what it is: a playdate where each Mom brings a simple holiday craft packaged and ready for as many kids that will be at the party. Ten […]
“Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” Joseph Chilton Pearce It’s fun to think about what types of games kids played a hundred and even two hundred years ago… A couple of weekends ago we enjoyed an afternoon out at our Historical Society’s Harvest Festival at Lakeside Park. It was the […]