Summer Fun Mini Themes: Hogwarts MiniCamp Part 1

I always love planning and preparing play themes here. It's an odd hobby, I know. But once in a great while I love joining in just as much as I love the organizational end of it and in the case of our current Hogwarts MiniCamp theme, I think I love joining in even more!

I am categorizing this under summer fun mini themes but I'll give the caveat that this particular one was a little more involved and in depth than some others I've shared here. That's partly because it's the first time I've done it, partly because I've gone totally overboard and partly because there are so many creative and playful ways to take young fans (and older ones) beyond the books of Harry Potter. I will also give the caveat that I struggled with the decision of whether to carry on with our Hogwarts MiniCamp when JK Rowling made the news with some rather unsavory comments of late. My decision to move forward with it was made because my children were already looking forward to this and because I think the author's books give young readers characters and ideas to connect with. While I do support a love of literacy, imagination and wonder in children's literature, I do not support some of the values the author has shared on a personal level. I do think as my own children get older, the many authors who line our bookshelves with admirable fictional characters and less than admirable personal characteristics will spark important and ongoing dialogue about kindness and inclusion. My final caveat is that while these books explore a world of magic and make believe, I use the opportunity to embrace imagination and fantasy while also teaching about the science end of it! So you'll notice a lot of activities involving sensory play, science experiments, animal and nature studies, games and movement and more!

With that all out of the way, let's dive in to the first part in a series that will take you on a Hogwarts bound adventure with us! You can select activities "a la carte" style, making a day of it, a week of it, or randomly sprinkling them throughout the year as inspiration strikes.

Before Beginning: I love the challenge of coming up with creative ideas for learning through play. I also love collaborating. And I also know when my own breadth of knowledge is rather narrow. I am somewhat informed on the wondrous world of Harry Potter, but my husband is far more knowledgeable than I am. Actually, so is S at this point! And when it comes to amazing early childhood ideas, I often consult with fellow educators. I have a talented connection who is a mom of children close in age to S and Y and a preschool teacher and a Harry Potter fan. She had recently done some amazing themed activities for her daughter's birthday and she was generous enough to share her wisdom and creativity with me! Multiple heads are better than one. Unless your name is Fluffy... S has come up with quite a few additions to our camp repertoire as well. In terms of materials, times are tricky so I aimed to use what we have and make what we didn't have from home. I did make one quite useful downloadable purchase from Etsy. I'll list the materials used for each activity, but substitutions can be made, some left out and others added in as desired.

Setting the Stage:  The Friday before Hogwarts MiniCamp began, I set the stage, or rather, our small world play shelf with a mini Hogwarts. I created some wooden peg dolls to play the roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore (ok, I actually swapped in my Father Winter peg doll from a previous activity, shhh!).

In addition to those, I included a wooden castle toy we bought from a craft supply store several years ago around Purim, our toy trains and tracks for the Hogwarts Express, some accessories from our collections of blocks, toy animals, prisms, marbles, small loose parts, rocks/gems, wool roving, fairy garden accessories and  even some of the graphics I purchased from Etsy printed onto card stock and cut out/taped. I took a lot of creative license here in order to use what we have at home. My friend who originally gave me this idea said her children played with it a ton, but I will admit that my own kids usually play with these setups a lot at first and then sporadically until I finally switch them out. Well, she was right! They really love his one! It's always fun to engage in dramatic play and explore imaginary worlds. It is somehow even more fun when that world is teeny tiny!

The night before we'd head off to Hogwarts, I set the [larger] stage for the day ahead. That included hanging our little Headwig (forgive the screech owl in place of a snowy owl) from the side of our stairs so the boys kids would see some exciting mail as they came down for breakfast. Inside of the envelopes, each of them would receive their acceptance letter to Hogwarts and a supply list of items they'd need before making the trip.

They would need to shop for supplies as well, so I set up "The Leaky Cauldron" shop at our little table (again, forgive the creative license here) with some wands to choose from (stay tuned though, because we will be doing more with this later), some wizard robes, a little notebook for each of the boys I made from the graphics I bought, a couple of cauldrons we had from the dollar store several Octobers ago, some tiny backpack wands for mixing potions (these were from Five Below) and some wand pencils for writing/drawing I made by drizzling hot glue on some pencils and painting them with acrylic paints and glitter. 

Some additional books and sensory bottles helped set the stage for our one stop shop. If we had a bit more room here, it would have been fun to have separate shops for different items and activities as portrayed in the book, but this would suffice. You'll notice we don't have any brooms for sail, but rest assured, we have a couple of perfect for Quidditch brooms in our backyard made from sticks, dried grass/leaves and wire! This would be a great activity in and of itself and we loved taking a "stick walk" to find the supplies we needed to make them back when we did the activity in the spring.

I had a frog shaped chocolate mold I used to make some chocolate frogs and I even found some free printable Wizard cards. I packaged these up and some jelly beans for "Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans."

Lastly, I crafted a Sorting Hat out of card stock, a themed chandelier from recycled toilet paper tubes with hot glue dripped down the sides to look like melted wax and an LED tealight inside hung from thread above our couch.

Our Hogwarts Express was pretty low tech as you can see, but the adventure was ready to go, right after about 4 pitiful hours of sleep...

A wand must choose its
owner. S takes this very
seriously as he takes a few
for test runs.

The kids were so excited when they walked downstairs in the morning. I had the Harry Potter movie soundtrack playing in the background and they could barely wait until after breakfast to head to Hogwarts. When it was time, they got to open their letters, shop for supplies with toy money, pack up their old school backpacks and board the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 3/4!

Aboard the train, they got to buy and eat some chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Yes, in the morning. You only go to Hogwarts for the very first time once! When they finally arrived to the campus and settled into their dormitory, it was time to sit underneath the Sorting Hat who would select their Houses. Everyone (even Tatty) got to sit in the special seat as the Sorting Hat went to work. Each of the kids were presented with a House bracelet (from Five Below's party favor section).

Soon it would be time for the first of their classes to begin. I hope you'll join us next time to read all about it!

Until then, make sure you're studying up and practicing your broom flying skills and, as always...

Happy Playing!

Summer Fun Mini Themes: Robots

So, what do robots, Star Wars, magnet science and squirrels have in common? Not a whole lot, but summers here at the Sprout Scouts Playcamp have always been about following the kids' whims and wonders. Particularly as S and Y get older, they have many transient interests and questions about the world around them. Playing about those together is a great way to learn! It's also a great way to honor the playful spirit of summertime--even, and especially this year with the pandemic going on.

This was our first "official" week of Sprout Scouts Playcamp 2020. We kicked off with some new camp shirts (tie dye this year--which proved to be a wise choice after one messy day in the mud, eating pizza and decorating cookies, painting and more...). S has been asking to do a robot theme for a while, so that seemed like a great way to begin. At the last minute, he also mentioned he'd like to play about Star Wars, so why the heck not? I decided to enroll the kids in Jedi Training Camp this week, too! But that's a post for another day...

With these Summer Fun Mini Theme posts, I hope to share some fun activity ideas you can incorporate into your own themed play and learning. You can dedicate an afternoon to a theme, a whole day, a week or even longer. When it comes to play, I let the kids take the lead. If they lose interest, we move on. If they are engrossed, we keep at it. If they want to practice Jedi Training Lightsaber Yoga while wearing an Ironman costume, have at it!

But back to bots... Here's a peek at how we explored early concepts of robotics here this week through play, literacy, art, science and building:

Setup & Materials:
When it comes to mini theme setups, just like anything else here, use what you have! This pandemic has really enforced that for me. While we have (maybe too much) access to Amazon, we've been able to get really creative with using (and re-using) what we have on hand right here at home. I stocked our play shelves before the week began and included a wooden robot toy we have and a game and also some magnets. I decided that magnet science was one of many great science elements that are part and parcel to robotics. Some other supplies we used include:

• magnets/magnet kit
  
• metal loose parts like paper clips, metal craft bits and pieces, washers, nuts, metal picture hanging hooks, magnetic counters...
• recycled cups, containers, boxes, tubes, etc. from our recycling bin
• craft materials like tape, pipe cleaners, stickers, paper/colored paper, glue, zip ties (those are a craft material here), markers/crayons/colored pencils, paint/paint sticks, felt, google eyes
• old, broken toys
• safety goggles
• screw drivers (small ones are great for small hands)
• metal cookie sheets
• 8x10 magnetic sheets with adhesive back (optional)
• playdough, model magic clay

Books:

There are a lot of great books for children about robots--both fiction and non-fiction. If you don't have any or cannot currently access a library, look up some children's books about robots or short videos on YouTube or similar sites. Another fun idea is to read any of your favorite books together but in a robot voice! We read:

• Hello Robots by Joan Holub, illustrated by Chris Dickason
• Boy + Bot by Ame Dykman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
• Robots, Robots Everywhere by Sue Fleiss, illustrated by Bob Staake

Magical Magnet Science Tricks:

Magnet science is so fascinating! It is really fun for kids to explore magnetism and it's a topic that could produce a stand-alone unit of play and learning. It is important to carefully supervise children with magnets and to keep small parts out of reach (and mouths) of very small ones. C was very interested in what her brothers were playing with this week so I made sure to join her on the floor to support with play and to keep the less suitable materials out of her reach when I couldn't. She also got to play with magnetiles and other toys and materials more independently. There are a lot of great magnet science experiments you can do at home with what you have. We have a magnet kit that had a lot of tools and magnets combined and these can be found fairly inexpensively on Amazon or Walmart. We chose a couple of "tricks" from our kit. One used a magnet wand and a smaller magnet. I asked the boys if they could take the magnet for a walk across our kids' table. They were so intrigued and amused by seeing how a magnet is strong enough to work through a tabletop! You can try the wand in both directions to demonstrate how magnets attract and repel depending on the direction of the poles. We also had a magnet car that could drive across the table or floor when the magnet wand was placed with the repelling pole toward it. We tested out driving it away and bringing it back (by flipping the wand to the attracting pole). If you do not have a magnet car, you can make one by using masking tape to affix a strong bar magnet to the car. But magnet science doesn't even need to be demonstrated in tricks or with kits. You can simply go on a magnetic scavenger hunt around your home to see what is magnetic and what is not. Your refrigerator door is a great place to test this out. A metal cookie sheet will work as well (we have a bunch from the dollar store).

Building a Robot: Transient Art with Loose Parts:

We extended the theme of magnetism and robots by using magnetic boards and small metal loose parts to design. I have seen magnetic boards for sale online, but we just made our own using a couple of dollar store cookie sheets and a magnet sheet with adhesive backing. It's a portable way to explore magnetism and made a lovely work surface as well. I envisioned the boys designing robots and they did for a bit before exploring design in more abstract ways and even just testing out what "sticks" and what does not. Even C was very curious about this activity and I sat with her for some time to explore the bits and pieces (and make sure she didn't eat them).

These same little loose parts were great for creating clay robots with Model Magic clay and for a fun playdough invitation. For those, I added in some pipe cleaners and google eyes as well. Using the same materials for multiple activities saves on time, money and space. It also allows the children to explore them in a variety of ways and venues.

Toy Deconstruction: Yes, you read that right! I first saw this done at a special event at our local library last summer and thought it was brilliant. Once in a while, I introduce it again--and it's worth repeating. We gather a collection of old toys that are broken and on their way to being tossed out, but before they go--I toss in some screw drivers and maybe a couple of pairs of safety goggles because everything is more fun in goggles. This activity does require supervision and support (although S is quite proficient with a screw driver now!). Make sure to remove any batteries or other unsafe parts from toys before tossing them into the mix. S and Y worked on deconstructing toys for 2 days! They would have gone longer with it, but I decided it was time for them to make their final departure to the dump. For those who are concerned that this will teach children to take apart things they should not take apart, my experience has been the opposite. I've found most kids go through a play schema of exploring deconstruction (or what we see as destruction) at some point. Rather than disallowing it and having it happen anyway, I allow it in a directed manner. The boys knew they could use the tools to take apart the toys in the sensory bin. They even help to pick out the ones that are ready to deconstruct. They also know they cannot do this with other toys and household items without asking one of us first. One of my fondest childhood memories is of a large cardboard box housing an old VCR just for deconstructing!

Robot Collage Process Art:

Here's another great "use-what-you-have" art activity. I set out some colored labels, paper and markers. I did not make an "example" or give much direction other than a prompt to "make a robot collage." Y used a sheet of colored cardstock and labels to make his collage. S used a sheet of colored cardstock to draw and then cut out a robot that he added details to with more drawing and some labels. He gave his robot a mask to keep him safe, a sign of the times (and how he is processing that). His collage became a fun paper doll to play with!

Recycled Robot Art: This is an activity I have done in large groups including my classrooms and outdoor playgroup. It's also perfect for home! I saved a few boxes from recent deliveries and brought out our recycling bin full of treasures. In group settings, I would bring additional supplies and materials along and set them out, but in smaller settings and even in my classrooms, I would leave it at that and let the kids choose what to use and how to use it. The boys wanted to make one BIG robot with the larger boxes. They needed a little bit of help with assembly (and some duct tape) but they really did this all on their own. Even C got in on the fun with some tape and stickers she helped to add on her own. S named the robot Ruby and she has become an honorary member of the family! The boys have continued to add on to her and are working today with a couple of smaller boxes to build her a baby. One of my favorite things about process art is the narrative end of it and how children use it as a venue for storytelling. A whole evolving tale has emerged about Ruby and her life. She was unable to talk because she needed new wires. S and Y worked tirelessly sticking pipe cleaners through a crack in her belly box because, as S put it, "they are real wires but they are soft on the outside so she will be comfortable." I have a feeling that when it is time to deconstruct and officially recycle Ruby, I will find an enormous collection of pipe cleaners to add back into our craft stash! Ruby has been invited to join us at the dining room table for dinner. She attended a Zoom playdate yesterday with S and his friend from down the street. She even sneaked up on me in the kitchen this morning when we were making snack (and Y had a little bit to do with that one). Yes, she is made from cardboard, tape and lots of pipecleaners, but Ruby is living her best life...

Build a Robot Felt Board Game:

We incorporated this theme into our weekly "storytime," and this simple DIY game was a real winner for all 3 kids. I used felt to cut up a whole bunch of shapes and robot parts. I used a large die and color coding dot labels but you can use colored paper to make cards, make your own die out of cardstock and color code that or just cut out smaller scraps of the felt you already used as color signs. When it is your turn, you roll the die/pick a color and choose a part. You can decide to build one large robot as a group or to each build individual robots. You can use your felt on a felt board, on a large sheet of felt, right on the ground or a tabletop. If you don't have felt, you can cut your shapes from paper. If you don't want to do all the cutting prep work and you do want to add in an element of drawing/pre-writing practice, play this game with colored markers or crayons and have everyone draw a part of a robot when you call out/roll a color. You can have the artists choose what they draw or also call out a specific part (i.e.: red arm, yellow head, green hand...) and see how many colorful, creative robots emerge!

Well, that's a wrap for this mini theme. There's definitely more you can do with robots and you'll find some posts about them here. Next time I'll tell you all about our intergalactic adventures in Jedi Training Camp, but until then...

Happy Playing!

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More...and Some of the Less Pinterest-Worthy Aspects of the Home Atelier

One of my favorite art themed children's books of all time is Karen Beaumont's I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! It rhythmically and humorously captures the story of a creative budding artist whose canvas happens to be his entire body (literally draining his entire paint supply). It also sparks a great question for aspiring artists: what is your canvas? For many children, it's usually a blank sheet of paper placed horizontally on a tabletop. What if it were vertical instead, on an easel or a wall? What if it were spread on the floor? What if it were hung outside? Or what if it was actual canvas? Or vellum? Or tracing paper? Or card stock? What if it were a different shape? What if it weren't paper at all, but a tray or the floor or the bathtub walls or--gasp--your entire body? Well, I'm not diving into body painting today (although hands and fingers are a frequently used material here), but I am going to delve into some of the messier parts of introducing and having an atelier in your home or classroom space...

My photos here and my account of setting up a home atelier are somewhat Pinterest-worthy, but let me take you on a tour of lessons learned the hard way that might not look as pretty in a photograph...

I spent the better part of a Sunday setting up shop. We happened to be starting dinner (and did I mention I hadn't eaten anything in 6 hours and was starving?) when the boys first came in to see it. They were, of course, immediately interested in diving in. I, however, was half focused on that and half focused on my bowl of stir fry. Not ideal at all. Ideally, I would have devoted my full attention to introducing this space and what we might do with it. I would have moved at a slow and intentional pace and really given this occasion the sense of honor and respect that I wanted to see mirrored in how the boys would interact with it. Instead, I kind of forgot that they couldn't possibly already know that I didn't set out squeeze bottles of paint purely for the albeit enjoyable purpose of squeezing it all out. They couldn't have intuited that I did not mean for watercolors and tempera paints to be used at the same time. (And why not? Why can't they be used at the same time??) They would not have known inherently that I envisioned the beads as part of a design in loose parts and not part of a necklace. (And, again, why not??)

So while I nibbled and simultaneously chased after two eager artists, I tried to keep the calm and nurture the excitement. Y proceeded to squeeze every last drop of white paint onto his pallet, the table, the floor. S moved from painting a rainbow to mixing colors to making necklaces. The boys created a multitude of masterpieces and I hadn't even thought yet about how and where to display them, let alone where to set them to dry. I had four very painty hands and the lights in the bathroom were off, the door was still closed. Rookie mistake. We had a ton of painty brushes but no place to put them until we could wash them. Ok, time to provide one of those recycled plastic sushi trays. And then it was time for bed, we would try again tomorrow. I said to the boys (as much as I did to myself) that we were all new to using the atelier. It was a very special thing to have an artist's studio in our home and it was OK that we did not know everything about it yet; we would learn together.

Day two, I set out an invitation with our book and essential question. I set out a variety of "canvases" and our paints and brushes. This time, we moved a bit more slowly and with a bit more intention, but this time it was S who became enamored with squeezing out the paints into his tray and Y who wondered how it would look and feel to squeeze them right onto some glossy finish photo paper. I had such a gut reaction to say "no" and such an urge to get to "yes." I wanted to honor their curiosity and process. I wanted to convey respect that mixing colors was as much a part of art as painting with them. I wanted not to have to buy stock in Crayola or sell a kidney on the black market in order to maintain my paint supply. Where should I draw--or paint--the line between wonder and wastefulness?

I reached out to a teacher friend of mine who runs an atelier in her preschool. She is an artist as well and extremely talented and creative. We brainstormed ideas and she reminded me of some core atelier materials I had not remembered to include:

• Adequate time: Children need enough time to explore and engage and remain engaged with art. If they are rushed, their creative process cannot expand and it may not emerge at all. We would need to tweak the "open access" policy a bit to accommodate times when we really can engage and to be "closed" when we cannot. A large sheet or tablecloth draped over the shelves could work to visually close it off. I also  like using laminated signs and velcro for this purpose. I have used this method for a while to "close" our art shelves on Shabbos or holidays. I can use it as well to close some or all of the shelves at other times as needed. 
• Adequate attention: Time's kissing cousin is attention; mine was divided on the first occasion we used our atelier. In that sense, I missed an opportunity to really lay a foundation and groundwork for this space, but fear not! It's not a one shot deal! We will definitely be able to backtrack and establish a stage for this performance.
• The complete lesson: Just because you are not engaging in directed art does not mean the children do not need directions. I wanted so much for this to be their space and process that I neglected to set any boundaries at all and this was not helpful to their creative process. It actually probably inhibits it. Now we do take the time before beginning to talk and plan. It's OK if our plans change as we go and it's OK to experiment and revise. In addition to plans for preparation, giving over the complete lesson also includes establishing the skills to retrieve materials, transport them, where to use them, how to use them, how to clean them and where to put them away. I find that I nearly always leave a gap in some area or another and the children are the ones who show me where that is. It might be that I neglected to include a wet wash cloth for intermittent cleaning of hands or spills. It might be the lack of a space to set completed work to dry. It might be a very simple fix, but it can be helpful to perhaps jot these things down (unless you have an amazing memory) so that you will remember them in the future.
• Tricks and Tips: Along the way, you'll pick up tips and tricks. Some will be through trial and error. Some will be from the young artists themselves! Some will come from the creative recesses of your mind and others still will come from seeking the counsel of other atelieristas and artists. Regarding the squeeze bottle situation, my brilliant friend had several brilliant ideas. Perhaps we could add a bit of flour to thicken the paint and slow the process down. Perhaps we might draw a line on the outside of each bottle to designate a minimum point for how much paint could be used in a day or week. I proposed the idea of perhaps using a small jar and squeeze bottles to create a space where it was ok to squeeze and mix colors of paint that could then be stored and used. And then, the very next day as I sat down to continue a masterclass I am taking on process art and the atelier model, another teacher shared her trick of storing paints in empty soap bottles with pumps. The children are instructed to use two pumps at a time and can get more as needed. There you have it! For every challenge in the atelier there are infinite solutions! I ended up buying some empty pump bottles in bulk off Amazon and re-stocking our paint supply in those. And if you're looking for a tip on how to clean out the nozzles of those painty squeeze bottles: a tiny botttle brush used for baby bottle nipples or a straw brush work quite well!
  

• The Products of the Process: Having an atelier will undoubtedly increase your supply of art projects. I do want to give each creation the honor and respect it deserves. I usually ask the children what they would like to do with their work when they feel it's completed. Sometimes they want to hang it up. Other times they want to give it to someone special. They sometimes want to use it to make something else or store it in our "scrap paper" drawer for future use with collage. We are fortunate that although our space here is limited, we have a lot of magnetic surfaces to hang artwork and I love metal clip magnets for this purpose. The kids can hang and access their own work. We do hang and display some work on our walls and still other work is displayed on a garland with clothespins that hangs above their table. One area we are short on in our home is free horizontal surfaces to set things out to dry. Bakers racks stacked on top of one another can help with this challenge as well. And what to do with the overflow of projects over time? Do you save every single creation? Toss them when no one is looking? I like to select some very special ones, take photos of others and upcycle others into new artwork. Sometimes we give work away to a grandparent and sometimes we cut it into pieces for collage or to create greeting card sets as gifts or even to make bookmarks or labels. You might even use a blank journal or sketch book to store small pieces of artwork or photos of larger ones so young artists can maintain a timeline of their experience and growth in the atelier.
• Using Resources and Literature for Inspiration: While I love for the children to independently create using their own ideas and imagination, I also like to incorporate provocations and invitations to inspire them. Using children's literature, especially some of the great choices out there on the topic of art and artists, can be a great starting place. Pinterest, Instagram and similar sites offer a lot of tried and true ideas from others. Incorporating art books and works of art from "real" artists and even photographs and coffee table books with animals, nature and other items of interest to your children at the time can also offer inspiration and a starting place for those who may be overwhelmed by Blank Canvas Syndrome. Sometimes these items may just be set up or set out in our space and at other times I may introduce a more formal activity with them, as I did with I Ain't Gonna Paint No More.

We will likely come across a variety of triumphs and challenges in our home atelier as we continue to expand on it and tweak it. An atelier is never a stagnant space. It is always evolving just like the young designers in it. I look forward to sharing these with you along the way and until then...

Happy Playing!

Play With Your Food: Our Family's Return to the Dinner Table

I will admit it. I have had it up to here with my resident particular eater. Not because I don't fully resonate with it--I was a notorious "picky" eater growing up and so was my husband. And not because I have concerns for his nutritional intake overall. My resident particular eater is the epitome of one of my own favorite childhood storybook characters, Francis in Bread and Jam for Francis. He will settle on one or a few foods for his meals and eat them daily until he grows sick of them. And that is where my feelings came in--empathy for the struggle he must feel when his relationship with yogurt for lunch every single day goes sour or his once beloved cheese toast loses its appeal. It's not anything particularly sensory related. It is somewhat of a control desire. And it probably also is somewhat related to anxiety over trying new foods, although he is not averse to trying other new things in life. Nonetheless, I want to meet his needs around food--both nutritional and emotional. So I decided to make some changes here and start playing with our food.

And by changes, I don't mean a complete diet overhaul. Heck, even I couldn't stomach that. And by playing with our food, I don't necessarily mean tossing mashed potatoes across the room. But in this house, we view food as fuel for energy and healthy growth and we also view food as enjoyment. In order to maintain both, it is important to us that we don't battle at the table and that we are kind and gentle with our own nutrition and with each other's. And then there is my darling son, S. He won't eat a hot dog. He won't eat a chicken nugget. He won't eat any meat right now at all, actually. He will eat a raw basil leaf. He will drink kombucha with seeds floating in it. He does not love chocolate. He does love lollipops. He enjoys helping in the kitchen and cooking and baking together. That does not mean he will eat or even try what we make. He loves to garden and grow our own food. He does not want to try any tomatoes this year. He does want to try a spinach leaf.

A while ago, when my husband was working later and the boys were melting down each evening waiting for him to get home, I instituted a separate dinner for them. Yes, I am a short order cook. Most of our dinners catered to S's particular tastes and Y, who's quite a bit more diverse in his nutritional approach, would eat what I made. That being said, the two or three meals that are favorites of S are not favorites of Y. He would end up eating a second dinner with the grownups! And I kind of missed the cue that we'd outgrown this method working for us until I asked my sister for some advice. In fact, the boys, although they are hungry in the afternoon when they wake up from nap, were not really needing to gobble up dinner so early. And with school beginning next month, our schedule will be running toward a later meal anyway. Moreover, when my husband does get home now, the boys would love to have both of our attention and connect, but we are busy eating our dinner. It was time to reinstate family dinner here and not just on Shabbos or holidays!

It will likely be an adjustment for all and we are not rigidly adhering to it if there is a day we need some family members to eat earlier or we grab our lunch boxes and picnic at the park. But bringing back the family dinner has helped us to reconnect at the end of the day and there's something at the table for everyone even if it's not one person's favorite every night. I'm not overwhelming anyone with all new recipes, in fact, my husband does almost all of the cooking here right now. [Last time I did all the cooking, I went into labor with C, so I think I'll enjoy this break for a while...] We are setting the table with one [more or less] cohesive meal. There is guaranteed to be something that everyone likes; it is not going to be the same food every single night.

And I recognize that for my little S, that is a huge shift in his feeling of being in control over his meals--exactly the feeling he is trying to assert. So I mitigate that with some playfulness and fun as he and the rest of us join on our journey back to the family table. Among his favorite dinnertime activities so far was an evening of playing with our food and making edible art!

Inspired by the cookbook Salad People by Mollie Katzen (a great cookbook author for kids), I set a platter of cut fruits, veggies, dried fruit, cheese and a bowl of pasta. The boys both had fun designing and eating their way through dinner. S created his own unique combinations of things to try and although I would not necessarily praise them for protein content, the bigger picture was getting him eager to engage with a variety of foods and feeling that he still had comfort and control in that. So did he eat any cheese that night? Nope. Did he eat a sandwich of kiwi on a multigrain rice cake. Yes. And Y was utterly thrilled to have more options at the table, particularly some of his favorites like hummus, cheese and noodles. 

And the fun was not over yet. After we cleared the table, the boys discovered it was still set--for art, Hevre Tullet style, per his book Doodle Cook. You can check out some of our other activities inspired by Hevre Tullet here and here.

We whipped up a batch of Colorful Shape Pasta that's still hanging on the wall across from the dining room table! There are a lot of approaches to family and child nutrition. There are a lot of ways to view food. Is it just fuel? Is it enjoyment? Is it both? I am clear in my own experience with eating and nutrition that I want that to be something my children explore and develop within healthy boundaries at their own pace.

Certainly there are foods that are more nutritionally dense than others. And there are foods that more enjoyable to us than others. We do not say no to sweets and treats here but we do have boundaries around them. We offer desserts on Shabbos and holidays and special occasions and once in a while for no reason at all. And still, there are tears here about treats. In seeing a nutritionist respond to this subject, she shared the one plate approach where everything, dessert included, is set on the same plate at the same time. Out of curiosity, I tried this one afternoon at lunchtime...

S loves to come up with recipe ideas and one day he came up with the idea to make pretzels and put icing on them to "glue" them together into shapes. He was so surprised when I said we could do that after dinner and a little disappointed when he ran out of his portion of icing. The next day at lunch, I heated up a few leftover soft pretzels we'd baked the night before. I put lunch and a pretzel and a small spoonful of icing on each of the boys' plates. S ate his yogurt and all of his pretzel and icing. He came into the kitchen and saw a pretzel still on a plate with some icing on top. He asked what it was. I told him it was my pretzel that I had not eaten yet.
"Oh," he said. "Can I have another pita with cheese?"
I was actually quite shocked he didn't cry and ask for another pretzel and icing!

And while I am not going to shift into providing and offering sweets and treats with every meal, I am reminded that children have a natural intuition with food and nutrition. We do have some strict boundaries around foods in this house when it comes to kashrut or to food allergies/sensitivities. We do set boundaries around appropriate portions and times for eating. But I don't label foods as "good" or "bad." We do talk about foods that are healthier and "give more energy" or help build strong muscles and bones, etc.

The world is full of don'ts and while we've all heard it at one point or another, today I'm taking the don't right out of don't play with your food. If separate dinners work for you; do it. If serving one meal and one table at one time works for you; do it. If making a poodle or a choo choo train or a kiwi sandwich on a multigrain rice cake works for you, do it. And if coloring on your placemat sounds like a great way to spend time at the dinner table, do that, too!

Bon Appetit and Happy Playing!

Beyond the Author: Hevre Tullet, Part II

If you recently read our post taking you Beyond the Book: An Author Study with Hevre Tullet, , you know we're on a real process art kick here this summer. While in previous years I was organized and planned out specific themes for the Sprout Scouts Playcamp and even did a whole unit on Art and Artists in the Garden, this year it has felt most comfortable to follow my kids' lead. They've had a lot of fun so far and one of the best parts of exploring artist, author and illustrator, Hevre Tullet is that the grown ups have had fun, too!

I've touched upon the value in process art with children before. Process art targets a variety of developmental skills and milestones while nurturing and honoring children's creativity and inherent artistic abilities at their own level. I am not an all-or-nothing type of gal, so we also do project based artwork here, which has value in its own right. I particularly love Hevre Tullet's combined use of art and literature to promote an environment for children to explore both in a playful and aesthetically beautiful way while gaining skills in literacy, writing, art and play. What I did not initially take into account as we began exploring his work is how much I was gaining through it as well!

"Press Here!"

"Let's Play!"

"Have Fun!' with the book Mix It Up

Yes, today, I am inviting the adults to join in! This is our play time and our opportunity to rediscover process art. I would never classify myself as someone who is artistic, but why? What is it that defines a person as artistic or not? And when does that switch go off? I do remember creating artwork as a child, uninhibited and filled with joy and wonder. And while every child grows to different interests and preferences, I do wonder what outside factors emerge to nurture certain concepts of self and quell others. I remember putting on my own art show at home once and displaying my works on the wall with (eh em) school glue (oops)... I had ample access to art supplies and craft materials and a mother who really nurtured the idea of process art and encouraged us to work with these items at our own discretion. But somewhere along the line, children do gain the concept that art should represent something and look a certain way. From there, I think many decide whether or not this is a strength or a challenge. I maintained interest in crafts and hobbies of that sort, but more open ended type artwork was a bit intimidating.

And along comes an artist like Hevre Tullet who can splash paint on a page, make squiggles and lines and doodles and dots come to life and get everyone engaged and playing and creating. And all of a sudden, I was taken back to the same child-like joy I had when I was 5 years old! Even my husband got in on the fun! And in setting out stations this week to invite the whole family to join together in art, I noticed some wonderful things that were happening:

When he finished painting on paper, Y explored painting
on the vase that was holding our paintbrushes! I was
almost sad to wash it off--maybe glass will be a "canvas"
in our future....

• We were all on the same page and in the same playing field: Many times when adults and children work together on art, there's a pretty clear division between who is 2 months old and watching from a swing, who is 2, who is 5 and who the adults are (T and I will keep those numbers to ourselves for now). But when there's one giant sheet of paper and the only instructions are to "Have Fun!" or "Mix it Up!" or "Jump on a Trampoline!" we're all on the same level. Well, to be fair, C is still just watching from the swing and smiling and cooing. But there's no pressure for a child to create something in the same way an adult can. There's not even pressure for a 2 year old to create something in the same way a 5 year old can. 
• Inhibitions Go Out the Window: I actually loathe when children ask me to draw something. Not  because I worry so much that it will create an unattainable standard for their smaller, younger hands (although this is a concern), but more because I do not think I am particularly adept at drawing. When I dipped into our art explorations this week, I felt no hesitance at all. I had just as much joy at squiggling and doodling and dabbing and dotting as anyone else!

  

  S ran to the table on the morning of this art invitation.
  He started off slowly and a bit tentatively mixing it up. He
  dabbled into some red, and then a bit of yellow. "Look!
  I made orange!" and then he got all in and mixed it up
  across the entirety of the page! It was time for some more paper...

• Connecting through Dots: art was a great way for us to join together as a family and connect. It wasn't forced, it wasn't suitable more for one age than another. It wasn't on a schedule and there was no agenda. The paper was simply set out with the materials to use on it. It would remain there as long as we wanted. We could come all together, one at a time, go as needed, return as desired. If we needed another sheet of paper, we got one. If we felt all done, we set it to dry and in the end we'd hang our work in the Family Museum Wall. Sometimes the art told a story. Sometimes it made a sound or a song. Sometimes it was silent. Imagine connecting as a family in this way and then imagine it in a classroom or in a community at large.
• Art in Motion: this is not your sit at the table or stand at the easel type of art or reading for that matter. Hevre Tullet's books and work get everyone moving from those tiny fine motor muscles to the larger gross motor ones. As my boys use their fingers to trace the lines along the pages of his stories or press dots or rub circles, they are practicing the same tracking skills that will help them to read and write. 
• Art and Inclusion: Navigating shared paper and space with art is helping us all to develop important social skills, critical thinking skills and problem solving skills. Rather than art being a solo activity, it is an opportunity to be inclusive and work together. 

Somehow, the "dirty" paint tray is so beautiful to me! We used a dollar tree
plastic silver serving tray. The mirror quality adds such a unique
element when mixing and exploring paint colors. Painting on mirrors indoors
and outside is a great way to add a unique element to process art...

I've been creating my own art invitations and provocations this week using pages from Tullet's books Press Here, Mix It Up!, Let's Play! and Say Zoop! Choosing materials and seeing what happens with them is part of the fun for me (and my own creative process). However, for those who would prefer a bit of direction with this, there are some great ideas on Pinterest. Hevre Tullet also has an incredible blog, and if you are not fluent in French, you can view it translated into English. I also highly recommend his book Art Workshops for Children. I recently purchased a copy and am so eager to bring this as an addition to my nature-based playgroup when I host an Art In the Park session next month. I can't wait to see art in action with a mixed age group of children and adults. The art activities in the book can be adapted to individuals, small groups (family setting/siblings/a few friends), larger groups of similar age or larger groups of mixed ages and even adults.

I don't have a goal with our exploration of art this summer other than to follow my kids' interest and perhaps also preserve this time of wonderment, competence and confidence in art. Perhaps I also want to reignite this in myself as well! There are mornings when everyone runs to the table right away and morning when the paper is still mostly white by 11:00, but the invitation is there. It's on the bookshelves: read me! It's on the kids' table: paint me! It's on their art supply shelves: create! It's stowed away in my diaper bag for outside of the library or at the park: let's doodle! It's a continued reminder that art is everywhere around us and within us and all it needs is a space to know it is valuable and beautiful in its own right. That it is a process and an action, not a product or destination. That it never needs to be finished but it is complete in its current state. That it is lovely in all shapes and shades and sizes and colors. In fact, art is not so different than we are!

Happy Playing!

Beyond the Book: An Author Study with Hevre Tullet

S has been a longtime lover of literacy but somewhat reluctant with writing/drawing...until the end of his preschool year. It was then that he announced one morning, "Mommy, I am an artist! I like art!" Having been a reluctant reader myself who loved writing and art, I know how to be sneaky and thanks to amazing authors and illustrators like Hevre Tullet, it's possible to nurture and encourage all three of these areas in early readers (and adults). S and Y both love the books Press Here and Mix It Up and Tullet is an artist, children's author and illustrator behind several volumes of amazing works of art in literacy and graphics alike. Here are just a few of my favorite things about his work:

• His books are interactive, engaging children to get hands on (literally) with each page. The more ways in which early readers can engage with literacy, the more they will grow to love it.
• His books demonstrate the ability of visual design and illustrations to tell a story--a valuable asset to pre-readers who are still in the illustration/dictation phase of writing and reading.
• His books also demonstrate the ability of art to "tell a story," a valuable asset to budding artists!
• His illustrations and artwork show that art at all levels and all styles has value. Scribbles, circles, bright colors and simple shapes are beautiful, aesthetically pleasing and are just as much "real art" as representational art. This is particularly important for children to know, especially those drawn toward perfectionism and hesitance to write and draw.

Among S's birthday gifts this year was a very special one from his aunt, uncle and cousins, Hevre Tullet's book Doodle Cook. It is a recipe guide for playful "culinary" creations of doodles, scribbles, shapes and designs all served delightfully on plates depicted on each page. Young readers and artists are encouraged to abandon everything they know about the rules of not scribbling and not drawing or writing in books! Independent readers can follow the recipes and early/pre-readers can follow directions given the support of an older reader or adult. I have to say, I was just as excited to use the book as the kids! And since I have way too many commitment issues to allow myself or anyone else to color right in the book now, I decided to print off some place setting templates for us to use alongside it. You could also draw your own plates or even use white paper plates. We tested out our first "recipe" behind one of our local libraries this week--a Quick Circle Salad--and it was scrumptious!

It sparked an interest in more books by Hevre Tullet and luckily, we were in the very best place for that interest. So back into the library we went and checked out a few other additions to our own personal collection. Back at home, Y brought me our copy of Press Here. This kid loves buttons. All buttons. Your buttons. My buttons. So I set out a quick and simple Morning Work activity for the boys to create their own process art in the style of Press Here using dot stickers and do-a-dot markers in primary colors and a few black markers in varying tip sizes. I also set out a sheet of white paper for each of the boys. 

Y was the first to take interest in the setup. He was quite interested in the stickers and still needs a little help to get them "started" before he independently peels them off and sticks them down. He was very intentional in where he spaced each one, overlapping in some areas, not in others. And he was so incredibly amazed to see that his picture resembled one of the pages in Tullet's book! He felt so proud and confident. "Look! It's just like the book!" he shouted gleefully, again and again. 

Well, all of that excitement sparked S's interest. He began with the black markers (it's seriously his favorite "color" when it comes to artwork). I mentioned that it reminded me of the part in Press Here where the lights are turned off. S then used his artwork to dictate and tell a story. He placed four yellow dot stickers on the black page and brought it over for me to press each one. Then he flipped his paper around to the white side, added more dots for me to press and, with those, the lights went back off and the paper flipped again! We hung their work in our "Family Museum," the wall ascending our staircase.

I often believe that a great deal of S's hesitance with art and handwriting stems from his expectations that both must look a certain way. He's expressed that he doesn't like to write his name because his letters are still "big" and mine are "small." He used to ask me to draw representational art for him. Children are surrounded by adult print and representational art all day. They hear adults tell them not to "scribble" and to "do their best work." And then comes Hevre Tullet, an artist and author and illustrator who fills his pages with handwritten text in all sizes and colors and illustrations comprised of colorful scribbles, blobs and simple shapes. And his books? They're amazing! They're fun, they're funny, they are worth reading again and again and again. They are truly a gift to any lover of children's literacy and art, but the greatest gift of all is beyond the books--it is the sense of confidence and wonderment gifted to his young readers, budding artists and aspiring authors/illustrators. Here is someone who put their play to work!

Happy Playing!