Fostering Independence Through Play on Independence Day!

Ah, the slower pace of summer... Spontaneous evening tricycle rides or trips to the pool. Family BBQs in the front yard. Impromptu field trips to the local produce shop. Long mornings at the park or playground... These are truly the things that summer is made of. I confess to forgetting all about our garden and now the only thing growing is the one thing we didn't plant this year--last year's tomatoes that came back! But it's summer. No worries here. Plenty of tomatoes to come, but no worries here! Today is July 4th and I had nothing specific planned; that's my new favorite kind of day! I do have some Story Stretcher activities planned for later this week, but today seemed like a great day to soak up some of the sunny, spontaneous, slower pace of summertime. My greatest intention with our home play activities has always been to foster age appropriate independence in my children. What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with some great independent play? 

While independent play sometimes refers to children playing on their own, I also use it to refer to play and activities that are child-directed. We grown-ups can join in on the child's terms; we allow them to take the steering wheel for a bit and are there, foremost to engage in play together. We still ensure safety, we may offer ideas or suggestions if a child requests help. We can do this through dramatic play, through process art and even through sensory play, like we did with this red, white and blue sensory bin:

S helped gather a collection of red, white and blue materials to add to our bin. This bin is a great one for folks looking for non-food fillers. You can do something similar with any color theme. We chose ours to celebrate July 4th. We scoured our scrap paper bin for tissue paper, construction paper, card stock, white coffee filters, craft foam--anything we could find in red, white and blue. You could include anything that you have on hand in these colors--even bubble wrap/packing materials, cotton balls/pom poms, ribbon, yarn, decorative grass, paper shreds, beads... We chose materials S could cut and tear.

 I really allowed him to take the reigns. I began by cutting tissue paper into the bin and when S seemed interested, I offered him the suggestion to get his own scissors and join me. I didn't direct him on how to cut or worry about size/shape. Scissor practice is great for fine motor development. Even the act of searching our scrap collection helps in color identification. But the most important part of this activity was the aspect of play, not the associated learning! S took to his kitchen set in search of things he wanted to add as tools and props. He gravitated toward items we've used in sensory bins in the past and some of his favorite kitchen toys. He loves making pretend smoothies in this plastic pitcher, so he got busy right away filling it with red, white and blue paper for a special July 4th smoothie! I didn't stop him when he brought it to his kitchen set, either. I did let him know that when we were done playing, we would have to bring the paper back to the bin, but that it was OK to use it in his kitchen set. Was I initially tempted to disallow it and remind him that what's in the bin stays in the bin as I usually do? Yes, but I resisted the urge to see where this would take his play and I am so glad I did. 

He felt our bin needed more filler, so we gathered some more materials from our scrap collection. He loved cutting and tearing paper and asked me to join him in cutting and tearing paper as well. He brought over a pot and an ice cream scoop from his kitchen and began making "red stone soup!" I did not worry about huge chunks of paper in the bin or odd shapes. I pointed out observations--like how the long strips of paper reminded me of stripes on the flag. S then asked for some stars and I helped cut some of those from our paper scraps as well.
I could have prepared this activity in advance and pre-cut the filler. I could have set out theme related materials and tools, like the flag I set in the side of our bin. I could totally see some star shaped cookie cutters and maybe some tongs and bowls/containers to fill...but this was S's vision and it was nice to allow him to take the wheel for once!

Not this wheel!

I am sure he will be eager to return to this activity after his naptime. I've replaced the bin into its stand that lives in our kitchen right now. He will surely enjoy playing while his Tatty and I prepare our July 4th BBQ dinner. He might help me squeeze some lemons for lemonade or wash the berries we bought this morning at our local produce shop (in preparation for an upcoming story stretcher...) Perhaps we will use some of this filler for a process art collage or perhaps we will play out front and his Tatty will show off the firecrackers he bought [gulp]. Today is Independence Day and as an American, I do have a great deal to celebrate. Most of all today and every day, I celebrate the privilege I have to join in my sons' world as they grow, learn, and play!

Beyond the Book: The Little Engine That Could

 At the end of my first year teaching after S was born, one of my students who had a particular affinity for baby S included an end of the year gift for him in an end of the year gift for me--an abridged edition of Watty Piper's classic tale, The Little Engine That Could in board book form. The student's mother admonished me that this would someday become S's favorite book--the one he would ask to hear again and again and again...and guess what--she was right! For many months, S has pulled this off the family book shelf at bedtime to read together. Usually my husband does the bedtime routine; he has fun inserting his own little witty additions to the story. S has this book memorized. I sometimes lack that Little Engine "I think I can" mentality when it comes to rereading the same book over and over...but repetition is the essence of learning. That predictability and consistence fosters feelings of confidence and mastery. Beyond that, this story contains two elements that S really does connect with: trains and overcoming obstacles. I felt this story theme would be a fabulous one for the week before his 3rd birthday.

Our play at home story stretchers camp has been an evolving experience. Summer has come with its own rhythm and so many great activities and events around town. We have an amazing library system and parks and rec system here. We have taken advantage of the great weather and opportunities to get out and about. In addition, with his birthday an influx of new toys has made its way into our home via very loving relatives. One of the greatest benefits of being a play at home mom is the flexibility to adapt to shifting schedules and needs. S has needed more time for free, self-directed play and been less drawn to structured activities in the house. Moving some of our structured play outside or connecting out-of-the-house activities to things we're doing at home has been a great way to proceed. Some weeks we will do story stretcher activities each day. Other weeks, we may only do a few on one or two days. Story stretchers are a great way to incorporate learning and play through early literacy whether you wish to spend ten minutes, a few hours or even a whole week. This is one reason I love this approach so much! I try to follow S's lead with this. I may have a collection of activities set to choose from and if we get to them all, great. If not, great! Here's a peek at some of the themed activities S really enjoyed from last week:

S's Safta and Saba sent this great sensory table for his birthday. He's loved using it in the kitchen with water and water toys. We used it with kinetic sand and toy trains/props for a great, interactive story drama about The Little Engine That Could. Story dramas are new to S, so he was a little confused at first about what we were doing. I began by pulling up a chair and reading the book while using the trains, props and sand to act out the story. We worked together to build the big mountain out of kinetic sand. As we got further into the story, we felt more confident to continue without the book. After telling the story once through, S continued to play-act and even found additional props to add as he expanded the story line (like tools to repair the train engine)! Using drama and playacting is a great way to expand on children's literature, whether you use props, puppets, costumes or toys. It also helps to foster dramatic play skills in children. These are so useful in play as well as in coping with childhood anxieties and navigating conflict resolution.

As we move through our story stretchers this summer, I am including some review of core concepts we worked on in our home preschooling during the year. Some weeks we review a letter or number and this week I thought it would be fun to review shapes. Getting outside is a vital part of our days and we've had some fantastic, albeit, hot weather. I initially thought we would do some shape tracing with paint indoors, but the front yard was calling S's name, so I grabbed our trains, some sidewalk chalk, and we made shape tracks on the sidewalk. S loved tracing them with his trains and then drawing his own lines and doodles for the trains to chug along.

For some more shape exploration indoors, I set out this invitation to create a shape train. I provided a variety of colors and sizes of construction paper shapes for building trains, a glue stick and full sheets of construction paper for backgrounds. S loved setting up and creating his own choo choo train! He became a little frustrated with the glue stick as he couldn't see where the glue was on the darker background he chose. He asked me repeatedly to do the gluing for him. I was nursing Y at the time and also am balancing his desire to have me do art with him versus my desire not to do it for him. In lieu of gluing for S, I offered him liquid school glue and a paint brush instead of the glue stick. He immediately felt more confident and created a great piece of art to display on our art wall!

S loves the part where I hang up his finished work! He feels proud to see his creations on display and it also encourages conversations about what we've done when his Tatty gets home from work. I also printed out this great Little Engine writing prompt for S to complete and color. I thought it was a great way to incorporate the theme of his 3rd birthday as he is getting older and bigger and more competent at tasks that were once quite difficult. He chose to write about swimming in the pool, likely because we had just made our first pool visit of the season where he did, indeed, feel more confident about swimming!

We also incorporated learning aleph-beis [Hebrew] letters into our week by continuing and finally completing our aleph-beis choo choo train! It seems only fitting that this family project we began when S was just a baby (for him) was completed the week of his upshernish (by him)!

S loved this edible train! He asked for a bowl of cucumbers and clementine slices on the side and even after he ate this train, he took to building and eating his own version!

On the day of his upshernish, S requested to go to Chuck E. Cheese, where, sure enough, he took right to the train ride, now in his big boy haircut and yarmulke! Happy Birthday, S, it's so great to be three! There are so many things you can do now!

Happy Birthday, S!

We are busy at play and celebration here as the birthday train leaves the station. S is three today by the Jewish calendar (his birth date is Monday by the secular calendar). We had a lot of fun playing along with The Little Engine That Could this past week and will post on it next week, along with a great jam session with some berry good books...

Until then, you can read about S's birthday here. We wish you many things to celebrate and, as always, happy playing!

Beyond the Book: "Boy + Bot"

We have read so many great robot themed books this week--some of them multiple times--and BOY + BOT by Ame Dyckman, with illustrations by Dan Yaccarino was by and far a favorite of ours. In fact, one branch of our local library even had a craft workshop to build robots using recycled materials along with a reading of this book today! I could not have planned better if I had actually tried! (I hope the librarians weren't searching for all of the other copies of their robot themed books as they prepared for today's event...)
BOY +  BOT tells the story of a boy and a robot who are both fascinated by how the other half lives! Both parties learn a lot and develop a wonderful friendship in this adorable tale. Children's literature about robots truly captures the wonder and creativity that fills a child's mind! As an adult, I'm still fascinated (and dumbfounded) by new technology; for young children, all technology is new! The world is filled with things that are mysterious and incredible. S has recently become interested in how traffic lights work while we drive from place to place. He has learned that many run on timers and many others on sensors. And he still finds wonder in pretending we can "turn the light green" by making up silly "magic words!" Learning about robots through children's fiction is a great way to gain understanding and vocabulary around how robots work while still maintaining that sense of whimsy and wonder. Creating and crafting about it truly takes that to the next level!

I came across the idea for this great invitation to create a robot using playdough and loose parts on the blog, Fantastic Fun and Learning and immediately fell in love! We do a lot of playdough activities here and I wanted to take this to the next level to create something that S could have permanently, so in lieu of playdough I substituted Crayola Model Magic clay mixed with silver glitter. I was so amazed at how much S enjoyed the experience of working with clay. He got really into it! He loved the texture and enjoyed using tools as much as he enjoyed using his hands with it. He moved through several different versions of his robot along with a fabulous story line as he worked. I'm hoping to add a magnet back to our finished robots once they dry so we can display them on the refrigerator.

Our library's craft event was incredible and a perfect compliment to the activities we've been doing at home. We were like kids in a candy store, only more like a recycled materials store! S and I worked together while Y slept in the carrier and created this amazing recycled robot:

When we do art together, I try to give options but not directions. I want for S to use as many of his own ideas as possible.

Our robot story stretchers have taken us deep into our imaginations through art, building, storytelling and, of course, play. To incorporate some math and science into our week, I set up these fun play stations:

There are so many fascinating parts inside robots! Exploring magnetism is a great way to expand on this theme. We recycled our dry pasta sensory bin from last week's story stretcher for this "Magnet Scavenger Hunt" sensory bin. There are a lot of great play and learning activities to introduce magnets to young children. This one is a great introduction.

We printed and used this great free robot shape puzzle along with our set of shape magnets for a magnetic table time activity that also encourages mathematical skills in geometry! The free printable has a second page with shapes that can be cut and used in lieu of magnets and you can use it with a glue stick to create a collage or laminate it and use it with velcro or magnets for a reusable learning material.

That's a wrap for this week's adventure in robotics! We've had a lot of fun playing, creating, and reading together. Next week we will be back as the birthday train leaves the station. That's right, S is about to turn 3 and we're chugging and choo-chooing along to one of his very favorite books, The Little Engine That Could. We will be engaging in some fun story dramas, reviewing shapes and the aleph-beis (Hebrew alphabet letters), preparing for his BIG DAY and, of course, happily playing!

"Can I Be a Robot?"

One day a few months ago, S approached me and said, "Mommy, can I be a robot?" I'm not entirely sure what sparked his question, although it might be the robotic mop we have (that we affectionately refer to as Data). S is both fascinated by and a little nervous about robots! We play about them a lot here. He asks me all the time to draw robots and loves to use building toys and manipulatives to create his own. In conjunction with our Story Stretchers Play at Home Camp, I picked out some great children's books with a robot theme and placed some related additions to our play area for this week.

Robots are fascinating to children (and adults) of all ages. Our kids are growing up in such an amazing age of technology. They are surrounded every day at home and away by magnificent machines and computers doing things that science fiction writers once only dreamed about. While we spend a lot of time trying to lure children away from the screens that surround our lives, it's also great to build skills around computer literacy at an age appropriate level and to work with interests in technology so our children can cultivate their natural fascination with these devices. STEM activities have since entered classrooms, homeschools and playrooms. While some of our story stretcher themes this summer involve more structured play activities with a specific target book, this week's theme will be more play based and child led. Here's a great reading list of our favorite robot themed books to accompany a week of process art, building, science, math & geometry activities, recycled art and, of course, play!

Recommended Reading on ROBOTS

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino tells the story of a little boy and a robot with a little misunderstanding...

Spare Parts by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley is a sweet tale of friendship between two robots

Robots Everywhere by Denny Nebson, Illustrations by Todd Hoffman has fabulous pictures and a simple, rhyming story line that follows robots all around town doing all kinds of interesting things...

Robo-sauce by Adam Rubin with pictures by Daniel Salmieri is an imaginative story of a boy who discovers a secret potion to turn humans into robots

Hello, Robots by Bob Staake follows the busy world of four robots, Blink, Zinc, Blip and Zip--a hard working crew who can be stopped by nothing, except maybe rain!

Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! by Todd Tarpley is a cute bedtime story of a little boy trying to get his three wakeful robots to Go To Sleep!

Doug Unplugs on the Farm by Dan Yaccarino is another great robotic tale by this author about a city bot and his experience on a farm!

If I Had a Robot by Dan Yaccarino captures the wishful world of a boy who imagines how a robot could solve all of his most challenging problems--like eating vegetables or handling playground politics

When it comes to playing about robots, you don't need a lot of special materials. You may wish to include some of the following:

• Building toys and manipulatives that you already have are great for building/creating robots. You may wish to use blocks, Legos/Duplos/megablocks, Magnetiles, gears, poppoids or other such toys for robot building.

Coloring on shiny foil got us in the robot spirit

as we began our week! We will be using this

artwork in a future art activity...

• Recycled materials like cardboard tubes, foam, plastic containers, cups and bowls, tin foil and boxes in a variety of sizes can make for some great recycled art and building about robots. Collect and set out your own along with tape/glue and art materials of your choice in an invitation to create a robot! You can create artwork with a variety of mediums and in a variety of sizes as well. Larger boxes and items can create bigger sculptures or even a robot costume...

• shiny loose parts like metalic pipecleaners, silver/gold beads, paperclips, nuts, buttons, google eyes and anything else shiny and fun you can think of make for great add-ons to playdough and clay creations

I included a blob of Crayola Model Magic clay combined with silver glitter for this art lab to create a robot. You can do the same with playdough, however Model Magic will dry and harden for a permanent robot sculpture. I was inspired for this activity by this post at Fantastic Fun and Learning!

• For some great process art, you might want to include tin foil, metallic paper (I love origami paper for this purpose), colorful buttons, sequins, plastic gems, google eyes, glue and construction paper to set up your invitation to create a robot collage...

Our robot art lab has been a repeat attraction--even  Mommy & Tatty have had some fun with it!

• Magnets in a variety of shapes and sizes can make for some great science observations and sensory play with a robotic flare. We will be experimenting with and exploring magnets later this week...stay tuned!
• We also like to set up areas for vertical work with art materials. I often set up a piece of easel paper low on a door/wall for S to use with markers/crayons, stickers, etc., sometimes with a prompt and sometimes without. This week, he will have a lot of fun doodling and sticking stickers about robots!

Speaking of prompts, a simple journal prompt like this can turn dramatic play into a great story to look back on later. S loves to pretend about being a robot--it will be exciting to see where his story and illustrations take the experience!

We also love this free printable robot shape puzzle and these free printable mix and match robot blocks! 

We'll be back with more robot-themed fun and until then...

Happy Playing!

Mad Science Monday: Make Your Own Rain Cloud! Plus a Bonus Story Stretcher...

 I have a confession: we totally did our Mad Science Monday on a Thursday last week! Phew. I already feel so much better. It was the perfect day for it, too; too hot to go out for long, the fourth day of our week long play-theme on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett, and there was a free science show at one of our local malls I wanted to take the kids to, so we were also short on time. Those types of mornings are perfect for a short stretch story stretcher and I had one more weather themed book I wanted to include this week: Eric Carle's The Little Cloud. This book is a great read to supplement a weather theme and goes perfectly alongside the supplemental book we read earlier in the week, It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles Green Shaw. Like the latter, this book also follows a cloud along its journey of changing shape until it makes a glorious rain. After reading the book together, we set out to experiment with making our own rain clouds using household ingredients you likely have on hand as well.

We have read this book often and are huge fans of Eric Carle here. We are also big fans of science experiments (in case you haven't noticed)! I found the idea for this experiment written up on this blog post quite a while ago and saved it for a rainy day--or a hot, sunny day! It is super easy to set up and orchestrate and requires only a few, very inexpensive materials. To make your own rain cloud, you will need:

• a clear jar, bowl, cup or glass
• shaving cream
• food coloring
• pipettes (optional)

Begin by filling your vessel with water, nearly to the top. Young scientists will love to help with this part, whether it's filling from the tap or from a pitcher. You can fill one jar or several. Next, squirt a decent sized blob of shaving cream on top; it will float! This is a great time to discuss floating and sinking with your young scientist. It is fun to observe from various angles how the "cloud" remains on top of the water. Ask your junior scientist what he or she thinks might happen if you add food coloring to the top of the cloud. You can choose one color or two or more. It's a great opportunity as well to explore color mixing. If you choose to use pipettes, you can dilute your colors and your children can use the pipettes in jars of colored water to suck up color and squirt it atop the cloud. We just squirt directly from the food coloring bottles. Please note that diluting the color will change the rate of the experiment as the coloring is less concentrated. I should also mention that food coloring undiluted can stain skin temporarily. Experiment with how many drops of color to add. If you are doing several demonstrations, you may wish to compare how the shape of the vessel or the number of drops of coloring affects the rate of the experiment. Remember to change only one factor at a time (like shape of the vessel or number of drops of coloring) to truly carry out and observe the experiment in scientific method. The next part is to wait! Once it starts "working," the color will drip through the cloud down the water in beautiful streaks that look like rain!

If your water gets too full of color, you can pour it out and try again should you wish! 

Want to do more rain cloud science? Try out this rain cloud in a bag experiment I posted earlier in the year!

Want to stretch out your story stretcher a bit?

• Here's a great art extension: Eric Carle made beautiful end pages in this book using white finger paint on blue paper. Let your young illustrator in training finger paint with white paint on blue construction paper to create his or her own cloud designs. Alternatively, experiment with symmetry using white paint on folded blue construction paper as we did in this post.
• For some more sensory fun, squirt a blob of shaving cream on a tray for your little one to play with. It's great and cloud like all on its own, mixed with some paint or food coloring to explore how colors mix or along with some tools like forks, combs, cookie cutters or anything else you'd like to to add. It's also a good medium to practice letters with for early writers and even sight words for beginning readers!

shaving cream sensory play

Think Outside the Box Thursday: Getting Ready for an Upshernish!

When S was two days old, I cried for 40 minutes because he would someday get married and move away from home. Postpartum hormones are great! With Y, I cried for 40 minutes when he was 2 days old because I wanted to go home from the hospital and go to sleep; at least a little more in this decade... But I was right to an extent about how fast time flies. Not always (trust me, plenty of times, especially after 4PM, time goes by verrrrry slowly here). And yet, I can't believe that S will soon be 3! No, he's not getting married and moving away from home...yet. But for Jewish children, the third birthday is a very special one. It marks the "official" beginning of chinuch, Jewish education. For girls, many families celebrate by helping their daughters to light a Shabbos candle each week beginning at age three. For boys, many families have the custom to cut their hair for the first time and they begin to wear a yarmulke and tzitzit.

If you have been around this blog for a while, you know that chinuch has already begun here--but S will nonetheless celebrate his upshernish (also called upsherin, referring to a boys' third birthday and first haircut) at the end of this month, corresponding to the 6th day of the Jewish month of Tammuz. We have talked for some time about this upcoming milestone and celebration. He has seen some of his friends already celebrate their upshernish. I may be more nervous than he is about the whole first haircut part, but as with any big change (or little one), we are preparing for it through play. When he is three, S will begin to wear a yarmulke and tzitzit all of the time. We bought some in advance and he is already very eager and excited to wear them--particularly since they are decorated with some of his favorite things, like trains and Elmo. We talk about him wearing a yarmulke and tzitzit and having a short hair cut just like Tatty (his dad) and just like some of his friends. Many families have a huge party to honor this occasion and invite guests to help with the honor of cutting a boy's hair for the first time. For a variety of reasons, including S's disposition, we have opted to do this in phases and to keep the hair-cutting part a bit closer to home (and maybe a local kids' salon if that doesn't go as well as planned). He will get his hair cut in our home with just the immediate family, while playing a fun Aleph-bet (Hebrew alphabet) Scavenger Hunt game I constructed by printing off and laminating a color image of the aleph bet--and so he should always know the sweetness of learning Torah, his game pieces will be one of his favorite sweets, jellybeans! Many families use honey or chocolate syrup or another candy their son likes. We will be making a trip the following month to visit family in NY, including his great grandmother who has been waiting and waiting with anticipation for this special day. We could not bring her to his upshernish, so we are bringing the upshernish to her! We were not sure he would take so well to having his hair cut the first time by relatives he doesn't get to see so often and since we certainly do not want it to be an unpleasant experience for any of the parties involved, we will give GG the honor of the second hair cut and a family celebration. We plan to invite S's friends for a post-birthday play party later in the summer when we return to celebrate his having turned three and reached this special milestone.

In the meantime, S is very excited about cupcakes. He wants either a bicycle or a lawnmower for his birthday. He is eager to fulfill the mitzvos that come with turning 3; some may be easier than others in reality, and we will continue to encourage and support him through those adjustments. We are playing and reading about haircuts and having an upshernish, and if you're looking for some of our favorite books and activities on the subject, here's a few:

• S loves playdough! We printed and laminated some people playdough mats from this website to use with playdough and playdough scissors. S loves to give them wacky hairdos and subsequently, haircuts. You can also use these with laminated cut outs of a yarmulke and tzitzit as well as clothes/accessories and with velcro practice dressing up as a big boy!
• S also loves scissors. I'm shocked (and grateful) we haven't already had an accidental or unplanned first haircut! He loves this tray of "upshernish mentchies," little people he can give haircuts to that I made by drawing faces on recycled toilet paper tubes and cutting slits for hair. 
  
  
  

  

  He loves cutting their hair and keeping a tray or basket underneath aids with collecting the scraps for easier clean-up afterward. I showed him how to set the scissors and upshernish mentchies to the side and carry the tray to the garbage can to empty before putting everything back in and away on his art shelf.
  
  

  
  

  
  

• We love the books below! There are a variety of books on the topic of having and preparing for an upshernish and secular books on the topic of first haircuts. Here are three of our favorites:

• We do a lot of dramatic play as well. S has seen his Tatty cut his hair and likes to play about it and pretend.

It's sometimes hard to believe I will only fight my way to put all this hair in a ponytail for a short while longer. For soooo long, even when dressed in the most masculine of outfits, S has been mistaken for a little girl when we are in public! (Ironically, for quite some time S only used the pronoun "she" when talking about others!)  On the occasions I happen to correct someone, people are so apologetic. I always jokingly say that soon enough, he will grow into some of those more 'boyish' behaviors and I will miss my little girl. The truth is that I love all of S's personality traits. I love his eagerness to learn and try new things. I love his enthusiasm for life. I love his sensitivity and cautiousness. I love that he likes to pick flowers and find rocks and that he likes to dance and play music everywhere, on everything. I love that he is naturally kind and generous. And I even love that he is stubborn and determined like I am--because I know that those traits, reigned in, will carry him far in life. I mostly love that loves to play. Many a bedtime battle here happens because he wants to play! I cannot help but feel that a little bit of my little baby is disappearing with that ponytail, and I kind of want the snuggly part of that little baby boy to last just a little bit longer...maybe forever... And I am so proud and excited for the milestone that turning three marks in a Jewish child's life. S has always had a love for learning. May this sense of wonder carry him through life wrapped in the love of Torah just as he will be wrapped in a talis and carried through his cheder (Jewish school). Until and beyond then, we will be here, happily playing!