Places to Go - Gulf Branch Nature Center in the Winter (Arlington, VA)

Last Friday, T and I attended a tiny tots class on frogs and toads at Gulf Branch Nature Center (for children 18-35 months). Classes for toddlers are always so funny and random, some kids ran in circles, while others paid close attention. I've found that the reaction of any given kid varies by the day. Luckily, the teacher had prepared for such chaos, she brought lots of live animals (we saw a huge bullfrog eat crickets) and fun props (we used colored scarfs as frog masks and hopped around the room), while continually emphasizing key concepts - tadpoles, eggs, etc. After the kids completed a simple art project we walked around the pond, listening for the calls of bullfrogs (when I finally heard one I almost started jumping up and down from excitement). As always, I was impressed by the quality and low price ($5 per child) of these classes. If you're interested, the Spring Snag and the Snag for Wee Ones (the publications which list Arlington's nature programs) are available here.

T appeared quiet and shy for most of the class, sitting next to me the whole time. But as soon as class ended, he wanted to play "teacher" and proceeded to repeat all that we had talked about earlier. I had to sit on a rug square, but he let me take lots of pictures. So we both were happy.



Gulf Branch's basement contains a native american room, full of interesting artifacts and displays, including a gigantic canoe. All three of my kids can spend hours sitting in the boat, making up games and reading books.

On Friday I almost fell asleep in the canoe while drifting through the the basement's imaginary waters, luckily a "bad guy" invasion kept me awake.

T kept taking breaks from fighting the bad guys to "shop" for new weapons in the above display case. I think his Xmas list for next year is already full.



One of Gulf Branch's many highlights is an indoor/outdoor beehive, where you can watch the pollinators at work. It's sort of mesmerizing.



After leaving the nature center, we played outside for awhile. We could hear the bullfrogs croaking as we explored, almost as if they wanted to cheer us on. We found lots of sticks, as always.



We explored some more. Bridges can provide a toddler with hours of entertainment. HOURS!



The Blacksmith Guild of the Potomac has a workshop next to the nature center. They invited us in to watch them create, the hot coals mesmerized T, which made me nervous enough that we went back outside. Imaginary fires are so much easier to contain.

Things to Make - Heart Shaped Pastries for Valentine's Day

We've been making these a lot lately (I've stocked our freezer full of puff pastry). The cookbook (Williams-Sonoma Kids Baking, still my favorite kids' cookbook ever) calls them elephant ears, but that sounds less interesting than my title. The recipe is easy in that you don't need many ingredients and it has the perfect amount of steps to keep kids' entertained. Plus all the measurements can be approximated, making it hard to mess them up. So tasty.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

HEART SHAPED PASTRIES:

Ingredients:
*3 tablespoons butter
*1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1/2 cup sugar
*1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
*frozen puff pastry, 1 sheet, 9.5 inch square, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper OR grease with butter
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low. Move to a heatproof service and add the vanilla.
4. Stir together the two sugars in a small bowl, set 1/2 cup of the mixture aside.
5. Sprinkle a cutting board with 3 tablespoons of the sugar mixture. Unfold the puff pastry on top of the sugar. Sprinkle more sugar on top of the pastry. Spread evenly with your hands.
6. Use a rolling pin to flatten the puff pastry to a 10x20 inch rectangle. After every few rolls, sprinkle the puff pastry with more sugar.
7. Brush the melted butter evenly over the pastry with a pastry brush. Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 cup of reserved sugar mixture over the pastry.
8. Fold the pastry - starting at one end, fold a 2-inch-wide band onto itself. Repeat folding until you reach the center of the pastry. Now fold the other end of the rectangle the same way. Fold one band on top of the other to form a long rectangle about 2.5 inches wide and 10 inches long.
9. Put the rectangle on a cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place slices cut side down on the baking sheets.
10. Bake 15 minutes. If using parchment paper, let the pastries cool for 10 minutes then move to a rack. If using a greased baking sheet, remove the pastries from the sheet immediately and let cool on a rack.
11. EAT!!

Things to Do - Valentining

Every year all the great homemade Valentines posted throughout the web inspire me. Then I remember that the days preceding Valentine's Day are some of the most peaceful in our house as the girls use this time to create on their own terms. They do not want my help or input, they have their own ideas and they take them seriously. P and F sit at the table for hours, coming up with new layouts, writing all their friends' names, trying to personalize all the cards in one way or another.

So I catch up on old New Yorkers for awhile (I particularly loved this fantastic article on planting trees to hold back the Sahara). Or (more often) I chase T around the house and beg him not to destroy anything (while carrying a New Yorker and attempting to read it).

Anyways, the girls take their task SERIOUSLY, i just provide the materials needed for masterpieces - this year we agreed on tons of hearts, jewels, and princess stickers from Oriental Trading. The jewels are my favorite. Love that bling.

What are you making for Valentine's Day? I'd love to hear!


MONDAY LINKS:

*I love everything about this apartment. I want to move in.

*44 Weeks of Words.

*99 Designers Reveal Their Fall 2012 Inspirations. So fun to click through and see the diversity of ideas.

*Beautiful pictures of China's changing coastlines.



Of course, we require dance breaks. Our new ribbons really get the party started.



And paper doll breaks.



T and I made castles for the paper dolls. Unfortunately, most of the dolls fell apart before they have a chance to settle into their new homes.

Things to Do - Walk to School

The older the kids become, the smaller our circle. We used to spend our days exploring new places, whereas now we often adventure closer to home - walking to and from school, running around playgrounds in the afternoon, exploring the block with glowsticks at night. I'm trying to adjust to these changes by appreciating the details - the way the sun shines on a leaf, early buds on a bush in February, reflections in pools of water, birds on electrical wires. Though some days it all seems mundane (oh, winter).

I recently read a New Yorker article where an 83-year-old man documents his days (click here to read the abstract). The author spent the majority of the piece talking about birds, his barn, and the weather. Maybe the best metaphor for aging is "watching the birds more these days", which doesn't necessarily seem like a bad thing.

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND EVERYONE!!




WEEKEND LINKS:

*The Ultimate NPR Workout Mix. Awesome.

*I am truly jealous of this childrens' birthday tea party. It's amazing. I want to go.

*DIY no-sew felted heart elbow patches. these are adorable.

*10 Great Science Fiction Books for Girls. An important list.

*15 of the Most Popular Pictures on Pinterest. Random. really random.

*More about our week, over here.

Things to Read - The Birds and The Bees For the Kindergarten Crowd

F's curiosity about adolescence continues to grow - breasts, menstruation, all the uncomfortable facts-of-life issues (and she's only six, I thought we still had a few years of doe-like innocence). I assumed I'd be the cool mom when it comes to this stuff, but when I actually started talking to her I sounded like someone's grandma, "well, once a month women become cursed. and it really sucks" (okay, so maybe a grandma wouldn't say sucks). I needed help. A friend recommended American Girls:




and I couldn't be more grateful. F read every word, she even slept with it for awhile. This book is the G-rated version of puberty for girls. It deals mainly with hygiene issues, covering everything from brushing your hair and cleaning your ears to developing breasts and inserting a tampon. And I don't think it even contains the word sex (or intercourse or "make love" or anything like that).

Of course, The Care and Keeping of You (American Girl) didn't answer all of F's questions, especially since she has an often-naked (potty training) younger brother walking around the house all day. So for the "big questions" we checked out:



from the library. I really like and appreciate this book (the publisher recommends it for kids age 4 and up). The text is graphic (get ready to use the "real words" to describe boy and girl parts (I won't use the actual words here because I really don't want my blog to pick up hits from child pornographers)). After going over basic anatomy the book addresses eggs and sperm and provides a very preliminary introduction to sex, noting that "children are much too young to do the special kind of loving - called 'sex'- that grownups do." The book also deals with pregnancy, taking care of babies, and "okay touches, not okay touches."

I like that the book contains lots of cartoonish pictures and tries to make uncomfortable subjects as approachable as possible. Further, it addresses and easily dismisses certain stereotypes regarding gender. A chapter on different types of families approaches same-sex parents in a matter-of-fact way - "some families have a mommy and a daddy. some have a mommy. some have a daddy. some have two mommies. some have tow daddies . . ." Further, a two-page cartoon notes that many of society's assumptions about boys and girls aren't really true, for example boys can play with dolls, while girls can catch fish and worms.

Anyways, I couldn't be happier with this book. For older kids, the authors also have a book entitled It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (The Family Library), recommended for ages 7 and up.

What about everyone else? How have you approached the birds and the bees? (By the way, if I get too many creepy google hits I may need to take this post down).