Places to Go - Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took the kids to Maryland Science Center, located right on the Inner Harbor, and everyone in the family had a wonderful time. First of all, the museum has a LARGE kids' room complete with "underwater" caves, waterplay, an upstairs fishing/boating area, train table, and several other fun activities (including an aquarium-themed baby room). Seriously, this room alone warrants a trip, my kids can play in it for hours. Museum Admission also includes entry to the planetarium where a rotating series of shows plays every hour to two hours (at 1:00 everyday the planetarium shows Sesame Street's One World, One Sky, perfect for the under 6 crowd). Regarding exhibits, the museum hosts a large dinosaur exhibit (where you can dig for "fossils"), a series of hands-on exhibits entitled "Newton's Alley" (T, in particular, loved the cloud-making machine pictured above), a great outer space exhibit (the girls are fascinated by Pluto's loss of planetness), and several other activities and things to do. A reasonably-priced cafe means you can extend any visit for hours. Due to the diversity of the exhibits both older and younger children will have a great time. Basic admission (excluding IMAX and special exhibits) is $14.95 for adults and $11.95 for children 3-12, though much more pricey than the Smithsonian Natural History Museum (which is free), it's worth the price as there is a lot more hands-on, kid-focused stuff to do than at the Smithsonian. For more information, click here.

Things to Make - Stencil Valentines

Throughout December, the girls could not get enough craft projects. F would come home from preschool asking "can we make something today? please?" I have to admit, their attentions flattered me. Then came January. And all of a sudden they were back in their room, door closed, playing together and when I asked about craft projects I heard "maybe in awhile mom." So I adopted a new strategy - lots of materials, little parental involvement - just a table full of glue sticks, scrapbook paper, scissors, markers, construction paper, stickers, and STENCILS. And, hence, the valentine making began. So I'm lying low for awhile, only interceding when needed (usually to help spell all of their friends' names).

Regarding the stencils, both girls love hearts but have a hard time drawing them, so I made a heart stencil out of cardboard that has gotten a lot of use. So much use that I decided to buy more, I found this stencil book - Fun with Valentine Stencils (Dover Little Activity Books)on Amazon for only $1.50 (Amazon has a huge selection of these cheap Dover stencils to choose from). For other stencil activity, a few months ago my mom bought the girls a jumbo stencil kit similar to these - NEX Jumbo Stencil Kit (Farms And Horses) and NEX Stylin Stencil (Runway Fun) - and the girls still use it on a frequent basis (at least once a week).

What about everyone else? Any ideas for Valentine making?

OTHER IDEAS FOR CREATIVE KIDS AROUND THE WEB:

*I love this story starter idea, sounds perfect for the numerous sick days that tend to make up February.

*The Artful Parent's painted heart cookies are just lovely. Edible art.

*Toothpicks + marshmallows = art. What a great (and easy) way to spend an afternoon.

*These shaving cream valentines are lovely. A wonderful idea for free play as well.

*I love these paper towel roll valentine's stamps. Plus, this project really does look super easy.

Things to Do - SNOWDAY!

We spent last Thursday's snow day at home with some close friends. The day went something like this - parade indoors, stage a puppet show, make valentines, eat something, dress for snow, run around outside like crazy, guzzle down hot chocolate, repeat . . . And at 5:00 the adults opened the wine.

As a mom, I'm pretty negligent at taking my kids out in the snow, the whole experience just involves SO MUCH preparation all for cold/wetness. Though as a kid one of my favorite things in the world was sledding with my dad, so I'm not sure where my own parental ambivalence comes from. Thus I'm glad my friends came over, sleds in hand, and forced me out of my comfort zone for awhile, now if we could only find Arlington's best sledding hills for young kids - any suggestions? (And in case you're wondering, P INSISTED on wearing a skirt over snow pants, so it goes.)

LINKS:
*My husband and I watched Coal Miner's Daughter the other night (for free, On Demand) and now we can't get enough of Loretta Lynn. Who knew she sang a whole song about the birth control pill? How cool is that? (Plus the lyrics are hysterical). And the White Stripes covered another Lynn song.

*It feels like I've been waiting forever for an article like this, so bravo Peggy Orenstein, especially for the sentence "[a]s my little girl made her daily beeline for the dress-up corner of her preschool classroom, I fretted over what playing Little Mermaid, a character who actually gives up her voice to get a man, was teaching her." I hate the Little Mermaid for that exact reason. And I have a ton of anger/resentment about the whole princess movement but it makes the girls SO HAPPY. I highly suggest the article and I can't wait to read the book. How about everyone else? How do you feel about the princess/feminist debate? Is Cinderella a decent role model?

*I love these clothes (link via Modish).

*Beautiful pics of an urban farm.

Things to Do - Buy Your Kids a Camera

The floor seems much closer when you're three feet tall.



Two Xmases ago (2009) Santa brought the girls a camera. At first, F took pics of everything (we filled up the memory card regularly), since then camera enthusiasm has wavered. At times it comes everywhere with us, other times it sits on a shelf for weeks. But in the last few weeks, F's taken decided to start "posing" her friends for pictures, with pretty cute results (see pics below).

Last week, I downloaded the girls' images for the first time in months and, after I erased about 50 black ones, I have to say that there was something sort of beautiful about seeing the kids' perspective on their world. I especially liked all the pics of toys and dolls - everyday things that I would never think to photograph. You never know which of your passions will stick with your children and which will be dismissed, but I'm glad to see that, at least for now, my love of photography has had an impact.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

WEEKEND LINKS:

*I loved my wedding (for all of its barefoot and pregnant wonderfulness) but the pics of this wedding are so so lovely that I wish I could get married again and again (to the same man, of course). Dunton Hot Springs looks like paradise. You've got to love Colorado, is there anything wrong with that state (excluding the water crisis)?

*Is there anything cooler than Pinterest? Anything? It's like a huge index of everything you like, just drag and drop. If anyone is interested, I can invite friends to join, so let me know.

*Would you have a problem with another mom drinking wine while watching your kid/kids? Until I read this discussion thread it had never occurred to me that one wine glass could spark so much controversy. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

*This blog is just beautiful. Check it out.



Dinosaurs, ponies, and hamsters - that about sums it up.


Pictures from F's photo session. She said things like "now you sit here, not like that. like this. look at the camera. now try it looking away . . . "

Things to Read - Street Photography & The Story of Vivian Maier

(All images from http://www.vivianmaier.blogspot.com/ )

A few weeks ago a friend sent me this link about Vivian Maier (thank you Jill!) and I found her story so compelling/fascinating/irresistible that I decided to do a blog post about her. A few years ago a real-estate agent named John Maloof purchased the negatives of an unknown photographer while attending a furniture and antique auction, hoping that the negatives would help him with compiling a book about Chicago history. Maloof later learned that the film had previously belonged to the undiscovered and now deceased photographer, Vivan Maier, whom art critics are now labeling the best "street photographer" ever. Really, her work speaks for itself, it's amazing. According to the NY Times, "Ms. Maier’s streetscapes manage simultaneously to capture a redolent sense of place and the paradoxical moments that give the city its jazz, while elevating and dignifying the people in her frames — vulnerable, noble, defeated, proud, fragile, tender and often quite funny." Click here to learn more and to view Maloof's blog of Maier's work.