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Adventures with Wikki Stix

Posted on July 22, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Rain on a summer day earlier this week left me wondering what I was going to do with the boys. I had some projects to work on, but wanted them to try something fun and different. The boys wanted to use some funny smelling sculpting material on the table, but I was not in the mood for that mess. Suddenly, I recalled that I had some Wikki Stix. Do you remember those? This is what I am talking about:

What are Wikki Stix? From their website: “Wikki Stix are made of hand-knitting yarn enhanced with a microcrystalline food-grade, non-toxic wax, the kind used in bubble gum and lipstick. They do not contain latex, gluten, nor peanut or other nut oils or byproducts which makes them an ideal creative activity toy for children with allergies.” If you want to learn more, they have lots of details on the what are Wikki Stix page.

Several years ago, I had gotten a Curious George Wikki Stix book to use with NHL. At the time, he was receiving occupational therapy and this was to work on fine motor skills. The beauty of Wikki Stix, they allow kids to use their imagination to play, create, and even practice letter and shape formation. The Wikki Stix above were donated to us by a friend who had them in her classroom and never used them.

For one reason or another, the Curious George book was never used, but I pulled it out the other day. JSL immediately grabbed it and wanted to see what was inside (see above). Here is JSL playing with a Wikki guy that we made together:

Of course, if one child is using something new and exciting, the other is bound to want to try it out. Since NHL was jealous, I went on a hunt for the other package so both of the boys could experiment with the Wikki Stix. NHL immediately made a flower for me:

JSL played for well over an hour and then wanted to move on. He’s four and was tired, but NHL played on and kept coming back to the new found favorite over and over.

The best part of the day was seeing the smiles on their faces, not having a mess to clean up, and just tossing them away like this:

Yes, the boys have used them multiple times again and keep coming up with new games and things to do with them. NHL has even gone to the Wikki Stix website with me and looked at their how to videos to see some amazing creations. There are also dot-to-dot and other crafts to download and use with our Wikki Stix. I am in love! We will probably be looking to buy more because we are all having such fun with them.

My questions to you this week:

Have you ever used Wikki Stix as a child or with your children? What would you make with them if given the opportunity to play?

Disclosure

All items were purchased by us or given to us by a friend. I was not asked to write this post and just wanted to share an amazing child friendly activity for children of a variety of ages.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #161

Categories:
Aloha Friday arts and crafts fun jsl nhl photos play time summer

When Art Meets the Library

Posted on July 21, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This summer, the boys and I have been trying to get to some of the free or less expensive events around the Capital District. The library that I went to as a child still has some amazing programs and we love spending time there.

Most of the events for children have materials already included and you do not have to sign up. One exception to that rule was earlier this week. The library had a “Make a Story Tower with Tang Museum” where kids would construct a 3-D tower that tells a story. NHL and I were intrigued and we got him into one of the last spots. The teacher in me loved the connection of art and literature.

When we arrived, the two women from Tang greeted the children and sat them down for a group circle. The kids were introduced to this:

This is a replica of a piece that is currently at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College in Saratoga called Tower of Babel by Josh Dorman. Dorman’s art, done in 2008, is made out of ink, acrylic, oil, antique paper on 32 adjoined panels which make it 96×48”. Thanks to the artist’s gallery online, I was able to check out more about him and his other amazing work that is also on display at the Tang Museum until August 16

The kids were fascinated by the art in front of their eyes. I do not think they understood when Leah told them the “real” piece is actually in Saratoga and so much larger. They really were way too mesmerized with the poster in front of them. The kids were brainstorming what Dorman may have been depicting with his art. To help them out, they had blown up sections of the Tower of Babel to look at.

When you look at this work up close, it has so many hidden details that tell story after story. That is exactly what this was about. Letting the kids brainstorm and make a tower of their own to tell a story. To do this, tables were set up with lots of supplies.

Barbara and Leah from the museum really interacted with the kids. They listened to them, helped them to find what they needed for their masterpieces, and even let my 4 year old participate since they had an extra space for him. Check out my kiddos making their towers:

When they were finished, the boys had their two story towers.

The kids met back in a circle at the end and NHL was the first to share his story. He was inspired to make a tower about Disney’s Animal Kingdom and some things that happened with the animals on the safari. He started with his Tree of Life and then moved onto savannah and other animal habitats.

Yes, this is why I love going to the library and keeping up on programs that are taking place. I also adore that museums like the Tang at Skidmore College are working with kids to integrate art into the world of learning (teacher geek talk for you). I know I am quite intrigued with their Family Saturday program. Check it out because they are running the same one that we participated in on August 5.

Disclosure: I was not asked to write this post about our experience. It was free to sign up, we loved it, and I wanted to toot the horn for all involved.

Categories:
arts and crafts books Disney Educational fun interesting jsl local event nhl photos summer

Tuesday Tales – eReader Envy

Posted on July 19, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

This may surprise you, but I am not the owner of an eReader. Do not get me wrong, I would love to have one. The reality is there are other items that I would like more – you know like a getaway with hubby. For months, my friends with iPhones have been raving about the free Kindle App that is available. May I introduce you to Pod:

Yes, I inherited an iPod that my parents were no longer using. It gets a lot of use with different educational applications and such. The other day, I added something for me on Pod – check it out:

Since that time, Pod has been getting a bit more use. I am trying to see what I think of reading using the Kindle App. Wait, am I talking about my iPod like that – why yes I am! Thanks to great resources out there like Mandy at Mommy Cracked, you can often find free and cheap books to download for your Kindle or other eReader. Mandy just published as I was working on a post, so I thought it was perfect to share.

For my test reading, I went to the Amazon Kindle Store. Once there, I searched for free books. I noticed one that seemed interesting to me. So I quickly downloaded One True Love by Barbara Freethy and a few classics like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

It was simple to download and within seconds I had my book to read:

I have to admit, I was not sure how I would feel about reading in this tiny format, or without a book in my hand. I started just a short time ago and am already done with a good chunk of the book. I have no complaints about the size of the Kindle app and can alter the font size to what works best for me. Here’s a view of the pages and tracking how far you have read:

I do not think this will completely replace my book reading until I get a “real” eReader (Kindle, Nook, or other would be fantastic to review on Tuesday Tales – no?!). For now, I like the portability of Pod with the Kindle app and I think it is great to take on the go, so long as the kids allow me to use it.

Do you have an eReader or Kindle App? I would love to know what you think and could use any book suggestions that you have loved in this format.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Categories:
books me moments photos Tuesday Tales

Destination Romantic Disney Dreaming

Posted on July 18, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have a bad case of the Disney blues. You see, ten years ago in June, we had our amazing honeymoon at Walt Disney World. TechyDad and I were spoiled rotten and had the most magical experience on that trip. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort for 10 magical days.

We decided to go all out and stayed at a deluxe resort. We wanted to be near Epcot so we could dine around the world and at the Boardwalk. They upgraded our room when they heard we were on our honeymoon. Check out the view from our balcony:

We had a deluxe dining plan and also had the ability to do tours with our package. We did several behind the scene tours, ate at Spoodles, Le Cellier (several times with same day reservations – *gasp*), Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, and saw Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba.

This was when I made TechyDad a believer. He quickly saw the magic of a Walt Disney World vacation. He was able to see that it is not simply for families with children. It is a place where you can be with your spouse and have plenty of romantic moments. It is a location to wine and dine, be a kid, and enjoy magical memories together. It is a destination that you can visit over and over and still not see everything. So many people do not understand and I am ok with this. I am just lucky TechyDad gets it and so do friends like Amy. She just got back from a 10th anniversary trip to Walt Disney World with her husband. Before leaving, she wrote a post about romantic Disney with quotes from me included.

So why am I writing about this? Well, you see TechyDad and I are toying with doing something that is unlike us. We are talking about putting us first and getting away without the boys. Yes, we are debating a 10th anniversary trip to Walt Disney World. Sure, we have been since our honeymoon, but not just the two of us. In fact, the only time we have been away without the boys was to BlogHer last year in NYC. This would be a trip for us, not in the name of Social Media (imagine that).

We won’t be staying at the Beach Club Resort this time, but it will still be a magical vacation for just the two of us. Now, we just have to check a few more items and figure out child care. The boys can probably stay with TechyDad’s parents, but they have never done that without us before. A lot of things are on my mind, but dreaming and making this into a reality is making me smile.

If you have any suggestions on romantic meals or other places to visit as a couple at Disney World, I would love to hear about it. A lot has changed in ten years.

So, please excuse me for a little while. I need to dream a little more about the possibility of a romantic getaway to the most magical place with my amazing husband. We need this for us and our family.

Categories:
Disney dreams jl looking back photos travel vent

Bounce Time for the Boys

Posted on July 16, 2011 9:05 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

For weeks, we have been trying to take you to a new location to do some bouncing. On Friday, I spent the day getting laundry done while you played. I wanted to have it finished so I could spend the weekend with everyone and not have to worry about getting clothing clean.

When Daddy got home from work, we quickly got into the car and went to Afrim’s. On Friday night, you can bounce from 5-8 for $5. When we got there, there was only one other child. It was a bit warm inside, but that did not stop the two of you.

Before we knew it, we were the only people in the bounce area. The two of you ran from bouncer to bouncer. Even though you could not get up one of the slides thanks to a broken part, you used it as a place to run through and bounce in. The space was perfect for the two of you to release a lot of energy.

One of the bouncers has a small climbing wall and punching spot within it. Both of you really liked this. I was especially shocked with JSL’s monkey climbing skills.

After a while, even Daddy was tired from watching you run, bounce, slide, punch, and climb. Lucky for him, there was a nice comfy couch to rest on.

After about an hour, the two of you looked like tomatoes running around. It was really warm, you were thirsty (we didn’t bring water bottles) and Daddy was hungry. So we packed both of you up and went to get some dinner. I know that we will probably head back to the bounce place, but it may be on a cooler day since it is quite warm in there. Still, even with the heat we all had a great time together.

Love,

Mommy

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