Quiet Books

Though I have a great knack for not finishing projects, I do love textile arts. Sewing, crochet, needle work, etc. But you can only make so many blankets, and with a little boy, you don't even get to make sundresses. What's a mommy to do?

Quite book! I found this (not so new) concept on Pinterest and I must say, it's probably the COOLEST idea ever in the history of forever.

What is this crazy good idea? It's really quite simple. It's a fabric book you can create (or buy if you really want) with little busy activities to keep the kiddos entertained and (ideally) quiet.

A lot of the pages include fine motor skills like buttons, snaps, and tying, and also matching and sorting.

If you want a tutorial, this woman really has a great one. But you can adapt your quiet book any way you want.

Your book can be adapted for different age groups. It can include shoe tying, color matching, putting all the animals in the zoo, etc.

I like the concept because it leaves a lot of room for imagination and creativity. If you use rings to bind your book, and can add and remove pages as your child grows or needs something new. This is also a good resource for quiet book ideas. For more page ideas, check out the links below:

Quiet book – 150 and more ideas, tutorials and patterns
Sawdust and Embyros: My Momma's Quiet Book
And Next Comes L: Pinterest: Quiet books
Disney Baby: 8 Cute DIY Quiet Books
The Inspired Home-World Wide Wednesday: Quiet Book Ideas

Melissa and Doug and Friends

All my readings on the Montessori Method and fostering curiosity in children has caused me to encounter the names Melissa and Doug quite a bit. I looked into it a bit further. For those of you that don't know, Melissa and Doug is a toy company synonymous with high quality low/no tech toys. Thing like trains, floor puzzles, wooden blocks, and other classics.

They're quite a reputable company, with very little advertising and promotion, the focus is on quality, not trends. It's a great notions. Let's unplug our little ones, put away the apps, and play school and dress up like to good old days. But like most things in life and parenting, that's easier said than done.

For starters, Melissa and Doug toys are awfully expensive. I don't thing they're overpriced. The price tag has to match the labor, cost, and quality of the product. But something plastic and flashing with a AA battery the makes train sounds can be cheaper and even more enticing than a wooden one with four wheels and a track.

So where does that leave parents? Active toys create an inactive child; inactive toys create an active child. How easy and shameless is it to throw in a video or Wii game when we need to get the dishes done or pay bills or call the bank? But what are we giving our kids when we allow them to be entertained rather than learn to entertain and grow?

It's a slippery slope. Children immersed in technology lose the ability to entertain themselves, create, and imagine. But does that mean we have to fly off the handle with $15 ten piece puzzles and a padlock on the TV remote.

I think the answer there, like most things, lies in moderation. The occasional cartoon before bed or smartphone game while waiting in a restaurant won't turn our kids into zombies.

But I think that Melissa and Doug are onto something with their back to basics approach. I'd like to think that educational play and creative exploration are more important than dirty dishes anyway....just maybe not more important than paying bills.

A Mother and Her Son

I've said for a while that 3-year-old boys are my favorite creatures. I dare you to find anything more intense, daring, curious, or terrifying than a 3-year-old boy.

But my husband and I said that a little girl would be the best addition to our family...so naturally we're expecting a little boy. There's so much advice our there about how to raise a gentleman, how to prepare a boy to be a husband, and how to instill in him values that the woman in his life will appreciate. I find it kind of shocking that's I should be prepping my little boy for another woman before I've had my fair share. And in reverse, I doubt we would embrace an article like how to raise your daughter to be a good wife so readily in this day and age.

But I must regretfully admit I read everyone of these that I find. There is a part of me that is aware that boys are different from girls, and an even bigger part of me that is conscious of the fact that a traditional family can be understood to a child as the way things work instead of the way we choose to make our family work. And I'd like to think if I was having a girl I would spend an equal amount of time and effort plotting ways to empower her and encourage her sense of self.

Right now, my hope for my son is that I can show him how to be kind, giving, and gentle when the moment calls for it. I also acknowledge that being tough, strong, and fearless have their place, but something tells me those will come much more naturally.

I will teach my son to love freely and openly and with his whole heart

I will make my son do his own laundry because he may not always need to throw a perfect spiral, but he will always need clean underwear

I will encourage my son to create what ever his heart desires, whether it's beautiful or terrifying

I will kiss him goodnight for as long as he lets me because the only thing worse that a child feeling they don't need you, is a child  feeling you don't need them

I will make him eat what's for dinner so he will never expect to have a short-order cook in the house

I will teach him to express his emotions because he will always have them, and there's no use denying that

I will show him how strong women can be in hopes that he will not settle for a weak one

And above all else, I will give him the gift of both knowledge and faith so that he can never be disarmed and he will never be alone

We Don't Lie to Our Children

I worked as a nanny for the S family for a while, which was one of my most rewarding jobs and the most difficult to leave. I remember on day one, Momma S sat me down and told me about things I needed to know about their family: The kids can eat whenever they're hungry, no foul language, and we never lie to our children.

Really? Never? It seemed so simple, and yet so foreign. I didn't know any other parent who could say they never lie to their children. Everyone I knew was notorious for saying. We'll come back tomorrow, we're all out of cookies, or If you don't eat your vegetables you'll never grow up.

It's such an obvious notions. Be honest with your children (save things that are inappropriate for their age or part of childhood ignorance like the tooth fairy or the birds and the bees). And if your honest with your children, they will trust you. But what does it look like in practice.

Children who have never seen or felt dishonesty, will not have a dishonest heart. That's not say to say that shame or fear will never cause them to keep secrets or tell fibs. But at the same time, truthfulness and forth coming will be the norm, and deceit will be uncomfortable at best.

But it's sometimes easier said than done. It's so much easier to tell a child we're out of cookies, than to try to explain that cookies are not a good snack right now. And it's such a quick fix to tell a child if they get in the car right now we can go to the park later. There's a reason not everyone is so keen to jump on this band wagon. And not just because it's too hard. It's because some parents feel it's not worth the trade off. White lies won't create a demon child or making them think mommy is always crying wolf. And sometimes it's difficult when a four-year-old complains, but you said.... and you have to stick to your word.

However, if a child knows they can trust their parent 100% of the time, then it will come in handy when it counts. When you say you can't play in the street because it's dangerous and you could get hurt. They know you mean it. And you can tell them we need to eat vegetables because they are important for our body and keep us healthy, and even though vegetables will always suck, they will know that they keep us healthy and there will be no doubt.

Our kids get so many messages from the world around them. They need to be able to believe ours.