How to Make a Sun...

May I begin this entry by saying that MOST successful experiences, as the ones listed on this blog, do not begin with motherly genius or anything of the type. MOST successful experiences begin through the genius or curiosity of the child... once inspired. Provide an inspiring environment... But that genius or inspiration must be responded to correctly. For example, we have little pillows in the girls room with handles on them. Mariah's handle ripped off, exposing the inner batting. Callie has been hounding me to fix it. Well, it's taken me a while... and finally she said, "mom, can we sew this in Storm Academy?" I responded with "sure, YOU can". She was thrilled. SHE wanted to learn. Not ME wanted her to learn. BIG difference. Learning is best by responding to desire and inspiration, like a mentor... not by sitting them down and telling them to "like this now". Yes, this is hard to do. One's life has to be organized and relaxed to respond to inspiration when it comes. So, organize life right?! Right. Constant process... but that is right. Then, interests evolve. You see, we got out the thread and Callie fixed the pillow, meanwhile, Mariah was demanding to sew. So, I got my yarn needles out (which are not lethal) and some yarn, some scraps of drapery fabric and gave her the basics, which SHE asked for. (Imagine how the story would change if I had a major agenda of my own and had no time to respond) Then, Callie, finishing her pillow, wanted to sew with yarn too. I said, "okay, draw a picture of something simple, like a sun, and you can sew it". So, she drew a sun, and I helped her put dots on it and she sewed it. EVER NOTICE that when a CHILD does the work, they feel pride in it. You can say "THIS IS GREAT" a hundred times, but unless THEY were responsible for it, they don't feel pride in their work. We all work that way, it shouldn't be hard to understand. Anyway, then it evolved into Mariah coloring balloons in different sizes to match the people in our family. Her favorite project.

How to Dirty Clothes...

I don't know any mom's who have trouble knowing how to dirty clothes. Usually we are looking for ways to keep clothes clean right? :) Well, after a long spell of freezing days, we finally got a warmer one where the two could play outside. What was intended to be 20 minutes ended up being almost 2 hours as they were ungulfed into a world of curiosty and exploration. Any mom afraid of letting their kids get a little dirty messing up the garden needs only to look into their eyes after a FREE adventure of their own outdoors. Not one YOU structure and force, but one of their own accord. They are the creators. They are the explorers. They are dirty, but they are ALIVE and living as they should be. We got a fence for this very purpose. It is a locked, unpenetrable fence that allows me to let them out in the open and play without me worrying about the street etc.

How to Have a Heart Attack

It is a common misconception among Americans that the quickest way to have a heart attack is to eat lots of saturated fat and stop exercise. Au contraire!! My experience proves this method is much more efficient and inexpensive. We used doilies that were in the art drawer, as well as some paper cut outs we made. Then, the girls wrote on their hearts. I told them that if they wrote I love you to someone on each of their hearts, I would give them a piece of tape for each written on for hanging. So, Mariah drew circles (she can't write yet... she is only two) and said "I love Courtney" circle "I love mommy"circle "I love Becca" circle etc. Callie popped out an "I love God" which I thought was very spiritual of her. :) So, our door had a full blown heart attack in one day... and NO medical bills! But, the best part was that for 30 minutes are hearts will filled with the thoughts of those we loved. Several times they both giggled and yelled, "this is so much fun". Simply joys, profound learning.

How to Make a Rain Stick...

The Aztecs, in times of drouth, would yearn for rain. Why? They were starving. So, they came up with a creative way to call to the heavens for rain. Anciently, rain sticks were made of dried cactus and hollowed and filled to REALLY sound like rain. Storm style, is taking some empty wrapping paper tubes, filling them with left over chicken wire, then adding a food storage item. Some used popcorn, some wheat, some rice, some oatmeal. Then, we had a REAL Storm.

Prior to the Storm we talked about water, why some clouds rained and others didn't (we used cotton balls to show saturation levels making rain) and also talked about what floats. That's an easy one. Fill a bowl and go around the house picking things to test. Have them run an experiment (make a hypothesis BEFORE dropping in the object) or the learning is foiled. :)

How to Make a Restaurant

So, I read about this idea in the Thomas Jefferson Leadership Education book. Fabulous. Simply Fabulous. I made up a menu, which will be laminated shortly, and played waitress for my kids at lunch. I tied an apron around my waist, grabbed a notebook, a pencil behind my ear, handed them 50 cents worth of play money... and even though Norah was in my arms, proceeded as follows:

"Welcome to the Storm Cloud Cafe!
"Here are your menus...
"Can I start you off with a complimentary appetizer?"

They looked a little stunned then said, "sure".

I proceeded to make a smiley face on a plate out of cherry tomatoes and carrots. "We call this our happy treat. Enjoy!" (BY THE WAY... this is the best and only way to get their veggies in at lunch time)

"I NO LY GARROTS!"- Mariah (I don't like carrots) ofcourse.... screaming

I ignored and proceeded on as she stuffed her face with tomatoes.

Then, I explained the menu. I told them they may select one of each course, and showed them the item's cost. At the bottom, they had a choice of 'beverages'. You may have water, FREE of charge, milk for 5 cents. (if you save up your milk money for three days and have just water... then on the 3rd day, you get chocolate milk!)

Callie ordered a heart shaped PB&J, tomato chips, yogurt and Water. Mariah ordered a quesadilla, tortilla chips, yogurt and water. Each finished most of their meal. Both "got it". 'If I save my nickle... I'll get chocolate milk'.

It was fantastic how fun it was. And, to top it off... I carried their dishes to the sink FOR them. :) Usually, that's their job.

We will do this every day... teaching the difference in dimes, nickles and quarters... and SAVING your money.... with an added bonus of restaurant manners. Burdensome... NO... actually much more fun for mommy. I built the menu after things always in our cupboards... and easy to make.

How to Start a Salon

One of the biggest tricks I find in parenting, is to make the menial tasks not so cumbersome. I find that as we try to DO everything... we enjoy very little. Instead, I am trying to find ways to make the simple life, extraordinary... and the complicated life, non-existent. So, we have our daily routine... but none of it is mundane. After the timer beeps for our 20 minutes of chores... we skip and giggle up the stairs to "Salon Time". This is where the girls enter my room with a penny to get their hair done. We made a chart of 9 hair-do's to choose from... and I will do whatever they pick. We made up fun names for the 'do's'. Mariah chose the licorice bow today. Callie chose the crown. Both paid a penny. But the main reason we do this is for conference time. As we play salon, we pretend that we are strangers. We then hold a kind of conversation that strangers do, such as, "so, how many people are in your family?" or "what's your favorite movie, and why?" We discuss all sorts of topics. You will be surprised at the answers given to strangers. They greatly differ from those asked by you. Even in a pseudo salon. :) (By the way we have an office chair that goes up and down like the salon, and Grandma is sending a clipper cape to suit!!)

Enjoying the Children's Museum... Pics