supertastic: life with a preschooler

into the wind

The rest of March and the first weeks of April have drifted by us. We've had much sickness here, but plenty of time for bonding, soul-searching, and spending some of it outdoors; like this windy afternoon at the close of March when we spent it trying out our first/new kite. We ran willy-nilly, dodging dried up dog poop mines, trying to keep our kite gliding up in the air, and freaking out generally when it would come down with a fierce swoop scaring us like dragons must've done to peasant villages in the days of yore. And we laughed so hard our cheeks and lips went stiff in the cold into semi-permanent smiles. We weren't the only ones, though. It was great to share the open space and air with other like-minded kite enthusiasts. Needless to say, kite flying will be a mainstay outdoor activity in the coming warmer months. It's the most inexpensive fun we've had in a long time.

Some kite links we like:

Virtual Kite Zoo - plans, terminology, type descriptions, teaching activities

Best Breezes - a weblog about kites and kite history

Smithsonian Kite Festival - an annual event held on the National Mall in DC (one of our favorite old stomping grounds)

NASA's mini-site on the science and math involved in kite construction and flight

apples & beans

   

Yesterday was about printing tiny apples onto cut out card stock letter A's, as we talked about all things A. The tiny apples were made by slicing the end of a carrot and carving out a little v, and then dipping into a thin layer of red paint on a lid. After it all dried, we drew in a stem and leaf with crayons. The idea came from the book, Alphabet Art, and I hope we'll get through all the letter ideas and display them on a wall together. I'd also like to print out all my photos of these, and bind an alphabet book with him, too.

We also had fun with these online sites: Astronomy Picture of the Day; video of acrobats from the Cirque Du Soleil performing an aerial high bar act, title "Alegria"; and a photo of a Giant Anteater with audio file via animals.nationalgeographic.com; Koko's Hide and Seek game in Arabic, via sproutonline.com.

Seanie was enthralled by the acrobats. After talking with him about how they need very strong muscles and lots of practice balancing their bodies, he ran to his small trampoline and started jumping on it with gusto. He told me he has to grow his muscles, so he can be an acrobat, too. Every few minutes he'd run over to me, lift his arm up, and using his finger and thumb measure his upper arm muscles. I'm like a plant, he says, growing and growing. Indeed.

Later in the afternoon, he had some fun with an old Montessori-inspired activity I put together for him awhile back -- pouring beans back and forth from container to container, and then, sorting them by color.Then he pretended to make bean soup in a pot, and also enjoyed the sweet chime of a single bean hitting the bottom of a little metal creamer. I'm continually amazed how playing with simple, wholesome materials still holds out over other kinds of toys and games.

egg hunt & bunny fun at BC

On Saturday, as we hiked along the trails at BC, he enjoyed hunting for colored eggs stuffed with little chocolate treasures and educational "fortunes" with tidbits about rabbits. Then, it was indoors to defrost as the children had the opportunity to learn about and observe some long haired rabbits and pet them (which was really the show stopper). He loved the opportunity, and we were glad to be there with the other families.

seanshine

He called the final piece, "Three Suns." Though I gave him four different colors to paint with, he again was enthralled by the possibilities of mixing them up and spent most of the time brushing on layer upon layer in the same spot. He would stroke the paper with a dipped brush, then put it down and have at it with his hands. He's a very tactile artist; pushing his fingers into the thick layers, swirling the colors, then smoothing it again. Towards the end of this session, he picked up a brush, dipped it in yellow finally, and proclaimed the first stroke a sunny sun, then stepped back, and added another one. And that was the birth of three spring suns. You can never have enough suns, I say.

Other highlights of the morning: reading about robins and caterpillars in a past issue of Your Big Backyard; introducing Seanie to Vivaldi's Spring, 1st movement, performed by Nigel Kennedy; perusing The Colours of: Spring flickr pool; planting our basil seeds; gently rolling from side to side on the ground on our backs while holding our toes in true grizzly bear cub fashion (I love kid yoga).