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“We All Live In a Tippy Red Canoe . . .” : Paddling With Kids

Spring is the time when our bodies start to twitch and you’ll find our whole family staring out the window longing for sunshine and brighter days. One of our favorite springtime activities is getting outdoors in our canoe. Canoes offer a fun, traditional way of experiencing the outdoors. Designs and materials have changed with time [...]

Indoor Spaces for Imaginative Play

Call me seasonally cliched, but when springtime rolls around, I awaken. I open the windows wide, letting crisp breezes freshen stale air. I scrub forgotten corners. I clean closets. Spring is raucous with new life; what better time to invigorate your child’s play space? My dream playroom is crisp and spare, so it is not [...]

Creating a Children’s Garden

After reading a wonderful children’s book called Princess Chamomile’s Garden by Hiawyn Oram, I was inspired to create a little garden for my girls in a neglected area of our backyard. In the book, the little mouse princess helps the gardener and finds the royal gardens “too big” so she plans out something just her [...]

To Market, To Market Play Money

Late one night last week, as I tucked a few coins in a wee envelope with a tiny missive from the tooth fairy, I reflected on the fact that my daughter would still be more excited about three nickels than one quarter. I cannot recall when I first learned the value of each coin and [...]

Story Lanterns from Alphabet Glue

This spring, Annie Riechmann of Alphabet Glue shares a wonderful project from her magazine. This project first appeared in Volume Two. You may read more about Annie and Alphabet Glue in her interview in the spring 2012 issue of Rhythm of the Home. Story Lantern Project :::::::::::::: Annie Riechmann is an educator, parent and unapologetic [...]

Mama Rabbit and Baby Bunnies Playset

Rabbits have long been a part of Easter folklore. They are well known for their fertility and are often used to symbolize the Earth’s own fertility as we approach Equinox. Rabbits begin having the first of their adorable babes in the Spring, usually followed by at least one more litter of babies soon after. You [...]

Inspiration in Your Own Backyard :: Fairy Houses & Crowns

One of the most pleasant surprises of having children is their seemingly boundless creativity. My son and daughter’s ideas and interests help me explore some wonderful and unexpected paths. From their vantage point, the most ordinary place (our backyard, and a few found objects) can become transformed into a setting of magic and wonder. One [...]

Two Little Blackbirds Fingerplay & Puppet Tutorial

From the time my older son was a baby, I’ve always carried small things in my bag to amuse him. When he was very small, I carried a washcloth and a wooden block for him to chew on. When he got older, I kept an assortment of small cars and books in my bag to [...]

The Big Thaw

Mud, mud, glorious mud,Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.So follow me, follow me,Down to the hollow,And there let me wallow in glorious mud. [...]

Heart Garden

In the dark of the winter our house finds itself plunked down in the middle of beautiful frozen tundra where you can almost expect to see a team of dogs mushing by at any moment. To keep ourselves fortified and hopeful for easier living days to come, the family stays huddled together at the heart [...]

Springtime Puddle Stomping

Spring is capricious, changeable, unpredictable. Some years it is gentle and welcoming. Other years it is fierce and frustrating. One constant is that spring is most certainly wet. For my family, that means that spring is prime puddle-stomping time. As soon as the snow begins to melt and the early puddles emerge, my children [...]