Playful Picks (January 25, 2010)

Happy Monday! Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes!  I had a great weekend with my family – I don’t think I had to cook anything for three days!  And my husband and kids did all the laundry (even folded and put away!), so I am all set for the week…

Hope you enjoy this week’s picks!

Quote of the Week

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reaching Out:

The Craft Hope for Haiti etsy shop has already raised $20,000 for Doctors Without Borders!  There are still a bunch of lovely handmade items available for purchase, with more in the wings to be listed.  What an amazing collaboration of crafters in support of Haiti.  Just awesome.  You can check out the Craft Hope blog for more behind-the-scenes news.

I have to be very careful talking to my extremely sensitive girls about what is going on in Haiti.  Teach Mama wrote a great post with helpful tips for talking to your kids about the earthquake in Haiti.

Fun Activities & Projects:

Laura from My Montessori Journey has started a new project and blog – Random Acts of Reading.  Laura is putting together book/activity packs and leaving them in public places to be discovered and enjoyed.  Her goal is to gift 2, 010 books this year – check our her blog for more info on how to help her reach her goal and share the love of reading!  We are pledging to “drop” 20 books this year!

I want to fill my windows with beautiful, melted crayon hearts just like the ones at Wee Wonderfuls.

I’m lovin’ the super-cutie ideas for kid-made Valentines at Alpha Mom.  My favorites are the felt heart pencil topper and the pop-up heart card.  Fun!

Have I mentioned my girls are obsessed with fairies?  They would *love* the magical fairy wands at paint cut paste.  So wonderful!

Creative Products:

Rush Hour Jr. has been the go-to game during the past week of rainy afternoons.  The girls are having fun working their way through the challenge cards, from Beginner to Expert.  They get SO excited when they figure out an expert challenge!

Isn’t this Wooden Bear Family Dress-Up Puzzle adorable? We had a single bear puzzle with faces and outfits (I think it was called Moody Bear?) and it was one of my girls’ favorite toys during the toddler/early preschool years. They would have loved having a whole bear family to dress! There must be a toddler in my life who needs this….

What We’re Reading:

Natalie just finished reading Daisy Dawson Is on Her Way! It was a very cute story about a girl who discovers she can communicate with animals.  Natalie really enjoyed it – there were lots of funny parts that had her giggling!

We are looking forward to the upcoming Winter Olympics, especially the ice skating! We found a few ice skating books at the library to get us in the skating spirit!

Have a great week!