This is the type of summer camp that we would have died for as girls! We are big 'ol theater lovers! We were destined to love all things theater since between the two of us we have a mother who is a music teacher and a mother who teaches English Literature. How could we possibly escape a love of theater?
When we saw this, our hearts filled with joy- how much fun would this be?!
If you find yourself in the Hudson River Valley this summer, look in on Wing's Castle. An interesting place in it's own right. Peter Wing designed and worked on his castle for over 25 years. Built using architectural salvage, Wing's Castle has over seven towers and a moat that's swimmable!
Also active in local theater, Mr. Wing created (with a little help from his friends) a day camp for elementary and middle school children called Shakespeare at the Castle. Every summer children gather and read, then edit, design, stage, and costume a Shakespeare show. They entertain their audiences with the castle and the sunset as their backdrop! Oh and swim in the moat! Love that part! We want to swim in a moat. And be Ophelia or Helena or Titania or Viola...! How can a summer's day get better!
Kast van een Huis has designed children's storage in the form of these charming canal houses. Use them for toys, costumes, and clothes but our guess is they will quickly become doll houses and car garages. This is exactly what Kast van Huis intended. They wanted to create functional furniture that both pleased the eye and inspired creativity. Plus, isn't it always more fun to invite children to put their things away when the dolls can go to sleep in their home and the cars back to the garage for the night?
We subscribe to media free childhoods but even if you LOVE media, adored Baby Einstein, and see nothing wrong with video games- this has got to make you stop in your tracks right? One word- Seriously! It's just gone too far. Really, a $2500+ computer "cubicle" for preschoolers? Little Tikes this is necessary? We love how there are blinders on it just in case the real world or you know, friends are too distracting. Oh, for goodness sakes if you must have a computer for your preschooler(and there isn't a good reason for one)- can't they just use yours? And get a cute desk- FOR ART WORK!
Thanks to the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and their TOADY awards- this was one of the items on their short list for Worst Toy of the Year.
Most of the items on the list are horrible and mind bogglingly so but this one we thought- ehh it's not so bad. We can see the fun in it. With limits.
The Eye Clops Mini Projector will turn anything into a screen, your ceiling, t- shirt, side of the house. While we certainly wouldn't take it camping with us, we can see how fun it might be to tack up a sheet, pop some popcorn, set up some chairs and blankets, and have an outdoor movie party. We would rather make an event out of television or movie watching than have it just become part of the day. Once in a blue moon is ok. We still look forward to the Sound of Music Sing-A- Long each September at the Hollywood Bowl. So who are we to judge those who love a good old fashioned outdoor movie? Martha Stewart had a great spread a few years back. Here are a couple of the pics we could track down.
Sign us up for a Cherry Tart and Homemade Lemonade and any good old fashioned musical!
Water color artist and textile designer Naomi Ito has caught our eye. Ficelle inc. has paired her brilliant prints with functional design. The fabric is so beautiful it could hang in a museum. We're loving these sweet bibs and thrilled to see prints that are sweet without being saccharine.
These changing mats are smart and sophisticated. Love.
As you may know, since the detection of lead and other harmful toxins in children's toys and accessories in 2007, the United States Congress enacted a law known as CPSIA: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
This well intentioned law is poised to not only wipe out small manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere and force some beloved European manufacturers to pull out of the American market. It, also in effect, rewards the exact companies responsible for the toxic recalls in the first place. This is how it stands now, all manufacturers of children's clothing, accessories and toys will need to have their products tested by a third party to ensure safety in the next 276 days. They will need to pay to test each product in every variation it's made. So if you are a maker of wooden toy vehicles, you would need to test every vehicle in every color you sell. Some business owners are seeing that they will have to test upwards of 25 items all for thousands each test. To make matters worse, Mattel has been able to lobby Congress to allow them to opt out of third party testing. Instead they have been grated the right to test directly on site in at least seven locations. They were recently granted the right to open up four more private testing facilities. This is horrifying since Mattel has recalled more than 20 million toys since 2007!
Oh, it might be helpful to mention that Mattel has paid the government body in charge of this the CPSC: Consumer Product Safety Council upwards of 2.3 Million dollars.
BUT...
There is hope at the end of this dark tunnel right now as groups are rallying together to stop this legislation from being passed. The battle cry was sounded by the tireless founder of the Handmade Alliance and owner of Craftbury Kids: Cecilia Leibovitz. She and her colleagues have been to Washington to try and help get better legislation passed. Recently, our favorite Mahar Dry Goods has dedicated space on their site asking for a call to action! We, too, ask that you take a moment of your day to preserve small business and the safety of toys in the USA by contacting your representatives today!
Save the world of toys!
Sometimes people ask us to help find them stuff- which we LOVE!. Recently we were asked to track down some bookmarks. Preferably ones said reader could make herself. So, here is our first round of winners. What do you think? Have any great ideas or great sources? Since on the topic of bookmarks- we added the link to the recent list put out by the New York Public Library of the 100 Top Picture Books. This has us all giddy thinking about summer reading!
First two are from Etsy Maker: Boqinana
These are from Etsy Maker: NaniStore and are a lot more work than we would want to go to, but they sure are adorable!
Whooo doesn't like these Owly one's?
By Etsy Shop Needlings
We had been waiting to see this movie for sometime. The trailer was dear. The topic right up our alley. What's not to love? The wait was over Wednesday night when we were able to see a screening at our favorite theater company- Arclight! at their newest location- Pasadena! Oh this movie! How perfect it is! Here is the thing, we are pretty sure it's possible for nearly everyone to go and see what they want to see, so is the nature of the open-ended stance the filmmakers took. Nothing but glorious footage of four babies from different corners of the world- being babies. No dialogue, no voice over, no subtitles. Loved it!
We feel like the filmmakers were making this film for us! Showing the world our point of view. Completely egocentric, no? But at the very least, this film in so many ways allows us to articulate our philosophy so clearly.
Take the very first scene in the film (which is featured in the trailer above)-
Watch it. Now imagine these two young children were in a middleclass back yard in Ohio.
How different would that scene look?
This is how we see it going in the average home.
First, adults would be thinking... " Babies and rocks- ridiculous. They'll smash their little fingers. Or worse yet each other. We can't have that- better make them plastic rocks."
And when the young lady on the right, bites the young gentleman on the left, an adult must step in and reprimand such inappropriate (albeit age appropriate) behavior lest she think that it is an acceptable way to express herself. When the young gentleman responds, by slapping back, we must then reprimand him with "We don't hit!"and "Use your words", as it is vital for children at this age to understand the importance of verbal communication. They would then be promptly swooped up and moved away from each other before any greater harm followed.
Instead, these two young children are trusted and allowed to play and engage in a struggle without an adult intervention. We can't promise that we would have trusted the situation to be handled as beautifully as it was. We probably would have stepped in when the bite happened. And pointed out how much he didn't like it. We would have stayed close and mentioned when he swats back that she didn't like being hit and we won't let him do it again. And what we learned from this film is this: all of that language is for us. Not them. They were fine. Did their relationship look broken by their interaction? In fact did either of them seem to carry that interaction with them longer than 30 seconds?
While we are not suggesting that we all abandon any semblance of safety in the lives of our wee ones, or that we miraculously shed years of cultural indoctrination, but maybe this week just wait a little and start slowly when intervening. Check in and see how it felt to let the struggle go for a little while. Were they able to find a solution? And then next time- wait longer :)
For more reading on the subject of children and struggle try: Siblings Without Rivalry and/ or How to Talk to Your Children So They Listen and Listen So They Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
For further reading on the competence of infants try: Your Self Confident Baby by Magda Gerber and Allison Johnson
When we first saw images of Yuyo-no-mori's Nursery School our jaws dropped in awe. How amazing would it be to go to a school with this second floor net bridge? Children in America would be more active if we gave them play structures that challenged both mind and body. We bet adults would want to get moving, too!
As you know, getting children outside to play is one of our biggest passions.
One of our favorite champions of Natural Playspaces is the great Playscapes blog. Wonderful, inspiring, and fascinating photos and examples of some of the coolest play spaces in the world. Here is just a sampling of all the great places that have been featured.
The signing of Arizona's immigration(racial profiling) law SB1070 has us thinking about the children of Arizona. Children too afraid to venture outside for soccer practice, a trip to the park, or a walk to school. Regardless of their "status" no child should live in fear. This is unconstitutional. There. We said it!
Not only are we hot under the collar about this issue and urge you to contact your state politicians in order to prevent similar bills from being passed in your state(The ACLU makes the process simple with a form letter here).
But we did some digging on Children's rights and found that the U.S. and Somalia are the only two countries that have not ratified the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child. How can this be? We thought we were a nation that was founded on Freedom and a Bill of Rights. Is the Constitution no longer to be upheld? Are the lives of children not worth fighting for? President Obama has called this lack of ratification by the previous administration "embarassing". Let's hope he does something about it and the new law in Arizona. May we all resist discouragement and instead be inspired to stand up for what is right. Are you fighting the good fight on an issue we might not be aware of? Let us know so we can join you.
Do you make something marvelous or know someone who does? Have a post worthy idea? Your emails are such a delight, so please write. williehenrietta@gmail.com
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