I’ve always been a fan of child interviews. I love their candor and the way that it captures a particular version of their quickly changing selves. It’s nice whenever daycares and family members help little ones to show appreciation on Mother’s Day. But if you’re the one who is with your child day in and out, I think it’s totally appropriate to help them express their love and appreciation, even if it’s for you! I worked on this card with Graham to give to me on Mother’s Day and I feel no shame in that whatsoever. Primarily, this interview/card combination serves as a sentimental keepsake for a mother on Mother’s…
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A Book About Me
I’m so excited about these new book projects we’ve been working on! I’m finding myself prompting Graham to show everyone the book he made, because I’m just so happy about the way they turned out. They’ve been a fun way to channel creativity into a long form project instead of once and done crafts and they’re something I expect they’ll enjoy looking through once they’re finished. It has also been such a fun way to connect with them and offer new language and concepts. I’m excited to finally share them here for you to make your own. Some of the pages are self explanatory, but I’ll walk you through a…
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Free Valentine Cards Printable
The boys are still drawing and painting almost daily, so I made a printable collection of 12 Valentine cards for your little ones (or you) to decorate and spread a bit of love. Graham is getting to the fun age where we can make a card with a particular person in mind and I can ask him what he might want to say in the card. One of his Valentines to his dad read, “Dear Dad, I love you so much. You are very clean. Would you like to go on adventure with me?” Those are some of my favorite cards because their innocence shines through so clearly. A few…
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Free Christmas Cards Printable
My Christmas memories involve a lot of creating and crafting. It felt as if our dining room table was just as frequently a crafting table as it was a place for eating. It was often covered in pine cones and jingle bells and cinnamon cutout ornaments and ribbon. I look back on it all pretty fondly now. We would create amongst ourselves all season long, but it was also something we would casually invite friends to join us in because while cookie decorating is fun, one can only consume so many of those. All of this is simply to say that creativity has become deeply entwined in the way that…
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Free Greeting Card Printable
Teaching Thoughtfulness Alongside Creativity As I shared in my thoughts On The Importance of Creativity, creativity does not need to always be about productivity. It’s about the process of creating and what that process does in us. And sometimes the focus on the end product can get in the way of that. That said, it also seems like a waste to have all of our children’s artwork sitting in piles around the house. And there’s only so much space on the refrigerator. There’s a sweetness to children’s art, as if their innocence somehow comes through even there. With my own child and the little one I nanny, we’re currently in…
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Nurturing a Whole Child in Social Growth
As humans, we are designed with a desperate yearning to belong and to matter. This belonging and mattering looks different throughout the various chapters of life, but the need remains consistent. We want to be wanted. When our needs for belonging and connection are met, we find a sense of safety and purpose. As our social circle forms and expands, a sense of our individual self emerges. This understanding of self is deeply intertwined in our relationships to those around us, what we offer, how we feel received by others, how secure we feel. Our social health is significant because it holds quite a bit of sway over the contentment…
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A Journey in Nurturing a Whole Child
This series of thoughts on whole childhood began as a real time documentation of our learning process and reflections through our first year with Graham. I felt so overwhelmed from the beginning that I would fail him unintentionally by my simple lack of knowledge in how to nurture his proper development. I knew that I wanted to nurture the whole of him, equipping him with resources early on for connecting with his emotions and creativity and spirituality. I knew that I wanted to instill a love of learning and a heart of compassion. I knew that I wanted him to have an appreciation for nature and the physical world, as…
