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By Mom Unplugged, October 10, 2007 9:13 pm

Yesterday I happened across an unused old Dollar Store, cheapo coloring book and put it on the kitchen table for the donation box.

As a child, I always liked coloring books, even the ordinary, unimaginative ones. But lately, I have become a bit of a coloring book snob. There are some really creative coloring books out there (subject of a future post - stay tuned!). Who says that you need to stay between the lines anyhow?

Well, my kids found this boring old coloring book after they came from school and pounced on it! But instead of each picking one picture to sit and passively color, they immediately started discussing the “books” that they were going to make.

It started with my 5 year-old son who found some dinosaur pictures and began coloring an array of very colorful dinosaurs. I guess there is no scientific reason why dinosaurs couldn’t have been red and blue with yellow stripes. Maybe that is why they became extinct. Poor choice of camouflage.

My 7 year-old daughter quickly jumped in with an animal theme and began work on her “book” too.

They worked for about two hours yesterday, and another couple of hours after school today. Here are the completed books, all stapled together and ready to be turned into stories:

What occurred to me as they were doing this, is that kids can do very creative things with ordinary objects, or things that we adults turn our noses up at. Being a coloring book snob, I was ready to give this one away, yet the kids found a very creative way to use it. Perhaps children are better able to “think outside the box” than we adults are.

If you haven’t read my post Ignore the Rules about how children often use toys in unintended, yet very creative ways, please give it a read. Perhaps those not so imaginative toys in your closet might have possibilities that we adults have never imagined!

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By Mom Unplugged, September 22, 2007 11:14 am

Here’s an Unplugged Project for kids: Origami! I used to love doing origami as a child and I even still have my origami “how-to” books and paper. Yes, I really am a packrat.

I gathered the kids, my old books and my ancient origami paper, and we made some origami. Here are the results. You should be able to find two butterflies, two swans, two fancy boxes, and one ruby-throated hummingbird. The hummingbird was actually one of my childhood creations. We found it squashed between the pages of one of the books!

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By Mom Unplugged, September 21, 2007 6:46 pm

I have written several posts about how to certify your yard as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF):

Project: Make Your Yard a Certified Wildlife Habitat (July 5, 2007)

Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Great Nature Slideshow (July 14, 2007)

Another Backyard Wildlife Slideshow (July 20, 2007)

The other day I just got an NWF email saying that they have almost reached their goal of certifying 100,000 habitats. The NWF needs to certify only 5,000 more yards to get there!

If you have been thinking about doing it (or even if the whole concept is new to you), now is the time. You don’t have to have a grand estate. All you need are the four basic habitat elements: food, water, cover, and places to raise young.

Once you go through the easy online process to certify, you will be eligible to buy the cool sign like ours in the photo. That way, neighbors and passers-by will know that you care enough about wildlife to provide a sustainable habitat in your own yard. You’ll also help spread the word to others about the existence of this great program.

Having your kids help you certify your yard is a wonderful way to teach them about the needs of wildlife. Two Unplug Your Kids readers even created online nature slideshows of their habitats. You can view them by clicking these links: Meeyauw’s slide show and Tiffany’s slide show (Nature Mom). If you feel like making your own slideshow, please let me know and I would love to link to it.

So, click here to get started today!

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By Mom Unplugged, September 18, 2007 11:28 am

My oldest daughter gave me a present: the first cold of the school year. How sweet! The past few days I have been too busy blowing my nose to write an inspired post.

Today I feel like writing a post entitled: “How to Nap Peacefully in Your Bed All Day While Caring For a One Year-Old” If I find any information on how to do that, I will be sure to pass it on.

So, all I have for you today is a plan to draw your attention to some links in my left sidebar. Andamom published some interesting web links on Andamom.com and I thought this was a good idea. Since I have already found the links I am going to introduce, not much thought is required on my part. Perfect for today.

I don’t think many people have noticed the sites I have listed under “Wonderful Websites.” It is a bit swallowed up by “Blogs I Like” above, and “Unplug TV Resources” below.

1. Backyard Nature with Jim Conrad: This is a site packed with nature facts and information. Kids (and adults) can read about plants, animals, fungi, geology, ecology, gardening, names & classification, and “tools for the backyard naturalist.” One of my favorite parts of the site is “101 Nature-Oriented Things to do this Summer.” If the kids say they’re bored, then send them outside to find a lichen or some insect eggs (#10 and #43). How about participating in Operation Rubythroat (a humming bird observation project, #84)? Summer is almost over, for those of us residing in the Northern part of the globe anyhow, but many of these ideas would be doable in winter too.

2. National Wildlife Federation “Green Hour”:
The goal is to get kids outdoors for at least one hour per day, the “Green Hour,” for “unstructured play and interaction with the natural world.” The site has a page called Discovery Journals and Activities where different outdoor activities are suggested and readers can search past activities by season or topic. How about an Alphabet Hike or a Worm Safari? Green Hour publishes a blog too.

3. Arbor Day Foundation “Nature Explore”: Tons of ideas to help connect kids with nature. Be sure to check out their Sourcebook page. There is also a Nature Explore Club to join (we have not done so yet) where, for $20, the Arbor Day Foundation will send your child a package ten times a year with the following:

“1 : 10 engaging, colorful stories—to take imagination to new heights
2: 10 outdoor activities—that children and adults have fun doing together
3: 10 different “Explorer’s Tools” like a tape measure, leaf shapes, and a viewfinder to make discovering nature even more fun
-Plus more!”

And finally, for a change from outdoor nature activities, or on a rainy day, be sure to visit :

4. The Toymaker: Artist Marilyn Scott-Waters has here remarkable creations for parents and children to print out and make for free! Here is Marilyn’s introduction:

Welcome to my odd, little world of paper toys, holiday cards, valentines, sun boxes,

baskets and bags, origami and ephemera… all for you to make.

My goal is to help grownups and kids spend time together making things.

It is my wish to amuse and delight.

Enjoy,

Marilyn.

All her creations are positively gorgeous, plus they are easy and fun to make. You can look up ideas by Holiday, or simply browse all the fun Paper Toys. Don’t miss the Otter Paper Dolls and clothes too! Everything is completely free to make for fun or as presents, all Marilyn asks is that you not sell her creations. Marilyn has an interesting blog too. Thank you for giving us all the lovely gift of your site Marilyn!

Thanks to photographer mantasmagorical and morguefuile.com for this photo.

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By Mom Unplugged, August 22, 2007 6:30 pm

I remember a fun game we used to play when I was in elementary school. Our teacher would have someone bring in an object from home that they would show to the class. The other kids would have to guess what that object was for. It was fun trying to find something really obscure and hearing the creative guesses that my classmates came up with. It was so fun, that I remember it to this day (and believe me, it was a long time ago).

Kids know how to be creative. Often as adults we forget that skill. If it doesn’t have instructions, then we don’t know what to make of it. Our grownup brains love to have rules and guidelines and instructions to help us use a tool, or cook a meal, or play with a toy or game. Most of us expect that things should be done “properly.”

It is so entertaining to give a child a toy (or a “mysterious” object for that matter) without any explanation of “The Rules,” and to watch what happens. My kids really love playing with my button tin for example.

The idea for this post came from a post by Celtic Mommy that I really enjoyed. She wrote it back in June but it has remained in my mind as an interesting topic. Her post is called Playing Games and is about how her 3 year-old is into playing Blokus and Connect Four.

These games are “for” older children than Emerson, yet he enjoys them immensely - in his own, creative way. No grownup has told him: “No, you have to play it this way,” so he has made these games uniquely his own and learns a lot in the process.

Emerson plays Blokus like Tetris, he stacks the differently sized and shaped pieces, trying not to leave any gaps. He plays Connect Four by making different patterns with the black and red disks. I really think that this kind of creative pattern play has to lead to good things for the brain.

So the next time your kids are bored, don’t get out a video, get out a game. Even if it is “too old” for them. Let me know what happens!

(Of course in this day and age, I unfortunately feel compelled to add this: obviously if a game is “too old” due to small parts, be careful that none of them go in the mouth or other orifices, etc., etc., etc. I can see it now - “But ‘Mom Unplugged’ said it was OK to put Blokus in the crib with my five month-old!” NO! NO! NO! That is NOT what I said!!!!!).

Thanks to Wikimedia Commons and photographer Roy Levien Aldaron for this photo. View license information here.