Now that the girls are getting a little older their toys are looking a little different. Video games and handheld games are the rage at this age. We play our share of video games (we have a Wii) but I do like them to play with regular toys while they’re still young enough to do so.
Awhile back I was sent a Harumika set for Emma and Sarah to try out. (Pictured on the right.)
Small squares of fabric are attached to a small dressmaker’s dummy (the fabric is tucked into a space in the back with a small tool). It doesn’t take long to mix and match and the results are nice. Easy to create, easy to pull apart. No sewing skills required! (Although just as I type that I have to admit that our overall lack of sewing skills makes me a little sad. Back in the day girls Emma’s age were sewing samplers and knitting mittens! Boo.)
The girls are quite happy playing with it together, but the set doesn’t come with quite enough material to share and this has resulted in the occasional argument. :) But what I DO really like about this toy is that I can cut up pieces and add to our stash. If we knew someone else with a Harumika we could even do fabric swaps.
Our other fashion-related toy is a little design set my in-laws gave Emma for her birthday. It’s a Djeco “Fashion Workshop Craft Kit.” Emma loves it. She was working on it this morning before school and asked to bring it to school to play with during free time. It was purchased at Tag Along Toys in Kanata … but I couldn’t find it on their website, so check it out over here to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Neat eh?
I am amazed at her focus and attention while she creates her outfits. And the results are really pretty.
I don’t pretend that one of them will grow up to be a fashion designer, but it’s nice to have them sitting quietly at the table doing something creative on a rainy day, you know what I mean?
I know. It’s Tuesday. But yesterday was May 2-4 weekend (a.k.a Victoria Day) and that messed things up for me a little bit in terms of getting this post online.
Last week’s activity was this:
Do 30 minutes of gardening every day.
Ha.
Ha.
Did I really expect that we could do 30 minutes of gardening every day? Yes.
Did I forget that we had stuff going on almost every night of the week, and that I had various meetings and/or events which I had promised to attend? Yes.
I should have phrased the tip (which was of my own making) like this:
Do 30 minutes of gardening as a family at some point this week.
We did 30 minutes – maybe a bit more, but we certainly didn’t do it every day. Oh well.
My other new tip is this:
Be realistic about what you can accomplish, and don’t forget to make it fun.
Mental note.
We did have a very fun and active long weekend. The girls swam and played in my in-laws pool. They played outside with the kids in the neighborhood. We went to the opening of the new Canadian Museum of Nature and went to a local fair. By Sunday night we all collapsed happily into our beds.
The activity I drew for this coming week is this:
Organize a scavenger hunt in your neighbourhood and recruit a few families to participate. 83% of youth in Canada report that their neighbourhood is safe for younger children to play outside.
Whoa. Wish me luck on this one!
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This post is part of the Know More Do More initiative spearheaded by the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network. KMDM is about empowering parents and inspiring them to take charge of their children’s health by taking easy steps to increase activity levels and improve eating habits. I’m one of two champion families who has been asked to take this challenge. You can join too. Check out the official website for more information. You can also get healthy tips by following @knowmoredomore on Twitter. If you’re blogging about your participation, please let me know so we can cheer each other on!
