J had the opportunity to spend the day with a good friend, which allowed me some one on one time with K.  Although I still (and probably always will) think of her as my baby, I realize she is 5 years old now, and growing up.  I don't stress as much about building in educational things with her, mostly because she asks about 10,000 questions a day.  I figure me answering all of that is educational in itself.  Seriously, there just seem to be millions of chances to build learning for her every day, so I try to take advantage of the little moments. 

I would like to say a special thank you to the wonderful people at Crayola, who provided our arts and crafts activities today.  Since I was quite tired from lack of sleep the previous night, I was not in a very inventive mood.  We colored with those fabulous Color Wonder markers--you know, the ones that only work on the special paper.  For those looking for extra bling, there are now sets with glitter that you can "paint" over your picture for added pizazz.  Our set features Tinkerbell.  We gave her the proper glitter treatment in her portraits today.

We also used a Crayola Model Magic kit which allowed us to build an alien like creature.  You covered a plastic base with the Model Magic clay, then used a tool to create little dots and starts to attach to the outside of the creature.   You can find more activities, free coloring pages, and product information at www.crayola.com. 

Maybe the best part of doing these things together was just the chance to talk about things.  Of course, a 5 year old's thought process is quite random, but that's part of the charm.  I realized there's a lot going on in that little head when she asked me why Catrina (the baby caterpillar on the Oswald TV show) doesn't ever grow up and become a butterfly. 

Finally, a book recommendation.  K and I both love the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney.  We've read Llama Llama Mad at Mama and Llama Llama Misses Mama.  "Misses Mama" talks about going to preschool for the first time.  Although K has attended preschool, she's asking a lot of questions about kindergarten, so this fits our life nicely right now.  "Mad at Mama" was recommended by my sister.  In this one, the little llama must run errands with Mama, but gets impatient.  He eventually throws a fit in the store.  Mama Llama calms him, has him help clean the mess, and then treats him to ice cream.  My sister points out that she needed to remind her son that little llama gets the ice cream BECAUSE he cleaned up, not because he made the mess.  Both books have rhyming prose that's fun to hear, and the pictures are really cute.  Check them out at your local library.

I guess my own little caterpillar is turning into a butterfly before my eyes.  This is just the beginning of a whole new world for her, and I love watching it unfold.  Until next time, enjoy the little moments. 

Since we live in Western Lancaster County, we are almost halfway between Harrisburg and Lancaster, and York.  We like having access to all of the different things that these cities have to offer.  One of our frequent pilgrimages is to Popcorn Hat Players in the Strawberry Square complex in downtown Harrisburg (www.gamutplays.org)

The Popcorn Hat theater has been performing wacky and wonderful shows for children and their families since 1993.  They also do productions for school assemblies, run a theater school, and as the Gamut Classic Theater, performs Shakespeare's plays and does free Shakespeare in the park performances in the summertime.  These folks could define versatile!

We've attended Popcorn Hat productions since J was 4 years old or so, and K has been there twice now.  We even had J's 6th birthday party there.  The plays are usually fairy tales, albeit the fractured variety.  We saw "The Princess and the Pea" on Thursday.  Every Popcorn Hat show is very informal.  Admission is $7 per person.  Most of the time, you sit on the floor.  Each show starts with the actors leading songs.  We did "Bill Grogan's Goat" and the ever popular and hilarious "Baby Shark" complete with motions.  (An aside to the 3 young mothers sitting next to us who sat through the songs talking to each other:  lighten up.  You're missing having fun with your child.  You'll never get this time back, so stop worrying about how cool you look.  No one cares here.)  The audience is always participating in Popcorn Hat shows, from singing along to actually acting on stage with the actors.  Once J was chosen to be a part of "The Golden Goose", and I've seen them choose kids to be thereindeer in "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."  All of the productions include humor that kids will get, and some that is just for the adults, kind of like it is on Sesame Street.  For example, at this production, the male contingent of the cast burst into "Halo" by Beyonce at one point during the show, as well as a brief clip of "Single Ladies".  I think I was laughing so hard I was crying at that point. 

After the show, there is a food court in Strawberry Square, and a really neat clock on the first floor that runs on gravity and billiard balls--seriously.  Both my kids could just spend hours watching it.  If you park in the Walnut Street garage, you can take the garage elevator to level A (Stawberry Arcade level) which leads you straight to the theater, Strawberry Square, and the Whitaker Center, without even going outside.  It's easy to make a day of it!

 For $7, you really can't beat the entertainment.  I've never seen a bad show there.  My mom often takes the grandchildren there as a special treat, and my kids request visits there frequently.  The place is a gem.  Families all over Central PA have discovered it--now it's your turn.  Be prepared to dance, sing, laugh, and completely love your Popcorn Hat experience.