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. 

I don't know where she gets these ideas, but K wanted to try origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.  She's actually asked repeatedly.  Since J started some of her summer activities this week (basketball camp and summer ballet classes), tonight seemed like a good night to try.  I had some leftover origami paper and instruction books from the last time I did this craft, which was probably when J was younger. 

K's favorites were a crane that could flap its wings when you pulled the tail, and a small paper balloon that you can actually blow up.  I got the paper into the correct position and let her do the actual folding.  It's not as neat this way, but it kept her involved.  After doing a butterfly, the flapping crane, and balloon, she decided she would "do some herself."  Translated, this meant that she would take a piece of paper, fold it a million different ways, then proudly show me and say, "Look, mommy!  I made a (bird/plane/table/sleeping bag/clapping hands, etc.)"  She did notice how folding the paper made different shapes, which surprised me.  The book we used mentioned that Japanese children are taught origami at a young age because it teaches them geometry and improves their calligraphy by making their fingers more nimble! 

If you don't have origami paper, squares of wrapping paper will work, or just regular paper.  If it's not square, you'll need to cut it into that shape, since almost all origami uses square pieces of paper.  Your library is a great source for how-to books.  We have "Origami Inspired by Japanese Prints" by Steve and Megumi Biddle (The Metropolitan Museum of Art:  Viking).  It has easy to follow instructions, great step-by-step pictures for those who are all thumbs, and ties the origami to Japanese prints shown in the book, as well as historical and cultural explanations in simple terms.  Online there are some cute, easy, kid-friendly ideas at http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-for-kids.html. 

Kids are usually fascinated by this craft, and it does have a magical element to it.  Taking a regular piece of paper and folding it into a bird, rabbit, or panda--it's like creating an instant toy!  Both of my girls enjoy it, even my older one.  Give it a try--the easy designs are pretty forgiving, and chances are your kids will want to try creating their own, like mine did. 

And so, "Sayonara" (goodbye in Japanese) from Lancaster County!  See you next time!