Going "green" Under the Green!

With cardboard furniture a current rage, I figured I'd join the party! Freida had fun helping put up her own little version of a sukkah, decking out the interior, and making an "art show" (freelance marker scribble, stickers, pictures etc.) on the outside walls. I let her mess around with tape and experiment with its stickiness, putting tape on her pictures and letting her have fun sticking them up all over. We just used cutout cardboard (from random boxes), and some green drywall tape (leftover from renovations) for the scach. Cardboard makes for super simple, low-tech play space. Children love having a little fort/house/booth to crawl into and play in; it makes them feel independent and gives some much needed personal space.  We gave ours a corner of the dining room, and Freida crawls under there at random to read a book or two, add a finishing crayola touch, or share some snacks with her "freinds". A great way to (literally) bring a mitzvah to the little guy's level.

Check out some other cardboard furniture goodies:

1 & 2. Forty-two Roads Cardboard play kitchen & washer/dryer

3. Cardboard Castle

4. Cardboard Chair (David Graas)

5. Belkiz Cardboard High Chair

6. Foldschool Cardboard Furniture

Little Torah: a revamp

Been wanting to do this ever since Freida was born... Finally getting back to finishing it tonight,  crunch-time for this week's Torah-dance! : )

A is for Apple

Day 1 in the Pre-K classroom: seamless. Love being with all those happy, creative, and wonderful little people! I forget how much I love the classroom. The looks on their faces when they get it; the way their eyes light up with wonder...

Being a classroom got me thinking about letters. Be it Aleph-beis or Alphabet, the skill of recognition is integral to education. "Old school, meet new school", is the tagline used for a fabulous new app for kids. I thought once we were already on the Montessori subject, I'd mention the installation of these Montessori apps - to current moms, they're all the rage! Intro to Letters is an app based on the Montessori activity known as Sand Paper Letters, these activities utilize sight, sound, and touch - helping your child learn the letters, as well as the correct method of creating them. Also available is their older release, Intro to Math (which I haven't personally seen, but I'm sure it's just as marvelous!). Something about their overall design is just so visually beautiful. Kudos, Montessorium!

Calling: Little Pirates and Pixies

Fairy jewels and golden nuggets are just a few of the whimsical trinkets you will find among the goodness at Pixie Toys; a unique toy shop right in the heart of Bixby Knolls in Long Beach. The owner, Heather, moved her toy boutique to this location (down my block!) just when little Freida was born. We've been getting her toy-fix there ever since. My mother-in-law took 2 month old Freida for a walk one afternoon (so this tired mama could sneak in a nap), and she came home gift-laden with all sorts of fantastic goodies (an oball, USA teething rings, a Corolle Minireves...)   from "the new toy store down the block". So it began...

Pixie Toys is chock-full of all those fabulous toy companies (that you won't find in Target or ToysRus), specializing in greener and more sustainable play things. Some of my favorite lines there are: Green Toys, Corolle, Crocodile Creek, Rubbabu, Trumpette, Wikki Stix, Alex,  and Papo. The older girls will go gaga over the abundant collection of Japenese erasers, and the boys will go nuts for the Papo fantasy action figures (a much, much hotter version than playmobile)! And on the way out they can't forget to select a little trinket for good measure from the pirate-booty treasure chest!

Heather is fantastically friendly and always goes out of her way to help me find the prefect baby gift, get down and play tea-party with Freida, and is the most super gift-wrapper I've ever met (thanks, Heather!!). There is just something so gratifying about walking into one store for a unique baby gift, finding the perfect one, having it beautifully gift-wrapped, and writing a card --- all in under 10 minutes! : )

Check out this magical toy boutique next time you're in the neighborhood! Your little one/s are bound to love it as much as Freida does...

Modern House Now - mini edition!

Gitane Royce and Nisreen Witt are the San Francisco based genius minds behind the new company Modern Playhouse. Their goal was to create a sophisticated, sustainable, and safe playhouse for the outdoors that wasn't too insanely priced. They now have two designs, the Wedge House and the Circle House - featuring clean lines and mod designs. They also produced some furniture and accessories to outfit the interior....