I love my children's imaginary friends. I recently reread my post on Silly Guy to Mikko, now 9.5 years old, and we were both tickled at the details we'd forgotten as Silly Guy faded from our lives. To that end, I record: Little Sunshine.
Little Sunshine originally was, I believe, an isopod, or roly poly, that Alrik spotted one day as we walked along the beach a couple years back. Alrik already had established a habit of naming tiny critters we passed, often ants, and telling me their given monikers were things like Rainbow and Cutie. He's never seen the movie with a related title, so I'm assuming Little Sunshine is just something else his brain came up with.
We watched the real-life Little Sunshine crawl along the sidewalk and then disappear down a sewer grate. Isopods, I've learned, are crustaceans and need damp environments to breathe through their gills. In case you were interested. Your call.
But Little Sunshine's disappearance was not his departure from our lives. Oh, no. Alrik, then about age 3, kept talking to him as we continued our walk, and I was obliged to keep up Little Sunshine's end of the conversation.
Have you been to Great Wolf Lodge,
the indoor water park-slash-hotel?
We went for the first time this fall
with a homeschooling group
(fabulously discounted!),
and it was a ton o' watery fun,
even for our three non-swimmers.
Here's a splish-splashy video:
I think we had a great (wolfy) time,
but Mikko,
in the spirit of total honesty,
said the place should be named
Ok Raccoon Hotel.
He said they decorated more with raccoons than wolves,
that "lodge" was inaccurate,
and that "great" was perhaps overstating it.
(Did I mention this post isn't sponsored?
Clearly it is not.)
The rest of the family & I think he's just a goof.
Have you been to a Great Wolf Lodge near you,
or do you want to go?
This is a post I first published 5+ years ago, and I'm breaking it out for you as a helpful reminder: Let your kids teach you how to play like a kid.
Here are some recent examples to illustrate what I talk about below:
Clockwise from top right: Mikko decided we needed to jump into hay together hand in hand; Alrik tells us which My Little Pony to play and what lines to say; Mikko directed me on shooting a video of putting funny hats on his video-game characters; Alrik told me we needed to stick out our tongues for this selfie; and Karsten I included because it's pretty easy to tell what makes him happy — especially if there's a swing around!
From April 2010
Why are there a spatula, tongs, strainer, two ice cream scoops, mushroom scrubber, address labels, several dish towels, and child's chair in the bathroom? Only the two-year-old knows, and he's not telling.
Yesterday Mikko was directing us as if we were, as Sam put it, an improvisational jazz troupe.
It's hard to tell you what was so intriguing about this exchange to Mikko, and when I describe it, you'll probably be thinking, What the hey? But here goes.
There's a show called Dora the Explorer (yes, you may have heard of it and/or love/hate it, whatevs), where a fox character named Swiper comes up and tries to steal something. When he's foiled (through a clever tactic of telling him to stop), he slinks away, muttering, "Ohh, maaan."
This was, sadly, the best video I could find of our inspiration.
I was hiding on the stairs so Mikko wouldn't bug me while I was trying to do something on the computer. (Yes, this is on a post about responding to our children with sensitivity. You got something to say?)
He's got those ninja moves
where we don't see him making any efficient or particular forays,
and yet when we turn around,
he's in an entirely different location.
Alrik is learning how to write Superherocatpony
(his choice).
That E is epic. It's got, like, fourteen lines across.
Every E should be so lucky.
We got this little lap board at Target in the $1 bin, fyi.
And, full disclosure, we meant to stay two nights
and made it only one
(though we spent our last day to the full).
But if you watch this Auto Awesome video from G+,
you'll think we had a golden time.
So that's nice. Thanks, Google,
for shining it all up for us!
Don't get me wrong, it was lovely in its way,
just also uncomfortable (said Sam & I),
and a little boring (so said the oldest),
and with too many bugs (according to both older kids).
We continue to be delighted with the inspiration and wisdom our Carnival of Natural Parenting participants share, and we hope you'll join us for the next carnival in July 2015! (Check out June, April, March, February, January, and a summary of all our 2014 posts, 2013 posts, 2012 posts, and 2011 posts if you missed any.)
Theme: Summer Fun: In the Northern hemisphere, the dog days of summer are upon us. Share your favorite summertime outside games, let us know what your family's go-to summer products are, give us tips on how to beat the heat, or write something else inspired by the sun.
Deadline: Tuesday, July 7. Fill out the webform (at the link or at the bottom) and email your submission to us by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time: CarNatPar {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com
Carnival date:Tuesday, July 14. Before you post, we will send you an email with a little blurb in html to paste into your submission that will introduce the carnival. You will publish your post on July 14 and email us the link if you haven't done so already. Once everyone's posts are published by noon Eastern time, we will send out a finalized list of all the participants' links to generate lots of link love for your site! We'll include full instructions in the email we send before the posting date.
Welcome to the November 2014 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Indoor Play
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared ideas and inspiration to keep families happy and healthy while cooped up indoors.
Seattle has about nine months of drizzly gray skies to contend with — but I have three (count 'em!) little kids who need to run off some energy each day, and a small home in which to do any of that. We have to rely on getting out of the house regularly — so, in particularly grim weather, that means having indoor spaces we can fly to that allow for boisterous movement and loud voices.
I wrote, when Mikko was two, a top 10 list of my favorite places to amuse kids during wintry weather, but since Mikko (now seven) has aged out of many of those excursions, I've added to and expanded my list here to include options for elementary-age kids as well. I've found, unfortunately, that many kid-centric locations cater solely to the five-and-under crowd, which has made life challenging when I want to take more than one kiddo with me (which is to say, most of the time!). I know it's just that most places assume kids over the age of five will be in school all day, so we've had to source some homeschooling-friendly (or at least -tolerant) options. I hope this list can help you, too, if you're in the same boat!
Friends' houses
We live in a building with quiet-loving adult neighbors who don't always understand children's needs to be total hooligans all day long. Getting away from the grown-up grouchiness to friends' houses where kids are allowed to stomp around, jump off furniture, slam doors, and yell at the top of their lungs is so dang freeing. Plus, great for all ages!
We continue to be delighted with the inspiration and wisdom our Carnival of Natural Parenting participants share, and we hope you'll join us for the next carnival in November 2014! (Check out September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February, January 2014, and summaries of all our 2013 posts, 2012 posts, and 2011 posts if you missed any.)
Here are the submission details for November 2014:
Theme: Indoor Fun: With wintry weather, how do you keep little ones amused without braving the elements? What toys, games, activities, and non-toy objects hold your kids attention best? How well do multiple siblings play together, and how can you foster that? Give us all your best busters of cabin fever!
Deadline: Tuesday, November 4. Fill out the webform (at the link or at the bottom) and email your submission to us by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time: CarNatPar {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com
The first day of {not} back to school started out more cheerful-looking than last year.
It was Mikko's first day of second grade
and Alrik's first of preschool.
Mikko chose the same excursion as last year: bowling!
(Apparently it's a tradition!)
Because nothing says "celebrate" like rented shoes.
I was at 34 weeks for the occasion, and it actually helped my game!
(Not that my game could get much worse.)
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living.
Riding the rails with my husband, Crackerdog Sam, and our hobo kids, Mikko Lint Picker (born June 2007), Alrik Irontrousers (born May 2011), and Karsten (born October 2014). Trying every day to parent intentionally and with grace.
Does anyone else have a 3-year-old who continues to pine for more gifts to unwrap?
Here are the submission details for November 2014:
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
