Being a parent has taught me an important lesson: Kids love a ham. {Tweet me!}

Fortunately, parenting has also taught me how to become one.

Here are some more of our family's playful parenting ideas that work on toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary-age kids. (Try it with tweens and teens, and let me know….) Some kids will need a warmup period if they're not used to this kind of silliness; others will jump right in, so take it at your and your child's pace.

I've mentioned some of these before, but here are my kiddos' current favorites at 6 and 2, a mix of old and new.

• Baby washing machine

  I came up with this one randomly. I sit Alrik on my lap and tell him he's very dirty and needs to go through the washing machine. You know how you crack an "egg" on someone's head? You (gently) tap your fist with your other fist against the person's skull and then spreeead your hands all down their head and shoulders as if the egg is smearing all over. Well, I decided that worked just as well with fake soap and water. So I crack a detergent egg on his head: "Gotta get soap all over you!" And then: "Now it's time to get you wet!" Back the hands come to spread the water all down his head.
  
  Then, the fun part: "Agitate! Agitate! Swish-swish-swish-swish." I take him by both arms and (gently) shake him back and forth, back and forth.
  
  "Now we have to rinse you off!" Back with the water "egg" on his head. And then, the coup de grâce: "And now into the dryer with you!" And I blow on his head till his hair flies.
  
  Alrik is astonishingly patient during this whole process. He thinks it's funny and yet apparently something he needs to sit very still for. It cracks me up. So, enjoy — Baby Washing Machine!

• Stop scaring me!

  Alrik likes to pretend to be a dinosaur or other monster and jump out to scare us. Woe betide us if we roar back or do anything but pretend to be terrified.
  
  I'm thinking you could initiate this game with a kid if you give the suggestion that the child is a dinosaur (or something equally ferocious) and then feign stark terror.

I have great news! My co-organizers and I at Mindful Nurturing have put together an incredible new e-bundle that will inspire your whole family to become more playful and creative: the Mindful Play eBundle.

There's a little something for everyone, geared to kids from ages 1 on up to 12: coloring pages, a yoga storybook, science experiments and literary projects, mandala drawing tutorials, treasure baskets and sensory bins, modeling play, and much more.

The bundle contains 9 play-oriented e-resources, plus phenomenal bonuses. It's for sale only through October 3. After that, you'll never see this particular collection together again at this price.

Intrigued? Great! Here's a bit more about the contents:

My two extremes, from the same genetic stock

I somehow got blessed with two kids on opposite ends of the growth spectrum: Mikko through toddlerhood was a happy 150th percentile kind of guy, and I just let him keep on growing. He was barely eating any solid food before he was two, so I knew it would all even out, and it did. He'll always be a tall and hefty kid (around the 80th percentile now for both height and weight), but that's his body type.

See how sickly he is? Sad.

Then Alrik came along, and he's wee. His height is puzzling though not particularly worrisome: 33rd percentile. His dad and I are tall, so it's strange to have a shrimp. But his weight is off the charts, the other way. At 2 years and 4 months, his 23 pounds doesn't even register.

This is not only weird — it is a trifle concerning. He comes from a family of generally larger-than-average people with a few skinny minnies. So he could just be one of those recessives, right? But his naturopathic pediatrician is cautiously concerned, because here's how nutritional deficiencies can manifest:

First goes the weight, then the height, then the development.

In other words, the weight's already gone. He's already demonstrating that he's atypically short (genetically speaking). So is his developmental progress next?

One of our trips this summer was taking a ferry to a lavender farm.

Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the best blogposts I've read throughout the week.

We sort of accidentally got this sticker machine (my affiliate link: Sticker Maker), and it's one of the best accidental things we've acquired.

If you told a kid, "Hey, practice writing for two hours straight," there'd be some groaning. But if you're making stickers — you don't even notice the learning!

Mikko especially liked making spiders, his newest fear-based obsession. (He's created a No Spiders Allowed Club that we're all members of. He charges us for the privilege, and the member badges.)

This spider sticker went on my shirt, to startle me throughout the day presumably.

This heart was mine, too. ♥

Links!

11 hours ago (141 notes)

#homebirth
#birth
View high resolution 
Via Emily
(Source: help-fill-the-silence)
3 days ago

#parenting
#advice
Dear parents, you need to control your kids. Sincerely, non-parents | The Matt Walsh Blog →
You glanced toward the mother and the kid, then at me, rolled your eyes and said in a loud voice: “Man, some people need to learn how to control their f**king kids.” The lady could definitely hear you, but I guess that was your intention. […]
Yeah, I didn’t respond the way you anticipated. Instead, I offered my own helpful suggestion: “Man, some people need to learn how to shut their mouths, watch their language, and mind their own business.”
4 days ago (1 note)

#birth
#homebirth
#midwifery
#midwives
#birth complications
- Navelgazing Midwife Blog - AAP's New Home Birth Guidelines →
A breakdown of the new AAP recommendations for safe home births, and what CPMs (certified professional midwives, vs. certified nurse midwives, who typically already work in or in cooperation with hospital settings) could do to adhere to these guidelines. I like the idea of setting standards for midwifery care and home birth so that women have choice in birth but can be confident of keeping themselves and their babies safe if they choose home birth and midwifery care.

Carnival news:

Calling for submissions for the October 2013 Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Theme: Kids and Technology: What is your stance on screen time? Does your family watch TV? What about computers, tablets, smart phones, and other gadgets? Tell us about your family'’s practices and goals regarding shows, apps, and other modern-day options. 

Deadline: Tuesday, October 1. Fill out the webform and email your submission to us by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time: CarNatPar {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com

Be sure to sign up for the Carnival Calendar, add your own carnivals, and keep track of what's coming up!

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 October 2013! (Check out September, August, July, June, May, April, March, January, and summaries of all our 2012 posts and 2011 posts if you missed any.)

Your co-hosts are Dionna at Code Name: Mama and Lauren at Hobo Mama.

Here are the submission details for October 2013:

Theme: Kids and Technology: What is your stance on screen time? Does your family watch TV? What about computers, tablets, smart phones, and other gadgets? Tell us about your family'’s practices and goals regarding shows, apps, and other modern-day options.

Deadline: Tuesday, October 1. 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