Just wanted to share a VERY cool product I came across at Hearthsong. It is a hanging art gallery that a child can hang in his or her room on their door to display their artwork and spotlight it in and organized and attractive way.

With this great display, kids can open their own rotating art gallery AND finally have a display place for their latest drawing or painting. They just slide five of their favorite masterpieces into the pre-fitted openings (one 11″ x 14″, four 8″ x 10′) to proudly show-off original artwork. Windows open in the back with Velcro® to easily insert and remove artwork.  It is constructed of sturdy paperboard and acetate to protect those valuable one-of-a-kind originals and hold artwork securely in place.

As the mother of kids who LOVE to paint and draw this would be such a fabulous way for them to display their work shy of sticking it to the wall and peeling the paint off OR having their little sibling rip them. If your kids REALLY love to draw you could even get a couple of them. For two or more they are only $10.98 so pretty nice in price.

Hearthsong is a fave place of mine for unique kids projects and products and I was there checking out this awesome garden fort when I ran across this gallery. Simple and yet so functional. I think my 5, 7, and 10 year olds would all love one.

If you have artistic kids and you want to add another element of social awareness to your lives (and who doesn’t) you may be interested in a kids design contest being run by The Company Store in honor of their 100th anniversary. I rarely post about things like this but their concept just rubbed me the “right way”. Giving cool comforters to kids who are homeless or going through home transitions just seems like a great way to give needy children a sense of home no matter where they are.

Their Kids’ Design Contest, is a program geared at inspiring creativity while supporting art education and charitable work among America’s youth.  Under this initiative, The Company Store will accept original artwork from children 12 years and under.  The winning piece will be transformed into a comforter print for their ongoing Buy One, Give One Comforter Donation Program, in which The Company Store donates a new comforter to a homeless child for every comforter sold. Submissions can be uploaded to www.Facebook.com/CompanyKids.

If you are looking for some after school art ideas this may be a fun one to try…

Sometimes the perks of being a blogger are pretty darn nice. This past weekend my brood of five all went and saw an advance screening of Gnomeo & Juliet in 3D. Much thanks to The Owens Group for the tickets. Anyway, I don’t have to write about it obviously but this particular movie, in addition to being VERY good, was actually very “green” in many ways. That surprised me but I guess it shouldn’t have.

The main characters are all lawn ornaments… ceramic mushrooms and frogs, pink flamingos, and of course Gnomes. All of these characters have great pride in taking care of their environment and making sure everything stays beautiful. There was a lot of eye candy in the way of prized flower beds, secret gardens, fountains, and the like. So while that wasn’t what the story is primarily about I loved that most of the story takes place outside as the Gnomes seek adventure in new places, wanting to make it beautiful everywhere they go.

The actual story is… well… a new take on Romeo and Juliet. The blue gnomes and red gnomes are at war because their respective homeowners are. Juliet takes off one night to nab a beautiful flower she saw in abandoned greenhouse down the road and she runs into Gnomeo. Both are in disguise since they are involved in mischief to some extent and they fall in love before they find out that the other is supposed to be their mortal enemy. Thankfully the whole suicide stuff was left out of this particular movie!

Anyway, it was really quite good. My 3 kids loved it (5, 7, 10) and my husband and I did as well. LOVED the references that went over the kids heads… like a line from Brokeback Mountain, Elton John in Gnome form, a Borat style swimsuit, and a play on an American Beauty scene. Oh and I was very happy to hear the voices of James McAvoy and Jason Statham.. my faves! I probably would not have chosen to see this film if not for the free tickets. I guess I need to stop being such a cartoon snob.. or so my husband would say. ;)

Will you being see this film?

Most parents want to raise children that are empathetic and that show they have social consciousness. We hope to guide our children into adulthood to be people that care about their planet and about their fellow man. The very first thought that occurs to me along these lines is raise them to appreciate my political beliefs but politics rarely solve anything in this day and age, everyone has their own agenda. The most important thing has to be showing by example what it takes to be a good citizen of our planet and our community. Being a secular family, we have to look for opportunities that fall outside of religious organization. Here are some ways to include kids in our social and planetary awareness activities:

1. Each month (perhaps on a specific day) go through your pantry and donate a small box of food to your local food bank or shelter. Have the children pick the items, box them, and then accompany you to deliver them. The car ride is a great time to discuss being homeless or hungry.

2. Volunteer at a food bank or pantry. Usually children have to be 13 or older but this is an excellent way for them to connect the dots and see the people faced with these issues.

3. Once every other month (or more frequently if you desire) take your child to the store to buy a few pet supplies to donate to your local animal shelter. Auctions and garages sales are also good places to get these supplies. You can also make items that the shelters need, such as blankets. It doesn’t have to be much.. perhaps just a bag of food. Take your child with you to donate these items and then stay awhile to visit with the animals. You may find that your children look forward to this event with much anticipation.

4. Along the same lines as the above… see if your child would like to forgo gifts at their birthday party and request pet donations instead. The guests could also make homemade dog biscuits to donate as well.

5. Once a month reserve a time to go to a local or state park, waterway, or some other nature area to pick up garbage. Seeking out garbage is a great way to clean our natural spaces and spend time as a family. My kids (4, 6, and 10) LOVE to go on our own private clean-ups. Local communities also have organized events. I know Ohio does.

6. Go through older toys, clothes, and sporting equipment quarterly to donate to area homeless shelters. Make sure to include your kids in the selection and donation process.

7. Have a family garden? Plant a row for the homeless. One whole row of your garden can be used to grow produce for your local food bank. The kids can water, weed, harvest, and deliver. They will have a great sense of pride in raising food to feed other people.

8. Let your children see you in acts of everyday kindness. If they see your concern for the homeless man under the freeway overpass, the way you delivery groceries to the family crisis center, or your need to stop for a lost animal to check their tags, they too will learn compassion for those less fortunate. The best way to help our children with social and planetary awareness is to model it ourselves.

I am reading an excellent book right now called The Power of Half. It is about an amazing family who, after being motivated by their 14 year old daughter, sold their Atlanta mansion, moved into a house half its size, and donated half the sale price of their original home to a worthy charity. And that was just the beginning. It is about finding happiness by learning to live with less so others can just live.

My daughter was due for a new costume for Halloween this year. She told me in advance that this year she was going to be a “Love Fairy”. I am not sure exactly what this means but she wanted something pretty and frilly, preferably in pink, with a heart wand. The folks at Sarah’s Silks delivered with a lovely silk costume that is part princess, part fairy, and oh so lovely.

Essentially these costumes use playsilks to make costumes worthy of creative play and they use natural, earthy materials as well. So many conventional costumes are made of plastic based polyester and they are often itchy and uncomfortable. We have had store bought fairy costumes before and they almost never last much beyond Halloween because they are not fun to wear and they get destroyed easily. This costume from Sarah’s Silks will last for a long time and it is completely comfortable to wear. Silk is very sheer and delicate looking but is actually quite durable and will last for years of creative play if cared for properly. They can be washed with mild soap and water and then hung to dry.

My daughter’s costume is a princess dress-up, a cone hat, and a heart-shaped wood fairy wand with a silk streamer. Her first run as a Love Fairy was this past weekend at a Halloween party we attend every year. She floated along granting love wishes and accepting candy as payment. It was quite precious and I think the thing I love MOST about costumes like this is that children get to create their own “story”. She didn’t dress up as a trademarked character that she must imitate. She got to create her own persona, her own imaginary world, and her own story. In that sense these costumes are similar to toys. They open a doorway to creative play. This particular “toy” will surely be a part of our lives long past Halloween. I look forward to meeting princesses, fairies, pixies, elves, gypsies, and all other manner of fabulous folk in the future…