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Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old!

October 7, 2015 by Mama Carmody 8 Comments

Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old!

I’m celebrating my blogs 4th year in existence. It’s been a rough year. Last year, at this time, I was so excited that my blog had gone from 1000 followers to 5000. Earlier this year, I found out I had been spammed and I didn’t have near the following I thought I did.

Thank goodness I have followed the suggestions of Bob Lotich, from Christian Personal Finance, and Jonathan Milligan, from Blogging Your Passion. They both said that you should choose a topic, for your blog, that you are passionate about. It should be something that you love even if you never make a penny from it. I do love sharing ways to have fun with your children while sneaking in a little learning in the process.

If you have followed be for any length of time, you have seen me put these ideas into action. I don’t simply tell you about these activities but I document them as I enjoy them with my grandson and great-nephew. Here are my little helpers:

Many thanks go out to their mommies for sharing them with me and sometimes accompanying me on our adventures.

As I take a look back at my very first post, “Learning Should Be Fun”, I hope that I have fulfilled my original goal. “My real vision for this blog is that it can help families have fun learning together…”

I would love to hear from each of you. Have you found value in the activities I have shared? Which ones have you tried? I would love to hear about the successes and the failures. If you have suggestions of activities you would like to see me blog about, please share those too.

Thanks to each and everyone of you for your follows and your support. May God richly bless each of your households.

Most Sincerely,

~ Mama Carmody

When Do Children Start Learning
The Lessons – Overview
Colors – Overview
Shapes – Overview
Fun with Music – Overview

Let’s Play with Toy Guns

December 20, 2014 by Mama Carmody 5 Comments

Let’s Play with Toy Guns

I believe toy guns are getting a bad rap. I must say I hadn’t given it a lot of thought before but now I have a grandson and a couple of great-nephews, so an interest in guns is something we are going to have to deal with.

I raised two girls so guns were never a big subject around our house. We played with water guns and bubble blowing guns but that was about it. But when I was a little girl, I had a cap gun. I wore it in my holster as I strutted around in my cowgirl boots and hat. I loved playing with my cap gun when I was really young. As I got older, I was allowed to use our BB gun. I have always been fascinated with guns but I am definitely not a violent person. The first time I shot a bird, I cried. (We were trying to keep sparrows out of the purple martins’ birdhouse.) It only stunned him, so he eventually flew away but I didn’t shoot at any more birds.

Let's play with toy guns. — Let’s play with toy guns.

The idea of toy guns around the house hit me the other day because I was adding pieces to our dress-up clothes. I had purchased a soldier outfit and a police officer outfit. I was looking for a badge at the Dollar Tree when I ran across a package with a toy gun, a badge and a pretend walkie talkie. I hesitated because I have heard all the controversy about playing with guns and the possibility of instilling violence in our children, but are we missing a teaching opportunity?

My son-in-law serves in the army. Carrying a gun is part of his job. I have deep respect for all of the individuals serving in our armed forces. They carry guns to protect us and people in other countries. I believe that teaching our children how the military men and women are protecting us is a wonderful lesson. Yes, it is sad that there are wars but it is wonderful that there are people willing to put their lives on the line for others.

Then there are the police officers. They also carry guns as part of their jobs and put their lives on the line for others. Teaching respect for our police officers and learning about how they serve us are just a couple of lessons that can be incorporated into your child’s play with toy guns.

There are people that use guns to hunt for food. Wild game is healthy for you and is fairly cheap, in comparison to store bought meat. Many people around the world depend on hunting for their food. They don’t have or can’t afford to run to the grocery store to pick up something.

Lessons that can be slipped in while the children are playing with their toy guns:

Respect for our military and police.
Serving and protecting others.
Honoring our veterans.
Our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.
How to properly handle a gun.
Where our food comes from.
The benefits of forgiveness and the consequences of revenge.

If we are worried about how our children will grow up and handle guns, shouldn’t we be talking with them about it, while they are young? Rather than avoiding or not allowing the opportunity for role playing and discussion, we should be giving them the opportunity to play and explore.

As children turn into young teens, many start playing violent video games or start sharing their interest of guns with their peers. Is this who and what you want to influence your child about the use of guns?

Some parents are worried that allowing their children to play with toy guns will create violent adults. According to an article on WebMD, titled Toy Guns: Do They Lead to Real-Life Violence?, “studies show no link between playing with toy weapons in childhood and aggression in adulthood”.

So let the kids play with their toy guns and let’s use the opportunity to instruct and raise more gun responsible teens and adults.

Crouching Tigers Review: Martial Arts for Little Ones

October 13, 2014 by Mama Carmody 3 Comments

Crouching Tigers Review: Martial Arts for Little Ones

I was given the opportunity to observe one of the free classes that Crouching Tigers is currently offering at local libraries. If you haven’t heard of Crouching Tigers, it is a mobile fitness and martial arts program for children 2 to 7 years of age. The program is dedicated to the physical, emotional and social development of children.

I must admit to you that I have never been particularly interested in the martial arts. I never considered getting my children involved with them and have watched very little of it, but I realized that some of you might be interested, so I headed off to Glendale Library to observe the free class.

First Observation

If you are interested in your child participating, register them as soon as possible. These classes are popular and have been filling up.

Second Observation

Olivia Spahn, Founder, President and instructor, of Crouching Tigers, is AMAZING with children. She possesses the love, understanding and enthusiasm that few have when it comes to young ones.

Third Observation

The curriculum is well written for the young child. Each class is 30 to 45 minutes long. It is broken up into 5 sessions:

Fitness and stretches
Life-skills
Martial arts
Awareness and self-defense
Games involving current lesson

There are a few brief instructions with demonstrations given of each session. Then the child is able to use the skill just taught. The sessions move along quickly which helps to keep their attention. It is emphasized to the children that these new skills are not to be used on friends and family.

Pictures from the Event

Crouching Tigers Review: Ages 2 to 7 years

Ages 2 to 7 years old enjoying the class together.

Learning Kicks

Learning Punches

My Conclusions

Olivia Spahn has done an outstanding job in the writing of the curriculum for Crouching Tigers. She obviously has an understanding of the young child’s short attention span and has effectively used that in the creation of her program.

Although, I can’t say I have found passion for the martial arts because of what I observed, I can say I am quite interested in the offerings of Crouching Tigers. I would love to get my great-nephew and, eventually, my grandson into one of their learning cycles. I believe they would have a lot of fun and would come away with some great life skills.

Your Opportunity

Currently, Crouching Tigers takes place in childcare centers, elementary schools and community centers in the Indianapolis and Cincinnati areas. If you do not live in one of those locations then you can check into starting your own franchise. Click here for more information on franchising. Classes start at just $45 for a four-week session, the program allows children to study eight styles of martial arts over the course of a four-year rotating curriculum.

If you live in the Indianapolis area, you still have a few more opportunities for your child to participate in one of the free classes they are offering at local libraries.

The Learning Curve@Central Library on Friday, October 17 at 11:00 a.m. (40 E. Saint Clair St.)
College Avenue Library on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 10:30 a.m. (4180 N. College Ave.)
Fountain Square Library on Monday, Nov. 10 at 11:00 a.m. (1066 Virginia Ave.)

Classes fill up quickly so register now at http://www.eventbrite.com/o/crouching-tigers-7301359235

I enjoyed my experience with Crouching Tigers. I’m sure you will too. Please stop back by and share your child’s experience.

LEGO® KidsFest Review

November 8, 2014 by Mama Carmody 2 Comments

LEGO® KidsFest Review

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend LEGO® KidsFest, however, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

I have been so excited for the opportunity to review LEGO® KidsFest Indianapolis. I am always amazed at the things people create with LEGO® building blocks. Tonight was no exception!

I’m sure my adult niece and I were more excited about this event than Jeremiah was. Of course, Jeremiah was a virgin to Lego building blocks. He turned 3 in July and doesn’t have any at home, and he also said he doesn’t have any in his preschool classroom.

This is the view we encountered as we entered the exhibition hall.

My niece and I were in awe and couldn’t decide which way to go first. Directly in front of us were several statue size creations so we headed toward them. I find it absolutely incredible the things that people create with Lego building blocks. My favorite piece was Lightning McQueen. It was as big as a real car.

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah and Lightning McQueen edited

Jeremiah’s favorite piece was the Hulk.

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah and the Hulk edited

There were several pieces that were created especially for great photo opportunities, like the man-eating-shark and King Tut.

We then headed to Creation Nation. Here you can use LEGO® building blocks to make a creation to be added to the basketball-court sized map of the United States. Remember I said earlier that Jeremiah had never played with LEGO® building blocks before. I was interested to see what he would do. We gave him a base and he started creating. It didn’t take him long but the fact that he figured out how to make anything, as quickly as he did, surprised me. Can you figure out what he made?

LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah's first ever Lego creation — LEGO® KidsFest: Jeremiah’s first ever Lego creation

It’s an airplane. He was very proud of it and actually, we were pretty proud of his first LEGO® creation. For participating, he was given a LEGO® sample set to take home.

There were many, many opportunities for playing and building with these popular little building blocks. A couple of fun, unique, play experiences were the brick piles. There was one huge pile that children were walking on, building with, and even getting buried under. There were also a couple of smaller piles in the DUPLO® area. Jeremiah was a little unsure about getting into the pile of building blocks but like his mom pointed out, that was probably because, at this age, he is cautioned quite often NOT to be stepping on his toys. He did finally get in there and started digging and playing.

We enjoyed playing, building and creating in several different areas. Jeremiah enjoyed playing with the little pieces and using his imagination in the LEGO® Friends area, as well as, the Disney Princess (yes, boys can love “Frozen”) and the Hero Factory areas. In the Hero Factory is where Nicole and I realized we have a LOT to learn about these building blocks, if we are going to attempt to stay ahead (or at least keep up with) this little guy and his budding interest.

The three of us joined, as a team, in the LEGO® Challenge. They would take up to 6 people at a table. They then gave us a challenge of something to build with the building blocks at our table. Our challenge was to build a magnifying glass. Jeremiah wanted wheels on it. We were all recognized as winners and everyone received a prize of a Lego sample set.

It was getting late so we hurried through the Star Wars and Super Heros exhibits. We skipped the Master Builders and Mindstorms® exhibits since Jeremiah is so young. I have a feeling we will be hitting those in the future.

For our family, $22 a person is a little steep but this event ends up being a better value than I anticipated. With all of interactive exhibits and the free sample sets, that they give away at every turn, it makes for a much great value. For a video-free, family interactive, fun time, head to the nearest LEGO® KidsFest!

Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live!

September 24, 2014 by Mama Carmody 1 Comment

Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live!

In 2012, my niece made me aware of the Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live. This is an awesome, nationwide event. It occurs annually and is hosted by the Smithsonian Magazine. In their tradition of offering free admission, other museums have joined them, for this special day. All you have to do is go to the Smithsonian Magazine’s website and print your pass. Each pass gets two people into a participating museum, for free. To see the list of museums included in this event, click here.

Two years ago, my niece and I took three very young children to Conner Prairie Interactive History Park. I was actually amazed at how many things there were to entertain young children. You can read about our experience at Conner Prairie, in this post: “Review: Conner Prairie with Young Children”.

Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live: Rhythm! Discovery Center — Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live: Rhythm! Discovery Center

Last year, my husband and I took our great-nephew to Rhythm! Discovery Center. We really enjoyed playing with the different percussion instruments. Check out the size of the drum that greeted us at the entrance. You can read about the fun we had at Rhythm! Discovery Center, in this post: “Review: Rhythm! Discovery Center”

There are several museums in our area that participate in Museum Day Live. Be sure to find out which museums participate in your area. We haven’t made our decision, as to where we are going to go this year, but we are definitely going someplace.

Have you participated in the Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live, in the past? We would love to hear about your past adventures and please let us know where you’re going this year.

Love to Laugh and Learn Turns 4 Years Old!

Related Posts

Let’s Play with Toy Guns

Crouching Tigers Review: Martial Arts for Little Ones

First Observation

Second Observation

Pictures from the Event

My Conclusions

LEGO® KidsFest Review

Smithsonian Magazine’s, Museum Day Live!