13/31 {the january project} a quiet, creative home day

The school holidays fill up so quickly and can get so busy, I try to slice out a few days for the kids to just chill and potter around at home. 

I woke up with ideas of how we might spend the day, but the kids had their own (even better) ones too! Lily decided she wanted to enter a drawing competition, so after some quick googling I found a cute competition to illustrate a children's storybook. All three kids decided to spend a solid hour drawing.... including Eli taping 11 pages of illustrations together!! It was more than a little delightful. They also made firm plans on how to spend the prize money... though after they were done they totally ceased to remember that it was a competition, haha.

Later, I pulled out the canvases the kids got for Christmas and we did a little 'Resistance Art' using their initials, acrylic paint and some magical Washi tape of course. 

It was a lovely little day, bringing back memories of those days that now seem so long ago, just me at home with my three. 

{the january photo a day project}

{GIVEAWAY!} LaQ Review.... a rival for our beloved Lego!?

We discovered LaQ by chance over three years ago. Wandering through an outlet mall when Lily was about three, we looked through a 'pop up shop' filled with Japanese toys. They had a kids table set up with a bunch of tiny plastic shapes scattered about, that seemed to click together. Lily sat down and was instantly entranced, connecting up all kinds of shapes with her teeny little fingers. We are certainly not the type of parents to just buy kids toys on a whim, but I loved the fine motor aspect and how engaged she was, so we ended up buying a small kit. I know, I know, how spontaneous ;)

So what is LaQ exactly? Well, you can click this link to go to the Japanese site which has a bunch more info. In a nutshell, it's a series of seven small plastic shapes (triangles, squares and joiner pieces) that click together to create pretty much whatever you like, whether 2D or 3D. The pieces click together in the most satisfying little 'snap' and then are easily separated by bending till they 'crack' and come apart. I think this is part of the pleasure of building - the sensory satisfaction! They are really fun to build and create with... and just engage children in a really beautiful way, unleashing all sorts of creativity. Lily and Eli just love squirreling themselves away to make their LaQ creations as I have recorded many times on this little blog, such as here.

Our three engineers gather to do a little post-dinner car building with their new LaQ kit :) This Hamacron kit can make five different vehicles, the kids wanted to try the race car first.

 



Yes, they are sort of like Lego. Now, I would dare not say they are better than Lego (quelle horreur!!), but I would dare to say they are on par! Like Lego, you can build kits or just build freely, wherever your imagination takes you. The plastic is top quality, you can imagine passing it on to your grandkids like you can do with Lego :) With Lego you generally build 3D tower/vertical shapes, but with LaQ you can be creative with 2D images or fully 3D curved and angular shapes. And they are so fun to snap and click together and apart - unlike the agony of prising apart two Lego blocks with your fingernails, haha ;) We are huge Lego fans in this household and always will be, but we REALLY love LaQ too. They are similar but different enough that it's fun to build with both. One bonus is it doesn't hurt to step on LaQ ;)

Concentration Face!

Father and Son, working together on their race car :)

The kids have made do with our tiny little 2D kit for a few years but often ran out of pieces when building. This Christmas I wanted to expand their set to include the 'cornered' pieces so they could build in 3D. I hunted and hunted for a stockist in Australia - they are not easy to find here though they are huge in Japan - and finally stumbled across this absolutely gorgeous (online and real life) store called Crayons. I was pretty impressed - their site is full of creative, quality, exploratory children's toys, including a wide LaQ range. Yippeee!

While making my order I had to make some inquiries about the stock, and lo and behold, the Crayons folk kindly offered to send a couple extra kits - a 3D kit for us to try, and a basic building kit which I decided to give away to share the LaQ love :) So - if you love a good giveaway, this is your lucky day! :) Enter below and you could introduce your children to the joys of LaQ! I honestly believe you will be impressed - kids who visit our home just LOVE playing with it and friends who have purchased it for their kids have become big time fans too.

The finished product - a speedy little race car. They quickly disappeared into their room to make their own LaQ designs right after finishing :)

Lily made a sleigh - very Christmassey ;)

Fire Truck!

A perfect gift for under the Christmas tree, just enter below and your child may be the lucky recipient!

To win, just enter through the Rafflecopter form and answer this simple question: Who would you gift this LaQ kit to, and why?

(Sign in to the Rafflecopter form below and tick the boxes for the entries you want to make. Write your blog comment entry in the regular blog comment box at the end of post (not in the app!). Please let me know if you have any troubles with entering!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Terms and Conditions:
Giveaway is for one LaQ Basic kit (185 pieces) , including delivery within Australia
Australian Entries only. 
Must leave a name and email address if using "anonymous" or a profile not linked to a way to contact you if you've won.
Winner will be deemed most creative/interesting response as chosen by me. This is a game of skill, not chance.
Entries close Tuesday 16th December, 12.59pm 2014. 
Judges decision is final. Winner must respond within 48 hours or prize will be awarded to the runner up. Good luck!!!

**The LaQ Hamacron Kit  (for us to try) and Basic LaQ kit (which we decided to giveaway) were gifted to us by Crayons, but all opinions are very much my own. We are LaQ fans from way back! :) **

32/52 - little lego lovers // independence days

Lily

She asked if she could make her own school lunch and of course we said 'You bet!!!'

Busily, she worked away in the kitchen and produced this pretty good selection! Ok, the crackers are not what I would usually pack, but they have avocado on them so I let it slide ;) Avo crackers, apple (creatively cut!!), cherry tomatoes, home made oat biscuit. There is also an extra container with capsicum for her 'fruit break'.

She has been packing her own lunch most days since. I am going to make up a little 'rough guide' to help her eg one or two fruit, one or two veggie, one protein, etc but for the most part let her work it out along the way. It's been great to chat about these food choices while she packs her lunch.

Not only does it lift the load (Mark and I usually pack lunches late at night) but I just love to see another step of independence blossoming. She is so ready and eager to take on these responsibilities... and we are so ready and eager to let her :) 

She was very pleased with her creation (and of course ate every morsel!)

Eli

My little Lego lover. 

A funny thing has happened in recent weeks. Both Lily and Eli have moved from merely 'liking' Lego to loving it. Relishing it. Every free moment... there they are, boxes out, building, creating, exploring, experimenting. We are much more into free creative building than following kits, and I love to see the fruit of their handiwork... and even more so, the satisfaction and pleasure they gain from their efforts.

Eli, my busy boy, quiets his hands and mind by beavering away in the middle of a pile of Lego. I love watching him at work. 

I think Lego is going to be a long and loving relationship in this home!!

Miles

Seven blocks: his Personal Best.

:)

Mark

My handsome, beloved hubby... home again once more. So very good to have him here with us, where he belongs! Missed him like crazy. It's just not home without him.

PS Loving the beard :)

Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week in 2014.

More highlights from the week that was...

Very frosty mornings // the coldest week in 45 years, with it below freezing every night!

Big brother is so eager to help little brother... whether he wants it or not!

Lily likes to assemble all her creations in a little display area :)

I am so thankful for Mark's childhood Lego collection!! Finally worked out a great Lego storage solution after a friend
gave me some old tubs she was decluttering that were low enough to store under the couch. The kids roll them out for easy access and play, then can quickly roll them back again. Win! I think I will also keep an eye out for one of those Lego drawstring mat bags like this to help gather up the stuff that inevitably goes on the floor and to also transport it around. Yes, Lego is seeping through the house bit by bit! ;)

Quite a sign to discover on our bedroom door. 'We celebrate Mum and Dad' :) 

I got the kids ready for an outing then said I needed just five minutes to get ready myself in peace. This was at the end of Mark's time away, lol!! Of course, they interrupted me and of course I had to talk with them about that. After, I found this precious note outside the door from Lily. Melt.
'I am sorry that I was calling out when you were getting dressed. I am sorry.'

The kids now get their own breakfasts - they asked to! As soon as the 'sun' comes up on their clock, they come out giggling, extracting equipment and food. They eat (giggling) then pack it all away. It is pretty much awesome!!! I thought such a day would never come and now here we are. Turns out, they do eventually start looking after themselves!! In the early years, it really seems impossible but look how capable they are, heehee. We love it, they love it, win/win :)

My quirky kids. They invented this game where they say they 'watch movies' every morning by getting a stack of DVDs and one kid 'reading/acting' out the story of the movie. Yeah, I dunno, they are strange but I adore them anyway! (Ummm, they do know what books are, haha!!)

They make my heart sing...

A while back I picked up this awesome little retro Fisher-Price tape deck with microphones. Remember them?? I mean, come on, how cute is it?! As I try to avoid toys with batteries, needless to say I haven't put any in to make the microphones/tape work... and even more needless to say - my kids are Plenty Loud Enough without amplification!!! Irregardless, lately they have taken to setting up in some hip locale in the house and rockin' out together, wailing songs at the top of their precious little lungs! Noisy delight that is (mostly) always welcome...

I love it. Love seeing them warbling away together with much earnestness and intensity. Love watching these best friends laughing, singing, playing and performing together. Love that in the middle of a very busy and hectic day, my babies put on a show, and I got to stop and watch and soak up a little of their sweet, sweet music. They make my heart sing songs I never even knew existed....

Lily really rocking out, Eli more a Crooner!

Oh, yes - Eli is indeed wearing Daddy's shoes in this shot.. he loves shoes and any adult shoes he comes across in the house are immediately put on so he can clomp around happily! Such a character, this boy, you just never know what his next funny idea will be!

As children of this generation, I also love that they have no idea what the cassette tape is, but they open and close the case by pressing the Eject button, taking out the cassette and call it 'changing the batteries'! Heehee!

Holding the mike like a true Rock Star!

You get the best volume from actually inserting the microphone into your mouth?!

The Leaning Tower of Lily

My little lady has really gotten into building blocks lately, creating architectural marvels and spreading cities on the rug in the play room. Now that her adoring and curious little bro has (after much work) learnt that the towers are not to be knocked down without permission, her towers are getting more and more elaborate.

I can barely express how much I love to see this kind of creative play at work... I admit I am not much one for bells and whistles, batteries, technology and plastic when it comes to kid's play! I just love to see children fully engaged with a few plain old wooden blocks, letting their amazing minds engage, experiment and explore. It is the best kind of 'play-based learning', in my humble opinion!

Lily was busily at work while I was in the kitchen when she proudly called me over, 'Mummy, look what I did!'

Behold, an engineering marvel that surely defies the laws of gravity!

(Sidenote: I want to put a 'winking' emoticon here but don't seem to have any available, this lack of emoticons is really holding me back on expressing my full range of emotions, so sad!)

This is what absolutely kills me about kids - if they are given space to just do their thing, they will astound you. I have found when Lily is at work, it is best for me to simply remove myself from the room at times - so I don't have to bite my tongue continually against saying things like 'Oh careful, that block is too big to go on top/Whoa, watch it doesn't fall/I'm not sure that will go there/ Maybe try a smaller block, etc'. That impulse to involve myself, to control, to warn, to prevent failure, (with the best of intentions, of course) is hard to fight!!

I so easily see where this project is likely to fail. But Lily? She isn't interested in planning the best tower strategy. Of course her little mind is at work, but she is learning best through trial and error and blissful experimentation. She isn't gingerly placing blocks and waiting for that tower to tumble - no, she is merrily and casually slapping block on top of block, defying all kinds of engineering basics without even realising it or trying (or caring) and, while her mother applauds the result, she simply gives herself a pleased little nod and moves on to the next one. And if it should fall? Enjoy the disaster and get back into it!



I love how it leans to the right - how it still stands, I don't know!



While I wasn't even looking, my child created the kind of tower I am sure I couldn't do if I tried (and probably because I was trying so hard!). I'm not  saying of course that this tower is truly some sign of genius or prowess, (or is it?? haha!) but just that something in it's whacky and brave construction struck my heart. These beautiful children - just look at what they can do! Who knows what other marvels they are capable of... I think half the battle is just getting out of the way and letting them at it!

PS - Oh, I simply must encourage you to pop over to my hilarious friend's blog about the playdate between Eli and her daughter yesterday... including Eli industriously cleaning up and showing off his underwear!