Cold Enough For Penguins & Polar Bears

We may not have gotten as much snow as out east, but it sure is cold here. Cold enough for penguins and polar bears. So I gave in and thought, "why not celebrate the cd?" I gathered all the polar animals ~ penguins, polar bears, moose, snowy owls (even a couple cats were brought to the mix!😀) toys that l could find and then found all the cold weather themed books. It's been a fun inside cozy kind of morning. (Mentally, I am still wishing for June-like weather.)

Have a playful day & stay warm!

What we are playing with today...

 PBS's Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (based on Mister Rogers Neighbood Land of Make Believe ) is a HUGE hit with us. These adorable toys came in a set of 5 for $9.99 at Toys are us. There not no small parts, so little sister plays with them, too.

 Nickjr brought Peter Rabbit to a new generation. The computer animated series is sooo cute and has a good lesson in it.

What can l say? I live Schleich horses as much as the girls. They are all hand painted and have incredible detail. Now add the 3 sets together and oh, the stories l have heard today!

Have a fun and playful weekend.

Mel🐸

Size doesn't matter

 Size doesn't matter...I know what you're thinking.  But when it comes to play, size doesn't matter.  Children do not care about equal proportions when it comes to their playthings.  Yesterday, I came across the above grouping.  It was Papo and Schleich and Lego horses with Lego Friends as the horses' caretakers in a Breyer barn.  And it was magical.

 Here, Papo polar bears play harmoniously with Duplo and Little People polar bears.  Children naturally categorize and group like items.  And it's okay.  Kids don't have to have all the same brand or the entire playset of something.  I have found that the less the play is directed, the more the imagination kicks into high gear.

Why is that important?  Play is learning.  Let me say that again. Play IS learning.  As a child acts out a scene where the Lego Friend take care of the horses, it is imagination at work.  But it's also language - they are creating a story, acting out a scene, using vocabulary, describing what they are doing, engaging.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein  Now, who's going to argue with genius Albert Einstein??? :)  Play is important - uninterrupted, unscripted, undirected.

Dream Big

 Putting behind me the tragedies of 2014 - the lost of my beloved grandparents and my wonderful father in-law - I am facing 2015 with new hopefulness.  I saw this big "Dream Big" sign on pinterest and thought it was a sign.

 I found these amazing buttons by dress it up jesse james company and fell in love with the detail of these little things.

 There are gnomes and teddy bears...

 smiling baby faces...

 baby boys bundled in blue...

 and these flocked peapods.

Little Miss Ruby gravitates toward small toys - anything she can grasp in her chubby little hands.  Care Bears, Little People, Schleich animals, and Littlest Pet Shop.  I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this peculiar grouping in the sunlight.

It's the little things in Life

 When I was a little girl, I loved tiny little things - mostly for my dollhouse. But I also collected these small treasures.

 Now as an adult, I still love these tiny things.

 When Life gets tough, I concentrate in the details - the small things, small memories, little moments.

Both my grandparents died this year and a family member is battling Stage 4 brain cancer. I find comfort in the small details of making thsnk yous or planning a meal.

Some people fret the small stuff...not me. (Hence me being nanny )

When others stress out about details, that's when I come into my element. The small stuff is what l do, so that's when l say, "l can do that for you." it's my superpower :)

I love Schleich 's new fox baby.

Rainbow Treehouse Animal Hospital

 So when a 4 year old says, "I have a plan", you take notice.  Not only did she have a plan, she had a mission.  She wanted to make an animal hospital for her little animals, but she wanted it to be a treehouse..."So the giraffes won't have to strain their necks."

 I saw her vision and made a pattern.  I cut it out of cardstock to make it easier to trace onto the cardboard.  I just did a simple tree shape (no art degree needed here!).  I cut two and notched out the second on.

 The tree slid together then l made "shelves" out of spare pieces of the amazon box (they have the best boxes!)

 Then it was time to paint :) - time to add the "rainbow"!

 Of course, we had to have a sign..."So the animals know where to go."

 And we added a popsicle stick ladder.

 Then it was time for the animals to get care.  Two Lego Friends girls were the vets and took excellent care of the animals - both wild and domesticated.

 Stretchy Cat rested after her shots.

 Panda nibbled on bamboo after his exam.

 Giraffes, ponies, pandas, cats, dogs, llamas...all were welcome.

I am not sure how the pony got up in the treehouse - yes, I do - with the imagination of a four year old.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
-Albert Einstein

I think we will create more tree treehouses for our collection of Schleich, Papo, and Safari Ltd primates.  The possibilities are endless with this.

a day in the life as a nanny

 I adore these hippos from Papo. We hace been brushing their teeth...so fun!

 Baby Bear (also from Papo ) went with us to the Conservatory. He perfectly fits in little hands.

Looove the holiday attire the Puffs snack bottle!