Designed to Create

"Look, mom! Can I have your phone?"      "Mom, take a picture of me!"

"Did you get a picture of my -insert creation of the hour- ?"

In my house having three children means there will probably be too many used cups on the counter, a small mountain of clothes in the laundry room and a child always creating something that I must document in some way!  This morning it was a Valentine's box (2 weeks after the holiday) before breakfast.  The other day the 2 year old spaced out blocks on the living room rug and begged me to take a picture.  This week alone my crafty daughter created a terrarium, play dough birthday cake, and several posters advertising the circus (her personal one woman show she performed for us).  Creating is a vital part of their whole body development and while it can sometimes grow repetitive to us as parents, it is a beautiful thing.

Do you still have the opportunity in your life to create in some way?  Unless you have a dedicated art as your job or hobby, you might be one of the many who have forgotten just how invigorating the creative play process is.  It's the way we were designed to develop and then be sustained.  So the next time to feel a desire to build or paint something, don't deny yourself on the grounds that it is childish or a waste of time. It's neither and one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself!

A Holiday Gift Guide for the Children You Love

We have a blessing and a curse in middle class America where we can afford gifts for our children, but also still care about their gratitude level in life.  As parents, we understand how fortunate we are to even afford presents, but so many of our options are just excessive and unnecessary.  Even more fortunate are those of us whose parents are able and willing to buy gifts for our kids too!  But again, the gifting can get out of control so easily.  Let's talk about some gift ideas that can support a healthy child and satisfy a loving gift-giver.

Arts and Craft Supplies

One of the most important parts of childhood that we suppress far too easily is Creativity.  Whether you have a busy crafter or a kid who doesn't seem interested, both children NEED creative outlets.  This is a fundamental need that we all have that helps us understand our world and ourselves.  For my 6 year old daughter who always has a craft idea, a basket full of random supplies would be a delight.  My 9 year old son who enjoys a good craft but just as easily would play ball with you for hours, he might enjoy more themed crafting like a nice paint by number or build and paint your own activity.   The point is that it isn't just something to take up space, but an opportunity to explore and create which will then lead to other opportunities.  This is a beautiful way to live life!

Build Your Own Craft Basket
Paper, Foam, Fabric
Pens, Markers, Crayons
Paints
Stencils
Play Dough
Notesbooks
Craft Sticks
Googly eyes, Pipe Cleaners
Paper Cups, Cotton Balls

Prepackaged Ideas
Color/Paint by Number
Jewelry Making
How to Draw Books
Wooden or Ceramic items to be decorated
Learn to sew/crotchet/knit kits
Loom

Feed Their Soul

Whether we honor it or not, we all have a great need for spiritual fulfillment.  God has placed in a us a desire to know and be known by Him.  It is tempting to think that taking our kids to church or making sure they have some morally good friends should be enough.  Those are important parts of our spiritual nurturing, but how is their soul being fed daily?  Reading the Bible and thinking about spiritual things every day is one of the most important ways for cultivating a lasting heart for God.  Does your child have their own Bible?  By the time they are reading well, their own personal Bible (not a kid one with mostly pictures but one where they can actually learn to find books and verses) is a great gift.  My son asked for one for his birthday a couple of years ago and we got his name printed on it and a set of tabs to help him find the books.  The important part of feeding their soul is that is happens daily, not once a week at church.

Inspirational Calendar
Bible
Bible Journal & Supplies
Scripture-based Music
Bible-themed Activity Books
Read together Devotionals
Magazine Subscription - We like Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. from Focus on the Family

The Love of Learning

As a homeschooling family, encouraging learning is something we are always thinking about, but it absolutely applies to every person on the planet! We all need encouragement to continue learning.  Longevity, personal growth, and better relationships all benefit from life long learning..  This includes keeping our minds healthy and  finding new ways of thinking.   A wonderful gift for a child is something they can use to grow and be healthier!

Puzzles
Magazine Subscription (National Geographic for Kids, Zootles, Ranger Rick, etc.)
Games
Items to Build With (Blocks, Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, K'nex, Brain Blox, etc)
KiwiCo - Monthly Activity Subscriptions
Local Classes

One of the best things to remember when you are buying for children is that a good gift can encourage life, but a mindless gift may only create clutter. 

The Pencil Grip, Inc.: A Magic Stix Review

We are beginning to be spoiled by The Pencil Grip, Inc. and all of their fun and creative products! This time we are reviewing their 24 pack of Magic Stix Washable Markers.  The category of arts and crafts supplies for children is a tricky business.  On the one hand, as a mom/teacher I have no time for stuff that doesn't work or do what I need it too so I need it to be durable and effective.  On the other hand, I don't want to spend a fortune on something that is intended to be consumable and need to be replaced periodically.  There is a plethora of brands and types of markers, paints, etc. so for me to intentionally go out of my way (as in purchase something other than what I find at Walmart or Target) to add something to my supplies, I need a motivating reason be it price or quality, preferably both!

The Magic Stix Washable Markers make some claims right on the package.  One is no odor, which may or may not be a big deal to you.  Some people are really sensitive to smells and chemicals that require them to be picky about things like this.  Also, something I hadn't considered until lately is the role of sensory issues and smell.  If your child is known to have sensory issues, a no odor marker might be a highly coveted thing.  The other guarantee they make is that their markers won't dry out if the cap is left off for up to 7 days.  I know several other reviewers who have really put them to the test by leaving the cap off for over 40 days and the markers barely faded, if at all!  Especially for busy homeschools or classrooms, long-lasting supplies is a big deal.  Caps being left off is a constant problem and this certainly cuts down on the amount of markers you would lose.

With most markers you can buy in the store, the packaging tends to not last very long, especially if you are rough on things like our family is.  Cardboard or the flimsy plastic gets messed up or tossed within a couple of weeks easy around here.  This set of 24 markers and also their set of 12 came in a hard plastic container that has a latch on either side of the handle making it extremely sturdy.  Each marker has a spot so it is obvious when one is missing, cutting down on losing markers. The kids have dragged the box back and forth to church and no evidence of wear so far.  

Between the 4 year old coloring in her coloring books with them to the 7 year old watching 'how to draw...' videos and then using the markers to color his pictures in, they have covered a lot of ground.  Throughout all the different uses, so far, I haven't received any complaints and they are still the preferred marker set.  If you are looking for a higher quality, longer lasting set of markers, we highly recommend giving the Magic Stix a try!

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Check out what other kinds of projects these markers have been used for:

Thin Stix Creativity Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc. - A Review

I haven't been reviewing products for all that long (about to close out year 2), but I love getting to see a product develop and flourish over time.  The Pencil Grip, Inc. is back with more colors and a bigger collection in the form of the Thin Stix Creativity Pack.  Every time we review for The Pencil Grip, Inc. it's like we get a creativity shot in the arm.  The kids start doing one thing, but then end up with more ideas as time goes along.  This review is no different. Miss Z started with a picture of her dad putting her in a headlock with very colorful furniture and then suddenly we were all making Pilgrim hats and Squanto headbands!

This new creativity set we received includes 24 Thin Stix - 12 Classic colors, 6 Neon colors and 6 Metalix colors.  This collection of colors is a well-rounded assortment that facilitates just about anything you can think of.  And there is something about having a lot of color options that is exciting!  When this set came in the mail, I never once had to offer it up as a suggestion for something the kids could/should do.  It was a go-to activity all on its own for a couple of weeks.

The fantastic quality of this product that I first fell in love with is the tempera paint effect without a mess.  This makes parents happy! Of course my kids are a fan because they are allowed to run wild with it, so to speak.  With the introduction of the Thin Stix - that feel in the hand more like a marker or highlighter - adults are more comfortable using them.  One of my favorite creative activities besides writing is painting.  As a stress reliever, as a creativity enhancer, painting for process is very freeing to me.  I know I'm not skilled at actually creating life forms so it is 100% play.  And as we all know, play is far more important than we give it credit for - even in adults!  By now maybe you already own a set of Kwik Stix, but I'm thinking these would be a easy, cheap gift for your favorite college student, crafty adult, or stressed out friend in need of a stress-reliever!

Did I mention how much of a mess is NOT made when we use these?  One of the kids used a brown clipboard to hold their paper and when they were finished there was paint all over it.  The said child went and got a wet rag to clean it up.  With almost no scrubbing, the clipboard looked good as new!  This is mess-free painting at it's best! 

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The Thin Stix Creativity Pack, like all of their other Kwik Stix products, is so versatile that the possibilities of uses are endless.  Check out all the other projects these were used on through the link below:

Thin Stix from The Pencil Grip, Inc. - A Review

With all of the great educational products I get to review, few of them are a great fit for most any family.  With varying ages and differing circumstances, the needs of each family will always be different.  Last year, however, I believe we found something that every family can use and enjoy! We were so excited to discover and review Kwik Stix!  This year The Pencil Grip, Inc. has a new product, Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors and we got to review that too!  This is definitely one of our absolute favorite product lines!

Kwik Stix are sticks of Tempera Paint in a solid form that glides onto paper smoothly and dries very quickly.  It's a genius idea and perfect for kids!  When it comes to painting it is hard not to cringe at the request simply because of the mess and clean-up involved.  The solid format and quick-drying aspects make it practically mess free and super easy to clean up! And all the parents rejoiced!!  I have seen them on sale at Target and they are always available on Amazon, with lots of different color options. 

The sticks that we reviewed last year are shaped like glue sticks.  This new product is longer, like a pen and the width of a thick marker, noticeably thinner than the original, hence the name Thin Stix.  The consistency is the same in both products - like writing with lipstick - but with the new thinner tip you can create detail more easily.  Things like writing words or drawing small objects is now possible and adds a different element to the work that can be created with them.  I played around with the Thin Stix myself just doodling, but felt a little limited without original Kwik Stix.  As I contemplated making something more substantial, I went and got out our stash of regular Kwik Stix in order to have both options available.  As I suspected, having both options really completed the tool box so to speak.  Backgrounds and coloring in pictures went faster with the original Kwik Stix and details were noticeably easier with the Thin Stix.  

I think it goes without saying that my kids used them with ease and loved the whole process.  What I find fascinating and convicting is how addicting their use can be to adults.  Anywhere they are placed in the path of adults where they are welcomed to use them and create, people start surprising themselves.  As a society, we just don't freely create as adults the way our brains and bodies enjoy.  Think of restaurants with paper table cloths and crayons lying around.  Most people will pick up a crayon and doodle, at minimum.  It might bring a few giggles (and that's probably good for your mental health too!), but I would love to see after dinner creativity become a thing, like coffee and dessert.  Kwik Stix are the perfect medium to jumpstart it I think! They are easy to use, but the result looks like you've invested some time in painting - very satisfying!

Thin Stix are an excellent addition to the Kwik Stix family and I'll be excited to see what they come out with next!   Follow The Pencil Grip on Social Media: 

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Early Elementary Art Curriculum: An ARTistic Pursuits Inc. Review

Last year about this time, my husband and I attended our first homeschool convention here in Oklahoma and one of the booths we came back to a couple of times was ARTistic Pursuits, Inc. When I was given the chance to review it, I knew it would be a good fit!  From Preschool to High School, ARTistic Pursuits offers a comprehensive art education.  You can choose from their 10 age level curriculum books and 3 Sculpture Technique books.  For this review we received Early Elementary K-3 Book One: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. This book contains 36 lessons with at least one project per lesson.  At the front of the book, after the table of contents, is a materials page that provides a list of everything you will need throughout the duration of the lessons.  Their website does offer art supply packs for each book so that you can purchase all of them at once or recommends Blick Art Materials for buying individual supplies at a discount.  We had a few things already on hand like drawing paper, construction paper and scissors, and the rest we found on Amazon pretty easily.  Once we had everything we needed, getting started was easy.  I don't know about your kids, but mine LOVE the idea of creating anything and when I said something about art lessons they would beg for it!  With new to them supplies like watercolor crayons or the oil pastels, it took a little extra work to slow them down.  They had no clue what to do but they wanted to do it in fast forward.  

The book is divided into three sections: What Artists Do, What Artists See and Where We Find Art.  Each lesson can stand on it's own and skipping around is certainly an option, depending on your needs and purpose.  Since we had yet to begin any official art curriculum I chose to start at the beginning and work through it.  Each lesson has a couple of pages of text to read to the students with some observation exercises or discussion of some master art works.  This takes about 5-10 minutes usually.  Since we are starting on the low end of the grade level my son could only touch the surface of some of the exercises, like observing certain details about an object but it was still very engaging.  Then a project follows where the student can work on their own (mostly, depending on the age) for about 30 minutes.  While each lesson can be related to other ones, all the information needed to teach each one is provided.  My husband is particularly good at drawing and the visual arts so whenever he had the chance to teach a lesson, we were all happy!  It's hard to be the teacher, housekeeper, cook and part-time anything else (writer, piano teacher, assistant) sometimes so subbing Mr. Butler in is always a good thing.  While you could add this in up to two or three times a week to a regular curriculum, because of Mr. Butler's involvement, this was a great evening activity before or after dinner.  

J's baseball field with watercolor crayons

Since we only used the first book of early elementary, I can only speak about it, but overall none of us had any complaints.  The lessons were brief enough, but left open many possibilities for extending them.  Each lesson was independent but also perfect to combine with other curriculum especially when it came to history and cultures.  All of the actual art content did not seem watered down, but straight forward while also being age appropriate.  I had never worked with watercolor crayons before, but now my 5 year old and almost 3 year old know how they work!  Since the content of the book is not consumable, we can use these books over again with other kids, or just again to see how we can improve or gain another layer of understanding.  In my mind it is a very productive investment.

Miss Z can never be left out!

Do you have kids at a different grade level than mine? Several of the different books were reviewed so feel free to look around for reviews of the books more age appropriate at the link below.

Kwik Stix Review: No-Mess Painting!

Get ready to add something new to your must-have list in every home, classroom, and kid art studio! The Pencil Grip, Inc. is known for line of grips and other educational therapeutic products and now they have added a product you will most certainly use in your home!  I am typically more of a low-key person when it comes to new things, but this is one of the coolest things I've ever used. Tempera painting is super fun for children and adults alike and a great part of any art curriculum.  The trouble is the mess.  Even as adults you just can't get around it sometimes.  Kwik Stix  Solid Tempera Paint from The Pencil Grip, Inc. is the perfect compromise.  

For this review The Pencil Grip, Inc. sent us a Kwik Stix 12 pk, but also generously threw in their signature product, a pencil grip and an extra dark blue kwik stick! At first glance the Kwik Stix simply look like colored glue sticks and work the same with a removable cap and twist-able bottom for more thickness of paint.  The magical part is how quickly they dry with a tempera paint-like finish. They look and feel slightly sticky going on in the way lipstick might feel on paper, but literally in seconds it is dry to the touch.  The label claims it is dry in 90 seconds, but for most pictures it didn't even require a third of that time.  Not only does that mean easy clean up and no messy hands, but you can stack or file all of the artwork almost immediately.

Our 12 pack has given us a great variety of colors and my family (including Mr. Butler) has used them a lot with no sign of running low, but they do come in packages of 6, 12, and a classroom pack of 96 with a neon or metallic set as well.  We found these paints to be a fantastic asset that both my 5 year old and 2 year old loved equally, along with several adults that tried them being highly intrigued.  I'm sure these could fall into the same category with adult coloring books as things we would all enjoy spending more time than we should with.  As much as I adore my kids being creative, every time painting is mentioned, I wince a little bit just because it requires so much supervision and clean up at their age.  With Kwik Stix - and I know  I'm going to sound like a commercial here but it's the truth - all I have to do is tell J to go get some paper and the sticks.  Supervision and clean up is minimal! I can focus on something else with no pang of concern!  

  

Kwik Stix are the perfect gift for birthdays and holidays because they are consumable.  They provide a creative experience with endless possibilities that continues each time they are engaged again.  The best kind of gift in my book!