Category: Family

Teaching My Kid to Light Stuff on Fire

I just got back from Australia, so last night Hank and I were reading about how Koalas don’t drink much water.

Hank: “That’s because the leaves they eat have water. Most animals in dry places get their water from their food.”
Me: “… I did not know that.”
Hank: “Do you know that the human head weighs eight pounds?”

Ah, I kid about that last bit. Speaking of which, the Jerry Maguire little boy went all Anthony Michael Hall, amirite? Also, if you know what I’m talking about, that link will make you feel decrepit. I’ll just go find my movie glasses while you see if Viva Las Vegas is playing on AMC.

Anyway, Hank has been poring over science books and begging to film an experiment “show” since he was about four. Two years later, I finally figured teaching other kids about science would be a good way to remember vocabulary and concepts himself, durr, so we filmed a couple. We read about how everything works beforehand, and I had him explain it back to me, so he could narrate the video.

I know so much about convection now. Gentlemen.

I posted a couple videos on Go Mighty:

Keep it Clean: Hank’s Expanding Soap Experiment

This Earl is on Fire: Hank’s Tea Bag Rocket Experiment

Holy crap. Did you have any idea Ivory soap and tea bags did this stuff? GAH! Particularly the tea bags. If you let me enter your home, I will now demand that you let me light a teabag on fire. I need you to see.

We’re doing three more experiment videos, so if you have any cool ones to recommend using household items, let me know.

And if you already knew about the soap? Why didn’t any of you tell me? I can hardly look at you.

This post is part of the Too Small to Fail initiative sponsored by Next Generation and the Clinton Foundation, whom I like very much. They’re trying to close the Word Gap by encouraging all of us to take small steps to improve kids’ chances in school — like talking to and making lots of eye contact with pre-verbal babies, and increasing one on one time with kiddos. More info here.

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Breastfeeding Hormones and Depression

Hey, team. I’ve recently had two girlfriends suffer chemical depression that they feel is related to breast feeding — either feeding or weaning. For the record, I’m pro breastfeeding, but con debilitating sadness. I just wanted to link to these posts in case any of you are suffering from something similar and trying to figure out what’s up.

Joanna Goddard from A Cup of Jo on Depression and Weaning

Helen Jane of HelenJane.com on Depression and Breastfeeding Hormones

I’m also hoping to bump the info up on search engines so it’s easier to unearth for other women who may be trying to figure out why they’re crying all the time even though they’re technically past the post-partum depression window.

Have you had a similar experience? If so, you’re welcome to leave stories and links to posts on the subject in comments.

Again! I am pro breastfeeding, and boobs in general. Thanks to Joanna and HJ for speaking up, breastfeeding is a scary issue to address online. Brave. Low fives, ladies.

DIY Nemo Fish Costume for Your Toddler


Since Halloween is looming, I thought I’d post a quick tutorial for Hank’s costume from last year. Here’s what you’ll need:

A sweatshirt (3T) and matching sweatpants
About 30 felt squares (15 of each color) for your scales and tail
1 white felt square
1 black felt square
Stiff, starched fabric for the crown
Clean 28 oz tin can
Scissors
Glue Gun
2 hours in front of the TV
Glass of wine

Sweatshirt costumes are great for toddlers because they feel familiar, so they’re easier to get on and off. This costume is great because you can use any color combos you want, which means that the stained sweatshirt you planned to throw away will work fine. We chose orange and yellow because Hank was into Finding Nemo at the time.

The tail is two pieces of felt hot glued in place. To make the bottom piece, I folded a felt square in half on the diagonal, cut away along the fold to make the tail shape, then glued the two sides together for extra stiffness. The top part of the tail is just a piece of scrap left over from cutting the scales.

I smooshed a large tin can until it was approximately scale shaped, and used it to trace the scales onto the felt. I folded felt squares in half so I could trace once and cut out two scales at a time.

The eye is felt too. I used drinking glasses as templates for the circles. The crown was a little trickier.

Mine is made from a reusable shopping bag, which was just the right stiffness. I cut a bunch of uniform rectangular strips, then bent them in L-shapes and glued the bottom parts of the Ls in a line along the top seam of the hood. I alternated which way the bottoms of the Ls were facing, and overlapped the strips slightly, so each strip kind of supported the one next to it.

I trimmed the top into a rough half circle, and trimmed away excess fabric from the bits I’d glued down. Then I took a leftover felt scale, cut it in half, and glued one piece on either side of the crown for added structure, and to hide the messiness.

You can see from this photo how I glued the scales — this sweatshirt is a 3T. I started at the bottom and worked my way up with the sweatshirt zipped closed. Take care not to glue over the zipper.

Same deal with the back, and voila!

You have yourself a little fishy. Happy Halloween!

Kids TV Shows You Should Watch

Now that Hank is three, we let him watch TV. And when he was a toddler? We let him watch TV. And when he was a tiny baby who woke up at 3 a.m. and wouldn’t go back to sleep? We turned on the TV that’s supposed to distract cats with shiny things twisting in the wind. Worked like a charm.

I realize this makes us monsters in certain circles of liberal San Francisco parenting, but those people have more energy than me. Since TV can be awesome, I have not put it high on my list of things that might turn my child into a serial killer. I keep a close eye to make sure he’s kind to small animals, advise him strongly against smacking anyone, and let him watch Backyardigans when he says please.

The folks at The Hub asked me to write a post about the kids shows we like, and my brain went fuzzy with the possibilities. I decided to focus on the shows we’re all willing to watch together:

Yo Gabba Gabba
Hey look! Your Burner friends got together, called some Indie Bands, and made a kids show about music, dancing, and not throwing hard things at other people’s heads! Introducing childless friends to this show is one of the most awesome things about becoming a parent. We’re like, have you seen this? And then we show them the song about not biting your friends. We’ve noticed a dramatic decrease in biting at our cocktail parties.

Wonder Pets
This show features a trio of classroom pets in mini operas — they fly around the world saving other animals, singing to the tune of classical music compositions and other musical genres. The characters have actual personalities, the little girl duck in particular. She’s well meaning and witty, but stubborn, and a little self focused. In other words, instructional first-girlfriend material.

Fraggle Rock
Try to criticize anything Jim Hensen did, it’s like spitting on the flag. Fraggle Rock was my favorite as a kid, I knew all the songs by heart, so I’ve tried to force it on my kid. As a result he’ll only watch a single episode over and over, the theme of which is that you should let your friends help you. Hank’s takeaway is the single hubristic song in that episode called, “I Can Do It on My Own!” And that refrain has become his rallying cry whenever we’re plugging something in, using knives in the kitchen, or juggling chainsaws.

Still, as long as he’ll cuddle me on the couch while we’re watching, I’ll take it.

http://thirdparty.fmpub.net/placement/356346?fleur_de_sel=%5Btimestamp%5D

Let’s Panic about Babies

Alice and Eden just launched a new project they’ve been working on for a while, Let’s Panic About Babies!

“You are hardly alone. If your friends and family aren’t in your house, pointing out every hapless decision you’re making, there are hundreds of strangers on the sidewalk with placards who are more than willing to leap into the fray. And for those times when you are utterly alone, you always have us, dear reader! We may not actually be physically present, but we’re right here in this web site, laughing at you—but quietly, so you can’t hear. That’s how much we want you to perceive that we care.”

Congratulations, ladies! It’s high time we had somewhere we could panic as a community.