What's Cooking? Enter to Win Kitchen Play items!

What's Cooking? Enter to win a red & white chef's apron and a copy of "Pretend Soup" from RosieHippo.com!!

Too hot to cook? Not with the great kitchen toys at RosieHippo.com! Are you raising the next Top Chef? Kids love to cook -- and cooking is such a great way to let young imaginations run wild! With healthy ingredients (real or pretend), you know they are setting good habits for life.

Tell us your favorite RosieHippo.com kitchen toy and let us know what additional kitchen pretend play items you would like to see on our website to be entered into our "What's Cooking?" giveaway. Enter by sending a tweet to @rosiehippo or by entering the discussion on our Facebook page.

One winner will be picked at random on July 1st to receive a child's red & white chef's apron and a copy of "Pretend Soup" cookbook for kids.

I continue to be inspired by Ethan's interest and enthusiasm about cooking...and the best part is he loves to eat what he makes himself (yes, even if it is tofu!). So give your children some fun, "good-for-you" recipes and let them create some healthy culinary masterpieces! Check out our "Eat Your Fruit and Veggies" and "Healthy Snack-tivities Kids Love" posts for fun ideas.

Kid's Chef Apron:

Pretend Soup:

Bon appetit!

xoxo,

Kim

Follow @RosieHippo on Twitter for more chances to win RosieHippo.com toys!!

Note: You must be at least 18 years old in order to enter this contest. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to RosieHippo.com and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for notifying the contest winner via Twitter.

Healthy "Snack-tivities" That Kids Love

June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month. Who knew? It's also National Candy Month. Does that make sense to you? Regardless, a healthy diet includes generous amounts of colorful, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. And as children are inherently creative and inventive, I suggest putting that creativity to use in creating healthy snacks!

You don't need more than some basics --- fresh fruit, fresh veggies, dried fruit, dried veggies, nuts, seeds, hummus, and yogurt! When children choose their ingredients, make it themselves, and name it, they are thoroughly engaged, and not only will they love their snacks, they will be recommending their creations to siblings, friends, and even parents!

Here are 5 inspired "snack-tivities" that Ethan loves:

Edible Art
need: dried fruit, nuts and seeds
create: use ingredients to create faces, flowers, turtles (these were unrecognizable to anyone but Ethan and me) and anything else your child can envision

Don't forget that old standby, "bugs on a log" - celery (log) filled with nut butter (dirt) and raisins (bugs) on top
And fresh veggies like peppers and carrots cut into strips are great for art creation too! Faces, stick figures, rockets (yes, Ethan can create a rocket out of anything!)

Flower Edible Art:





















Smile Face Edible Art:

A Vegetable Forest
need: fresh veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and hummus or other healthy dip (bean dip)
create: hummus is dirt, cauliflower and broccoli are bushes, asparagus are trees

Veggie Forest Creation (after creating his forest, he pretends a hurricane comes in and knocks down the trees...then he eats them!):

Kid Kebabs
need: wooden skewers and selection of fresh fruit (our favorites are cantelope, kiwi, watermelon, banana, strawberries, melon, apple)
create: Ethan chooses which fruit and in what order (aka design) the fruit chunks go onto the skewer

Cha Cha Cha Chips (yes I did say chips and yes we do like to make up funny names for our fruit and veggie snacks)
need: kale or apples, olive oil + salt or olive oil + cinnamin)
create: for kale, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt; for apples, slice thin, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with cinnamin; Ethan loves the "sprinkle" step! Bake at 350. I love to hear Ethan ask (after devouring a bowl of kale chips, "Mommy, I'm still hungry, can we make more Kale chips?"

Frozen Fun
need: frozen peas, corn, carrots, green beans
create: put straight into a bowl (or a measuring cup!) for finger picking fun

Ethan loves the frozen veggies:










































And, of course, always have apples on hand! in your bag... in your car... A hungry child loves to chomp on a apple and can create designs as he/she eats. Ethan loves to bite 2 eyes, then a nose, then a mouth.

Apple Face:





















So when the snack attacks hit, go for the "snack-tivities"! More ideas at my "Eat Your Fruit and Veggies" post.

Happy Grazing!!
xoxo,
Kim

Happy Earth Day!!!

Ethan at 2 1/2 years old in tie dye shirt!

Earth Day! Can you believe that we’ve been celebrating Earth Day for 40 years? April 22, 1970 marked the first Earth Day and the birth of the modern environmental movement. Launched by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who planned this first national environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda," the first Earth Day saw 20 million Americans join the demonstration in massive coast-to-coast rallies. This was at the end of the ‘60s, and man, we had that demonstrating thing down!

Isn't it great to see how Earth Day projects and programs have helped to raise awareness and unite people around the world? And isn’t amazing to see such a higher degree of consciousness from people and companies? However, there is so much more to do – and it starts with our children!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, one of my happiest parenting moments was when Ethan told me as I was brushing my teeth with the water running, “Mom, you’re hurting the earth! Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth!” I almost danced around the bathroom! (This was as good as hearing Ethan ask, “is this organic?” and “is this healthy?” in the grocery store!) I was soooo happy to see that the “be kind to the planet” message that I try to communicate to him on a regular basis was taking hold.

It also taught me what great little observers our children are, and that the best way to teach is by example. There are a few easy things to do and to teach your children:

1. Turn water off when brushing teeth
2. Turn off lights to conserve electricity
3. Learn to love the leftovers so you don’t waste food
4. Recycle
5. Use both sides of the paper
6. Drink water from the tap
7. Grow something to eat
8. Buy local to eat whenever possible
9. Take short showers
10. Unplug any device that isn’t being used

I love my job! I just love finding great products that are great for kids -- unique products made from unique materials – sustainable wood, organic fabrics, recycled materials – that are made in a way that is kind to the planet. Books and toys that educate our children about diversity, promote community involvement and teach them responsible stewardship of our planet. I love helping children explore their world in a fun, creative, imaginative way – and hope it shows!

Here are a few favorite items from Rosie Hippo that I’ve used them to teach Ethan about being kind to the Earth:

Books

“The Lorax” is my absolute favorite children’s book about how one child can make a difference! Read the Lorax to your child & act it out, build a list of what went wrong & how to be kind to the earth.

“10 Things I Can Do To Help My World” empowers kids to make a difference by showing them what they can do every day to save our resources. Read this book with your child and make recycling bins out of recycled materials. I did this with Ethan’s nursery class last year and they loved it!

“The Greening Book” is wonderful with lots of ideas and inspiration for children to learn to appreciate the earth's gifts and protect and care for our planet.

“The Down to Earth Guide for Global Warming” by environmental activist Laurie David is fun and makes this topic understandable to children.

Read "Fairy Houses" and make fairies of recycled materials, then build fairy houses on a nature walk.

Use the “Woods Walk” book to create a nature scavenger hunt. Make a list of things for the children to find in nature --- give each child a list and a pen and a magnifying lens to find the items.

“My Nature Book” – take the children on a nature hike and have them complete a page of the journal and to create wonderful memories of their outdoor adventures.

Trucks
Here come the recycling trucks! Made of responsibly harvested maple, our cute little Recycling Scoot will be a daily reminder of the importance of recycling. This toddler sized Recycle Truck is a favorite! On a larger scale, the deluxe hardwood Recycle Truck looks and performs just like the real thing with a tilting bed and recycling cans. My son loves to drive this truck around the house, filling it with paper for recycling!

Other Great Stuff
Huggable Earth Ball
A lovable, huggable fabric ball with more than 600 locations noted so geographical awareness is heightened through play.

Smiling Planet Plates
Totally natural, totally recyclable, totally darling designs to enchant both parents and children. These plates celebrate the world and its diversity with a message that we are all connected.

Kidzsack
This unique backpack is made of recycled fabric that allows your budding artist to color in all of their favorite Rosie friends over and over again! Wash it to create a new design.

Place an Order/Plant a Tree
For each order placed through Earth Day (April 22), Rosie Hippo will plant a tree through the United Nations Environment Program's Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign.

Remember to stop and enjoy the planet, on Earth Day and every day!

xoxo,
Kim

Earth Day Inspiration for Teachable Moments

April 22 is Earth Day. I believe (and I'm sure you'll agree) that every day is a good day to teach our children to be kind to our planet. I have been asked a number of times what I do to communicate this on an ongoing basis to my four-year-old son. So, I'd like to share an acronym that I use to help teach Ethan about the EARTH:

E = Experience
A = Appreciate
R = Reuse/Reduce/Recycle
T = Teach
H = Help to Make a Difference

E = Experience nature.
Since Ethan was a baby, I have tried to expose him to nature in a way that resonates with him, because for kids, it's all about the experience! From taking him outside when he was a week old to feel the rain, to crawling on the grass for the first time, to hiking in the woods when he was 2 (and in a carrier or backpack when he was an infant!) and feeling the bark on the trees and the moss on the ground and listening for birds we can identify --- the exposure to colors, textures, sights and sounds and the opportunity to experience the beautiful things about the Earth is important for building an appreciation of them.

Hiking with Ethan as an infant:





















Ethan always loved the view from the Kelty Kids backback:





















Canoeing in Vermont at 3 years old:
Hiking the Redwoods in CA with Uncle Buddy and Aunt Jen:





















A = Appreciate the beauty of our planet
With every experience, I would talk with Ethan about how important it was to appreciate the things around us….to be kind to the creatures on the Earth and to our natural resources in order to build an appreciation for clean water, clean air, and plants and animals. Finding little creatures on our hikes and quietly viewing them has taught Ethan to be aware and gentle in nature.

Exploring a hollowed out tree on a hike in Vermont last week:





















The first lizard Ethan held (he's 2 yo here and found it on a gravel driveway and thought it would be happier put back into grass):
A frog we came across on a trail:

R = Reuse/Reduce/Recycle.
Ethan and I talk a lot about R-R-R. Always carry out what you bring in when hiking. Recycle whenever possible. Use both sides of the paper to draw. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. Turn off the lights to save energy. By incorporating these messages into our days, they become “just the way we do things” and are part of our lives and who we are.

Ethan uses his dump truck to clean up toys and his recycle truck to collect scrap papers for the recycling bin:

T = Teach by example
My feeling is that every day and so many moments are teaching opportunities….and I remind myself that the most powerful teaching is by example. And there are many beautiful books and stories that help to illustrate how we all can make a difference. Stories like the Lorax really resonate with children (this is one of Ethan’s favorites!).

Reading the Lorax (Love this book! Check out my Lorax blog.):
H = Help to Make a Difference.
I point out to Ethan how he can help make a difference even as a young child. He picks out clothes to donate to Red Cross, toys to donate to a local thrift shop that supports community health services, coats to send to “keep a child warm” and I take him with me to deliver them. We are “building a well” as part of the “Born in September” program of Charity Water (as Ethan was born in September). He watched the benefit for Haiti with me and is collecting change to send to Haiti.

The bag Ethan labeled to collect money for Haiti:





















After a trip to TD Bank to convert the change Ethan has collected to cash to send to Haiti...$6.95:



















It has been wonderful to watch Ethan grow and explore nature and the world....and especially to see him develop an appreciation for the creatures in the world and the resources around him! One of my happiest parenting moments was when Ethan told me as I was brushing my teeth with the water running, “Mom, you’re hurting the earth! Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth!” I almost danced around the bathroom! (This was as good as hearing Ethan ask “is this organic?” and “is this healthy?” in the grocery store!) I was soooo happy to see that the “be kind to the planet” message that I try to communicate to him on a regular basis was taking hold.

Earth Day provides us all with a great opportunity for important teachable moments in our childrens' lives. After all, they are the ones who will inherit the Earth...I want them to know that the power to change things for the greater good is in their hands.

Remember...be kind to the Earth...and teach the same to your children!!
xoxo,
Kim

The Power of Imagination and Inspiring Pretend Play: "I am an Olympic Athlete!"

Picture this. I am in the kitchen preparing dinner. 4-year-old Ethan appears to be break-dancing on the floor. Hmmmm… never saw him do this before. Is it something he learned at school? The conversation goes like this… “Ethan, what are you doing? Dancing?” “No Mom, I’m speed skating.” Hmmmm. What am I missing here? Speed skating? How does he know what speed skating is? Oh yeah, the Olympics. We must have watched some speed skating events together. I remembered watching skiing events together but not the speed skating. Hmmmm… Doesn’t look like speed skating to me. Should I say something? Curiosity gets the best of me, so I ask. “Ethan, can you explain this speed skating thing you are doing?” “Mom, I’m turning a corner and my hand is touching the ice.” Ohhhhhhh….. Silly mom. I get it. Pretty funny actually. Really creative in fact. WOW. I get it now. Actually does look like speed skating now that I have the context. (Unfortunately, I didn’t get my camera out fast enough!) However, lots more Olympic pretend play to come.

WOW. The power of imagination and pretend play. I just love to see Ethan’s imagination at play. Whatever he is interested in at the moment comes into his pretend play. He loved watching the Olympics. And speed skating in the kitchen was only the beginning…

More Speed Skating:




































Note: Pretend speed skating has become the way that we race to my office/warehouse! First with one arm behind the back…then full out speed skate sprinting with both arms pumping and legs going side to side. Too funny!

The Luge (using a little footstool!):



















The Bobsled:






































The Skeleton (see the Olympics on TV in the background?):




















The bottom line: imagination is a powerful thing. Imagination is key to play and learning. It’s not the toy…it’s the play… kids can imagine and play without anything else in hand. And simple props can be great for extending that imaginative play ---- Poof! a fairy wand and they’re a fairy… Whooo whooo!!! A train whistle and they’re a conductor… A magnifying glass and they're a pirate or an explorer. Simple toys for great imaginative pretend play!
xoxo,
Kim

A View into their World: Drawing/Coloring with your Child

I love to do art projects with my son! Drawing, painting, coloring, crafts --- it’s always fun to see what 4-year-old Ethan creates --- and it’s always interesting to hear him describe his artwork. I find it is often a window into what Ethan is thinking or feeling ---- or what he is interested in --- or how he views the world.

So let me share one of our art experiences with you. One snowy day we pulled out "Doodles", a unique art book from Japanese author, Taro Gomi. I just LOVE this book (and Ethan does too)! It is filled with imaginative, unfinished sketches for children (of all ages!) to build on. In some cases, the facing pages have the same sketch on each side. This is great for a parent and child (or 2 children) to draw side by side (and chat!) --- or for a single child to explore 2 different options. We used Stockmar stick crayons to draw with (love these non-toxic beeswax crayons with beautiful colors!). We use both Stockmar block and stick crayons for our art projects.

"Doodles" and Stockmar stick crayons in wooden box:



















Choosing the perfect color:



















Ethan and I colored the “Fill these trees with fruit” sketches from "Doodles" side-by-side.

Our side-by-side drawings of fruit trees:



















I simply drew some apples on my tree. Ethan was far more creative! He drew an “orange and grapefruit” tree, prompting interesting discussion on how many types of fruit can grow on a single tree --- and how trees grow fruit. He loved adding long branches for the fruit to hang from. Often when you work side-by-side with a child (especially with boys), they chatter away and you get a view what they are thinking. Ethan talked about how strong the branches were on his tree so they could hold the fruit…and he told me my tree branches must not be strong because it looked like some of the apples were rolling off the tree. (Hey! I didn’t think my apples looked like they were rolling off the tree!) Ethan also commented that the fruit on his tree was really yummy because the tree got lots of sun and water.

Ethan next drew 2 types of faces side-by-side, one happy and one looking sad.

Ethan’s side-by-side faces:



















When I asked him about the emotions in the faces, he said, “I’m happy.” And then when I asked, “Why a sad face here Ethan?” and he replied, “I’m a dad now and I’m grumpy.” LOL. I couldn’t stop chuckling as my husband had been crabby that morning and this “grumpy” face must have came from that memory (kids don’t miss a thing, do they?) We labeled the frowning face “Grumpity Lumpity” which has become our term when anyone is crabby in our house --- and it always brings a smile to a grumpy face!

We draw in "Doodles" often --- and it is always fun and insightful. A recent drawing of “add smoke to the smokestacks” prompted a great discussion about pollution and keeping the earth clean.

So go ahead and draw or “Doodle” your way into your child’s mind! And enjoy the view!!!

Teaching Children That Women and Men are Equal

Uh oh…oh no…did he really say that? What did he mean? Should I be concerned? Just a few days ago, my 4 year old son, Ethan, said (as he was pretending to fly his rocket to the moon), “there are no women on my mission to the moon”.

Playing "Mission to the Moon" in his recycled cardboard rocket:





















So I asked, “why not Ethan?” “Because there can’t be any women in the rocket, mom, only men.” Hmmmm…”why is that Ethan?” I, of course, was hoping for some insight, some explanation, some window into his thoughts…and he replied “just because Mom”. So, this prompted some discussion. Ethan loves astronauts and anything and everything Space…the NASA missions, Apollo 11, the moon. He is fascinated. Loves to read books about Space and the moon…loves to watch “From the Earth to the Moon” documentary.

I was concerned that all of the Space and the moon stories we read perhaps influenced his perspective of the roles of women since they were stories from the 1960s-70s. So I explained to Ethan that women were astronauts too and they went on Space missions. And then we talked about one of the best skiers in the world, Lindsey Vonn, was a woman (Ethan skis so I thought this would be a good example). And then we read the book, “Grandma Elephant’s in Charge”, which is a lovely story about elephant herds. The leader of the elephant pack is Grandma Elephant! All the other elephants listen to and appreciate her wisdom.

Grandma Elephant’s in Charge" Gift Set:



























I’m not sure if I’m over-reacting, but I do want to make sure that Ethan has an accurate view of the world and appreciates men and women as equals.

Any advice? Similar experiences?

xoxo,
Kim