Disney Live: 3 Princess Tales

Disney holds the secret to magic. 

The kids and I saw Disney Live! this past weekend. Baby girl was only impressed with the fireworks and Ty only cared for the witches (so he says) , but four-year-old Za...

Well, she was inspired, giddy almost. 

Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy narrated the three tales of Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle. My kids have not seen those characters' movies, but have seen the first four's show. Even though the stories were not familiar, they had no problem following along. 

Of course, I got mom memories, like Za waving her toy Minnie Mouse at the Minnie on stage, or Ty grumbling because Lightening McQueen was not present. 

The kids had fun, and the show was just over an hour long- perfect for little ones. 

The Pageantry 

Anything Disney will be well done, and this was no exception. The characters had costume changes, and the famous princess dresses from the three stories were dazzling. 

My favorite part was the kick line during Beauty and the Beast's famous,  "Be Our Guest." The kids commented about the lights and matching wardrobe for the closing- shimmery gold and lights.

The Stories

I'm not a huge princess fan. Za has never had a princess birthday party and she has not seen many of the movies. I feel that the movies are from a different time period and do not apply to today's norms, expectations, and common sense. 

BUT I am aware that aside from the verbal animals, talking mirrors, and carriages via pumpkins, some people take these stories literally, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. 

Women say they want "a Prince Charming" or rescued as princesses are. While I don't believe Belle suffered from Stockholm syndrome, I cannot ignore that these Disney stories are meshed in our American culture and my children will learn about them - from somewhere. 

Like all forms of media learning, discussing ideas with children makes sense. 

Media Learning

Za wanted to know why the witch hated Snow White, the stepsisters enslaved Cinderella, and the Beast jailed Belle. 

Actually, those weren't her words, but she did climb on her dad's lap upset. 

We talked about every story needing a problem, and that in kid stories, really, really bad things wouldn't happen - especially since the characters couldn't exist, like a beast or talking mirror. 

We also discussed that the stories are silly, and that most of those events couldn't happen anyway, to which Za replied, "yeah, people don't like mouses, only Mickey Mouses."  

Which, is the perfect quote to lead onto the kids' Christmas present: Disney tickets!

They will be surprised in about a month with a Christmas trip to Disney. We are excited, and the trip to Disney Live! hopefully set the tone for more fun to come. 

What I Love About Communication Junction

For the past two months, baby C.J. and I attended the first Sign and Play class through Communication Junction. Official graduates (I have the certificate in the baby book!), we developed together the best parts of the class in a handy top-five list.

A bit of background: my baby is now one. The class had younger kids, and older ones. The class worked well for all the ages. Actually, my four year old has complained multiple times that her sister knows something she does not, and I've thought about taking her, and I don't think she would be out of place.

That's Abbey, with baby C.J. sucking her thumb in the back. 

Abbey teaches the class, and she is a licensed speech language pathologist. She does not always wear that striped hat, and she is very helpful and knowledgeable.

Onto the benefits...

1. An educational setting. I've written before about finding the balance between allowing children to explore, to have downtime, and to learn concepts. The class was 45 minutes long, and it had this balance. C.J. loves stories, toys, and songs. It was educational, and I never planned on introducing a new language to baby, but I am glad I did - she remembers these concepts.

2. One-on-one time. C.J. and I don't get tons of one-on-one time, poor third child. She gets lots of mom time with the other kids, but it isn't the same as what Ty (first baby) and even Za got. This was 45 minutes of snuggle time, our fun activity together, our happy memories. (I'm smiling at her as I type this, just saying).

3. Age-appropriate. I mentioned that C.J. is one year old. The kids pictured above are older and enjoyed playing dress up the day we learned signs for clothes. C.J. did too, from her mom's lap - and all of the activities worked on different levels. For instance, during the final class, we learned the sign for brushing teeth, and all the kids had a blast with new toothbrushes.

More bubbles! Every child knows the signs for this command. 

4. Support and encouragement. My entire blog is devoted to encouraging parents to teach their children at home (and everywhere) and empower them to become teachers. Learning sign language gave me another tool in my mom-toolkit, another activity to complete with my kids. Because parents attend the signing classes with their children, they are helping teach!

5. Multiple lessons. Children rarely learn one concept at a time. Part of brain-based learning tells parents that the brain is a parallel processor. C.J. remembers signs, but she was also paying attention to my face as I pronounced words, dancing and balancing as we sang, and socializing with other kids.

The kicker? C.J. already has a skill that she will use for life, a skill that is in high demand and expected to grow even more.

It was a wonderful opportunity, and C.J. and I had fun. We bonded together, and I never knew that this program was in Peoria. Please check out Communication Junction's webpage for more information, or contact me with any questions about my experience.

Special thanks to Blissful Images for the fabulous pictures!

I received compensation in the form of a class fee waiver. All opinions posted in my blog, in person, on social media and any other form of communication are my honest and personal ones.

Children's Discovery Museum

Children's Discovery Museum - Normal, IL

We live about an hour away from Normal, IL. My kids have been to the Children's Discovery Museum several times, some with us and other times on class trips. They ask to go frequently, but we are members at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. With the gas and time and ticket price, I always tell them no and go to the museum 10 minutes from us. For a treat though, the family went a few days before school started.

We had a blast, and the kids showed me that they are too old for pictures. I also answered my biggest question, "is the Normal or Peoria museum better for kids?"

First, the review.

The Children's Discovery Museum has three floors. Floor one has a section for little kids/babies, a water table, a dentist chair, medical section, restaurant, train tables, and a padded area for babies. (That's a ton of kid-friendly stuff).

Baby playing with blocks.

Sometimes educational places don't have baby areas, but this museum has several.

This is large area has steps and carpeted play areas for toddlers.  

PLUS the museum has a "dirty toy box" for slobbered toys. Fabulous.

Floating demonstration.

While Ty and Za went off to explore messy and open areas with dad, baby C.J. and I had toddler areas to explore.

The elevator... why do kids love the elevator? It must seem magical to them, and they love pressing buttons. Anyway...

Floor two has a combine that the kids put balls in, crank, and then collect. They can also shoot the balls across the room, which I don't need to explain is the coolest thing ever. 

Dumping the balls in the vacuum for them to go across the ceiling.

The floor has interactive computer touch-screens for kids to learn about the food they eat. I do not agree with everything presented in these info-graphics (corn, dairy), but explained what was presented, the sponsors of the area (ahem), and what dad and I believe.

Ty milking the cow.

Sisters driving the tractor.

Much of floor two has information about farming, recycling, and compost. This is my favorite floor and my kids actually spent the majority of the time on it.

Za making music.

It also has a noise machine with cranks that allow the user to change the volume and tone.

Floor three contains large items - a walk-on piano, a drum set, a small room for crafts, a stage, and a painting area.

My kids wanted to spend the most time up here. The encouragement to paint on the walls is too exciting to resist!

Overall

This museum is huge. My suggestion is to plan how long your family can stay focused without breakdowns (about an hour for mine) and divide by three. Each floor is worthwhile, but we spent too much time on floor two. The kids were hungry but wanted to keep painting on floor three. We had to drag them out to feed them. A little bit of organization on our part, with five-minute alerts for the kids, would have helped.

I should add that the museum has a party area for food, and vending machines with some decent choices. We staved off hunger for a bit, but eventually had to leave for a pizza.

The kids loved it. I got bored watching them dump those balls in the vacuum, but hey, it happens. Which leads me to my thoughts about the "better" museum in the Central Illinois area.

Second, the decision. 

When we left, I had the Children's Discovery Museum totally sold in my head as the better choice. My kids love it and ran around, jumping from one interactive toy to another. My kids never want to leave the Peoria museum either, but even taking the "newness" of the museum they seldom frequent into account, I still believed they liked Normal better than Peoria. They might still - and it is very educational, well worth the ticket price.

Then as were buckling the kids in for the ride home, we asked the kids what their favorite part was. After they answered, Ty asked me the same thing.

"I don't know," I told him. I love watching my kids at that museum, but it is a kid museum, not catered to me. I have more fun at the Peoria museum. The kids' areas are smack in the middle of the "adult" areas. While I watch them play, I read about fish, area hospitals, or athletics.

That edged the Peoria museum up in my mind. I set the example for my kids by learning while they do - and our areas are not totally separate. My kids explore and learn at both museums, but I also learn in a "mom area" as the kids call it. Showing my kids that I enjoy learning while they explore - that is the best example of lifelong learning I can imagine. I wish Normal would add some parent material so parents can set the same examples there.

I was not compensated in any way for this post. 

Peoria Riverfront Museum

Peoria Riverfront Museum is located at 222 SW Washington St. in Peoria, IL.

Ty and Za at the old museum.

Once, Peoria had a museum, and the children's area was teeny-tiny. The above picture shows the "block" area. My kids liked it, but they love the new museum.

My favorite part is the tot area, for ages baby through kindergarten.

The tot area has soft padding, small balls, and tubes for kids to climb in/ on.

C.J.'s favorite part is the window, however. She crawls to it, looks out, and is thrilled that she can see out a window. (Tall windows probably frustrate babies). She also enjoys the mirror.

Ty and Za especially enjoy the water areas. (I believe the museum has two specific ones, always open. The picture below is in a science lab. The lab is sometimes closed). They are fitted with pipes and other manipulatives for the kids to explore how water flows the best, and in what ways. Another section has a barge area with explanations as to how different river contraptions work. My kids play at the water areas most of their time, and really enjoy it.

The water play places have dryers and plastic shirt covers, but my kids end up with wet sleeves in the cold months. I suggest bringing an extra shirt if your kids have long sleeves.

Ty and Za exert lots of energy (yah! especially during the cold, indoor months) at the block area. This area has an assortment of blocks, different sizes and shapes, for kids to build. My kids normally trap each other in a building.

Another favorite part is the sand and bulldozer area. It is away from the areas pictured above. Instead, it has "sand" (recycled plastic container pieces) and bulldozers, cranes, dump trucks. This area also has a Automoblox section. Kids can assemble and race them.

Finally, the museum has many special days, such as coloring with homemade paint or engineering day.

We are members and that pass is good for a year. The special activities keep the museum fresh with my kids. They want to go frequently, which is wonderful. It is a learning experience and a nice trip. The workers have been very helpful, and always polite to my kids. They take time to explain activities and are patient with them.

The museum has a theater, and movie-type food. The food is not healthy (and has movie-theater prices), so we normally eat before we arrive.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum is great for kids. I am not particularly intrigued by it as an adult, but my kids will play for hours, and they learn from their experiences there.

I was not compensated for this post. This review is my honest, unpaid opinion. 

Communication Junction

All three of my kids participated in a workshop put on by Communication Junction.

Normally I don't think much of taking all three kids to an event, but this was different - in a good way. Finishing this made me feel accomplished.

Exercise

Thursday mornings, Abbey Cook, the owner of Communication Junction, takes moms, dads, babies, and kids on a mile walk. (This is why I am proud for bringing three kids with me. Walking with three kids is not easy). This exercise makes me happy for other reasons:

1. Research tells teachers that physically fit students are prepared to learn. When students work their bodies, they awaken their minds. Any teacher knows that students are sleepy in the morning but after recess, they are ready to learn.

2. Parents (both mom and dads attend) get exercise. Exercise can help adults' mental health, which hopefully leads to better parent-child interactions.

3. Parents and children are making a habit of exercising together - a great bonding time, a wonderful example.

I have attended twice. We meet at Running Central, chat, walk, get water, and sit in a circle. Abbey sings a song (which Za has learned after only attending twice), reads a story, and does another song which includes movement.

Sign Language

The entire time, Abbey signs with the kids - throughout the stories and singing. As a speech pathologist, Abbey believes that teaching sign language to babies and children increases their abilities to communicate.

Aside from broadening communication, kids also learn a second language. In talking to Abbey, she further made the distinction for me that "language is required in life and speech is a skill that we learn." I have never heard that point made, but it makes sense. Babies communicate before they talk.

(I also wonder if knowing sign language has benefits for when children grow. When I taught public speaking, I spent hours discussing the importance of hand movements - a form of communication. I wonder if there is a correlation between knowing sign language and being a competent public speaker who effectively uses hand movements).

After our first trip, Za and I discussed reasons why people learn sign language. She cooperated better the next time.

What to bring

If you are going to attend Thursday exercising and signing with Communication Junction, you will need:

* comfy shoes and clothes for you and your kids
* stroller (if your kids cannot walk the entire time)
* sunscreen
* five dollars for your family

Moms and dads have attended both times I have gone, and kids snack on crackers and bananas. It was a relaxed environment that provided exercise and an educational activity. You can learn more about Communication Junction on Facebook.

I was not compensated for this post. This review is my honest, unpaid opinion. 

Caterpillar Play Area at Grand Prairie

Caterpillar Play Area at Grand Prairie 

My kids get bored with shopping, frequently.

The Peoria Shoppes at Grand Prairie has a CAT play center for kids to burn off energy and exercise. The area has several "tractor" and "rocks." Kids can slide and climb on it all.

I like that while kids are cooped up while parents shop, they have a nice and clean area to play. It also works well for one parent to shop, and the other to go off to a few stores.

Plus, the area works well for all ages. Here is Za a few years ago, climbing from a "pipe."

The play area is located close to Dick's at the Peoria outdoor mall.

This was an unpaid review, and I received no form of compensation. This is 100% my own opinion. 

Elementary Kids Summer Activity: Week Four

8 Weeks Left!

School seems far away, and that makes sense since we've been home for about a month now. Ty is attending World of Wonder in Peoria, IL this week, and he enjoyed his first day.

I wanted to mention that you can jump into the "word of the day" program at any time - they are themed by week, but not overall. Children want to learn and if your summer is not going the way you wanted, jump in!

Here is week four of our school work, albeit relaxed school work:

Words: (theme: nature)

Insect: an animal with a body divided into three parts and three pairs of legs

Spider: an anachnid that spins webs

Roots: part of a plant that anchors it and absorbs nutrients

Weed: a valueless plant growing wild

Compost: a mixture of various decaying organic substances

Quotes: (Judy Blume)

Little kids are amazing. They seem able to adjust to anything.
Not everything has to have a point. Some things just are.
The truth will make you odd.
Our finger prints don't fade from the lives we touch.
Snoring keeps the monsters away.


Bible Verse: Psalm 96:1

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

The Art Garage

Za and I attended Toddler Time at The Art Garage at Studios on Sheridan. 

Peoria, Illinois has an art center that has opportunities for children, adults, and groups. Tuesday was Toddler Time. I saw people talking about the gathering on Facebook. To attend was $5 so I thought Za and I would give it a shot. We were there for an hour and had a very pleasant time. The hour included:

* a story reading - this time it was "The Monster At The End of This Book"
* cardstock masks
* paint

Za listening to the story.

and an added benefits to parents:

* a painting area that I did not have to clean

Smocks were provided!

Jessica, the owner, was very patient and helpful. She praised the kids for sharing and passed around paint for them. She dried the masks for the kids, which did have me worried at one point because Za's mask was quite heavy with paint.

Finished!

Connecting literature and art is a great way to help children remember the story.

Za told everyone that she is not a real monster, just a pretend one like Grover. 

Za is still playing with the monster hours later. She had fun and talked to the other kids. While the paintings dried, the kids played with paper and crayons. Overall, it was a pleasant way to spend an hour, and for $5, that is a great deal. We plan to return to The Art Garage this summer for more artistic times!

I was not compensated for this post. This review is my honest, unpaid opinion.