Let there be ART!

From the time they were tiny, the girls had markers. They had paper. They had glue. They had scissors. It was a given that at some point, almost everyday, we would do art. My years as an early childhood special education teacher ingrained in my brain the need for children to create. I LOVE to create. This week, I've tried out new recipes:

Banana Muffins (recipe adapted from here)

• 3 ripe organic bananas
• 3/4 C organic coconut sap/sugar
• 1/4 local apple butter
• 2 large organic eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Combine wet; add dry; bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

I made a baby beanie for a friend of the family ... I made a new wreath for the front door:

Having something to do... some way to occupy my time that is productive... having a hobby... it gives me such satisfaction, such a feeling of accomplishment. I see that very same feeling when the girls make something - we are drowning in paper around here. Paper with words. Paper with stickers. Paper with glue. Paper with drawings. Paper folded in half. Paper in envelopes. At their disposal, at all times, the girls have markers, glue sticks, scissors, stickers, crayons, pens, easel (with dry erase board/markers) and tape. Let there be art, people! Let there be art! It gets messy, it gets sticky, and it totally clutters your house. :) But then you get masterpieces such as these, which are 100% worth it:

Wordless Wednesday: 4 years ago

*My monthly collage from January 2009 used a picture of Obama to indicate Elise in each photo - clearly the presidential reference has significance again today, 4 years later...*