Category Archives: Mommy Approved

Sweetness in the Making: Fun at Hershey’s Chocolate World with My Little Girl

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Imagine making your own special candy bar from start to finish? Though the main ingredient, chocolate, is established, you still get to make it your own by adding other ingredients for that one of a kind taste. My family and I had this wonderful experience at Hershey’s Chocolate World. As I observed my sweet little girl totally captivated with the process from start to finish, it made me think about my role in “creating and manufacturing” her sweetness.

Just like the candy bar, her main ingredients, or DNA and personality, are already established, but as her parent, it is my job to determine what other ingredients, or environmental factors and reinforcement, will bring out her “yummy goodness.”

It’s amazing how there’s so many steps in the process of creating and making a chocolate candy bar that one may not be aware of or even consider. One in particular that stood out to me was the cooling period which is approximately ten minutes. This makes me think about how my six year old has and will go through so many different milestones. She’ll go through hot and cooling phases, so it’s essential for me to be in tune with her needs and operate the machinery with care in an effort to yield the best life-long production.

Take a look at our fun making candy bars. Though the tasty treats may not last long, the memories will last a lifetime. In the words of Hershey, it’s “A Tale of Determination, Delicious Chocolate and Lasting Goodness!

All the best,

Tanya

Another Lesson from My Little Girl: Humans Need Nature

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Yesterday, my friend and her family were kind enough to host us at their lake house for the day, and there were so many magical moments and memories made. One in particular is when my six year old, holding her hand behind her back said, “I got something for you, Mommy!” It was a bright yellow flower, one I’d never seen before. “I got it when we were near the lily pads,” she informed me with a smile. I smiled back and said, “Thank you, Quinnie! It’s beautiful!”

As I admired this interesting little flower, I noticed something. There was a little insect inside making its way out. I called Quinn over to take a look with me, and she was fascinated by the little creature too. Once it was out, we actually discovered that there was another inside. I snapped a few pictures of it and thought to myself, humans need nature. I may not be fond of creepy crawlers, but I found myself entranced. There’s something endearing about observing children be their natural selves exploring nature. I truly am grateful for the ability to simply slow down and enjoy nature with my daughter and friends. It may not be the “norm” for most in 2019, but it feels so natural.

All the best,

Tanya

Life: Fun, Messy, and Good Like an Ice Cream Sandwich. Just Ask My Little Girl!

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“Hurry, Quinnie! You need to move quickly,” I warned my daughter as the vanilla ice cream turned started dripping everywhere. A few months ago, I gave my six year old an American Girl cookbook full of tasty desserts. Yesterday, she picked a cool, refreshing treat which we both thought would be perfect to make with the series of hot days we’ve been having with temperatures above 90 degrees: ice cream sandwiches!

Before getting started, we made sure we had all of the ingredients and purchased some extra sprinkles, mini chocolate morsels and mini M & M’s to decorate our frozen treats. This recipe actually called for creating our own soft chocolate cookies for the ice cream sandwiches: a first time for me. So I told my daughter ahead of time that it’s okay if they aren’t perfect because we’re learning together. Preparing the cookies went rather smoothly, and she practically did everything from start to finish with the exception of operating the oven.

It wasn’t until we started making the ice cream sandwiches that it became tricky or should I say messy. I absentmindedly followed the directions of the recipe and let the ice cream sit out for ten to fifteen minutes to soften it up not taking into account how hot it’s been, especially in the kitchen. Needless to say, the ice cream turned to mush in a matter of minutes. We were both racing the clock to apply the ice cream nice and neat between the cookies, decorate them with sprinkles, mini morsels or M & M’s and get the wrapped up in press and seal to be left in the freezer for at least two hours. Though they didn’t quite turn out like the picture in the book, in the words of Quinn, “It wasn’t an epic fail because they still tasted good!”

Baking cookies and making ice cream sandwiches with my little girl on a hot summer day made me think about life. Sometimes you have all of the ingredients you need, along with a few extras, follow the instructions, and it might not turn out as you had hoped. It might actually get quite messy! But that shouldn’t take away from the fun memories created while you were collecting the ingredients and following the instructions. Even as an adult, I’m still constantly being reminded that sometimes I need to modify the ingredients or instructions based on the circumstances. Also, it’s necessary to get past the messiness to simply enjoy that mushy yet tasty ice cream sandwich, especially in the summer heat.

All the best,

Tanya

Thankful for a Kind & Loving Daughter

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“I have something for you, Mommy,” my little girl told me. It wasn’t Mother’s Day, not my birthday nor Christmas. What could it be, I thought? Probably a picture she drew or a craft she made at camp. “You have something for me?” I asked. “For you and Daddy,” Quinn responded. It was a special note she wrote that said, “For Mom and Dad.” Inside, it read, “You are kind an loveing. love Quinn.” While the English professor in me was tempted  to tell her she spelled loving incorrectly, I was just so moved by the kind gesture of my six year old.

I inquired, “Did your camp counselor ask you all to write notes to your parents?” Quinn quickly said, “No! I just wanted to write you and Daddy a note to thank you for being kind and loving.” Even though we’ve both been keeping gratitude journals since the start of the year and often talk about the importance of expressing gratitude and thanking people for their generosity and kindness, I was still pleasantly surprised to get such a lovely note from Quinn. She truly is a loving and caring daughter for which I am grateful.

All the best,

Tanya

The Beautiful, Fun Nature of Children Exploring

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“I just love nature! Don’t you, mommy? What do you think we’ll see?” my daughter asked when she found out we were going on a nature hike with our cousins. “Did you ever go on nature hikes when you were younger, Mommy?” Quinn asked. “Yes, I did, and I really enjoyed them,” I told her. “Now, you get to go on a nature hike with me as an adult. Isn’t that cool?”

Even though Quinn and I regularly go for walks, it’s been quite some time since we explored nature together surrounded by thousands of trees, so this was a real treat for us both. We met up with our cousins at the Wissahickon Valley Park Trail in Philadelphia at Bells Mill entrance, and my six year old and her five year old were eager to get hiking. There were no iPads, tablets or technology to stimulate them, yet they were both intrigued by just about everything from the rocks, to the streams, to the trees to the insects, to the animals to the actual leaves on the trees.

It didn’t take long for the girls to want to take a back trail climbing over fallen trees and mountainous rocks. My cousin and I were impressed with how well they did. They were mindful of their surroundings wanting to stop frequently to take in the sights. Both Quinn and Ellie walked carefully so they wouldn’t lose their footing and were very brave when we came across steep, narrow and rocky areas on the path.

They had fun simply playing with sticks, racing to catch up with me and interacting with the butterflies, chipmunks and worms too. One of the highlights was feeding the geese bread. Though the birds eventually became a bit aggressive in pursuit of more bread, the girls were absolutely tickled and ran off squealing as they were chased by the geese. “That was fun and gave us exercise too,” Quinn said.

As we headed back to our cars after three hours of walking and exploring, Quinn asked, “Mommy, do you think we can come back here again to explore? Maybe next time with Daddy?” To which I responded, “Definitely!” I can’t wait to go on the next hike with Quinn. This will certainly be one of our go-to activities together.

All the best,

Tanya

Red Carpet Celebration: My Little Girl’s a Super Star Reader!

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The luxurious Escalade SUV limo was parked. The plush, red carpet was rolled out, and the “fans” patiently awaited their arrival. One person shouted, “I think I see them!” People positioned themselves with cameras and cell phones ready to take pictures and videos. Then the door opened, and they all came parading out wearing their finest clothes and accessories.

The cheers from the crowd would make you think they were all singers being recognized at the Grammy’s or actors and actresses being recognized at the Emmy’s. But they were all being celebrated for something even more notable: kindergarten through fourth graders who read 100 or more books in a little less than three months!

My little kindergartener was among this small group of children who accomplished this wonderful goal! She read well beyond the 100 book minimum, many on her own with little assistance from me. Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, Thelma the Unicorn, Princess Truly and If You Give a Mouse an iPhone were some of her favorites to read. I am so proud of my six year old’s accomplishment and happily cheered her name as she walked the red carpet with the other children and went into the limo.

Afterwards, all of the children were lead by the school librarians and paraded through the halls of the school, along with the parents, where the other children and teachers were all lined up in the hallways to give hi-fives and cheer on the kids for reading so many books. Ending in the library, they were all then celebrated with cake and sparkling apple raspberry cider. I thought it was a wonderful event and an awesome way to reward children for reading. Quinn, along with the other children, all looked and felt like superstars! She’s so excited to keep reading and can’t wait to do the challenge again when she’s in first grade.

All the best,

Tanya

So Happy It’s Not a Chore to Get My Little Girl to Do Chores!

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“You know, Mommy, sorting and rolling socks together is actually kind of fun,” my newly six year old informed me yesterday as she helped with the laundry. Since my daughter was a toddler, she’s been helping around the house with basic tasks like putting away her toys, sweeping, clearing the plates from the table and even washing dishes. Most people would agree that chores can not only be a time consuming but be the tasks they dread doing the most. So it pleases me that my daughter has actually been begging for more chores to do around the house.

When she was a toddler, she’d help sort clothes by color or by item, such as tights, shirts or pants. But now she’s insisted on doing more, so she helps with folding undershirts, underwear and socks. “There’s a lot of socks here, Mommy!” Quinn started counting them and told me, “I folded together twenty-one pairs of socks, Mommy!” I love chores that stimulate critical thinking and allow my daughter to use math. Even afterwards, on her own, she decided to carry several of the socks in her shirt wrapped up at the bottom so that she could carry more at once. “Very clever technique, Quinnie!” I told her.

While I am sure there will come a time when Quinn may dread doing a certain chore, for now, I am grateful that she has fun doing them and understands the importance of contributing towards our household.

All the best,

Tanya

American Girls on the Move and All Dolled Up!

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Unable to contain herself, she repeatedly said, “I’m sooo excited! I”m just soo excited!” For my daughter’s sixth birthday, we drove a little over three hours on Friday night to Vienna, Virginia, right outside of Tysons Corner, so that we could get a bright an early start going to the one and only…”American Girl” store! Though the store opened at 10am and our salon appointment wasn’t until 10:15am, Quinn begged if we could just go to the mall and walk around until the store opened.

Would you believe that we spend nearly three hours in the store and bistro?! Would you believe me if I told you I could have spent all day in the store even if my daughter wasn’t with me? There was so much to see and explore. It was like going to an interactive doll museum. With this in mind, over the next week, I plan to do separate posts about our experience as “American Girls” on the move. If you’re a doll lover, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did! Until then, check out this video preview.

All the best,

Tanya

What’s the Word of the Day? Learning with My Little Girl

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“So Mommy, what was your students’ word of the day?” my little girl inquired. “Today’s word was languish,” I told her. She perked up and asked what it meant. After telling her, she then longingly said, ” I wish I could learn a word a day.” I then recalled seeing an advertisement for a book that gives children a word a day with pictures, definitions along with other features and thought it would be perfect! I showed the web site for Mrs. Wordsmith and samples to my soon to be six year old and asked her if she would like me to order it for her to which she eagerly replied, “Yes, please!”

I decided to order the word a day along with the story dictionary for children ages 6 – 12. (There’s one for 3 – 6 year olds too). Quinn checked the mailbox after school everyday. Finally, after almost two weeks, the materials had arrived! I was just as eager as my daughter was to tear open the package.

She asked, “Mommy, can we keep my word a day at the dining room table so that I can read the word and definition when I’m eating my breakfast and then practice again for lunch or dinner?” With a smile on my face, I nodded, “Of course!” “Since she’s in kindergarten and not quite six yet, I wasn’t sure if the materials would be too advanced since it is up to age 13, so I thought the dining room table would be the perfect location so that she may get assistance from her father or me with the words.

Thus far, I’m very impressed with how well Quinn is doing with sounding out and reading not just the words but the definitions and explanations too. The pictures are so colorful and nicely detailed to help not just children but adults who might not know some of the words. Something else that I love is that she is making an effort to create sentences using the words or making associations with the words.

There was, however, one word Quinn associated with me that caught me off guard. When I came home from work after not seeing Quinn in the morning during breakfast and asked her about the word of the day, she said, “Today’s word is describing you, Mommy. It’s conceited!” I tried to convince her that I wasn’t conceited, but then she showed me the illustration. “See, conceited is someone who likes to take a lot of selfies, just like you!” (Interestingly, when I was younger and even in early adulthood, I was always shy and self conscious about taking pictures.) I blushed and thought to myself, I guess I better cut back on all of the picture taking some.

If you are looking to help your child not only enhance his or her vocabulary but possibly yours as well, I strongly suggest purchasing the Storyteller’s Word a Day and Illustrated Dictionary. Quinn’s only been using it for a little over a week and loves getting her word a day!

All the best,

Tanya

STEM Fun: Dyeing Easter Eggs with My Little Girl!

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Two years ago, I did a blog entry about how much fun it was to dye Easter Eggs with my little girl. Now that she’s almost six, the activity is not only fun but an absolute learning experience involving STEM, or shall I say STEAM. Quinn was eager to do just about everything from start to finish. She organized everything on the counter and even suggested that we organize the cups in the order of the rainbow colors.

When it was time to add the tablets, she recalled from last year that her fingers should be dry so that none of the dye gets on them. Without me informing her, she remembered that the vinegar would go to the first measurement line, and the water would go to the second line.  “Alexa, set a timer for one minute,” she said after the eggs were in the cups.  We took a look, and she said let’s leave them in a little longer so that the color will get darker.

Since we had one egg that cracked as it boiled, we decided to experiment with it. “How about we dip it in blue first and then dip it in red so that we can get a purple eggs?” she suggested. I love how she’s always thinking and experimenting. Then came the artistic component. She designed each colorful egg and made them look so cute, almost too cute for me to eat! I felt like the one I had was begging me not to eat her with those big jiggly eyes.

Even if you don’t celebrate Easter, doing this activity is a great way to teach children colors, how to do measurements,  how to have patience, trial and error and how to get creative. Another bonus is that it’s a wonderful bonding experience that results with a treat to eat.

All the best,

Tanya