Tag Archives: Tanya Harris Franklin

Winter Fun in the Summer at the Philadelphia Zoo

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“Can we go down the snow slide again, Mommy?” my daughter pleaded. A couple of weeks ago, she had a playdate with her friend from school at the Philadelphia Zoo. Even though I have a membership, somehow I didn’t know about the fun interactive winter exhibit that’s absolutely perfect during these hot summer days. We actually stumbled upon it while looking for Bear Country and to see the flamingos and couldn’t resist getting a feel of the snow in the the summer.

Even though there is an additional fee on top of general admission or a membership (which Alison, the mother of Quinn’s friend kindly covered), it was well worth it. The girls had so much fun. Actually, we all did! They excitedly went up the long and steep staircase several times trying to help carry their snow tubes to slide down “the Snow Leopard Slope, a 120-foot-long, 20-foot-high, snow-covered incline.” They made little snowballs to throw at the targets, made a couple of snow castles and slid around trying to maintain their balance as they climbed the little snow mountains. It’s good that we found the winter at the zoo area after seeing most of the animals because getting the girls to leave this area was no easy feat.

If you haven’t been to the zoo in a while, just would like to go again or want to do an outdoor activity and still keep cool, take advantage of Winter at the Philadelphia Zoo. It’s. fun for both children and adults alike. I’m tempted to take Quinn back before it ends on August 20th so that I can go down the slope a few more times too.

All the best,

Tanya

Life’s a Beach: Fun in the Sand and Ocean with My Little Girl

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Toes wiggling in the sand with a smile on her sun-kissed face. Then waves crashing against her body reaching her shoulders at times as she squealed and yelled out, “Here comes another wave!” I am so happy that we decided to take our daughter to the beach for some summer fun in Ocean City, Maryland and most recently to Atlantic City, as a much closer commute.

Quinn’s first time down the shore was when she was merely three months old when we just walked the boardwalk, but in the years to follow, we’ve made our way down to the actual beach and in the ocean and had the time of our lives enjoying nature together for hours.

This year, my four year old had fun collecting seashells and building sandcastles with her dad and cousins too. She also insisted on being making “mush,” a combination of sand and water, and being buried in the sand. While sand has a way of sticking around for days and even weeks after leaving the beach, it is well worth it to build wonderful memories as a family and to see that smile on my little girl’s face. Here’s to many more visits to the beach throughout the rest of the summer and in the years to come.

All the best,

Tanya

Throwback Thursday: Swinging Right Along with My Little Girl

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May 2014
May 2014
July 2017
July 2017

Even before my daughter was a year old, she loved to get in the swing, and she was so excited when my husband installed one for her on our tree in the front yard, but as the weather started getting warmer a few months ago, my little girl, who is now four years old, struggled to get in and out of the swing. She informed her father and me, “I need a big girl swing! This one is too small for me now!”

Wow, it seems like yesterday when Quinn would giggle as I pushed her in the swing and was still learning to talk. Now, she does well with articulating herself and even remembers what I taught her about swinging by herself. “You can push me for a little bit, and then I can use my legs to keep going higher and higher,” she told her dad after getting on her newly installed swing a few days ago.

Quinn and I both enjoy looking at pictures, and she especially loves looking at pictures from when she was much younger. When she came across some of her in the swing, she commented, “That’s when I was a baby in the baby swing. Wasn’t I cute? Now, I’m a big girl in a big girl swing!” I just thought to myself, “Where did the time go? I guess we’re swinging right along.”

All the best,
Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Thankful My Little Girl is Grateful

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With a smile on her face, climbing up her “new” jungle gym, my daughter said, “Wasn’t it nice of the neighbors to give this to me!” “It sure was,” I told her. She then proceeded to ask, “Why did they give it to me?” To which I responded, their children outgrew it, so they thought you would like it. “Wow, that was very thoughtful!” Quinn informed me. “Yes, it sure was.” I said.

More and more frequently, I hear people talk about how it’s a cruel world and that everyone is out for themselves or how so many people, especially the younger generations, have an attitude of entitlement. While it may be somewhat true, I sincerely do not believe all people are this way. I have been trying my best to instill positive values such as gratitude and hopefulness rather than entitlement and hopelessness in my four year old daughter, so it warms my heart each time she not only utters the phrase thank you but expresses her gratitude by acknowledging how thoughtful the other person is. I always tell her that when people do something nice or out of the kindness of their hearts, it must be acknowledged because they did not have to do anything.

Just yesterday, my uncle asked her is she wanted to help frost a pink lemonade cake for the July 4th cookout, and she was so excited and said, “Uncle David picked me to help with the cake! That was very nice of him.” After helping, she told him, without me coaching her, “Thank you for allowing me to help decorate the cake, Uncle David.”

I truly believe gratitude goes further than we think and that one is never too young or too old to display it. The world is not so cruel as long as we contribute some positivity towards it. I hope I am modeling a behavior where my daughter will continue to feel the same way I do well into adulthood.

All the best,

Tanya

Splishing & Splashing: Backyard Fun in the Summer

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“You want to get in too, Mommy?” my little girl asked as she splashed around in her brand new wading pool. “No, I think I’m too big, honey,” I informed her. With a smile, she quickly slid over telling me, “There’s plenty of room for you right here, Mommy!”

When I was a little girl, I loved getting in the wading pool with my sister. We’d sometimes be in there for hours until we were shriveled up like prunes. “Look at me, I’m swimming, Mommy!” Quinn excitedly told me as she got down low and stroked her arms in the water.

Watching her brought back so many wonderful memories and also reminded me that while going to a water park or a large pool can be fun, sometimes it’s nice to have a little fun together right in our own back yard.

All the best,

Tanya

Kick it up a Notch: Mommy’s Little Karate Kid!

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With her legs moving quickly and some rhythmic arm movements, my little girl implored me, “Check out my karate moves, Mommy!” For the past year, Quinn’s been taking dance at The Little Gym but has been asking about taking karate for months. So when I saw that it was being offered this summer, I thought, “Why not?” Her dance class was all girls, which was fine, but I wasn’t too sure if she would be the only girl in her karate class and if the boys would be a little too rough for her since the age range was from four to six, meaning that she would be one of the youngest having just turned four nearly two months ago.

Last Wednesday was her very first class, and the anticipation was building for the both of us. She was excited to wear her karategi, and I, being the proud mommy, was excited to take pictures and offer praise. As we waited for class to start, I was pleasantly surprised to see that her karate class was a nice mix of boys and girls, and Quinn was able to hold her own even with some of the boys who were a bit rough at times. The Little Gym offers a good balance of instruction and fun as my daughter learns to “block, kick, and punch her way through this positive, noncompetitive twist on the ancient martial art.”

After class ended, Quinn came out smiling, “Did you see me, Mommy?” I responded, “Yes, I saw you, sweetheart.” Though I knew the answer, I asked, “Did you have fun?” “Yes, I had a lot of fun! I can’t wait to show Daddy some of my karate moves I learned.” I always get a “kick” out of seeing my daughter not just learn something new but to have fun along the way.

All the best,

Tanya

Mommy’s Monday Moments: Who Said Washing the Car Wasn’t Fun? Not My Little Girl!

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With a soapy sponge about three times the size of her little hand she sung, “This is the was we scrub-a-dub-dub…scrub-a-dub-dub…scrub-a-dub-dub. This is the way we wash the car all day long!” It was a hot day, and when I was younger I loved when my mom would wet me with the hose, so I figured my four year old would like it too and that she could have a little water play as I washed my car. As I prepared the suds water and got my sponge ready, Quinn asked with a sad look on her face and disappointment in her voice , “Where’s my sponge, Mommy? I thought I was was helping to wash your car.”

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that she wanted to take on this chore with me.  So I got a second sponge for her that she was able to out on her hand to make it easier that holding it, and she went to work. I was impressed with how she paid close attention to detail making sure that she scrubbed every part of the car that she could reach even commenting on how dirty my tires were and how she had to scrub those a lot to get them clean.

Sometimes we, as adults, may underestimate the abilities of our children or may even assume that they do not want to do chores, thereby leaving us in awe when our children rise to the challenge and surpass it.  While Quinn just turned four last month, she constantly amazes me with her eagerness to help me do chores around the house from sweeping, vacuuming, doing dishes or simply clearing the table after a meal.

I love how she can make a chore fun and bring out the kid in me. After the car was all suds up, then came the extra fun part. She giggled and asked for more as I sprayed in her direction with the hose cooling her off after all of her hard work. Once the car was all clean, she helped dry it off and then turned to her dad who joined us outside asking, “Daddy, can we clean your car next?”

All the best,

Tanya

Always Happy to Celebrate Father’s Day!

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“Today is a special day. It’s Father’s Day, Mommy!” my daughter told me this morning. “I can’t wait to give Daddy his special gift. You see, it says, ‘Fishing you a Happy Father’s Day instead of wishing you a happy father’s day.’ Isn’t that clever?” She added, “They’re Swedish fish: Daddy’s favorite! Isn’t that great!” It melts my heart to see Quinn so excited to celebrate her dad. I’m extremely grateful for the close bond they have. She really is his little twin in so many ways, and I look forward to seeing them both grow together as father and daughter bringing out the best in each other.

All the best,

Tanya

What Would We Do Without It Wednesday: Meet and Greets with Daddy

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“How much longer do we have to wait until Daddy’s train comes, Mommy?” my daughter inquired. “Just about three minutes,” I respond. Then about a minute later she asked, “How many minutes now?” No matter how many times we walk, drive, use her scooter  or ride bikes to the train station to meet my husband as he gets home from work, the excitement and anticipation never dissipates for Quinn (Well, I’m excited to see him too). One time, she asked to wear her Paw Patrol watch so that she did not have to ask me how many more minutes it would take for his train to arrive, and of course this was the time that his train was running a few minutes behind schedule. “My watch says, 5:16, but Daddy’s train still is not here!” she informed me. “It must be running late, but he’ll be here soon,” I reassured her. Around 5:21, his train finally arrived, and a joyous smile came over Quinn’s face as she shouted, “There he is!”  My husband’s serious demeanor shifts to a playful one as he gives her a big hug and ask how her day was. Then I am relegated to push the scooter or bike all the way back home as she holds her dad’s hand or “helps” him roll his work bag up the street.

Even though I think about how wonderful of a bond Quinn and her dad have and how one of the ways it is displayed is through their train station meet and greet, with Father’s Day approaching, I decided to post an entry about how grateful I am to have a terrific husband who is loving and supportive of his daughter. I’m sure I speak for Quinn when I say, “I don’t know what we’d do without our meet and greets with her daddy at the train station.”

All the best,

Tanya

Terrific Toy Tuesday: Alphabet Marks the Spot

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“What did you roll, Quinnie?” I asked my daughter. “An igloo! Igloo starts with the letter I!” she responded and sought out the letter “I” on the mat and jumped on it. One of the first steps to learning how to read is not only recognizing letters but mastering the sounds to identify which words start with certain letters. Even though Quinn has known the alphabet and been able to recite it for a few years now, when she was about three and half, I decided to purchase an interactive game that reinforces what she knows while encouraging her to want to learn how to sound out words and eventually read.

Though the game is marketed to children in kindergarten (five years old) and up, and Quinn just turned four last month, she is still able to have fun with it because there are multiple ways to play based on the level of the child. Also there is a focus on gross motor, language, social and behavioral skills that she can apply not only in an academic setting but simply interacting with people in her everyday life.

There’s so much pressure for children to learn to read at young ages, and even though Quinn is learning how to sound out and spell a few words, I want it to be a fun experience for her where she is excited about learning, and this game is one of the resources that has helped. If you are looking for a way to promote learning the alphabet and transitioning to reading with active play for your child, Alphabet Marks the Spot by Learning Resources may be the perfect choice for you.

 

All the best,

Tanya