tHe WaNdEriNg ArTiSt

You have a picture of your toes from two years ago with sparkly polish. Is that a glitter polish or did you just do a bunch of dots? I saw it on Pinterest and thought it was SOOOOOo cute!! If it is a glitter polish what kind is it?

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:45:53 -0800

Hi! I apologize for the late reply. I saw the image on pinterest or google. I fell in love with it just the same. From what I know, they are individual hexagon / circular glitter pieces that are individually placed with a clear polish, then topped with a top coat.

mmagenta: tastelikeashes: Irina Vinnik ‘s sketchbook...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:42:31 -0800

mmagenta:

tastelikeashes:

Irina Vinnik ‘s sketchbook collection. PRETTY COOL STUFF!!

so beautiful!

ursularoxy: I need to borrow some kids to do this !

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:41:54 -0800

ursularoxy:

I need to borrow some kids to do this !

her-grace-and-elegance: “You can tell more about a person by...

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 19:29:06 -0700

her-grace-and-elegance:

“You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.” -Audrey Hepburn

Love her…

Just like in my dreams… & finding nemo!

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 14:27:10 -0700

Just like in my dreams… & finding nemo!

Mwah!

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:26:32 -0800

Mwah!

R.I.P. Whitney Houston - (August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012)

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:34:30 -0800

R.I.P. Whitney Houston - (August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012)

beautiful!

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:17:52 -0800

beautiful!

love this… though, not as pointy. wahnails: Lana Del...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:07:36 -0800

love this… though, not as pointy.

wahnails:

Lana Del Ray’s Nails for her Vogue cover shoot are BANGIN’.

Perfect Valentines Vamp Nails. SEXAY!

mollycrabapple: The Socialite Drawn on Arches Carnet de Voyage,...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:18:08 -0800

mollycrabapple:

The Socialite

Drawn on Arches Carnet de Voyage, with Royal Talens dye

riklee: Trophy Wife - © Rik Lee

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:03:11 -0800

riklee:

Trophy Wife - © Rik Lee

sneakylouise: whatthekluck: Teach them to do it for...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:40:48 -0800

sneakylouise:

whatthekluck:

Teach them to do it for themselves.

When our daughter was 15 months old we enrolled her in survival-type swimming lessons via Infant Swimming Resource.   Maybe you’ve heard about this - children as young as 6 months old learning to roll in the water and float? (See more about ISR here).

We had a marvelous instructor who on the very first day, after seeing the fear in our eyes, said to us:

“If you don’t believe she can do it, then you should leave now. Because I know she can. She needs to know that you believe in her.”

That struck a chord right away. She was exactly right. If we didn’t think she could do it, what were we doing there?  I admit I wanted to snatch my daughter out of the water at the very first sign of discomfort.  What I didn’t consider was that my behavior was sending clear signals to my daughter that I didn’t think she could do it.   Of course as parents we wanted to protect her. The goal of these lessons was to enable her to float, saving herself, if she ever accidentally fell into a body of water. Did we want to sabotage her success?

We trusted in the instructor and in our little girl, and cheered them on through the entire process (which admittedly was at times difficult to observe). At the end of 7 weeks, my daughter completed the course by ”falling” off the edge of the pool, fully clothed. After sinking down into the water, she immediately rolled over and floated. At 15 months, she did this all by herself.

I realized that my children are more capable than I give them credit for.

Allowing children to do things for themselves is integral to the traditonal Montessori methodology.  A a very young age Montessori students participate in practical life exercises that enable them to do various things for themselves. This includes what we might consider mundane tasks like getting dressed (buttons, snaps, zippers), cleaning up (washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, laundry), baking, and *gasp* cutting with a knife. This is done for various reasons. Read more about it here.

Our daughter made banana bread in class yesterday. She had been watching other children do it. She knew not to touch the materials or the oven because she had not yet had a lesson, but she was very interested. The spark in her was ignited. First she was given a lesson on it by her teacher. Then she partnered with an older student (5 years old) to watch and assist. After a few weeks she is doing it all by herself.  She just turned four.

At home she is delighted to help prepare meals and fold laundry. She can dress herself, brush her teeth, comb her hair, and toast her own waffles. She sweeps the floor, and cleans up her own messes. She is showing her younger brother how these things are done. Without the experience with the swimming instructor,  I would still be “protecting” my kids from things that they are clearly capable of doing.

It just goes to show you - if you believe in them and show them the proper way, they can do it for themselves.