spring fever drawing

I just love what spring does to the soul! As spring entered our little lives last week, we all sat down together and made our Equinox goals, a ritual we do every year. The one goal we all had in common was to focus on a dedicated studio space (something we gave up for other things that are many numbered). So, with an eye towards that, and even though the space has yet to materialize, art is starting to take to its springtime blooming.

Here's a fun project that really allows the creative mind to take off... drawing while never lifting up the pencil. Here's Zeal's:


"Untitled Bird" (the actual name he gave it), oil pastels, 2009

This is a photocopy, photographed by Zeal and waiting for a frame and to be added to the Zeal Gallery. He gave the original to Grandma. Sweet spring, you have worked your magic once again.

more musical love

If you like music too, check out this feature on The Savvy Source today:

Exploring the Creative Potential of Music
excerpted from Child of Wonder

There is a whoosh-whoosh rhythm in the womb, a mother’s heartbeat in perfect time: nature’s drum. With the sense of touch, this internal drumming can be felt at just a few weeks gestation. Then, at ten weeks, hearing develops and the ssh! of Mama’s blood reaches the ears. This, our first music, begins before we even open our eyes.

Perhaps related to this perfect rhythm as such a potent and primitive force in our lives, listening to and making music have been classifies as brilliant neurological exercises. The brain has different areas which are activated with various aspects of thinking and doing. It is much too simplistic to divide those functions because the brain is interconnected and cooperative. The more we do to stimulate all parts of the brain, the more we can encourage verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and cognitive processing. Brain research concludes that there is a window of opportunity when neurons can be connected and the brain can develop the ability to learn new languages, hear tones, think spatially, and internalize distinct strategies to solve problems. With that in mind, it is important to provide substantial opportunities for hearing and making music early in a child’s life. Luckily, those opportunities are available in abundance.

Read the rest of this article on the Savvy Source.

traps continued...

SO, I mentioned earlier that we like to set leprechaun traps for St. Paddy's Day. This year was no exception. Only Zeal took a good deal of time deciding how it was going to be. He pulled out all types of materials. I thought he was going to settle on some type of pulley system or some other simple machine to do the work.

Zeal is surely a fan of anything lego. And so he was inspired by this trap made with Lego Mindstorms (he's waiting to turn nine so he can be on a lego robotics team):


But really, how good is that really gonna catch a leprechaun? They are just too fast and tricky for something like that. So he went old-fashioned trap door on us! Add a few signs to lure them in, and voila! they fall right into your trap! Especially once you've soaped up the hole so they can't climb back up. Notice there is a small lego staircase, but until Mindstorms can move a bit faster, they are out of any of his trap building.

Once you're done setting up your trap, it's a great time to curl up with your sister (who fell asleep watching you) and take a little nap.


















Good thing leprechauns aren't really as greedy as their reputation makes them out to be, cause this one actually left a bit of chocolate gold in return for his escape (which happened out of one tiny crack between the blocks). The note he left said, "Good try. You almost caught me, but I am just too tricky for you! Better luck next time. Happy St. Paddy's Day!"

And it was.

a little raschka love+

Do you know about Chris Raschka? Author, illustrator, lover of music and rhythm of words extraordinaire! We love him! His work is so simple, yet so complex. So beautiful and so full of creative life!

As a youngin' Zeal completely fell in love with Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. Now, even at an age beyond what is "recommended" by the publisher (yay!) he is entranced by an even earlier work of Raschka's called John Coltrane's Giant Steps.

You may be surprised
at the tricky music
a box,
a snowflake,
some raindrops,
and a kitten
can make.
Right before your eyes.
And on the pages
of this book.
There is someone
backstage
watching, encouraging
our performers
but keeping them
under control.
Why not
listen along?

And it helps that Daddy is perhaps the world's biggest Coltrane fan, but certainly not a necessity to find the beauty in this fun tale.

And here's wishing you a toe-tapping-filled week!

Build a Better Leprechaun Trap

Every year around this time we break out the supplies to see if we might be lucky enough to catch a leprechaun. Whether you are at home or in a school situation, "building a better leprechaun trap" is a fun, creative way to get in the mood for leprechaun season while building thinking skills.

Set your traps (the day before St. Paddy's Day), and perhaps you'll wake up to a little fellow who will lead you to his pot o' gold. If not, he might leave you some golden treats and little notes instead. Ours usually have glittery little footprints and other evidence of their trap foolin' too. Have fun!

Here are the steps to get you started:
1. Gather together materials to make a perfect leprechaun trap (plastic spoons, string, yarn, cardboard, anything shiny, pieces of wood, straw, spools, and any other recycled materials)
2. Design your trap. What do you think is the best way to attract and eventually catch a leprechaun?
3. Build your trap. How might you make your trap "leprechaun tight"?

Remember: leprechauns are tricky, "little" fellows. They are also naughty and often disobey signs!


I just love seeing all the wonderful, creative ways kids can come up with to make a "trap". Please send me photos of your leprechaun traps. I'd love to feature some of them here on The Wondershop.

click here to email me your photos

Wave ~ a new wordless picture book

You probably know by now how much I just love wordless picture books! They offer such a wonderful way for kids to experience story through the visual. Well, there's a new very special one on the market. It's called "Wave" and is brought to us by the amazing Suzy Lee, illustrator of many wondrous titles.

The inside flap reads:

"A sunny day. A curious little girl. A playful wave."

We picked up "Wave" because Zeal was looking for some insight into how to draw waves and I was intrigued by the simple beauty of the cover. It's been a while since we have really explored a wordless picture book in this way. We were both drawn in and taken over by the wave of fun Suzy Lee brings to its pages.

This is a deceptively simple and wonder-ous read! We hope you enjoy it as much as we have been.

To see more of Suzy Lee's work, click here.

manifesto-ing