Planet Friendly Kids

Chores and the Fine art of bribery.

2011-09-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

I hate matching socks. Always have. Now with kids the chore has been particularly taxing with so many little socks too keep up with. Because of this we have a sockbag. Usually starts as a grocery bag of unmatched socks and can morph into an ikea bag full by summer when it is ignored in favor of sandals and the like before it is properly sorted in the fall.

My kids are getting bigger - as are their socks. They help out OK enough when I ask them to help but this year hubs tried a wee bit of bribery. A treat. A twizzler or 2.

The socks are almost all sorted. In record time I might add.

I'm thinking the 'incentive' was worth it. Do you offer rewards for jobs done?

Good Split

2011-09-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

We have split classes in our school and I know a lot of parents are concerned about their kids being in a split class past kindergarten.

Mostly the concern I hear is about ensuring they are learning at the level they should be. Will the upper class make kids in the lower class feel like they are behind? Will the upper class kids end up behind single grade classes because they are exposed to the lower grades lessons? For some it was more social - would the wide age range isolate them socially?

In my school experience I spent a few years in split classes when I was in British and Spanish schools, for me it was a good experience so when my daughter was put in a split 1/2 class last year for 1st grade in her new school I was not terribly phased. She was pretty nervous - but it was about being in a new school with no friends, not about the class, probably in part because I wasn't.

While she made friends on day one and settled in no problem I'm not going to tell you that that year didn't have it's bumps in the road, that would be a lie. For my daughter the challenge of a split class manifested itself with reading. Half way into the year 'everyone' could read better according to her and we had many a teary night sobbing that she had not advanced to the next level of reading books just like her friends. Yes, some of those friends were in grade 1 like my daughter but most of those friends were in grade 2. I understood that they would naturally read better but she had trouble understanding that she wasn't behind. And yes, I a bit worried too, but before we knew it she found her reading groove and was off to the races.

When it came to maths and science being in a split class meant that we all came to realize she was pretty good at those subjects and was happy explore 2nd grade work as much as she enjoyed doing her 1st grade lessons.

Writing on the other hand was more challenging for her, although it wasn't something that upset her like reading did, it was something that her teacher was concerned about. As we came into spring she was not writing at the level she should be and her teach brought it to my attention. Together we figured it out, my daughter had a while elephant - she had so much to say that she couldn't decide what was the best thing to write down (sounds like her mother!) and by the time she decided time was up. From then on her teacher spent time teaching her skills to help her focus her thoughts and not focus on the spelling so much.

When her teacher later approached me to know what my preferences for my daughters next year would be I didn't hesitate, "I'd like her to stay with you", I said. for me it was a no brainer - here was a teacher my daughter adored who understood not only where my daughter felt challenged but also already knew how to help her and knew her strengths. No time would be wasted in grade 2 with a new teacher who would have to get to know her and her issue with writing and I knew that being in the upper grade of her split class the next year would give her comfort and confidence. Her teacher was happy I felt that way - she wanted to keep my kid too.

Today is her 1st day of grade 2. My daughter has spent most of the summer looking forward to seeing her teacher again, so much so she wanted to dress in her teachers favorite colour today. She was a little sad that her grade 2 friends moved on to grade 3 in another class and really sad that her buddy was moving to a non-split grade 2 class, but last night a friend messaged me that her daughter, starting grade 1 in my daughters class was a bit nervous, would my daughter help her feel more comfortable? I asked my daughter and she squealed with joy happy to buddy up.

This morning my daughter was beyond thrilled to start school. She couldn't wait to hug her teacher and help her friend and it's infectious. Her younger brother is now a Senior in his kindergarten class,

'Are you looking forward to starting school?' I asked him this morning.

'Yes", he said. "And I can't wait to help the little juniors this year."

I think it is going to be a good year.

And as much as I'm enjoying my 2 and a half hours to myself this morning I can't wait to pick them up and hear how the day has been.

Little Footprints Top Eco Friendly Cottage Toys

2011-05-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

There's nothing my family likes more every summer than finding a sweet cottage and hanging out by the lake. We can spend hours playing in nature but we also like to bring a small selection of cottage play favorites with us when we go.

Here's our Little Footprints family favorites, 5 things you can be sure will be in our cottage toy box this summer...

We love blowing bubbles at the cottage. New to us this year is this Artterro Bubble Wand kit and with it we plan to have an even better time! Made in the States by a company big on sustainable fun just like us and filled with enough for a pair of wands, complete with how-to's, fun shaped patterns and even a recipe for home made bubble solution - all in one wee recycled content box. Ages 8 and up.

For years now this is my little guys 'go to' take along toy - ask him to pick something to bring and it will be this - a Zoom to the Moon play set perfect for the kid who loves imaginary play and as a mom I love that when the fun is done every thing stores in the spaceship. Ideal to keep track of everything when your away from home. Made from renewable rubber wood and child safe paints. I can honestly say after years of play I'm impressed with how well the paints hold up. Ages 3 and up

Shut The Box is a true favorite in our house. Sometimes played alone but best against each other - we've even make it a tournament - we race to turn our tiles down before the other can. One of those games that gets you to enjoy doing maths even without realizing it. I discovered it at a family friends when I was little and am now thrilled to have this sustainably produced one available. Perfect sitting by the dock or on a chilly rainy day. Ages 5 and up

My son playing with the families Shut the Box.

We started family quizzes by playing 20 questions and now that my kid is starting to read she loves to play them. Betting on Nature, an animal card game, is the perfect go anywhere challenge for us all. Skills, laughs and learning, what more can you ask from fun you can fit in your pocket? Perfect for ages 7 to 107

Paints at a cottage are a must have. No matter if it's painted rocks, pictures, fairy houses or found art - it all benefits from a splash of paint! And the cottage benefits when its all natural. Nothings better for that than Clementine Art's natural paints. The colours are fabulous and they're perfect for the artistry of any age.

These are our faves for this year. We love to hear if you have others you think are great. In the mean time thanks for stopping by and I hope your enjoying your Spring day!

Cheers,
Barb

Fun While it Rains.

2011-05-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

While one of my kids might actually be getting sick and tired of rain the other is beginning to muse aloud that it might be nice it it *always* rained. Course she does see the problem that presents to dream #1: to live somewhere where she can swim outside all year round.

So while the sun struggles to make an appearance today we look back at the past 11 out of 18 days where it rained and find lots and lots of opportunities for fun indoors.

You can only get so soggy after all.

Here to help with some indoor inspiration is Little Footprints Top 10 Rainy Day Things for Fun.

Get your Boom Boom on! This ultimate deck of Family trading cards inspires to do good in meaningful and achievable ways and calls on you to pass on the goodness online. From planting flowers for others to enjoy, to telling old stories to younger generations these cards make random acts of kindness fun for the whole family.

Brand new to the shop this 51 piece Tyrannosaurus 3D Dino puzzle can strike about 20 different poses keeping Dinosaur Aficionados busy for hours! Made sustainable and responsibly by French eco fun maker Bioviva, a company committed to the environment since they started making fun in the mid-90's.
Ages 6 & up

Create masterpieces on a rainy afternoon with is Paint With Wool kit. A box full of wool canvases, lots of brightly coloured roving and even 3 felter's needles! Everything you need to make 4 amazing works of art, you just bring a suitable surface to work on. Once your done turn the box into a frame. Full instructions and inspiration included.
Ages 8 & up

More a sculptor than a painter? Clementine Art's Modeling Dough is just the ticket to bring cheery colour to a drab overcast day. They look lovely, smell lovely and feel lovely - what more to you need to sculpt the next masterpiece?

Get active indoors and no batteries required with this Balance Board. Made in the USA from sustainably forested materials, this formaldehyde free plywood board has a challenging maze to keep you coordinated and on your toes. Try the rolling the balls inward for a beginners challenge but if Daddies think rolling the balls out is just as easy they just might loose the family bet! Available in 2 sizes. Perfect for 3 to 93

A bit of drizzle can make examining nature even more fun. Grab a pair of galoshes and head out with this Naturebag full of ways to look at nature around you and record what you find. There's even a blindfold for a all natural guessing game. Canadian made this eco friendly award winner is full of wonderful stuff. Ages 3 - 12

Outside in the puddles or inside in the bath this tug boat is totally fun. Made from recycled milk jugs by Green Toys it's a fantastic water toy, available in 3 colours and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Ages: 6m & up

Stuck inside with the wee one? Enjoy a game of eye spy wildlife right outside your window with this set of Backyard Buddy Blocks. Perfect size for little hands. Learn basic colours and animals with this set made from responsibly harvested rubber wood and child safe paints.

At under $10 this game leaves you change to get something yummy at your own Farmers Market. A game about looking out for each other and problem solving to make the market a success. A wonderful game made in Perth Ontario perfect for ages 6 to 12 with two sets of rules for basic and more complex play.

I always think the funnest things to keep you busy on a rainy day are things with more than one thing going for it which is why I love these puzzles you get colour yourself. Made from plantation rubber wood they are available as a Sea Turtle, Butterfly or Train paint them up then try to put them back together again!
Ages 3 and up.

Course it's easy to beat the rainy day blues so long as your having fun so I hope you get a chance to have some fun today!

Mid Week at My Place: Earth Week

2011-04-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Earth Week and Easter in one week makes for one very busy gal indeed. Course I'm ~~right on top of it~~ hopelessly behind in my to-do's now that they are both right behind us. Well they are not really, not for me anyway - we are still celebrating both at Little Footprints till the end of the month with a great sale that's keeping me busy - but I digress!!!!

The thing about busy is we always are busy. When Earth Week comes around I'm reminded to slow down a bit, admire this lovely planet we are on and try to do something, no matter how small, to at least keep it this nice if not make it a little nicer.

This year I might have been reminded but things have felt very busy of late and sadly it feels kinda tough to take on even one new little task. There seems to be so many other tasks lined up already waiting for their turn. But I have a plan and it's as simple as deck of cards.

We have these Boom Boom cards, ours at home is the Family Edition. It's this great deck of cards full of easily achievable things to do that bring some good and once you've done it you then get to share the card and tell your story to inspire others. We've loved trying them out, having had fun planting flowers for others to enjoy which you can read about over at our profile at Boom Boom but we could use them more. In fact their one of those things standing in line waiting to be done so I've made a promise to myself we will do one card a month and pass it on till next Earth Day. Since their full of easy to do acts of altruism I'm pretty sure we'll have left a happier vibe on this lovely planet of ours and done some good for it along the way if we do. And hey, if we document it back on the Boom Boom site where we can share the great things we've done we can track our progress and share it with others.

If you would like to join me in my quest to do a wee bit o' good once a month we just happen to have the Boom Boom Cards Green Deck on sale for 20% off at that great little sale I mentioned at the shop. That makes them under $10! How's that for a green deal? There totally full of great little ideas and totally fun to do. :)

If you've made your own promise to your self to do a bit more good this Earth Week I'd love to hear about it!

In the meantime,

BHappy and have fun
Barb

Fridays I'm In Love: With These Chicks

2011-04-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

Easter is right around the corner. Tomorrow the neighborhood festivities kick off around here with Easter Egg Hunts, visits with family and a parade on Sunday.

There's lots of chocolates and treats to be had and hid but when did it become all about chocolate? Don't get me wrong I love the stuff, more than I should, but does that mean I need to hop my kids full of it for the sake of a bunny and a basket? So since I know that the neighborhood and family will provide tonnes of energy amping sweets we are going to hide crafts and toys instead and if the item is too big we will put a ticket in an egg for them to trade.

What won't need a ticket when we hide them is this set of 3 puzzle Chicks. Each of the 6 pieces will fit nicely in an egg to be hid and once found the kids can trade with each other till they each get a complete chick. Since I know they are also made sustainably with rubber-wood and child safe paints I also can feel good knowing their fun is also planet friendly.

Mid-Week at My Place: Tie Dye Eggs

2011-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

We've been in the Easter spirit this week over here. The kids decorated the house and I've been trying too remember to blow out the eggs rather than crack them each time we use eggs to collect a few for dying. Truth is, I don't remember very often and I'm not the kind of mum who turns round and bakes a cake or something when she finds herself in need of a bowl full of eggshells. And while I love getting crafty ~~I'm a lazy mum~~ I try to gear the craft to the abilities of my young kids so we don't all get frustrated.

So last year I found a few people talking about how to dye eggs with old silk ties and I began to experiment with it. I was hooked. The kids too. And the bonus, no one is getting their fingers covered in dyes that last for days. We love this craft so much the kids both asked me to make kits to share with their friends and since that was easy enough I happily obliged.

This year we have done a bunch already and we plan to more still and since I did remember to blow a few eggs out we might even try a few more traditionally dyed eggs.

If you want to know how to tie dye your own eggs here is a little how to. It's real easy and you gotta just love how they turn out.

Tie Dye Easter Eggs

Cut apart old silk ties and cut out squares big enough to cover an average egg.

Wrap a raw egg with a piece of the patterned silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg and you can wrap the egg with 2 swatches of silk too if you like.

Place the silk-wrapped egg in the piece of white sheet and secure tightly with a twist-tie. Make sure it is good and snug.

Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot.* Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar. Do not overcrowd the eggs.

*do not use a metal pot, it may react with the vinegar.

Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes.Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.Remove silk from cooled egg.

Additional Ideas:

For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil
Silk squares can be reused.
Any silk goods such as ties, blouses, and boxers can be used to make more squares but the heaviest silk and brighter/more intense patterns tend to have more ink and that seems to work better.
The white squares are sheets and tablecloths.
Make gift sets to share with friends. Tie the bundles together with a strip of the white fabric.

BHappy and have fun!
Barb

Wear Pink So Others Can Too!

2011-04-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Pink Day.

In 2007 two Nova Scotia students marshaled their friends and others via email to wear pink in support of a younger student who had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt on the first day of school. Now we have Pink Day on April 13th to show tolerance and support anti-bullying efforts.

In this house we're already planning.

My daughters plans are laughable. She plans to wear pink. She decided this 3 days ago. Course, I don't know how she was going to get around it if she didn't want to participate - it's not like she has anything to wear that *isn't* pink.

My son's plans are sadly fraught with more concern. He wants to wear pink. Asked me what we have that he could wear - I suggested we raid his sisters closet or maybe wear pink polish.

'Polish!' he cried delight.

To date my son has been well chuffed to sport blue, yellow or green polish. He has an older sister, he does what she does. He likes how it looks. Recently, mostly now that he has started kindergarten, he has been increasingly concerned about what his friends will think when they see his fingers or toes all done up.

He think about it for a second longer and says somewhat worriedly some friends will laugh.

I asked him what he was going to do.

He said 'maybe I will hide my fingers every-time I'm talking to him'. I said for sure he could do that.

Then he said 'No, I think I'll just ignore him instead'

Wise words from a young dude.

Tomorrow please wear pink so everyone can wear what they want to wear when they want to wear it no matter who they are, what they are, what they like and all that stuff.

Cheers
Barb

Mid-Week at My Place: Colourful Hang-Outs

2011-04-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun painting bird houses for our local feathered friends this week.

Using yummy smelling all natural paints from Clementine Art and some funky pre-made wood bird houses we picked up recently we got stuck into an afternoons fun of pattern making and serious paint splodging.

The paints are great. Hand down - of course - it is fabulous that Clementine Art makes these paints with all natural ingredients, they're completely free of chemical dyes and petrochemicals - just the kind of stuff I like my kids playing with. It also means I don't mind being lazy and using a kitchen plate and egg spoons as artists equipment. But the Interior Designer in me also loves how the set is comprised of a balanced palate, made with Mayan mineral earth pigments, the colours are beautiful and work so great with each other.

Today one of us was a master blender of colour,

While another was working much more meticulously on her pattern making.

No matter how we came to our finished creations we were really proud of our results and just couldn't wait to hang them up outside.

Hope the birdies enjoy them as much as we've enjoyed their Spring songs!

And hope your having a great day too!
Barb

Sowing for Spring

2011-04-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sun's shining outside and I'm transferring my wee little seedlings to bigger digs. We've sowed 6 different kinds of veggies and hope that something will grow into yummy eats but for now it's a fun family project.

The tools are my sons gardening set, perfect size for the task.

It's a bit of what I'm up to this weekend.Hope your enjoying a sunny Spring like day yourself!

Have fun!
Barb

My Little Green Wagon

2011-03-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

My hubby busted me this week. We at Shopper's Drug Mart cashing in points on the bonus point weekend (I've saved hundreds with this points program btw) and I went to grab a bunch of bottles of my favorite conventional shampoo and conditioner when he asked me why I was getting it. Strange question in my humble. For my hair I say.

But 'Why?' he asks again, "Why do we insist that we wash our children hair in all natural, chemical free shampoos and conditioners but you do not insist the same for your self? Do you not deserve it as much as they do?"

My 1st thought 'Because people compliment my glowing shiny hair and I'm pretty sure that's the shampoo, it does, after all, say so on the bottle, on the opposite side to where the long list of icky chemicals is found'.

My next thought, because the 'good stuff' is expensive and I'll spend extra on my kids before on myself...

Followed by '...besides I've got years of chems already in me....'

Then finally 'Yes, wait! He has a point!!!' and I put the shampoo back.

It's very easy for me to make better choices for my kids. Natural and organic foods, natural cleaners, quality toys and games - I'll happily go out of my way, or go with less, to ensure they get the 'good stuff' but I don't always make sure I'm on my own little green wagon even when I should.

Today we need to pick up more shampoo and conditioner for my kids, I'm getting extra for myself and my husband. This might be the end of compliments my hairs glimmeringness but it's for the best. Do you have things you do for your kids you should really do for you too?

BHappy, Have Fun and thanks for stopping by!
Barb

Mid-Week at My Place - Cookin' for the Kids

2010-10-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

When I switched my kids to this new school one of the things I liked was that the school offered a lunch program. It was run by a group of volunteer parents who cooked fresh, diverse hot meals for the kids at the school who wanted them. The meals are funded through donations and every kid is welcome to a plate and seconds - even thirds if there is any left.

The idea is simple, no kid should go hungry at school.

Sadly, at other schools many do.

For me it was wonderful, here were parents providing what I believed should be a mainstay in a cold climate like Canada's - a healthy hot meal. I never understood why places like Florida, with their hot climate, had subsidized hot lunches but here where the weather can sometimes tip below -20c the school board didn't even offer soup to primary and junior school kids.

Needless to say. I signed up to volunteers, and yesterday was my 1st day in the kitchen.

It was busy and tiring - we only have from 9am to lunchtime to get the meal ready for up to 170 kids and we do it from a kitchen half the size of mine at home with minimal equipment. There were 2 other parents cooking yesterday, seasoned volunteer, and I was amazed what we can do with so little. As we cooked and the smell filled the air I could hear kids in the hall going "Mmmmm! Smells good!" and a few popping their heads in to ask what was on the menu. By quarter to twelve we had Mac and Cheese made from scratch, salad with fresh made dressing, fruit and rice ready for anyone who wanted it.

Since I hadn't served yet I hung around to see how that went as well so I knew what to do when it was my turn. The 1st kid thru the door was my daughter. Immediately I saw her begin to beam and I could see the pride in her eyes that I was there as a 'lunch lady'. I'm not too sure what she enjoyed more, the hot meal or being able to tell her friends that I helped make it. Doesn't really matter, I know I enjoyed doing it, and am glad to be part of it.

Worryingly, as I said, it runs on donations and a little bit of funding. While the program is in it's 3rd or 4th year it is evident that it needs more donations and volunteers to be sustainable. Changes were made this year to try to ensure it's success and we are hoping that our efforts between now and the new year are enough to keep it going - otherwise not only will my daughter no longer be able to have a hot lunch, a nice to have for her, but there will be some kids in the school, the kids that inspired the program in the first place, who will go hungry. We know this because before the program started they sat in the caf. every day with no food from home and when school started in September and there was a delay in starting the program there were a few kids arriving lunch-less to the cafeteria every day.

Next week I fly solo in the kitchen for one day. I'm nervous that I can pull it off on my own but I'm going to do my level best. There's nothing better than a full tummy to help little minds grow and learn,and I think I'm privileged to be able to help such a program. I hope to be able to do it until our school board decides a full belly is just as important as a textbook when it comes to learning.

If your reading this and thinking you would like to help us out somehow we would appreciate it! Much of the equipment we use is either insufficient or in need of replacing and our donations recieved barely cover the food. If anyone out there has any of the following new or gently used kitchen items to part with we would gratefully accept the help.

Right now we need:

a couple new rice cookers
restaurant sized buffet chaffing dishes
a food processor
large pots (that can fit on a residential sized stove)
new kitchen knives
more cutlery for the kids or better yet 'mess kits' they can take home and clean so we can use less paper plates (we have very limited access to a commercial dishwasher)

Many thanks as always for stopping by and having a read.

BHappy and have fun where ever you are!

Barb

Fridays I'm In Love... with Pirate Puppets

2010-10-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

I love these Pirate finger puppets. I really do.

Whimsical and really well made, they're 100% wool, feel great and are hand made responsibly in Nepal.

I love that they are far more durable than conventional finger puppets. Made using a traditional wet felting technique there are no seams to fray or break. Each finger puppet is, with the exception of some decoration, fashioned in one piece with safely dyed boiled wool and because they are handmade each one is always a little unique.

I love that they are Pirates. Boys love imaginative puppet play just as much as girls, but sometimes are stuck putting on animal themed puppet plays or Knights of the Round Table themed plays with Prince Charming puppets just because it's whats available. With 4 puppets in the set there are so many stories to be told either playing on ones own or in a group.

Thick sturdy felt with nice bright colours, they hand-wash well. These guys, their ship and Chest of Gold can play hard.

Keep them nearby to play with, bring them out to enjoy when the little guy needs to keep busy - there perfect for Adventures while waiting for a meal to arrive at a restaurant, great to take to Grandma's or even to inspire amusement while waiting in a doctors office.

I love that they're only $19.95 a set in a nice recycled paper box, that makes them a great affordable gift in my book.

Hope you like them and if you love them too let me know!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out what I love,
Barb

Trick or Treat?

2010-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

We're getting into Halloween 1st gear around here in my house. My daughter is pondering her 4th year as a monkey versus 'something else, but I don't know that' and my son has been adamant that he will be whatever his sister decides to be. And after a hiatus last year from manning the door to join my family door to door we've decided to do the door again this year.

There are no arguments over what we give out.
The kids can't wait to go shopping.
I will have no leftovers and if I do they keep perfectly well on a shelf in a box.
There are NO CALORIES - NO Sugar
and most of all the kinds love them!

We give out school and craft supplies and we have kids literally squealing with delight at our door!

We've been at it since before we had kids. Refining as we go. We estimate what we would normally spend in candy per kid and put it towards bulk packs of things we can break down into individual gifts - toss them in a spooky decorated box and often let them pick one or two things if they are old enough or zero in on something in particular (like the girls and the coloured pencils). Like I said the kids seem to love it - even more than we thought they might - and our treats are useful, different and fun.

Here's my shopping list and tips for this Halloween at the dollar store, discount stores and my other haunts about town.

By carol , from Wikimedia Commons

Look for multipacks and items that can be grouped together by tying them together or put in tiny paper surprise loot bags.
Multipacks of notepads are a hit with the bigger kids
Funky pencil and pens which are always a hit. Get the different styles, not just Halloween but the sports, animal, colourful and patterned, flocked and metallic.
Markers, highlighters, coloured pencils bought by the dozen or more and split up.
Glitter glue - a huge hit with the girls.
Mini erasers come in large quantities and fun styles and are great to dole out multiple items.
Finger Traps are a classic
Watch out for costume jewelry from the dollar store, while the sets are great for breaking up and the Mardi Gras necklaces seem great their finish may be dodgy and unsafe.
Loot bag packs of cards, bubbles, crackers are all great.
Keep an eye out for the large packs of mini playdough in a variety of colours. On sale these can make awesome treat for the wee ones.
Stickers, all kinds of sticker sets. Kids love the stickers.
Removable tattoos
Dollar Store craft kits. Our local store has colour your own spooky themed wooden craft kits (yes, I know its not the best sourced wood but we do what we can) usually 4 or 5 printed wood cutouts and some markers to colour them up.
New this year I'm adding Silly Bands. Lots of those little things in a pack and the kids seem to be right into them this year so I expect they will go over well.

Yes, this means more organizing than dumping a pile of candy in a bowl and No, there is no leftover candy for my darling hubby and I to 'force' ourselves to eat before our kids do... but it is worth it to us. A little less processed candy shared around the neighborhood and a bit more fun to be had by all.

What do you do for Halloween? do you give out candy or have something different you do you would like to share? I'd love top hear from you.

Oh. And if you want to steal our idea of crafts and toys, please do and let me know what it was like at yours when you did!

Thanks for stopping by
Have fun and BHappy,
Barb

My Free Range Kid

2010-09-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

This year my kids started a new school. For my daughter this meant leaving her old school and friends and full day classes now that she is 1st grade. Thankfully her excitement at starting grade 1 tempered her sadness for leaving her old school. As for my son, he started half day kindergarten, which meant that he finally got to start school after 2 years of trying to join my daughters kindergarten class.

Like most schools around here the kindergarten kids go in to class at a different door than the bigger kids - all the way at the other side of the school - and I had him scheduled for morning classes so they both had to line up at the same time, and of course, if your late there's the need for a slip from the office. It's a big school too, a full block - the distance between those doors is probably the distance between my house and our corner store and we have to round 2 corners to get from door to door.

My dilemma, being in 2 places at once. My solution? Listening to my daughter.

On the second day of school as the bell rang and we stood in the kindergarten area waiting for my sons teacher to open the door she said "I'll go by myself! I know where to go!"

So with a kiss, hug and promise to pick her up after school she ran off gleefully to her door.

It took 5 seconds for her to be out of my sight and another 5 minutes for me to walk over to that side to see if she was still there. She wasn't.

6 and a half hours later I stood by those doors waiting for her to finish class. Of course she had made it to her door and lineup and came out of the school with her class as the bell rang. Safe and sound and as happy as a clam. When asked what her favorite parts of the day were it turned out that taking herself to the lineup ranked top along with music class and having 2 recesses. So, now each time we wait at the kindergarten doors she takes herself to her line when the bell rings.

To me this routine is nothing more than finding a way to make things work while being able to reinforce my child's sense of independence and my trust in her. I didn't think much of it until another kindergarten mother noticed her run off and was surprised at my comfort level having my 6 year old leave my sight. She said she wasn't sure she would have the nerve to do it. I only then realised we were 'Free Ranging' again as well as being practical.

As has happened before, I got that pang inside that said 'What do other mothers think? Do they think I'm crazy? Reckless?' The that wise voice inside, the one we know we should listen too when we hear it said "Who cares? You know whats best for your kids and know what level of risk is acceptable to you and that's all that matters."

The voice is right, my kid is safe, happy and proud of her abilities. She knows I trust her and I hope if we keep on trusting her she will always trust us.

2010-08-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know of an event I'm planning with the store. September 3rd thru 5th I'm having a pop up shop - taking over a storefront on the Danforth for a few days to bring out all the fun and let you touch and try before you buy (or just come and check us out - but that rhymed!)

Below is the blurb we shared with local bloggers and event calendars.
Hope I see you there for a bit of lemonade!

Little Footprints Eco-Friendly Back to School Pop-Up Shop Sale

Come join Toronto e-tailer Little Footprints September 3 -5^th on the Danforth to browse and shop their unique selection of Eco-Friendly toys and games for kids of all ages. There will be lemonade to enjoy, toys to try out including a Piggy Paint nail bar where you can try out the 'Natural as Mud' nailpolish. That's not all! There will be special sale prices on our educational products - including 10% off all our Stockmar and Clementine Art products. Little Footprints is Canada's leading on-line Eco-Friendly toy store dedicated to sustainably, responsibly and ethically sourced products for kids of all ages and we hope to see you there!

Event details:

1390 Danforth Avenue (east of Greenwood station)

Hours:

Friday 1pm – 8pm

Saturday 10am-6pm

Sunday 12pm-3pm

More information available at www.littlefootprintstoys.com

One in the Hand Equals Three On The Tree

2010-08-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

We went on a pear pick the other day. Last year I signed us up as volunteers for Not Far From The Tree a local charitable organization that gleans local trees for their fruit and shares the bounty. Without clobbering them over the head with it, they are only 3 and 6 after all!, I have been looking for ways to teach my kids to understand where their food comes from as well as to be socially aware and giving. I must admit my family did bring me up to be very self sufficient but not very philanthropic - I hope to do a bit better with my kids.

Anyway....

Back to the trees. After patiently waiting a whole year to be called to pick and missing a few chances we finally made the picker cut and the three of us went a' pickin'. The kids loved it! My daughter was a dab hand at the picking tool as she gleefully picked any pear she could reach. My son, a wee bit smaller, was quite happy to collect the fallen fruit into a separate bag - an occasionally eat a few . Their chatter kept everyone laughing and it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Fun as it was it was also wonderfully productive. NFFTT is a food share program. The owner of the tree lists their tree with the organization and when the fruit is ready to pick a team of 'gleaners' is dispatched to pick the tree as clean as they can, as well as tidy up any fallen fruit mess and debris from the pick. The bounty is divided into thirds; 1/3 for the tree owner, 1/3 divided among the pickers and 1/3 goes to food banks and organizations that feed those in need. Pretty neat, huh? Over 6,000 pounds have been picked so far in Toronto alone.

For our pick we weighed in at in excess of 250 pounds of pears and since no one took their full share over 100 pounds of fresh ready to ripen pears were taken to a local food bank that evening. All the while a gentle lesson in community, sharing and ecology was passed onto my kids that afternoon.

Pretty fruitful day if you ask me ;)
Sign up your tree if you have one - we'll happily come pick it for ya!

Thanks for stopping by for a read, BHappy and have fun.

Why I Love... Piggy Paints

2010-08-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

We received our 1st shipment of Piggy Paints back in March, I even blogged about them coming into the shop.

So why do I love them so much? For starters they have no harsh chemicals, no funky smell and a range of beautiful and fun colours. Up until I found them I didn't let my daughter use nail polish. Well that's *almost* true. I did buy her a bottle of natural polish when she was about 3 at the health food store once, spent over $12 on it, but the colour went on so transparently that she was hugely disappointed with the results, it was an epic fail. Then Piggy Paints came along and after doing my research and trying them myself I decided they were both safe enough and vibrant enough for us both to be happy about it. I was sooo right! Of course by this time she was 6 and I had my 3 year old son watching us so naturally he wanted in on the fun. Luckily Piggy Paints come in some boyish colours like green, yellow and blue and since I'm a mom who tries to not pigeon hole my kids into gender specific play I let him in on the act. Green 'Dragon Nails' I called them and he proudly sports them on his toes whenever he gets a chance. And yes, some parents give us the oddest looks but we generally try to laugh about it.

A client just told me that after she picked up 3 different colours and a remover for her daughter they has spent the following week doing each others nails every day, not because the colours fade or chip that quickly, but because they are having so much fun changing them up and bonding over the girlie experience.

When she bought them I shared with her that they are now my polish of choice for my own nails. At first she was surprised but I went on to explain that I wasn't very happy about wearing such harsh chemicals myself and found them to wear really well if I followed the directions. So while she put it on initially because her daughter wanted her to she found that she really likes them as a big girl polish too!

I also think they are fantastic for new moms. I stopped wearing polish all together when I had my first-born. She would suckle my finger for comfort and I was not at all comfortable with the idea of her sucking traditional polish. Sometimes I would put polish on to go out in the evening, away from my kid because of the strong smell, and promptly remove it the next morning followed by a nice long soak to remove any chemical residue. But that's a lot of extra work for a new mom with a newborn so I quickly abandoned the polish and the ritual.

Course my kids are both beyond the finger sucking age now but for new mothers I think Piggy Paints can make a great gift, a little something to pamper themselves with and they don't have to worry about exposing their wee ones too the chemicals or smells of traditional polishes and removers - even Piggy Paints remover is virtually odorless and made from natural corn.

So I love them because they are vibrant, natural and have a creative colour selection that appeals to kids but I also love them because I think they are great for mommies too!

I love them so much that the shop has begun to offer Piggy Paint Polish Parties bothy privately and at store events. If you want to try them out yourself and your in the Toronto area we will be having a Piggy Paint Nail Bar at our next pop-up shop September 3rd - 5th. For more details for location and times check out our News page at the shop and call the shop for details on how to host your own girlie polish party.

Thanks for reading, BHappy and have fun today!

2010-08-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wow how time flies! It has been a long time since I posted here and I am sorry for that. My only excuse is time and inspiration -they seem to escape me now-a-days, at least for this blog. But I'm back and I am newly inspired.

My challenge seems to have been that I hit a white elephant, well not literally, but figuratively. I kept thinking my posts had to be inspired and engaging but didn't know where my voice for this blog. I'm not 100% comfortable sharing information about my kids and family or my life as a mother. I like to share what we do and how we have fun but honestly I was never one to keep a journal so I often feel odd writing it all down here. Then it struck me, one of my greatest inspirations is the store, or more specifically the products in it and so very often I find myself telling people I meet, customers and friends about what makes the products in the shop so especially great (IMHO) - so there you have it, I plan to write about "Why I Love..." toys and games that I have chosen to carry at Little Footprints and I hope that also inspires me to share a bit more about the things I do with my family that I think you might enjoy or be interested in too.

My next post will be my first "Why I Love..." post. I hope you like it!

A day in the bush is worth two stuck inside

2010-03-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's Sugarbush season again, time to get outside with the first hint of warmth. We have been taking the kids to enjoy a sugarbush trail for a few years now and this year was no different. Beautiful weather inspired a relaxed nature walk with lots of time to take in all the information & exhibits at Bruce's Mill Conservation Area. The taste the sap spot is always a hit with the kids and this year, to our surprise, our daughter was feeling taste adventurous and wanted to try cedar tea proclaiming it tasted pretty good, even taking the time to learn that it was full of vitamins before she danced away down the trail again.

It's stuff like sugarbushing that make me really happy to be living in a place with a real change of seasons, where leaves change colour in the fall and warm weather brings flowing sap - a most awesome renewable, sustainable, natural sweet treat! Even better is the feeling I get when I get to share these experiences with my kids.

This year the sap flowed early and freely. Each bucket we peeked into was dripping just like this one....

Yumm!

And just like I posted last year we purchased a big 4 litre jug of Maple Syrup to take advantage of the savings in bulk. We paid $65 for 4 litres, which is easily a $6-8 savings per litre, but watching our little 3 year old try to carry it to the car was priceless and well worth the line up in the Sugar Shack to get it!

If your thinking 'That's super but what am I going to do with so much syrup?!' Check out my post from last year about how to easily store the golden nectar and get out there for a day of fun and sweet savings yourself.

As always, BHappy and thanks for stopping by!

Bunnies already?

2010-03-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Last thing I knew I was here before Christmas and now look, there are bulbs poking thru the ground. We just got back from a neighborhood Easter Fest where the bunny himself made an appearance and even helped with a pinata! Thank you for sharing to the wonderful families who get together to make their street so much fun!

Yes, if you live in the East End that was my daughter screaming above a street full of families 'Follow me guys! I know where the Easter Bunny is!' I have no idea when or how she got that loud.

The shops been busy. If you haven't been in a while we have a new Spring online 'window' and some wonderful new products to share, many selected to enjoy along with the impending warm weather and all, as always, kind to the planet. It was warm a few days ago wasn't it? Or was that a dream?

Piggy Paints have arrived, natural nail polishes for kids in great colours like Girls Rule pink and Mac-n-C heese orange. Forever Fancy turns out to be my daughters favorite. As for my son - he has been seen sporting some metallic green Ice Cream Dream - the little dude wanted his nails done like his big sis and thought it was cool that his fingers would match his toy cars, what can I say? We all agreed that Ice Cream Dream also made for cool Dragon nails.

For bigger kids and adults we have new flying discs made from recycled plastics made by Green Toys of California. These Ecosaucers weigh in at about 130 grams and they are rumored to make for great tricks and b-golf discs.

Come on nice weather!

With it being Easter we are making silk dyed Easter eggs at home. A great idea we found on Twitter. We picked up some ties and scarves at second hand shops this week.
We've tried a few, the bunny tie that we were all excited about might just be too pale to work real well but we will keep you posted. Just gotta get some more eggs!

Thanks for stopping by and till next time BHappy folks :)

2009-11-13T09:06:00.001-08:00

There may still be a few leaves on some of the trees but Holiday Season is soon upon us! Santa is having parade this weekend marking, in my mind at least, the true beginning of festive season.

This time of year is all about getting together, enjoying each others company and yes, even a bit of gift giving. Little Footprints is hoping to make your gift giving easier and greener this year by co-hosting The Eco Family Holiday Sale with our friends Toronto e-tailers KaiKids.

We are coming together to celebrate the season with a one-day sale at 1390 Danforth Avenue, Saturday November 21st ,so save the date and come on by!

Little Footprints, as you already know, is Canada's online eco toy store dedicated to fun and games for kids of all ages; Kai Kids specializes in ethically-made and earth-friendly clothing and accessories for babies to preschoolers and pregnant and nursing moms. Together we will be offering an opportunity to browse and shop a unique selection of sustainable, non-toxic and planet-friendly products for everyone in the family. We’ll have lots of special sales, toys for the kids to try out, and Amanda Pedro of Music Pups will be on hand from 10:30 to 2:30 every hour on the half hour to keep the kids entertained while you shop!

Event Details Snapshot:
The Eco Family Holiday Sale
Saturday - November 21st
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1390 Danforth Avenue (East of Greenwood)

For more information visit: www.planetfriendlykids.com

If you need any more information, we’d be happy to provide it.
Thank you again, please feel free to pass the info on to your friends as we really appreciate the support.

Little Footprints is out for a 2 day shopping event!

2009-11-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

Halloween is over and our bellies are full of chocolate delights, it's time for us to turn our attention back to the shop and prepare for this weeks Childrens Trunk Show this Friday and Saturday. I'll be bringing a selection of our Planet Friendly Fun for Kids of All Ages along with a bunch of other wonderful mama entrepreneurs offering their wares at this seasons Children's Trunk Show @ the Distillery District November 6th and 7th.

Come check out a preview of Little Footprints Top 10 Favorite Toys for the Holiday Season including recent award winners! As always everything is Fun, Funky, Educational and Eco-Friendly!

There will be free haircuts for the kids, Kids & Co. is offering child minding while you shop and proceeds from the door go to Sick Kids.
The space is accessed by the rear parking path to the south west, yup I said parking - they like to make it easy on ya.

http://www.childrenstrunkshow.com/trunkshows/default.asp?l=toronto

You never know, you might even get a jump on your seasonal shopping!

Hope we see you there!

Feels Good

2009-09-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

I've been sick for what seems like ages! Our whole little family of 4 has something we are fighting off. I shall not ick you out with any details but we all hope to feel good real soon.

While the body may be weak the soul is feeling good. Fantastic in fact, thanks to a few wonderful mentions of my toyshop Little Footprints Toys and its products over the past few months.

First to find my new online shop and show us some linky love were the uber kewl SweetMama. I've been a faithful subscriber since it's inception just one year ago and was tickled beyond pink to be highlighted in their Road Trip Essentials Guide with our Imagiplay Zoom to the Moon playset in time for summer traveling fun.

And just when I thought that was pretty neat they gave a shout out to our great Primo Calculino Maths Game in their Baby Academy article in this Augusts Play section and then afforded us the highest compliment of them all:

SweetMama.ca named www.littlefootprintstoys.com one of their 5 most favorite online eco-kiddie stores in Canada!! Yippee!

But that's not all! Next to find our eco friendly toys and gear is Chirp Magazine! Chirp is one of those wonderful timeless children's must haves. I'll always remember reading their magazines in waiting rooms and now my kids enjoy the magazines just as much as I did.

In this Octobers issue under Chirp's Picks for Going Green you will find Artemis All Natural Body Paints found online with us at Little Footprints! These paints are made from 100% natural plant extracts, not only are the colours wonderful for face painting but by using them you know your putting nothing but natural pigments on your little ones face this Halloween. Chirp knows a great thing when he finds it!

So despite my coughing, achy chest and stuff nose I'm feeling good. I'm honored that these publications like what I offer and choose to highlight it.

Keep it coming folks, I could get used to feeling this good :)

Yummy Chocolate Beet Cake

2009-08-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hello sweet chocolate beet cake, where have you been all our lives? It has taken my daughters extreme pickiness about fruits and veg for me to learn to cook and bake with nutritional foods mixed in 'for good measure' - and I'm beginning to think I might actually have to thank her for it one day.

After all, why not cook with good healthy ingredients baked right in to foods we find yummy?

And by gawsh this is one yummy cake!

And so I came to beetroot cake and my version of the recipe. There are no less than 5 beets in the mix which is enough for 2 cakes or a double decker and honestly probably more beets than our enire family has eaten in their whole lives (until now that is).

And now if you dare, and you should - the recipe:

Sweet Valentine Chocolate Surprise Cake

the ingredients:
for the cake:
oven preheated to 375

wet ingredients:
1 cup softened unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs -room temp
1 1/2 oz. dark chocolate (bittersweet or unsweetened you choice)
5 medium beets prepared into 2 cups pureed beets
1 tsp vanilla extract

dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
cocoa and butter to grease and dust the pans

the frosting:
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
3 tbs cocoa
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 - 4 tbs heavy cream
few tbs hot water as needed

the making:
beet root puree:
In a large pot simmer in water 5 beets, tops and roots removed and quartered. I use local candy stripe beets from the ever awesome farmers market hosted by My Market & the DECA but any beets should do. Don't worry about the skins, you will peel them off with ease after.

Simmer for about 50 minutes till just fork tender.

Drain the beets and let cool to handle. The skins will peel off very easy now.

Cut into smaller pieces and puree with your blender, or handy magic bullet. you can make this well in advance, even freezes well. pink pancakes with leftovers anyone?

the cake:
cream together the sugar with 3/4 cups of the butter, add the eggs and mix well and set aside.

microwave on med-high the chocolate with the remaining butter until melted. let cool slightly.

while the chocolate butter is cooling mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

butter and dust with coca 2x 8" pans and tap the remaining cocoa into the dry ingredients

add the cooled choco-butter to the beet puree along with the vanilla, mix & add into the butter/sugar mixture.

mix it well. it will look grainy but have faith.

add the flour mixture, ending with a throughout mixing on medium high to bring in some extra air. it will be the most fabulous pink colour now.

split mix into the 2 pans and bake for 35 minutes or just until a toothpick comes out dry.

surprise! it's now a purply chocolate colour. let cool and turn out onto a cooling rack.

*do not try the cake now if you don't want to taste the beets* warm you can taste them a bit, I don't mind it myself but my daughter would probably protest it seemed odd at this point if tasted. My son eats the mix raw - clearly he's fine with it... you are your own judge.

the frosting: easy. add all the ingredients except the water in mixer and beat till mixed well adding drops of water as needed to get a smooth creamy consistency.

As an after dinner cake we make 2 iced single layer cakes in our house. One for us and one to share, but there is more than enough frosting for a nicely frosted double decker for sure.

Now let your family have at it!

...I'm already thinking about my midnight snack/second helping!
hey wait my hubby beat me to it!

BHappy!

Let Me Introduce You to Our Little Friend

2009-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here she is, a new member of our little family. Her name is Rachel and she is a Pitcher Plant. Isn't she the prettiest thing?

We found her on the Danforth and fell in love instantly. My kids have been begging for a pet for a while now and I thought this would be an interesting start. Dubbing her 'Pet Level 1' we took her home.

My daughter named her Rachel, after one of the girls in the Rainbow Series of stories and we hung her out in a nice spot in on our deck.

Ever since Rachel has been a great contributor to the happiness of our family. she attracts and gobbles up wasps, flies, mozzies, earwigs and more into her pitchers - awesome - and the kids love checking out whats going on in Rachel's digestive cycle, learning as they go.

This fall Rachel will come inside and take care of winter house bugs.

This is a pet I can get used to. And no picking up poop necessary.

I scream, you scream we all crank our ice cream

2009-07-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

My first born refused to try ice cream till she was more than 2 years old and now extols its virtues in song, my second is a connoisseur from a very early age. So since I've been itching for one for a while now - we bought an ice cream maker. Oh how wonderful it has been.

Our machine is a hand crank and my kids clamor for their turn to crank. We bought a manual one on purpose to involve the kids in the process and the activity. 'Turn 3 times and wait 2 minutes' is quickly becoming a mantra in our house as we watch our fresh ingredients go from liquid to creamy yumminess in 20 minutes of cranking and a dinner-times worth of chilling in the cooler bucket. Then it is ready for desert!

Now I'm all sweet on finding great recipes and so far the best have come from my 2nd hand book buy. The Old Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream Cookbook by J&C Dueker was published in '74 and sold for $3.95 new. I bought it 35 years later for the same price and it has been money well spent!

There is a whole section devoted to coffee ice cream which I love and an entire chapter on Hawiian ice cream, which thanks 'speedy air travel' for the ability to find some of their fruits on the 'mainland'.

So far my hybrid mocha espresso, plain vanilla and most recent vanilla Clodhopper ice creams have been the favorites in the house. But for me, I have been super happy to not taste the greasy taste & aftertaste I've been noticing in the store bought ice creams lately and I'm also loving the fun family activity it has become.

There is no going back to store bought for us now. Ya gotta give it a go!

BHappy

Sweet Savings

2009-05-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Recently we enjoyed a day at the Bruce Mill conservation area checking out the sugarbush and consuming silly amounts of maple syrup. In a city of over 2 million people we were rather amazingly able to bump into friends of ours as soon as we arrived and the beautiful sunny day turned into a complete pleasure!

Now in our house we love maple syrup and probably have home-made pancakes once a week or so. If not pancakes it's french toast or waffles but it always has maple syrup!

Not only is it yummy but local. Problem is - it ain't cheap! In fact we are noticing a steep increase in the price. Last year it was due to unfavorable weather conditions but this years price hike is a mystery to me.

But we have found a way to save half the price of the golden nectar in the shops thanks to a tip from the gals at the maple shop.

At the sugarbushes and sometimes the country stores you can find them selling bulk syrup in huge 4 ltr. jugs. Grab one! It's often half the price per litre or even more!

Now here is the tip. Have a smaller container, like an older syrup bottle and fill it up. Take the remaining and grab a few mason jars or plastic bags for freezing and measure out just under the the fillable amount of your smaller container into each jar or bag. Then pop them in the freezer to store till you need them. The packs will stay fresh and be ready to use in a few minutes when you need them keeping your fridge space free.

We divvied ours up today and had pancakes too - boy it was yummy!

Eureka!

2009-04-07T15:31:00.000-07:00

My kids love what we call Dutch pancakes - crepes - with Nutella. It has been real fun watching them make their own Nutella roll-ups but the pancakes end up with way too much in them and that I wasn't too happy about.

Today I made the pancakes but this time rather than a butter knife and the jar I pulled out 2 silicone basting brushes and warmed the Nutella in a small bowl in the microwave.

Viola! Warm gooey melty Nutella easily painted on lovely round pancake canvases. Oh what fun it was! Kids were thrilled, mess was a minimum and just the right amount of Nutella was applied to please all!

Charlie, my new best office friend

2009-03-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is Charlie, my new favorite office toy.

Yes he is plastic. And no he isn't even recyclable plastic but I still love him.

Why?

Because he is my new stapleless stapler!

And yeah, because he is purple and a really cute puppy too.

Charlie, here - and I do not know why I named him Charlie but there you have it, can fold together about 5 pages with this real cool punch flap system, so easy even my 5 year old can do it. In fact we even used it to make the envelopes for her thank you cards from her Birthday party and had lots of fun doing it.

So now not only do I never have to go looking for staples in my office but I don't try to shred metal staples anymore and both my shredder and my eardrums thank me for that.

Yup that makes me happy.

Cotton Kisses

2009-03-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Every morning when my daughter gives me my morning kiss and hug she smells like cotton. Warm, fresh and earthy she smells just lovely.

I didn't realize that this would be an added benefit of deciding that she would get a cotton futon as her new 'big girl' mattress along with her new 'big girl bed' she got for her birthday, but it is.

After researching my choices and realizing that we just could not afford to purchase a natural latex or organic mattress at this time we -well I -elected to go with a natural cotton futon sans foam core from the oldest futon shop in Toronto, my 3rd purchased there if I think about it actually. Given that I didn't want foam it was a special order - 'yes, I know it lasts longer sir, but thats why I don't want it!' and took a week which gave us time to purchase a captains bed made in Canada with low VOC particleboard from a Canadian retailer. And topped it off with new cotton sheets and a natural down duvet & pillow.

My daughter is thrilled with her new bed and so am I knowing it is cotton she breathes and not synthetics (I do recognize that the mattress does have fire retardants in it but an organic wool mattress out of our reach right now.)

As for my little son, I think he likes his sisters bed too since we finding trying to pretend he is sleeping there every night! I see another cotton futon in our future!
The captains bed off-gassed a bit but it was not that bad and I expected that but I really didn't expect my kid to take on the cotton smell and I am so glad she has and I love lying on her bed smelling the lovely cotton and daydreaming!

Rare Honor!

2009-01-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

I had the privileged of being a guest editor for Rare Birds Finds this week! I've been an avid reader of theirs for some time now so being able to contribute was lots of fun.

Thanks Mei-Lynn and Sharla! Love to do it again sometime!

As always,
BHappy

CPSIA Affects Canadians

2009-01-30T05:15:00.000-08:00

On February 10th yet another phase of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) will go into effect in the United States. Born out of the well intended principal that all children's products be free on lead, this new regulation is likely to harm the children's industry in
North America more than help - at least in it's current form.

Already brands like Europe's renowned Selecta have pulled out of the north American market rather than suffer the cost of testing every component of every product - soon most if not all of the hand made toy creators in the States will fall prey to the cost of having their material components tested or be criminally responsible.

Sure the idea is good - test everything - make it safe - hold someone - anyone? -responsible. But it is flawed. Large companies - the ones who's toys have been recalled for example - can afford the testing - while a maker of cotton knit soft toys may neither be able to afford it nor logically need the testing (there is very little likelihood of cotton fibers, dyed or not, retaining any appreciable lead). Store owners will be responsible for the products they sell. Sounds good in principal, but liable if something contains lead? - with out without their knowing about it? Does a small shopkeeper need to have their own lab at their disposal? In one breath a clarification on this particular subject states that a shopkeeper will 'not be responsible for testing their inventory... however, cannot sell products that exceed the lead limit...Those resellers that do sell products in violation...could face civil and/or criminal penalties.' Seems like a very fine line to tread as a retailer.

The regulation covers everything intended for use by children 12 and under. Toys, clothes, beds, furniture, towels, cloth diapers, boardgames, books....

Not to mention, I have yet to understand how singular testing on a product sample can confirm continued safety - one of the toys in our house had been recalled for lead - just not our toys lot number - different batch of yellow paint apparently (yeah, we don't play with that anymore and yeah, it's a mass produced plastic thing). Testing the end product is not the same as testing the material component.

So, small business making safe toys will go down because they can't afford the cost, about $70 to $350 US per material component plus on if it is a lead test or bpa, and we here in Canada loose out too - no longer able to get the products like Selecta, all the wonderful Etsy crafters who make hand made goodies, the small American craftsmen - who can't risk the lawsuits even though they make natural wood toys with no finishes, and even our own Canadian manufacturers who are at risk of loosing the US market - inherently safe products or not. All because another countries material manufactures with questionable business practices made things on the cheap and cut corners for crazy cheap prices.

Who'd'a thought that cheap could mean quality concerns?

What can we do
As Canadians we have to decide if we want to continue to lavish our children with mountains of plastic toys, reasonably cheap to buy and super cheap to make, or be more selective about what we introduce into our playtime and buy feewer quality small run products whose price might be a bit higher but who's profit ratio is smaller, supporting small and medium sized business and ethical manufacturing.

Buy Canadian, American & European made

Buy Fairly Traded and Responsibly Made - just look at the packinging most will tell you if they are.

We can have our voice heard as their neighbours, go to The Handmade Toy Alliance to find out more.

Buying less of the over-blinged stuff that got in trouble in the 1st place is a way to speak with our wallet and speaks as to our concerns and choices as parents.

To find out more about the new regulations in the States go here.

**and just a note: the cash register shown is from Selecta, my daughter has it and loves it. So do I, it makes the most pleasant 'bing!' and does not require batteries. She had a plastic one that lasted about 2 years before it broke, when she saw this one she thought it was the 'coolest ever!' and has been playing, adding and writing ever since. Shame that thanks to a poorly thought out law I won't be able to get more of these, and so much more like it, in the shop!

The FDA is OK with Melamine in Baby Formula, are you?

2009-01-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

In the United States this month the FDA has released additional information regarding melamine in infants formula. Astonishingly, the problem is not limited to Chinese practices but extends as far as North American formula manufacturing as well. Three products available right now on your American grocers shelf have tested positive for melamine or cyanuric acid (think bleach, disinfectants and herbicides) - and no, they do not plan to do anything about it.

According to the FDA Enfamil with Iron & Enfamil Lipil with Iron tested positive for cyanuric acid and Nestle Good Start Supreme with Iron tested positive for melamine; however the FDA believes that the products need not be pulled from the shelves given that a) that the melamine and cyanuric acid were never both found present at the same time in any of the tested formulas and B) the individual levels found were 'believed' to not pose any health hazards. In case your wondering it has been determined that it is the combination of the two together that makes one sick.

Now granted, the levels found in the American made formulas were significantly less than the 1 part per million considered safe for baby formula by the FDA and yes it is about 10,000 times lower that the levels found in China's tainted formula scandal and yes, the two compounds were not found present together in one package but I'm not sure that is good enough for me.

In fact I know it isn't good enough for me.

Here is my reasoning:

Melamine and Cyanuric Acid have no business in infant formula. While it is reasonable to assume that they found their way there through the ingredients in the formula or leached from the liners of the containers rather than having been added as an ingredient to the formula, I believe that the quality of the ingredients used in infant formula and it's packaging should be of the highest quality and free from anything considered in any way, shape or form to be in any way toxic.
Melamine is a protein and protein levels in formula are important and relevant to a babies development. the sheer existence of the melamine in the formula changes, for me at least, the value and quality of the protein given to an infant.
While the melamine and the cyanuric acid were never found present in the same formula, thereby making them 'safe', who is to say that a baby may not find themselves drinking from different formulas in the same day?
The determination of a safe level for infants is flawed if you ask me, given that it is theoretical analysis and not based on observed fact. The FDA 'believes' it to be safe, but much like giving a baby a CAT Scan they really do not have any imperical data to suggest it really is safe, it's kind of like back in the day when they said tobacco smoke is ok - have you heard of the effects of 3rd hand smoke on little ones lately?
And quite finally and simply - I have no interest in feeding my children cheap counter top laminate and it's waste product - especially without my express knowledge.

Both my children were breastfed, one was supplemented with formula, and I am well aware that my milk was not as pure as an Arctic glacier (one wonders how pure that is b.t.w.) but was natural breast milk containing all the good bits breast milk does. For those children who's mother's need offer formula for whatever reason we should be able to rest assured that it contains only good healthy things that will help them thrive, not fill them in any way with empty protein or leave parents with any doubt as to the goodness and nature of the formulas contents.

to see the list of tested products go here
to read the FDA report go here

As always
BHappy

It's Been a Long Time Coming

2009-01-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

Time files quickly - I hardly know where it has gone! to all who may read this - first and foremost Happy New Year, may you and yours feel peace and love.

Now the news:
I have opened a new online toys store called Little Footprints (www.littlefootprintstoys.com)where I offer Planet Friendly toys for kids of all ages. I'm quite proud of my new little baby and I hope you will stop by and have a look.

The store is all about having fun and being kind to the planet, just like this little blog. I have enjoyed so many hours playing with my children and I have spent perhaps as many hours thinking about what they play with. I enjoyed seeing my kids pleasure playing with their toys but quickly noticed how so many could not hold their interests long term. It also began to bother me that so many toys that they seemed to get were so plastic, cold and really noisy. I began to put painters tape on the speakers to lessen the noise and look for more interesting and inspiring toys that felt better to the touch.

As my firstborn grew we began to teach her to be considerate to the planet. To recycle and not waste, flush only when really necessary, to turn off the lights behind herself,the importance of fresh food. My little boy, only just 2, knows what can be recycled and puts it in the correct bin. And I will admit it makes me proud.

Then one day I began to see images of the great garbage patches in our oceans. The Great Garbage Patches of our oceans. Plastic crap everywhere. Then looked at my den. More plastic crap. My kids were party to mounds of consumer garbage waste that would take centuries to go away to the naked eye but would never fully disappear, their chemicals left in the earth forever filling landfills or, dear gawd no, chewing up the insides of animals. Even buying second hand to take the small footstep of difference in excessive manufacturing can't help this.

But the beautiful wooden toys, cardboard puzzles and cotton loveys we had begun to search out wouldn't leave such a legacy. I was a woman with a mission. They were hard to find, out there and poorly promoted, toys that wee not just natural and fun for kids but better for the planet. Sustainable, Fair Trade, FSC Certified, made from all natural or recycled materials and locally made as well - all kinds of toys, games, kids gear and fun. Wonderful stuff. As I searched for my own interests I realized I was certainly not alone. Parents looking for alternative choices to 'toxic toys' but having a hard time finding them. As long as you were looking for baby clothes and products the choices were phenomenal but finding toys for everyone to have fun with was hard. In the States there were a few online stores and small retailers, in Europe natural toys abounded, but in Canada they were few and far between and catered to baby and toddler and even if there were products for older people they were natural but not planet friendly, and there is a difference. (see my earlier post regarding properly sourced woods)

So, I decided to do it. I have taken everything I know from running my Interior Design consulting firm, going green and being a mum and channeled it into a new business and a new path for myself and my family. It's been a few weeks since I got our virtual doors open and I think it is going well, every day sees more and more visitors and customers. I hope that with each gift given from my shop, someone somewhere will stop and think about the toys kids play with and realize that we need not sacrifice fun and learning to be sustainable, perhaps choosing to take another little step towards changing how we think about what we leave behind when the fun is over.

Goes without saying folks - if your looking for some sustainable eco-friendly fun in Canada, no batteries required, that will be gone before your great grandkids are born (unless you keep it safe of course!) then please pop by and have a peek in my shop www.littlefootprintstoys.com, maybe there is something there for you too!

As always, thanks for stopping by & always
BHappy
Barb

BPA No Way, Eh!

2008-10-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the end of the 6 month waiting period before Canada could officially list Bisphenol A, or BPA, as a toxic substance. And it did.

Six months ago heath Canada began the process to have BPA listed as a toxic substance, among other things, notifying businesses and interested parties of it's intentions with notices in the Canada Gazette, a government publication. that notice period is now over and Canada now has the great honor of being the first country in the world to rasie official concerns over the use of BPA.

BPA is a building block to hard polycarbonate plastics such as baby bottles and plastic drinking glasses, as well as an agent in the epoxy of food and beverage tin liners, where it acts to inhibit bacterial contamination and lenghten shelf life. Recent, and frighting, studys have shown that BPA in baby bottles can leach as the bottles react to heat. Other concerns are BPA simply leaching into stored food products when kept in BPA lined cans.

The official labeling of BPA as a toxic substance paves the way for health Canada to begin drafting regularions that prohibit the manufacture, sale, marketing and importation of products ccaring BPA which are intended for use by infants. And it has.

Today I am proud to say 'I am Canadian!' Let's hope Canada's step towards safer products catches on.....

Certifiable Organic Bananas???

2008-10-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

You would think that a pre-Halloween post about organic bananas would have something to do with Treats but this one is definitely about the Tricks.

I was killing some time walking around the mall before a meeting yesterday afternoon. I don't mall shop much at all, not my thing, but I do like to window shop now and again. I went into Pottery Barn Kids, drawn in by the Halloween window display. They had a selection of costumes for kids of course and they had this one, the Certified Organic Banana. Cute? Maybe a bit odd? For sure, especially with the pealed banana bag but one I got within a foot of the thing I noticed 2 things....

First, unsurprisingly, for Pottery Barn Kids, the costume sans bag was $90 Canadian.
side note - retails for $65 U.S. in the catalog, what do they think Canadians are, total suckers? F.Y.I. Pottery Barn, I can do math on currency conversions and don't tell me the shipping costs at almost 30%

Second, and filed under the 'duhh, should have guessed category', was that the 'Certified Organic Banana' costume was made out of 100% polyester. Nothin' organic here but maybe the kid wearing it.

I'm always happy to see planet friendly ideas go mainstream. I even believe we can balance our desires for commercial materialism with our eco-friendliness but it doesn't start with polyester organic bananas. If the costume had been made with cotton and linen, organic or not, like their Pirate costume, I would have appreciated the concept of an organic fruity costume for what is was (even though I don't know a single kid who would want to be a fruit of any kind for Halloween) and because it puts the concept of living naturally out there even if you didn't make your kids costume yourself. We don't all have the time or the inclination to make our own costumes. I have been buying previously loved costumes for my kids myself. That way my daughter has been able to pick her costume, which is important to her it seems.

But the PB costume is a fake, a trick, and an example of the worst kind of greenwashing - promoting eco-awarness without a stitch of eco-sensitivity.

Shame on you Pottery Barn Kids, you gave yourself a chance to do something right and you went all wrong instead. No Treat for you.

Is That Wood Toy Really Planet Friendly?

2008-09-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

We stand there in the checkout line of our favorite local toy store with a wooden toy in our hands. We're doing good, right? Our kids will have fun with it, we know that, but what about the planet? Is buying a wood toy inherently planet friendly or a slippery slope of eco-destruction?

Unfortunately, buying wood products of any kind without fully understanding their origins can be detrimental to our world forests, and this is true for wood toys too.

80% of toys are manufactured in China, and while the vast majority of these toys are plastic there are more and more toys of the market that are made of wood and made in China. One of my 'ungreen' friends asked me once why he should care about buying environmentally friendly toys and avoiding un-certified Chinese wood products for his kids. My answer was of course, that we should all care about the planet we leave our children, the impact of plastic manufacturing on us globally and that we all simply need trees to breathe. He also thought that China was using it's own forestry resources for the manufacture of it exports, and expressed a NIMBY feeling about their use of their resources, but ever since the devastating flood of the summer of 1998 China has attempted to put severe restrictions on logging of it's own forests in part because the intensive logging and poor land management in the years leading up to the flood were identified as part causes for the river flooding. Right now China uses primarily imported wood for it's international manufacturing trade.

In 2002 the WWF released their report 'The Timber Footprint of the G8 & China' which identifies the illegal trade of world timber resources. While the report does not specifically mention the toy industry as one of the industries impacting the global timber resources it addresses some very serious concerns regarding logging and international timber trade.

In short,the report suggests that 13% of the timber and wood products purchased by G8 countries and China are sourced or traded illegally. And to put that into perspective that is about 53 million cubic meters, or an area about the size of Lake Superior every year.

China's need for imported timber for it's wood product exports have quadrupled over the past decade and it does little to ensure that it's wood imports are legally sourced, this in turn means that there no payment of government royalties to the exporting nations (revenue for the exporting country) or environmental control over the logging and harvesting of the timber.

The majority of China's wood imports originate from Indonesia, Cameroon, Malaysia and the Russian Far East. All of these countries are known to have rampant illegal timber trade with 50% to 80% of the wood harvested and sold to Chinese and other interests from Russia's Far East and Cameroon being illegally harvested, situation in Indonesia is reportedly even worse.

In Thailand, another popular source for wood often used for toys not only are their own forests improperly harvested for international trade but they in turn import illegal timber from Burma, Cambodia and Laos for export, where too laege amounts of timber are illegal.

How can we ensure that the toys and other wood products we buy are responsibly harvested and sold? The best way is to look for FSC Certified wood products, wood products made from re-purposed wood products such as rubberwood, and renewable wood sources such as bamboo. One can also look to purchase products manufactured and sourced in countries with commitments to sustainable logging practices such as Germany and Vietnam and consider wood products made from recycled wood and/or recycled/able wood bio-composite plastics.

Right now it is up to the consumer to educate themselves on the origins of the materials used by manufacturers but one can hope that the increased interest in environmentally considerate manufacturing processes with lead the manufacturers to clearly identify the source of their materials and manufacturing processes. In the meantime keep your eyes peeled for toys made by companies such as Plan Toys, ImagiPLAY, HaPe and Selecta who already mandate sustainable, renewable materials for the products they create.

Formore information on China's wood industry and illegal logging of our worlds forests check out:
www.Mongabay.com
www.WWF.ca

BHappy, Play Safe!

oh, p.s., if your wondering if the toy in the picture is earth friendly it is! The gorgeous Monkey Tree puzzle by Imagiplay is crafted from rubberwood, a renewable resource. Rubberwood is plantation grown to be tapped for its natural laytex rubber. Once the tree has reached the end of it's laytex producing life the wood of the tree is used to manufactuer products such as toys. Multi-function trees - how cool is that?

Peaches for me!?!

2008-09-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

When I was expecting my second I was crazy for fruit and veg. Couldn't get enough of it. Obsessed with finding the best grilled veggie salads or sandwhiches and visiting every farmers market within reach. I went crazy for peaches I found at the East York Civic Centre. I ate a big basket every week they were in season. Pinks, whites, I tried all sorts. When my buddy was in the hospital after having her daughter I brought her.... peaches.

Imagine my dismay to learn that my beloved peach, when conventionally grown, is likely to carry the highest pesticide load of any commercially available fruit or veg., according to the Environmental Working Group. Since my son now loves his peaches just as much as I did while growing him I've been buying as locally and then organically as much possible.

We've been away for a few weeks and I have been secretly dreaming about those peaches at the market. They were just coming in when we left. The organic ones we can get here are ok but they are nothing like these local peaches. So as soon as I could I went to the market and lo and behold! My peach guys have a chemical free crop!!!

Maybe not quite as sweet as some of the others, but I'll take it against the chemical load any day, especially since they're also local...

In case your interested, this is my Staples Guide for Fruit and Veg .
It's based on the Enviromental Working Groups findings & availability of locally grown produce. It gives me a basic list of foods to shop for and cook based on a healthy food chain of fresh food, taking advantage of as much local as possible, & providing the most nutrition with the most minimal chemical residue reasonable, in my mind, for children. I try to shop with it in mind whenever I can.

Top 5 Always Frozen In House

Corn -very low pesticide load conventionally grown, often available Canadian grown.
Peas - very low pesticide load conventionally grown
Mango- very low pesticide load conventionally grown
Blueberries - low pesticide load conventionally grown
Organic Strawberries

Top 10 ALWAYS Organic
The pesticide residue on all these items are really higher than I would like to eat myself let alone offer to my children.

Peaches
Apples
Strawberries
Nectarines
Pears
Bell Peppers
Lettuce
Celery
Spinach
Potatoes

Top 10 to Buy Local In Season:
Support local growers whenever you can! All these items are low in pesticide residue unless noted.

Peaches - Organic or at least Chem Free.
Apples - Organic or at least Chem Free.
Tomatoes - Yumm!
Corn - Local for the fresh taste, sweet corn is one of the least likely to harbor residual pesticide load.
Blueberries and especially Wild Blueberries - Full of anti-oxidants in the skin, moderate pesticide load when in traditional blueberries and reasonable to assume that the more honestly wild ones, and thereby less sprayed, locally available would be even lower in load perhaps, if tested.
Rhubarb
Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli
Eggplant - (never thought I would have use for this untill I discovered Eggplant Bolognesse!)
Zucchini

Top 10 to Buy Conventional:
Since they are all low in pesticide residue, many are not available locally and augment the local northern winter crop, or lack thereof....

Kiwi
Mango
Pineapple (unless your juicing the skin, then I go for the organic)
Asparagus
Onions
Avocado
Banana (for price only since they are low on the pesticide residue after peeled but they taste soooo much better organic! Fair trade would be even better but I just can't afford it)
Cabbage
Tomato sauce in glass jars.
Legumes

BHappy

Welcome!

2008-09-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hi there and welcome to my new blog!

Every since I had my first child I have been getting greener and greener. It began, I think, with simply reading the back of food boxes. I had been reading the back of boxes a long time ago but once I had the kiddies I started really caring about avoiding all the fake stuff, sugars and salts running rampant in packaged foods. Not a stretch when your also reading about the biological effects of additives in food. Obesity, negative cognitive effects I(ADHD, effects on autism, sleep troubles and so on), physical dependencies on sugars and salt, just to start. All things I would like to mitigate as much as I can for my kids, all things I can effect change on.

Next I began to think about the environment my kids are in. Bisphenol, phthalates, plastic off-gassing and chipped paint. My second, Zane, is a mouther. In his first year he had to taste and chew on everything! Toys, books, rocks, soap. From the most obvious to the most obtuse, he would give it a chew and I would get thinking about it. I know a lot about airborne particulate and off-gassing of foams, plastics and fire retardants from many years running my own company as a Corporate Interior Designer. And I would think, " if I don't like what he's chewing on, and the airborne chemicals relates to it, how do I feel about the process to manufacturer it?"

So, here we are.

In this blog I hope to diary all the wonderful things I have learnt about becoming Planet Friendly with my kids and share it with you. My greatest focus will be Planet Friendly play and sustainable fun, but I also will share anything else I can about our own experiences becoming eco-friendly as a family.

I hope you enjoy this blog and I welcome and comments and suggestions you may have to make it even better.

thanks for stopping by!

BHappy,
Barb