For our last playdate review of the year, we wanted to go big. We tried to see if there was a haunted house for little kids to go along with our spooky month, but sadly to no avail. Instead, we landed on everyone’s favorite childhood party venue, the hobby that got a glow up during pandemic, and a skill that is way easier to figure out than ice skating.
Continue readingPlaytime
Freaky Funday: Why We Enjoy a Good Scare
October is the season for all things scary. It’s the one time of year where skeletons, ghosts, and ghouls are commonplace, scary stories and movies are celebrated, and jump scares are permitted. Although Halloween can be a terrifying experience for some, others embrace the satisfying horror of it all. Why would your child would want to go the most decked-out, creepy house or want to hear a torturous tale before bed? It’s fun.
Continue readingThe Pumpkin Slayer: Pumpkin OT
Every October, people flock to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect gourd to slice into to become a Halloween jack-o’-lantern. What kind of sick tradition is this? I mean, what did a pumpkin ever do to deserve this? Turns out this Halloween tradition was brought to us by European immigrants, dating back to a centuries-old Irish tale of a man named Stingy Jack.
Continue readingJumping Rope
Do you know how hard it is to come up with a title about jump roping that doesn’t go back to a cheesy song?
After our cartwheeling post, we started thinking about all the other recess activities we used to do in grade school: hanging on monkey bars, playing a rousing game of 4-Square, or that one week where it seemed everyone wanted to jump rope.
Although the jump roping origins is unclear, we do know it was brought over by the Dutch in the late 1600s. Kids were jumping and developing games with songs to keep themselves occupied. Some used two ropes, explaining where the term Double Dutch came from. As it gained popularity, kids would use any material (clotheslines, braided rope, etc.) they could find to make a rope and play with their friends. Unfortunately in the 1950s, with the expansion of television and radio, kids began spending more time indoors.
Now, if you peruse the internet about jumping or skipping rope, you’ll find that this pastime has generally been rebranded as a great cardio workout (Woohoo, Jump Rope for Heart). No doubt it is, but let’s talk about what else it can do for our kids’ development.
Continue readingThe Art of the Cartwheel
Last summer, in our gymnastics summer camp era, Patti found a flyer for a short Parks and Rec Cartwheel camp. Her girls were too young for it, but got us thinking: what skills do you need to perform a cartwheel?
Growing up, no one instructed us how to do a cartwheel or somersault or handspring, or any of those moves. We just saw a girl do it on the playground and we copied until we got it right. We also watched a lot of Shannon Miller and the US Olympic gymnastics team.
Cartwheels are a combination of different movements that require body awareness, coordination, and balance. Even if your kid isn’t enrolled in tumbling or gymnastics, a cartwheel is common enough to try as they learn and master more motor skills. They are also a good challenge, especially if they see their friend or someone else do it.
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Child(ish) Advice 