Muth’s Zen Shorts is one of our favorite picture books. His accessible retelling of famous Zen stories packaged in a visually delightful format make this book a great way to encourage mindfulness in children and adults.
My boys were initially drawn in by the gorgeous illustrations. Muth’s beautifully rendered watercolors are full of color and light, and wonderfully express the humor and serenity of the points he’s trying to convey.… Continue reading
With all of the cold, snowy weather we’ve had recently, I’ve felt the strong desire for comfort foods. For me, warm baked goods definitely fulfill that desire. These biscuits are a modification of a recipe I found on Elana’s Pantry.
Grain-Free Biscuits Recipe
2.5 cups almond flour, plus about ¼ cup for dusting the dough
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup coconut oil
2 eggs
Blend together coconut oil, eggs and salt.… Continue reading
During the winter time when we see sick people all around us, I frequently feel the need to encourage my boys to wash their hands after touching things that seem less than sanitary. We all have sensitive skin, and the soaps in public restrooms often make us break out in rashes. Further, many places use antibacterial soaps, which are one of the sources of antibiotic resistance, in addition to being full of many unwanted toxic chemicals.… Continue reading
“In the end, just three things matter:
How well we have lived
How well we have loved
How well we have learned to let go”
― Jack Kornfield… Continue reading
The other day, my 6-year-old stumbled upon an origami book on our bookshelf. As he looked through it, the paper balloons intrigued him. He immediately set to work on trying to fold his own. And after a few tries and some help from me in interpreting some of the more complicated portions of the instructions, he was able to fold a paper balloon on his own.… Continue reading
For the last couple of days, my 6-year-old has been requesting that we undertake a baking project. With lots of snow on the ground and more forecasted to come, this seemed like a good day. We decided to try something new and made grain-free banana bread.
It smelled amazing as it cooked, and we were all counting down the minutes until it would be done baking.… Continue reading
As you go through your day, clean up little messes as you make them. Wipe up spills right away. Put the junk mail directly into the recycle bin. Rinse your dishes and immediately put them in the dishwasher as soon as you’re finished with them, instead of leaving them to pile up in the sink. Place your dirty clothes in the hamper as soon as you’ve taken them off of your body (or hang them up if you plan to wear them again).… Continue reading
For a long time, plastics were seen as the material of the future. They can be made very strong and resistant to breaking, they can be formed into any shape and color, and they can be made with all sorts of textures and degrees of malleability and flexibility, they are lightweight, and they’re relatively inexpensive to produce.
I think we’re just beginning to see the problems caused by the long-term use of plastics.… Continue reading
It’s probably the math fan in me, but as soon as I saw romanesco available at our local market, I had to buy it and try it. Yes, it’s a cruciferous vegetable. Yes, I’m sure it’s very healthy (lots of vitamins C and K, carotenoids, and, of course, fiber). But my decision to purchase was mostly from an aesthetic perspective.
Spirals occur in many places in nature: snail shells, some flowers, pinecones, DNA, pineapples, and even our galaxy.… Continue reading
It snowed a lot over the last couple of days. When we get a lot of snow, we try to find fun things to do with the snow that we might not be able to do otherwise. .
Last week during story time at our local library, the librarian read a book that mentioned making ice cream out of snow. My 6-year-old immediately wanted to try it.… Continue reading