Bedtime with The Land of Nod and Little Golden Books

We recently upped our bedtime routine a bit with some new goods from The Land of Nod. Head over to their blog to check it out!

Project 52 -- Week 29

From a non-stop beach week with family.

National Geographic Museum: Indiana Jones + the Adventure of Archaeology

With two archaeologically-obsessed children in our home, I knew that we had to make our way to the National Geographic Museum to catch the Indiana Jones exhibit this summer. I hemmed and hawed beforehand whether to let them watch the first Indiana Jones movie, but decided I'd better err on the side of avoiding sleepless nights and wait. And since our kids are also totally obsessed with history and ancient cultures, they were perfectly fine not knowing the first thing about the actual movies -- they were able to pick up on things right away. The exhibit is enormous (which is unusual for that museum), largely due to the fact that so, so much of it is done via "personal video companion." But there are also a ton of historical and cultural artifacts to view. So, be prepared to spend a lot of time in there!!

Weekend Makes

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month!? Without even being aware, my kiddos have been seriously celebrating all month already. I'm wary of telling them of the "holiday," but I think I'll try to work in some of these other sweet makes as sugar-free alternatives!!

1 / such cute paper ice creams! 2 / Wayne Thiebaud-inspired ice cream art 3 / our favorite frozen playdough turned ice cream parlor 4 / cute ice cream math with pom poms 5 / DIY ice cream scoop bath bombs

Project 52 -- Week 28

"Fancy Pose" before camp this a.m.

National Building Museum: The BEACH

The new temporary architectural installation at DC's National Building Museum is at once incredibly awesome and my worst nightmare. I know I tend to think of myself as more laid-back than I actually am, but The Beach turned me into a germaphobic, claustrophobic lunatic convinced that my children were going to suffocate under a sea of clear plastic balls. It was not a pretty afternoon for me.

Weekend Makes

I'm spending this weekend away from my kiddos and back in my hometown of Oak Park, Illinois. In addition to yours truly (bwhahaha), many other important creative types have called Oak Park home, including Frank Lloyd Wright who built his home + studio there. Even though Prairie Style isn't quite my jam, I've always found his architecture inspiring and am way into the concept of Usonian homes -- the fact that our kitchen is incorporated into our living space at our new home is one of the things that drew us to it most. I've introduced the kids to Frank Lloyd Wright over the years and I've written before about Kane's interest in him, so I thought it would be fun to put together a set of Weekend Makes all about FLW. Here's to an allWright weekend!!

1 / A nature-based building box is an awesome way to help kids learn about Wright's architectural connection with nature.

2 / Perhaps it's slightly cheating to include pre-made blocks in a Weekend Makes, but these Frank Lloyd Wright LEGO sets are serious makes. Kane would lose his mind.

3 / I first introduced the kids to Frank Lloyd Wright by reading them Blue Balliet's series of books for kids that involve Wright's Robie House. Each book in the series features prominently the set of math puzzles known as pentominoes. Print off your own here and get to puzzling!

4 / Love these Wright-inspired votives.

5 / One of the best FLW stained glass projects for kids I've seen.