More Preschooler Portraits

Here are a couple more of my recent favorites:

(Click on them to view larger)

Preschooler Portraits

I love taking portraits of preschoolers.  I prefer to photograph these kids spontaneously when they are in the middle of their day.  That way they are both busy and relaxed and are wearing their everyday clothes and hairstyles.  Sometimes they are even in costumes, or there is paint or food on their faces.  They usually look at the camera and give me a practiced "Cheese" smile, but if I wait just a minute or two, it goes away and something real happens.  Sometimes I try to warm them up by asking them questions or joking around with them.  If I am lucky (and quick), I can catch them in one of those magic moments, and in their portrait we will see a glimmer of their future adult selves or a fleeting expression of genuine emotion.

Small-it

This is one of those things that may sound totally ridiculous until you try it, and then once you do you'll go around thinking, "This is the best wallet EVER!"

The humble binder clip (also known as banker's clip, bulldog clip, or foldback clip) was invented in 1910 by Louis E. Baltzley, and in my opinion should be recognized as a marvel of industrial design.  Seriously, it deserves its own pedestal at MOMA.  It is so small, strong and flexible and it securely holds as little or as much as you'll ever need.  It is very easy to get cards and money in and out without spilling the other contents, and nothing ever falls out.

I switched from wallet to money clip just after college.  I was doing a lot of international traveling, and wanted a slimmer and more discreet way to carry my cards and money in my front pocket.  A couple of years later, my fancy silver money clip broke, and I grabbed a binder clip off of my desk to use as a temporary wallet.  That was about twenty years ago, and I am still using the very same binder clip.

Home Improvements

Sometimes all it takes is a little package of googly eyes to spruce up some of the otherwise less attractive corners of your home.

Gotta' love a little DIY!

Hubbub & Mayhem

We've been playing Hubbub, a game that was likely played by the Native Americans in New England around the time of the first Thanksgiving.  It is very simple to make and play, just take five or more small objects that you can mark on one or both sides.  We chose squash seeds, but you could use pebbles, bottle caps, whatever.  We have two teams, the blue x's and the red dots:

We put them in a basket or bowl and have two people bang it on the floor, chanting "Hub! Hub! Hub!"  Someone calls "Stop!" and then we count how many seeds are face up for each team.  We play up to fifty.  You can even play with twenty seeds if you have someone in your family, like we do, who likes to count and add (go figure!)

 

And now for the mayhem:  If you want another fun Thanksgiving activity, you might enjoy this older post:

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are!

Strawberry

A couple of weeks ago, we got a strawberry plant in our CSA box.  We planted it, even though it looked like a little clump of wet sticks and scraggly roots.  It is thriving in its new location in our window box, and we have loved watching it come to life.

It's a little bit Spring in November outside our window.

Filmstrips (part 2)

I love the images and advice on this child care filmstrip called "Teaching Desirable Habits" from 1953:

(From the Infant Care Series , "Teaching Desirable Habits" A Centron Production, produced by Luella M. Foster)