1. Daily Show funny girl Samantha Bee and Bunchland homegirl Allana Harkin, who plays Dan’s mom on Dino Dan, are blogging for Babble. Check out their new column, Eating Over the Sink.
2. Living in sin has really caught on!. The New York Times’ Motherlode says our kids are more likely to have parents who never married than parents who divorced.
3. Do kids shows with great music and grown-up appeal bring kids and parents together? Josh Ostroff explores the Yo Gabba Gabba!, My Little Pony phenomenon.
4. The latest Bunchland Poll is live on the Nat Po both in print and on-line. This week’s topic: The Chore Wars.
5. Check out the original Time Magazine Chore Wars article here.
1. Would you take your kids to Burning Man? We would. Want some tips from people who’ve done it? Check out Red Tricycle’s Guide to Burning Man With Kids. Next thing you know your smalls will playing on the playa!
2. Some asshat wrote a book about a 14-year-old girl named Maggie who goes on a diet and then her life gets better. The book is aimed at 4-8 year olds. Here is the description on Amazon:
This book is about a 14 year old girl who goes on a diet and is transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.
This post originally appeared on Today’s Parent, who seems to like the way we party. We like that they like the way we party. Our Today’s Parent blog is called Bunch Likes to Party.
There’s something special about hosting your kid’s birthday party in his or her own backyard but what the heck are you going to do to entertain the hordes until their parents come pick them up? Look no further, friends. We’ve got your back.
How to build a safe snow fort using an old patio table
As mentioned, today is a snow fort and frittata kind of a day. So we were stoked to learn about this safe and easy snow fort building technique from super awesome Bunchland dad, Jason Cavener. Just take a table (Jason and his daughter H. used an old patio table) and heap snow on top of it. Presto! You’ve got a cave-in proof snow fort. This technique is also good for those of us who have no particular aptitude for the building of snow forts.
The easiest fun you and your kids ever had in 5 minutes
I went to the new Tequila bar on Ossington with a friend last Tuesday night and when I came home my husband had invented this very simple and surprisingly cool way to turn cookies after dinner into a Jackson Pollock influenced art making activity. I was super impressed and have vowed to go out for cocktails on weeknights more often since it clearly inspires my family to be creative! Anyone want to meet-up for a Tequila next week?
Materials:
Oreos or a similarly flat, sandwich type of cookie. A dark brown almost black cookie is best (aesthetically).
Cake icing tubes in an assortment of colours. We used the kind that are called “Scribblers”.
Artable is a series about highfalutin arty stuff that kids and parents can enjoy together. When searching for our first Artable artist, William Wegman immediately came to mind. Walker, 1990, via Flavorwire
Wegman is an artist famous for his portraits of costumed dogs in comical poses , most notably his Weimariners Man Ray and Fay Ray and their descendants Battina, Crooky, Chundo, and Chip. Wegman’s sleek and soulful Weimariners make excellent muses. Fay Ray seems to be able to assume any pose. The dog photos lent themselves very naturally to a series of childrens’ book inspired by the dogs’ various acting chops: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, ABC, Mother Goose, Farm Days, My Town, Surprise Party and Chip Wants a Dog (all Hyperion). Some Bunchland readers may remember Wegman’s video segments for Sesame Street. They’ve appeared regularly since 1989.
Can families check out gallery shows, installations and other high culture stuff without tears, breakage, boredom or ennui? Can you keep expensive and heavy art books in your house that your kids will enjoy rather than rip up, use as a booster seat, a way to reach that elusive candy jar, or weapon? We say heck yeah! In our new feature, Artable, we track down playful and fun arty stuff for you to enjoy with your smalls. Sometimes we even take it one step further and suggest something fun to for you do or make together as a result of your new highfalutin art smarts. Sound good?
