2011, In Photos

I know I said yesterday was going to be my last post of the year, but this morning I have been perusing in awe some sublime photos that I feel compelled to share. Head over to The Boston Globe's The Year in Pictures: Part I (#25 was especially interesting, note the total absence of anything growing) and Part II. They're a good reminder to stay involved with the world.

Peace.

Popularity Contest #1

This is my last post of the year and you are eager to know the most popular post of 2011, aren't you? I have a surprise for you.

There is a twist.

Originally I had planned to stick with whatever the top ten were when I started the countdown in November. However, in December one post received so much traffic that it launched from total obscurity to the very top. I think that deserves special mention, don't you?

The original top post of 2011 is this very simple fog in a bottle experiment I did with Kiddo in 2009. The reason it became so popular is because in March a Swedish preschool education site linked to it.

You just never know what will happen in internet land.

And the current top post of 2011? Last year I told you about children's book author/illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg's free coloring pages and included a link to this lovely winter scene she has available for download on her blog (scroll to bottom of page). You need to go to her site to get a large image.

You would not believe the number of people searching for "winter scene coloring pages" on Google. If you like coloring pages follow this link to see posts of all her free coloring pages to download and print out.

By now (if you are still with me) you must be wondering what is my favorite post of all time. I am going to cheat a bit and make it an entire category of posts.

I really enjoy writing book posts. I've occasionally thought I should have only a book blog instead of this one, but have immediately realized that would bore me. However, I attempt to write one book post a week. Some of my favorites include:  children's books I hate, my favorite childhood book (a princess book, no less!!), why I let Kiddo read books about burping, and how I read to differently aged children at the same time, among others.

And that's it. That concludes my list of your top posts v. my top posts.

What will be the top posts in 2012? We shall have to wait and see. Until then, Happy New Year!

Popularity Contest #2

Number 2 on the most-popular-posts-this-year list is Distracting Your Toddler 101 -- an important introductory course that should be required for every student parent.

It's amazing what kids find interesting.

My second favorite post of all time is this Moon Viewer, a project I made for Kiddo two years ago. It has provided much entertainment since then.
It works by projecting the phases of the moon on the wall. all you need is a cylindrical container (think: salt) and a small flashlight. Go ahead and make one for yourself.

Popularity Contest #3

Google Analytics tells me that Best Toddler Puzzle Ever is the third most visited post in 2011. Search terms are a curious thing. Suddenly a minor post can become a craze!

Sadly, it appears that Kid O has discontinued this puzzle as well as all their other awesome Montessori puzzles (I'm particularly irked I never got that fraction puzzle!) You can check out some of the other stuff the design-oriented company makes, but nothing is nearly as good as their discontinued puzzles, IMHO.

My top 3 post of all time is this clever idea (if I do say so myself) to reinforce spelling and literacy. I call it "Sift 'n' Spell". I first published it 2 years ago (and then later as a Friday do-over).

It's been pinned at Pinterest a few times by some discerning souls. Take a look at the original post, here.

Popularity Contest #4

On the list of top visited posts of 2011, number 4 is actually a post from 2009: making marbled paper with shaving cream.

Most likely you've seen this art project on other sites, as well. Go ahead and take a look at our version, which uses watercolor paint instead of food coloring.

My #4 is a series of posts I really like to put together, but don't get much traffic. (This is a common theme with my favorites versus your favorites!)

In my Mom's Bookshelf posts I give you a bit of a peek into what I've been reading. I feel incomplete if I'm not currently reading a book, so naturally I read a lot. I find it entertaining to come up with micro-blurb opinions of the books. I'm overdue for another edition. Perhaps in the new year I will be more diligent about writing, not just reading.

Weekend Snapshots

Spread some cheer and share your holiday photos. The linky is open all week so take a few extra days to relax and gather your strength. If you like, include a text link or button (code in the sidebar) back here to the home of Weekend Snapshots. I look forward to seeing how you've been celebrating. 

You'd think I'd have a lot of photos to share from such a busy weekend. On Friday we had our annual Christmas Eve fondue party but I forgot to take a single photo, probably because of the 25,000 monkeys 4 boys running around, or maybe because of the wine.

Christmas morning Kiddo was the first up (at the late hour of 7:30!). He was not allowed to touch the stockings, but that did not prevent surreptitious inspection.

Hanukkah continues and New Kid helps out with his new headlamp. 

Happy Holidays! (Hmmm, someone is not practicing match safety.)

The Perfect Holiday Gift -- And It's Free!

If you need a little last minute inspiration for your child's holiday gift, let me inspire you:

If your child does not have his or her own library card, now is the time. 

It's the perfect gift: it's free, portable, lasts forever, provides access to a constant source of entertainment, and teaches responsibility. It also easily slips into that Christmas stocking.

No more excuses! ("But he'll lose it!" "But how will I need to keep track of all the books!"). At the risk of sounding melodramatic, having one's own library card is the key to freedom no matter what your age.

Even my 2 year old 3 year old hands his own card to the librarian at check out time. Although I do keep his card in my wallet -- let's be realistic.

So what are you waiting for? Does your child have his own library card? Be brave: get him one and let him take responsibility for it.

(Parent Bonus: think of all the quiet time your child will eventually spend reading. That's your free gift.)

Not Getting Any Shorter

Today may be the shortest day of the year, but yesterday was one of the most important.

(In case you feel the need to point out something, it's a "3" to him, right?)

Transportation Tuesday

Sand boxes: not just for summer.

Popularity Contest #5

At the midway point in my countdown of popular posts this year is this idea that I came up with for creating my own popsicles without plastic (and sugar!). I try to avoid storing and making food in plastic whenever possible. I think this is important, whether or not the plastic is BPA-free. You can read more about why in this article (note, at end of the article it mentions avoiding extreme cooling, e.g. freezing popsicles)

This post has become so popular, not only because it was linked on several other blogs but because you would not believe how many people search for the term "watermelon lime popsicle!"

While I must admit I was fairly proud of my plastic-free popsicle idea, my personal #5 of all time is in a completely different vein and, as a group, have one of the lowest page view rankings on this blog: Transportation Tuesday.

I enjoy these posts because they showcase my boys' quirky obsession with toy vehicles of all sorts. However, they almost never get comments, do not offer any activity or educational activity ideas for you to try and, of course, no one ever puts the term "Transportation Tuesday" into Google's search engine! No matter, I love them and will keep posting them from time to time (maybe even tomorrow!).

Weekend Snapshots

Time again for my weekly link-up. If you'd like to share a photo or two of your weekend, this is the place. If you so desire, include a text link or button (code in the sidebar) back here to the home of Weekend Snapshots.

This was get-the-tree weekend and I have to photos to prove it.

We live in the city without a car and therefore do not drive to an idyllic tree farm, cut our own tree, tie it to the top of the car and drive home with fingers crossed it doesn't fall on to the highway.

Instead we head to a sidewalk vendor...

and push the tree home in our shopping wagon. Since my husband pushed it home, he insisted upon calling it the Hanukkah Bush.

I'm a little obsessive about our tree being decorated exclusively with Scandinavian ornaments.

Ta Da!

Also a very important letter was finally written.

I like to wait as long as possible to get the tree, otherwise it doesn't seem as special to me, hanging around forever. I would have preferred even a few more days, but it's too difficult to get it up on a weekday. If you get a tree, when do you put it up?

Our Snow Book Picks

Things have been slow around here. I know a lot of folks like to ratchet up their activity levels in December with all sorts of crafts and holiday-themed activities. I don't do this because -- for me -- the frenzy interfers with the enjoyment of it all.

However, we still read tons of books and I purposely search out snow-themed books, one of my favorite genres. Snow-themed books are an entire genre, right?  Try some of my favorites, next time you head out to the library in 2 feet of.... nothing (sigh).

 

An onomatopoeic snow poem. 

 

Snowflakes wisely head towards one of the greatest cities for Christmas: New York.

 

If you wish it, it will come.

 

I love a subtle touch of absurdity in my picture books.

 

I mentioned this book last week, and it's worth mentioning again, it is so wonderful.

There are other snow books we love, of course, but this will get you started. What snow books do you love?

I'm linking to What My Child Is Reading and Book Sharing Monday.

Lussekatter

On December 13, St. Lucia Day is celebrated in Sweden. Kiddo and New Kid helped me make the traditional lussekatter, or saffron bun. When New Kid saw the S shape he thought we were making the alphabet so we made a couple of As, but with the raisins they look like Å, so it's still appropriate, yes?

The S shapes are actually called a cats (katter), probably because they are reminiscent of cats' curling tales. These buns are so delicious, don't let the Dec. 13th deadline stop you from making them. You can find the yummy recipe through an internet search, but we used the recipe in Beatrice Ojakangas' Scandinavian Feasts.

Incidentally, even though my maternal family is from Sweden we never celebrated this holiday. I only recently found out why. St. Lucia Day was not widely celebrated until the1920s. Since my grandparents were in this country before then, they did not bring the tradition with them.  No matter, we can still enjoy a yummy bun with a candle-lit breakfast every December 13.

You can read more about St. Lucia Day here.

Extra Credit Reading:
Lucia and the Light
Hanna's Christmas
Lucia Morning in Sweden
Lucia, Saint of Light
God Jul: A Swedish Christmas

Popularity Contest #6

No. 6 on the list of popular posts is our balloon experiment. We did this two ways: with yeast and with baking soda and vinegar.

There is nothing unique about this experiment, but the post gets a lot of hits from search engine.

I had a lot of trouble deciding what was my no. 6, so I'm going to cheat a bit and choose these two posts, both of which feature super-easy super-sneaky ways of getting the children into the bathtub -- back when Kiddo hated baths. Now they both love baths.

Frozen Word Scramble

Bath Bubble Science

Weekend Snapshots

The thing about hosting a linky is that one starts to feel obliged to be interesting every week. Frankly, this was just not a very interesting weekend. However, as I am certain you had a lovely weekend, please do link up. If you like, include a text link or button (code in the sidebar) back here to the home of Weekend Snapshots.

I think I need to investigate why all my recent photos seem to be a tad blurry. You'll forgive me this week, I know.

I don't like to spend a lot of time decorating for the holidays. To be honest, I'd rather be reading a book and having a nice cup of tea than spreading more clutter around the apartment. Nevertheless, I set my little wooden tree and julboken on my great-grandmother's trunk. The small julboken are from Sweden, but I'm embarrassed to say I bought the largest one at IKEA a few years ago. You can't really tell from the photos, but the folded paper cutout says GOD JUL.

December Rose: you know it's been a warm autumn when the neighbor's roses are still in bloom.

I told you I was going to make gingerbread. I wonder who tried a corner while it was still warm?

One advantage to not having gizmos like ipads, smart phones or video games at home is that when your uncle lets you fool around with his, your parents don't have to impose time limits. Why not just let him play with it? It's not as if he will do so for another month or two.