Be a Buddy, Not a Bully!
Captain McFinn & Friends, created by Phyllis Cafaro, is a series of colorful, bright, fun books filled with a variety of characters just like in our oceans with fun names like Stink & Stank, the mean barracuda brothers. The stories share positive messages for young children targeting ages K-3rd grade aiming to teach important life lessons. Be a Buddy, Not a Bully is the underlying theme in these books.
I have read The Legend of Captain McFinn and Friends and Captain McFinn and Friends Meet Coral Rose both to my 5-year-old. She really loves the pictures and the funny characters. Even the bullies are entertaining and clearly the “bad guys” as she calls them. In her pre-k class they talked a lot about being a bully. One for rules, Vivi really latched onto this concept and likes to show her friends the books when they come over. In Captain McFinn and Friends Meet Coral Rose the message of taking care of our oceans and the environment is reinforced with a robot created by the sea animals called G.E.M., the great eco machine. The pages are filled with big bright illustrations, perfect for reading to a group of kids. Vivi has requested the new book Captain McFinn and Friends Rock! when it is released this month. There is also an activity and sticker book available now, The Finn-Tastic Activity Book.
I’ll be excited to see their Mobile App and eBook, which will be available as a free download this fall for all iOS and Android platforms, Barnes and Noble NOOK and Amazon Kindle devices. This will surely strengthen the branding and anti-bullying message. There is a CD out as well, which we listened to. The songs are nice and entertaining for kids and not too kid-like to be irritating for parents. I totally see how Captain McFinn and friends could become animated and marketed to help educate and bring awareness to their anti-bullying message.
S.H.A.R.K. Patrol
Shark Patrol is a new program that will begin in the fall – Captain McFinn’s S.H.A.R.K Patrol where students will learn how: (S)tudents (H)elp (A)chieve (R)espect and (K)indness. This in school program will initiate anti-bullying groundwork. The schools will receive folders classroom tools and materials. For more information or to be contacted when the materials are available you can email them at: sharkpatrol@captainmcfinn.com.
You can find the books, and cd on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, other booksellers nationwide and the Captain McFinn official website. A portion of the proceeds from Captain McFinn and Friends product sales will benefit the Captain McFinn Foundation, which supports a variety of children’s charities.
Lalaloopsy Movie Review
We were waiting to give Vivien the new Lalaloopsy Movie at just the right moment. We wanted to watch TV, she didn’t have school the next morning and Piven was asleep. Voila! And there you go, she got to stay up late to watch it in our
bedroom so we could watch some Dothraki TV in peace.
Admittedly, I haven’t watched the whole movie. You can read the synopsis here. I did see enough to know exactly what I think. But does that matter? She loves it! So if you have a Lalaloopsy fan, no doubt it’s worth getting. Looking at the film from an artistic view, lover of Pixar animation
Again, “looks” aside…my daughter loves the movie, and my almost 2-year-old son hands me the DVD to put on for him too. (Images are screenshots from the TV. R, Backyardigns; L, Monsters, Inc.)
Kids Birthdays! Fun, but shopping for presents can be a challenge even if you know your kids’ friends well. We live in a little neighborhood tucked quietly away in the northern tip of Manhattan. There are a few places to quickly run out and get a birthday gift like Wiggles and Giggles Playhouse (0-4-years-old) and an overpriced toy store on Broadway and 181st street…So if I have time I still mostly shop online. But what to get?
Although these might not seem to be very exciting at first, reusable snack and sandwich bags are a great gift and make lunch time at school so much more fun. It’s not another toy, it’s practical, saves money, reduces waste and it will add a little fun to brighten a kid’s day at snack or lunch time. I found the best selection on Etsy.com.
Things to keep in mind:
Although washable they can get dirty so I prefer darker colors as they don’t look dingy over time. They dry fast so no need to worry about putting them in the dryer.
Make sure the lining used is food safe and can handle wet foods such as grapes, tomatoes, and apple slices. All bags I found meet these specs. The inside gets stained over time with food such as carrots, so if you can choose I prefer the black lining over white, although I have had good luck getting all mostly clean when using dishwashing soap.
Some bags have an option of a zipper or velcro. Both are great but zipper might be easier for kids under 4.
I’ve ordered enough now to have received items from 5 different merchants, and all are holding up well. If you need them sooner rather than later send a note to the vendor as sometimes it took longer than a week for the sacks to arrive.
Crafts by Diana- Deco Building pattern and Batman (all pictured above).
SnakSaks-Cupcake – They offered a 10% discount for returning customers.
Celeste Blake Designs-Fairy-I love her discreet suede-like label.
Simply Practical-Mushroom pattern (larger size)
Oliveira Bags-Mushroom pattern (small size)
Explaining Basics to Kids About Making Good Photographs
I recently had the privilege of giving a lesson to my daughter’s pre-k class about the beginning concepts of photography and thought I’d share the “lesson” just in case others want to expose their children early to these concepts,which actually apply to all art and not just photography.
I haven’t thought about the very beginning, the basics, of photography in a long time so I went online to see if I could find a good breakdown for 4-5 year olds. I got most of my ideas from this helpful article.
To prepare for the lessons I cut out cardboard frames (like picture frames) for each kid so they could hold them up as we talk about: 
Framing. I kept it simple and basic and explained each of the following concepts. The goal was simply to get the kids to think about what they would choose to be in their “frame” (like a view finder), where they would choose to have the objects in the frame and why.
- Perspective: Objects close to the frame will look big and if far away the object will look small. I asked them to think about what they would want to include in their frame. I asked what would they want to be the main focus of their “picture.” This should help get them to think more about why they are selecting a certain subject to take a picture of.
- Focus: I had them hold their hand up in front of them and look at their hand, then had them move their hand closer to their face. I asked them at what point does their hand look blurry. Then I explained that a lens in a camera is very much like your eyes. I explained that a lens can’t focus on things too close to it otherwise your image will look blurry.
- Light & Dark: Using the analogy of the lens as your eyes, I talked to them about when you wake up in the middle of the night in the dark and you can’t see very well; this also happens for a lens when it’s too dark. You need light to take a picture. And in contrast too much light will hurt your eyes. A lens will not be able to “see” what it is looking at if there is too much light. That is why generally you don’t take pictures facing a lamp or the sun.
This was enough information for a 20-30 min lesson.
Time Out New York Kids’ List of 50 Top Kid Books
In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, he’d be 108, TimeOut New York Kids published a great list of 50 kids books.
What’s important is that kids learn to love to read and the best way is to have them hear and read stories that capture their imagination. Here are some of Mamalaide’s favorites that I myself love as well as my kids favorites.
EverEarth Farmer’s Market
My kids love pretend play, as some of you may know if you have read other posts. Vivien has a kitchen, which Piven, now 20 months, has been playing with since before he was 1-year-old. So for Christmas we got Piven, and by default of being the big sister, Vivien, a Farmer’s Market stand. I did my usual marathon research over several months. When I saw EverEarth Farmer’s Market Stand I was pretty sure we’d all love it. I found a good price on Amazon.com so I bought it. We waited to put it together on Christmas Eve once the kids were asleep, keeping me just excited about Christmas the night before as Vivien was.
It seemed at first like it was easy…then once we put 2 pieces together the 3rd just 
There are two pegs on either side I didn’t know what to do with until I looked at the 
I also got them Wonderworld Wonder Weight Scale and Plan Toys Balancing Scale which fit nicely on the top of the stand.
Top Toys With Long-term Play Value
Looking for young kids gifts for the holiday season? Here are some of my top picks for long-term play value making the toys worth every penny.
Happyland or Early Learning Centre brand Little People-like sets have been with us since my daughter was 18-months old. Now 4.5 and still plays with them. All friends that come over love them, boys and girls. The most resent, Moonhouse, is now a favorite and often houses Lalaloopsy and Playmobil figures.
