Upcycled Education: Lil O

Showing posts with label Lil O. Show all posts

Nurturing Her Spirit

Over a year ago, I blogged about creating an innovator in Lil O. You can read the original blog post here. The more I think about it, the more I want to nurture her spirit. I want to nurture all the little things - and big - that make her tick, fulfilled, joyful, and aware.

I've been thinking about how I will do that as her mom. How will I nurture her spirit? Here's what I need to say no to this summer in order to do so. No to.....

Rushing
Quick judgment
Shoving too much into one day (like too many errands or too many activities)
Too much laptop or phone time

Here's what I need to say yes to this summer. Yes to....

Early morning Jen time
Journaling
Reading a great book to wind down the day
Leaning into the present moment (I will paint one of my nails a different color to remind me)
Following Lil O's lead with more yeses than nos.

What will you say yes to this summer? What will you say no to? Will you nurture your spirit or those around you?

Curious,

Jen

Weekend Plans

Are you ready for the weekend? I am.

What plans do you have? Me? I'm still debating, but on my possibility list includes:

A Smithsonian Sunday with Lil O
An Easter Egg Hunt
A trail run with Jedi
Drive Mr. UpCyclist crazy while he does his Ph.D. homework. I'm good at being annoying.
Dance salsa with Mr. UpCyclist. We are 18 days into our 30 day challenge.
Encourage Lil O to write her birthday thank you notes; they are only a month overdue. Eek!
Buy something at REI - after all, I have two 20% off coupons
Wear my new moccasins (fingers cross they arrive today)
Work on a project with Lil O using that rainbow of ticket rolls pictured above

Have a fantastic weekend! See you on the other side.

Jen

Dear Lil O

Dear Lil O,

It is incredibly hard to believe we've been together for nine years, plus one tummy year together. You bring such joy to my life and to our family. It is 100% because of you that Jedi joined our family two years ago - remember how you relentlessly kept asking for a dog? It is because of you that I strive to be a better person. How can I be the best parent to you if I am not the best me?

Sweet Lil O, your smile captivates me. Do you see the photos in this blog post? They are you. They capture what I get to see and experience on a daily basis. Your energy, to me, is contagious.

And that soul of yours. Oh, that soul. It is wise, intuitive, and compassionate. Your teacher says your classmates flock to you; they all want to be around you and collaborate on work with you. I know why. You put others at ease, fervently embrace kindness, and confidently - yet quietly - lead.

Thank you, Lil O, for making each day as your mom a gift. A gift of laughter, love, happiness, and some days, total silliness.

I treasure you, Lil O, and love you to the moon and back and then to infinity.

I know Daddy and Jedi join me in wishing you a very Happy Birthday.

With so much love,

Mom

PS - In case you are wondering who is in the photos with Lil O, that is Annie, my dog-sister, the newest addition to our family. My mom adopted her a couple of months ago. She is a four-pound delight.

Med O

Ya'll, when did Lil O get so big? I'm wondering if she needs a new blog name. Med O?

Actually, I'm more wondering how all this time has passed by.....

Gosh, I love this kid,

Jen

PS - One day, Lil O signed something "Lilo." I said, "Whose Lilo?" She responded, "Lil O!" Ha! Lilo = Lil O when you smush them together. Clever gal.

PSS - The photo above was taken in Breckenridge. There are all these cool old buildings from the early 1900s when Breck was a bustling mining town. This one is right on Main Street, right on the sidewalk, people walking by it all day. I don't like to walk by it, though. I like to dream about what Breck must have been like back then and take photos. You can see another cool building in Breck here and a very Lil, tiny O.

Yes to Lil O's Yes Day!

You might remember from last summer, our family celebrates Yes Days. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, check out my original post here. Lil O is always uber-eager for her Yes Day. Here's how it went down this year.....

Lil O's Yes Day started with cinnamon rolls - her request, of course.

Straight to the dog park for Puppy Jedi and Lil O, we went. I think Lil O had just as much fun at the dog park as sweet Jedi. That day, the park had its fair share of little dogs who all seemed to gravitate to Lil O.

On the way back home from the dog park, Lil O requested a trout stop. Breckenridge has all sorts of lakes, rivers, and ponds. This particular one, right in town, has the largest trout (because you can feed them from a candy machine; the machine has some sort of kibble in it for fish).

Kim at the Fresh Soap Company invited Lil O and I to work at her store that day. Lil O was sooooo excited to work and be around Kim and her soaps that afternoon.

We helped Kim package soaps and tie on raffia. Seriously, how cute are these cupcake soaps below we packaged? Lil O left that day with an appreciation for work (Yahoo!) and a tote bag of soaps. Thanks, Kim!

On our way to the new art supply store in town, we stopped to admire the flowers. Breckenridge - the entire town - does such an incredible job with their flowers. #breckenridgeisamazing

We visited the crazy hat store.....

We picked up two yummy desserts from the French bakery in town.....

Lil O is such a reasonable gal. This was the only tangible-non-food item she asked for all day. A craft!

Here is the finished craft. I really appreciate the updated line of Melissa and Doug products lately, do you?

Because Lil O wanted to stay up super late that night, she was 100% agreeable to a Yes Day nap. Seriously? I really thought it was my Yes Day at this point.

Onto dinner.....Just like last summer's Yes Day, Lil O chose her favorite meal - Udon noodles with chicken minus the vegetables. She ate. every. single. bite.

My sweet diva (don't you love the towel and Sprite drinking?!) ended her Yes Day with a French bakery delectable and a late night viewing of Disney's new Teen Beach Movie.

Such a great day! Saying yes to everything Lil O wanted was totally easy and really so much fun.

Love that kid,

Jen

PS - One of my summer goals was to have a Yes Day for me, Jedi and Mr. U. However, I have to say, this summer has been incredible. I feel like everyday is a Yes Day.

Woodward @ Cooper

Through a new contact, Lil O and Cousin A spent the afternoon at Woodward at Cooper - an incredible indoor/outdoor training facility for skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, slopeside mountain biking, bmx-ing and digital media-ing (I like parallelism in my writing, hence the extra -ings). Lil O has been skiing for six years. Cousin A just started snowboarding this year. Woodward, thankfully, welcomes all ability levels. Yahoo!

There are so many pluses to spending the afternoon at Woodward at Cooper (or any of the Woodwards across the US), buying a season pass to their indoor "barn" or delighting in a week-long camp there. I mean just look at the photos above and below. These gals burned some serious calories, smiled endlessly, and the atmosphere & staff encouraged trying new things. Trying new things in a safe and helpful environment? I'm a supporter!

There are trampolines, foam pits and ramps everywhere as you can see in the photos. The girls practiced flips, twists, and turns. There is even two outside areas to practice moves (see upper left photo below). The other outdoor space is full of snow. Yep, you heard me. Real. Snow.

When you are on a bike, a skateboard, roller skis or a board, you can launch into these deep, wide foam pits. Neither Lil O nor Cousin A had their ski/board boots with them, so they spent their time practicing moves that will help with balance, transitions and tricks when winter rolls around.

Watching them for the afternoon at Woodward at Cooper made me crave two things: 1) winter sports and 2) wishing we had a Woodward in Maryland - hint, hint.

Since I'm an educator, I had a kinda wonky, but uber-cool idea. What if Woodward (they have four locations across the US - Colorado, Pennsylvania and two in California ~~and their new location in Maryland, Ha!~~) had a Woodward School. Yep, a school where you learn reading, writing, math, social studies, and science through the Woodward way.

....which really means every kid will be happy, active, nurtured, and engaged.

A total score to me as a mom, educator and lover-of-cool-things.

I'm in. Are you?

PS - Cousin A said the two highlights of her week in Colorado were bouldering on "real" rock and Woodward. Yippee!

PSS - Please forgive the slightly blurry, iPhone photos above. It is clear that Nikon or Canon needs to sponsor Upcycled Education next year.

PSSS - Big thank you to Wade, Krista, Pete, Chris and Coach Greg of Woodward for taking care of sweet Lil O and Cousin A.

Creating an Innovator in Lil O

So, I need your help.....

If you follow Upcycled Education on Facebook or Instagram, you know I was reading the book, Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner. I finished the book a week ago and I am now in the processing stage post-read. Yep, I am one of those folks who needs a bit of time to process and make sense of a book's message. It generally takes me several weeks to make sense of it all.

So far I can say, Creating Innovators is a thoughtful book - ideal for parents and teachers (and assorted allies). Though there are several take-home messages in Wagner's book; one stands out to me immediately. Overwhelming, it seems, most creative and innovative children and adults become passionate about something as a child. Wagner's advice is to let kids "play" with that passion and to fuel the child's natural desire to learn more about their interest (without judgment).

With that being said, I am looking for opportunities for Lil O to see real fashion design in person as you know that is a top interest of hers. I've already contacting a local design and manufacturing company who specializes in women's clothing; Lil O and I are meeting the head designer and taking a tour of their factory in mid-February. I would love to expose her to more of those real fashion opportunities.

If you have a lead, contact or "know someone" in the fashion industry in the Mid-Atlantic region, would you please share this blog post with them and/or share their contact information with me? You (or they) can email me directly at jen at upcyclededucation.com or you (or they) can leave a comment below.

As I continue to process Wagner's work, I will share more so we can all create more innovative children and students.

My best,

Jen

PS - If you have a budding fashion designer in your class or home, Lil O really enjoys this sketchbook and stencils pictured above.

For the Young Fashion Designer

Lil O is into fashion design lately. Actually, she has been for a while, but now she has the fine and gross motor skills to pull it off. Santa (aka: Amazon) delivered this fashion studio Christmas morning.

Cousin A and Lil O had the best time enjoying it......

They did challenges, used interesting materials like tissue paper, pipe cleaners, and washi tape & sketched their designs.

Lil O and Cousin A even challenged me to create a "bridesmaid dress." You can see my design in the top left square below. All the other designs are theirs. I give their designs and this studio kit an A+ rating!

Lil O gives it an A+ rating, too! Ditto for Cousin A.

What gifts would you give an A+ rating?

Curious,

Jen

Lil O's First Job Offer

UPDATE: Look at this shout-on on REI's tweet. Love. This. Company.

UPDATE II: This story was featured in REI's internal employee newsletter, January 2013.

Thanks, REI and REI awesome employees for reading it and caring.

-----------

Lil O's first job offer came today. REI. Not bad, wouldn't you say?

She was way happy about it as you can see from her grin below. And by the way, she is home sick today. Although, she doesn't look that sick in this photo. Hmm......

The quick back story of her job offer goes something like this. We are all - Mr. UpCyclist, Lil O and I - taking Stanford's free online creativity class. It started about four weeks ago and we are now in the last few weeks of the class. I think Mr. UpCyclist has lost interest, but Lil O and I are in it until the lovely end.

For one of our homework assignments, we had to choose a store and answer three pages of questions about it. Questions like: Was the door open to the store or closed? How did you feel about it? What were the salespeople like? Did they greet you? Was their noise in the store? If yes, where was it coming from? And the questions went on......

After answering the questions, the second part of the assignment was to look for opportunities and insights. Evidently, creative thinkers do this regularly; they observe and look for opportunities.

(Sick-at-home supplies)

Lil O picked two stores - REI and Peak-a-Boo Toys in Breckenridge. We had just been at REI that day, so her observations were fresh. I scribed for her while she answered the three pages of questions. Then, I asked what opportunities and insights she had for REI. Her answer, "So many."

What? I love REI and I don't have "so many" insights for them. Could she?

Lil O went on to list about 15 things she liked about REI and opportunities for REI to improve. I won't rehash her entire list, but some of my favorites include:

You can tell what REI sells by the look of the store and the salespeople
REI needs a bigger toy section
REI doesn't offer that much merchandise for teens. They need sporty shoes and more jewelry
REI should allow dogs in the store. It is an outdoor store, after all, and dogs love the outdoors. (By the way, Puppy Jedi is "that" dog outside our local REI who is secured to the bicycle rack. Thankfully, many REI customers pet him while he waits for us to shop. Sweet puppy.)

Our family then submitted our creativity class homework and off we went. Ironically, the next day, I received an email survey about our REI visit the day before. Since I adore feedback myself and I adore REI, I took the time to answer the survey questions. Many of the questions were related to Lil O's observations, so I made certain to include her insights. I even typed in the narrative box at the end of the survey that our family had just completed a homework assignment for a class and REI was part of that assignment. I also mentioned many of the responses I included in the survey were from a 7-year old's perspective.

This post is getting long....

Let me cut to the chase.....

1) I answer the REI survey via email and include Lil O's ideas

2) A week later I get an email from the assistant manager at our local REI; he had read the survey comments and wanted to know more. He asked if Lil O would share her thoughts with him.

3) Lil O agrees; I then email her ideas to him.

4) He likes them and thanks her via email.

5) AND BECAUSE REI AND THIS LOVELY MANAGER ARE A CLASS ACT (how's that for emphasis), he sends Lil O a handwritten thank you note, a new REI water bottle (see above; Lil O loves it) and writes, "Keep doing A+ assignments and call us in 11 years if you're looking for a job."

Ha!

Lil O gets her first job offer and a lesson that thinking creatively has its absolute merits in the real world.

Go get 'em, my-creative-smart-loving-wonderfully-fantastic Lil O. I sure am proud of you.

Love,

Mom

PS - Big thank you to Mr. S from REI for valuing Lil O's feedback and for sending me an REI coupon. Woot, woot!

Yes Day with Lil O

As some of you saw on Facebook, Lil O and I enjoyed a Yes Day yesterday. It was her Yes Day, so I had to be agreeable to everything she said and wanted to do. Thankfully the day was completely enjoyable for both of us with only one meltdown (details below). The idea of a Yes Day came from this very sweet book, Yes Day!

Lil O's Yes Day all started with a 7am wake up and watching two episodes of Cake Boss on her iPad. She is in love with Cake Boss lately and some show about picking out wedding dresses. Is this foreshadowing? Help me.

After polishing off a giant plate of ham and eggs - her favorite - we walked into town. Did I mention we are still in Colorado? Oh, the joys of summer!

Graciously, Lil O worked in the dog park for her puppy brother, Jedi. Here Jedi is with three new dog friends at the dog park. The dogs in Colorado are so great together. They just play and run and mouth wrestle and play and run and mouth wrestle. Jedi is usually tired after 30-60 minutes of this frolicking.

The huge highlight of Lil O's Yes Day was painting pottery. Sure, we can do this at home in Maryland, but we save it for our visits to Colorado as we like the local pottery painting studio in town. I painted a plate (as our condo needs more fun serving platter options) and Lil O painted an owl bank. Isn't it great that puppy Jedi can come into the pottery place, too? I swear he slept the entire time by our feet. Sweet puppy....

After a busy morning in town at the dog park and painting pottery, we came back to our condo to have lunch and watch more Cake Boss episodes. In this photo, Lil O is on her second Simply Fruit roll-up of the day. Got to love a Yes Day.....

After lunch, we played games in the condo and then went back into town to go shopping. I told Lil O she could pick out one item to buy for her Yes Day. That is when the meltdown occurred. She was sooooooo overwhelmed with her choices that she cried in town. "There is just so much that I want." Poor girl. I tried to help her narrow the choices.

Lil O finally settled, after 10 minutes of tears, on this bow and arrow set. I was pretty psyched as it reminds me of Kat from the Hunger Games. Lil O said it reminds her of Merida from Brave. We both left our favorite toy store, Peak-a-boo Toys, happy. Her Yes Day was back on track.

I know this next pic looks a little disgusting. It is Lil O's favorite meal in Breckenridge (or any town for that matter) - Udon noodles with Chicken. I should add a side note that I was asked to pick out ALL the vegetables that came in the soup. Lil O only wanted one measly water chestnut to try. She went to town on this dish and didn't leave a single piece of chicken or noodle.

This was my fortune from the meal. I hope it applies to Lil O, too. You know I adore her.

As the Yes Day wound down, we shared milkshakes and watched an old Jennifer Lopez movie, Maid in Manhattan. Since Mr. UpCyclist is away, we are embracing a different chick flick each night until the Olympics begin. If you have any kid-friendly recommendations that are on Netflix, please let me know. The pickings look slim, in my opinion.

Our last activity of the night at 9pm was playing a few rounds of Lil O's favorite new game (Thanks, Mom and Sebastian!). I must say, I really like this game, Sleeping Queens, too. And it was invented by a little girl and her family. Neat, huh?

And just in case, you want to see what the day after a Yes Day looks like, her is our little beauty. Continued sweet dreams, munchkin......

PS - Wake up soon, though. We are going hiking with Robin and Jedi today.

My Yes Day is next week! Yippee!

xoxo,

Jen

Life Updated

Just when I want to wind down for the night, Lil O notoriously winds up; albeit for about 20 minutes before she goes to bed. Evidently, she has creative energy to burn. In this photo, she is fashioning a beaded collar for her kitty. Meow.

I love her focus in this Instagram photo and adore how colorful and organized her "studio" is.....

Love this kid,

Jen

PS - Her studio is not always that organized. Just being real.

Life Updated

Lil O just celebrated her birthday. This past weekend bustled with festivities, fun, friends, and family. This hike was a respite from all the high energy activity. Here is the birthday girl. I'm unsure if her eyes are open or closed since she is smiling sooooo intensely.....

The shallow river looked just as good for hiking as the trail. Mr. UpCyclist needed to coax puppy Jedi who wasn't certain about the river current in some sections.