How did those of you in the U.S. celebrate the 4th of July? I spent the afternoon going down a 600-foot slip ‘n slide, courtesy of Slide the City Ann Arbor. Despite the long lines, it was glorious fun. It also gave me plenty of time to contemplate the creativity involved in building such a … Continue reading
Can it really be time for back-to-school? In Michigan, the store displays of pens and notebooks seem to appear just as the summer temperatures soar, confusing my sense of season altogether. Still, one of the great benefits of the academic calendar is that it gives us two “New Years” each year, two opportunities to resolve … Continue reading
One of my favorite childhood memories is ice cream for dinner. Nothing else, just ice cream for dinner. One sweltering night during the un-air conditioned summer, my mother declared it was too hot to cook and we’d just have ice cream. I don’t know what got into my nutritionally-minded mother, but the ice cream dinner … Continue reading
Being married to an actor, I’ve had a lot of experience with costumes. Dressing up to transform into someone else is an experience that doesn’t fade much with time. So for this week, here are creative ways to explore “dress up,” good for children of all ages. Really. Let’s start with good old-fashioned dress up. … Continue reading
One of the challenges and delights of creativity is that things often don’t turn out the way we plan. A year (or was it two?) ago, I made gingerbread houses with some of my favorite children. The houses were pretty impressive, given the ages of the architects, surrounded by green jellied-leaf trees. One child used … Continue reading
Fall in Michigan can be beautiful. I will admit Ann Arbor can’t hold a candle to the Susquehanna Valley, where I used to see colors blaze on the mountains along the river, but still, the colors are lovely. And so for October, our family fun activities are all about leaves. 1. We eat a lot … Continue reading
Whether you are looking for a rainy-or-too-hot summer day activity, or a beginning of school project, book spine poetry may be just the thing. Book spine poetry is not difficult to construct, but with it you can create poems ranging from the silly to the profound. The concept is simple. Take a book with a … Continue reading
What is summer without popsicles and other icy treats? This week’s family fun activities center around popsicles and ice cubes—just the thing for hot August days. 1. There are lots of ways to paint with ice. You can buy Popsicles and different flavored Kool-aid powder. Sprinkle the powder on paper and then use the popsicles … Continue reading
One of the things I love about living in Ann Arbor is that we have fairies living here. Lots of them. You doubt? We have fairy doors all over town. We have a fairy car that appears regularly at our annual car show. And of course we all know that in the summer the woods … Continue reading
One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Art Fairs (actually 4-fairs-in-one) that take over downtown Ann Arbor during the third week of July. It is invariably hot, sticky, crowded, and glorious. There is art you would expect (paintings, sculpture, glass, fiber) and much you might not—bowling ball jewelry, sculptures made of … Continue reading
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