Look What I Won

I sometimes enter blogging giveaways, but very rarely do I win. A few weeks ago, I entered a giveaway at A Call to Higher Places for this cute knitted cube toy. To my surprise, I won!

My 19 month old daughter has had a great time playing with this. She asks me to play ball with her several times a day. It is soft enough that if she gets overzealous in her throwing (while she is standing a foot away from me!) no damage is done. You can check out all of Nichole's hand crafts on Etsy.

My Son's Generosity

My husband and I like to watch Good Morning America before going to work in the morning, and the devastation in Haiti is a frequent topic of the news. We have been frequently talking about the situation there and how much to donate and to what organization. We have also been talking about Money Saving Mom and other bloggers’ generous offer to match donations. Last week our church took up a collection, so we decided to donate there.

Yesterday, while we were watching the news and learning more about the dire situation, my 5.5 year old son suddenly spoke up and asked if he could send all of the money in the donate section of his piggy bank to Haiti. (He has a piggy bank that has four compartments—one to save, one to donate, one to spend and one to invest.) Both my husband and I were surprised at his spontaneous generosity. While he has been earning a small allowance and distributing money evenly to each of the four compartments, we have never actually had him donate the money or talked much about it.

We counted the money tonight, and he has $9.00 to donate. The donation section is now empty. I am proud of his gesture and reminded once again that kids are sponges who learn from our example.

Martin Luther King Day Reading for Preschoolers

When my son was about two, we began getting this book from the library. It was a simple way to introduce him to Martin Luther King Jr, and he loved reading it. We read it for a few years every January.

If you have preschoolers, they may like this book. In addition, other sites have activities and crafts that revolve around Martin Luther King Day such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Preschool Activities and Crafts and Martin Luther King Jr. Day Preschool Activities.