Springtime Silliness

When my daughter started Junior Kindergarten, the curriculum was “learning through play”. I’ve since read studies showing that kids learn mathematical skills, gain spatial intelligence and increase their creative thinking and problem-solving skills by playing. While TV has a place in our house (I’m a work-at-home Mom that really needs a few minutes to get supper made in the evening!), I try to encourage as much play as possible.

Not only does play help children’s brains develop, but it has other amazing benefits, too – it’s a great reason for us, as parents, to get down to their level and partake in some silly, fun, memory-making play time with our kids. I don’t know about you, but with all the craziness of life, I sometimes forget to do that! I need to remind myself daily to forget about my phone, email and paperwork, and simply enjoy playtime with my kids. It’s amazing to realize just how happy that makes them… that I have the power to make my kids’ day! That, in turn, makes my day! See how it works? ☺

So, do something good for your kids – and you! – by taking time each day for some silliness. There’s no better time to do that than in the grey, dark days leading up to spring. With all the snow/rain and dullness, a little silliness and fun is sure to brighten up any day.

Oliver, CEO of Oliver's Labels pays us a visit

Today we had the pleasure of having Oliver, our inspiration for OliversLabels.com visit our offices and "work" today. Little Oliver is only 5 and a half years old but he sure is a smart cookie. He sat at my desk and stuck sheets of labels inside of envelopes (don't worry, they were scrap labels) and then licked the envelopes closed. He spent most of his time coloring the outside of the envelopes with my highlighters (the closest things to markers I had) and being sure to put his name as the return address and his cousin's name, Emma, as the shipping address. He also drew lots of stamps all over the envelope so it would be sure to get to her. Then, we stuck "air mail" stickers on them for good measure. At one point we took a break for chips, soda and Fuzzy Peaches (a gummy candy that is apparently only available in Canada - yummy!) but just when I thought we were having a great time he asked, "can we please go back to work?"

Just like his Aunty Debbie, Oliver enjoyed listening to podcasts while he worked. But, instead of listening to the latest in tech news, Oliver downloaded the Super Why podcast and scoffed at me when I tried making him listen to Sesame Street. He informed me that if his younger brother Charlie was here (2yrs old), that would be acceptable. He is FAR too sophisticated for such childish entertainment. Here's the best part... in his tiny little voice he said, "Super Why is on PBS," and then he looked at my computer screen and said, "You know, PBS has a dot-com. It's pbs.org." His other favorite shows are Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and good old Sponge Bob Squarepants.

Oliver is going back to Los Angeles next week so we hope he'll have another chance to visit his Toronto-based company again to make sure things are running smoothly.



Below is a photo of Oliver taken on Sunday.