I love almost everything about autumn: the colors, the scents, the festivals, the food. This year, however, I had somewhat difficult time saying good bye to the summer, especially that my recent trip to Africa took me briefly back in time into the beautiful, pleasantly warm spring season. It was somewhat surreal to see blooming trees one day, and falling leaves 30 hours later. Now, I am fully in the fall mood, although, oddly enough, I began writing this post shortly after Hurricane Sandy slammed the Northeast region. It's nasty out there, but I feel very fortunate that my neighborhood has not been terribly affected.

Children are naturally curious about the world and the universe that surrounds them. My boys, especially Dominik, have a very strong interest in scientific exploration, which makes me both happy and inspired.  So inspired that I have decided to start a series "Science for Kids" on Smile Play Learn blog. In our first post, we explore lunar science. The post was prompted by our recent reading of Kitten's First Full Moon, and by my friend Brie's new, awesome blog Tranquility Base, devoted to space exploration. And yes, by my husband who was watching "Star Trek" as I was writing this article :).

The Virtual Book Club for Kids's author in the month of August was Kevin Henkes, and we spent many hours indulging in his artistic, literary world. In fact, we read so many Henkes' books that my children thought that almost every story in the world had been written by Kevin Henkes! I decided to feature Kitten's First Full Moon because of its versatility and because the book has accompanied us since Dominik was one year old. Our activities involved playing 'Kitten Says,' making a 3D cotton kitten, and creating a lunar diagram, which we will showcase in the next post.   

As a human rights lawyer and international development specialist, I spend a lot of time studying, and trying to remedy, human rights violations, including abuses against children which are the most devastating evils of humanity. I am not sure if it is the nature of my job or simply a motherly instinct, but I have been always overprotective when it comes to raising my children. I have shielded them from the unpleasant aspects of reality with all my might and I have been very anxious about the moment when this protective bubble will burst. 

After taking a month-long break, Smile Play Learn is back with one of my favorite activities: the Virtual Book Club for Kids initiated by Toddler Approved. So many things have happened during our absence from the bloggosphere (I love this word :). First, the Virtual Book Club will continue beyond this summer (yay)! Second, the book club has its own Facebook page. Make sure to visit and like it: it features endless ideas for book-related activities. In July, we explored the creative world of Don & Audrey Wood. 

I love being as creative with my kids as my time and energy allow me to, but I think it is equally important to focus on very basic preschool skills, such as cutting, gluing, and holding a pen correctly. This was the premise for this simple, yet engaging 4th of July activity. In short, we made all-American collage placemats using the following materials: a stack of catalogs and magazines which were waiting to be recycled; several pairs of scissors; glue; two sheets of blue construction paper; and two self-sealing laminating pouches.

Last week we celebrated Eric Carle's birthday. Eric Carle is an icon in the world of children's literature. His highly distinctive illustrations and captivating stories make him one of the most well-regarded, praised, and popular authors of all times. Born June 25, 1929, Carle has written and/or illustrated 23 literary treasures that children never get tired of. To celebrate the enchanting world of Eric Carle, we created a brand new beach house for hermit crab, threw an Eric Carle pajama party, and - of course - read a number of Eric Carle books. We also linked up with other bloggers who shared in the fun.

I love hearing "can we read it again?" from my sons. To my absolute delight, it almost always happens when we delve into books by Mo Willems. The books are not only unequivocally humorous but also educational. Willems writes, in simple, digestible and very child-friendly manner, about human nature, and skillfully illustrates expressions of joy, happiness, sadness, frustration, anger and guilt. As as a result, Willems' books help young children identify and understand people's feelings, emotions, and desires. 

One of my (and Mark's) greatest accomplishments as parents is instilling in our children the joy and importance of reading. We read every single day, without any exceptions, in print and online, and these are usually some of the most pleasant moments of the day. What is truly wonderful is that the boys are active readers, literally and figuratively. They may not always sit still but they eagerly ask questions and comment on the content of the books we read. And they tend to request "just one more story," even if they are very tired at bedtime. 

'Butterflies' is one of the most-beloved spring themes for kids. Dominik & Filip have recently finished studying butterflies at their preschool and we have incorporated the theme into our home activities. We made Coffee Filter Butterflies and Butterfly Suncatcher Mosaics, we did butterflies mazes and coloring pages, and we read butterfly-related books. We also visited the Butterfly Pavilion at the National Museum of Natural History earlier this year. The boys were thrilled. One morning Dominik sang a self-invented song about butterflies (to the Five Green and Speckled Frogs tune) immediately after waking up. Cute!