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HERE + YONDER

@here_and_yonder

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💛 former teacher + mom of 2
🏡 finding little ways to make our ordinary days more interesting
✨ sharing what works + a few nudges along the way

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Darkness has been coming up a lot around here lately.

It’s getting dark earlier, spooky Halloween decorations are popping up everywhere, and my daughter has been thinking and talking about the dark more than she usually does.

Then one night at bedtime she prayed, “Lord, help me be brave. Help the dark not be scary. Help it be beautiful.”

And I thought… okay. Let’s look a little closer.

So that became our latest Little Stack.

I wasn’t really looking for a bunch of books that would tell her not to be scared. I wanted to give her more things to notice about nighttime—what animals are awake, what the backyard looks and sounds like after dark, what adventures could happen there, and even what it might be like to meet the dark itself.

If You Were Night + In the Night Garden — for slowing down and noticing all the little things happening outside after the sun goes down.

Whooo Is Still Awake? + The Night World — for wondering who is awake while we’re sleeping and how familiar places change at night.

Flashlight Night + Night Out — for making the dark feel like somewhere an adventure might begin.

The Dark — for getting a little more familiar with the dark itself instead of only trying not to be afraid of it.

I think this is what I love about putting together these little stacks. Sometimes I notice something interesting and hand my kids the thread. And sometimes, like this time, they hand it to me.

Either way, the books aren’t really the point. They’re just one way to follow it a little further.

Notice what has their attention. See where it goes next. by @here_and_yonder

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a day ago

I probably would have focused on helping her not be scared of the dark. But that wasn’t quite what she asked for.

She wanted help seeing it differently.

And that little prayer has been stuck in my head ever since.

So I’ve been pulling together our next little stack of picture books around nighttime—the moon and stars, nocturnal animals, and all the things happening outside after the sun goes down.

Not because I think a stack of children’s books is going to suddenly make her unafraid of the dark. But maybe the next time she’s lying in bed, she’ll have a few more beautiful things to think about, too.

Maybe she’ll hear an owl and wonder where it’s going. Or look for the moon through her window. Or remember there’s a whole nighttime world carrying on in the darkness while we’re tucked into bed.

I think that’s what I love most about what she asked for.

Not just take away the scary thing.

Help her find the beautiful part, too. by @here_and_yonder

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2 days ago

So I pulled out a basket of gems.

That was it. I didn’t give the girls an activity to do with them or suggest what they could be. I just put them out.

And somehow, over the next day and a half, they became jellyfish eggs, kids going to school, musical instruments, dragon treasure, bug eyes, color rows, lunch guests, fancy jewels at a fancy store, and—according to my daughter—a “special collection” that needed to be kept safe in the pocket of her dress, and so much more.

I kept noticing them pop up in whatever the girls were already doing, and it made me realize how often I assume that when their play starts to lose steam, I need to be the one to add something new.

But I didn’t come up with a single one of these ideas.

I gave them the gems. They created the novelty.

And I think I need that reminder sometimes. Interesting doesn’t always have to mean new. by @here_and_yonder

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3 days ago

I love doing things with my kids. I also don’t want to be responsible for coming up with something for them to do every five minutes.

So I’ve started keeping a few simple things within reach that give them somewhere to begin when they need it.

I’ve been calling them Little Starts.

Right now that looks like unicorns with magnatiles and popsicle sticks, pumpkins with washable markers, a creature playdough setup my toddler is still very into, and whatever leaves happen to make their way inside with us.

There’s no real rotation schedule. If they’re still playing with something, it stays. If they’re over it, I’ll swap it. And sometimes just putting two familiar things together in a different way is enough to make them interesting again.

These aren’t elaborate kids activities I’m setting up every morning, and I’m definitely not trying to fill their whole day with activities. They’re just a few easy invitations for independent, open-ended play using things we mostly already have.

And you don’t need an activity shelf to do this. A basket on the table counts. A few art supplies next to something interesting counts. Putting the magnatiles beside the toy animals instead of in their usual spot counts.

A few things within reach that give them somewhere to begin—without deciding where they have to end up.

That’s it. That’s a Little Start. by @here_and_yonder

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4 days ago

My SIL sent me a reel from @double.the.whimsy turning these plastic trick-or-treat pumpkins into little purses and I immediately needed to make them for my girls. 🎃

I had so much fun making these. Picking the colors, painting all the little details, adding the sparkle… I was having the best time!

And then I gave them to the girls and they immediately started dancing with them on. They were SO excited!

The glow-in-the-dark part might be their favorite. I’ve lost count of how many times they’ve asked me to come into the bathroom so they can shut the door and show me their purses glowing. 😂

I love when something is this much fun to make and my kids love it just as much when it’s done.

Such a fun little Halloween DIY. Full credit to @double.the.whimsy for the pumpkin purse idea because I never would have thought to turn a trick-or-treat bucket into this—and I’m so glad my SIL sent it to me! by @here_and_yonder

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6 days ago

Leaf people 🍂

This one started simply: a handful of leaves, construction paper, googly eyes, and markers.

At first, the girls mostly decorated the paper around their leaves. So I sat down beside them and made one too—not to show them what theirs should look like, but to let them hear how I was thinking.

“Hmm… this leaf person looks like she just wants to relax. Maybe she should sit on a couch. Oh! Maybe she’s reading a book, so she probably needs some reading glasses…”

And that was enough.

My preschooler’s imagination took off. She said the next leaf she picked up looked like a cat, so she added a nose and whiskers. Then she found one that looked like a moose.

She didn’t need me to give her the ideas. She just needed a little help figuring out how to look at what was already there and wonder what it could become.

My toddler on the other hand decided that making leaf people was considerably less interesting than crushing and tearing the leaves. 😂 So we will be following that idea later this week!

I’m learning that an invitation doesn’t have to hold them exactly where I put it. Sometimes they just need somewhere to begin.

The invitation can be mine. What happens next can be theirs. 🤎 by @here_and_yonder

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7 days ago

I used to end things like this more stressed than when we started.

I’d be trying to keep the mess contained, make sure everyone got a turn, and somehow still make the muffins correctly. By the end, I’d be frustrated—and sometimes raising my voice during something that was supposed to be fun.

What changed was how I approached it.

Now I look for small, real jobs they can handle mostly on their own. Not helping with every step. Not taking turns with everything. Just each having something useful to do.

A few that work well for us:

— mashing bananas, pumpkin, or other soft ingredients
— pouring pre-measured ingredients into the bowl
— scooping flour or sugar into a measuring cup
— stirring dry ingredients
— cracking eggs into a small bowl first (much easier to fish out the shells 😅)
— adding muffin liners to the pan
— sprinkling toppings
— scooping batter into the pan
— carrying dirty measuring cups and bowls to the sink, rinsing them, or placing them in the dishwasher

The goal isn’t for them to do every step. It’s to find the parts they can own so I’m not hovering over two sets of little hands the entire time.

It takes longer. The muffins aren’t all the same size. The counter needs a good wipe afterward.

But they got to be part of the work, I actually got to enjoy having them there, and we made muffins together.

Good enough counts. 🤎

We’re still working on the part where “helping” doesn’t mean sticking a finger in the batter every few minutes (peep the last picture 😂) by @here_and_yonder

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8 days ago

I would have walked right past every one of those sticks.
They filled a wagon with them.
I think I like their way better. 🤎

#magicalchildhood #slowliving #momlife #corememories #childhood by @here_and_yonder

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9 days ago

September wasn’t full of elaborate plans.

We found baby turtles in the backyard. Brought leaves home in our pockets. Read books about the things changing outside. Made creatures and fairies and a little bit of a mess. Helped with ordinary work around the house.

Nothing particularly extraordinary.

But when I looked back, I realized how much had quietly gathered along the way.

New questions. New things they could do. Stories we read again and again. Things they noticed. Things they made. Little moments I hope I remember.

That’s what Pockets Full of Yonder is for.

Not keeping track of everything we did, but noticing what childhood picked up along the way.

Because so much of the growing—and so much of the good stuff—happens while we’re busy living it.

The questions. The discoveries. The things they figured out. The things they’ll remember.

All gathered along the way. by @here_and_yonder

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10 days ago

I originally pulled out the spray bottles because I needed to finish a workout.

I gave the girls a little water, pointed them toward the floor, and let them “clean” while I finished.

It bought me the time I needed. But what I love more is how many lives those little spray bottles have had since.

They’ve watered the garden. Rescued dinosaurs frozen in ice. Sprayed away chalk letters. Helped with actual cleaning. And been used for things I never would have thought to plan.

That’s one of my favorite kinds of play.

Something ordinary + plenty of room for possibility.

It doesn’t need an elaborate setup. And I don’t need to decide exactly what they’re supposed to do with it.

Sometimes I give them the idea. Sometimes they come up with a better one.

A little invitation. Plenty of room to make it theirs. by @here_and_yonder

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11 days ago

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want childhood to feel like.

Not perfect. Not endlessly entertaining. Not filled with carefully planned activities.

Just… rich.

Full of questions and stories and things to wonder about. Full of opportunities to try, make, help, figure things out, and discover that I can do this.

I want my girls to grow up knowing that the world is worth being curious about—and that they are capable of finding their way through it.

And I want to enjoy this season alongside them. Not spend all of it planning what we’re going to do next.

That’s really the heart of HERE + YONDER.

Curious minds.
Capable hands.
Pockets full of yonder.

Thoughtful ideas for a rich, intentional childhood—and more room to enjoy it together. by @here_and_yonder

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11 days ago

We have a little mission in our house whenever I’m dusting.

The girls grab something to dust with and go looking for all the tiny places that need attention while I work on the rest.

And the “duster” really doesn’t need to be anything fancy.

A dust cloth.
A microfiber cloth.
A foam paintbrush.
Even a slightly damp paper towel.

Whatever will do the job.

Is everything completely dust-free when we’re finished?

Absolutely not.

But some dust is gone. They got to participate in taking care of our home. And I got my own cleaning done while they worked alongside me.

I love finding ways to invite children into the work instead of always working around them.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to count.

A little mission can make an ordinary job feel like something worth doing. by @here_and_yonder

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15 days ago