Archive for Category: "Maleka Fruean"
5 tips for creating an openly spiritual home
More and more families are identifying as “non-religious”, “no religion, but spiritual” or a variety of titles on the agnostic spectrum.” The question of navigating this balance of open spirituality in your home can be difficult no matter how you identify or what kind of religious (or non-religious) background you grew up in. How [...]
germantown ave. mamas weigh in on mother’s day
What I would really like for Mother’s Day by Elizabette: Mother’s Day sneaks up on me again this year, so moms really need to be honored everyday. But for now, a weekend to sleep and someone else to fill my shoes would be nice. My kids always say that they wish I had a clone, [...]
nikki giovanni tops our list
April is National Poetry Month, and while my adult poets and I struggle to produce a poem a day, children in and out of school are naturally writing and enjoying poetry in all senses of the word. Poetry can have a beat, it can be spoken aloud or savored in silence on the page, and [...]
a kinder, gentler bombing
In honor of FiberPhiladelphia 2012 (a regional festival celebrating fiber and textile arts), we have books to teach your kids about this special branch of the art tree: “Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti” by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain. My kids and I went to the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education [...]
guerilla art for kids
I admit. I love street art. It’s illegal, I know. But a positive message here and there chalked on a sidewalk won’t hurt anybody, right? I now have accomplices for bringing little cheerful surprises to unaware Northwest Philly neighbors. My kids and I are on a mission this early side of spring to bring [...]
showing all kinds of love through children’s books
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be about chocolate overload or mylar balloons or Hallmark’s version of what true love is. Classic children’s books celebrating love are wonderful, but there is more than enough love to go around. Here’s a list of five books to share with children that present a wider perspective of what love [...]
celebrating love through art!
Celebrating all kinds of love through art by Maleka Fruean Local artist and art teacher Mindy Flexer believes in the power of art. “Just the idea of self-expression is so powerful. Seeing you’re unique when everyone tries to draw the exact same object and no one’s work comes out the same way is very affirming.” [...]
kids book review: 11 Experiments that Failed
11 Experiments That Failed by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter. (Schwartz & Wade, $16.99) Reviewer: Maleka Fruean Here’s another sassy picture book by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter, who also created 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore. The main character, a highly mischievous and utterly curious little girl, becomes a home scientist and [...]
Monday Mix: Me…Jane Book Review
Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown, $15.99) What an amazing and beautiful picture book written and illustrated by the creator of the Mutts comic strip Patrick McDonnell. It’s a simple story about the true childhood life of Jane Goodall, a curious girl who loved nature and discovery, started a club called the Alligator Society, and [...]
Monday Mix: Frida Kahlo Coloring Book and Hundertwasser Create Your Own City
Frida Kahlo has been one of my favorite artists throughout my life for her bold choices in life and art. Her magical realism partnered with identity explorations of what it means to be a strong woman, especially in the art world, is so compelling. Friedensreich Hundertwasser is another personal favorite- his art and activism were [...]
