Breakfast Art: A Re-creation and a Challange

Recently, I shared a cool picture on by Facebook page of whimsical breakfast art, courtesy of Designtaxi.com (Original article). The premise is simble; regular, everyday breakfast meals are transformed in very creative ways. Here are some examples directly from the site:

I thought it would be fun for my son and I to try and create some breakfast are of our own. We chose this picture:

Here is our rendition:

The only difference is, we used a grapefruit instead of an orange, our bubbles were made of strawberries instead of blueberries, our eye was made out of a chocolate chip and we used raspberries to make a kind of a zooming trail (it kind of looks like it's laying eggs, but I digress). Also, I had a ridiculously hard time trying to get the white underpeel off of the fruit. All in all, though it certainly wasn't perfect, we had alot of fun. Not to mention it was delicious. Or at least I think so: By the time I came into the dining room after cleaning our mess, all that was left was a dorsal fin.

So now the challenge to you guys: Think you can do better? I'd love to see you try! You can follow the template per the DesignTaxi website or if you are skilled enough, create your own. Any submissions will be displayed on a follow up post in the near future. Submissions can be emailed to me directly to fatherlystuff@gmail.com.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Fatherly Stuff Bracket Preview! (Children's TV Shows)

Ladies and Gentleman: March Madness is upon us.

All over the country people are setting up their own tournament brackets in an attempt to predict who will win the NCAA college basketball championship. This tournament is a source of fun, excitement and frustration for many: Even though the teams are supposedly ranked based on a seeding system, every team on the bracket has the potential to make to the big dance and win it all. This is what makes the tournament so awesome to watch.

In the spirit of this, I decided to create my own tournament. Children's TV has had somewhat of a boon in recent years. Companies nowadays pay millions of dollars in order to create focus groups and research studies to produce the best educational TV for our kids (not out of the kindness of their heart of course, but I digress).  Most of us let our young children watch these TV shows, but have you ever wondered which one was the best? Well, we're about to find out. The "players" will be 16 popular children's educational TV shows that we watch with our kids and they will be separated based on the channel that they are broadcasted on. I wanted to call it March Dadness, but sadly it was already taken. Here is the breakdown:

Region 1 (Disney Jr)
Doc McStuffins
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Jake and the Neverland Pirates
Chuggington

Region 2 (PBS Kids)
Cat in the Hat Knows Alot About That
Super Why
Dinosaur Train
Sesame Street

Region 3 (Nick Jr)
Yo Gabba Gabba
Team Umizoomi
Dora The Explorer
Wonder Pets

Region 4 (Sprout)
The Wiggles
Calliou
Bob the Builder
Thomas and Friends

Starting Monday, I will go through each region and list each of the shows strength's and weaknesses based on the quality of the programming and educational value. Readers will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite during each match up. By the end of the voting period, the show with the most votes will move on, the loser will be eliminated. There is a picture of the bracket:

 

 

So get ready because on Monday, the battle for supremacy begins!

Flashlight Fun

Question for you: What is the hottest toy on the market right now?

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not a $30+ item that laughs when you tickle it. You can actually find this awesome toy for less than $5 in almost any discount store in the world.

Give up? Okay, I’ll tell you! It’s a flashlight!

Hold on now, before you close out the screen for wasting your time, at least give me a chance to explain. You ever buy a huge expensive toy for your kid, only for them to just want to play with the box? Well, it’s based on that principal. Case in point: Not long ago, we bought our son an Innotab, which is the children’s version of a tablet. It has some pretty good games and he absolutely loved it- for about five minutes. He quickly got tired of the games and we were basically forced incentivized to purchase a number of game cartridges (between $30-$40) just to  keep him interested in using it. Moral of the story? Sometimes, keeping it simple is best.  The dark has a pretty bad rap for being scary and mysterious. However with a flashlight, there are a many creative games that will keep your kids entertained throughout the night (at least until it’s time for bed).

1.       Make shadow puppets

Shadow puppetry has been a popular form of entertainment all over the world for many centuries.    Whether it's making your own , or making hand shadow puppets, you can create all sorts of characters.

2.       Shadow (Sensory) guessing game

These particular activities are both stimulating and also sensory.  First, you can shine various objects like toys through the flashlight and have your child guess what it is. The other game would involve having your child identify an object based on texture (ex. rough, smooth, bumpy).

Can you guess who this character is?

 

3.       Tell silly stories

Photo Credit

This one is a classic.  We usually cover ourselves with a huge comforter, turn on the flashlight and take turns making up all sorts of fantastical stories. One of his particular favorites involves him has a superhero rescuing people from scary monsters.

 

 

4.       Hide and go seek

This is probably my favorite: We turn off all the lights in the house and either my wife or I are partnered with my son (so he won’t be afraid) as the “hider” or “seeker”. He is using the flashlight to look for the other parent or to find a nice hiding spot.

 

 

5.      Flashlight Twirling 


Photo Credit

         This is what all the young adults do in  the night clubs, sans alcohol and ecstasy (so I hear). For safety, I recommend you do this is an open space. Simply turn on some fun music, turn off the lights  and twirl your flashlights is various ways to make all types of light trails. Trust me, it's super fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So next time there blackout in your neighborhood or need an activity to do while camping or before bed, never fear; just pull out your handy dandy flashlight and you’re guaranteed have hours of fun with your kids.