I started making art again this spring because my son came home from kindergarten with artwork that genuinely surprised me.

Not because kindergarten artwork is usually bad. Although, let’s be honest, sometimes you do have to smile, nod and wait for the young artist to explain why the purple circle is actually a fire truck. Hint: it was the truck’s tires.

But his drawings were really good. He noticed details. He made interesting choices. He clearly loved doing it. And he was proud to show mommy.

Apparently, I am the mom who did not realize her own child was artistic until school pulled it out of him.

The good news is that I know now and drawing has become something we can do together.

Finding Time to Make Art as a Busy Mom

With two boys under six, I don’t have long, peaceful afternoons to devote to art. Most of my quiet moments happen at night, after bedtime, when the house is finally still and nobody needs a snack.

Sometimes I have five minutes. Sometimes I manage half an hour. Occasionally, bedtime goes suspiciously well and I get enough time to finish an entire piece all at once.

I’ve stopped waiting for the perfect block of uninterrupted creative time because it does not appear to be coming. Instead, I leave my supplies where I can reach them easily and work whenever I find a small opening. Even a few minutes spent adding color or working out one stubborn section helps my brain settle down after a full day.

The Affordable Water-Soluble Pastels I Use

I usually call them oil pastels because that is the easiest way to explain what I’m doing, but the supplies I use most are technically water-soluble pastels.

My everyday set is this affordable set of iCrayon water-soluble pastels. They can be used dry or blended with water, which gives me plenty of room to experiment without needing a complicated setup. They’re actually very smooth to use and layer pretty well.

The set also comes with a brush, palette and sharpener, so it is easy to pull everything out and start working without searching the house for six additional supplies. Although nowadays, I don’t use the watercolor brush or the palette really.

Most importantly, they are inexpensive.

That matters because my son likes to create beside me, and I want him to feel free to try my art supplies without me hovering over him. He can blend colors, press too hard, use half a stick making one very enthusiastic patch of blue and generally experiment without me calculating the cost of every mark.

Adding Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Pastels

I also use Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble pastels alongside the more affordable set. You can go to Blick and order singles, but until you know you like them, I liked getting a starter set.

The Neocolor II pastels give me additional colors and behave a little differently when I layer them. They sort of work as my finishing tools, help me blend out sections much better than the iCrayons.

This is very much a learning-as-I-go situation.

I still cannot draw people particularly well. Faces are especially dangerous territory. But my blueberries are coming out pretty good, and sometimes you have to recognize your strengths.

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Summer break is wonderful. It is also approximately 400 days long when you have two boys under six.

Our oldest just finished kindergarten and will be heading into first grade this fall. He is amazing with numbers. Give him a math problem and he is ready to go. Reading and word recognition, however, are still things we’re working on and I didn’t want everything he learned this year to quietly disappear somewhere between popsicles and sprinkler days.

I also didn’t want to spend the summer fighting with him over worksheets, because even though I enjoyed being a student as a kid, worksheets just make everything feel like a chore.

Enter the Summer Brain Quest: Between Grades K & 1 workbook.

I used Brain Quest books when I was a kid, which feels both nostalgic and like a personal attack on how quickly time is moving. They still have the same colorful, playful feeling I remember, and the activities cover a mix of reading, writing, phonics, counting and other skills he worked on during kindergarten.

The book is divided into manageable sections, so instead of vaguely telling him he needs to “do some schoolwork,” we can give him one clear goal: finish a chapter. Not all at once, of course.

That feels attainable. There is a beginning, an end and no stack of worksheets silently judging either of us from the kitchen counter. Plus we get to add stickers to the map in the back of the book to see how far we’ve gotten.

We’ve also connected each completed chapter to his downtime screen use. Once he finishes a chapter, he earns a game he can choose during his next screen-time break. He knows exactly what he needs to complete, and I don’t have to repeatedly negotiate how many pages count as “enough.”

Everybody wins. Or at least everybody complains slightly less.

I especially like that the book mixes in the number activities he already feels confident doing with the reading and word-recognition practice that requires a little more effort. He gets some quick wins while still working on the skills we want to strengthen before first grade.

We are not trying to recreate a full school day at home. Some days we do a chapter. Some days we are busy, everyone is tired and the workbook stays exactly where we left it.

But having one small, achievable goal has made summer practice feel much less overwhelming—for both of us. He gets to work toward something he enjoys, I know we’re keeping those kindergarten skills fresh, and we still have plenty of time left for the important summer curriculum: playing outside, eating snacks and asking me when screen time starts.

Parent Picks

We have a six-year-old and a four-year-old. Below are the Brain Quest books we’re using this summer to keep on track.

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So you’ve watched way too many Reels about owning your own chickens and have decided it’s time to get your own. Let me tell you, had there been Reels around when we started this whole chicken farm at our house, I’m sure it would have made us do it, too. Fortunately for me, I have a husband who loves farm life, so he convinced me via bringing to Tractor Supply and then showing me how we can get them mailed to us.

So now, every spring, it’s like Christmas when Meyer Hatchery sends us a box of chirping fluff balls. And let me tell you, nothing beats the thrill of a call from the post office saying, “Your peeping parcel is here!”

So where to start? Let’s get the basics. Please note that I am giving advice that I have learned, I’m self-taught and we live in New England.

Essential Gear for Beginner Chicken Owners

Here’s a quick, no-fuss list of what you need to build your own backyard coop.

1. Coop: First things first, your feathery friends need a home. You can start looking on Facebook Market place, buy plans online to build your own, or surprisingly, you can order them right off Amazon: I’m serious, click here! You want enough room for 1 box for every 2-3 chickens.
2. Feeding/Watering: Chickens, like us, love their food and water. Invest in a good feeder and a waterer. If you live where the winters get cold, you’ll also want to get a water heater– unless you enjoy cracking ice at dawn. I prefer feeders you can hang, so they don’t get wood chips or poop in their food or water, but you do what works for you.
3. Bedding: Get some straw or pine shavings. Chickens aren’t picky, but they do appreciate a cozy bed. Your local Blue Seal or Tractor Supply will have what you’re looking for and is likely the best you’ll find for pricing.
4. Feed: Start with a high-quality starter feed, and then transition to layer feed as they mature. You can give your chicken veggie scraps later, but not while they’re chicks. Your local Blue Seal or Tractor Supply is best.
5. Warmers: You can add a heat lamp or panel heater for those chilly New England winters. But remember, we’re warming chickens, not roasting them. And it’s not necessary, chickens are hearty and if your coop is insulated well enough, you don’t need to add the extra heating source.
6. Predator-proofing: Unless you want a fox-led chicken heist, secure that coop! Latches, fencing, and keeping an eye on them is your best bet. We allow our chickens to free roam our property, so we have a goose to protect them, but that may not work for you. Chicken wire is a great start to fencing in your gals.

Where are the eggs?

Now, for the golden question: when do the eggs start coming? If you go with a breed like Plymouth Rock, prepare your egg baskets around the 5-6 month mark. Expect around 4-5 eggs per week per chicken. All breeds are different so do your research on what breed you’d like to have. Egg color, size, and chicken temperament are all different.

What now?

Raising chickens is fun. It’s not just about the fresh eggs (though they are a bonus); it’s about connecting with these quirky creatures. So, embrace the peeps and poops, the early morning wake-up calls, and the endless supply of eggs. Welcome to the flock-tastic world of chicken farming!

And remember, if your partner starts looking at chicken catalogs more than usual, brace yourself – your flock is about to expand!

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