Chowder

A little bit of gross-out humor but no violence to speak of. Lots of suspension of disbelief, some loving, tender moments, and amazing animation.

P.S. ELEMELONS!

Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Vampire (movie)

• Vampire-like creatures drop out of a stage ceiling and abduct a rock star (it's ok)
  
• Scooby Doo is a talking dog
• Scooby Doo is hit in the face by a koala weilding a eucalyptus stick
  

Cartoons: my findings one cartoon at a timne

George of the Jungle

• George discovers he is not, after all, an ape. He is disappointed.
• Apes eat lice
• George is hit in the face by metal objects
• George refers to himself as George; never using the pronoun 'I'
• An elephant sits on George. He's ok. So is the elephant.
• Animals sing and talk (is this new?)
  

Tom and Jerry

This morning I watched the cartoon Tom and Jerry for the first time in years. I was shocked; the amount of violence was stunning. Some examples: Tom, the cat, turned plank-like and bounced head-first down a set of stairs. Jerry's head caught in a drainpipe and became stuck there. Tom blew a blowhorn directly into Jerry's ears, shaking the mouse into four different versions of himself. Jerry threw a set of knives directly at Tom, who narrowly ducked and tumbled out of the trajectory. Tom smashed the mouse (hard) against a wall with a cherry pie. How could we ever have shown this to our kids when the extent of violence in today's cartoons include little more than simple character flattening, face slapping, and tree-slamming?

But. But but but! "Tom and Jerry" includes a suspension of disbelief that doesn't exist in many of today's cartoons. Jerry imagined those knives before snatching them out of his thought balloon to throw them. Tom rode a flying broom before slamming into a tree. Tom arose from his planklike state and walked away. Thrown pies had only the effect of momentarily staining the victim red (or white, or blue).

And everything turned out ok in the end. Tom and Jerry engage in friendly competition and in the end they're still friends. Jerry's back in his home and Tom's owners come home and he's a quiet domestic cat once again.

Also, Tom and Jerry includes precious little speech; some episodes include none. This requires such an attention to the show that it doesn't allow for multitasking (just trust me here).

This requires more research on the level and type of cartoons we do show our children. I volunteer myself and will report on my findings.

LOLcats

Cute tiny animals + funny captions = ZOMG(lolz).
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Every time I visit the website I die of cute. Then I'm resurrected and I die again.
Also not to be missed, but a bit more advanced in theory: http://failblog.org/
*ahem* bwahahahahahahaha

Toys for the little acorn in all of us

Prisms in the winter just seem so...sad.

The Rainbow Connection

Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson Productions

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa

Muppets: happy or sad?

What do you guys think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkHM8xG6i8o
Furry Happy Monsters

Ha Ha Ha Ha
Furry happy monsters laughing (oh, that's great!) (ha ha ha ha)
Monsters having fun,
Happy, happy
See them jump and run.
Happy, happy
laughing all the while
Cheerful cheerful
Flashing a big smile
That's a perfect sign
That they're feeling fine

Furry happy monsters feeling glad
Furry happy monsters feeling glad
Furry happy monsters laughing

Something has gone wrong, (what are we gonna do?)
Sighing, sighing.
Faces have turned long, ( I am so sad!)
Crying, crying.
Hear them sob and whine, (oh oh oh)
Tearful, tearful.
That's a real good sign,
That they're feeling glum.
Sad, sad times have come.

Furry sobbing monsters feeling sad.
Furry sobbing monsters feeling sad. (oh so it's sad)
Furry sobbing monsters crying.

Come on monsters, you don't have to cry, (we don't)
we can be happy! (all righ!t) (yeah!)

Furry happy monsters feeling glad.
Furry happy monsters feeling glad.
Furry happy monsters laughing.

Furry sobbing monsters feeling sad.
Furry sobbing monsters feeling sad.
Furry sobbing monsters crying.

Furry happy monsters feeling glad.
Furry happy monsters feeling glad.
Furry happy monsters laughing.

Monsters, Happy, Monsters
Monsters, Happy, Monsters
Monsters, Happy, Monsters
Monsters, Happy, Monsters

And here's an important song for us:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRvhRhWWE44&feature=related

http://littleacorntoys.com/

Try this recipe for play-doh

I love the smell of play doh. I love the feel of it. Here's an easy recipe for homemade play doh. It doesn't have that play-doh smell, but it is squishy and fun to hold. Wrap it in plastic wrap when you're not playing with it so it won't dry out.

3cups flour
1/3 cup salt
2tbsp oil (vegetable)
1 cup water
7 drops food coloring.

Mix dry ingredients with oil. Add food coloring to water and mix together. Add water to flour/salt/oil mixture slowly~about 1/4 cup at a time and mix together with a spoon. Once you've added all the water, knead the dough with your hands.

http://littleacorntoys.com
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Mairzy doats

Did you ever get a song stuck in your head?
http://www.duchessathome.com/childrensongs/mareseatoats.html

I started thinking of this one for no reason at all.

Here are the words:

I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake
Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon
Some call it pretty, others call it crazy
But they all sing this tune:

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Yes! mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear,
A little bit jumpled and jivey
Sing, "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy"

Oh! mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you--ooo?
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

http://www.duchessathome.com/childrensongs/midis/mareseatoats.mid
(Now try getting it out of YOUR head!)

Make an origami gift box

SUPPLIES: paper,scissors

Step 1. Start with two squares of paper. If you like, cut one slightly smaller than the other. Step 2. Pick up one of the squares, place the A Corner on top of the D Corner and fold it in half diagonally. Open it up and spread it back out flat. Place the B Corner on top of the C Corner and fold it in half diagonally again. Open it up again and spread it back out flat. It now has an "X" folded into it (note the bold black lines).

Step 3. Take the upper left corner (the "A Corner") and bring the point down to the line on the B/C axis, making sure the A/D lines match up. Hold the point down firmly and crease the paper, creating two new points (1 and 2).

Step 4. Secure the A point with your thumb so it won't slip, pull points 1 and 2 down to the line on the B/C axis, hold firmly and crease the paper again.

Step 5. Open it up and spread it back out flat. Rotate it one quarter turn (either way, it doesn't matter). Now the corner you have just turned into the upper left becomes the "A Corner." Repeat Step 3 through Step 5 until all four corners have taken their turn at being the "A Corner" and have been folded. The square should now be laying flat again. At this point your square should look like the picture. (The gray lines represent all the folds you just put in!) Step 6. Pick up the scissors and, looking at the picture, cut along the folds where you see the dotted lines. Tip: each dotted line is only two squares or blocks long. Step 7. Lay the square back down so it looks like the picture. Make sure you have placed the cut sections (the dotted lines) on the bottom left and upper right corners.

Step 8. Fold BOTH the A and D Corners back down to the center line as shown in step 4. Then fold points 1 and 2 in and on top of one another on both sides.

Step 9. Bring points 1 and 2 upright on both sides and let the flaps go so they form the walls of the box.

Step 10. Bring BOTH the B and C Corners up and over the walls and tuck them into the bottom of the box. Step 11. Take a small piece of scotch tape and secure the points in the center of the box so it'll stay neatly folded and hold its shape.

Step 12. Pick up the second square and repeat Step 2 through Step courtesy: http://sunnisan.com/crafts/giftbox.html http://littleacorntoys.com/

How to make a cootie catcher

Remember Cootie Catchers? Do you know how to make them? I'll try to tell you how, and then you can look online here. This is how you'll know that it's sometimes easier to show something than to describe it.

1. take a piece of paper
2. fold one corner to the other side, so you've formed a triangle with a strip of paper underneath. Cut off the strip so when you unfold the triangle you have a square.
3. unfold the triangle and then fold it in half the other way
4. unfold and then fold all four corners in so that they meet in the center of the square
5. now you have a smaller square
6. turn the square over and fold all four corners in to the center again, so they all meet
7. turn the paper over again and fold in half
8. fingers go in the flaps on the back, which billow out to hold your fingers

Now you have a cootie catcher ready to be a fortune teller. Seriously, look here if you didn't get it. (Don't miss the really funny part about how to tell if someone has cooties.)

There are lots of ways to turn this into a fortune teller. I'll give you one and you can experiment with other ways.

On each outside flap write a color. On each inside triangle write a number, one through eight. Then unfold the flaps and write the answer to a question on each one. Some examples: yes, no, maybe, for sure, no way.
Here's how to play:

1. Have someone ask you a question, such as "will Tommy kiss me?"
   
2. Ask them to pick one of the colors on the outer flap.
3. Open and close the fortune teller once for each letter of the color.
4. Hold the cootie catcher open and ask the person to pick a number
5. Open and close the fortune teller that number of times
6. Ask the person to pick another number. This is the flap you open up for the answer to the person's question.

Fun, right? And totally kid powered. Who needs those magic eight balls?

www.littleacorntoys.com

Remember 'Roy G Biv'

When I was seven years old my science fair project described how rainbows formed. That's an easy one; light is made up of different wavelengths. When white light hits a prism (or nature's prism: water), the light bends. Each color of light bends at a different angle and the white beam spreads out into a rainbow.

In 7th grade art class I was taught how to remember the colors of the rainbow. Mr. ROY G. BIV. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Yes, there are 7 colors in a rainbow and I was seven when I wrote a science report about rainbows and in seventh grade when I learned the acronym. I suppose when I'm 77 years old I'll run into Mr. BIV and have a chance to shake his hand.

Wouldn't that be super cool?
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http://littleacorntoys.com/

So what would it be?

So, then...IF you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire, what would you take with you? Living things aren't included. Your pets are safe and your family was out for the night. Your important documents--passports, Social Security cards, wallet--are hypothetically safe from the smoke and flames. What would you grab on your way out the door?

My laptop is my number one item. It was expensive and it opened up a new Internet world to me just last November. I'd snatch it and carry it under my left arm.

With my right hand I'd grab as many stuffed animals as I could, in this order: Machias Moose, Meijer Bear, Bobo the bear, and then any other stuffed animals that would fit. I'm still a stuffed animal fanatic, I guess. I'm emotionally attached to them and I love them for the objects they are.

My sticker book could burn because then I'd be free to start over with all new stickers.
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http://littleacorntoys.com/

I'm Laura

I'm the creator and owner of Little Acorn Toys. I'd like to tell you a little about me, and I'd like to get to know you, too.

The first thing you should know is that I LOVE toys. Not just toys, really, but any object that feels nice in my hand, or looks stunning on my bookshelf, or makes me smile or giggle. I'm a thirty-garbledhandovermouth-year old toy FANATIC. I don't believe adults only sell and buy toys for children. Toys and other playful objects are treasured and cherished by anyone who engages with them. Very often, that person is a grown-up.

You know that question that goes something like, "if your house caught fire, what ONE thing would you take with you?" When I was a kid the only things I cared about were my toys. And I had one specific toy that I cherished over all others. My stuffed raccoon, the one I slept with every night, the one with the mashed-in face and matted 'fur' was my answer. My sticker book was number two.

The toys that last in my memory aren't the fancy or expensive ones. I could have let my remote control dog burn, and my Cabbage Patch doll could smolder. My stereo could melt along with my bag of Barbies and Barbie clothes. My disc-film camera could go along with all the pictures I'd taken with it. If I had to escape fast it was an inert but beloved object I'd take along.

http://littleacorntoys.com/