 Rooted, Issue 2 (February 2008)
February blahs? No such thing! Around here we just beat them back with pure unadulterated colour! Now, March, we get blah knowing there are still a couple months of snow ahead but we'll worry about that then ~ for now, February.
Welcome to our second issue of ROOTED.
We are pleased to bring you an interview with a featured business this month and we are open to volunteers or suggestions for future features.
We also welcome feedback, comments and suggestions about our little publication.
Raising Them to Leave Us
 Someone wise has said that our chief job as parents is to raise our children to leave us.
As the mother of an almost 2 and a half year old, this is really starting to sink in. My daughter is growing up, growing into herself, apart from me. Watching her play with my own mother, I can't help but think that my mother once felt about me the same as I feel about Rowan today~ pride in who she is becoming; excitement about how she will grow up and find her place, her voice, her passions; bittersweet about letting go, even the little bit required to let her choose her own clothes or put them on by herself; let alone imagining her going to school, driving a car, holding her own babies. Cheering for her steps towards independence but longing, too, to keep her close and safe.
And I feel sadness, too, that for many years I have looked at my mother and seen myself as being so distinct from her. Unlike her. I don't remember feeling myself grow away from her, any more than Rowan will likely feel that for me. That is a secret sadness that belongs to motherhood, I suppose: That our fledglings will fly away, happy to be able to fly.
Maybe my mother and I are not so different after all.
Maybe for her, holding Rowan is like holding a little bit of her daughter again.
That prickly, grown up child she begrudgingly, but proudly let go into womanhood.
 BTRT in Action!Share your BTRT action shots with us for future newsletters and we'll send you a 10% off code for your next purchase. You can send us jpeg files at info@beneaththerowantree.com .
The Square Root of Fun!
Square Roots™ are basic square tiles with appealing images for young children hand painted on one side. They have endless possibility for play and learning. A few ideas (for various ages) include:
~ Cognitive Roots: colors; shapes; counting; matching pairs, sets and groups
(all the animals, all the red things); and memory matching (like the classic Memory Game)
~Fine Motor Roots: domino stacking games (set up, knock them down);
building blocks and stacking; pincer grasp
~Imaginative Roots: storytelling (choose a tile, tell a story; use a set to tell a story;
make a game of drawing a tile and adding to a story by including that item); scavenger hunts; I Spy
~Ideal for special projects or even homeschool units.
 ~Appeal to sight, touch, sound (satisfying 'clink'!) and encourage imagination and concentration.
The tiles come in base sets of 12 tiles (6 pairs). Each set is themed and has potential for customization. You can choose or design sets for your child's age and interests. Some of the sets we have created so far include: Outer Space, Sports, Transportation, My Favourite Things, Pets, Nature, Easter, Camping, Fruit...
and lots more!
Square Roots™ Wooden Play Tiles are made of poplar. They are 2 x 2" and 1/4" wide (so they stand easily on end and are easy for even the smallest fingers to pick up). Once the rough sanding is done to soften the corners, all edges are sanded by hand for comfort and safety. The tiles are unfinished to enable children to feel the warmth and texture of the wood, and to keep them safe for little chewers (although we don't suggest them for cutting teeth!). The painted surface (water based acrylics) is sealed with a water based, non-toxic and enviro friendly sealer to protect the artwork.
Great for ages 1 - 6+ and even as special little tokens for a grown up friend.
What Parents are Saying about Square Roots™
~[they] make a record for most played item even beating light sabers
and more fun that poopy jokes around here!
(Mom of 4 boys, ages 3-7)
~What I thought was really cool is that she didn't ask what to do with them.
She just jumped right in and made up games to play with them...
(Mom of a 4 y.o)
~I like that both girls can enjoy them in their own way. The baby doesn't need to try to figure out a new game that is too old for her and the 4-year-old doesn't need to "play down" to the baby, yet they are playing together!
(Mom of 2 girls, ages 16 mo and 4)
~love the rounded smooth corners, adorable painting and the fact that they're good-thickness wood tiles
(Mom of 2 and 4 y.o)
An attractive silk pouch (approx 6 x 6") can be added to your set and dyed in your choice of color for an additional cost. Perfect for toting Square Roots™ wherever you go!
Have You Met The Polka Dot Dragon?
I am pleased to share with you our first ROOTED feature shop. This month, Rebecca, the
 talented hands behind Hyena Cart’s ‘The Polka Dot Dragon’ and her lovely whimsies are our focus. I always enjoy getting to know the women behind the fantastic products and hearing how they strive and thrive with motherhood, crafting, business and self care. We are accepting suggestions for our next issue!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cool Collabs!
I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful WAHMs.
Here are the collaborations we currently have running:
Learn to Fly,with Becky's Paper Creations
And in the works?
and
a little something with this fantabulous yarn from Beemer Knits!
Please browse around our brand new home on the web!
And follow BTRT all month long at our blog!
We'd love to do a blog link exchange with you, just contact us!
I Heart Silk
I love working with silk, I really do! I love that no matter what you try, it still looks lovely~ a perfect medium for cutting loose and playing with colour.
And I have a couple more mama items that have just come in and I am torn between my desire to get dyeing them and to come up with just the *right* dye job! Let me say one item is for the plus sized mama, you'll have to wait and see *what* for a bit though! Think summer...
I have also been trying to keep a couple of mama silkies in stock, too.
Newsletter Special removed
[code removed]
sign up to receive special offers next month!
Share this newsletter with a friend.
If they make a purchase from BTRT and mention your name,
we'll send another 10% code your way!
As always, your information is private and will not be shared.
Next issue: March 1st
(God willing and the creek don't rise, as they say!)
 |
|
years. We live in the beautiful state of Alabama and have 3 furbabies, Willow(cat),Salem(cat) and Sprite our Border Collie puppy. I am the whimsical owner of The Polka Dot Dragon. I have been making my little whimsies for many moons now but finally decided to start my own business in May 2005.
humor in almost any situation. That life should be lived in the slow and not the fast lane. Lorna always reminds me to stop and smell the roses..even if they are the ones in the florist section of a grocery store.
UK. Then again the wildlife rehabilitator in me wants to go to Australia. Tasmania would be on the top of the list just because of all the wildlife there and of course I have to see a Tasmanian Devil up close... yes I am a little crazy!
