Welcome to The Momavist: Where Activism Blends With Parenting

Welcome to The Momavist!

I have been wanting to create a blog since I was pregnant with my daughter. Six years later, here I am fighting through all of the same mental obstacles I had then. The difference now is that the COVID-19 has our country home bound with our devices, and for some of us, with our partners, animals and children.

Why is it called Momavist?

My initial “Momavist" step through this pandemic has been to use this break as an opportunity to fill in the "gaps" that have been missing in traditional education. For example, embracing minoritized languages, learning through play, creating a foundation that counters social constructions and decolonizing Eurocentric curriculum. Parenting can be a form of activism. For more about my activism outside of parenting, click here.

Performing a social justice poem at USC with my daughter when she was 3 years old

Day One
On our first day, I did 5-10 minute increments of learning-through-play games as a test run and had Sarina help me create our "schedule." Keep in mind that it looks like a lot because we were just testing them out in small doses.
I am purposefully showing our messy schedule.

Morning Lesson: Marshmallow Math, Snack, Stretch Break and Kids Yoga, Science Experiment, Science Puzzle, free play, lunch.

Afternoon: Reading time with puppet show (taking turns), Persian time, Set up Haft seen for Norooz, dinner, free play.

Since I am new to quite a few things right now and don't want to overwhelm myself, I am going to break up our activities into separate posts.

“Marshmallow Math" is ready to view here!

Mastering Skills at Speaking a Language is ready here!
Two Easy and Yummy Science Experiments is ready here!

Comments

Making Math Fun For Kids

"Marshmallow Math" is a game we created using some leftover and rather stale, extra large marshmallows that I felt my daughter would find exciting but not want to eat. It's been a hit and she has requested to play it everyday since. You can use anything your child would enjoy that won't create a health concern. Grapes are also a fave, just be careful if you have a dog! We work on addition and subtraction to find who ate more marshmallows. She has her stack of 10 and I have mine. I let her pick how many she "wants to eat" and we go back and forth like that until we see who has fewer left. "Who Ate More Marshmallows?" Example Sarina has 10 marshmallows and she eats 4 how many does she have left? 10 - 4 = 6. Mommy has 10 and eats 3. 10 - 3 = 7. Sarina now has 6 and eats 2. 6 - 2 = 4. Mommy now has 7 and eats 2. 7 - 2 = 5. Sarina now has 4 and eats 1 more. 4 - 1 = 3. Mommy now has 5 and has a tummy ache and is done. 5 - 0 = 5. Sa...

A Beautiful DIY Craft You Can Create Right Now!

Celebrate Spring With a DIY Wreath! It has been a tough few weeks celebrating Norooz (Persian New Year) in quarantine, and with Easter and Mother's Day coming up, many might be in the same boat. Thanks to Sarina's Persian school at Bahar Kids , we were able to put up a special and sentimental craft representing our holiday and spring. It is a wreath with mini versions of what we put on our Haftsin (7 S's) spread: colored eggs, Sombol (hyacinth) Sib (apple), Sabzeh (wheatgrass), Sekkeh (gold coins), Sir (garlic), Serkeh (vinegar), Samanu (wheat germ pudding), Somagh (sumaq). I did not get to create the memory of making this special wreath with herm but we are going to keep it up on our wall for the entire season and then make a summer one with items that represent summer including Sarina's birthday! You can create one too for Easter, a wedding anniversary, Mother's day, a birthday or just for fun! There are plenty of options on Amazon and even ...

Teaching Kids About the Coronavirus: Free Tools and Activities

Teaching Kids About the Coronavirus: There is a middle ground between oversharing with children and completely sheltering them. Chances are that this pandemic and quarantined lifestyle has been an adjustment and many questions and possible meltdowns have already happened! There are great age appropriate resources out there to help kids understand what is going on. Pick what you know would work best for your child and adjust accordingly. I have shared my two favorite resources. Educators Naomi O'Brien of @readlikearockstar and LaNesha Tabb of @Apron_Education have put together a fantastic e-book explaining the virus with three activities you can do: Create a poster, Share your feelings and Write out a 20-second hand washing song. The poster my daughter created is above and the song we sing is "Do You Know the Muffin Man." Ways Sarina is staying safe: hand washing, eating healthy, taking vitamins, reading, and exercising at home Mind...

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