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Inspiration to create and act for a great cause can come from anywhere; this Thoughtful Thursday we honor, Robyn Rosenberger whose inspiration was children fighting illnesses. One day Seattle mom, Robyn Rosenberger was making a superhero cape for her son when she came across the blog Blessed by Brenna, written by one of the Step2 Test Driver Bloggers Courtney Westlake. .  Robyn was inspired and touched by Brenna’s struggles. Brenna was born with a rare and severe skin disease called Harlequin Ichthyosis. Brenna beat an aggressive blood infection and at only three weeks old had to undergo eye surgery.

When Robyn reached out to Courtney, she was thrilled and told Robyn how Brenna has “been a superhero ever since she was born.” This began the creation of TinySuperheroes. Within two months, Robyn helped empower more than one hundred children who are fighting severe illnesses.

Brenna, along with all of the TinySuperhoes, embodies the true definition of a superhero.  There is a hero in all of us and these children prove to be the greatest heroes of all. May they always know how powerful they are!

 On rainy spring days, the dollhouse provides hours of pretend play fun!

When children play in pairs it can help develop their social skills. They learn to share, take turns, and solve problems together. Also, as children begin to play in pairs, it helps to prepare them when they partake in group play. There are numerous benefits for children playing in pairs. However, it is not just about children sharing toys or playing tag outside together, there are plenty of fun activities that children can do in order to develop other skills that involve active and pretend play. Parenting.com has great examples of fun activities for children to play in pairs:

• Classic games: Play games like Simon Says, Hot Potato, or charades to get the laughs going and the creativity ignited.
• Dress up: Pull out all old clothes, Halloween costumes, and accessories for the kids to try on. They can even act like a silly character based on what they are wearing. Have the children guess what one another is such as a hippie, if they have a lot of beads and big sunglasses on.
• Cooking: Cooking can be a lot of fun, giving each child a duty to complete such as mixing or adding ingredients to the bowl. It can also be a messy activity. If you want the activity to be less messy, have the children interact in a play kitchen and ask them to work together to create a pretend meal.
• Let’s act: Ask the children to put on a show and give them household items such as a ladle, towels, shower caps, hats, ect. Give them time to prepare and capture the memories with camera or camcorder once they are ready for show time.
• Agree to Disagree: If the dynamic duo cannot agree on an activity or toy to share, have the children say activities they would like to do. Write the options down on little pieces of paper and draw an activity from a hat. Each child can grab one piece of paper from the hat and do the activities in order.

What tips do you have for having children play in pairs?

Make a game out of teaching toddlers how to stay in bed! Thriving Early Magazine inspired us to share this great bedtime game you can try with your children.

Follow these steps to start playing:

• Create a board game on cardstock and grab one color block.
• Draw a line on one side of the cardstock that says “START” and draw a line on the opposite side that says “FINISH.” In-between the words start and finish draw seven squares to represent the seven days of the week. The objective is to move the one block from start to finish.
• Each night that your children stay in bed, they will be able to move the block up one space the following morning. Each night that they do not stay in their own bed, they will have to move the square back a space the following morning.
• Once they hit the finish line for staying in bed, they will get to pick an activity they would like to do as their reward. For example: going to the playground.

It may take some time for children to get to the finish line. It is important for both children and parents to be patient with the progress of the bedtime game. However, once your children make it to the finish line for the first time, it will encourage and provide them with an incentive to continue to stay in bed in order to get their next reward.

What tips do you have for getting your children to stay in bed?

This Thoughtful Thursday segment is honoring Jack Hoffman, a seven year old that was diagnosed with brain cancer at age five. As Jack went through his surgeries, Andy, Jack’s father, wanted to do something special for his son. Andy inquired about Rex Burkhead from the Nebraska Huskers meeting Jack. This was Jack’s favorite football team and player. Jack got to meet Rex before he had his second surgery.  During their time together, Rex received a special present from Jack, which was a red wristband that read “Pray for Jack.”  That wristband was inspiration for Rex and the Huskers, especially during their big game against Ohio State.

Almost a year and a half later, Jack was invited to play with the Huskers during the fourth quarter of a spring game. Jack wore the #22 jersey, which was Rex’s number. Jack ran sixty-nine yards downfield for a touchdown. Richard E. Grant, actor, screenwriter, and director once said “Never give up. You only get one life. Go for it.” This story proves that Jack is not giving up and he is inspiring the world around him to do the same. Thanks for providing all of us with hope, Jack!

Spring has finally arrived at the Step2 HQ. The sun is warm and shining so it is time to break out the playhouses and climbers.