Crayons.

Some time ago, our Bradley friend J., sweet mama of A., showed me a beautiful set of crayons that were given to her A. Truly, they're beautiful.  But mostly, they're functional.  J. explained to us that use of the chunky-block crayons help prevent mis-development of the pen/pencil grasp, which little ones will perform a bit later when more able.  I purchased some for A. awhile ago and just recently has she taken an interest in using them . . . 

Pretty, eh?  The art, of course!  And the crayons, too!  I love them.  They almost seem too pretty for use. They're all beeswax and this particular set (which is much smaller than the set J. showed to us) is made by a company called Stockmar, which you can find on Amazon (shameless plugs, I know).  A. took a particular liking to the purple and blue crayons.  I like them all!

P.S. Yesterday was a busy day, too.  In addition to coloring, Miss A. helped mama peel, slice and core some apples for applesauce (which we enjoyed with dinner, along with these buttered noodles - delicious!).

Unfortunately, my peeler was completely dysfunctional.  I need to tighten it.  But no apple was wasted, not with A. helping out at least (she is totally into apples this Fall, yum).