Junk, Junk, We Want Junk!

Dear My Toy Garden Friends,

    Are you one of the over 3 million viewers who have fallen in love with a 9-year-old boy named Caine?   The story starts with a man in East LA looking for a door handle for his old car who stumbles across an auto parts store with magic inside.  Inside, he meets Caine and Caine's arcade.  This little miracle of a child spends many, many hours at his father's business.  Instead of pouting about how bored he is and begging to play on his Dad's Ipad, this little miracle boy takes what he has around him and creates magic.  What he has a lot of is...cardboard!
      One arcade game grows to two and then three and then the whole front of the store is a full blown arcade including soccer, basketball, skeeball and a Crane game.  All made from cardboard and the imagination of a little boy.  He has thought of every thing!  Fun Passes that have security codes on them.  How to have the winning tickets pop out for the winner.  How to stock the toy gallery with goodies for the winner to pick from.  Everything.  The only thing missing is customers.  Day after day, Caine invites passerbys to play and day after day no one plays.  His positive attitude never waivers.  One day, a film maker, in search of a door knob for his car, stops by and becomes customer #1.  The short film he made a year ago about a flash mob of customers he arranged for Caine's Arcade went viral and now has over 3 million views.  You don't want to miss out do you?  Click here to see what all the excitement is about.
    This short video has inspired cardboard creativity across the world and My Toy Garden is bringing that excitement to Carmel, Indiana!   We invite you to create!  Children create.  Adults and children create.  Adults on their own create.  Everyone!  Snap a photo of your work, post a picture on our Facebook page and 3 creators will win a pair of tickets to the Palladium's Nov. 2 production of The Royal Drummers of Burundi!  And...you will have your winning creation on display in the Palladium lobby before the show to inspire others to create as well!  Families can enter!  Teachers can invite their students to enter!  Everyone is invited! Forward this newsletter to your friends!  What a fun girl's night out that could be!
    As part of this celebration, we'll be hosting three free in store events - Pizza Box Maze Day on Sat. Oct. 13 and Create a Cardboard Concert on Fri. Oct. 19.  Last, on Sat. Nov. 10, as part of Neighborhood Toy Store Day, we'll create in Santa's Cardboard Workshop!
     So..we have lots of cardboard you can use but WE NEED YOUR JUNK!!  Oatmeal containers, paper towel tubes, bottle tops, butter tub libs, odd toy parts, bread twists, scraps of whatever, we want it!! We have a bucket at the store ready for your junk!!!  The more we have the more creating we'll do in store!  Ready? Set? Create!  We can't wait to hear about what project you are working on!
   
 Playfully,
Toylady Janet

Someplace New and Someplace Near the Water

Dear My Toy Garden Friends,

It happens every year. Sometimes on a grand scale and sometimes in my own local backyard. Someplace new and someplace near the water. This year as my birthday drew near, I once again felt the pull to water. Perhaps in my previous life I was a mermaid. This year, as I got in my car after storytime, I had only an inkling of where I was headed. Eagle Creek Park. I had been there for this annual tradition two years before and enjoyed such a wonderful day. The rules are though...someplace new. No going back to Lilly Lake this year and napping under the branches. No exploring the Nature Center and the gifts tucked inside. Someplace new. But where? I turned the key and then the steering wheel and headed to water.

I decided to wander along the eastern side of the reservoir. Right turn after right turn landed me in cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac. I saw many beautiful homes but no place with access to the water. I persisted and felt a possibility was near by. Around a bend and poof! A private beach complete with tiki hut, sailboats, sea shells and birds beckoned. Perfect!

I hiked down to the shore, perched atop a sailboat and sat. Just sat for 15 minutes listening to the waves lap the rocks, bird calling to one another and fish splash. It is quite hard to sit still for 15 minutes but, oh so worthwhile! My mind quieted as I reflected on the year past and the year ahead. My favorite moment of the year. I spent the next hour wandering the coastline spelling my name in sea grass, balancing on driftwood and being. Just being.

I do this each year for many reasons. The greatest of which is to fill my cup. We pull and pull from our energy sources each day with all the many hats we wear. We need to be mindful to take time to fill the tank back up again. I created My Toy Garden to help families do just that. Play. Connect. Fill the Cup. When will you be stopping by to fill yours? We look forward to helping you!

Playfully,
Toylady Janet

The Nutcracker Cracked Her

Dear My Toy Garden Friends,

She'd been excited about it for days. Just moments before she had been skipping and smiling and excited. She took her seat and some other children joined her. Then more children came and more children came and still more came. Many more than she expected and now she sat on my lap crying saying she didn't want to do it. She didn't want to audition for The Nutcracker...this year's production at her elementary school.

Stress is a part of all of our lives. Adults learn, most of the time, to handle is as part of the normal ebb and flow of life. For our children, learning to handle stress is a skill to be explored and practiced. Below are some ideas on how to help your child handle stress.

1. Paint a Picture - Before an event that might be stressful such as visiting a new place, meeting new friends or auditioning for a school play, try to paint a clear picture with words or even actual pictures or videos of what the experience might be like. This was my error with Lily in the story above. I did not explain to her how many children would be there and how it would be a bit chaotic. It surprised her and caused her stress. On previous occasions when my mom badge was a bit shinier, I've shown her pictures of family members she seldom saw but was about to see. This helped her be comfortable with names and faces and knowing a bit about them.
2. Read books - There are several great books about being nervous and handling stress to read and talk about together. One of my favorites currently at My Toy Garden is Flying to See Janet. Great title huh? It takes a child through the entire adventure of flying to help them know what to expect. [Here's a fabulous list] of other great books related to various stressors in a child's like such as divorce, death, new baby, moving, etc.
3. Name Emotions. Help your child develop a vocabulary of emotion words beyond just happy, sad, mad. My Toy Garden carries several board games that are perfect for just that!
4. Provide toys that absorb nervous energy. The What'zit snake below is one of our top selling items! One of the main reasons is that it keeps busy hands busy with something creative. Counselors know that when hands are busy, minds relax and children can cognitively begin to process things they would have a hard time doing otherwise.
5. Role Play the stress away! Another tool counselors utilize are role play items such as doll houses, dress up clothes and puppets. When children play with these, their storytelling can reveal how they are feeling and give them a safe place to explore those feelings. Playing alongside them gives you an opportunity to understand and help guide them to find positive solutions on how to handle their negative emotions.
6. Make Eye Contact - This one is so simple and yet so powerful and it's one we forget to do daily. Look your child in the eyes...intentionally...lovingly...daily. That connection makes them feel loved and supported and builds a bridge of trust that they'll need to come to you when life has bumps.

My Husband Would Have Loved This Store

Dear My Toy Garden Friends,

As I walked by her on Saturday, her eyes caught mine. She turned to face me, grabbed both of my hands gently and a tear began to swell in the corner of her eye. "Are you the owner?," she asked.

"I am," I replied.

"Thank you." She paused while the tear in her eye grew. "I just had to tell you how much I look forward to your newsletters each week. They touch my heart. I recently lost my husband and he would have loved your store. He was a big kid and loved to play. Your store is full of all the classic toys he enjoyed. You have created such a place of warmth and love here. He would have.....he would have loved it."

That conversation with Peggy...thank you Peggy for sharing your heart with me...are the moments when I think, "Yes! People understand that my vision for the store is to be so much more than just a place that sells toys." Our birthday party last Saturday was definite confirmation that you get that...you really get that. Thank you! Over 200 of you came to play with us and enjoy this special day. What a crazy, fun, amazing, stupendous day filled with love it was!! Below are a few moments I've captured in the camera of my memory that I want to hold onto forever.... Thank you for coming. For Sharing. For supporting. For loving us, yourselves and one another. Here's to many more years of making a difference!

• The picture below is some of the treasures that were brought with small hands and big smiles....gladiolas picked from the garden....tissue paper flowers bursting from the perfect glass jar vase...a pipe cleaner butterfly Skribble loves....fresh baked cookies with a chocolate "1" on top ...cards from friends who know I love a good quote...all things that warm my heart.
• Ruditoonz...oh how I love to see the pure joy on his face when he performs and how I love to see the kids dancing away to Yellow YoYo and other favorites. Thank you for being part of our celebration!
• Fun with Frannie transformed kids into princesses, pirates, dogs and more with her facepainting talents that kept her fingers flying for the two hours she was here. Thank you Jane!
• Painted faces led to cheesy photos in the My Toy Garden photo booth. We have copies of all the pictures...oh my! Watch for them to be displayed in the store very soon. Love the child it brought out in everyone! Thank you Bigzy's Photo Booth!
• Music is such a powerful medium...music from the voices of children is truly heaven sent. CYT (Christian Youth Theater) performed for us in the afternoon and swept us all away on a roller coaster of emotions that true talent can do. Thank you CYT! Do check out their theater classes and shows!
• Last, the staff and I all predicted what the day's sales were. We clicked and the computer whirred and....whoa! The total was 25% over what we guessed! I happily went to my office and wrote a check for 20% of the sales, handed it to my daughter Lily and we drove to the Ash house. Lily handed the check to Tracy who was surprised by the total and so appreciative. We chatted and our girls played together on a beautiful September day. So very much to be thankful for. Thank you for helping make a dream come true!

Playfully,
Toylady Janet