Shop Small OKC

Oh glory be, it is finally SPRING. The cold, long, dreary days of the winter sucked out all my internet mojo, but with the return of sandal season, I am back at it! Bring on the patios, sidewalk sales, festivals and farmers markets. To say I am excited would be an absolute understatement. Currently, the porch on my historic home is being ripped out and will be replaced this week and then I will truly feel like I am kicking off the best season of all — PORCH SEASON! (which is approximately Easter-Halloween) And then you can find me sipping on a cocktail and reading a magazine! But until then, its the marathon of end of school year spring stuff!

What else does a busy mom do in the spring? We find summer camps for our kids. All the camps. I am here today to tell you about a camp that my kids did last year that is AMAZING. It is a cooking camp and is just so fantastic because of the emphasis on whole, healthy and locally sourced ingredients all put together in a way that kids love and have so much fun. Tally Atkinson has a heart and a patience that I absolutely love and the children have an incredible time. I cannot say enough great things about this program!

I asked her to write a little about her camps so that I could share them with you! Sign your kids up! They can cook with local ingredients and you can use the free time to go hit up some local stores :)

From Tally Atkinson at Sharing Sustenance:

I got into teaching these classes because I saw for me personally, the life that came from preparing and eating REAL foods. My body has seen healing physically, I have more energy, and I saw some emotional freedom as well. I wanted to share my knowledge with others so that they could have similar freedoms that I have, but most importantly, I wanted to show kids that healthful food doesn't have to taste bad. :) The skills and recipes that I teach are mostly all easy to prepare and so much fun! I hope to broaden horizons and minds with teaching common recipes that people will recognize, but often change up the quality of ingredients to make them the most healthful. Fresh, organic ingredients, unrefined sugars, ingredients found in nature in what I use here in the Sharing Sustenance kitchen.

This summer my cooking camps are:

"The Great Bake Off” - June 3rd-6th - Elementary Ages (6-10)
"A Farm to Table BBQ" - June 10th-14th - Youth Ages (11-18)
"Farmer’s Market Finds" - June 11th-13th - Elementary Ages (6-10)
“The ‘Real’ Baker” - June 17th-20th - Youth Ages (11-18)
"Cooking Around the World” - June 24th-28th - ALL Ages (6-18)

The baking camps will center around using fresh, whole grains and unrefined sugars, in a broad variety of sweet and savory recipes. The Farm to Table camps may just be my favorites! I will get almost ALL the ingredients from our local farmer's market in OKC and use those to make the delicious recipes. And then the cooking around the world camp is a fun way to try different cuisines, with a 'Real Food' twist! I hope to see you there at one or more camps! You can contact me at sharingsustenance@gmail.com or www.sharingsustenance.com.

Click the link to follow her on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/sharingsustenance/ and visit her website at www.sharingsustenance.com

Did you know that when a certain, famous, big-box toy store shuttered recently, I was not sad? Like, not even a teensy bit? Would you like to know why? Its because soon after moving here, I found the Learning Tree. If you have any children in your life and you live in the OKC Metro area and you aren’t shopping here then you need to change your habits! THIS STORE IS AMAZING.

I can pretty much guarantee that all my children’s most beloved play things are from this store. Its a store that features quality over quantity. These toys last. They are the kinds of toys that are well loved and then passed on to another friend or a younger sibling. It is a store that knows children. They know what kind of scooter will make my toddler’s heart sing. Exactly what creative art kit will make my daughter light up with confidence. And exactly what science toy my son will adore.

We buy many toy gifts here —there is a section of the store that is laid out by age — how much easier does it get!? And we take advantage of our Keep It Local discount card. They wrap my packages for me, so that I don’t have to worry about that extra step. I have even called and had them wrap something so we could pick it up on the way to a birthday party. They make it easy. And when I come in with all my kids in tow, they welcome them! The atmosphere is pure fun.

And can I just add that not only is the selection amazing, the staff is also outstanding. These are people who know kids. They know the games they like to play. The know what to suggest when you give a price range. They know what to suggest when you give a style of play. They know what to suggest when you describe your kiddo.

I challenge you to search their inventory and not find something the child in your life would love. The Learning Tree has been an Oklahoma treasure since 1985 and owner Patti Tepper-Rasmussen uses her Montessori background to really understand her customers - precious children and the ones that love them so much.

When Patti isn’t in the store serving her customers with love, she is serving children by being active in two non-profits she is passionate about - Pambe Ghana and Rainbow Fleet. Pambe Ghana is a remarkable non-profit that provides quality education in Northern rural Ghana and was started by a former Oklahoma City teacher. Pambe Ghana gives us a chance to shop at their Global Market during the holidays at 1307 N. Hudson in Midtown and I can not wait to check it out. Rainbow Fleet is an amazing asset to our community and is located in the Paseo and offers a wide range of services that benefit children. I hear they have the most amazing toy library ever, but also provide a range of support for childcare providers and parents alike.

The Learning Tree is conviently located on 7638 North Western in the Wilshire Village (1 block south of Wilshire) in Oklahoma City… follow them on Instagram, or visit their website or give them a call at 405-848-1415.

Shop Small by sending your kiddos to cooking camp!!

Toy Shopping! Shop Small OKC at the Learning Tree