Parenting Children

Let’s talk about decorating for the holidays with some easy decorations that you can do with your kids. Everyone loves garland, and you can make different garlands for your tree or home easily. If you have older kids they can do this with little to no supervision.

Everyone knows about making easy garland with red or green construction paper or fabric. You just cut strips of colored paper or fabric, loop them and staple or glue the ends together to make a paper chain. Try this with different colored papers for parties.

If you want something different to do with this idea, how about making it with candy dots? cut same size strips of dots and then tape them together. They will make the tree colorful and edible!

I remember making popcorn garland for my friend’s Christmas tree when I was a teenager. It took forever and I had many holes in my finger when I was done. What about using mini marshmallows and/or cranberries instead? It will look great and much easier for little hands to thread. If your child is too little to use a needle, you thread each piece and let the kids push it down the string!

You can always make a beaded garland. Use old beads from around your house or broken items, or buy some cheap ones at the craft store. Again, thread them into to fishing twine or thread and have the kids string them on. This would look great by twinkling lights or candles.

Do you have any holiday craft ideas that you do with your kids? Feel free to share them in the comments.

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My kids have been into making books lately. they started making small books at school and now want to make them at home. I think it is a great idea to get their creative juice flowing, a great way to introduce reading and spelling and it makes a great gift or keepsake.
Make your own books at home:

Easy Peasy Book: Just fold a few sheets of paper like a greeting card. Staple down the crease. Let your kids do the rest.

Advanced Book making: Do the same as above but dion’t use a stapler, instead punch two holes along the edge and thread a ribbon or old shoe lace through each hole and tie!

A Shape Book: Stack several sheets of paper and cut into a simple shape (heart, cat, egg, tree, cloud,) and just staple the left edge.

You can also laminate each page at Staples and then punch a hole through it to make a more durable book.
If you want to go high tech, scan your children’s artwork and add the story line text to a make your own book at shutterfly or ofoto.com, where small soft cover books start at around $6.00 or you can go to blurb.com and their books start about $13.00. Make sure you add your child’s name and date to the back.
Check out this website for more book making ideas!
Check out my other ideas for indoor fun this winter.

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Halloween is today. If that catches you of guard, that may mean you are a procrastinator. I understand, holidays can sneak up on you. I have some last minute costume ideas and fun games and things to do with your kids before it is time to go out and collect all that candy.

Do it yourself last minute costume ideas:

Tourist: Get a hat, sunglasses and hang a camera around your neck

Cookie: Dress in all brown and pin felt colored circles all over to look like M&Ms

Mummy: wrap your self in toilet paper. Enough said!

Athlete: dress up in a old jersey or uniform. Bring along a ball.

If all else fails call up family members, or neighbors and ask if they have a costume that you can borrow.

How about you make masks of everyone in your family and then trade them. Be your husband or daughter for Halloween and have them be you or their brother. This could be fun all year long!

This is a great site for simulating a pumpkin carving. It kept my kids fascinated for hours. Here is another one that is better for older kids.
Ben and Jerry’s has not only recipes and crafts ideas but also print outs and games.

Remember to go over safety tips with your kids and be safe out there!
What is your favorite last minute costume idea?

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The official start of summer is just days away and I know how hard it is to keep kids entertained all summer long. I found making a list on my calendar helped me pick a fun thing to do every day. Here are 45 cheap or better yet free, great ideas for summer fun for you and the kids:

Catch firelies

Decorate t-shirts outside with paint or dye

Have a tea party outside

Make a birdhouse

Make your own ice popsBake a pie or cookies

Feed the ducks

Go swimming

Plant a garden or a herb garden

Play with water balloons

Play with water guns

Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood

Play hide and go seek in the dark

Find a new playground

Have a picnic

Make S’mores

Learn how to knit and teach your kids, maybe even take a class

Visit the zoo

Visit a museum or children’s museum

Let your children play outside in the rain

Make a theme day, like a “red day” wear red eat only red foods (tomato, apples, strawberries, polish your nails red) or “dinosaur day” (read about dinosaurs, color dinosaur pictures, eat only veggies that day)

Write a letter to a grandparent or friend

Have a lemonade stand

Pick fruits or veggies at your local farms

Make an indoor sand or (Rice!) box

Find free movies in your town
Play hopscotch

Draw with sidewalk chalk

Play with bubbles, have a biggest bubble contest

Race some bug you find on the ground

Join a reading club for grades 1-6

Have a “day of beauty” paint nails, have masks, give your kids a massage

Go to a free reading time

Buy a hammock and take a nap together

Play with a remote controlled RV or boat

Visit a day fair or carnival

Go for a hike

Can berries for the winter

Grab your sleeping bags and sleep on the floor together

Do some arts & crafts

Grow butterflies (My kids LOVE this!)

Visit a neighbor

Make a bubble pool in your backyard

Make ice cream

Make a trip to a board walk

Bowling!

Just be together

What are your favorite family summer fun ideas?

My kids love to bake with me. I love to bake as much as they do and even though letting them help me makes the process much longer then just doing it myself, it creates great memories for all of us. I even have a favorite cooking with kids web site I visit all the time for ideas. When they were born I promised them they would always have their own birthday cake. Sometimes I order them a cake and sometimes I make one, but they always get to pick what kind of cake they get.

I received a new book Cakes For Kids by Matthew Mead and it is a perfect fit for my kids and I. This book is designed for the novice or the baking expert. It includes basic cake and frosting recipes for thirty five cakes as well as guidelines for baking, assembling, and decorating these great 3-D works of art. There are three levels of difficulty: easy cakes, medium, and trickier cakes.

Even if the baking is too hard for your young children you can still let them help you by decorating these great cakes. Not only that, my kids have been fascinated by this book and sit and look at it no less than once a day! They tell me which cake they want for what birthday and pour over the pages of great, unique cakes. The book alone has given me peace and quiet around the house!
Cake and keeping kids entertained, what more can any mother ask for?

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This year we are dyeing eggs early because I can go into labor at any time and if I do not, I have a c-section scheduled for March 18th. I want to participate with them so we will do it this weekend. I always try to stay away from too much candy and junk for Easter. This year will be no different and we are trying to keep our Easter “green”. Here are some alternatives to candy and junk and some tips to be more Earth friendly for your Easter.

Say no to plastic grass. Grow your own. This is easy and looks great in a basket or for a table centerpiece. I have seen edible grass in Target that you can use as an alternative. Have your kids color or paint some paper and shred it for their baskets.

Use natural dyes for eggs. Boil your eggs in water with vinegar and one of these ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes:

Purple grape juice (for lavender)
Red cabbage (for blue)
Spinach (for green)
Carrot tops, orange peels or lemon peels (for yellow)
Yellow onion skins (for orange)
Beets or cranberries (for pink)
Red onion skins (for red)

Skip the candy. If you have to use plastic eggs (we use the same ones every year) fill them with coins, almonds or raisins. Or you can just hide the dyed eggs.

Skip the toys. Instead maybe buy books, puzzles, outdoor chalk, phthalate free bath toys (bunnies or ducks are perfect) or bubbles (you can even make the bubbles yourself).

Here are some more ideas for Easter and Easter craft ideas. What do you give your children in their Easter baskets?

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I love play doh and just the smell of it can bring me back to my childhood. My kids love it too and since it is a overcast, boring day here and I am waiting for a human to come out of my body I decided it was a play doh day. We will be breaking out the doh and some fun accessories after nap time.

Of course there is old school traditional play doh or you can get this awesome organic play doh set. It comes with six 4 oz scented playdoh tubs in strawberry, lemon, blueberry, orange key lime and grape and tools! You can also order refills for this kit. At $38 it isn’t cheap but makes a very cute gift.

This value play doh accessories set is great. I think this is a steal at $21.99 for all that you get. It comes with four textured rolling pins, one smooth rolling pin, four patterned clay mallets, four double-ended wooden modeling tools, a rolling wheel cutter and six sticks of modeling clay. Endless fun!

If you have cheap plastic cookie cutters around your house like I do (really I am a terrible cookie cutter baker, and I need to use metal cutters) they are perfect for play doh. If you don’t, do you want 100 of them? You can get them for $9.99 on Amazon.

If you don’t have any dough and want to make some there are a ton of recipes out there.
Put 1 part flour, 1 part water and 2 parts oatmeal in a bowl and mix. OR
put 1 C salt 1 C of water and 1/2 C flour in a saucepan and mix and cook over medium heat, until thick. When it cools add flour until it makes dough.

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Wondering what else you can do to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your family or make it more special for your children. You can make it more then just a Hallmark holiday. Here are some ideas for some mid week Valentine’s fun for everyone:

-Wear all red or pink. Dress everyone in head to toe in the colors of love.

-Eat only red foods! Spaghetti and sauce, tomatoes, red velvet cake, apples, pomegranates, red peppers with dip, shirley temples and champagne with grenadine, etc

-Write love notes on napkins. Write little notes about how much you love your child or your spouse and send them off to school or work with them, or put them around the dinner table.

-Eat by candlelight. You can have a nice special dinner with your whole family not just your husband.

-Eat only finger foods. Tea sandwiches, crudite, mini quiche, shrimp cocktail or mini burgers. Melt some chocolate for dessert and have everyone dip in their favorite fruits like strawberries, pineapple or grapes, marshmallows, graham crackers or even their fingers in!

-Make rice krispie treats for your kids but use strawberry marshmallows instead of plain ones, so they will be pink!

-Give everyone Valentines tattoos.

Looking for some ways to decorate your house for valentine’s Day? Maybe you are just interested in some arts and crafts or snowy day activities to do indoors with your children. Either way, I have great ideas for you.
Here are some ideas for Valentine’s day or any day to keep the boredom at bay.

Decorate Branches
What you need:
branches
colored paper
crayons or markers
colored yarn or string
scissors

-Gather some branches in your yard
-cut out some heart or cupid shapes
-color them or decorate with glitter or what ever you have around the house
-cut out a hole in the top and string yarn through
-place on your branches and put in a vase!

Lollipop Hearts
What you need:
colored construction paper
scissors
lollipops
glue

-Fold a 12-by-3 1/2-inch piece of construction paper in half vertically, and trace four half-hearts along the fold and cut out hearts
-stack hearts and punch a hole 1/4 inch up from bottom
-position petals to form a flower, making sure holes line up. Secure by applying glue around holes then let dry.
-insert lollipop
-then you can write classmates names on them and give them out or display in a small vase!

Love Coupons
what you need:
construction paper
scissors
markers or crayons

-Cut out “coupons”
-write what they are for (massage, hug, extra story at bedtime, favorite dessert etc)
-color and decorate

Then hand them out to family & friends. Perfect for kids who want to give something to their loved ones!

I hope you like these ideas and check back on Wednesday for more Valentines day fun ideas!

Kids can have all the toys in the world and still get bored. Have you found that already even though Christmas was just a few weeks ago? Being a stay at home mom may give me a little less patience on this issue then most. Are you tired of them complaining they have nothing to do, especially now that winter is here to stay?

Make a bored jar.
Use a cotton ball container or an old jar and place cards with things to do on them. Make up games, have an arts & craft idea or even a recipe for something simple but will keep them occupied.
Whenever someone cries “bored� take out the jar and have them pick something.

If you don’t want to make a “bored” jar then buy one. Land of nod has an amazing arts and crafts jar filled with great things for kids eight and up. It comes with googly eyes, pom-poms, pipe cleaners, glue pens, construction paper, wavy craft scissors, wooden buttons, spools, beads, craft sticks and more. All you need is $29.00 and your own imagination.

If you are looking for learning activities for your child see if there is a Lakeshore Learning Center by you, or order online. This store is amazing resource for parents or teachers. You can find something for your baby up until eleven years old. Sign up for their free catalog.

If they are still “bored” after all of these ideas, just tell them to get a job.

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My kids are just getting into playing games on the computer. They loved the Thanksgiving and Halloween printouts and games I found for them. It surprised even me, how may things there are for them to do online, since they are only four. Here are some things I have found that I know my kids love, we love and I know you will love too.

Go check out the Northpole for fun stories and activites. While you are there send a letter to Santa.

Whether you are baking Christmas cookies, putting up the tree or doing your homework play some Christmas music. This site has a ton of free streaming Christmas music stations.

This web site has all the answers to question you may have about Christmas traditions. It has Christmas tree facts, the history of mistletoe and Mrs. Claus or find out about Christmas traditions around the world.

If you are looking for some Christmas games to keep your kids occupied while you wrap gifts, try this site or this one.

Go elf yourself! Turn yourself and up to three other people into elves that sing and dance and is truly addicting. Call in and get your voice elfed too! This is so funny, we did our whole family and sent it to all of our family.

Lastly, get some Christmas jokes for your parties this year, track where Santa is on Christmas Eve, get the real lyrics to the carols you have been singing and do some crafts with your kids.

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Are you looking for Christmas crafts for do with your kids? I know I am always looking for arts & craft activities to do with my kids during this season. Maybe you just want a new way to decorate your tree? Here are some ideas both you and your kids can do even if the weather outside is frightful.

Make edible ornaments. Buy cookies that have a cutout center. Tie with 18 inch pieces of ribbon. Fold ribbon in half, pull looped end through the cookie, thread loose ends through the loop and tie. You can make cookies just for this, or decorate store bought ones.

Add some fun to your tree. Buy different color parasols in a gift or dollar store. You know, the kind that come in fruity drinks. Clip them all over your tree with mini clothespins.

Add some fun to your indoor decorations. Buy a styrofoam wreath and two white (or any color you want) boa at your local craft sore. Use craft glue to stick the end of the boa onto the wreath. Wrap the boa around the wreath form and glue the other end. Repeat with the second boa. This looks like a feather wreath I have seen being sold in stores for $19.99!

Let your kids make their own ball ornaments. Buy plain colored ball ornaments in various sizes and colored glitter at your local craft store. Using glue make any pattern you want on the balls and then sprinkle your glitter onto them over a plastic container to catch all the extra glitter. Cover the whole ball with glitter, let your kids do their name and date or make cool patterns. This is a great keepsake and fun to make.

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Lets talk about decorating for the holidays with some easy decorations that you can do with your kids. Everyone loves garland, and you can make different garlands for your tree or home easily. If you have older kids they can do this with little to no supervision.

Everyone knows about making easy garland with red or green construction paper or fabric. You just cut strips of colored paper or fabric, loop them and staple or glue the ends together to make a paper chain. Try this with different colored papers for parties.

If you want something different to do with this idea, how about making it with candy dots? cut same size strips of dots and then tape them together. They will make the tree colorful and edible!

I remember making popcorn garland for my friend’s Christmas tree when I was a teenager. It took forever and I had many holes in my finger when I was done. What about using mini marshmallows and/or cranberries instead? It will look great and much easier for little hands to thread. If your child is too little to use a needle, you thread each piece and let the kids push it down the string!

You can always make a beaded garland. Use old beads from around your house or broken items, or buy some cheap ones at the craft store. Again, thread them into to fishing twine or thread and have the kids string them on. This would look great by twinkling lights or candles.

Do you have any holiday craft ideas that you do with your kids? Feel free to share them in the comments.

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Thanksgiving is next week? Wow, that snuck up on me. If Thanksgiving is next week that means Christmas is right around the corner. With Christmas decorations, music and commercials going up right after Halloween, Thanksgiving gets lost and that is a shame because it is a great holiday and you and your kids can make crafts for your home or for gifts for your guests. Here are some ideas for things to do at home for thanksgiving.

This site has a ton of Thanksgiving print outs for kids of all ages.

Make this thankful turkey craft.

Kids love to help in the kitchen, what about making these popcorn balls ahead of time with your kids. They get to make dessert and you get to have an afternoon of fun with your kids.
Caramel Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions

1. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Place popped corn in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all corn has been popped. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan with a candy thermometer inserted, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir well and bring to boiling over medium heat. Stir in condensed milk; simmer, stirring constantly, until thermometer reads 238 degrees F (114 degrees C). Stir in vanilla.
3. Pour caramel over popped corn and stir to coat. Butter hands lightly; shape popcorn into balls about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

Remember to enter the contest to win one of two Christmas cds. This contests ends tomorrow night!

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This is my favorite Thanksgiving craft for kids. All you will need is a few sheets of colored construction paper, ribbon or thread and branches from a tree.
Collect some small branches from around your neighborhood that will fit into one of your vases.

Next cut out of help you children cut out leaves from the construction paper big enough to write on, about 5 inches.

Have your children write what they are thankful for on each leaf.
Then punch a hole in the leaf and string ribbon through.

Hang on the branch.

This will make a great centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner and I am sure all of their relatives will love to see how thankful your children are. Then you can save each leaf set for next year and add onto it, or save it in a dated bag and keep in a memory box.

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