Not Edible Crystal Snowflakes and Ornaments

What you need:
String, wide mouth jar, white pipe cleaner, borax, boiling water, and pencils.

Take a white pipe cleaner and cut into thirds and twist them to make a snowflake or you can do whatever shape you want. Make sure it with fit into the jar.

Tie a string to one end of the snowflake and tie the other end to the pencil.

Fill Jar with Boiling Water. Add 1 Tablespoon of Borax (It is found on the Laundry soap lane of the store- don't use Boraxo Soap) to the water and stir until it dissolves. Add the rest of the Borax. You need 3 tablespoons to every 1 cup of water. You can also add food coloring to the water, if you want colored snowflakes. I personally like the plain old white.

Hang the pencil over the jar, with the pipe cleaner completeley covered in the water, but not touching sides or bottom of jar.

Let sit over night.

Borax is soap, so remember not to keep low for a child to drink. I still have mine that I did years ago on my Christmas tree. Over the years the crystals have changed a little, but it still looks pretty cool on my tree.

Crystal Fun!

Rock Candy To Eat!

Needs:
1 Cup of boiling water
3 Cups White Sugar
Jar
Pencil
wool or cotton Yarn
Food Coloring
Flavoring

Instructions:
Tie the yarn to the pencil. Set the pencil on top of the jar and see if it will hang without touching the sides or the bottom, but almost to the bottom. Boil water. Stir in sugar a spoonful at a time. Keep adding sugar until it starts to collect at the bottom of the jar and doesn't dissolve while stirring. This is called Saturated. You can't have too much or too little or it won't grow crystals on your yarn. Add food coloring of the color you want and flavoring. Pour into the glass jar and don't let any dissolved sugar into the jar. Hang the string again in the jar. Put it where no one can mess with it. Put a paper towel over the top so nothing gets into it. After one day you should see it start to grow. Let them grow until they stop or it is the size you want, about 4-7 days. When sugar crust comes at the top of the jar, then remove it and eat. If it forms on sides and bottom, but not on your string, remove string carefully, reboil and cool like you did before. Pour into a clean glass jar and replace the string. When done Allow to dry and then eat.

A New Tradition!

We got an early Christmas present from my Sister-in-law, Nicole and her family. It is an elf that comes with a story. After you read the story, he hides all month long in high places in your house. The kids are never to touch the elf. Anyway my younger kids Love it, and my older child loves to hide the elf. It has made for lots of seeking the elf, lots of laughing, and lots of fun. If you are interested, then click on the website about it, below.



http://www.popinkins.com/

Christmas Ideas!

My neighbor asked me to post this, but I realized I had already done this. So I thought I would recap a little and then tell you to go look under labels under Christmas for more ideas and you can see what I wrote about this.



Anyway I am a cub scout leader and for one of our Christmas activities, we made green and red paper chains. at the top was a big star with the words, "I am trying to be like Jesus". On the inside of each chain was something that they could do, to make them like Jesus and more focused on him during the Christmas season. Examples you can find in the past posting.



After we got them completed, I read the book I believe in Santa Claus, by Diane G. Adamson. It is first all about Santa. Ex. he comes at night, he wears red, he loves little children etc. Then it switches and talks about Jesus Ex. he comes at night, he wore red, he loves little children etc. After reading the book I talked to them about how it can be confusing when at school you only talk about Christmas and Santa coming, but at Church you only talk about the birth of Christ. But I said that this book helps us realize that Santa is trying to be just like Jesus and he is a symbol of Christmas. When we think of Santa, we can think of Jesus, just like when we see a Christmas light we can be reminded of the star that came the night Jesus was born.

Then I took the chain and said that the outside is a countdown until Santa comes, but the inside is a countdown until Jesus was born. By doing nice things for others and trying to be like Jesus, we can honor Jesus and give him a gift that he would love by serving others.

Anyway I had this little boy (I forgot to tell his Mom this part), that openly scoffed when I said we were going to read a book called, I believe in Santa Claus. He didn't say anything, but his face told me, that he was not a believer. He also thought making chains was something a preschooler would do. But after I read the book, his little chain seemed much more important, and his face said a different story, than before I read the book.

He went home and has been so excited about Trying to be like Jesus everyday. His Mom called me to tell me, what a great idea it was, and how much he looks forward to doing it everyday. I usually get no comments, and it was really nice to hear how much she like it. She asked me to post it, so now I have. Merry Christmas!

Compliment Stocking!

My sister, Jill shared this on facebook, and I thought it was cute and would post it here. Doing anything like this with children is a really good idea.

Christmas idea to share One thing we did with our kids was to let them write compliments to each other during the month of December(we did too). They could choose any day. No one was assigned. More than one person could do it in a day. You write a complement for each person in the family including yourself. They are put in the empty stockings. When someone noticed they were there we would read them as a family. Children that were too little to write could dictate to someone else. They could be things like "You are a good jumper." or "You have a great laugh." This was really fun to do.

10 Fun Christmas Games!

1. Don’t Eat Santa- Big version that fits on the floor or the whole table. For those of you who don’t know, you place a small treat (cereal I usually do) on each Santa square and one person goes out of the room. When he is gone another (I usually do the person who had the last turn going out) person picks a Santa. Then the person comes back in the room and starts to eat. When they hit the one that was picked, everyone yells, “Don’t Eat Santa!” It scares the child and they all laugh and then the next goes. It’s very simple, but even 6^th graders have loved it. I will bring the big board (A different Santa on a full piece of paper, and then they are taped together like a bingo board) and the cereal treats with it.

2. Christmas Twenty Questions- Adult starts by choosing a Christmas related person, place, or thing and says, "I'm thinking of something". The children try to guess what it is by asking no more than twenty questions that can be answered "YES", "NO", or I DON'T KNOW". The student who guesses correctly is next up.

For kids that are littler, Example: Frosty
Clue: I'm thinking of someone who wears a hat
Clue: He loves snow
Clue: He'll melt if it gets too warm outside

For kids that are older Example: Frosty
Adult: I'm thinking of something at Christmastime!
Kid #1: Is it cold? Yes
Kid #2: Is it Red? No

To get you started: Santa, Rudolph, elf, Mrs. Claus, Candy Cane, Snowman, Tree, Lights, Stocking, North Pole, Sleigh, Cookies, Milk, Etc.

3. Pin The Nose On Rudolph- Rudolph picture, red nose circles for each child, tape, pen for their name, and a blindfold.

4. Santa Bingo- cereal or beans for counters, and everything for the game. Google Free Christmas Bingo, and you can print color or black and white ones.

6. Musical Chairs- a treat for everyone that gets kicked out of musical chairs and Christmas music.

7. What is it? Christmas pillow case that has all sorts of Christmas objects in it. It is a guess and feel game. Each person takes a turn feeling one object and guessing what it is. When guessed you pull it out and see if they are right. You can keep all the objects together and have them hold the one while you grab it, or you can do one at a time and use another pillowcase to hold the other stuff.

8. Blind Snowman Game

Supplies:
8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper
Pencil.

How To Play: Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Explain to them that they will close their eyes and you will tell them what to draw. DON'T tell them they're drawing a snowman! Draw 3 circles on top of each other. Each circle gets smaller from bottom to top. In the middle circle draw three buttons going vertically down the center. In the top circle draw two eyes, a carrot nose, and a mouth. Draw a hat on top of the smallest circle. Draw stick arms on both sides of the middle circle. Draw a broom in one stick hand. Open your eyes! If playing with older children you might want to devise a point system, such as: 5 points for each circle that touches the other. Points for the hat touching the head, the eyes being in the top circle, etc.

9. Tongue Twisters

How To Play: Say each phrase three times as fast as you can. Let kids practice on their own or take volunteers to come up and try their best for all to hear. A candy can prize for anyone who tries.

Chocolate cocoa cravings cure colds
Santa sings shining star songs
Sally skis super slow
Big bright bells banish boredom
Grumpy Grinch goes grizzly gus
Pretty packages perfectly packed
Tip-top tiny tot toys
Sally's striped stocking's stuffed slightly
Santa's super souped sleigh swiftly slides sideways
Cheery cute caroling Christmas critters
Candy cane cookies keep kids coming

10. Santa Says

How To Play: Played similar to Simon Says. The player up is "Santa". Player will say "Santa says hop on one foot". The children will hop on one foot. Player will say "Stop". The children are to keep hopping on one foot until player says "Santa says stop". Repeat for additional activities such as take one baby step forward, step backwards, turn around, sit down. Sometimes Santa will say "Santa says" and sometimes he won't. It'­s a fun game to play with young children.

Teaching Children About Giving Money To Charity!

I have been thinking lately a lot about Charity. It seems like people are more and more selfish with their time, money, skills, and love. Everything seems to be more and more about ME and what I can get for Me. It makes you so down, until you notice the kind people, who are quietly going about doing good for others. Take time to notice these people, watch them, learn from them, and then become them. That is what I want for my family. My parents are these kind people. They always were helping others in one way or the other. But if we weren't paying attention, we would have never known. They quietly did things, and made a difference in many people's lives. My Mom has been sick this year, but she still finds time to make a difference- especially to my little family. My Dad had Charity in him, until the day he died of Cancer 7 years ago. He was an amazing man. I never saw him be lazy, and I totally took for granted all the things he did for me, my family, my neighbors, my church, my community, etc. The last thing I remember that was on his mind before he died, was my mother, who just found out she had Cancer for the third time. So anyway, I figure if I can always be like them, I will turn out to be a pretty good person, and if my kids learn it from me, they will be pretty good people, and it will just keep going. So now I am going to talk about how we teach our children to give...... Money.

Yesterday I spent some time walking around my neighborhood with the Wolf Scouts. They are so cute and are little 8 year olds. We were doing Pennies By The Inch. I tried the whole time to get it through their heads that because we were collecting money, it would go to kids that needed help at our local hospital. Midway I asked one of the boys, do you feel good about all the money you are collecting? He replied, "Not Really". Which I think they all felt good, but for show he needed to be cooler than that.

I wished that I had known in advance (which I should because they do this every year) that it was going on this week. I would have had my kids at home earn some money, so they could donate and feel good about it.

In our local church (stake) meeting a couple of years ago, a man talked about the need for kids to earn money. So they could learn to budget, save, etc. He also mentioned the need to let them give their money to charity. It really made me think. I had always been taught that time and service were just as important as money. But after listening to this man, I realized that if they don't learn how to give with money as well, when they are adults they won't do it.

My cute daughter last year wanted to help with a sub for Santa. She got out 50 dollars to give. This also was an important lesson I needed to teach my daughter. Give what you can afford to lose. As much as I thought it was an amazing gift, I knew that 10 dollars was more appropriate for her age, and that she needs her money for her future, when she goes to college. We talked about it, and I helped her realize that someday, she could give more, but at age 11, this was very very generous.

This year one of our extended families is doing a Sub for Santa. We are pooling the money we would have spent, and then one family is going to buy everything the family in need needs, and take it to them. So I got the idea of paying my kids in coins to do random jobs around the house, and they could earn money to help this family. So far so good. Everyone is really excited to get our jar full. Everyone has a great attitude, when they know the job is going to have money for the jar. I think it will help us to stay grounded and happy this season.

I encourage you to find ways to teach your children as well the value of money and giving it to others when you can. And if you can't, there is always next year. And who knows, you might be the receiver this year and that is sometimes hard as well to accept. But you can teach your children about generous people and how they gave to you.

Don't get me wrong, I still realize that Charity of Time, Love, and Service is important as well, but this post is not about that.

15 Great Halloween Games!

1. Make a Spider Web: All you need for this fun game is a ball of black, white, or silver yarn or string. Have everyone stand around in a circle. Ask one child to hold one end of the string and then toss the ball to another kid. Each child holds on the string and then tosses it to someone else. Before you know it you'll have a great spider web

2. Mummy Contest: Grab a few rolls of toilet paper and divide into teams (we do this as a family and have every mother being wrapped, it is really funny). Then - you guessed it - wrap the toilet paper around the other, creating a mummy. You can either make it a contest of speed or one of creativity. For the first, the team that has a completely wrapped mummy first wins. For the second contest, whoever gets all their toilet paper off their team member and places it the trash bag wins!

3. Don't Eat The Monsters! This is such a easy, but fun game. For a big board use full sheets of paper- one monster on each page. For a small board use one sheet of paper divided up like a bingo board. Place candies, cereal, pretzels, fruit snacks, marshmallows, etc. on each individual picture. Have one person go out of the room. Have another child pick which monster they are going to use. When the person comes back in the room let them start eating. When they pick the monster that you chose, yell Don't eat the monsters!

4. Eyeball Race: Start with a plain ping-pong ball for each child. Use a Sharpie marker and draw on it to turn it into an eyeball. You can simple draw the pupil, or for a scarier version, add some red wiggly lines to make the eyeball look bloodshot. I personally like to let each child make their own eyeball. Then they can take it home with them. Give each child a spoon and drop one of the eyeballs in each spoon. Now it's time to race. The child that reaches the finish line with the eyeball in the spoon first wins.

5. Ghost Hunt: (this one I already have posted about, a few years ago. To see about it, go to the labels on the right side and hit the Halloween section and it will pull up.

6. Musical Chairs: (this one I already have posted about, a few years ago. To see about it, go to the labels on the right side and hit the Halloween section and it will pull up.

7. Witch Race: You will need at least two buckets and two brooms. Each player in the race must put one foot in the bucket and hold onto it with one hand, and carry a broom in the other hand. Play the music Witch Doctor while doing this activity. It is really funny.

8. Apple Race: Kids must race on all fours while pushing apples with their noses.

9. Donut Bob: hang donuts from a broom or a pole above. Each child then lays down, or kneels with their hands behind their back. As soon as you say go, they start eating. Whoever finishes their donut first wins! Warning-glazed donuts= sticky kids!

10. Little Ghosty Won't Bite You: Sit in a circle and make a tissue ghost. Take the ghost and have one person be it. They say the following: I had a little ghosty and he won't bite you, and he won't bite you, and he won't bite you, BUT he will bite you. When he says will bite you, he drops it in their lap and runs around the circle and gets back into that person's place before the person touches him. Always have the won't bite you part be different so no one knows when it will happen.

11. Haunted House: Divide up the group into 5 different Halloween characters (Witch, bat, ghost, pumpkin, vampire) Add more or take away depending on how many you have. You can also print up these images on paper and tape them to their shirts so they don't forget. Then have one person stand in the middle and call out one of the names. The people that's name has been called need to switch places. The person in the middle needs to try and steal one of the places. Then someone else is IT (if the middle person was successful). When the middle person yells HAUNTED HOUSE! everyone runs and finds a new spot. No one can be in the same spot twice in a row.

12. Wet & Wild Halloween: For this game you get a very small thimble and fill it with water. The category is Halloween Costumes (or candy, Halloween, etc.) Go around in a circle and wait for each child to give a comment. If they choose yours, you spray them in the face with the water and then it is their turn to do it.

13. Monster Dance: Turn on Michael Jackson's Thriller and have everyone dance however they want to this music. It is so funny to watch and is really easy to play.

14. Hiding Ghost: One person goes out of the room. Someone else hides the Ghost. When the person comes back in the room you sing a simple Halloween song or chant Ghost Ghost Ghost woooooooooo over and over again. Louder if they are close to the hiding place, quieter if they are not.

15. Halloween Memory: Take all sorts of Halloween objects on a tray. Let everyone look at them for a few minutes. Then send someone out and take away something. When they come back see if they can figure out what is missing. Then repeat with other people.

Ripped Art!

My son brought this picture that he had done from school. When I got my degree, I had to do a whole picture using ripped paper. It turned out really cool. I thought this little picture turned out so well, and it would be really easy to do. I am not big on everyone making the same picture, so I would probably have different shaped trunks, and green leaves as well. I like that not one could be the same, because it depends on where you glue. So try this at home, preschool, nursery, or where ever.

Fall Posts!

Don't forget to check past fall posts for more fun things to do in the fall and lots of fun ideas to do with apples and your kids! It is in the label section on the right side toward the bottom.

Apple Tips for Drying, Canning, and Getting!

Dried apples are a healthy snack for kids. Because my mother has lots and lots of Apple trees, I always am trying to find ways to preserve my apples.

Last year I bought this dryer. It works so great and I love it. I also bought this Apple Slicer, peeler, and corer in one. I love this and my kids LOVE how the apple comes out all hooked together and sliced and peeled. This is a dryer item that I bought for 17.95, but I have found that my kids like to have their apples cut this way. So I keep it in the pantry all year round, for quick access. I can get them to eat tons of apples if I slice them this way. I am really careful that if they want to help me I only let them turn and not put the apple on and off. They could get hurt doing this. My kids love to take the dried fruit off the trays and they love to put the fresh fruit on the trays and take them to the machine. I think it is great that they help me with this.

I only bought this stuff last year. What if I couldn't afford it then? Here are three ways to do the same thing I did, with resources you have.

Dehydrator or Oven Drying
1. Cut apples into wedges and slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices, or slice the apples into rings.
2. Dip apple slices in an ascorbic acid mixture (1/4 c. lemon juice to 1 qt. water) - to keep them from turning brown as they dry.
3. Place the slices one layer deep on kitchen trays. Do not overlap the slices.
4. Dry at 115 degrees F for 6 to 8 hours. Turn the slices after 4 hours and rotate the trays if needed.
5. Test for dryness after 6 hours and then every 2 hours until no moisture remains in the center of the slices.

Sun Drying
1. Prepare the same way as above.
2. Cover with cheesecloth and place in a well-ventilated area in full sunlight.
3. Turn slices every few hours.
4. Take trays inside at night. Drying takes two to three days.

Spices: I like to change up my dried apples. I have put before: Cinnamon, sugar, brown sugar, Carmel, and cayenne pepper on my apples as they were drying.

My last thought was what do you do if you DON'T have apples to dry. Last year my two sisters in law answered this question. They drove around town and looked for apple trees that were not being picked from. They got over pride and went and asked if they could have some. Everyone said take as much as you want, and were grateful someone could use them. Both of my sister in laws have over 19 kids between them and needed that extra blessing.

If you DO have money to spend, go to a local orchard and pay for the apples.

Not related at all to drying apples, but my last tip of the day is that if you are making applesauce (bottling or fresh on the stove) throw in a few red hots. It will make the color pretty and give a hint of cinnamon.

My favorite new thing, and my favorite old thing!

My baby had the worst diaper rash ever! Nothing worked and we went through so many brands trying to get it to work. Finally my sister told me about this stuff. I found some at a local boutique store. It was 14.95. Yes. ouch. But I was well on my way to take this baby to the doctor and that would have been a 20 co-pay. Anyway it worked within a day. I don't like the smell that much, but I really like how fast it cleared everything up for him. It has other uses for Athletes, and older people. This would be a great addition to your 72 hour kit. I will be ordering in bulk for this. I have to know how much I am buying before I know how much they will charge me. If you know me contact me and you can get in on this order. If you don't, just go to their website. http://www.bootybalminc.com/ and you can read why it is called a Miracle Cream, and order on that site.

This is one of my all time favorite things. I call it Bunny Bunny. This is 9.75 per can and the can really lasts a long time (even though I use it every night). It opens my airways, and relaxes me so I can go to sleep every night. Uses other than colds are: Chapped stuff, Hemorrhoids, muscular soreness, scratches, cuts, cracked heals, children that pick their scabs (just put a dab on each night, and minor burns. You can google Rawleigh products to get this, of if you know me, I am doing an order soon and can order you some. The price does go down the more you buy. It is also great for your 72 hour kit. On a side note this is my Great Grandfather. He sold Rawleigh products as a door to door salesman his whole life. It is really fun that it is still such a great product that I still want to buy it. I guess it is in the genes.... I am a Rawleigh girl at heart! Also Rawleigh sells a lot more things. If their is anything else you want, let me know!

Few Reminders & One New Website!

1. PTA Reflections Contest: The theme this year is... Together We Can. Don't forget to check when you need to turn it in. Your child can do literature, visual arts, photography, dance, musical composition, film/video, theatre, and 3D art. You can get the specific guidelines at your local school. Each child gets a little prize or treat for doing it and it gets presented at an awards night. Everyone is honored. It is really good for their little self esteems.

2. It is almost October! Time to figure out Halloween costumes if you haven't already. Ebay, Savers, DI, etc. get pretty picked over the closer it gets to Halloween.

3. Fun Conference Packets for LDS Conference. Go to this website. They are really fun and current! www.scriptures4kids.com/activites-downloads/general-conference.html If you are going to do it though, don't wait until Saturday. Get it printed now, while it is not stressful!

4. Life is so hard for kids these days. I have been trying some simple things, that hopefully help them have better days. You might be already doing these things. When my kids come home from school I am always so stressed out that I was not doing these.

A. Smile while greeting them when they come in the house, or the car.
B. Give them a love and tell them how glad you are they are back.
C. Stop everything and pay attention to how their day was. (This is a real hard one for me. How do you stop when everyday seems like a whirl wind? But they really don't feel important unless you stop)
D. Make sure that you say at least 20 positive things to them after school and through out the night. For every negative comment you need to provide 10 positive comments. That goes for all the negative comments they are hearing at school as well. Maybe I should up it to 50!

Anyway have a great day and hopefully something in this post helps you somehow!

Check Out My "New" Dressers!

Here are my before and after pictures of all of the things I have refinished. I found out how to do these from the website http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/ I have really enjoyed seeing the finished product. I have been so frustrated buying new dressers made of low quality. I wanted 100% real wood, but that is so costly. So I found all these dressers for 125 dollars, bought paint for about 100 dollars, and Hardware for about 100 dollars. I figured out I probably spent the same as buying one dresser. I also redid my daughters bed and shelf in her room. And with all that money spent I got all this:

Before (Cracked top that husband fixed, Bright Yellow and White Dresser):

After (I painted red first, attached a vinyl ball on top and spray painted with white. Then I glazed with brown, new handles):Before (Ugly White, Warped top that my husband fixed, gold dated handles): After (Spray Painted Cream, glazed with brown, new handles):

Before (Parent looking nice dresser, with missing handles and pretty beat up):After (mirror spray painted purple, then glazed with black, Dresser spray painted white and then glazed with Black, new hardware):Bed After: Spray painted white, inside shelves purple, glazed with black):Shelf was red from a former lady bug room and I had never changed. Spray painted purple and glazed with black:Before (pepto pink with flower handles):After (Spray Painted blue, new hardware, no glaze):

I also did my kitchen table and chairs. I think it turned out great!

Table: Spray Painted White, Glazed with Black

Chairs: Spray Painted Cranberry, Glazed Black.

Children: I did nothing to, just their personalities!

The nice part about all of this is we don't have dressers falling apart all the time, because they are cheap. I also really like how each one, just fit each person so nicely. It has been really fun and lots of work, but mostly fun. My only suggestion is to go to a PAINT STORE and buy a 6 dollar mask to block out the spray paint. I didn't do this at first and had paint in my nose, lungs, mouth, etc. The right mask is a must!

Two new websites!

My cousin sent me this website to check out. Her little girl's school is learning the 7 habits of a happy kids. She checked out the website and it had lots of fun stuff for kids, but teenagers and adult as well. So check it out and see what you think! http://www.seancovey.com/kids.html

What I like about this site, is it is very fast at loading. I hate slow sites. Franklin Covey has done a really good job making this very kid friendly.

Also my sister in law recommended this website to get kids to do chores. She is loving it and so I thought I would add this website as well. It is www.myjobchart.com

Beginning of School!

So most of us have finished with the first day of school. Did you survive it? I noticed a few things that I thought I would share. I am sure you have had the same observations, and if you have different ones, please feel free to add them in the comment section.

1. Mom having to wake up early and make sure they look o.k., are fed, hair is done, is hard. I didn't realize how lazy I have been in the Summer.

2. I really should have done better getting my kids to bed earlier, in prep for school.

3. The kids at home without their siblings are adjusting to not having them around.

4. The kids are extra tired, hungry, anxious- when coming home from school.

5. This one was the most important observation: My daughter who has ADHD and OCD couldn't focus, was extremely naughty and Hyper- about 1 hour after school. I think it took all she had to get through the whole day of school being good. Because of this I had to give her an emergency pill of riddlin to get her through the night. Even with it, it was a very hard night. So today I am doing it different. First a snack will be on the table. Then a manditory play outside for a little while. Then a manditory quiet time in her room. After that we will try and get her to clean her room, play with the family, and do homework.

6. I honored my seventh grader by giving her a piece of cheesecake and a special note when she first got home from school. Then the next day she didn't have to go to school, so I took her out to lunch. I think I will be doing this with all my seventh graders. It was very fun!

7. I was so surprised how different each school year/ teacher really is. We started bad and ended bad last year, and this year we have started with amazing teachers and having a great year. I guess this means I realized you don't have to switch schools or homeschool just because you had a bad year last year. Communicate with the principal and he will help you have a good year!

8. It costs way too much money to send kids to school. I am broke. How about you?

Anyway thats all. I hope you all got through the first couple of days of school.

My Favorite Quote!

Whatever you are... Be a good one! A. Lincoln

I think this is a great quote to start out the school year right.

As a child I hated being compared to my other siblings. Maybe one was more talented, or one had better grades, maybe one was more outgoing, or maybe one teacher liked my older sibling best. I was not a straight A student, but I didn't get bad grades. I hated having my report card on the fridge with my straight A honor roll brother.

When I got kids I started out with an honor roll daughter. The next one came and she is delayed. Now I have 5 and I have no idea what life is going to throw us. I have learned that it doesn't matter about honor rolls, or being delayed, it matters what is in each of your children that makes them special. It doesn't matter if we are still on a first grade reading level, it doesn't matter if we all go to college and get honor cords. What matters is that we be whatever we are and that we be a good one. I am sure that all my kids will be educated, but I have no idea what they will choose and how long that might take them.

I didn't realize this personally until I was a junior in college. I didn't even realize that I had very specific talents that no one else in my family has. They did, but I never knew. For my kids I want better. I am recognizing these talents and helping them by pointing them out and making them feel proud. My 12 year old is very musical and very responsible, my 10 year old is very courageous, she is very organized, and she loved dance, My 7 year old has a love of life, she loves sports, and she is a really good reader. She also is my nurse of the family. My 4 year old is a great runner. He runs faster than anyone else in the family. He loves anything that involves pipes! and My 1 year old baby: He is very interested in lights. He is always trying to figure out how they work.

As my daughter is starting Jr. High, I think of all the kids that will potentially pick on her or make her feel less than who she is. My goal is to make sure she has a good self esteem before all that happens, so she can just shrug it off and move on.

So I guess this post is just about helping your child realize what talents they have, voicing them to them, and that we didn't all come out of the same mold. We are all unique and it doesn't matter what we are....... just be a good one.

My School Check!

1. Go through kids clothes and take out old, stained, holes, or too little clothes.
2. Move too little clothes to next kid.
3. Label with Sharpie on tag of clothes so I know whose it is (One dot is oldest, two dots second oldest, three dots third oldest, etc.) That way no one wears the wrong thing and it looks like floods.
4. Buy any new clothes and shoes needed to start school (label clothes)
5. Get children going to bed early and getting up early.
6. Buy any school supplies that you can ahead. Backpacks if you wait have a really bad selection.
7. If you have a child that has had problems in school, schedule a meeting with the new teacher BEFORE the school open house.
8. Write letter about child and give to teacher if your child had a hard year last year. Take with you to the meeting.
9. Organize cubby, drawers, room, etc. so they can start their school year out right.
10. Have a family meeting and talk about school and how the family is going to run.
11. If LDS have each child get a priesthood blessing for school.
12. Go to school Open House.
13. The day of school, take some post its and write little notes where your child will find them (lunch, backpack, mirror, carseat, etc.) This will help them feel loved during a stressful situation.
14. Always, Always, Always have a special gift or treat on child's bed when they get home from school. It really makes that child feel special.
15. And the biggest thing I learned last year was to not stay with a teacher if it is not a good fit. Change now, because you gut is probably telling you something. We stayed and suffered all year.

Hope school goes well for your child. If you have any additional ideas, please share in the comment section.

Shooting Stars!

Every year on the 12th it is shooting star night. We went out last night about 11 and saw lots. They go on the day before and the day after, so tonight you can still see them. Its best if you find a really dark spot to view them. Make sure you print off some star constellations, to look at while you wait.

Two New Fun Websites!

I love finding new websites and blogs. I need to be better at adding them to this website. The first one I will be putting in the mom section. The second will be found in the FHE section. Both I got from my friend Nancy and thought I would share them.

www.allthingsthrifty.com

and

http://preparednotscared.blogspot.com

Water Kick Ball!

How fun to play kick ball, but add some twists. Each Base has a pool full of water instead of a base. When coming into home, you have a slip and slide. And lets not forget that the team in line waiting can come out right after the kick and soak the other players with squirt guns to distract them from the player running the bases. A perfect way to make a fun game, cooler for the Summer.

A Favorite Thing!

So my friend showed me this cookbook that she made. It was sooooooooo cute. She took recipes from both sides of her family, that were family favorites, or traditions. She used the website listed below and had her cookbook professionally done. It sounded like such a great idea. So I got on the website, and I have been typing recipes in, adding pictures that go with the recipe, and a description of why it is important to me. It is really cute and I am so excited to get mine printed. So go to this website and it really is not that expensive for treasuring your heirloom recipes. I gave an example of two of mine.

http://www.tastebook.com/

Movies From Youth

This Summer I have been seeking out old movies that I loved, and showing them to my kids. I have learned a few things from this:

1. Some of the shows are really scary (Superman)
2. Some have naughty jokes I didn't even get when little (Clue)
3. Some teach naughty lessons (Oliver- stealing)

Anyway I was wondering if it was just me, or is anyone else finding that it is like that for their family?

Having a rough kid day?

I have found this year to be really challenging with my kids. I am fighting one everyday to get her work done. We finally have gotten to the point that when we are ready to go do something fun, she misses out. One time it was riding bikes in the front yard, another it was visiting a museum, watched people eat crickets, did crafts and games (she went to grandmas). I find that I personally start having the worst day, when she is acting up. So I have been trying to let her do her thing, and focus on the other kids, until she chooses to obey. The easiest way for me to be happy and them is to put them in water. Here are 10 generic ideas to do in water. If you are like me, sometimes you need a little reminder.

10 ideas to do with water!

1. Go to the swimming pool
2. put your own little pool up in the back yard
3. do wet sidewalk chalk drawings
4. do a slip and slide
5. Duck races at a little stream. (this is really fun)
6. give them water guns or squirt bottles
7. Let them wash your car (this is the best)
8. Sprinkler under the tramp or on the ground
9. Have spounges and a bucket of water
10. Make a water slide, by putting your hose on down your slide of your swing set!

Father's Day Gift Idea

I am always looking for a good Father's Day present. This year I thought I would buy a pre-done basket full of fun things to eat. Not only are they so expensive, most of the stuff is not things my husband would want to eat. So... I went to Walmart and bought my own stuff to fill the basket. Then I bought a plastic basket. My husband's was 5 dollars and Grandpa's was 1.50 on clearance. Then I came home and used my cricut and made vinyl lettering to personalize the basket. The superman dad label I found on-line. I stuffed the baskets full of nuts, candy, chocolates, popcorn, jerky, crackers, 1 soda, trail mix, chex mix, Oreos, and wheat thins. Now the Oreos and wheat thins I only gave to my husband. This is because my Dad passed away about 7 years ago. Every Father's Day since I was a little kid, I gave him Wheat thins, and my brother gave him Oreos. My husband doesn't even like Oreos, but they get bought and given as a remembrance to my Father. Anyway this was really fun to do and very simple.

Front View Back view Inside Grandpa's Front Grandpa's Inside

Swimming Lessons Started

Well we started swimming lessons yesterday and I was so glad to have my favorite sunscreen on hand. Now this might sound silly to you, but if you have children with sensitive skin or like my children are black, you find that just any sunscreen won't work. My favorite sunscreen for my family is Neutrogena. I buy the kid mist, and also the baby cream. But my favorite one is this one:

I love to do their little faces with this sun stick. If you haven't used a sunstick before, you need to try it. They have them in all brands, but once again my kids don't tolorate the other brands. This baby and the other Neutrogena brands will run you about 9 dollars a bottle. The stick we bought for our trip in Feb. and we are still using it. Anyway I thought this might help you, because I sure have wasted lots of money on sunscreen that makes my kids skin hurt.

Coin Toss and Walk

Need something fun to do today?

Take a quarter and go on a coin toss and walk. Start in front of your house and let your child toss the coin. Heads means left, Tails means Right. at the start of every street do this and see where you end up. Your kids will have lots of fun trying to see where they will end up.

Some of my views on Summer!

Schedules:

Studies have been made that show that schedules for ALL ages of children and teenagers are needed and benefit the child. Now I am not talking a rigid schedule that makes them crazy and you. But more a general schedule, or routine rather that gives them the security they naturally seek. now that I am a grown up, I have learned that you ALWAYS have to have a schedule. I personally get more depressed in the day, when I have no direction in my life..... and that is how children are as well. If you have a teenager and they sleep until noon, they will probably be more moody and feel unsuccessful in life. A general plan that they know is going to happen, will help them: have the proper amount of sleep, feel accomplished everyday when they complete what they need to do, It will help them when they are returning back to school-they will adjust faster, it will give them enough structure, that they feel happy and secure, and hopefully you won't hear so much, I Am Bored! It has been proven that children with behavior problems do better with a schedule.

Homework:

Talk to any teacher and they will tell you how much a child loses, educational wise, through the Summer. I can't tell you even this year, how many people are shocked that I make my kids do homework through the Summer. In the fall your child plays catch up for at lease two months. Last year EVEN WITH DOING SUMMER READING, my daughter went down two levels in her reading. I was so discouraged, until I thought about where she would have been if I hadn't done what I did.

Bored:

If you don't want to hear I am bored all Summer, take some time and plan things to do. Do something as a family daily. Go to the park, have a picnic by dads work, go on a family bike ride. Yesterday I spent the evening jumping on the tramp with my kids. It was great and they loved it. Also have activities, projects, etc. of things to do everyday that will make them happy and feel special. Sidewalk chalk, watercolors, a special movie, bubbles, jump ropes, play dough.

Work:

Make them do work. It is not going to hurt your child to learn to work. It will help them. In my doctors office it says that if you want a child that is successful, goes to college, has a good job, is married with a family, and overall is happy........ teach them to work. Does that mean they get to be your slave? No! But they can be expected to do jobs and learn from them. Just remember the jobs will not be done perfect. That is o.k., as they get older they will improve.

Family:

I have worked very hard to get the family that I have. And so my next thought is, spend time with your child. If all Summer long you are trying to be somewhere else, instead of at home with your kids, you are showing them that they are not important. Always eat dinner together (unless on a date of course), do activities together, take time to talk to them, vacation together, and always let them know that your priority is them. Likewise do not let your child be away from the home everyday, all day. They also need to learn to be a family and learn that you can work together and play together. Your child's best friends in life will not be a friend, but family. Take opportunities to grow closer as a family. In my family we are NOT perfect. We have lots of times when life seems to be falling apart. But I think one thing my husband and I have always done, is put the children first and our family first. Friends, cars, sports, running, shopping, etc. always are second to our children. If you show them, they will know by example what is important.

Well that is some thoughts I have been having today. I might add more later, but just remember that Summer is a great happy time. Enjoy it! A song by Trace Atkins is called You're going to miss this, really touches me. I know no matter how stressful life with little kids can be, I know I am going to miss it. Take sometime to google that song. For me it always makes me remember to be patient and loving.

Fun Things To Do In Summer!

I found some lists last year, so if you need more ideas than the ones on here, then go to the right side almost to the bottom and find Summer and you will get more ideas.

2010 List of Ideas for Summer:

1. Find some Falls
2. Grow a Garden
3. Splash at a splash park
4. Have a Paper Airplane Contest with the neighborhood
5. Have a sidewalk chalk art contest with the neighborhood
6. Have a bubble party
7. Go fishing
8. Go Camping
9. Go to a Rodeo
10. Start a Dog Walking Business
11. Do a obstacle course
12. Have a outdoor Scavenger Hunt in your yard
13. Have a Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt
14. Do Library Day at your public library
15. Have a neighborhood Olympics (even babies can do an eating contest)
16. Have a block party
17. Visit your state capital and take a tour!
18. Do a Day Trip to a close National Park
19. Flashlight tag at night
20. Night Games Outside for Older Kids
21. Duck Races in a stream (Rubber Duck)
22. Feed ducks at a pond
23. Visit a Farm
24. Set up a Candy Store on your porch
25. Shadow Puppet Show
26. Join a Movie Show Program
27. Have a Family Game Night
28. Movie Night once a week
29. Have a Pizza Making Night. Mom and Dad are the judges
30. Make Homemade Play dough
31. Have a "BORED" game day!
32. Decorate T-shirts


So I am ending here for now, but post in the comment section with your fun ideas!

Teacher Gifts

We just had our teacher appreciation week, so I gave my teachers a gift- that counts for the end of the year as well. Then my cuz called me and wanted some ideas, so I decided to post them.

What I did this year was a banana split of a great year bag! In it had Marchino cherries, carmel topping, bananas, m&m's, and waffel bowls. The tag read thanks for making this year a Banana Split Great year! It cost 8 dollars per teacher, which I didn't think was bad at all. Because I had 5 teachers though, it seemed like a lot at the register.

Last year I played it more simple. I just did a package of Whoppers and said, Thanks for a Whopper Year in Third Grade! The teachers really liked this as well and it was really fast to do.

My cuz needed ideas for bus drivers. I gave her the idea of making a paper bus thank you card and stacking starbursts on top of each other and attach to the card.

Another idea I came up with is to buy a book for the library in your school and donate it in their name. That way it helps everyone!

I like gift cards, but if you have five teachers like me that gets really expensive.

My sister does the unique gift of being a sub one day for each of her kids teachers. Of course to do this, you would need to be certified.

And lastly if you need more ideas than this, go here and they have lots of fun ideas for a teacher gift. www.skiptomylou.org/2009/05/01/teacher-appreciation-gift-ideas/ Skip to my lou also has lots of other fun things to make on their website!

Colored Noodles for Art!

Warning: This is NOT an edible activity and should be made with adults only and then let the kids use them for the project.

So it is VERY easy!

1. First buy noodles at store. You will want different shapes, different sizes, etc.
2. You will also need to buy Rubbing Alcohol and food coloring.
3. put rubbing alcohol in jars about 1/2 way. Add a couple of drops of food coloring. Mix. Do this for each color.
4. Add noodles into jars.
5. Let sit over night.
6. Take out and dry on cookie sheets.
7. When dry put in bag or bucket.

String-Covered Vase Craft: Mother's Day Crafts for Kids and Gifts - Kaboose.com

"What a fun Grandma gift for Mother's Day!"

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More Reward Charts

Teaching Nursery Rhymes are one of the best things you could do for your child. It has been proven that if a child knows his or her nursery rhymes, he or she reads faster and has an easier time. Nursery Rhymes are also a good way to teach other subjects, like Math. I made this paper for my son and put it in the front of a three ring binder. We are going to be memorizing different nursery rhymes and putting them in our book. Every day we will read the book. Gradually we will have more and more nursery rhymes in our book! He will also be coloring each rhyme to go into his book. Yes I could just read him a nursery rhyme book, but this way we are spending time together, he is practicing coloring, and he will feel more ownership to his special little book. At the end I also put a good website about Nursery Rhymes. Not only do they have loads of ideas, but they also explain more about why Nursery Rhymes are so good. http://www.nurseryrhymesonline.com/

By the way: May is National Egg Month. May 4th is Bird Day. The 2nd Saturday in May is International Migatory Bird Day

Bird Lessons!

One of my favorite things to do in preschool is learn about birds. Today I woke up and looked out my window and saw this:

I couldn't believe that this bird stole my kids club house. But the preschool teacher in me, thought of all the fun you can have learning about birds. Here is an example of activities you could do for preschool, or just for fun at home.

Science #1: Find a real bird nest (not in use of course), show how it is made. Ours has a Mother in it, but we can still look if we are careful.

Science #2: Go Bird Watching!

Art #1: Make birds nests! Let them gather materials from outside as well as paper and craft stuff from inside the house. Glue or weave the pieces together. Make little eggs to put in the nest.

Art #2: All birds look so different and are all different colors. Let the kids watercolor different birds. At the end show them, that they were all different.

Art #3: Make a bird feeder or bird bath. (The peanut butter pinecone with seeds is always a big hit)

Art #4: Bird Seed Art- use glue and cardstock.

Snack #1: Recently I put the idea of doing bird nests for Easter. But for Snack you could that.

Snack #2: My Favorite idea ever! I do a bird tasting. Serve them things that birds eat: lots of different kinds of Seeds and Nuts, Worms (gummy of course), Bugs (again gummy), French Fries (ever been to lunch outside), Bread, and of course fruits and vegetables. Remember to give them beaks (Chopsticks) so they can see how not having hands would be.

Math #1: From snack 2, do a bird taste graph. Let everyone put their vote on their two favorite bird foods. Then everyone counts together to see the results.

Language/Math #2: Print on your computer bird matching game. Any birds will do, but make sure you know their names, to help with language.

Reading #1: Read the cute book, Are you my mother?

Reading #2: Read Don't let pigeons drive the bus! or really any bird book will do.

Writing: Write a story about a bird, or practice writing the word: bird.

Writing/Question of the Day: What color of bird would you like to be? (have them tell you the color and then practice writing it)

Large Motor #1: Put squares of material in both hands. Turn on music, and fly like birds.

Large Motor #2: Hide Eggs (Easter kind) all around outside. Tell the children that the Mother bird went to look for worms and lost all her babies. When you say go- they all get to gather them back together.

Large Motor #3: Blowing Feathers! Everyone gets a feather and when the music turns on (classical of course) they can start blowing their feather- but no touching unless you have to pick it up.

Show & Tell: Go to place that has birds to look at, or go to someone's house and see their bird.

Rhyme: Five Little Blue Birds

Five little blue birds, hopping by my door
One went to build a nest, and then there were four

Four little blue birds singing lustily
One got out of tune, and then there were three

Three little blue birds, and what should one do,
But go in search of dinner, leaving only two.

Two little blue birds singing for fun
One flew away, and then there was one.

One little blue bird sitting in the sun
He took a little nap, and then there was none.

72 Hour Kid Kits

I started something a few years ago that really works well for our family. If we were having an emergency I wanted the kids to be able to grab something that would help them through that emergency. So I took some old school backpacks and wrote in magic marker their first name, clearly on the outside. Then I filled it with all sorts of things that would help them. Some of it includes:
1. Foil Blanket
2. Regular Small Blanket
3. 2 Water Bottle
4. 3 Cans of Soup, meal, or vegetable (Pop open kind)
5. Gum & Candy
6. Small Stuffed Animal
7. Small First Aid Kit
8. Change of Clothes
9. Coat
10. Flashlight
11. Coloring Book
12. Colored Pencils
13. Book
14. Hand/Foot Warmers
15. Diapers/Pully if needed
16. Formula/Bottles if needed
17. Garbage Bag
18. Card Games
19. Toothpaste
20. Toothbrush
21. Shampoo
22. Medication
23. Foil Sleeping bag

After it was all full, then I put it in a closet right by the door. Right now they are up high and wouldn't be easy to grab. I hope to put them on hooks low in the closet, because we don't use that closet for clothes.

Anyway that is your idea for today.

Another Thought

I just realized these charts would also be great for getting your kids to read books in the Summer. Once all the stars have been signed on they get their prize. I was excited when I realized all the things these could really be used for, and thought I would quickly share.

Reward Charts!

I have two kids that have been having a REALLY hard time in school. One of the two also has a really hard time communicating. So we set up behavior folders for each of them. On the cover it lists their first name, teacher, and grade. Inside the folder has a pocket on each side and a three hole area for the middle. One side of the folder has a place for their homework (since it was being thrown away), grades, or things that are coming home for us to see. The other side is for extra papers (I try to make up a couple months worth of papers). The three hole area has a calendar (one of my kids sees three teachers a day so she has a calendar that has a place for all three teachers to place comments. This is what hers looks like. The other child has just one teacher and so she has a more of a month calendar! It also has a reward chart that has a goal they are working on. I have the teachers pick the goal, but if you were doing something for home, you would want to. Our goals have been: Sitting in your seat and raise your hands if you need to tell the teacher something (since one likes to follow the teacher around), Telling the truth, bringing the folder to all the teachers to sign and then back home, Reading a book and telling the plot of the story at the end, Doing 10 subtraction problems, etc. If it is a hard one like sitting in your seat, then I divide that into three time periods and the teacher can give her up to three smiley faces or check marks on her reward sheet.

It also lists the reward they are going to get. So far we have done: Getting to go to the movie store and pick out your own movie to watch with the family, sleepover with grandma, Late night, game with mom and dad. It has been working really well.My problem though is that I had to make this up as I went along. The teachers are more than happy to do the goals, and to check things off and make notes, but not to organize the whole thing. I also thought I would have been able to find really cute goal/reward charts on the Internet that I could print off. I did find some and I will put that at the end of this post, but not many. So I decided I would just make my own. That way I can decide how many they need to get in order to get their reward. When I started this, they only had to get like five. Now I have increased it, so they are having to work harder for their prize.

It has really worked for us so far. Do we still have problems? YES! At least once a week I get a note from the teacher that something has happened, and once I got a call from the principal. But overall they are working harder, being more responsible, being more behaved, and getting better grades! If I end up making more, I will post them. Also this is the site I have been using a little:

http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/singlebehaviorcharts.htm

Out of Town!

Sorry we went out of town, and I haven't been posting. But now we are back, I will try to do better! So check back soon and you will find a new post!

Egg People!

Also on the website below were these egg people. How fun would that be, to blow out eggs for the whole family and as a family craft sit at the table and make egg people. Keep them for next year and it might be fun to see how you viewed yourself the last year. I think this would be really fun for preschool as well. If I was doing this with little ones, I would probably buy wood eggs at the craft store, or use the plastic ones from the store.

Not just dyeing Eggs anymore!

Are you ready for something new? Here are some techniques you can do instead of coloring eggs, or in addition to coloring eggs. I found them all at: http://familyfun.go.com/easter/easter-crafts/egg-decorating-ideas-843997/view-all/ They have complete instructions on how to do them. Last year I put lots of ideas on how to do eggs that you can keep forever. You could also do that with all of these, just remember to hollow them out first. You can do that by putting holes in each end and blowing out the egg mixture, or buy getting a needle and a shot and sucking it out that way. The only one that will not work on blown out eggs is the warm crayon egg. That one the egg needs to be warm, so as you draw the crayon melts. Anyway have fun, and remember to check out past Easter projects on this website if you are new! String Eggs

Light Bulb Sleeve Eggs

Warm Crayon Drawn Eggs

Bubble Wrap Eggs

Foil Eggs