Peeps

O.k. so to me nothing means Easter than peeps. I don't even really like them that much, but still they mean Easter. Here are some fun facts about peeps to share with your kiddos:
1. Just Born produces enough PEEPS® Brand Marshmallow Candies in one year
to circle the Earth twice.
2. It takes six minutes to create one PEEPS® chick.
3. People like to do curious things with PEEPS® ….eat them fresh or aged to
perfection, microwave them, freeze them, roast them, and even cook with them!

I went to this website and found a really funny recipe. Check out more about peeps at: http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com

Bunnies dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut or chopped nuts, & frozen

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut or 1/2 cup peanuts (about 2 ounces), finely chopped
• 12 wooden craft sticks
• 12 PEEPS® Bunnies, any color

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth.
3. Place the coconut or nuts on a plate.
4. Insert 1 craft stick about halfway into the bottom section of 1 Bunny. Dip into the chocolate, turning to coat completely. Holding the dipped Bunny over the bowl of chocolate, use a knife to scrape the excess chocolate off the back and bottom of the Bunny, letting it fall back into the bowl. Hold the Bunny over the plate of coconut or nuts and sprinkle to cover all sides.
5. Place the Bunny on the prepared baking sheet and repeat to dip the remaining Bunnies. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Serve frozen. PEEPSicles can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week.
Makes 12 PEEPSicles

Global Sun Ovens

O.K. so my sister is selling these really cool ovens. They are solar ovens that cook in winter or in the summer.

Check it out:
www.beeprovidentsupplies1.blogspot.com

CHOCOLATE - PEANUT BUTTER EASTER EGGS

Growing up my mother made these every Easter. Then the Easter Bunny would steal some and put them in our baskets. Did you know he also steals the eggs we color? Anyway my moms were always just plain chocolate-not as fancy as the ones below. But when I think of Easter I think of Peanut Butter Eggs. And they are really really good frozen as well!
1/4 c. butter

3/4 c. peanut butter

2 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla


Mix all ingredients very well until smooth and creamy. Form an egg shape with the peanut butter mixture. Dip each into the melted chocolate. Store in fridge-covered.

Easter Cookies

It is a tradition that we do these every year. It is a great object lesson for young or old children, and even adults!

You will need:

1c. whole pecans

1 tsp. vinegar

3 egg whites

a pinch salt

1c. sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon

tape

Bible

1. Preheat oven to 300
2. Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, the Roman soldiers beat him. Read John 19:1-3.
3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
4. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
5. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
6. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1c. sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.
7. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
8. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt.27:65-66.
10. GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Some of my family Easter traditions

We all have traditions that make us who we are. Here are a few of my family's traditions for Easter. Some of these my mom started, some I started, and some I got from others. Hopefully you will find one new one to do this year!

1. Dyeing eggs

2. Doing Craft Eggs (see below posts)

3. Egg hunt at Grandma's House in orchard

4. Egg hunt at home (one egg has a 5 dollar bill in it) FYI the older they get the more sneaky you have to be- put some candy with the bill so they can't just shake every egg and throw it back down.

5. Easter Dresses and Fancy outfits

6. Easter Sunday Pictures taken by me!

7. Easter Bunny fun is on Saturday (did you know you can write him and tell him when to come to your house? Amazing!)

8. Easter Sunday we celebrate religiously- no Easter Bunny at our house!

9. Easter Resurrection Cookies (I will post next post about this)

10. Peanut Butter Eggs (Yum Yum- Post will come soon)

11. Candy on the floor from where the Easter bunny hopped to hard and it made trails all over the house.

12. And of course really hidden Easter baskets. And I mean hidden. Some spots in the past have been: Up high, on the fireplace, under the bed, in the dish washer, in the oven, in the washer, in the dryer, up in a closet, in the tub, in the car, etc. Sometimes it takes a few hours for everyone to find theirs! It makes Easter last a whole lot longer. Here is a picture on one basket from last year. Boy that bunny can really hop! Anyway if you have a fun tradition let me know in the comment section. I would love a new fun tradition.

Onion Eggs!

So when I went to college we did these eggs. They are so pretty and they are really fun to do. I think I will be doing these this year. You do need to use hollow eggs though. So anyway check out the link they are really fun.

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=157915.0

Tissue Eggs

O.K. if Ukrainian eggs were to hard, then lets talk Tissue Eggs. My mom did these with us every Easter. First I will give you my mom's way and then I will give you an even easier way.

My mom always used real eggs. We would use a pin and make a hole on the top and bottom of the egg. Then we would blow air into the egg from the top hole and out the bottom the inside of the egg would come out (Later we learned you can also just use a shot med. thing to pull it out). Then we took all sorts of colored tissue that was cut up into little triangular pieces and glue them onto the egg. Then you would take glue and rub it all around the egg to make all the tissue lay down on the egg. Then you let it dry. You can also roll it in glitter if you want.

Now when trying to find a picture of the eggs on the Internet, I found the idea of using Styrofoam eggs instead of real eggs. I like this idea for really little kids, because then they don't have to worry about breaking the egg.

Anyway I hope you enjoy

this egg-cellent idea!

I think I have one

more coming to share!

Ukrainian Eggs

Well I guess now that St. Patrick's Day is over, we are next going to have April Fool's and Easter. When I was a teenager my sister had me come over to make these really cool eggs. Above is just a picture of what they look like-not my actual eggs, because I have yet to dig out my Easter stuff yet. Anyway first you picked out a design and hollowed out your egg. Then you waxed everything you wanted to stay white. Then you dipped the whole egg in a yellow dye. Then you wax everything you want to be yellow. Then you dip the egg in the next lightest color. And so on and so on. When you get to the end, you get a candle and melt the wax off your egg. This is a really fun activity for OLDER children or ADULTS. They also look really cool as a decoration in your house for Easter. Anyway I looked up where you can get it and found this website that you can buy the kits. So if you are interested go to:
www.polartcenter.com once there click on Easter on the left hand side, and then Egg Decotating Kits, Pisanki/Pysanky

Leprechaun Treasure Hunt!

Here's a fun way to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day! Cut out lots of shamrock shapes out of green construction paper. Take these, and some chocolate gold coins, and hide them in the backyard, or a neighborhood park. See who can find the most leprechaun treasure!

Shamrock Ice Cream Sandwiches

Shamrock Ice Cream Sandwiches

These are yummy, and a great GREEN dessert option for St. Patty's Day! Just make some green sugar cookie dough (you can cheat, and buy the refrigerator rolls and then mix in green food coloring!), roll out the dough, and cut out shamrock shapes with a cookie cutter, or a pattern. Bake as directed and allow to cool.

Now take some green ice cream (vanilla with food coloring, pistachio, mint chip- whatever you want) and allow to soften slightly. Spread some ice cream onto the flat side of half the cookies. Place the remaining cookies, flat side down, on ice cream. Press cookies together lightly. Wrap each sandwich in foil and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Larry Leprechaun!

When my daughter was in first grade she had a teacher that introduced her to Larry the Leprechaun. I thought it was a great idea then, but I think this year I am going to do it to my kids. Every day the teacher would create a weird mess that the kids could find. She always had a really small letter from signed Larry Leprechaun, saying the mess was his. He left gold dust sometimes, he left green footprints on their desks, he left notes, etc. but no matter what they couldn't catch him. So they set traps. Each child had to make a trap to capture Larry so they could get his gold. They did this at home, and it was really neat to see what they did. Anyway ended up doing the picture below. In the plate we had Karo Syrup and Gold Coins, to convince him to jump in. When he did he would get stuck. On St. Paddy's Day we found that he had snuck through all the traps and stole all the gold as well. It was really fun for my daughter! I might not do the traps this year, but Larry the Leprechaun is coming to my house soon!

I found lots of fun games for St. Paddy's Day! These would be fun for all sorts of parties and ages!

Pin The Shamrock on the Leprechaun
Supplies:Big picture of a Leprechaun green shamrock, for each child, Blindfold
How To Play: Blindfold the player, spin 'em around and let them try to stick the shamrock where it's supposed to go. Give a prize for the player that gets the closest.


Irish Hot Potato
Supplies:Potato, or Irish Jig Music
How To Play:Sit the children in a circle. Hand one child the potato. Explain to the children that when the music begins they will pass the potato to the person on their right. When the music stops whoever's holding the potato scoots out of the circle and playing resumes.
This game also provides a great opportunity to discuss agriculture in Ireland. Perhaps they could pass while you talk and when you stop (every once in awhile) the person holding the potato has to recap what you said.


Gold, Gold, Who's got the Gold
Supplies:A large gold coin
How To Play:A child is chosen to be the Leprechaun and hides her eyes as a gold coin is given to a child to hide in his lap or behind his back. The Leprechaun then has three chances to guess which child has their gold coin. (All children hide their hands in their laps/behind their backs like they have it.)

Pot of Gold Toss
Supplies:Large cardboard pot. Good size hole cut-out in center of pot, or a few small holes for older kids.Gold circular bean bags (gold coins)Bucket to hold bean bagsTape to mark distance line
How To Play:Place cardboard pot a little distance from a wall with a paper box lid on floor to catch chocolate bean bags. Mark your distance line according to age and skill of children. Line children up behind the line and place a bucket of gold coin bean bags beside them. Give each child three tries to get their bean bag through the hole. Get all three gold coin bean bags in and earn a 'chocolate' coin reward.

Everyday is a Holiday!

I found this website and thought it was a good laugh! I can't believe some of this stuff and I thought some of it would be fun to do with your kids.

February 19 is . . . . National Chocolate Mint Day
February 20 is . . . . Hoodie Hoo Day
February 21 is . . . . Card Reading Day
February 22 is . . . . Be Humble Day
February 23 is . . . . International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
February 24 is . . . . National Tortilla Chip Day
February 25 is . . . . Pistol Patent Day (Samuel Colt)
February 26 is . . . . National Pistachio Day
February 27 is . . . . International Polar Bear Day
February 28 is . . . . Public Sleeping Day
February 29 is . . . . National Surf and Turf Day

Want to look at all the months? Click here!
http://www.oshel.com/everyday.htm

Then I found this site and I like it the best. It lets you pick: what happens in the month, what happens weekly, or what happens daily. She also updates it all the time.

Here is a sample of hers:

23- National Rationalization Day
23- National Banana Bread Day
23- International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
23- Tennis Day
23- Tootsie Roll Birthday (1896)
24- Nylon Toothbrush Birthday 1938
24- National Trading Card Day
24- Gordon's Birthday Sesame Street
24- National Tortilla Chip Day
25- Let's All Eat Right Day
25- Hudson River Tunnel Anniversary 1908
25- Quiet Day
26- Thermos Bottle Day
26- New York Subway Birthday 1870
26- Movie Cartoon Birthday 1909
26- National Pistachio Day
26- For Pete's Sake Day
26- Levi Strauss' Birthday Born in 1829.
26- Tell a Fairy Tale Day
27- Mardi Gras New Orleans Birthday 1827
27- International Polar Bear Day
27- No Brainer Day
28- Car Keys and Small Change Day 1590 Pockets were Invented
28- Inconvenience Yourself Day
28- Public Sleeping Day
28- Floral Design Day
28- DNA Discovery Day 1953
28- M*A*S*H Bites the Dust Day (1983 Final Episode)
29- Leap Day

Wouldn't some of these be great for a calendar? I think tomorrow I will definitely pull out some Tortilla chips and tell my kids what a funny day it is.

anyway go to:http://www.holidaysforeveryday.com/ to see this site!

Church Website!

So I just found out about this, even though it was changed about 2 months ago. I found out about it through the church news. I thought that others might also not know. The LDS Church Website has changed for the better. They have updated the Friend and New Era parts. For the friend they now have: coloring (while listening to church music), Slide Shows, Listen to Stories, Little Friends Stuff, Games, Scripture Stories, and much more. Try it out it is really cute! Or better yet let your kids try it out!

The easiest way to get to it, is to go to www.lds.org then on the right side click on prepare a talk, Then hit the friend!

Game Website!

Planning a Birthday party, adult party, Murder Mystery party, Scouts, Activity Days, etc. Go to this website and you will find tons of games! It is amazing!

http://www.partygameideas.com

A New Blog Site!

So I am LDS (If you want more info on this religion go to: www.lds.org) and one thing we believe in is having a day (Monday Night) devoted to being with family, teaching our kids about our religion and about the values we want them to learn, spending quality time together, AND we love to play games and have fun. So this new website helps with that. My cousin started it and I asked her permission if I could post it on this blog.

http://vallefhe.blogspot.com

Check it out, I am sure you will like it. Also I put this in the FHE/Church Section

Leprechaun, Leprechaun where's your shamrock

Here is a game I found and I thought I would play it with my kids. Modify Doggy Doggy where's your bone to be Leprechaun, Leprechaun where's your shamrock
1. One child is the leprechaun -- sits in the middle of the circle with eyes closed
2. One of the children in the circle hides the shamrock behind their back - I always have an adult distribute the shamrock so all the kids get a turn.
3. Circle children say: "Leprechaun, Leprechaun where's your shamrock? Somebody has it in their Pocket! Guess who? Maybe you? Maybe a monkey from the zoo! Come on Leprechaun find your shamrock."
4. Leprechaun opens eyes and has 3 guesses as to who has the shamrock.
5. Child with the shamrock becomes the next leprechaun.

Valentine Boxes are DONE!

So this is what I came up with for the other kids. The cake has a hole at the top that you can put the Valentine's in and it slides all the way down to the bottom. Pretty fun! Anyway that was the fun for today I guess. Comment if you did something really cool. I will comment for my sister. She made an ice cream bucket into a basketball hoop. I can't wait to see it!

Valentine Box!

So at the first of the week my daughter needed to make a Valentine box that she would enter in a contest. I racked my brain and came up with a guitar. I thought we did pretty good on it. Then today (the day before the Valentine's party) both of my other girls came home needing Valentine Boxes! I have used up all my creativity. So I started looking and thought I would share what I found. As soon as my girls are done, I will post them as well.

Cupid Poop

Poem #1

I couldn't send you flowers

and candy wouldn't do

and mushy cards just didn'tsay

the things I want them to.

So I got you something special

and here's the inside scoop

I found you something very rare

it's genuine Cupid poop!

[Use red hot heart candies]

Poem #2

Here is something from the cupids above,

who fly along with all of the doves.

Whose arrows have hit many lonely hearts,

they send you a gift for your big heart.

Your kindness and love have been so true,

so the cupids have sent you their little poo-poo.

Special Valentine Dinner

For Valentine's Day I hold a special dinner for my kids and husband. It is VERY fancy. My husband and I used to go out to dinner, but found that all we seemed to do was sit waiting for our table. Also who wants to babysit on Valentine's day. So instead I started having a dinner, after the kids went to bed. But then my kids got older and needed to have later bedtimes. That is when I came up with a Valentine's Dinner for the whole family. I don't make my kids dress up, but I do have them help me set the table. They have to learn where everything goes, so it is correct. They also help me cook the dinner. Then we invite Dad in. Dad doesn't help, he just gets to eat. Before the dinner I sit my girls down and we talk about how we eat, how we talk, and how we act at a very special meal. I feel good about this, because it will prepare them for when they start to date. Good habits start young! Anyway here are some tips I found on the Internet. It was a website called http://life.familyeducation.com/ It also had lots of tips on how to prepare for a formal dinner.

1. Cutlery. Don't hold your fork like a cello or your knife like Lady Macbeth's dagger. Also, don't wave your cutlery triumphantly in the air to emphasize a point and don't put silverware partly on the table and partly on the plate. After you pick up a piece of cutlery, it should never touch the table again. Knives go on the plate, blade facing in and touching the inside of the plate. Only the handle should rest on the rim of the plate.
2. Napkins. Don't blot or rub the lower half of your face. Dab delicately. Don't flap your napkin to unfold it and don't wave it around like a flag. It belongs unfolded on your lap. If you leave the table, place your napkin on the chair and push the chair back under the table. Gently. Watch the upholstery. Don't refold your napkin at the end of the meal because an unknowing server might give it to another diner. Pick up the napkin from the center and place it loosely on the table to the left of your plate.
3. Chewing. Never chew with your mouth open. Also, no matter how urgently you want to inject the perfect kernel of wit and wisdom at just the right moment, don't do it with food in your mouth. And don't gulp and blurt. Finish chewing, swallow, and smile philosophically, content in the knowledge that you could have said just the right thing, but had too much class to speak with food in your mouth.
4. Appearance. Remember what your mother said: Sit up straight and keep your elbows off the table. If you have any doubt about where your hands belong, put them in your lap.
5. Breaking bread. Here is a real bread-and-butter tip. Tear bread into bite-size pieces and butter each piece just before you eat it. Don't butter the entire slice of bread or the entire roll to get it ready for occasional bites during the course of the meal.
6. Speed. Take it easy. Whether you're at the Ritz Carlton or Gertie's Grease Pit, gulping down food is not only unhealthy but also unattractive, and it can cross the line into rudeness when dining with others. Dining partners should have the same number of courses and start and finish each one at about the same time. Don't be huddling over your soup while others are salivating for dessert or vice versa.
7. Don't pick! If you have something trapped between your teeth, don't pick at it while you are at the table. If it's really driving you nuts, excuse yourself, go to the restroom, and pick to your heart's content.

I also found this quiz and I took it. I did learn something that I didn't know. So take this quiz (kids can too) to see how good you are with manners at the table:

http://quizzes.familyeducation.com/manners/respect/55534.html

My sister takes this one step further. She plans a date out with each of her kids on their 16th birthday. Boys go with mom, and Girls go with dad. They go to a really nice expensive dinner and then a play. She gives them pointers so that they know how to behave on a date. I really like this idea! As Martha would say: "Its a good thing"

Super Easy Valentine Fortune Cookies

Years ago I thought it would be really fun to make homemade fortune cookies for Valentine's Day! It was harder than I thought. But I found this on Family fun this year and it looks really easy. I think because no real mixing is involved. You use Pie Crust for your dough! Anyway I think this is a fun way to announce a baby, or a fun gift for a dad, or a fun gift for grandparents! The trick is letting the kids think of the messages. And letting them be a big part of it, so they know that the gift was from them!
Super Easy Valentine Fortune Cookies
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Chilled 9-inch pie crust
Cornstarch
3-inch-wide round cookie cutter or drinking glass
Rolling pin or glass.
Nontoxic marker
Slips of paper
Water
Colored sugar
Cookie sheet

1. Lay a chilled 9-inch pie crust on a cornstarch-dusted surface. Cut out 3-inch-wide circles with a round cookie cutter or drinking glass. To use all the dough, roll out the scraps with a pin or a cornstarch-dusted glass. 2. Use a nontoxic marker to write fortunes on slips of paper and place one in the center of each dough circle. Fold the circle in half, then pinch and fold the ends together, as shown. 3. Brush the top of each cookie with water, then sprinkle on colored sugar. Place the cookies on an un greased cookie sheet about an inch apart, sugar side up. Bake them until lightly browned, about 20 minutes, and let them cool before removing them from the pan. Makes about 16 cookies.

For Girls 8 and older!

A couple of years ago, someone (sorry I don't remember who you were) told me about this book. I immediately got on americangirls.com and bought it for the cheap price of.... 9.95. I figured since I have three girls, I better get it. I gave it to my daughter (probably a little late) at the age of 9. It is a very comprehensive book about how to take care of yourself. Here is a list of some of the things it covers: Zits, Why you need to wash your hair more, Why you need to shower more, How to eat, How much sleep you need, All about your period, How your breast are going to change. It has so much more, but I am not looking at it so I don't remember. It gives you good tips on these things also. Anyway the other day my daughter and I had a question and so we got out the book and found the answer. My only suggestion would be that you read the book first and make sure you are down with everything that is being said. And if I had little girls, I would probably buy it and store it, just in case you can't get it when you need it. So if you have a girl........Buy This Book!

If you want the link to American Girls, go to the girl links on this blog!

Valentine Hair!

My cousin told me to check out this blog and I finally got around to it! If you want to know every way possible of doing hair, check out her blog. You can find it under the Girls section. If you want to check out her Valentine's hair do's clink on the link below!

http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/2009/01/valentines-day-hairdos.html

Candy Wrappers!

Well my mom is celebrating an important event and I was thinking, I could hand out a candy bar to each person at her little party. Personalized of course! I went to this link and had so much fun! This is an example of one. They had lots of different ones, and blank ones you can make your own!

http://desktoppub.about.com/od/candywrappers/Candy_Wrappers.htm

More Valentine Ideas!

My friend posted this website on her blog, to go to for Valentine Ideas. It is a great website. It is Tipjunkie.blogspot.com. Click on the link below and check it out!

http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2009/01/homemade-valentines-mail-boxes.html

Also I found this cute blog that I really liked. It had really fun Valentine Ideas!

http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/search/label/valentine

And last for today I found a blog just for Valentine's! It is more for couple ideas, but it still has a lot of fun and great ideas!

http://www.cutevalentines.blogspot.com/

Easy To Make: Chocolate Covered Fruit

Ingredients:
• 1 pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
• Fruit! You can do: strawberries, apples, bananas
• waxed paper

• Directions:
1. Wash Fruit & dry VERY well.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper
3. Put chocolate into a glass bowl.
4. Put in microwave on high for 30 seconds.
5. Remove from microwave and stir for a second or two
6. Repeat the above step one or two more times.
7. By the third time, you should see some of the chocolate beginning to melt.Remove at this point and stir and stir until the lumps are gone. It's better to let the warmth of the melted chocolate and the bowl melt the other chocolate rather than over microwaving it. If in doubt, err on the side of under microwaving.
8. Dip the dry Fruit into the chocolate, swirling them around to coat well and then place on the waxed paper.
9. set aside for about 2 hours to let the chocolate harden

You could also do a Chocolate Fondue with the chocolate. Ideas for that: Graham Crackers, Marshmallows, Angel Food Cake (Cut into little chunks), Raisins, Rice Crispy Treats, or just use the fruit!

Valentine Bags!

A couple of years ago we started something really fun in our home at the first of February. I made each person a big heart bag. I used string for a hook, and two hearts stapled together for the purse. Then I wrote the person's name on it. We told everyone to think of kind things that someone has done for you, or what you love about them, or what you think they are good at. Then we told them that every time they should write that person a note (Little kids: Color a picture or have help from mom and dad). Then the Sunday before Valentine's Day (or after which ever is closer) everyone gets to look in their bags. NO LOOKING BEFORE THEN! Each bag hangs on the outside of their room. If you have multiple children in the same room, then you just let them choose an inside door to hang theirs from. Anyway it is really fun!

Heart Hunt

I am really looking forward to Valentine's Day! I wanted to do something fun for my kids. I found this game and thought it would be a perfect family game for Valentine's Day. I thought for those of you that are room mothers, preschool teachers, etc. you might like this game also.

Heart Hunt
Cut out of red, white, blue, yellow and green paper hearts of all shapes and sizes, then cut each heart into four pieces and scatter these all over the room, on the floor, chairs, tables, behind pictures, etc.
Allow a certain length of time for the hunt, and when all the pieces have been collected, request each guest to put his pieces together and see how many whole hearts of the same color he has collected.
White hearts count 1
Blue hearts count 2
Yellow hearts count 3
Green hearts count 4
Red hearts count 5
The one scoring the greatest number of points is the winner of hearts and deserves a prize. A booby prize may be awarded the one who has only broken hearts.

January 26 is..... the Chinese New Year!

Go to this link below to find out what your animal is from your birth date. It also has crafts, info about the holiday, stories, proverbs, word searches, coloring pages, and food ideas!

Below is a picture of a chinese Dragon you can make with your hand prints. They cut them out, but I think it would be fun to just use paint to make the dragon, and do everyones hands in the family!

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/chinese-new-year/

January 26, 2009 is on next Monday so you can have quite the fun night if you take a few minutes to plan!

Talking to Kids about a Serious Illness

In December my mother was diagnosed with Cancer for the fourth time in her life. I felt a need to talk to my kids, but didn't know where to start. I realize that others might be in this same situation, so I decided to post this article I found on the internet. (FYI: I am glad I researched a bit, because when my daughter started to have problems I was able to help her)

When someone is seriously sick, the whole family is affected. Adults have a hard time. There is a lot of stress in taking care of the house and hospital visits. There is a lot of emotional stress, worrying about the sick person and trying to make medical decisions. Kids are upset. They worry about their loved one and have stress from the changes at home. Parents can help kids. They can talk with them about the illness and how they manage it as a family.Kids often know something is going on. They may overhear people talking, or see expressions, or notice tension or stress. Tell your child about the illness. Younger children can be told in simple words about the illness. Tell them the truth. Older children can understand more medical words and details. Tell you child what will happen during the illness and the doctor's and families's plans. Tell your child the doctors are doing everything they can to help the sick person. Don't be afraid to say, "We don't know yet". That may be the most honest answer.Let your child visit the sick person when possible. This may be good for both of them.A young child might think that they somehow caused the illness or that it is their fault because they had bad behavior or bad thoughts about the sick person. Young children might also worry about their own safety and health. They may worry about their caregivers: "ho will take care of me if Mommy dies?" "Will I get this disease and die too?" Tell your child it is not their fault and they did not cause the illness. Let your child know that they will always be loved and cared for.Adults will be stressed and worried and tired. Kids may feel upset, ignored and fearful. Some kids may worry and start to lose weight or have trouble in school. Older children may feel angry at the changes. Family counseling may be helpful. Kids may also have behavior problems, bedwetting, thumb sucking, trouble sleeping, become very quiet and withdrawn or think they are very sick themselves.If the sick person is your child's brother or sister, your healthy child may be jealous that the sick child gets so much attention from the parents. Try to understand their feelings. Try to spend special "alone time" with your healthy child and always tell them you love them. Try to keep a normal routine at home. children like to have order and know what will happen each day. They will feel safe and secure.Some children will have to help out more around the house with chores. Some kids will have to help with cooking, laundry and cleaning. Sometimes it will be important to let your child be free and just have fun. Everyone needs to help out but give your child chores that are easy for their age. If other adults offer to help out, let them. Other adults could help with household chores, taking your child to baseball practice or just going to the park with your child.If the person that is very ill may die, talk to your child about death and what you think death is like. Let your child say goodbye to their loved one. And let your loved one have a chance to make a wish or give a word of blessing. This "goodbye" will help in the future months as your child deals with the sadness.I nform your child about the illness. Tell them what's happening.L et the child visit the sick person.L isten to your child's feelings.N otice if your child has too much responsibility.E xpect stress to affect your child's behavior.S tay with normal daily routines.S oothe or comfort your child with love and security.

Happy New Year!

So I am so sorry that I haven't been posting much. Christmas and Family got the better of me. I will try to do better. Anyway my idea for today is making New Year's special. So here are some of our traditions that you can do with your little ones. The first thing we do is on New Year's Eve we get together as extended families and play games and eat appetizers all night. We sometimes make it to 12 and other times we move all the clocks forward and tell the kids its 12. Then the next day with just our little family, we do Fondue'. Haven't heard of it? Its fun. You can buy pots in a cooking section. You can do cheese, chocolate, or oil. This one was oil with meat, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, artichokes, and anything else you want to try.

You can find tons on the Internet about fondue'. After that we do a year plan. We pick two things to do in every month of the new year. We also write down all the fun things we did in the past year. We then have everyone (even the baby) pick out three goals for the following year. we place these in their room so they can look at them. This is how we do it, and it makes it easy for little ones. I think my kids get it when we are talking about all the months and fun things we did and how now we are starting over.

So that's what we do! Fill free to make a comment and tell us what you do. The more ideas the better, so we can have a Very Happy and Successful start to 2009!

Snowflakes

Want to make some fun Snowflakes? This is for all ages.

http://www.papersnowflakes.com/

Fun things to d!o in the snow

Build a Snow House

Don’t worry about a roof, unless you have several feet of snow piled up. A roofless snow house is easier and you don’t have to worry about collapses. Build up walls for a snow house, a snow castle, or an igloo. Then build some furniture and play an outdoor version of house. Make paths to connect the houses and shovel out streets and sidewalks for a whole snow village.

Slippery Tug-of-War

Everybody grabs their saucer sleds and divides into two sides. Take hold of either end of a long rope and pull. Try to pull your opponents over to your side without sliding toward them.

Snow Shapes

Wet, dense snow is like sand, in that it can be formed into shapes. Bring out your sandbox toys, buckets, Tupperware containers and other molds and make a snow castle or anything else your imagination comes up with.

Snow Bodies

Lie on the ground and form a snowman shape around you. Then try a mermaid’s tail, an angel with wings, a butterfly and other characters. Make sure your kids are bundled up well for this one!

Snow Paint

• a water bottle with sprayer for each color
• food coloring (different colors)
• water
• snow (of course!)

JUMP SNOW HURDLES
Lightly pack a bunch of basketball-size snowballs and then use them to build a course of hurdles to jump over in a round of follow the leader.

ROPE TOW
Team up for a slip-sliding variation of tug-of-war. Tamp down a wide, shallow trench in the snow to serve as the midline. Then, take up positions at the ends of a long, thick rope and let the tugging and towing begin. Whichever team pulls the entire opposing group over to its side of the trench wins.

FLAG IN A SNOW STACK
Tie a white cloth to the end of a short stick or around the bowl of a wooden spoon. Then, give each child a chance to hide it by staking it anywhere within a predetermined set of boundaries. Keep track of how long it takes for the rest of the group to find it. Whoever hid the flag that takes the longest time to spot wins the game.

STRIKE OUT
For this pitching contest, first mound up snow to create three bases and a pitcher's mound. They should each be about 2 feet high and 20 feet apart. Next, build a tin can pyramid on each base. The challenge is to knock down the stacks in order from first to third base by throwing snowballs from the pitcher's mound. The child who succeeds with the fewest pitches wins.

HAT TRICK
Once you've built a plump, frosty snowman to stand sentry in your front yard, make a game of topping him off in style. Take turns trying to land a hat on his head by throwing it Frisbee style from 10 or so feet away.

GET ON A ROLL
Pair up for a contest in which the object is to finish with the biggest snowball. The contest ends when the teams can no longer roll their entries or when you run out of snow.

POWDER-PUFF FOOTBALL
All you need are two teams of three or more people to play, along with a spray bottle filled with a mix of water and food coloring to mark the playing field (a large rectangle with a centerline should suffice). The teams line up at opposite ends of the field (the North and South poles) for a kickoff. Once someone on the receiving team catches the ball, he tries to move it back across the defense's goal line by running with it or passing it to a teammate. Play stops if the person with the ball is tagged by an opponent or slides out of bounds. The teams then face off again on the spot. After four tries, or a touchdown, the ball goes to the other team. The game ends when either team gets cold.

Reindeer Snacks

I have done it both of these ways and thought you might want to try one of them. Last year at Christmas time my daughters class made special reindeer food. In snack sized zip lock bags they mixed oatmeal, red sprinkles and green sprinkles. They used tablespoon measures and let the kids pour everything into their own bags. They also printed off a little tag to attach to the bag that read: "Reindeer Food - Sprinkle outside on Christmas Eve for Reindeer." It was really fun to get out there with your kids and help the magic stay alive.

The other way is you take a lunch sack decorate it like a reindeer and fill it with snacks like pretzels, m&m's, raisins, Chex Mix, peanuts, dried fruit, etc. Any kind of trail mix will work. Then on Christmas Eve you put it right by Santa's plate of cookies. Its just a little variation to the Carrots!

Another fun Website

I found this website and it is really fun. It is all about kids making stuff and its easy! So go to this link and scroll down and you will find cooking stuff, crafts, holiday stuff, and coloring stuff. They had some really fun ideas for Christmas!


http://www.make-stuff.com/kids/

Custom Bingo

O.K. I went to one of my favorite sites today and I found something really cool. Go to this link and it will help you make custom bingo cards. It takes you through this process:

Step 1: Size and how many squares

Step 2: Theme (Balloons, Bugs, Holidays, School stuff, Etc)

Step 3: Black/White or Color

Step 4: Just pictures or words too (would be good for reading)

Step 5: Title (any 5 letter word)

Step 6: Print boards or call sheet (for multiple boards you just press refresh and it randomly moves all the bingo pictures for a new board)

Anyway it is fast and easy and I was really impressed with it. So try it out and be a fun mom, scout leader, activity day leader, aunt, teacher, primary teacher, etc.

http://www.dltk-cards.com/bingo/bingo1.asp

It's Family Time With Santa!

For about five years now we have been doing something that is called It's Family Time With Santa. It is a DVD you can buy that is a countdown until Christmas. It won't let you skip ahead either! Anyway it has a theme for each day: Service, love, kindness, etc. It shows all about Santa: Santa snow skiing, Santa on a sleigh, Santa at home with Mrs. Clause. The overall theme is spending time with your family and slowing down your Christmas Season. On the website you can print off a calendar that they can color each day also. Anyway my kids really love it and look forward to watching it each year. I thought your kids might like it also, so here is the website:

www.familytimewithsanta.com

One of my favorite Christmas books

Need a good book this Christmas? This is my all time favorite. I think it is so clever. The guy who wrote this is: Jerry Pallotta. You can order this book through scholastic or any book place on-line (I'm not really sure about where you can buy it in an actual store) Anyway it is really cute. He has another Christmas book also out.

If you own this book already I found on his website a little extra fun for this book.
Find the mouse in every illustration.
Find the hidden reindeer in every illustration.

Good luck!

Anyway he has lots of really cute books and each one has secret pictures hidden, and he tells you about them on his website. So check him out!

http://jerrypallotta.com

Christmas Story A Day Until Christmas!

For years I have been collecting Christmas books. When I got a few I started putting them in a stack. I would read one or two each night until Christmas. When we finished reading it, we took turns placing it under the Christmas tree. From then on the kids could "re-read" that book at anytime. I always make sure we get at least one new book a year. Then last year my sister in law told me that she takes it one step further. She re-wraps 25 of her Christmas books and they open one each day of the month. We tried it and loved it. This year I did it again. The kids still just love it. I find it gets us all in the same room, spending quiet moments together. Anyway that is today's idea for you!