Parenting
Creative Personalized Valentine’s Day Cards
Dec 30th
I came across this great idea over on 24-7-365 for creative personalized Valentine’s Cards for your kids. I will definitely have to try this out this year.
Looks fairly easy, have your child hold out his/her arm and take a picture. Personalize the photo with a Happy Valentine’s Day, and attach a sucker, or pencil, or some other fun toy/treat!
Your kids will love handing out their personalized treat!
Fun Holiday Traditions: Elf on the Shelf
Dec 13th
(Image from Elf on the Shelf)
I recently learned about Elf on the Shelf, with a preschooler in the house, Christmas has become “an event!” And what a better way to make it an event than to add a little holiday magic. Elf on the Shelf is a “magical” elf that appears (or is unpacked) with all of the Christmas goodies. He comes with a book that explains his story: This magical elf uses his magical powers to fly back and forth to the North Pole each night while your child sleeps to tell Santa all about your families “behavior”–– to make your children are “being GOOD!”
The real fun for your children is finding your “Elf” in the morning and discovering where he had returned to in the house after his night at the North Pole.
This is a fun holiday tradition that can be started and continued for years to come! We have just started with our little elf, and so far my preschooler is enjoying finding him each morning! Get your Elf on the Shelf today!
Education.com is your Destination for Holiday Activities and Holiday Gift Guide
Dec 9th
The Holidays are such a wonderful time to enjoy in all the festivities, and to meet up with family and friends for good cheer. I don’t know about you, but I love the holidays, but could use a little less of the hectic scramble. And of course we all want the perfect gifts for our children, that are both fun and educational! Education.com has a holiday gift guide that is split into age groups, and it even includes gifts in the 10 dollar price range(how perfect)! So click the link below to check out the guide for the children in your life!
Gift Guide2011
“From toys that stand the test of time to board games that are anything but boring, we found the best products for each grade that will build your child’s brain as well as being chock full of fun. Our list of loot is kid-tested, teacher approved, and full of options for any family, so get wrappin’!”
They also are your destination for Holiday Central for great ideas for winter break activities, holiday recipes, and themed holiday crafts! This is a great resource to help you keep your children busy during the winter break from school!
One of the favorite ideas I spotted was for personalized holiday cards using fingerprints. This is perfect for the preschooler, and allows them to create an individualized gift!
Check out education.com to keep your family into the holiday spirit with fun activities, crafts, recipes, and of course a great gift guide!
Preschool Activity: Make an Alphabet Book
Jun 27th
I came across this cute idea on Education.com on how to make an Alphabet book. It is the perfect summer activity for the preschooler in your life. Mr. Toddler and I will have to get busy on this, especially since I happen to have a lot of magazines that are waiting to be recycled that would contain pictures for him to cut. Great activity to work on his cutting skills, and for enhancing his learning the alphabet.
From education.com: Let your child play with scissors! Put her to work, creating a book that will keep her busy, and help her practice her letters, too. Long after all those preschool finger paintings have left the front of your refrigerator, you can look back at this book, for a glimpse at what your preschooler thought was special.
What You Need:
- Construction Paper
- Glue stick
- Markers
- Magazines, newspapers, stickers, and other materials with pictures
- Binding material (a hole punch and yarn, staples, or whatever else you choose)
What You Do:
- Ask your child to pick 26 pages of construction paper. Take a marker and write one letter of the alphabet at the top of each page.
- It’s time to work that alphabet! Give your child a stack of newspapers, photos, magazines, and anything else with pictures that you don’t mind cutting up. Start with the letter A and ask your child to go through the gathered materials in search of words that begin with that letter– apples from the grocery store ad, Aunt Thelma’s picture from last Easter, an alligator from a magazine, an ant sticker… If your child needs help, you can make the sound the letter makes, to help her in her quest. When she makes a mistake, gently correct her, but without criticizing. For example, “That word starts with “eh” and the letter A sounds like “ah”.
- After your child has collected all the images, ask him to help you label each one. Your child can tell you what the picture and you can write the name below. Or older preschoolers might want to take a crack at it themselves, writing the words with a little help from mom or dad.
- Repeat this process with each letter of the alphabet. For tougher letters, like x, you may need to go to the computer and print out some pictures to have on hand.
- Once you’ve finished with all the letters, stack the pages in order, from A to Z. Let your child decide on a title, for example, Michael’s Alphabet Book, and then write the name on a cover page, with a byline beneath. Let your child decorate to his heart’s content.
- You’ve reached the final stretch! Now it’s time to bind your book. The fastest and easiest way is to punch holes in all of the pages and use yarn to tie the book together. If you don’t have yarn or a hole punch, you can use staples. Or, for a spill proof version, take your creation to the copy store and have them laminate and bind it for you.
FREE Kids Stationery Set From Pear Tree Greetings
May 17th
Pear Tree Greetings is currently offering a free stationery set for kids, that includes 6 cards!
“Family and friends can’t wait to hear what your kids are up to this summer. And when the news is sent in your child’s own handwriting, misspellings and all, it becomes delightfully personal.
Use these six cards to inspire your children to practice their handwriting, and keep in touch with loved ones both near and far.”
Click HERE to get your 6 free cards!
Offer not valid on previous purchases or combined with any other offer. Promotion may end at any time based on Pear Tree Greetings’ sole discretion. Offer ends when promotional item runs out or 05/23/2011 at 11:59 CST, whichever occurs first. Free shipping is only applied to the promotional item and not applicable to any other items in the cart. Limit one pack per person.
St. Patrick’s Day Craft Activities
Mar 3rd
With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I have been searching for some fun activities for Mr. Toddler to create! His favorite color is green, so of course Shamrock activities are sure to be a hit.
I found this great idea at Kaboose for a Hand print Rainbow. Which is sure to be fun for his little hands! And it is easy, all you need is paints and paper.
I didn’t have the blue paper, so we substituted in white, and made blue clouds. He was having trouble with the side handprints, so we used our fingers to draw the rainbow.
For an older child, this activity looks really cute.
Here is what you will need:
Wooden blocks, light green and dark green paint, paintbrush, gold paint pen, glitter
And at Disney Family Fun, there was a great idea for Shamrock Stamps
I think I will need to get a heart cookie cutter so we can do this fun idea!
Here is what you need:
- Heart-shaped cookie cutter (2 1/2 inches wide and long)
- Potato, cut in half
- Paring knife
- Green acrylic paint
- Paintbrush
Adorable Valentine’s Day Photo Design Project
Feb 1st
I came across this adorable idea on designaglow.com by Ashley Campbell for Valentine’s Day. It is a great idea that personalizes your child’s Valentine’s with their picture. Be sure to hop on over to her blog to check it out! I have just started on my version for Mr. Toddler’s preschool class Valentine’s. I used photos of him with different expressions. Please check out Design AGlow for the instructions and what the finished product looks like.
Toddler Talk Thursday: Adding to your family
Jan 20th
Toddler Talk Thursday
This weeks question comes from our friends at Where Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy about my Baybah, and My Life as a Sippy Cup Mom Talk all things Toddler!
How did you know it was time to have your family grow?
When Mr. Toddler was born, I already was thinking about baby # 2. I also knew that I couldn’t handle having them to close in age. I was worried about feeling overwhelmed, and I also wanted Mr. Toddler to get my undivided attention in his “baby” stages. So when he was almost two, I felt that we could start trying. I figured a 2-3 year age difference would work for my family. And lucky us, it all worked according to plan, and we are now a family of 4 with Mr. Toddler and Little Miss.
As to how we shared the news…
I had Mr. Toddler tell the hubby that we were expecting. I took a picture of Mr. Toddler and edited it, to say…I am going to be a big brother in x month. Mr. Toddler than shared the picture with Daddy. It was a very sweet moment.
We then shared the news with family at Mr. Toddler’s second birthday. I was 9 weeks pregnant, and we had Mr. Toddler open a gift that had a “I am going to be a big brother t-shirt.” Everyone was shocked, and both the grandmothers just started crying.
Review: Stop Reacting and Start Responding(TM) E-Book
Jan 18th
Parent educator Sharon Silver has written a book called “Stop Reacting and Start Responding™ 108 Ways to Discipline Consciously and Become the Parent You Want to Be,” and as I mentioned in my previous post, that I have been giving the opportunity to review the e-book. This book couldn’t have come to me at a better time. Being a parent to a toddler, I find myself daily–raising my voice, reacting emotionally when trying to discipline Mr. Toddler, and generally feeling quite frustrated at the end of a day. When I reflect on the day, I realize that I really didn’t accomplish anything as far as teaching proper behavior, all I did was get upset at him for “likely normal” 2 year old behavior, and not really teach him the actions I would like him to display. I was excited to review this book, so I could learn how not to run on survival mode. I really want to learn to parent, and teach appropriate behavior without getting all emotional.
About the author:
Sharon Silver has been a parent educator for 18 years, teaching seminars to parents and educators based on her experiences as a parent and teacher.
“My goal at Proactive Parenting™ is to help parents bridge the gap between the logical adult world, the emotional world of children, and the reality of every day life. There are no complicated methods to remember, no parenting theories to apply, just a different way of looking at parenting, taught through real tips for real families. And it works!” She is also is trying “to educate parents to teach for the next moment as well.”
Description from the product page:
“There are many wonderful books out there sharing new ways to parent. The question is, “Do you have the emotional capacity, or time, to read about a new method when you’re in the middle of a whirlwind of anger or reactions?” Stop Reacting and Start Responding™ addresses that issue.
When a parent is involved in a whirlwind of emotions, anger or reactions, it’s hard to think. Being too emotional to think also makes it difficult to search for answers to change what’s going on so you can arrive at a calmer outcome. Stop Reacting and Start Responding™:
* Is a no-nonsense, reality-based book written in the “blog” style, using short, concise tips
* Offers quick reminders of what to do when a parent and/or child is reacting
* Tackles the emotions that are produced during the everyday situations that
* parents face
* Explores a different way to look at situations, and shares a new perspective that ignites a parent’s own wisdom, allowing them to resolve situations calmly, lovingly, and firmly
* Allows parents to enjoy the read and then use it as a tool to remind and support them when they or their child are reacting
A perfect example would be, when a child says, “No!” A lot of parenting information only addresses how to stop a child from saying “No!” Stop Reacting and Start Responding™ explores why a child might be saying “No!” and shows a parent how to acknowledge those emotions, while teaching the child what they should be doing instead. And does it all without punishment.”
MY REVIEW:
This is an excellent, well-written (in an easy to read and easy to understand “down-to-earth” tone) parenting book. I found it easy to follow as each topic is only 1-2 pages, I didn’t feel overwhelmed, it was quick and to the point. She also has bullet points at the end of each chapter which summarizes things up nicely.
Something I really took away from the book was that anger causes children to retreat so when you react emotionally, your child immediately stops listening. The trick is to discipline without reacting, by staying calm and firm, you will have better results.
I also found giving your child reasonable choices helpful. It makes them feel like they are in control, yet it is something you approve of. And being a parent of a toddler, this is very helpful.
At my house we are full of the terrible two tantrums, so the section on handling tantrums is very applicable to my situation.
I am so glad I got to read this book, and I am feeling encouraged about parenting, and cannot wait to implement these techniques with Mr. Toddler.
I had the opportunity to take part in a special LIVE MomTV broadcast with Sharon Silver, the author and Abbey from Living My MoMent. I definitely learned a few important parenting tips. If you would like to check out her TV show, I recommend it. You can check it out here: MomTV.
Like Sharon Silver’s Facebook page, ProActive Parenting.
Buy the book: Stop Reacting and Start Responding. The e-book is 9.95 and the soft bound retails for 12.95.
Disclosure: I am a participant in a Living My MoMent campaign for Proactive Parenting™ and have received the e-book Stop Reacting and Start Responding™ by Sharon Silver as part of my participation.
Free Lego Club Magazine
Jan 6th
The Lego Club is currently offering a free 2 year magazine club subscription. Click here to sign up today.
