Oh, I thought it was time for another post on how to keep healthy during this very cold season. I mean I’ve been sick for 5 weeks now, I would hate to see anyone else get sick. Since the holiday season is all about being around a ton of people, this includes your kids being around them.  I thought it was important for families to read the following message.  So lets read what guest writer Dr. Margaret Lewin has to say.
I thought the way she thinks was cleaver, especially when you think of staying healthy with the word SNOWBOARD.
 
It’s Winter …read more

Either your kids are already off for Thanksgiving break or they will be tomorrow. What will they do with all that time? Thinking you’ll go insane as you wait for Thanksgiving with all the prepping and turkey dressing you’ll have to do, this shouldn’t be a problem with the list below. Hope it helps.
I have one craft, which is my Turkey handprints that grow. I do this every year with the kids and then we look at them the following year and see how much they have grown. It really is a neat thing to see.
Turkey Handprint:
Construction paper
hand
pencil
scissors (if too …read more

You should have seen the birthday cake Rick’s friend made our son for his sixth birthday. We held the party at an indoor soccer field and centered the party on a sports theme with game ticket invitations and goodie bags with miniature soccer balls, footballs, baseballs and basketballs. Rick’s friend made a ball-shaped cake decorated with black and white icing to look exactly like a soccer ball. Way cool. My husband brought the cake home Friday and we left it on the kitchen counter, since he said we didn’t need to refrigerate the cake. We should have known the fate …read more

Youngsters in second grade, where I substitute taught today, were studying a Weather unit. 
So I put together lessons that seemed to delight them.   Am subbing there again tomorrow.
Perhaps I’ll have them write some weather related poetry. Kids, as well as adults,  seem to enjoy my poetry workshops. 
 I worked with another group of second graders last week on the same Weather unit.  We read and wrote Winter poetry, using the letters for this word and writing a line that began with each.  We didn’t bother about rhyme this time, but I mentioned to the youngsters that once they became familiar with this …read more

I don’t know about you but I love getting jewelry as a gift. It’s been a tradition in my family since I was a little girl and I always get excited when I see a small box under the tree. Something that is even better then plain jewelry is getting personalized jewelry. Engraving has been around for years. My grandmother had a ring engraved in 1912 with her fathers name and it was passed down to me. I never take it off and plan on passing it onto my son or daughter in the future.
You can continue this tradition in …read more

One friend mentioned she is compiling a journal of holidays. 
Some are memories of former days and some are a record of current celebrations.
What are your memories of Thanksgiving?  Encourage your children (young and older) to recall their Thanksgivings.
I recall driving to my grandmother’s farm, 45 mile away, on Thanksgiving morning.  Mother had stuffed and roasted a large chicken.  (Turkeys weren’t readily available in stores then.  So, unless we raised them or knew someone who did, we cooked one of the hens we did raise.)  The large roaster pan was warm, and Mother wrapped it with a flannel sheet.  Then she …read more

Recycling has become known as “repurposing” to many people.  Finding another purpose for items you might otherwise throw out. 
This can become a game with your youngsters.  How can they use items around the house and from daily living in other ways once these are empty or no longer good for the original purpose?
Youngsters might see how many uses they can discover for a single item, such as a margarine container, whipped topping container, peanut butter jar, plastic grocery bags, greeting cards, boxes and more.  This is a great way to get them to use their imagination and creativity, as well as utilizing …read more

Disney’s Theatrical department has quite a bit of nice holiday gifts for you to choose from this year from The Lion King to Mary Poppins, there is something for everyone. I was recently contacted to ask if I’d take a peek at the new book, “How Does the Show Go On? an Introduction to the Theater” and I must say this would be the perfect book to give to any collector or child that wants to learn more about the behind the scenes or even Broadway. They sent me the book as well as an eco-friendly Lion King Bag which …read more

Are your children aware that a New Hampshire woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, was responsible for Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday? 
Yes, the first Thanksgiving, from which this  holiday of thankfulness originated, took place in Plymouth, MA.
However, it wasn’t celebrated nationally until Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of “Godey’s Lady’s Book,” decided that Thanksgiving should become a national holiday. She initiated a campaign to have a day in late fall set aside for us to give thanks for our harvests and many blessings.
From 1846 to 1863, she wrote letters to presidents, governors, and any influential people she could think of. Many …read more

Kids are tricky when it comes to figuring out what they will eat and what they won’t eat. One reason so many of us call our children picky or finicky eaters. How many of you have a picky eater?
Tonight I decided to introduce my children to a new meal, I’ve come across a few tips for you:
Tips to Introducing New Foods:
1.  Make sure it isn’t too spicy. Tonight I made chili with actual fresh chilis in it, apparently it made it a bit too spicy for my kids. They could not eat it.
2.  Be prepared. Be prepared that your kids …read more