2009 March | Mommy Points

March 31, 2009

Family Meetings

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Keeping It Real, Making It Work, parenting, schedules — Chris @ 9:35 am

I have a huge desk top calendar hanging inside my pantry door. On it I write the schedule for everyone – doctor appointments, sports practices, games — you name it. As well as our weekly menu. I call the calendar my brain.

But as my children have gotten older, I have felt the need to add weekly family meetings to the mix. Now we don’t do anything hugely formal like some families, more like a Meet and Greet. A way for us to all look at each other and say, “Wow, you still live here?”

We all get together on Sunday night, usually very late, and discuss what is coming up in the next week. I’ll take dinner ideas from the kids before I plan the menu and grocery shop for the week. The kids will have the opportunity to tell me about any sort of party invitations that have come in and are lingering around in their pockets or bedrooms. We will discuss plans and expectations for the upcoming week. Talk about the past week, both the good and the bad, and how we can improve.

I don’t remember any of my friends having family meetings when we were all kids growing up. I have to wonder if it is because as families we have all gotten so much more busy. Family mealtimes, once an American staple, have fallen by the wayside as more and more of us have children involved in after school activities that last well into the evening.

This week alone I have three days when at least some of us will be gone from 4:30pm until 10:00pm. There is no way for all of us to sit down together and have a family meal. Also, this is why I love my crockpot. And sandwiches.

So what about your family? Have you found the weekly family meeting as indispensable as I?

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March 29, 2009

Making Sun Catchers

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Just For Fun — Chris @ 9:24 am

If your children are like my children they break crayons frequently. And then don’t want to color with the broken ones. So you are left with a bunch of crayons that no one wants anything to do with.

This project makes use of those broken crayons.

For this project you will need these special items:

wax paper
crayons
iron (this is very special here since I don’t iron, ever)
construction paper

First you will need to shave the crayons. The easiest way to do this I have found is with a small pencil sharpener. You can also use a vegetable peeler, but those are difficult for younger children to manage safely. Do this directly onto a piece of wax paper.

Once your child has the color variations and amount shavings they desire, fold the wax paper in half and place on a towel. Cover with a second towel. Turn the iron to medium and iron the cloth. Check frequently to check on the melting. They seem to go from solid to runny instantly.

Out of construction paper, make a “frame” for your stained glass.

You can be creative with the shapes of the frames.

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March 26, 2009

Making Birthdays Special

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Just For Fun — Chris @ 9:12 am

What do you do to make a birthday special? I mean other than the obvious party and presents. Do you have little traditions that make the actual day special?

I have one friend who takes photos of her children at the moment they wake up in the morning. Meaning that she sneaks into their bedrooms, camera in hand, and snaps a photo right as they wake up. One day they will love the photos, even if as teenagers they hate the tradition.

I have another friend who allows the birthday child to pick all the meals they are going to eat that day. Birthdays are spent eating lots of pizza and breakfast foods.

I have another friend who allows her child to stay home from school on their birthday. Obviously, this one doesn’t work if your child is born in the summer and I know she has told me that as her children have gotten older it has become more difficult because of tests and assignments that are due. Sometimes her children have had to “cash” the day off in on a different day.

We have a treasure hunt at our house. Each rhyming clue leads to another rhyming clue, all over the house, culminating in finding the hidden presents. The kids, even those who aren’t celebrating a birthday, love this tradition.

So what do you do? Do you have any sort of birthday traditions that all of you look forward to doing?

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March 25, 2009

More About Teaching Art

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Just For Fun, parenting — Chris @ 8:43 am

I was browsing books at amazon earlier today for a different post I am writing when I came upon this book.

This book pretty much covers the topic I was discussing in my previous post about art and children. This book takes masterpieces by famous artists and provides ideas for projects designed to emulate their style. the one criticism of the book is that there are not a lot of examples of the artists work in the book. So if you chose to buy this book you would want to be aware that you will probably want to check out some library books on the artists as you work your way through the book.

This book is on my list of books I want to buy. While I am proficient in art techniques and even the artists themselves, I think this book would provide some ideas that I would not have even considered.

This page suggest making your own egg paint in order to replicate the paint used by Giotto an artist who lived in the late 13th century. That would be a great hands on project for older children. I also think that adding these kind of activities to the study of art history makes it more memorable.

I also happened upon this book, which appeals to the book lover in me as well. It is geared for the elementary aged school children and is slightly more accessible for younger children that the book above.

This one I have on my list to check out from the library. I don’t have enough information on it to want to purchase it, or recommend other people purchase it. But the idea behind this book of exploring art techniques using illustrations from award winning children’s books intrigues me.

And as much as I hate to say this, because we all know that old saying about not judging a book by the cover, but I don’t find the cover of this book at all appealing. And if the cover of a book which discusses ART isn’t visually appealing, well then I worry that the inside of the book will not be appealing either.

So those of you who asked for more insight into teaching art to children, here are two books that I think could be valuable resources for you and your child.

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March 24, 2009

Art Appreciation for Kids (and Adults, too!)

Filed under: Children, Ideas, Just For Fun, parenting — Chris @ 8:40 am

Yesterday I was at the library when I came across a book series, for children, called Come Look With Me. I had heard about this series of books before, but thought that they would be like every other art appreciation book geared for children I had come across, namely boring, dry, and uninspired. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It is a series of art appreciation books, designed to be used to engage children in examining works of art. Each book has 12 works of art proflied. For each there are a series of questions designed to get to the children to look deeper into the painting, to examine the lines, color, and content in a way that they might not ordinarily do. To have something to say beyond, “It is nice.” or “I like it.”

There are no right or wrong answers. The questions are open ended and allow for different interpretations.

What I like about these books is that they give children the language to discuss art. It introduces the terminology that will be useful for them to use when looking at artwork in the future.

Not to worry, there is also a short biography of the artist and some insight into their work as a whole so that if you are not familiar with a particular piece, you will not be left floundering.

Think of this series as the gateway for further art explorations. Perfect for introducing ideas to children before bringing them to a museum.

The book series says that it is geared for children ages 4-8, but I would say it would work for even much older children. The reproductions of the artwork are large and colorful and engaing for all ages.

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March 23, 2009

Using Chores As A Learning Tool, or Some Might Say Punishment

Filed under: Ages 7 -9 years, Children, Chores, Discipline, Instilling Values, parenting — Chris @ 8:41 am

Yesterday my 8 yr old son broke the glass in the front door of our house. He threw a golf ball at it. For reasons that are only known to an 8 yr old and defy any sort of adult reason or logic.

The glass needs to be replaced and is expensive. Just how expensive I don’t know yet, but I am willing to bet it is more than a little boy can pay for out of his allowance. So he will be doing extra chores to “earn money” to pay for the glass. I am trying to come up with extra chores, ones that don’t already belong to anyone else.

So far I have:

Sweep the foyer every evening
Put shoes away in shoe basket
Sweep front steps
Vacuum the downstairs living area rug
Tidy up downstairs living area (toys away, books away, replace throw pillows to couches)

These are all things that I do on a daily basis. I know that there must be some other chores I can have him do, but I can’t think of any!

I am also trying to decide how I am going to assign the chores a monetary value. Or if I am going to assign one. I am a little conflicted about this one. I will update you all as I decide.

Has anyone else done something similar with their children?

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March 22, 2009

Splurging During a Bad Economy

Filed under: Just For Fun, Keeping It Real, On The Web — Chris @ 9:29 am

I read this article in the New York Times this morning and it made me laugh. Every single time I go to the grocery store lately I buy myself a candy treat. Most recently, I have been buying a little bag of Jelly Bellies. (I found that if I buy the larger, more economical bag, that I can not stop myself from eating the entire bag. Just ask me about the 3lb bag of gummy bears I ate in record time, one sneaky visit to the pantry at a time.)

Before the Jelly Bellies it was Skittles. And before Skittles it was Hot Tamales.

I feel like I deserve a reward for making it through the grocery store, and let’s be honest just making it through my day sometimes.

Apparently, I am not alone. According to the New York Times:

The recession seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen and 401(k)’s have shrunk, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing volumes of candy, from Mary Janes and Tootsie Rolls to Gummy Bears and cheap chocolates, say candy makers, store owners and industry experts.

Theories vary on exactly why. For many, sugar lifts spirits dragged low by the languishing economy. For others, candy also provides a nostalgic reminder of better times. And not insignificantly, it is relatively cheap.

I think perhaps it is the inexpensive nature of candy that is driving the candy sales up. People don’t have the extra disposable income to indulge in things like expensive dinners in restaurants or $200 shoes, but almost everyone can afford to add 75 cents to their grocery budget for a candy bar.

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March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chris @ 8:37 am

I am not Irish. Not one little bit. My husband is Italian. And yet, come March 17, we break out the green.

A friend of mine dyes whatever milk is in the bottle green for St Patricks Day. The leprechauns do it. While I think it is an adorable idea, I know my children would balk at having green milk to pour on their cereal.

I found this subsitute.

Leprechaun Shake

1c milk
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
2 ice cubes
3-4drops of mint extract
2 drops of green food coloring

Blend for 10 seconds or so.

You may need to double, triple, or quintuple to the fifth power.

The History Channel has a St Patrick’s Day website for you to enjoy with your children. It is a very comprehensive look at St patrick’s Day. The true story, the legend, green beer, and other assorted recipes that are not corn beef and cabbage. Gag. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

I searched online for a pretzel recipe that didn’t require letting the dough rise. I know some of you are afraid of the yeast and kneading.

Family Fun had this recipe that was easy and fun.

It is made from canned breadstick dough and then sprinkled with colored sugar. Though you could just make it with a regular bread dough recipe if you were so inclined.

What do kids love more than a treasure hunt! I will have them go on a hunt to find a little black pot filled with gold. Gold foil wrapped chocolates, which to kids are even better than real gold.

I did but these tiny little treasure boxes and I had big plans of filling one for each child and having each of them go on their own individual treasure treasure hunts, but that just didn’t work out. Maybe St Patrick’s Day 2012 I’ll be more prepared.

But we did make green cupcakes, just regualr cupcakes with a little green food coloring added, with vanilla frosting. The I cut up some green spice drops and had the kids make shamrock shapes on the top.

And then we ate half of them. Saving the other half for tonight after dinner, once we crash from our sugar high.

Tomorrow we will give up our Irish heritage, at least until next March.

Comments (1)

March 15, 2009

Rainy Day Craft: Treasure Bottle

Filed under: Just For Fun, parenting — Chris @ 9:07 am

This is an easy project that entertains kids longer than you would think possible.

You will need a clear bottle. I used a 2 liter soda bottle that I bought for the single reason of using it for this project. My kids rarely get to have soda, so that was also a treat.

Fill the bottle 2/3 of the way full with birdseed or rice. (I chose birdseed because I can reuse it to feed to the birds, unlike the rice. You will be tempted to fill it more than 2/3, I know I was. But don’t do it. It makes it impossible for the birdseed to really move inside the bottle and for the “treasures” to get lost and found inside.

Go around the house and find little things to put inside the bottle. Basically anything that will fit through the small hole on the top of the bottle is good.

I put inside:

paperclip
diaper pin
thumbtack
lego
barbie shoe
marble
wooden bead
plastic ring
crayon nub

as well as a few tiny random toy pieces I found lying around the house.

Screw the lid on tight.

The give the bottle to them and let them shake, roll, and smack it to find the little “treasures”

More fun than you would think possible.

Comments (1)

March 14, 2009

Moving House with Toddlers

Filed under: Uncategorized — Chris @ 8:46 am

Chris,I have a toddler and we are going to be moving to a new house soon. Do you have any tips on making the transition to a new house smooth for him?

Thanks,

Drowning in packing peanuts

I have moved with toddler age children. It is hard work. Our family just moved across the country a month ago, this time we have no toddler aged children, however, but the moving is still fresh in my mind. And that has nothing to do with the boxes that are still sitting in various places around the house. Ahem.

The toddler age is a double edged sword. On the one hand they don’t grasp the concept of “moving” to a new house and will likely be cranky and clingy for awhile after the move. On the other hand, they are quick to adjust and forget that they ever lived anywhere else.

And they definitely aren’t old enough to do anything helpful.

The primary thing that we did that helped with the adjustment was to make our child’s bedroom the first priority to have set up. While it is tempting to use the opportunity of moving to get rid of that pesky crib, toss out the old bedding, and redecorate, I would resist the urge as much as it is possible.

Set up their new room the same way that the old room was set up. This will give them a feeling of continuity, that not everything is changing. Children like the familiar. You can always redo the decor and buy new furniture after the adjustment period has passed.

Make sure that the child’s prized toys and possessions are the last thing loaded onto the moving van, and the first thing off. Set up their bedroom to be a sanctuary from the chaos of the rest of the house. A place where you and the child can retreat to play and get away from the boxes that will surely be stacked all over the house for a few weeks.

And if you are the sort that is saying right now, “Oh no, all my boxes will be unpacked and everything will be put away by that very evening.” Well then, you don’t need any advice from me because you are probably not human.

Depending on how long it is until you move, you might want to begin by packing up some of the toys are not being played with often any longer. That way in another month when you move they will seem like new when they are unpacked. I am a big fan of rotating toys. I store bins with various toys in the attic and rotate them with the toys in the playroom periodically.

Most of all, try not to be too stressed. Have some fun exploring your new neighborhood. Eventually you will be settled in, your child will be adjusted, and the packing peanuts will be a distant ~~nightmare~~ memory.

Anyone else have any advice?

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