Celebrate Walk to School Day

Remember the thrill of riding a bike for the first time or walking to school that first day?

There’s a feeling of joy and independence —a sense of adventure—that doesn’t fade. When walking or biking, parents and children get to appreciate things they don’t notice while driving—listening to the sounds of the neighborhood, seeing friends and neighbors and feeling connected with their community. Parents, children and friends can enjoy one another’s company without the usual distractions.

Walking and bicycling events celebrate these experiences and help make them possible for others. They bring schools and communities together for a common purpose. Most of all, they are fun!

Wednesday, October 3rd is National Walk/Bike to School Day!  Plan ahead, and join our local Headstarts, Schools and Community in building a safe, healthy, environmentally friendly neighborhood!

October Activity Calendar

If the Fall rains have you trapped indoors, don't fear!  The great folks at Books by the Bushel have collected an abundance of free, printable, educational resources to keep those little hands, and minds, busy!  Check out their great list of resources at the link below!

http://booksbythebushel.com/free-classroom-activity-pages/

5 Family Friendly Activities for Fall!

Even though night temperatures may be freezing, Fall is still a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors with your family!  Below are five fun, virtually free, very family-friendly activities to celebrate the unique opportunities of the season.

1. Build Your Own Skeleton:  You don't need to be a farmer to scare those birds away.......find some old jeans and a shirt and stuff full of hay or leaves.  Draw a face on a ball or use the trick-or-treat pumpkin still tucked away in the closet....top it off with a hat and have a family photo shoot to remember the fun!

2. Go for a Leaf Hunt: Try to find all the colors of the rainbow, see who can find 10 different leaves first or simply enjoy the hike!  Bring your leaves home and have fun crafting with leaf rubbings, or ironing your leaves between sheets of wax paper.

3. Find an Apple Tree: From your neighbors yard, to an actual orchard, apples are at the peak of their season.  Not only is picking apples fun, but try making some homemade apple sauce or drying apples in your oven for simple, healthy snacks!  You could also keep on crafting with some apple printing.

4. Fill a barrel with water and apples (careful with younger kids around the water) and have your own bobbing for apples contest.

5.  Rake up big piles of leaves and JUMP in them. Adults, too!  Not only is it great exercise, but a ton of family fun!

Positive Discipline Tool: Control Your Behavior

The folks at Positive Discipline know we all lose our temper at some point during parenting.  They have created this list of helpful reminders for the some of the inevitable moments when we feel ourselves losing our cool.

1. Create your own special time-out area and let your children know when you need to use it.

Some parents are uncomfortable with this solution, especially when dealing with younger children. But if your children are older and you can set up this system in advance, it can be quite effective. It is nearly impossible to solve problems at the time of conflict when both the child and the parent have flipped their lid. The result is distance and hurt feelings. Usually followed by guilt!

Why not let your children know that you are taking a time out. Remove yourself from the situation and get centered before attempting to solve the problem. How you take your time-out is up to you. Maybe you will go to your room. Maybe you will go for a walk. Maybe call a close friend and discuss the problem. Whatever you decide, the important thing is to take time to cool off before addressing the problem.

2. If you can't leave the scene, count to 10 or take deep breaths.

This is a good solution if you have younger children or the situation requires your presence. It is also okay to share what you are feeling. "I'm so angry right now, I need to calm down before we talk." Kids need to know that what they feel is always okay, but what they do is not always okay. You model this by sharing your feelings without reacting to them and without blaming your children for your feelings. Avoid saying, "You make me so angry."

3. When you make mistakes, apologize to your children.
Children are wonderfully forgiving when we take time to sincerely apologize when we lose control. During lectures I ask, "How many have you have apologized to a child?" Every hand goes up. I then ask, "What do they say?" The Universal response from children when parents apologize is, "That's okay."

By apologizing, you have created a connection (closeness and trust). In this atmosphere you can work together for a solution. Once again you have demonstrated that mistakes are opportunities to learn and that you can then focus on solutions.

5 Smart After School Snacks

Extra vitamins, just the right amount of calories, and easy to make -- these munchies from Parent Magazine are absolutely perfect for kids and busy moms.

1. Fruit & Cheese Kabobs 

 
Create these fun shapes using your child's favorite cookie cutters. You can also mix things up by substituting different kinds of fruit.








2. Starry Chocolate Fruit

 
Kids can help with this five-minute snack. Just set out the melted chocolate and let them dip in the fruit.








3. Strawberry PB Crepes

Filled with peanut butter and chopped strawberries, these bite-size crepes are an excellent source of protein.








4.  Blueberry-Banana Stacks

 
Mini popcorn cakes are the perfect base for these tiny towers of strawberry cream cheese, bananas, and blueberries.








5. Polka-Dot Waffle Sticks

These sweet treats can be made on the fly. Just cover whole-grain waffles with reduced-fat cream cheese and top with jelly.

Fun Fall Feeders

As the weather starts to turn, our little feathered friends are often extra eager to find some food!  These adorable homemade feeders are a fun and easy family project!  The great thing about this project, is it is far from over once the stars are hanging......from counting the number of species, to observing all the other animals trying to taste a bite, watching the results of your labor is half the fun!

what you'll need:

 

• 3/4 cup birdseed (we got the seed for small birds at wal-mart)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 small envelope of knox gelatine
• twine or string
• cookie cutters, molds or mason jar lids
• wax paper

Directions:

• mix together the envelope of gelatine with 1/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer while stirring. continue stirring until the gelatine is dissolved.
• remove from heat and let cool for a minute.
• stir in the 3/4 cup birdseed. adding a little more if there is liquid still in the bottom of the pan.
• lay your cookie cutters out on wax paper and fill half way with the birdseed mixture.
• cut your twine, knot the end and push the knot down into your birdseed.
• continue filling with birdseed, covering the end of your twine and knot.
• push the birdseed evenly into the cookie cutter until it's full.
• allow them to dry overnight. turning them over every now and then.
• remove from the cookie cutters and hang them in your trees.
• then wait by the window to watch for your first guest.

Are ipads OK for Babies?!?!!

 Admit it: Your tablet or smartphone plays babysitter anywhere an eardrum-piercing cry isn't acceptable.  No big deal, says Nancy Darling, Ph.D., a professor of phychology at Oberline College whose focus in on parenting.  Just stick to these ground rules.

1. Dabble in Doses: Tech tools are sensory dead environments: no textures, smells or taste.  Too much time spent with them also means your baby won't develop fine motor skills (like holding a crayon) and vision (like depth perception). 

2. Pick the Right Apps: Choose apps that grow with your baby (starting simple and becoming more complex), like drawing, coloring and puzzles.  Youtube videos don't fit the bill: they are the same as watching TV.  Great apps include Baby Games My First Shape and Uncolor.

3. Play Along: All kids learn more from experiences if they have them with an adult.  Talk about colors, vocabulary, animals or whatever. 

Parenting Magazine, September 2012