Family Dinner Night

National family dinner night is September 22, 2014!

Sports practices, PTA meetings, late nights at the office -- with multiple schedules to juggle, many families find it difficult to sit down together for dinner. It may not seem significant, but eating together as a family can give your child an advantage in many areas. Before you head to the drive-thru or sit in front of the TV for your next meal, consider the impact of sharing a meal with your kids. Studies show that the following are benefits found with only 3 meals shared as a family each week:

1. Improvement in Healthy Eating
2. Curb in Risky Behavior
3. Improved Academic Achievement
4. Strengthened Family Relation-ships

www.livestrong.com

Learn a new language!

Have you thought about learning another language, or encouraging your child to learn one?  It can be a truly enriching experience.  Some reasons to learn a new language include:

1. To converse with friends and family that speak a different language.
2. To understand music, movies, and TV shows in another language.
3. To gain skills for a job.
4. To become smarter!
5. To ace a class in school.

One of the best websites I know of for learning a second (or third or forth) language is duolingo.com, which is absolutely free.  Currently you can take courses in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Hungarian, Swedish, Turkish, Russian, Polish, and Romanian.

Check it out!

Online Learning for Kids and Adults

Does anyone in your family have a desire to learn from home on your computer?  There is a pretty awesome website called Khan Academy where you can learn (for free) a world of information in different subjects like math, science, arts and humanities, test prep, even computer programming.

From Wikipedia: Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan to provide "a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere."

Here at BHF we use the website specifically for math tutoring, and the results have been excellent.

Children of all ages can benefit from the wide variety of math lessons offered, from basic to complex problem-solving.  Twenty minutes of study a day can go a long ways toward improving skills and staying ahead in school.

Adults with some free time may also be interested.  Perhaps now is the perfect time to take art history basics from the comfort of your couch.

Check it out at khanacademy.org.

Late Summer a Good Time for Paper Airplanes

Are you about out of ideas for summer crafts?  Perhaps your summer travels have come to an end, and you find yourself back at home with your child as they prepare to go back to school.  Just because summer vacation is wrapping up doesn't mean the fun has to!

One very simple activity you can work on with your child is making a paper airplane.  It's simple and yet can provide hours of entertainment.  Which design flies the farthest, the fastest, and can it do tricks?

You could fill a bucket with paper airplanes and drop them from a height just to watch the mayhem that ensues.

This helpul wikiHow article outlines several methods for making a paper airplane, and includes links to more complicated designs, like ones that do loop de loops.  Enjoy!

12 Clever Tricks to Regain Your Cool Quickly

Have you ever lost your cool around your child and felt bad about it later?  If someone in your family is acting out, it seems all too easy to become upset and resort to anger and shouting.  Keeping calm is important in such situations.  If we can respond reasonably in the heat of the moment, positive outcomes are much more likely.

Here are 12 tricks that can help you keep your cool:

1. Breathe in, tense, and release your muscles as you exhale.
2. Roll your shoulders.
3. Squeeze something.
4. Suck on something sweet.
5. Chew gum.
6. Say how you feel, using "I" statements instead of "you" statements.
7. Find a pressure point.
8. Talk low. Talk slow.
9. Drink a glass of water.
10. Smile.
11. Turn the lights down.
12. Walk away.

These techniques are explained by Dr. Cameron Caswell in much greater detail in the article at this website, so check it out!

Kindermusik in the Car

Do you like music?  Do you like to listen to music with your kids?  How about in the car where we so often find ourselves?

From Kindermusik:

How many hours do children spend with their families in transit? A lot! The average American spends 2.5 hours per week or 130 hours per year in the car. Imagine using that time to benefit our students.

A recent research study proves the family car is an excellent space for fostering musical development and family togetherness.

Visit the following link to receive a code for 5 free songs from kindermusik.com.  There is also a PDF with 10 fun musical learning activities to give you helpful ideas for those car rides.

How to get your kids excited about walking

Walking is an excellent form of exercise that has significant health benefits, and can be enjoyed at almost any age.  But getting kids excited for a walk is another story of course.  What are some ways parents can convince a child to tear themselves away from the latest video game and enjoy some time outdoors?

First, don’t call it a walk!  Don’t ask “Shall we go for a walk?” Say, “Who wants to explore the forest?”

Also, children love places with lots to look at and things to clamber over: dunes, trees, streams, beaches.

Another idea is to give your child a cheap camera and get them interested in two things at once, photography and outdoor exploration.

For more helpful ideas that can get kids excited to be outdoors and moving, visit the following website:

http://www.macsadventure.com/walking-holidays/top-tips-for-walking-with-the-kids/

Quiz: What's Your Discipline Style?

We all know that proper discipline is very important in a child's upbringing.  But what amount is best, and what kind?  Take a fun and helpful quiz at parents.com to learn more.

Here are a few helpful pointers for encouraging better behavior in your kids:

·         Let them help. Little kids are more likely to be cooperative when they feel as if they're part of the game. If your toddler is underfoot while you're preparing dinner, have him fold some napkins and place them on the table.

·         Foster empathy. A child who understands that others have feelings similar to his own will learn to treat people the way he wants to be treated. If a sibling has a cold, you could say, "Emily feels bad because she has a cold. What can we do to make her feel better?"

·         Be kind. Kids copy everything you do, and they want to be just like you. Small acts of kindness -- an extra smile for the mailman, or holding the door for someone -- will inspire your child to do the same.

The power of a Hug

The folks at Positive Discipline know that sometimes all it takes is a hug....................

Easy 4th of July Crafts

Why not spend sometime this week getting ready for the 4th?!?!?  Get the family together and try one of these quick and easy crafts that celebrate the Red, White and Blue.

1. Pom-Pom Flag Painting

2. Toilet Paper Roll Fire Work Stamp

 

3. Fireworks Straw Paintings

 

Changing Brains: Helping Your Child Grow

What can you do to help your child's brain develop to its full potential?  That is one of the question that scientists at the University of Oregon are working to answer with the Changing Brains project.  Their website provides great resources for parents on the brain development of children, including a great series of videos focusing on different areas of the brain.  Not only does each video include interesting and important information about development, but provides tools and strategies to maximize your child's brain growth in that area!  Visit their site and click on the "watch" tab to start learning more about your child's amazing mind.

http://www.changingbrains.org/index.html

Oregon Ag in the Classroom: A Great Resource for Everyone!

 Looking for an activity for a summer day?  Want to get your kids off the couch and excited about learning?  Although designed for classroom support, Oregon Ag in the Classroom is a great resources for families during the summer months.  Filled with activity ideas focused on Oregon's unique wildlife, industry and natural resources, the website has links to fun, educational projects and lessons for kids from preschool to high school!  Visit the site and begin exploring Oregon from the comfort of your home today!

http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/teachers/handson.htm

Do Your Kids Seem to Behave Better for Everyone Else?!?!

BHF Staff recently attended a state-wide Parent Educator Summit and heard from the "Parenting Doctor," Ann Corwin, about why our children often misbehave at home, yet are angels for others.  Here is what she had to say.....

"Most parents believe and say, “My kids know how to push my buttons to manipulate me and that is why they don’t behave for me”!  I also hear well-meaning, grandmothers/fathers, mother-in-laws and neighbors reinforce this notion by saying, “He never does that at my house”!  This implies of course that the parents are responsible for the child’s inappropriate behavior.

Believe it or not this is not why kids behave inappropriately with their parents and not with others.  It’s because their parents unconditionally love them and that makes kids feel safe enough to misbehave.  In other words, they feel comfortable enough and are sure enough in the love of their parents to experiment with different behaviors.  They know that their parents won’t ever leave them, no matter how troubling their behavior might be.

So parents, have faith the next time your kids seem out of control with you, that you are doing something right and that is allowing your kids to try out different ways of communicating to see how you will react.

Remember when your kids behave appropriately be there to let them know that by telling them you like the way they are talking to you, following the family rules and or treating you and others.  And when they pick other, not so appropriate ways to behave, make sure they see you respond to them in a different way.  This will help your kids begin to tell the difference between what they get from their parent when they behave in different ways.

For kids, life is all about learning how healthy relationships work by trying out different ways to behave.  So, instead of looking for ways to get your kids to stop misbehaving look for ways to teach them what they can do to create a healthy relationship with you, their parent, who they love & adore, Dr. Ann

Help Fight Summer Learning Loss

The staff at BHF will be working with diligence this summer to communicate with children, families and our communities the importance of keeping brains and bodies active during the summer months!  While summer learning loss plagues all children, its largest impacts are seen in our most vulnerable children.  Check out the informational poster below.  Created by the National Summer Learning Association, its a great introduction to this critical issue.

Understanding Natural Consequences

Natural consequences provide a parenting tool that can be extremely effective.  The folks at Positive Discipline explain how they work in a recent blog post:

 

A natural consequence is anything that happens naturally, with no adult interference. When you stand in the rain, you get wet. When you don’t eat, you get hungry. When you forget your coat, you get cold. No piggy backing allowed. Adults piggy back when they lecture, scold, say, "I told you so," or do anything that adds more blame, shame, or pain than the child might experience naturally from the experience.

Children usually feel bad or guilty when they make a mistake. Piggy backing lessens the learning that can occur from experiencing a natural consequence because the child stops processing the experience and focuses on absorbing or defending against the blame, shame, and pain. Instead of piggy backing, show empathy and understanding for what the child is experiencing: "I’ll bet it was hard to go hungry (get wet, get that bad grade, lose your bicycle)." When it seems appropriate, you could add, "I love you and have faith in you to handle this." It can be difficult for parents to be supportive without rescuing or overprotecting, but it is one of the most encouraging things you can do to help your children develop a sense of capability

- See more at: http://blog.positivediscipline.com/#sthash.wdpMB3Cn.dpuf