our sweet Grammy told us about this groovy website.
for the good of science. Here are the results:
During this post Halloween season, our sweet Grammy told us about this groovy website. My brave boys sacrificed some of their candy for the good of science. Here are the results:
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As Spring Break approaches, I thought I’d share with you a camp idea that flourished in our neighborhood this past summer. I approached three creative Mommies and asked if they’d like to create a Neighborhood Kids Camp – they did –so we did – and it was a tremendous success! Here’s the basic set-up: Each Mommy took a 10am to 1pm time slot during the week and designed activities around a chosen theme. On a given day, the kids enjoyed activities and lunch while the other Mommies relished in their extra free time. Everyone was happy. (We had a total of six kids with an age range of 5 to 11.) I was in charge of Monday and oversaw the creation of a 10 minute film that included super heroes, stolen teddy bears, and a city mayor with an English accent. The campers designed their costumes, scripted their lines, were responsible for graphics/art and wrote and performed the best super hero theme song I’ve ever know. (I still can’t get it out of my head!) On day #2, Neighbor N spearheaded backyard theater games that inspired giggles and silliness of all kinds. (These skits were later performed for parents.) Wednesday: Neighbor T facilitated a cardboard box engineering activity on a large scale. (Oh the sadness, when the masterpiece was finally recycled – two months later!) The last day of camp brought Neighbor C and her world of magical gardening fun. She had the kids digging both at home and in the nearby community garden. (My five year-old now regularly informs me which plants are annuals vs. perennials.) Then at the end of the week, our group of four families traveled to the mountains for an overnight camping trip. (I conveniently had a prior engagement and so missed the sleeping in the dark, dirty, buggy forest part... <em, I mean> camping in the great outdoors.) All this and no hefty camp bills made me appreciate my sweet neighborhood even more. Knowing these great Moms - I had high hopes for our self-created kids camp, but was impressed beyond measure at the fun in which my sons engaged. Having three additional mornings to work (and not be in charge of hungry mouths) was an added bonus. A bonus I hope to repeat during another school break coming soon....
Christmas is great when you are a kid: Your mail intake quadruples in the month of December and three’s a new envelope to open every day! Thanks to our smart Grammy, we have a clever way of displaying all the cards we receive from loved ones. Each year we string Christmas ribbon along the handrail leading to our 2nd floor. Then using clothes pins, we attach each greeting to a location where we can see it every day. Festive and fun my sons look forward to the mail carrier’s delivery every day! Travel guides are my version of potato chips. I sit on the couch as I watch TV and devour one after another. I skim; I scan; I photocopy maps, and make lists of notes. I gather more info than needed about our travel destination and I love every minute of it. While I own several guide books (mostly gifts from my wonderful family), I also hit the library anytime I am planning (or dreaming) of our next big adventure. Later this year, we are taking a trip to Orlando and so planning has begun. To prep, I created a travel folder with everything we’ll possibly need. In life (and travel) I like to be organized. My husband would call this the understatement of the year – but he reaps the rewards of my obsessions and so isn’t complaining. Each section in this handy (albeit not stylish), inexpensive accordion file holds reservation confirmations, tickets for park entry, maps, and tidbits of info I’ve gleaned from travel guides (text and online). Most large cities have online trip planners, so it is easy to use public transportation to get from here to there with pre-printed directions. All this pre-planning helps our trip go smoothly and without unneeded delays (as wiggly boys do not enjoy delays).
As a mother, I also am strategic in packing. Everyone carries a backpack on the plane with their own toys, snacks, extra-clothes. I also pack single serving snacks in our suitcases so that we are never without food (hunger equals grumpy in this family). Grouping kids’ clothes in zip lock gallon-sized storage bags is also an easy way to stay organized as the family lives out-of-a-suitcase for the duration. I’d love to know other traveling Mommy tricks – please share! The day of ghosts and goblins has passed, but it sure was fun while it lasted. My favorite part of the holiday was seeing the kids in their costumes-- so proud and eager to see their friends and neighbors. Our trick or treating route is short - just neighbors we know and (of course) Grandpa's house! My kids went as a NASA astronaut and Abraham Lincoln. My oldest actually memorized the first sentence of the Gettysburg address for the occasion (I'm sneaking in those history lessons anytime I can). After days of saying it aloud - his younger brother even picked most of it up! Listen here: The boys were so excited to return home and see their candy, but only four days later and they seem to have forgotten we even have it. Our house has a tradition of putting aside the bulk of the candy to use later for decorations on gingerbread houses for the holidays. Nothing looks better atop that glazed roof that a neat row of Skittles. The kids enjoy this activity and I like the fact the candy is used for other purposes than empty calories. Another tradition: raiding the post- Halloween sales at local thrift stores. This is a great way to pick up inexpensive costumes - not just for Halloween but for "dress-up" play all year long! Paragraph. This summer our family is embarking on a big trip! I mean a BIG trip! This will be our first ever across-the-Atlantic-my-babies-have-passports-please-oh-please-Mr. Volcano-stop-erupting WOWZA of a BIG trip! (Send your prayers!) In an effort to suppress the “How many days until I ride on an airplane? questions (which have already begun), my youngest son and I spent the afternoon making a paper chain to help us with our vacation countdown. Simple, easy, old fashion fun! For those who need a recap, here are the basics: 1) Cut your paper strips. You can use construction paper, old magazine pages, or even cut-up paper bags. I used different colors of copy paper. 2) Number each paper strip (Great time for some extra handwriting & number sense practice. Tee hee!). 3) Staple the rings together to create your chain. 4) Now hang up your creation and take turns tearing off a ring each day until you are down to #1. My son was proud to show the chain to his brother and Dad after dinner and explain the countdown process. This is a great activity for anyone looking forward to a holiday, birthday, or other special event.
It was nice to sit with my son and talk about our upcoming trip while working on this project. It gets me even more excited for the adventure ahead. Now if I can just explain to my husband that we don't begin packing on the day we get down to chain #1, but instead get an early start - we'll be golden! Writing is a process; a wonderfully messy, creatively challenging, skill-expanding process that I pray children and adults alike have the chance to explore and enjoy. Occasionally, this process leads to publishing. In fact, it’s kinda nice when it leads to publishing. That act of publishing (on the refrigerator door, sent by snail-mail to an aunt’s house, or even on the web) is particularly important for children as it gives them a true sense of audience, some occasionally wonderful feedback, and the opportunity to publicly claim their rightful place among the many other esteemed authors of the world. Last year, I discovered Lulu.com for self-publishing and have enjoyed using it with my boys. Together, my oldest son and I have turned reports he wrote at school (one about elephants and one about Japan) into simple saddle-stitched books. I’m tech-support. He’s editor-in-chief. For under $10 we’ve had the blessing of publishing these small books to place on the coffee table and to read together at night. For Mother’s Day, I’ve taken letters and pictures from my mother and used them to create a memory book for my youngest son. ‘Letters from Grandma’ was an awesome Mother’s Day gift for our fabulous matriarch, as well as a special treat for the little boy who adores her. I’m thrilled to capture these memories in a formal format.
What books might your family write together? Here’s one of those fun Web 2.0 tools I promised to share with you: Glogster. Glogster is a free website that let’s you create digital posters. It’s a fun, easy way to create a photo poster to share with family, design electronic party invitations for friends, or just play around with and try the different applications embedded within the Glog tool kit. More than just your average on-line scrapbook -- glogs can include text, photos, video, audio, AND provide active links to other websites. Bonus: Glogs can be made private or public. Here’s one I made this week--- Drop me a line if you try Glogster! I wanted to post links to these very timely on-line quizzes: http://games.toast.net/presidents/ http://games.toast.net/independence/ http://games.toast.net/supremecourt/ I was shocked that my seven year-old knew as many answers
as I did. (Thank you to Grandma for that Presidential History book at Christmas. He’s read it cover to cover – for sure!) Having been to D.C., I could identify the White House’s address but I learned here that Kennedy was NOT the youngest U.S. President to serve in that office. Who knew?!!! If you have Monday off, consider checking your Presidential knowledge and sharing the spirit of the holiday with your kiddos! Enjoy! After Christmas this year, my kiddos and I created our very own thank you cards. My sons enjoyed using a ‘Monster Making’ sticker kit to decorate the front of each card. My seven year-old can now write his own messages, while I serve as my four year-old’s secretary. Plain cards with matching envelopes can be purchased at your local craft stores, and then supplies on-hand can be your inspiration. Over the years, we’ve decorated cards with hand and foot prints, tracings of the boys’ hands and just good-old stickers. I have to say: I’m a huge fan of mini-glue dots. These fabulous, little wonders let my sons independently glue decorations on to their cards without the spilling, oozing, all-over-the-table-mess. Just this week, my family also used our homemade cards to participate in the "Make a Child Smile" program. This national program tells stories of "children battling serious illnesses" and coordinates volunteers to send mail to the children in hopes of brightening their day. My kiddos LOVE to get mail – so they can certainly relate to the mission of this non-profit.
Our family signed-up, sent cards with our very favorite knock-knock jokes, and even included a deck of cards and directions to our family’s favorite card game. It’s a great volunteer opportunity that even allows the youngest member of the family to join in. Those special kids on the receiving-end deserve a good smile and we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of their journey. |
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