Autumn Art Appreciation

Here are some possible paintings for Autumn art appreciation and picture study. Just click on the small photos of the artwork to open a larger version for easier viewing.

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Autumn Leaves, John Millais 1855

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Excerpt] “… Millais decided to embark on a painting that was beautiful in its own right without any attempt to tell a story. His models were four young girls, all under 13 years of age, chosen for their youth and beauty. They were to be shown standing around a pile of gently smoldering autumn leaves which they had just collected from their garden. The painting, which became known as Autumn Leaves, was designed to evoke a mood and a feeling of the transience of life and beauty – all is doomed to eventual decay, even the greatest innocence and beauty is overwhelmed by the passage of time. The painting is considered to be Millais’s masterpiece. He wanted the picture to awaken the deepest religious reflections with its solemn air and restrained coloring. The work was influenced personally by Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of whose works he was illustrating at the time, in particular by his poem The Princess.”

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Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies, Vincent Van Gogh 1890
[Excerpt] “Contrary to popular myth, [this] is not Van Gogh’s final work. Admittedly, it does make for a neatly wrapped interpretive gift if the painting really were Van Gogh’s final work before his suicide. The painting is, without question, turbulent and certainly conveys a sense of loneliness in the fields – a powerful image of Van Gogh as defeated and solitary artist in his final years. Furthermore, both the popular films Lust for Life and Vincent and Theo rewrite history and depict this painting as Van Gogh’s last – with more of an interest in dramatic effect than historical accuracy.” 

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Autumn, Mary Cassatt 1880 

[Excerpt] “Today Mary Cassatt is probably best known for her portrayals of the intimate activities of urban women, including reading, knitting, and taking tea, and the subject of the mother and child, which dominated her work after about 1893. Like Degas, she appears to have repeated particular themes in order to master various techniques. Practical reasons and considerations of social decorum also may have dictated her choice of subjects, who were most often members of her own social circle engaged in familiar activities.”

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The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder  

[Excerpt] “Through his remarkable sensitivity to nature’s workings, Bruegel created a watershed in the history of Western art, suppressing the religious and iconographic associations of earlier depictions of the seasons in favor of an unidealized vision of landscape. The Harvesters probably represented the months of August and September in the context of the series. It shows a ripe field of wheat that has been partially cut and stacked, while in the foreground a number of peasants pause to picnic in the relative shade of a pear tree. Work continues around them as a couple gathers wheat into bundles, three men cut stalks with scythes, and several women make their way through the corridor of a wheat field with stacks of grain over their shoulders. The vastness of the panorama across the rest of the composition reveals that Bruegel’s emphasis is not on the labors that mark the time of the year, but on the atmosphere and transformation of the landscape itself.”

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Early Autumn, Montclair, George Inness 1891  

[Excerpt] “In the painting Early Autumn, Montclair, the landscape appears non-specific and the centered foreground trees are spot lit even though the scene appears to be rather fuzzy. Like the Impressionists Inness was a close observer of nature and sought to express the season, weather and light conditions of the locale. But while Inness may have begun his paintings in nature, unlike the Impressionists, he completed his work in his studio relying on his memory and colored by imagination to create his luminous expressions of the spirituality of observed nature.”

Winter Educational Ideas for Preschoolers

Copyright (c) Deborah Taylor-Hough. Used with permission. All rights reserved. http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

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It’s always fun to use things in our children’s everyday lives to spark discussion and easy educational activities. Since many of us are currently in the midst of winter, this season can be a great topic of “study” for our littlest ones.

Study time with preschoolers at home mainly consists of talking and laughing with them, helping them notice the details of the world around them. No pressure. Just a fun time spent in the company of a loving adult.

To introduce the topic of “Winter,” ask your child what she knows about the seasons. Is she aware of spring, summer, autumn and winter? Does she know what the differences are between the seasons in your local area?

Don’t lecture. Just make conversation and find out what she knows already. Have her look out the window and tell you what she notices about the trees, bushes, flowers and gardens. Are there leaves visible? Buds? Flowers? Greenery? Bare branches? Brown stems?

Find a photo, painting, or picture in a book of an obvious winter scene. Ask your child if she knows what season it is in the picture. What things tell her what time of year it is? If she doesn’t know, point things out to her that will give clues: bare branches, snow on the ground, no flowers, people in warm clothes, etc. Hide the picture from view and have the child describe to you in her own words what she saw in the picture. Encourage as much detail as possible, but remember to keep it low-key and fun. This process of orally telling back what she’s seen, helps cement the image in her memory.

To suplement your discussion, enjoy together a winter-time picture book such as Ezra Jack Keat’s ‘The Snowy Day’ or the Alaskan tale ‘Momma, Do You Love Me?’ by Barbara M. Joosse. You can browse

these books online at:

• The Snowy Day
• Momma, Do You Love Me?

Ask your child how people stay warm in the winter (warm clothes, mittens, fireplaces, warm houses, etc.). Let her brainstorm for awhile. Then ask how she thinks animals stay warm in winter (thick fur, migrate to warmer climates, hibernate in caves, etc.).

Sometimes a preschool child might say things like, “Baby squirrels snuggle up in a tree with a soft blanket to stay warm.” Ask her gently if she’s ever seen a real squirrel with a blanket. Does she think that’s how they’ll really stay warm in those cold, winter months? The line between fantasy and reality in preschoolers is sometimes thin … don’t harshly bring your child into reality, just gently coax her into thinking about how things really happen in nature.

But just so you don’t think it all needs to be a serious dose of reality, have some fun and brainstorm about “pretend” ways animals might stay warm. For fun, read one of these wonderfully fun and beautifully illustrated winter-time books by Jan Brett (one of my favorite children’s illustrators):

• The Mitten
• The Hat

You can also visit Jan Brett’s website to print out coloring sheets and other fun projects based on Brett’s lavishly illustrated children’s books:

• http://www.janbrett.com/

For a fun activity, throw a collection of clothing and accessories into a bag or suitcase. Without looking, have your child reach into the bag, pull out a single clothing item and then tell you if the item they grabbed is appropriate to wear in the winter. Have the child explain to you why each item is — or isn’t — seasonally appropriate. Include a variety of things in the bag such as: a warm hat, a pair of gloves or mittens, an open-toed sandal, a swimsuit, summer shorts, a warm sweater, a snow boot, a woolen scarf, a sleeveless top, etc.

Have your child finish the sentence, “Winter is …” For example: Winter is … “cold”; winter is … “snowmen”; winter is … “mittens”; winter is … “cocoa and marshmallows.” Consider writing down your child’s responses (she’ll feel so official seeing her words written down on paper). If you’re feeling particularly creative, you can even print out little “Winter is …” booklets using clip-art found on your computer that coincides with your child’s winter responses. Or have your child illustrate their own home-made “Winter is … ” book. Or let her cut out winter photos from magazines and newspapers, pasting them onto a large sheet of paper as a “Winter is …” collage.

Have a wonderful time as you explore the glories of winter with your preschooler!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Deborah Taylor-Hough (freelance writer and mother of three) is the editor of the Bright-Kids and Simple Times e-newsletters. She’s also the author of A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide to Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity, Frugal Living For Dummies(R) and Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month. Visit Debi online at: http://thesimple.wordpress.com

Thanksgiving Ideas

Later this month, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving Day. One of our family traditions for this particular holiday is making a Thanksgiving Tree.

We either make a tree trunk with bare branches out of black craft paper or we draw a tree onto a large sheet of paper.  Then we tape the “tree” to our dining room wall. We cut out individual autumn-colored leaves (red, orange, yellow, brown) from more craft paper.

Whenever someone in the family thinks of something or someone that they’re thankful for, they write the item, event, or person’s name onto one of the leaves and then tape the leaf to the tree branches.

We try to put the Thanksgiving Tree in place by mid-November so our family has at least a full week to add more leaves to the tree.

By Thanksgiving Day, the tree is FULL with the names of people, events and things we’re thankful for. This is great fun for the kids and a meaningful addition to our family’s holiday traditions.

Another idea along these lines is to make a Thanksgiving Jar. Throughout the year as things came up that your family is thankful for (new baby, new job, answered prayers, etc.), write the event onto a piece of paper and slip it into a specially designated Thanksgiving container.

A family at our former church in Olympia empties their Thanksgiving Jar once a year and reads each slip of paper on Thanksgiving morning during their family breakfast.

Do you have any special activities or traditions your family shares on Thanksgiving or any other upcoming holiday?  I’d love to hear about them! 

Special Request

This month, a local non-profit childcare center (ACAP) will hopefully be moving back into the education wing at our church’s building. ACAP has been located on city property down the street from us, but the city’s now going to build a multi-use venue on the site and ACAP needs to vacate by mid-November (actually just ten days from now).

Thirty years ago, a group of community and faith leaders in Auburn, Washington met to find ways to help low income families become or stay employed. The focus continues to be on providing children with a positive early childhood educational experience. ACAP originally met at White River Presbyterian Church in Auburn before moving to their current site.

For more details, go to:
http://snurl.com/acap [www_pnwlocalnews_com]

After numerous applications for extensions, grants, and attempts to sell their current portable buildings, ACAP is faced with the difficult decision of perhaps needing to shut their doors forever. This would be a sad blow to many low income and needy families of our city.

ACAP has been the one place in town where difficult-to-place children were accepted without question, loved unconditionally, and provided quality care at a reasonable price. Those kids that other childcare centers in the area were unwilling to take — mainly because of behavioral problems and special needs — now have a caring, committed “family,” and a place to call home during the day.

If ACAP closes their doors forever, these families (currently about 65 kids) will have no place else to turn for their childcare needs, having already been turned down by other agencies and childcare centers in town. For ACAP’s doors to stay open and for them to be able to move to their new location at our church, they need to raise some funds before the 15th of this month.

Unbeknownst to ACAP, I decided to put this special announcement in my email newsletter, Simple Times, and on my blogs, just in case anyone out there would like to help support a worthy cause. I thought it would be such a blessing and encouragement to the teachers and board members at ACAP to receive a few gifts from unknown sources around the country. None of the money raised would go to me, or to the church, or to any other individual — it would all go toward the moving and upcoming renovation costs involved with relocating ACAP to their new home.

Because ACAP’s an official non-profit organization, all gifts are tax-deductible, too.

I asked ACAP’s Director how people could donate to the moving costs, and she told me it’d be best for any donations to be sent to the church’s address since ACAP soon won’t have their current street address available.

If you have any sort of a desire to help at all in this project, simply make checks payable to “ACAP” and send to:

ACAP
c/o White River Presbyterian Church
526 – 12th Street SE
Auburn, WA 98002

Thanks so much for your patience with this request!

And please don’t feel any sort of obligation whatsoever to help with this. I just thought maybe there might be a handful of people out there who may want to help with this situation in a small way.

Thanks, again!

What to Teach Your Teens About Money

Copyright Gary Foreman. Used with permission.  All rights reserved. http://www.stretcher.com

 

There’s an old saying that ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. For those of you too young to have heard that phrase before, it means that children will be a lot like their parents. I was reminded of that the other day when I found my twelve year old reading The Millionaire Next Door.

Lest you think that I’m some kind of fanatic, I don’t give my children homework assignments on money management. The book was just sitting next to my easy chair. But, in fairness, my kids have heard me talk about the value of money on a regular basis. And I do hope that some of the lessons stay with them.

 

You have the same opportunity to help shape your teen’s money perspective. Lessons learned now could save them a lot of grief later. So let’s spend a little time talking about what to teach your teens about money.

 

A cornerstone of building a sound financial future for your teenager is to teach them how to save money. Sounds easy, but even many adults don’t know how to do it. And that might be because no one ever taught them.

 

You can use three strategies to teach a teen to save. First, you can encourage them to reach a goal. Suppose that they want a $100 pair of shoes. Let them save $5 or $10 a week until they have the purchase price. Have them put a reminder of their goal in strategic places. They’ll learn patience and persistence. And by the time they save the money, they might also learn that they really don’t want the shoes any more.

 

Another way to encourage savings is to match any money they put into a savings account. Set a minimum length that the money must stay in the account before being withdrawn. You don’t want them to put it in with your match and withdraw it a few days later. This won’t work for everyone, but some teens will love to watch their savings grow.

 

The teen years are also a good time to teach your young adult to ‘pay themselves first’. That means that they set aside part of their income for savings before spending anything. It’s a perfect time to learn this lesson. Most teens don’t have any real financial responsibilities. They don’t have items that they’re forced to buy each month (like rent, electricity, food). They generally just spend what they have available.

 

Of course, many adults do the same thing. They spend until they’re out of money. Learning to set part of any income aside for savings is a great habit that will pay dividends for their entire lives.

 

Next, a question for you: Do you remember who taught you to balance your checkbook? Most of us don’t. And that’s a shame. You’d be surprised how many people reach adulthood without knowing how to perform this simple task. And it’s important that your teens learn it.

 

First, they need to know where they stand financially. Even a teenager should know how much money they have. The reason is simple. It’s essential to understand that you can run out of money. Balancing a checkbook is a wonderful way of teaching them that there are penalties if you spend money that you don’t
have.

 

The alternative is to let them learn to keep spending until they’ve reached their credit limit. And that lesson will create heartaches later in their life.

 

PC software makes balancing a checkbook easy. But make sure that they don’t just enter numbers and let the software do all the work. They need to understand the basics. You put money in. You write checks to take money out. What’s left is the balance.

 

They also need to learn basic investment information. It’s really essential for modern life. Teach them that stocks represent ownership in a company. And bonds are like an IOU. Introduce them to CD’s, money market and mutual funds. Perhaps you’ll want to subscribe to Money magazine and discuss the articles
with them.

 

Don’t forget to teach them how risks and rewards work. They need to know that a big return will include a big risk. It’s surprising how many people think that they can get huge returns without taking any risk. That’s a good way to lose money.

 

Also teach your teen about the beauty of compound interest. Let them know that money will double every 7 years if it earns 10%. That means that $1 that they don’t spend on a soda today would be worth $128 when they’re in their 60’s. Compound interest is the secret ingredient of building wealth.

 

Conversely, they need to learn the risk of compounding debt. They’ll learn this lesson before they die. Help them to learn it without pain. Teach them that borrowing money obligates them to pay the loan back with interest. And that credit cards are set up so that they keep making payments each month without ever paying off the debt. In fact, if they pay the minimum due on a charge card each month, it’s just like doubling the price of everything they buy. That’s a lesson that’s less painful if you learn it before the bills come due.

 

Teach them what things cost. Some families share budget information with their teens. Others prefer to keep that private. If so, send your teen on a pretend ‘first apartment’ hunt. Have them walk through all the costs of setting up an apartment including rent, utilities and food. It will be a real eye opener for them.

 

Finally, help them to learn the difference between creative thinking and creative financing. Creative thinking is the ability to have a need and find a way to fill it without spending money. People who don’t have money are forced to consider alternative answers. And some of those answers are quite creative.

 

The flip side is the person who only thinks of creative financing. He can’t think of a way to solve his problem without making a purchase. His creative energies are spent trying to figure out who will loan him the money to make the purchase. Not only will he spend a bunch of energy trying to figure that out, but he’ll make making payments for quite awhile, too.

 

Many of these lessons will pay dividends for the rest of their lives. Who knows, if your teen learns them well perhaps the apples will fall close to their tree, too.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gary Foreman is a financial planner and editor of The Dollar Stretcher family of resources.  You can visit Gary online at: http://stretcher.com

For School Success, Don’t Coddle Your Kids

Press Release from Portico Books
http://www.grammarandmore.com/

 
Parents want their children to succeed in school. However, sometimes their best intentions are misguided. Attempts to provide children with a wonderful life can, in fact, increase the stress of the entire family.

“Just getting children to school well rested and well fed can be challenging,” says Fran Santoro Hamilton, author of Hands-On English.

Hamilton’s advice extends well beyond these basics, however. Her suggestions and information about her book, which provides tips for efficient study as well as quick access to English fundamentals, are available at: http://www.GrammarAndMore.com

“One of parents’ most common mistakes,” Hamilton says, “is to want to make everything easy for their children. It’s painful for parents to see their children struggle. If children never do anything difficult, however, they never learn that they can successfully meet a challenge.”

Here are Hamilton’s tips for ways parents can promote their children’s success in school:

• Make school attendance a family priority. Try to schedule doctors’ appointments and family vacations when school is not in session. Have your child arrive at school in time to organize for the day.
• Show your child that you consider school to be important. Attend parent meetings and conferences. Talk with your child about school. Don’t overemphasize grades.
• Read to and with your child. Let your child also see you reading alone.
• Either rule out or treat physical difficulties that may impede learning.
• Don’t overschedule your child. Be sure at least three hours between school and bedtime are free of extra-curricular activities.
• Encourage healthy sleep patterns. Because of the changes their bodies are undergoing, adolescents actually require more sleep than younger children.
• Have your child resume the school sleep schedule well before school opens. After the child has arisen early and eaten breakfast, have him or her engage in a productive activity, such as reading, writing, or working math problems, for at least an hour.
• Purchase school supplies at least a week before school opens. Be scrupulous about purchasing the exact items teachers have specified. Do not send your child to school with supplies that are not on the list.
• Provide your child with nutritious foods (limited in sugar, fats, caffeine, and additives). Be sure your child starts the day with breakfast.
• Make dinner a family activity, complete with conversation on a wide range of topics.
• Provide a place, with minimal distractions, for your child to study. Be sure the study area is well lit, well ventilated, and equipped with all the supplies your child is likely to need: pencils and pens, dictionary, ruler, stapler, etc. Have this area set up prior to the opening of school.
• Establish a definite time each day for homework, reading, or other academic activities.
• Don’t allow TV or video games in the morning before school. Limit total time for these activities to 10 hours per week.
• Don’t give your child everything he or she wants. Doing so will teach the child that desires can be satisfied without work.
• Be sure your child has household chores to complete without reminders.
• Help your child develop the habit of writing all assignments in an assignment notebook. It works best if assignments are written on the date they are due.
• Help your child learn to organize time and materials. Begin to wean your child from this help as soon as he or she is able to assume partial responsibility.
• On nights before a test, have your child review material just before bedtime and then go to sleep without reading or listening to music. This will aid retention of material studied.
• Make homework your child’s responsibility. This lets your child know that you recognize him or her as a capable person.
• Be sure your child gathers together each evening all the materials that he or she will take to school the next morning.
• Allow your child to experience the natural consequences of his or her actions. For example, don’t retrieve things the child forgot.
• Have realistic expectations for your child. If his or her abilities are slightly above average, do not expect the child to be at the top of the class.
• Recognize that your child’s teachers are striving for the academic, social, and emotional development of many children besides yours.
• Recognize that there will be times when your child will be frustrated by a difficult task. Resist the temptation to solve the problem yourself. Your child will learn and grow from this experience and will emerge with confidence to face the next challenge.

A successful school year depends on the cooperative efforts of parents and teachers — and, of course, on the students themselves. Each member of the team must fulfill his or her own responsibilities — and allow the other members to fulfill theirs.

RELEASE FROM: Portico Books
–Portico Books offers a variety of resources to help students enjoy English and use it effectively. In addition to grammar, their Hands-On products and other resources will help develop skill in usage, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, vocabulary, reading, and writing. Visit: http://www.grammarandmore.com/

Back-to-School Preparation for All Ages

Copyright Laurie Hurley
Used with permission from EzineArticles.com.
http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com

If you have children, August and early September represents more than summer ending, cooler weather and fall foliage. School begins once again for millions of kids across the country. Getting your child prepared, regardless of whether they are in Kindergarten or a senior in high school, is a must.

Here are some tips to make the transition from several weeks of summer fun to school days and homework easier.

KINDERGARTEN – 5th GRADE

1) About a week before school starts, have your children go to bed at the time they will when school begins. Set their alarm or wake them up early. It’s difficult for some kids to adjust to going to bed and getting up earlier after having an entire summer of sleeping in or staying up late. Many young children need to be on a schedule and preparing a week or so earlier will pay off, especially if you have a night owl or late sleeper.

2) If you have a school supply list (many school districts post them on their website or hand them out the last day of school), buy the supplies early. For the child who is not organized, this is a good way to begin the school year off on the right foot. Label everything and get the backpacks ready the night before school starts. Buy some extra supplies to keep at home if your child is one to lose or forget their pencils or markers at school. They will probably need some basic supplies for homework time. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down to do homework and discovering the basics are missing.

3) If you have a Kindergartener, walk to school two or three days before school begins (or drive if they take a bus or you will be driving them). This helps acquaint them with what they will actually be doing that first day and can work wonders for alleviating the first day jitters. If your child is especially anxious, ask if you can let them visit their new classroom for five or ten minutes the day before school starts. Many principals will let the Kindergarteners come to the campus prior to school starting.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

1) Many sixth graders will be attending a new school for their middle school years. Oftentimes, the campus is much bigger and can be intimidating. Of course pre-teens may not admit they are nervous, but most parents are. Suggest a bike ride over to the school sometime during August just to look around. Many middle schools conduct orientation anyway a couple of days before school actually begins, but an extra trip without all of their peers might be worthwhile.

2) Just as in elementary school, it is important, if not more so in middle school, to have all the school supplies ready, especially an organizer. Some schools make it mandatory for the students to purchase an organizer directly from the school. Get in the habit from day one of checking it and being sure homework assignments are recorded. Visit the school website and see if homework and grades will be posted on the site. This is an excellent way to stay involved with your child’s progress throughout the year.

3) If your student struggles with the basics — math or language arts — consider hiring a tutor for some review sessions before and during the first semester. Also, it is quite common in middle school for students who are excelling to be moved to Honors classes sometime during the year. Being in an accelerated class is a good way to prepare a student for Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school, which count as college credit.

HIGH SCHOOL

1) Find out when the PSAT and SAT exams will take place. If your student is not a good test taker, consider enrolling them in a test prep class. As colleges become more and more competitive, test scores make a difference. One can take the exam more than once if they are not happy with the score, so plan ahead and register early.

2) Stay tuned in to your student’s school and social schedule. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in high school and even the most academically gifted students can be distracted by all of the things that are associated with the teenage years. Establish a curfew for school nights and limit the amount of time that is spent at a part-time job or involved in sports, especially if time management and study skills are not your child’s forte.

3) If your son or daughter is college-bound, start doing your research and be sure to attend the college nights that many high schools sponsor. Know what is expected on college applications. It is no longer a simple process like it was for the baby boomer generation. Test scores, a formal essay, volunteer hours, and class selection in high school are all important factors in getting into college. Take advantage of the many companies that exist today solely for the purpose of assisting you and your student select the right college for them.

Regardless of the age and grade of your children, stay involved. Volunteering on any level — whether it be reading stories to your elementary aged child’s second grade class, helping in the computer lab in middle school, or being on a committee for peer counseling in high school — it is important to know what is happening at the place your children spend a large part of their week. With so many parents working, many Parent Teacher Associations have their meetings in the evening, so more parents can attend. There are activities that need volunteers that do not involve daytime hours such as calling parents in the evening for a fundraiser or helping with a weekend car wash at high school.

These tips can help your children get back to school the right way and prepare them for a year of learning and fun.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
–Laurie Hurley is an educational consultant and mentor to small business owners. Hurley was recently featured in Woman’s World and Entrepreneur Magazine as well as Family Circle and others. She can be reached at http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com or 1.888.847.0033.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laurie_Hurley

The Internet and Education

I found myself wondering this week how other parents use the Internet and other modern technologies to further their children’s education.  Any thoughts?

My kids really seem to understand the whole idea of research due to having access to the Internet.  For example, my son saw a movie last week that had been based loosely on Chinese folklore.  He found himself fascinated by some of the concepts in the movie, and now he’s spent a great deal of his free time this week investigating the truths and myths behind the movie’s inspiration.

I remember being younger and thinking, “Wow, I’d really love to know more about that.” But it would’ve taken a trip to the library and possibly weeks of waiting for books to arrive through inter-library loan, etc.  By then, the desire to know more about the topic would’ve passed on to something else.

I think it’s exciting to see my kids able to follow those “I wonder?” moments through to their conclusion with just a click or two of the computer’s mouse.

Fun Indoor Games & Activities: Help for the Housebound Parent in Winter

Copyright Jennifer Hull. Used with permission from EzineArticles.com. All rights reserved. http://www.growingafamily.com/

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So, the storm has hit and you’re stuck indoors with small children. They’re bouncing off the walls. You’re going bananas. You’d play Candyland but the pieces are missing. Anyway, the kids say they’d rather paint the mirror with your new lipstick.What to do? Here are some indoor kids games and activities to keep children entertained without plugging them into the TV.

1) Build a fort.

Face four chairs back to back forming a large, open square. Drape a sheet over them. Put toys and kitchenware for the kids to play with underneath. They can make a walkway to the structure with blocks.

2) Box them up.

Children love cartons. Add a rope to the box so they can pull each other around. Encourage the kids to decorate their “boat” with markers. Beats having them scribble on the walls every time.

3) Throw a party.

Announce it’s bear’s birthday and invite his stuffed friends. The kids can create invitations and decorate white paper plates by coloring them. Make slice and bake cookies or popcorn. Stretch out the preparation. The party will only last 10 minutes

4) Turn the bathroom into a science lab.

Fill plastic bottles with whatever is on the shelf to make potions. Toothpaste, ketchup, food coloring – the yuckier the better. Add baking soda and vinegar and watch your concoction fizz.

5) Make collages.

Keep everyone busy and clean out the magazine rack by having your children clip pictures and paste them on paper. Suggest a theme, such as animals. Toss any magazine older than your toddler.

6) Work them out.

The problem with bad weather is that children don’t get enough exercise. Play “freeze dance,” stopping in position when the music goes off. Pile up pillows and encourage the kids to gallop over them on hobbyhorses. Get out the tutus and do a dance show. Anything to tire them out!

7) Use a timer.

Finish each activity with a cleanup game, setting the timer and seeing how much everybody can pick up before it rings!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Jennifer Bingham Hull’s award-winning book, Beyond One: Growing a Family and Getting a Life, looks at life after the second child. Visit her online at http://www.growingafamily.com where you can contact Jennifer to receive her “Life Beyond One” column regularly and sign up for her free newsletter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Hull

Why a Bedtime is Important

Copyright Dr. Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller, RN.  Used with permission.  All rights reserved. http://effectiveparenting.org/

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One of the gifts parents can give their children is teaching  and developing the character quality of self-discipline. With young children, in particular, bedtime is a good place to start. Children often don’t want to go to bed and the continual battle night after night is draining, causing many parents to just give up and allow children to stay up later.

A bedtime for children is good for them as well as for their parents. Enforcing it though, means extra work for a while. Here are some suggestions for working with young children to make bedtimes work more effectively:

1) Start the bedtime routine earlier so that it doesn’t all get crammed into the last few minutes. If bedtime is 8:00pm, then start the routine at 7:30 by getting on pajamas and completing a bathroom routine. Then enjoy some relaxed time with children, reading or playing or just talking together.

2) At bedtime, tuck each child in individually. Use this time to continue to debrief about the day in preparation for a good night’s sleep and pleasant dreams. You may pray, sing, and hug your child. Different families do different things to make it fun and meaningful.

3) Enforce quietness. A child may not feel tired so lying quietly is all you need to require. You may have to sit in the doorway or just outside the door to make sure the child doesn’t get up, turn the light on, or start playing.

4) If a child gets up or calls out. Quickly, calmly, and firmly, get the child back in bed with as little dialogue as possible. One dad was surprised to find that the first night he had to take his three-year-old son back to bed over 20 times. After a few days, though, he saw tremendous improvement. His son realized that bedtime was nonnegotiable.

5) Hang in there, be consistent, and invest in the self-discipline development of your child. You and your children will benefit from the work you put into the process.

Bedtimes are opportunities to build relationship, but there comes a point where building self-discipline takes priority. Young children are happier and more pleasant to work with once they’ve learned self-discipline in their lives. It’s work but it’s worth it in the end.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:  Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN are authors of a large number of books and other resources on parenting and family life.  You can visit them online and subscribe to their free parenting email newsletter at: http://effectiveparenting.org/

You can order their books online at:

“Home Improvement: Eight Tools for Effective Parenting”
http://snurl.com/effectiveparenting

“Say Goodbye to Whining and Complaining … In You and Your Kids!”
http://snurl.com/goodbyewhining