Movie night in

Family Time Friday

Looking for a fun, low budget activity to do with your kids?  Have a movie night at home.  Set up your living or family room like a theater.  Instead of the couch put up chairs or just move the living room around so that it looks like a theater.  If you have a projector, you could put up a sheet and project the movie on the sheet to add that fun theater flare.  Get some movie theater tubs of popcorn (they sell them like that in the stores) and you can even get your favorite movie candy (they sell that now too.)  It makes a great fun, unique and inexpensive night.

Babies and TV

Thursday Favorites

Today I am sharing a post from Janet Lansbury’s “Elevating Child Care” on the topic of babies and TV.  I know you will enjoy it.  

“The last thing you’re going to catch me doing is provoking parental guilt. So, I’m going to assume you’ve heard all about the hazards of TV for infants and toddlers: potential language delays, obesity, ADHD, and aggression are all things we’d like to prevent in our children if we can. But it doesn’t surprise me that parents ignore the research (and the American Academy of Pediatrics advisory) and turn on the TV for children under 2 anyway.  How can we blame a mom or dad for wanting to read a whole sentence in the newspaper, cook dinner, talk on the phone uninterrupted, have a few minutes of privacy in the bathroom, or just get a few well-deserved moments of peace?"

Please click HERE to see the rest of the article. 

Mama Mine, Mama Mine

Teaser Tuesday

Written by Rita Gray

Illustrated by Ponder Goembel

Each animal mother on the farm must leave its youngster to take care of her responsibilities.  The babies all call after their mothers to return which she assures them she will do.

"When will you come back,

Mama sheep, mama sheep?

After my wool is piled in a heap,

After it’s shorn, each white curlicue,

I’ll come back, come back to you."

A young boy on the farm asks his mother the same question, and after finishing her work she lovingly scoops her son up into her arms as she had promised that morning.  It’s a lovely story to reassure children when their parents have to go to work.  The illustrations are big pastels of simplicity of the farm.

Check it out on Amazon below

The next stage is worse

Monday Motivation

I've noticed that one thing about parents is that no matter what stage your child is in, the parents who have older children always tell you the next stage is worse.  – Dave Barry

All I can say is I am so very guilty of this.  Things seem so much worse as you are going through them than they do at the time.  The “terrible 2’s” seem horrible until you get to the “negotiation 3’s” and the “sassy 4’s and 5’s” and on and on it goes.   

I need to try to stop and see the amazing things about my children, RIGHT NOW.  Because in a short time I will be remembering this season with fondness, wishing I could have it back. 

Share your passion

Family time Friday

Sometimes we are search and search for great activities to do with our children.  We go out of our way to create and invent stuff to do with them.  We spend hours on Pintrest finding the perfect craft when the perfect bonding time activity is right in front of you. 

Share your passion with your kids.  If you enjoy gardening, do that with them.  If you like collecting stamps, get them involved.  If you like to run, have them come along from time to time.  If you like scrapbooking, make a scrapbook together.  You might have to adjust how you do your hobby, because children are not always able to do everything very well at first but as you share what you love with them, they will begin to get better at it.