Fun, easy & educational crafts for kids

Keeping activities going at all times is what kids love to do. Try one of these 10 fun and easy crafts for kid in your house today.

Crafting with young children really isn’t about creating something in particular. Most young children don’t have the foresight to see what a project is going to be.

For young children it’s more important that they have the opportunity to play and experiment with art. Kids need to use as many of their senses as possible to get the most out of crafting. This allow them to try new sensory experiences, as well as learn causal relationships.

<u><b>Hands On Crafts For Kids: </u></b> 20-Minute Crafts is a great book filled with interesting animal and nature-themed projects as well as several items to make for the Holidays. 

Happy Crafting!

Are you overwhelmed with trying to stay organized?

Keeping an organized home isn’t always easy.  One of the roadblocks that stands in the way of getting organized is the feeling of being overwhelmed. Have you ever walked into your home and let out a *sigh* as you look at the clutter?  Many moms simply feel overwhelmed and this feeling is understandable since many of us lead very busy lives.

Here are some tips to help you for when you feel overwhelmed or stressed out when it comes to getting organized.

1 – When you’re feeling overwhelmed take a moment to stop and brainstorm solutions to the problem. If you are staring at a cluttered desk, take a moment to jot down things that you could use to lessen the clutter (in boxes, bins, foldere..etc)

2 -  Break your organizing projects down into small steps.  For example, instead of trying to organize the kitchen in one large swoop, just choose a cabinet a day to organize.

3 – Get some help.  Recruit your spouse, friends, older children, etc. to help you come up some organizing projects.

P.S. Need more organizing ideas?  Visit: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/getorganized.HTML

How to deal with a childs temper tantrum

Ahhh the joys of parenting.  Most parents have witnessed their little bundles of joy in the throws of a temper tantrum.  Even the most dignified parent has been left red-faced and wanting to be swallowed into the ground while their toddler is having a public meltdown.

Here are a few easy ideas for avoiding temper tantrums:

Don’t Let Your Child Get Over Tired – Don’t let your child become too tired.  Set a regular nap routine and try to stick to it, and make sure your child goes to bed at a reasonable time and gets enough sleep during the night.  Tiredness is often the first reason for a tantrum. 

Give Them Time – Allow enough time for activities like getting dressed, brushing their hair and getting in and out of the car.  Your child will want to do a lot of these things on his own and rushing him is a sure way to start a tantrum.  Give him a little extra time and let him try to be independent by allowing him to do certain things for himself.

P.S. Want more information on how to deal with your childs tantrums? Visit http://reallifesolutions.net/family/tantrums.html
 

Kitchen & Meal time organizing tips

As you may be aware, most families spend a lot of time in their kitchens.  In many households the kitchen is really the heart and soul of the home.  You definitely want to make this room a relaxing family space as well as a practical and organized space to prepare family meal.  By organizing the space you will find that it takes some of the stress out of cooking.

For quick and easy tips on ways that you can organize your kitchen to take the stress out of cooking visit http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/kitchen-organization.html

P.S.  If you need more organizing ideas?  Visit: http://www.reallifesolutions.net/getorganized.HTML

Easter Fun Pack for Kids

Easter is quickly approaching and I know of a great Easter fun pack for kids (and parents too) that costs
LESS than having lunch with your child at McDonalds!

This Easter Fun Kit will help you bond with your child by doing the fun activities and it will help you to create items and memories that you can keep for years to come!

It is a great collection of over 30 pages of Easter
Fun! Included are:

•  3 Easter Games & Activities 
• 7 Easter Craft Ideas 
• 6 Step by Step Face Painting Photos with
• Instructions to turn your Child into a Bunny
• 16 Pages of Easter Coloring Fun and Printable Activity Sheets

Visit http://www.reallifesolutions.net/easter_fun.HTML  to grab your copy of the fun pack today

Geeze Louise! I’m all for homework but this is too much

Where are the days of your 2nd grader coming home with a new project to grow a plant and just watch the transformation and jot down notes, or draw a picture of the entire family, write their names above the pictures then stand up and present it. What about reading parts of a book for 15 minutes with your child or solo for homework then standing up in front of the class to talk about what you read?

OK, I may touch on a hot topic but I think our children (Well some of them depending on your school district you are in) are being pressured WAY to hard and given too much homework at way to early of an age!

I dug into the net and found that on average your child should do 10mins or homework per grade. So that means 1st graders: 10 mins, 2nd graders: 20 mins and so on.

Well last night Isaac (my 7yo 2nd grader came home with the following for homework)

1 – show 10 examples of fractions in drawings.. like 1/3, 1/8, 4/8, 3/6 and so on. He had to draw a shape then show the fractions by dividing the shape then shading them accordingly.

2 – write his 10 spelling and 5 bonus words 3 times each and write their vowel sounds

3 – write 3 sentences about Honduras and 3 About America

4 – draw 7 clocks on a sheet of paper and show the times 10:55, 9:15… and so on

5 – solve and draw 3 math word problems. One problem was: Susie has 29 pieces of gum, she shares them equally with 4 kids. How mane pieces does each child get and how many pieces of gum are left over We ended up drawing the problem out!

THEN on top of that we were to read for 20minutes… HELLO??? Is he preparing for his darn SAT’s or WHAT? This is 2nd grade for Heavens Sake.

Tthis poor kid got home at 3:30 worked til 4:30, took a break then hit the books again.

After he was done I took each sheet of homwork that he did, and wrote on the top of each page Exactly how much TIME it took to complete it. I then added up the total time, letting the teacher know he was focused and I felt it was far too much work for him to be given and I asked for a conference to speak with her to find out more about her strategies for this amt. of work.

I was burning HOT. He ended up cranky, exhausted and in bed by 8pm!!

UGH!! I think I am more or less venting here but I would love to hear your homework stories (the good, bad and ugly) if you have any.

Let Go Of That “Mommy Guilt”

Are you one of the many moms that feel guilty for doing things for yourself? 

I’ve heard quite few moms refer to ‘Mommy Guilt’ as the third stage of childbirth. First, you deliver the baby. Then, you deliver the placenta. Then, the Mommy Guilt is delivered to you!   Mom’s I am here to tell you that you do not nor should you feel guilty for taking time out for you and the things that you like to do.

I wrote an article that I wanted to share with you – it was written to help you kick the guilt feelings to the curb and learn to really enjoy doing things for yourself and by yourself.  Visit http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/mommy-guilt.html to grab some helpful tips.

As always, I love hearing from you so be sure to e-mail your thoughts to me.

Here’s to more fun & less guilt!

Your guide on your Journey to Joy http://www.reallifecoaching.net/journeytojoy.shtml

5 Ways to Boost Up Your Self Esteem

Building up your self-confidence takes time and commitment but it is well worth it! You will soon find yourself embracing your new image and giving off a very positive energy that will surely come back to you.

1 – Start each morning and end each day with a positive statement or thought. Create your own mantra (i.e. “I am intelligent”, “I will have a positive day”, “I will succeed”).

2 – Get to know the TRUE you and accept yourself. The more you accept your true self the more others will do the same.

3 – Make a list of all your positive characteristics and achievements. Keep adding to this list as time goes on and be sure to keep your list in a place where you can access it and read it at will.

4 – Choose your words/thoughts carefully; Take time to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. If you are faced with a challenging task — instead of saying, “I will never get this done on time” rephrase your word/thoughts into positives: “When I finish this task I will treat myself to something nice” or “This may be challenging but I can do this”.

5 – Take what you are good at and enhance it. Let others know about it! Hold your head up high, be proud and know that you have a special gift inside of you.

Building Self Confidence  http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/building-selfconfidence.html

Meal Planning Made Easy…

It’s stressful isn’t it? Getting a healthy meal on the table each evening after working hard all day, refereeing bickering kids, tacking the laundry, and more.

Preparing dinner in rush isn’t any fun but luckily there are a few easy tips you can use to plan your meals and free up your time.

Visit http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/meal-planning.html soon and learn  some of my favorite tried and try tips on how to cook ahead today so you can relax tomorrow!

BTW = I am the only cook in my house and I serve up dinner for 6 people and STILL Manage to keep my sanity (lol)

Kids and Sex! Yes, I said sex :)

I know what some are thinking…. “Sex, not my kid”.  Running from the topic of sex when it comes to your child is never a good idea.  Did you know that statistics show that parents can and do influence their childrens attitudes about sex?  Yes, teens do listen to us.

Studies show that children who feel that they can openly talk with their parents about sex are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior.

It is important not to wait for your teen to start the conversation-it is up to you, the parent to open up those lines of communication. If you’ve already begun talking to your teen about sex, great! Keep talking

Here is an article on how you can influence a childs attitude about sex:  http://parentingmyteen.com/parenting-teens-articles/teens-attitudes-about-sex.htm