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During the Winter Season we are often hit with bad winter weather here on the North East Coast. That bad weather can consist of blizzards, snow storms, ice storms, sleet, freezing rain, you name it, we pretty much get it all here.

When the bad weather strikes, businesses, schools and daycare’s close down by the thousands, leaving many children stuck at home with not much to do. When our daughter was little, we decided to make “bad weather days” our family’s arts and crafts day. As I look back over the years, we made some pretty awesome things…many of which I still have today.

The first thing I recommend that you do is to make up an arts and crafts bin by purchasing a plastic bin at your local discount store. Then, you will head to the dollar store and your local craft store and pick up some supplies. You should really fill up that bin! Here is a list of general supplies that every craft bin should have.

Straight Edge Scissors, Designer Edge Scissors
All Purpose Liquid Craft Glue and Glue Sticks
Construction Paper, Watercolor Paper and 8″ x 11″ sized scrapbooking paper
Stickers, Rubber Stamps, Ink Pads, Magnet Backs, Wiggle Eyes
Scraps of Ribbon, Lace, String, Yarn, Feathers, Popsicle Sticks, Craft Sticks
Buttons, Charms, Beads, Faux Gems, Rhinestones, Small Silk Flowers, Jewelry Findings, Blanket Keychain Rings, Blank Hair Barrettes and Pony Tail Holders
Markers, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Water Paints, Finger Paints, Acrylic Paints and Paint Brushes
Modeling Clay and Optional Clay Molds
Paper Mache ~ Trinket Boxes, Ornaments, Photo Frames, Etc.
Coloring Books, Water Paint Books, Activity Pads
Foam Craft Sheets and Sheets of Craft Felt

A Few Project Ideas: Make refrigerator magnets, jewelry items, holiday ornaments, paintings, molded clay figures, homemade greeting cards, refrigerator art, picture frames, holiday decorations, decorate paper mache trinket boxes, hair items for girls, gifts for various holidays, keychains holders, shoe charms, etc.

Once you purchase the basic supplies which are suited for both boys and girls, you will want to keep your bin in a handy place. Once all of those “bad winter weather” days hit, you will be prepared for some Arts and Crafts fun with your children! You can visit various online web sites to get some great craft project ideas to use up all of those supplies. Keeping children busy during bad weather days doesn’t have to be a stressful task so view it as a great way to have some family bonding time.

This article was written by me (Shelly Hill) and is copyrighted 2011, All Rights Reserved. This article can not be reprinted without my permission or without my official author’s box attached to it. Contact me for it if you wish to reprint this article on your site.

Snazzy Ideas for Keeping Your Kindergartner Entertained at Home by O Quinn

Forget the plastic doo-dads on the store shelves, the store bought package lunches. All your child needs for a happy, productive, fun filled learning day is probably already contained within within your home. Let them help you look.

Children love to be creative. My five year old proves this to me every day. Sometimes she needs a little nudge in the right direction but then she can take off with an idea and play, while learning, to her hearts content. That’s what little children are doing while they’re playing, learning. They learn by mimicking mommy or daddy. They learn while going through their daily routine and watching the world around them.

For play some children’s days will be spent pretending to be a teacher with a class full of stuffed animals, driving a car down their the busy neighborhood of the family living room, or diaper their baby doll alongside mommy and their new sibling.

But that’s not all they can play with.

For practicing words or letters try a fishing pole fashioned from a stick found in the garage. Add some spare ribbon, and a magnet ripped from the back of a spent notepad. Cut out paper fish to catch with words, letters, or numbers your child is learning to read written on them. Paperclips or staples attached to each mouth to “aid in the catching of the fish”.

Help you child learn numbers and writing by playing “office”, “grocery store”, and “bank”. Make desks from discarded cardboard boxes. Add recycled paper cut into little squares and some (washable) pens and pencils. Give them jobs such as writing up the grocery list, counting how many cans of such and such you have in the pantry. Or counting the change found around the house as they make a deposit into their “bank”.

Children love water play too. Find something in the home that needs a bit of detailed cleaning. Something such as soap dishes or some of their plastic toys. Set them up with a little bowl of soapy water in a small bowl, a sponge and a cloth to dry. Lee them work along side you in the kitchen or at the dining table.

Children are resourceful. Most anything can become a favorite toy. Be on the lookout for learning adventures.

For more information on organizing your life and home visit Homemaking Organized. For organizing life with baby visit

Article Source: WAHM Articles

Cooking With Your Kids–Fun Ideas and Tips by Tammy Embrich

Cooking is much more enjoyable when you have your children around you. Making them a part of things in the kitchen is so very important. There’s just something very special about having your kids share in transforming favorite dishes into delightful, edible creations.

Younger children will be more eager to help you with preparing the family meals than the older ones, unless you have been involving your kids in the cooking activities from an early age…which is encouraged.

Let’s face it, what busy Mom couldn’t use a couple of extra set of hands in the kitchen? Special treats like chocolate chip cookies, rice crispy treats, and double-layer chocolate cake seems to magically turn out more delicious on the pallet when prepared by you and your children.

Below are some fun ideas to help encourage your children to want to help you in preparing daily meals and other special treasures. Get your children involved!

* If you have more than one child, give each child their very own special kitchen chore such as cleaning off the table, setting the table, or gathering ingredients.

* Younger children do better with one-step, uncomplicated chores

* Provide each child with their very own step stool high enough to reach the counter or table

* Purchase a small chef’s hat for each child (preferably with their name on it). Your children will really appreciate this and it will also help make them feel that they are a part of things and special.

* Purchase individual cooking tools such as brightly-colored, plastic utensils for measuring and mixing ingredients. Choose different colors for each child. This will help prevent fighting.

Take your children with you when you go to purchase these tools. Make it a fun outing and maybe go out for lunch afterwards.

* Prepare finger foods such as chicken nuggets. These are always a big hit with children. Make it a habit of always keeping a few batches in the freezer. Foods on a stick such as various types of skewers are also popular with kids as well as homemade pizza. Homemade pizza can be lots of fun using lots of variations of toppings and cheeses. Try and be creative and prepare fun foods that you think your children will find enjoyable.

* Assign each child clean-up tasks. A good idea for cleaning up the kitchen is using sticker charts. Make up a chart with each child’s name and chore. If your children does their special clean-up chore (without complaining or whining), award them with a special sticker. Make a sticker chart up for each day of the week.

Using the tips above will surely aid in getting your kids into the kitchen and happily helping you. Sharing cooking and baking activities will prove to be fun and rewarding for both parent and child. Plus, it’s a great learning experience for your children.

Article Written By Tammy Embrich

Tammy is an Internet marketer, article marketer, and ghostwriter. You can find more parenting and grandparenting articles, tips, and more at Grandma’s Home Blogger Place

Tammy also offers work at home articles, free job leads, work at home tips, recipes, and more at Work At Home Jobs

Article Source: WAHM Articles

The fall cooler months are a great time to get outdoors for some important bonding time with your family. The weather is cooler, school is in full swing and we settle into our fall routines. When the weekends roll around our family likes to get outdoors before the cold winter sets in.

Here are some of the fall outdoor activities we look forward to doing every year.

Local fall festivals & street fairs
Apple picking at our local orchard
Raking leaves & piling them up for some childish play with the kids
Hiking and Walking at our local parks & recs centers
Cookouts & Family BBQ’s (fall is great for outdoor family get-togethers)
Decorating our yard for Halloween (family event)
Attending Halloween & Fall Parties
Weekend Trip (we like to take a weekend trip to take in the fall foliage & activities in our state)
Community Volunteering (a lot of organizations need volunteers in the fall so seek those out & volunteer as a family)

What kind of fall activities do you enjoy doing with your family?

Shelly

Are you planning a Birthday Party for your small child? Looking for some creative places on where to hold the party that young children will love? If so, I got some great ideas to share with you! Some of these ideas are low cost places and other’s are more expensive. Most of these places are great unisex places but a few are more geared towards boys or girls.

Before you try to find a place to hold the Birthday Party, you will want to come up with the guest list first, as the places you contact will ask you how many will be attending and that will include your adult chaperons too. They will also ask you about the food, will you be providing it or will you need it catered by them?

Once you find the perfect location to hold the party, you can then work on picking out a theme and purchasing all of the food and supplies that you will need. A piece of advice, always plan for a few extra guests when making your reservations and purchasing your supplies!

My Top Places On Where To Hold A Party List

1. Your Home (always works well if you have space and a backyard)
2. Bowling Alley
3. Salon or Day Spa
4. Pottery, Arts and Crafts Studios
5. Horse and Pony Stables (for horseback riding)
6. Snack Food Factory (a lot of them have children’s parties with factory tours available)
7. Zoo, Aquarium or Local Farm
8. Circus or Hire A Clown To Attend Home Party
9. Ice Skating, Roller Skating Rink or Ski Lodge
10. Movie Theater for Private Showing
11. Sporting Event or Athletic Arena (football, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc.)
12. Music Concert (geared towards children of course)
13. Puppet Theater (for a Puppet Show)
14. Local Outdoor Park, Picnic Area or Beach
15. Cooking & Baking at local Culinary School or Bakery (kids love to cook and bake)
16. Tea Party (at a local tea house)
17. Restaurants (if you child has a favorite place that they like to eat, contact them to arrange a party)
18. Outdoor Camping (with plenty of adult supervision)
19. Miniature Golf
20. Arcade and Game Center, Amusement Parks
21. Nature Science Center or Museums
22. Airports (usually your smaller community airports allow parties)
23. Music Recording Studios
24. Ballet and Gymnastic Studios
25. Local Fishery (for boy’s fishing party)
26. Local Speedway or Racing Facility
27. Train Stations or Train Museums (boys love trains!)
28. Boating Facilities (near big lakes, rivers and oceans)
29. Rock Climbing Facility
30. Pet Shop, Pet Rescue Group Facility or Shelter

This article was written by Shelly Hill, copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved.

5 Tips to Potty Training Your Child by Amber Bishop

Potty training a child is one of the most exciting milestones of a young parent’s life. I have potty trained three children, both boys and girls and they have all potty trained in different ways. Each child has their own unique personality and learning style so it was interesting to me as a mom to watch them all pass through this milestone in their development.

As you begin to think about potty training your child, the first thing to remember is, don’t get stressed out. They will not be wearing diapers to kindergarten. With that being said, here a re a few practical tips that will get you and your child started on the right foot.

Step 1 – Don’t wait too long. Get them used to the idea of the “potty” early. Keep a small potty on the floor in the bathroom that they can sit on before and after baths or whenever you are using the bathroom. They may be completely clothed, but the simple act of sitting down on the potty gets them used to the idea early on. Our first child was not comfortable at first sitting up high on the traditional potty, so the small stable seat on the ground gave him the security he required. They will be observing your own bathroom habits as well. You will notice their curiosity kick in quit young. I think our first was saying “potty” at 1 although he didn’t begin training until his 2nd birthday.

Step 2 – Your child is smart. Don’t underestimate what your child can comprehend. They are learning new skills and new words and an astonishing rate. They are able to understand the concept. They may not have the muscle control for some time, but they have the cognitive ability to understand what is happening with the potty. Give them some visual clues. Show them what goes in to the potty and give the opportunity to flush afterwards. At times, I would even put the contents of their “dirty” diaper into the potty to show them where it goes. These are all important clues that are helping their brain assimilate information that will help them be successful in their training.

Step 3 – Stay in control. We call this “potty training” because they are training for something. They are working on learning a new skill, not waiting until they have the skill perfectly accomplished before the undertake it. Parents and children can get a little lazy or busy and forget what needs to be happening. In our family we set up a little system to help us remember to use the potty. With 3 young children and home schooling, we all get busy and forget the task at hand, so I use the timer method. I would set the timer at different intervals to remind us when to use the potty. That and I would make sure to give them enough water throughout the day to give the opportunity to practice. The first day of training I did about 15 minute intervals to get used to the idea of pulling up and down their pants, getting on the potty and the muscle memory needed to go when needed, as a voluntary response and not an involuntary response. The second day we increased the time and the third day a bit more time was added. We still had accidents, but tons of underwear sitting on the back of the toilet helped us move through the accidents with ease.

Step 4 – Be consistent. Once you have decided to start. Don’t stop when it may be hard, or it is taking your child longer than all of the little stories you hear form friends or on the internet. Some kid’s potty train in a day, or three days or some take months of reminding and practice just because of their particular makeup. Keep up with the training of skills, like, how to pull their pants on and off, change themselves, wash their hands and get on the potty themselves. You will see that consistency pays off in the end. I would carry a travel potty in the car with me, so that we could quickly use the potty when we were at stores or traveling, so we didn’t have to visit a dirty bathroom that was unfamiliar. That helped us stay consistent and flexible at the same time.

Step 5- Give it time Our first child potty trained in a week both 1 and 2, our second child (a girl, potty trained in a day on 1 and then 6 weeks later on 2 and our third child has taken a couple of weeks. This is partly because he is a boy and partly because he is the third. Never the less, they are all well adjusted potty trained kids. I have found the process of potty training, is one of teaching a parent how to be patient and teaching a child how to be independent. Isn’t that a metaphor for all of parenting? Most of all, enjoy the process, it won’t be long before they are asking for the car keys and these will be found memories you look back and cherish.

Amber Bishop is the co-founder of http://www.smartmoms-smartbusiness.com and http://www.smartmoms.freeforums.org online resources for work at home moms. She is also the owner of http://www.homeschool-diva.com She stays home and home schools her three children will building a successful home based business.

Article Source: WAHM Articles