Tag Archives: education

Make Your Own Play Dough

Play Dough - Kevin JarrettMake your own play dough!Play dough is the perfect modeling material for children. Their small hands can pat, poke, pinch, roll and knead it into many shapes. Keep it in an airtight container to use another day, or let it air dry into favorite shapes.

Measure 2 cups of flour, one cup of salt and 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of oil to one cup of water in a separate bowl then add the mixture to the dry ingredients. For colored play dough, squeeze 10-20 drops of food coloring into the water before you add it to the mixture. Cook the dough at low heat in a wide pan, stirring constantly until it becomes rubbery. Remove the dough from the heat and knead it for a few minutes. When it cools the kids can play too!

October-Fire Safety Month

 

Click here to read more Fire Safety Tips on PBS KidsClick here to read more Fire Safety Tips on PBS Kids

Here are some fire safety tips from PBSKids.org. Go over these fire safety tips with your children.

Be Smart

  1. Don’t touch matches. Stay away from lighters and candles, too.
  2. Don’t touch radiators or heaters. Ask a grown-up to turn a heater on or off for you. Don’t stand too close to a fireplace or wood stove, either.
  3. Don’t play with electrical cords. And don’t stick anything into an electrical socket.
  4. Don’t play around in the kitchen. If you want to cook something, be sure to check with a grown-up first.
  5. Don’t put anything over a lamp. Things thrown over a lamp (like blankets or clothing) could catch fire

Checklist Place Mat

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Table your constant stream of morning reminders with this clever place mat, which allows kids to take responsibility for their own must-dos.
Materials
  • Decorative paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick
  • 18- by 12-inch sheet of poster board
  • Markers
  • Clear Con-Tact paper (or have it laminated at a copy shop)
  • Nontoxic dry-erase marker
  • Adhesive-backed Velcro dot
Instructions
  1. Cut three 6- by 12-inch rectangles from decorative paper. Use a glue stick to affix them side by side onto the poster board.
  2. Write a “Do at Home” checklist on the left rectangle and a “Take to School” checklist on the right one (leave a few blank spaces at the bottom of each list for write-in reminders).
  3. Have the place mat laminated at a copy shop or cover it with clear Con-Tact paper. Your child can use a nontoxic dry-erase marker to check off items or write additional reminders. Affix an adhesive-backed Velcro dot to keep the marker in a handy spot on the mat.

Battling Backtalk

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From Amy McCready, founder of Positive Parenting Solutions

Why do kids talk back?
Kids talk back for a variety of reasons. They may be testing your limits or trying to get a reaction. Perhaps they’re hungry, tired or just having a bad day. However, if backtalk is frequent, it’s usually the child’s way of exerting his power and saying “You’re not the boss of me.”

We’re all hard-wired with a need for POSITIVE power -– the ability to have some control over our lives. When parents over-protect, over-demand, or constantly order, correct and direct their kids… they strip them of independence and personal power.

The only way our kids know to respond is to fight back. It’s a basic fight or flight response. They can’t easily flee (your food and shelter are way better than they can afford on their own), so they fight back with backtalk, attitude, negotiating, arguing, stomping away, eye rolling, etc.

All kids, toddlers through teens, seek to exert their independence -– it’s what they’re supposed to do. Our goal as parents is to foster their independence within our limits and without the back talk.

Here are five tips to help you reduce backtalk in your house.

Own your role: Power struggles that lead to backtalk are a two-way street and parents and au pairs also play a starring role. Be aware of your day in and day out communication with your kids (and your spouse, for that matter!) Watch your tone of voice and minimize the amount of ordering, correcting and directing you do. No one wants to be “bossed around” all day and the natural reaction is to fight back.

Remember, it’s not about “winning” the battle. It’s about recognizing that your child needs more control over her life and helping her find ways to have positive power within your boundaries.

Fill the attention basket: Kids of all ages have an attention basket -– plain and simple. If they don’t get sufficient positive attention, they will use negative behaviors to provoke us until they get our attention. From their perspective, negative attention is better than no attention at all. Fill their attention baskets in positive ways by spending one-on-one time with your kids daily. It doesn’t have to be a long time – just 10 minutes when they have your undivided time and attention (if the phone rings, don’t answer… if your Blackberry chirps, let it go.) As you fill their attention baskets positively and proactively, your kids will become more cooperative and less likely to provoke power struggles.

Finding a spare 10 minutes to spend with each child can seem daunting in a busy non-stop life, but think of it as an “investment” in good behavior, a calmer home and less backtalk.


Give power to the people: Find ways to give your people the positive power they need. Provide more choices — within your family boundaries –- so they can have more control over their world. To a toddler, power means choosing between a Batman and Spiderman toothbrush. To a teenager, it can be allowing him to decide which restaurant the family goes to on Saturday night.

Chill out: Don’t overreact! Kids talk back to get a reaction. When you get upset and respond with “you will not talk to me that way, young man”, they score with a power payoff.

Instead, get eye to eye and very calmly say, “I feel hurt/disrespected when you speak to me that way. When I hear that tone of voice, I’m going to walk away. I’ll be happy to talk with you when we can speak to each other respectfully.”

Then – walk away! The next time it happens, don’t remind; don’t say a word. Just calmly walk away. It sends the message, “I won’t participate in this power struggle with you.”

Rule of law: Be very clear about the rules in your house and be equally clear about the consequences if the rules are broken. Then, if kids push the limits, follow through -– each and every time. Parents and au pair don’t have to be harsh or overly strict. They just have to set fair limits, communicate those limits clearly and be consistent in implementing consequences when appropriate.

National Peanut Butter Day

Today is National Peanut Butter Day.  Who would have guessed you can make Peanut Butter Lover’s Day a Craft Day!

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Other Things To Do:

  • Find out more about where peanuts come from.
  • Make home-made peanut butter.
  • Talk about the color brown/tan.
  • Try one of these Open-Faced Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
  • Go on a peanut hunt (hide peanuts all around the room for someone to search for).

Dr. Seuss Week — A Week to Celebrate Reading

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This week (March 1-5) many schools throughout the United States are celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss.  To honor Dr. Seuss’ love of reading and his inspiration for kids and adults alike,   March 3 is Read Across America Day. The National Education Association sponsors events to inspire reading in children throughout our schools and communities.

Dr. Seuss wrote many childrens books – Cat in the Hats, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop to name a few.  In the cluster monthly Kids Activity Kit for March, there is a Dr.Seuss Reading Rewards Card for each host child.  Punch out the colored dots for each book the children read.  After 15 books, complete the Dr. Seuss Reading Certificate and reward the children with a Dr. Seuss pencil (included in the kit).

My son’s school developed a week of celebrations based on the themes of the Dr. Seuss books.  This is a fun activity to do with your host kids at home.   Dig out the Dr. Seuss books – you will be surprised how much fun the books are to read and the rhyming will help improve your english.

Monday – “Red and White Day” – wear red and white to show Seuss Pride.

Tuesday – “Cat in the Hat Day” – wear your favorite hat to school.

Wednesday – “Grinch Green Day” – wear green, but don’t be as grumpy as the Grinch

Thursday- “Fox in Socks Day” – Roll up your pant legs and show off your cool socks.

Friday – “Sneak Up on Reading Day” – Wear your favorite sneakers and participate in “Drop Everything and Read.”

Check out the Dr. Seuss website

Seussville

for more ideas, printables and on line games to play with the kids.  Enjoy!

 

Valentine’s Day Activities.

Valentine’s Day (February 14) is a time of love, friendship, giving, and caring. Americans use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to tell friends and family how much they care.  Children usually exchange cards at school.

Are you looking for Valentine’s day activity and craft ideas?

Look no further…  Au Pair in America has a Pinterest pinboard devoted to Valentine’s Day:

APIA Valentine’s Day Pinboard

Photo: Clever Cupcakes (Flickr)

Crayon Valentines

Re-cycled Crayon Valentine’s

If you’re looking for the easiest way to make heart-shaped crayons, you’re best bet is heart shaped silicone molds that you can place directly into the oven.  Here’s a great tutorial for that.  I, unfortunately, did not have silicone molds at home.  I had plastic heart molds (and, by golly, we were going to use them!!).  So, I scoured the internet for alternative methods and picked the easiest things I could that we had on hand.  Here’s what we ended up with:

Ingredients:
Lots of  broken crayons (Update:  Be sure to use Crayola’s instead of generic crayons for the best results)
Plastic heart-shaped candy molds
Glass Jars  (old pickle, jam, relish, etc. jars)
Chop Sticks (for stirring)
Pot-holders

1.  The kids got to work pulling out all the broken crayons from our big tub of crayons.  Then they sorted them by color and began unwrapping them.  (I used a knife to score the sides of the wrappers to make this easier.)

2.  Then, we put each color into a different jar.  (One site recommended Dixie cups for this part and another said that aluminum cans in a water bath on the stove could be substituted.  We did not have either of those.)  I only had 3 jars so we did the lighter colors first and kept like colors together.

3.  Microwave each jar for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally with the chop sticks.  Caution:  THE JARS WILL BE HOT!!!  Be sure to use a pot-holder or towel to remove them from the microwave.

4.  Once melted, pour the wax into the candy molds and let settle for a few minutes.  Then, they can safely be transferred to the freezer.  After a few minutes in the freezer, they will pop right out of the molds.

*We did one color at a time since we only had two molds and colored pictures in between colors.

5.  Then, we bagged up a few crayons for each child in small ziplock bags found in the bead & jewelry section of any craft store and added a little note that read “Valentine, You Color My World.”

Super cute!!  Of course, next year I think we’ll just invest in the silicone molds ?

Teacher Workday Ideas…fun/educational activities

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A teacher workday is a delightful opportunity for you and your child to enjoy the simple pleasures of personal time, to share activities together, to go deep with ideas and feelings. But as every teacher and parent knows, the trick is to find enough things for your child to do so she or he doesn’t get cabin fever.

Magic mood-changers
Teachers have discovered that this time of year is perfect doing short activities that can quickly change the mood of the day. These mini-events also grab children’s attention and engage them in teachable moments. Studies have shown that the brain remembers the first and last part of a lesson better than the middle. That is why it is better to offer short episodes of learning where there are more beginnings and ends and fewer “middles”!

Here a few favorite mini-events teachers use to fight cabin fever in the classroom. You can try them at home too.

Music and movement games. Can’t play fair outside? Do it inside! Put on some of your favorite music and do a cooperative version of musical chairs. The object of the game is to get as many friends and family on the chairs as possible. Nobody is OUT! Each time one chair is removed, everyone has to work together to get each other on the chairs. More indoor games to try include: a kitchen utensil marching band, Simon Says, two-minute aerobics, yoga, and jumping rope without a rope.

Winter picnic. Is the wind blowing outside your door? You can still have a picnic. Collect the picnic basket, the beach towels, tablecloths, and folding chairs and spread them out in the living room! Involve your child in planning, preparing, and sharing the sandwiches and snacks for the event. Set everything up, put on some warm music, and invite the entire family. Don’t forget your sunglasses. The best part: no ants!

Art projects. Art is always a great calming activity for children. If you are willing to get a bit messy, you and your child can share some fun moments together. Make food-coloring ice cube paints to share on a roll of paper: Fill ice cube tray with different colors and place a Popsicle stick in each for handles. Freeze. Your child can rub the ice cube “brushes” on the paper and watch as the colors “paint” and mix together!

Or, for a change of pace, try this in reverse. Instead of freezing the paint, freeze the paper. Wet plain white drawing paper and place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Place in the freezer overnight. Have watercolors ready to paint on the paper as soon as you take it out of the freezer. It will melt fast and create some interesting designs.

Quiet reflection. We are such an active culture, and children’s lives are getting more and more crowded by after-school activities that require them to be on the go most of the time. Taking a moment to not do is almost unheard of. Yet, it is an essential part of creating peace both inside and out. Through quiet perception games, children can learn to calm their minds and bodies quickly and easily. Try this: Invite your child to sit in comfortably. Then say: “Without talking, I want you to look around the room and notice something that interests you. Look at it carefully and notice everything you can about it without touching it.” (Pause.) “Now pretend you can touch it. Think about how it would feel if you could touch it.” You can do just one object or invite your child to find something else to look at this way. This game is not only successful at home but is wonderful in a crowded waiting room or on line in the grocery store!

 

Happy Labor Day!

Labor DayHere are some interesting fact about the upcoming Labor Day holiday that you may not know.  Below are some tips on what you can do with your children to celebrate from cooking recipes to coloring pages.  Use this time to engage is some cultural sharing with your families.

The Workman’s Holiday ~ Dedicated in honor of the worker, Labor Day is also known as the “workingman’s holiday”. The holiday is dedicated to all workers in the United States in respect and appreciation for the work they do in or outside of the home, union or non-union, big companies and small companies and au pairs too. As long as you work somewhere at something, this holiday is for you! It is a day to celebrate your contribution to American working life and the work you do.

The First Labor Day ~ The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1882 and was started by the Central Labor Union in New York City. In 1884, it was moved to the first Monday in September where it is celebrated today. Labor Day quickly became popular and one state after another voted it as a holiday. On June 28, 1894, the U.S. congress voted it a national holiday.

The End of Summer ~ Labor Day is also viewed as the official end of summer. While the Fall Equinox is still a couple of weeks away, kids go back to school and summer vacations are over. This day is celebrated with a long weekend off from work and union sponsored parades. Many people celebrate this weekend with one last picnic. It is also the date that many people close up the swimming pool, and put away the boats.

Was it McGuire or Maguire? Either Peter McGuire or Matthew Maguire is the Creator of Labor Day. Peter J. McGuire, was an active labor organizer. He was also general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. He was believed to be the first to suggest a day be dedicated to American workers and their accomplishments. Matthew Maguire however, was secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York in 1882 and many believed that he proposed the holiday in 1882.

So What do Americans eat on Labor Day? Picnics and barbecues are popular ways  to celebrate Labor Day.  Old standards are hamburgers, corn dogs, coleslaw, potato salad  corn on the cob, baked beans and sliced tomatoes. Finish up with sliced watermelon, apple or blueberry  pie and freshly churned ice cream.  Sound good?

Want to try a recipe?

Click here for Labor Day coloring pages: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/coloring-pages/labor-day/

Click here for Labor Day short stories for children: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/labor-day/short-stories/