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your Kids Activities & Positive Parenting Newsletter
July 15, 2008

“Positive Parenting Tips” July newsletter

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FreeToddlersActivity&DisciplineGuide INDEX:
Inspiring Quotes
Toddlers Activities & Games
Easy Kids Recipe
Child Arts & Crafts Activities:
Positive Parenting Resources
Sponsored Resources
Editor’s Note / Humour / new free books

Inspiring Quotes:

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. - Laura Ingalls Wilder famus quote

What we see depends mainly on what we look for. - John Lubbock quote

The time is always right to do what is right. - Martin Luther King, Jr quote

Kids Activities:

Not only do kids of all ages love to play games, games are a creative and inexpensive way to entertain children. With a little imagination you will soon have them making up their own games!

Whether you're looking for birthday party games or just something to keep the little ones busy for a little while, I think you'll find these games easy to learn and fun for all ages.

Playtime Ideas For You And Your Kids

Are you constantly trying to come up with new and exciting ideas for playtime with your kids? Finding new playtime activities can be a challenge for any parent when it seems you've done every activity in the book. There is good news however- new playtime activities are more numerous than you may think. Take a look at the following ideas. These can be done indoors, but can also be changed into outdoor activities if needed.

Obstacle Course: This first activity can be set up easily in your living room, even if space is limited. Just pull out a few chairs, bring out a stepstool, roll up a blanket, and lay down a few pillows. You can also have your kids pick out a few items around the house to add to this obstacle course. This activity is always a hit because kids love crawling over and under chairs, jumping over a blanket, stepping up and down on a stepstool, bouncing from one pillow to the next, and running in a circle around a teddy bear. This is an easy activity and fun for both you and your kids.

Personalized Placemats: Why not turn a boring coloring page into a personalized placemat by laminating it. Better yet, add a few pictures of your child to make it a picture placemat. Also try making a family placemat by having your child draw a picture of each family member, then placing a photo of that family member next to each drawing.

Musical Instruments: Making musical instruments out of household items is easy and inexpensive. For example, a paper towel roll and some dry beans can make a long tamborine. A shoebox with a hole in the middle, and a few rubberbands can make a guitar. An empty oatmeal container can be decorated and used as a drum. Making their own instruments keeps kids busy and is a fun and creative idea.

Scavenger Hunt: This activity just takes some preparation before you get your kids involved. Hide a few items around the house, write up clues for each item, then let your kids find the items using the clues you wrote out. This is a great idea for older and younger children. Just make the clues harder for the older kids, and easier for the younger ones.

Picture Scenes: Who doesn't have an old stack of magazines and catalogs lying around the house? Put these dust collectors to work. Give your child a project by having them cut out pictures from these magazines and pasting them on paper to make a scene. For example, if you choose a zoo scene then have them cut and paste pictures of animals onto paper. Try a number or color scene for younger kids, this not only keeps them busy but can help them learn their numbers and colors as well. You can give an older child a sentence, then they cut out letters to make that sentence. Kids can be learning as well as having fun.

Finger Painting: Messy activities like finger painting can be done with less mess too. Just lay down an old shower curtain on your kitchen floor to contain the paint splatters. Cut open a few brown grocery sacks, bring out a few different colors of paint and you're all set. Kids love activities that are messy, and you'll have the mess fairly contained. Picture Hunt: This can be used as a quiet time activity, and it is still fun for your child. Get a stack of your child's books and have them look for a particular picture in each book. You can time them to make it more exciting for them.

Guessing Game: This is another quiet time activity but still fun. Just pick out a few objects, have your child close their eyes, place an object in their hand and have them guess it. You can even have your child pick a few objects and you close your eyes and guess. Kids always get a kick out of seeing their parents play the same game.

Other ideas: Making your own playdough, making puppets out of lunch sacks or socks, a toy hide and seek game- you hide the toy and your child searches for it, doll or teddy bear picnic, building forts out of chairs and blankets. The possibilites are endless.

The good thing is that all these ideas can be recycled, if an idea is a hit use it again in a couple weeks. A great resource to find new ideas are child-related websites. Go to a few different websites and jot down a list of ideas to always have on hand.

The main point is that playtime activities are numerous. You may think finding new activities is a challenge, but use the resources available and then be creative. The most important part is to just have fun with your kids. If they see you having fun then they'll have fun too- and isn't that the point of playtime anyway?

This article has been brought to you by: http://creativecuddles.com/

Julianne Smith is a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers, with her third child due in May. She runs her animal stuffing business from home, and enjoys being able to share these creative animal stuffing kits with children. Come check out the large selection of animals and dolls that your kids get to stuff, fluff, then dress on their own. These kits are great for birthday parties and playgroup workshops too.

Visit for our Free Kids Games & Activities from A to Z

Easy Kids Recipe:

6 Ice Popsicle Recipes

These six easy recipes will make your children happy and are easy to make. Give them a try.

I mention Ice Tups in these recipes. These are Tupperware's popsicle makers. If you don't have them, you can get similar ones at Walmart or other such stores. Make sure the popsicle makers are good quality. They need to be able to hold up well in the freezer. If the plastic they are made out of is not good quality, your popsicles could break until the pressure of the freezer.

Orange Creamsicles

1 Small Can Frozen Orange Juice

1 cup milk

5-7 ice cubes

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add water slightly if desired to thin). Drink with a straw or pour into Ice Tups and freeze.

Fudgesicles

3 Tbls Instant Cocoa

2 Tbls Sugar

Dash of Salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Eggs

2 1/2 cups milk

Beat eggs together and add other ingredients. Pour into Ice Tups and freeze.

Hawaiian Punchsicles

1 cup Hawaiian Punch

1 cup Vanilla Ice Cream

Mix ingredients well. Pour into Ice Tups and Freeze.

Dripless Wonders

1 pkg. Kool-Aid - presweetened

1 pkg. Jello (same flavor as Kool-Aid)

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

Mix well until dissolved then add 2 cup cold water and mix. Pour into Ice Tups and freeze. Refrigerate leftovers for easy refilling of Ice Tups.

Butterscotchsicles

1 pkg. Butterscotch Instant Pudding

1 cup Rootbeer

1 1/2 cups water

Mix all ingredients. Pour into Ice Tups and Freeze.

Fruit Saladsicles

1 cup apple juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 large can Fruit Cocktail

Mix all ingredients. Pour into Ice Tups and Freeze.

Disclaimer I cannot personally try all the recipes and tips that have been submitted to me. You use them and their contents at your own risk and discretion. If you do not agree to these terms, please don't continue to use them. If you do, it means you agree to these terms.

About The Author: Donna has an MBA in information technology and is currently a Tupperware Director and CEO of her own company. Donna designed A Website for the Modern Woman, which contains more http://www.todaysmodernwoman.com

Child Arts & Crafts Activities:

Straw Painting

This is a great creative activity with lots of wonderful color. Your child will enjoy straw painting as they watch their master piece form many wonderful patterns.

Its lots of fun with magical art work, your child will be surprised and totally enjoy every colorful drop.

First test your Childs skill of blowing; if not, your child will still enjoy using the straw as a paint brush.

What you will need

• News Paper

• Tempera paint

• Paper

• Drinking straws

What to do

Lay newspaper underneath the work, to reduce risk of splatter.

Drop a small amount of thin paint on a piece of paper.

Using the straw, have your child blow the paint around.

Add a second and third color to make the art work more colorful.

You can also try different types of paper for different effects.

Folding the art work in half is also an interesting effect.

“ Coloured Sand Painting”

Things you need

• Fine beach sand

• Colored power paint

• Salt shaker ( a plastic container without the lid is also good for this )

• Paper Glue

• Colored or plain paper

Directions

Add the fine sand into your plastic container or salt shaker.

Next add a little powder paint to the sand, have a few different colors by using more or less powder paint for deeper or lighter colored sand.

Then have the children draw a picture using the glue. Help younger children if they find it difficult drawing with the glue, have them draw their picture first with a pencil then to glue over their pencil line.

Now its time to see their sand picture come to life!

Have the children shake or sprinkle the colored sand over their glue picture. Once their sand painting is dry, display their art work proudly.

Positive Parenting Resources:

Should You Coach Your Own Kids In Sports?

If you have a child, you should ask yourself: Is it a good idea to coach my children’s teams, or should I leave the task to someone else?

I’ve been a Little League manager, I’ve coached soccer and basketball, and I’ve written a book about my experiences: 101 THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW BEFORE COACHING THEIR KIDS’ SPORTS TEAMS. (Contemporary/Mc-Graw-Hill: 2000)

Whether you should follow in these footsteps depends on you, your kid, the sport, the parents, and the league.

You should consider six factors before you take the plunge, or are pushed into the water by other parents who want you to do it, saying they desperately need your help.

(1) Do you have the time?

In my book, I have a section called, “Welcome to your second full-time job!” If you work out the math of the commitment, it’s nothing less than astonishing. Practices, games, strategic planning, coordinating with other parents, league meetings, and travel to and from the sports venues adds up to a huge weekly commitment. And the season can seem insufferably long, especially in baseball or softball. Then, there’s the post-season!

(2) Do you have the right attitude to manage kids at play?

My softball team’s name was the Wildcats, and they lived up to it! You may be familiar with the expression that the task was like herding cats. Exactly!

You have to be patient, and as some adults might see it, insufferably upbeat. This is where kids learn to have a positive mental attitude, and you are their leader. If you’re a cynic, a pessimist, or simply going through a depressing patch in your life or career, please avoid this assignment.

(3) You can’t hate soccer and coach it well.

I happen to like soccer, but I didn’t grow up with it. I was a baseball, football, and basketball player, with a baseball emphasis. For me, soccer has been an acquired taste, and this is a plus. I don’t have a zillion war stories that I’m dying to share about how great I was in the sport. What a relief to the kids! If you just don’t “get” soccer, or you dislike it, admit it to yourself, and cheer politely from the stands.

(4) Will your kids be comfortable having Mom or Dad as the coach?

My daughter didn’t like the fact that I was coach because I paid more attention to the others than to her. That’s inevitable; there are a bunch of them and one of her. While I think she may have secretly liked the special status a coaching parent is given, it didn’t compensate for losing me as a full-time, dedicated cheerleader.

(5) Parents can make kid sports ugly.

A parent of a girl on my team stormed the field and made threats to me as I was standing at third base, in the fifth inning of a game, coaching. It wasn’t a happy episode. There were nasty phone calls from parents who believed their girls should have received more playing time, even if they missed a lot of games and practices.

A lot of these folks you wouldn’t have work on a car, let alone a child’s personality, but you have to accept what you’re given. Draft a kid, and the parents come along, good or bad.

(6) League officials can be, and probably are, the village idiots.

There; I said it!

For some reason community sports attract some of the strangest administrators. Power, politics, and egos seem to drive many of them, and they can drive you nuts, as well, because you are answerable to them.

Well, I didn’t tell you how wonderful it is coming to the first practice, walking onto a beautifully manicured field, or watching a child surprise everyone, including himself, by making a great, game winning play; something he’ll celebrate for a lifetime.

That’s a part of coaching, too.

So, balance everything, and make a decision that’s best for you.

And one more thing: it takes a lot of work on your part to make it play, for kids!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Free Toddlers Activity & Child Discipline Guide
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Editor’s notes & humour:

FreeToddlersActivity&DisciplineGuide

As you slide down the banister of life,

1. Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written an impressive new book. It's called "Ministers Do More Than Lay People."

2. Transvestite: A guy who likes to eat, drink and be Mary.

3. The difference between the Pope and your boss..the Pope only expects you to kiss his ring.

4. My mind works like lightning. One brilliant flash and it is gone.

5. The only time the world beats a path to your door is if you're in the bathroom.

6. I hate sex in the movies. Tried it once. The seat folded up, the drink spilled and that ice, well, it really chilled the mood.

7. It used to be only death and taxes were inevitable. Now, of course, there's shipping and handling, too.

8. A husband is someone who, after taking the trash out, gives the impression that he just cleaned the whole house.

9. My next house will have no kitchen -- just vending machines and a large trash can.

10. A blonde said, "I was worried that my mechanic might try to rip me off. I was relieved when he told me all I needed was turn signal fluid."

11. My neighbor was bitten by a stray rabid dog. I went to see how he was and found him writing frantically on a piece of paper. I told him rabies could be treated, and he didn't have to worry about a Will. He said, "Will? What Will? I'm making a list of the people I want to bite."

12. Definition of a teenager? God's punishment for enjoying sex.

13. As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.

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Thank you for joining us this month, I hope that you have found some extra motivation and inspiration for your positive parenting.

Visit today for latest Toddlers Activity & Child Discipline Guide articles.
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Your Editor,
Theresea Hughes.
http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com

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