September 09, 2008
“Positive Parenting Tips” September newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to our toddlers activity & kids games monthly newsletter
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:
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William A. Ward famous quote
Leadership is not magnetic personality--that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people"--that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. - Peter Drucker quote
Formal education will make you a living, self education will make you a fortune. - Jim Rohn - success 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.
How to Keep the Children Busy
Put down the remote control, and get busy - now there's TV-free activity for every day of the year with Crafty Kidz.
1. Indoor Activities
Save everyday household junk. This often makes the best play toys for young children. By recycling you are teaching them the importance of saving the environment. Collect cylindrical tubs and loo rolls for an easy to make desk tidy.
2.Arts and craft
It doesn’t cost much to buy paint and paper. Keep some in hand for wet days – or take art into the garden when it’s sunny.
3.Food Fun
Get kids involved in cooking. Prepare mashed potatoes and a range of veggies, let them use their imaginations and create fabulous faces on their plates. Cakes are simple to bake with very little practice. Let your kids add and experiment with different ingredients of their choice, and get carried away with funky decorations. Anything that gets their hands messy is usually a sign of success. Bread can be fun too - add ingredients like dried fruit, honey etc…
4. Bird Seed Cakes
Cooking for feathered friends: You need: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats and chopped nuts, dried bread, lard, small empty margarine or yoghurt containers, strong twigs and string. Melt the lard in a saucepan over the heat. When completely melted, mix well with the dry seed mix. Spoon the mixture into container. Push a twig into the middle of container and leave until completely set. Take the cake out of container and roll in some more bird seed. Hang in tree with string and place near branches where birds can perch safely.
5.Number Games
Collect old birthday and Christmas cards, and help your kids count too. You could cut and paste six snowmen, or find seven Santa’s to make a picture. Print off a few pages of large numbers on the pc too – you can use them to label your pictures.
NUMBER HUNT. Call out a number and then ask the children to find objects that represent that number from around the house. For example, a chair has four legs, a rolling pin has two handles… you will be amazed at how inventive they become. This activity is something they can do with you, while you are trying to do something else like cooking dinner!
6.Games to Play
Sometimes the old ones are the best ones. Bring out snakes and ladders and snap if you just don’t know what to do. Even today’s technology loving kids can have fun with family games. Have fun creating your own games too. Divide up a large sheet of paper into squares and get them to invent and draw their own game.
7. Outdoor activities
Paint with water. This is a no-mess, no clear up idea for a sunny day. Just get out some old painting brushes or rollers and water, and let the kids draw and decorate with water on the patio or a flat wall. If you’re feeling more adventurous, you could add food colouring or a little WASHABLE poster paint….but you’ll need to get the kids to hose their designs away then!
8.Footprint casts
If you can track down some animal footprints in the garden, why not make casts of them? You’ll need a small spade, a cardboard box, and plaster of paris or casting plaster. Check in the garden for interesting footprints. Dig up the prints with a small spade, taking enough dirt to stop it falling apart (works best when the ground is nice and moist). Carefully place the footprint into a box. Mix up plaster, following the instructions carefully. Pour the liquid plaster carefully into the footprint and smooth off the top with an old knife. Leave it until dry and hard. Brush off dirt and you should have an exact replica of the footprint. They can now be painted.
9.Exploring the environment
Have a treasure hunt outside. Make a list of items to collect – you could look for a rainbow of colours, different shapes or sizes, or simply list things like a feather, a stone, a flower etc. You can use the collection for creating a collage too. Collect rocks from the garden and bring them in to paint and decorate.
10.Sports skills
Create your own assault course. Crawl under a blanket, through a hoop or box – just scale your ideas up or down depending on the space available inside or out.
Ritu Valecha-Sood
Founder of http://www.CraftyKidz.net.
Member of http://www.WomenWorking4Women.co.uk.
Visit for our Free Kids Games & Activities from A to Z
Easy Kids Recipe:
“No Bake Chocolate Slice”
Mmmm mmm good!!
Ingredients
200g packet white marshmallows•
1 tablespoon water•
90g butter, chopped•
200g dark eating chocolate, chopped•
125g plain biscuits, chopped•
1/2 cup halved glazed cherries•
200g extra, dark eating chocolate•
60g extra melted butter•
Instructions
Combine marshmallows, water and butter in saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until marshmallows are completely melted. Remove from the heat, then add chocolate and stir until also melted.
Add the biscuit and cherries to the marshmallow mixture, stir gently until all is combined. Put mixture into two bar pans 8x25 which is lined with baking paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Mix extra chocolate and butter then spread evenly over slices. Refrigerate for a further 1 hour then peel back paper and cut into slices.
Makes about 24.
Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
This is our families secret chocolate chip recipe. We have a large family so this one makes over 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies. You can experiment with most cookie recipes to adjust to your own taste. Remenmber the more brown sugar you use the more chewy type cookie you create. I don't think this one needs much adjusting. First we will start with ingredients.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
1cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4cup sour cream
3 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions to cookie recipe.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together.
3. Sift cake mix, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
4. In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Stir the chocolate mixture into the eggs.
6. Stir in the sifted ingredients with sour cream.
7. Mix in chocolate chips.
8. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls cookie sheets.
9. Bake for until edges are starting to turn dark brown.
Enjoy these wonderful cookies at any occasion. They disappear very quickly at family events. You might notice my secret ingredient. It is the boxed yellow cake mix. Cake flour gives the cookie a little more body than the regular unbleached flour.You may use any of your favorite brands.
If you are making smaller cookies don't forget that the baking time goes down. Many ovens produce heat from the bottom of the oven, so as not burn the bottom of the cookies many times I will double pan the cookies before I bake them. Baking is similar to a gigantic chemistry experiment.
The best way to get the experiment right is to keep experimenting. Once you have found the best combinations of ingredients and procedures, stick with it. Enjoy!
About The Author: Jeffrey Dorrian is the owner and publisher of http://www.American-Recipes.com He has been a professional baker for more than 17 years and now shares his best recipes with us.
Child Arts & Crafts Activities:
Plastic Bottle Pencil Holder
Plastic detergent bottle•
Yarn•
• Ribbon
Construction paper•
Soak the detergent bottle in warm water to help soften the plastic and to remove the label.
Then cut off the top half, leaving an oval shaped piece attached to the back for the head.
Decorate the holder with paper and markers.
Make braided hair from yarn. To braid, cut three pieces of yarn the same length.
Line up the pieces, and tie them together into a know about 1 inch from one end.
Braid by folding A over B and then C over A.
Continue until the yarn is braided. Tie the ends into a knot again about 1 inch from the end.
Glue the braid in place and tie a ribbon on each end
“Inexpensive Craft Ideas For Kids”
You don't need to spend a lot of money on craft equipment for your kids. Sure, you can if you wish go to the toy store and buy those overpackaged, overpriced kits. However, a little bit of thought and you can not only do crafts on the cheap, but you and your kids can have a lot of fun doing them as well.
Think before you throw out things. Pictures from old magazines can be cut out and used for projects such as collage. Greetings cards can also be used in this way, or the cut-outs used to make new cards. Newspapers can be turned into papier mâché.
Raid your sewing box for old buttons, pieces of wool or scrap material. Again, these can be used for collage or cards, and for making bangles, necklaces, or even dolls clothes.
A store cupboard item you can use for crafting with young children is dried pasta such as penne. Help them thread it onto string to make a long necklace.
Make your own playdough. Put 1 cup water, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 2 teaspoons cooking oil and 2 teaspoons cream of tartar in a pan. Add a little food coloring and cook gently for a few minutes until the mixture forms a ball. Store in a plastic container.
Lolly or popsicle sticks, washed and dried, can be made into many interesting objects such as doll's furniture.
Paper plates make great masks. Cut out holes for the eyes and attach a piece of elastic once the plates are painted or drawn on. Halve the plates to make carnival eye masks and attach a popsicle stick as a handle.
A great place to find free craft materials is outdoors. Nature provides us with a wealth of ideas. In the woods, gather leaves, twigs or bark. An imaginative child will find plenty to do with them. While you're there, give your kids paper and crayons to make tree bark rubbings. See what patterns different trees make.
Flowers can be picked for pressing. You don't need an expensive flower press, just gently wrap the blooms in kitchen roll and place between the pages of an old book. Put it in a warm place such as an airing cupboard, weighted down if it's a paperback, and wait a few days until the flowers are completely dry.
The beach is another good place to gather materials. Small shells can be glued onto plain trinket boxes or picture frames to make highly individual gifts. Collect large stones and paint them. Make an interesting texture on paper by spreading glue over and sprinkling on sand.
Explore charity shops. Buy cheap glassware and crockery to paint on. Old wallpaper rolls are great for scrap paper and cutting out. You may even find books on crafts.
I'm sure that you'll come up with even more ideas for inexpensive craft ideas for your kids. Remember to be safety conscious with materials. And don't forget, have fun!
About the Author:
The author is a work-from-home mother. For an amazing 365 easy, inexpensive, new and different kid crafts, go to http://tinyurl.com/hfet5
Positive Parenting Resources:
How Safe is Your Backyard Playground Equipment? Part 1
Before you jump into purchasing a new backyard playground for your family, consider the following… Backyard playground safety begins even before the playground equipment has been constructed and installed. This article, and the series of articles that follow, will assist you in planning for and creating a safe backyard playground experience for your children and their friends.
The Best Location for Your Backyard Playground Equipment
Choosing the ideal location for your new playground equipment is the first step in ensuring backyard playground safety. Avoid sloping areas – level ground helps prevent playground equipment from tipping over. In addition, select an area that is away from potentially hazardous obstacles such as trees, low branches and wires, stumps, roots, large rocks, fences, bricks, and concrete. Plan for a safety zone of at least 6 feet around all backyard playground equipment; set aside even more space in front of and behind swings. Think ahead, also, to where you plan to position any metal or dark-colored slides or surfaces. Placing these out of direct sunlight can help prevent burns on hot, sunny days.
Protective Playground Surfaces
Once you have chosen the safest location for your backyard playground, the next step is to select an appropriate type of protective surface for under and around the equipment. Grass and dirt are the most common surfaces found under backyard playgrounds, but they are not adequate protection against injuries due to falls. Pea gravel, sand, wood chips, and shredded or recycled rubber mulch are some examples of protective playground surface options. Each protective surface option has its own specific minimum depth recommendations. More details on the topic of protective playground surfaces is covered in the next article in this series.
Backyard Playground Construction Materials
Two of the most common materials used to construct playground equipment are metal and wood. Metal playground equipment should be galvanized, painted using a lead-free paint, or otherwise treated to prevent rusting. Wooden playground equipment should be treated to resist rotting and insects. Cedar and Redwood are two recommended wood types for wooden playground construction because they are naturally resistant to rotting and insect damage. ACQ pressure treated wood is also a good choice. Any wood chosen, though, should be intended for outdoor use. To increase backyard playground safety, splinters and sharp edges on wood and metal equipment should be removed or covered.
Safe Hardware for Playground Equipment
Use the bolts and screws recommended by the manufacturer of your playground equipment. Lock washers or self-locking nuts are essential to prevent bolts from loosening over time. Be sure to cap any exposed bolts – these can cause serious cuts or entangle loose clothing. In addition, close all S hooks so that openings are less than the thickness of a dime. Carabiners, like those used in mountain climbing and other adventure sports, can be used as an alternative to S hooks to attach the top of each swing to the swing beam hardware. Carabiners can be safer than S hooks because they are less likely to entangle loose clothing and pose a strangulation hazard. Carabiners also make for easy adjustment of swing height. All playground equipment hardware should be resistant to corrosion.
Prevent Tripping Hazards
Always follow manufacturer instructions for anchoring your playground equipment to the protective playground surface. Watch for exposed anchors, hooks, and bolts, which can cause tripping and other injuries. Bury anchors and all other ground-level hazards under the playground surface, or cover them with protective surfacing.
Playground Equipment Safety Guidelines
When constructing your backyard playground equipment or when inspecting equipment you plan to purchase, use the following guidelines for backyard playground equipment safety recommended by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
• All rungs, steps, posts, and railings should be evenly spaced.
• Openings between rungs, steps, posts, and railings should either be smaller than 3½ inches wide or larger than 9 inches so children cannot become stuck.
• Guardrails or barriers are needed around any platform over 30 inches above the protective playground surface.
• The slide entrance area and bed should not have any gaps or protrusions that could catch or entangle clothing.
• V-shaped angles that open upward and are less than 55-degrees should be filled with a solid barrier (gusset) because these angles can trap a child’s head or neck.
Once the playground equipment has been chosen, constructed, and installed, the following guidelines will further ensure the safety of children who enjoy the playground equipment:
• Bike helmets should not be worn on play sets because they cannot pass through some spaces and children can become trapped. Strangulation by the helmet’s chinstrap is a potential danger.
• Ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, or pet leashes should never be attached to playground equipment because they can be a strangulation hazard.
• Children who use the backyard playground equipment should be supervised at all times by a parent or other responsible adult.
Maintaining Your Backyard Playground for Safety
Ensuring playground safety means maintaining the equipment over time. Bolts, nuts, caps, chains, cables, and other playground equipment should be checked periodically for wear and tear and replaced as needed. In addition, protective playground surfaces like pea gravel, mulch, and sand may need to be replenished as they become compressed. The topic of backyard playground maintenance is covered in more detail in the third article in this series.
Conclusion
Having the most fun possible is a child’s only concern when it comes to backyard playground equipment. With proper planning and implementation of the playground safety recommendations presented in this article and in the series of articles to follow, you can rest assured that you will have created a play space for your children that is not only fun, but safe.
For even more information about backyard playground / playset equipment safety, access the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Outdoor Home Playground Safety Handbook.
Trey Collier, President of BackyardCity.com where North America shops for Backyard Swing Sets, Kits & Plans.
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Editor’s notes & humour:
Coffee Comments
Cousin Ella is the world's worst at getting instructions mixed up. When she got married her husband bought her one of those fancy, electric coffee makers. It had all the latest gadgets on it. Salesman Ridley carefully explained how everything worked; how to plug it in, set the timer, go back to bed, and upon rising, the coffee is ready. A few weeks later Ella was back in the store and Ridley asked her how she liked the coffee maker.
"Wonderful!" she replied, "However, there's one thing I don't understand. Why do I have to go to bed every time I want to make a pot of coffee?"
...........................................................................................................
An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other. He says to the waiter, "Me want coffee."
The waiter says, "Sure chief, coming right up." He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee. The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp, turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun, causing parts of animal to splatter every where, then just walks out.
The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand and was pulling another male buffalo in the other. He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter, "Me want coffee."
The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto! We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday. What was all that about, anyway?"
The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Me training for management position: Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull, leave mess for others to clean up, disappear for rest of day.
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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.
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Your Editor,
Theresea Hughes.
http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com
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