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your Kids Activities & Positive Parenting Newsletter
August 09, 2011

“Positive Parenting Tips” newsletter August 2011

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FreeToddlersActivity&DisciplineGuide

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

Inspiring Quotes:

"If your mind isn't open, keep your mouth shut too." - Sue Grafton

"Dance like no one's watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one's listening, live like it's heaven on earth." - William Pukey

"If you are clear about what you want, the world responds with clarity." - Loretta Staples

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.

Musical games

Clare Walters

You don't have to be a talented musician or accomplished singer to encourage musical activities with your child - and they can be great fun for you both.

Musical youth

High or low?

- sing or play a simple tune that uses obviously high or low notes, then ask your child whether she thinks it's high or low.

- When she understands this, try singing a short musical scale and ask her to tell you if it's going up to the high notes or down to the low ones.

Clap a name - try clapping out the syllables in each family member's name. For example Jon-a-than (three claps), Mar-y (two claps) and E-liz-a-beth (four claps).

Hum that tune - hum a favourite nursery rhyme or song and ask your child to guess what it is. Then ask her to hum a tune for you.

Home-made instruments - make a drum by cutting off the top of a balloon, stretching it over a plastic bowl and securing with parcel tape; or make an eerie sound by blowing across the open top of a plastic bottle filled with water, then pour some water away and try again (the sound should get lower).

See how an inappropriate piece of music can disrupt an atmosphere

Read to music - find a poem or short story with a distinct atmosphere (scary, exciting, sad, funny etc) and read it over a piece of music that echoes the atmosphere. Or see how an inappropriate piece of music can disrupt an atmosphere.

Rounds - sing a round, where people start a song one after the other. Well-known rounds include Three Blind Mice, London Bridge, Row, Row, Row Your Boat and London's Burning.

Your voice is a musical instrument, so use it - and sing!

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

Easy Kids Recipe:

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Your 2 year old will love This Toddlers Activity recipe enjoying a healthy start with a treat.

What you will need:

3 Eggs

1 Cup Cottage Cheese

1 and a half Tablespoons Melted Butter

3 Tablespoons Wholemeal Flour

1 Dessertspoon Wheatgerm

Using a mixer or blender, beat eggs, add Cottage Cheese, mix till ingredients is fairly smooth. Add butter, flour and Wheatgerm.

Pour small amount into a lightly greased frying pan: Cooking time is as your ordinary Pancakes.

Toddlers Activity SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Stewed Apple or Apricot Puree is a great treat.

ENJOY!!!

Child Arts & Crafts Activities:

Sea Horse Themes And Ideas

If you are teaching preschool arts and crafts and are looking for a Sea Horse theme, then here are some great ideas that you can use.

First of all, children love the ocean and Sea Horses hold a special appeal to most preschoolers because of their unique appearance. If you are fortunate enough to bring live Sea Horses in your classroom, then you can display them in a tank.

However, for most preschool teachers, this won’t be an option and a more creative approach will be needed to ensure that your preschool arts and crafts Sea Horse theme is a success.

Tissue Paper Sea Horse

For this activity, you will need construction paper Sea Horse cut outs. Simply trace your Sea Horse template or shape on to construction paper then cut them out.

For a free Sea Horse template that you may print visit here: http://www.firstschool.ws/t/cpseahorse.html

Let each child have some pre cut tissue paper and a little cup of Elmer’s glue. They can apply the glue with a paintbrush and decorate their Sea Horses with the tissue paper.

Underwater Sea Horse Scene

Here is an activity that you can use to create an underwater scene. This is a great addition for your preschool arts and crafts Sea Horse theme. First, you will need to print out this template of Sea Horses provided by First School.

http://www.firstschool.ws/t/cp_animals/sea-horses.html

Have the children color the pictures with crayons. After children have finished their scenes, lightly paint over their pictures with blue tempera paint. This will give an underwater appearance to their pictures.

As an alternative, you can have the children draw their scenes as well as Sea Horses, then color their pictures with crayons, and cover with the blue Tempera.

Sea Horse and Ocean Book for Preschoolers

For this activity you will need to print two copies of the Sea Horse template on cardstock (this will be the cover of the book). Again, you can find the free template here: http://www.first-school.ws/t/cpseahorse2.html.

Next, you can add regular blank paper for the inside of the book. Have the children color and decorate the covers. Let the children paste pictures of ocean animals inside the book.

About The Author: Jennifer Houck is the owner of the online Parent Center at http://www.ilovebeingamom.com to where you can find many more resources and arts/crafts to help in raising in your preschooler.

Positive Parenting Resources:

“Potty Training Boys: Is It Harder?”

Girls often complete potty training at a younger age than boys which leads parents and caregivers to assume that boys are harder to potty train than girls.

While this maybe true for some children, potty training boys isn't necessarily more difficult. As a mother of two boys, I felt that they just weren't interested for a long time, there was too much else going on and they wanted to be off doing it not worrying about stuff like using the potty.

Once they got interested then we started training in earnest but up until then I was happy to let them be.

It is futile to push them into training before they are ready because you either set yourself up a battle of wills or a string of disappointments when they don't make it in time. They will train eventually so until then enjoy your time together rather than spend the time being frustrated.

What then? So now you've waited until your son has shown some interest in ditching the diapers, what do you do from here?

. Provide lots of encouragement and support.

. Help with getting his clothes sorted. While your daughter may have had no problem negotiating her clothing your son is likely to need help getting his clothes off and back on.

. Work out what motivates him and use that to encourage him to keep trying. There are a range of potty training aids that can help.

. Let him see his father or other male family members using the toilet and explain that this is what grown up boys do.

. To encourage him to focus on what he is doing, you can use floatable targets for him to aim at. You can try using Cheerios or torn up scraps of toilet paper.

. Lots of praise for whenever he gets it right.

. Try using a timer to remind both of you when he needs to go. He maybe so busy playing that his own bodily needs are the last thing he thinks of.

. Have the bathroom set up to make it easy for him to go on his own if you're not available at the moment he needs to go.

. Keep a spray bottle of water in the bathroom and teach him how to clean up if there are any spills.

Potty training boys doesn't have to be difficult. Just make sure that you let him set the pace and before you know it, you'll have him successfully potty trained .

J Brennan has potty trained two children, one easily and one not. Along the way she has learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. Save time and frustration by learning from her mistakes at http://www.pottytra ininghowto. com Free e-course available on making potty training fun.

Free Toddlers Activity & Child Discipline Guide
Free parenting resources to help you use positive parenting in your child’s development, toddlers activities & games, toddler arts & crafts, kids easy recipes, free kids books for bedtime reading and even child discipline help!
http://free-toddlers-activity-and-discipline-guide.com

Funny Mother's Day Quotes:

• "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his." - Oscar Wilde

• "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." - Tenneva Jordan

Editor’s notes & humour:

FreeToddlersActivity&DisciplineGuide

Time Management for Moms

We’ve all heard the classic time management advice: Stick to a schedule. Work smart, not hard…

But moms need time management tricks as flexible as their schedules, since there will always be those days when your cat needs an emergency trip to the vet, your infant gets a stomach bug, and your kindergartner announces that he needs 48 frosted cupcakes by noon.

All moms have an office that never closes and an inbox that never empties, whether we work outside the home or not. This daily grind can put us all on the fast track to burnout. Here are some time management tips especially for moms.

Organize
Sound organization is a stepping stone to time management.

• Have things packed and ready to go. Keep a basket or folder ready for outgoing mail. Keep the diaper bag and snack bags stocked.

• Organize your house and desk. See Momscape articles: “Conquering Kids’ Clutter” and “Organizing Your Closets.”

• Write all of your appointments on one calendar.

• Stick to a routine.

• Know thyself. If your mind shuts off at 8pm, schedule your biggest tasks first thing in the morning.

• Make a to-do list before you go to bed so you won’t waste that precious morning time.

• If your kids' disruptions are frequent, give them what they want: Spend at least 20 minutes offering them your undivided attention. No TV, no radio, just toys and books (depending, of course, on their ages). Play with them, read to them. Often, these disruptions are just a sign that they need a little one-on-one time.

• More ideas… Maria Garcia, author of Finally Organized, Finally Free, offers a free idea-pack of practical organizational tips with a subscription to her newsletter. This is a great resource, full of ideas on how to get more personal and professional juice out of your day. Visit her website for more quick tips. http://www.getorganizednow.com

Energize
Exercise to energize. Spending an hour a day on exercise can actually save you time. You'll feel more energized and productive throughout the day, and you may even require less sleep at night. Cut the time spent working out by boosting the intensity. Don't cut the workout itself.

Prioritize
As moms, we dash from one responsibility to another, but there is an alternative that we often forget: Give yourself less to do.

The first step is to figure out what’s really important to you. Schedule several key tasks and outsource the rest.

Delegating is difficult, but it will get easier with practice. I have always assumed that I can save money by doing everything myself, but my husband lives by a different rule. As a businessman, he bills his time on an hourly basis, and he has no problem letting me know when the cost-benefit analysis of him completing a household task doesn’t compute. If a plumber would cost less than it would for him to take the time to fix the bathroom leak, we call the professional.

Taken one step further, if you enjoy your work and would earn more money if you spent more time at it, why not give yourself that extra time (and money) by hiring someone to do the tasks you don’t enjoy?

Just Say No
We are here for our children. We are here for our husbands, our parents, our siblings, and our friends. But nowhere in the mommy manual does it say we always have to be here for the lady on the next block who needs us to run next week’s PTA meeting. Nowhere does it say we have to spend all night in the sewing room, unless, of course, we want to.

Some experts say “no” is the only word you need for effective time management. We moms want to please, to help, and to make life easier for everyone around us.

The next time someone calls to ask for your help, agree to think it over. When you no longer feel pressured for an answer, ask yourself if you really want to help. Make sure you aren’t agreeing solely to please the person on the other end of the phone.

When we learn to respect our time, others will respect it, too.

Slow down
Learn how to take life as it comes. When you’re faced with a seemingly daunting task, promise yourself to take your time and enjoy it rather than rushing through. Time to cook dinner? Dig for your favorite recipe, pour a class of Chardonnay. Mince some fresh herbs, and savor the aromas.

Well, this has got to be the simplest, and most effective, formula for personal goal setting success ever.

You need no other formula or strategy, ever.

In order to achieve any and every goal, you simply need to answer these 3 questions.

"In order to achieve my goal....

1. What do I need to STOP doing?

2. What do I need to START doing?

3. What do I need to DO MORE OF?"

THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO THIS FORMULA FOR SUCCESSFUL GOALSETTING...

But if you DO want more suggestions and tips for goalsetting, go to:

Personal Goal Setting free self help articles

Mature women are great because... - JUST FOR BIT OF FUN

This is for all you girls 40 years and over.... and for those who are turning 40, and for those who are scared of moving into their 50's...AND 60's and... and for guys who are scared of girls over 40!!!!...

This was written by Andy Rooney from CBS 60 Minutes.

Andy Rooney says: As I grow in age, I value women who are over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.

A woman over 40 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 40 give a hoot what you might think about her or what she's doing.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

A woman over 40 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women. Women over 40 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40. They always know.

A woman over 40 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal.

For every stunning, smart, well-coiffeured, hot woman of 40+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say

"Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free" here's an update for you.

Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage, why?

Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire Pig, just to get a little sausage.

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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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