“Positive Parenting Tips” December newsletter

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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:

"Follow your bliss." - Joseph Campbell 10. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." - Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. " - Antoine de St. Exupery

Kids Activities:

Christmas Carols

The First Noel The first Noel that the Angel did say, Was to certain poor Shepherds in fields as they lay, In fields as they lay a-keeping their sheep, On a cold winter's night that was freezing so deep.

Chorus Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. They looked up above, to the East where a Star That beyond them shone out in the Heavens from afar, And which to the earth did send down a great light, And so it continued by day and by night.

Chorus And then by the light of that bright guiding Star, There came three Wise Men from a country afar; To seek for a King, it was their intent, And to follow the Star wherever it went.

Chorus The Star went before them unto the North West, And seemed o'er the City of Bethlehem to rest, And there did remain by night and by day, Right over the place where Jesus Christ lay.

Chorus Then entered they all, and those Wise Men three Most reverently worshiped with low bended knee; And offered to Christ in His Sacred Presence, Gifts of Gold, and of Myrrh, and of sweet Frankincense.

Chorus And now Christians all, with most gladsome accord, Sing praises, sing praises to Jesus our Lord, That made both the Heaven, and the Earth out of nought, And with His Own Blood our Redemption hath wrought. Chorus

Jingle Bells Dashing through the snow In a one-horse open sleigh Through the fields we go Laughing all the way. Bells on bob-tail ring Making spirits bright What joy it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight.

Chorus: Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh, O Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way, Oh what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. 2. A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side; The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot, We ran into a drifted bank And there we got upsot.

Chorus 3. A day or two ago The story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh He laughed at me as I there sprawling laid But quickly drove away.

Chorus 4. Now the ground is white, Go it while you're young, Take the girls along And sing this sleighing song. Just bet a bob-tailed bay, Two-forty as his speed, Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! You'll take the lead.

Chorus

Jolly Old St. Nicholas Jolly old St. Nicholas, Lean your ear this way! Don’t you tell a single soul, What I’m going to say; Christmas Eve is coming soon; Now, you dear old man, Whisper what you’ll bring to me: Tell me if you can.

When the clock is striking twelve, When I'm fast asleep, Down the chimney broad and black, With your pack you'll creep; All the stockings you will find Hanging in a row; Mine will be the shortest one, You'll be sure to know.

Johnny wants a pair of skates, Susy wants a dolly; Nellie wants a story book; She thinks dolls are folly; As for me, my little brain isn’t very bright; Choose for me, old Santa Claus. What you think is right

Joy to the World Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room; And heav’n and nature sing, And heav’n and nature sing. And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns Let men their songs employ. While fields and floods, Rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy Repeat the sounding joy

No more let sin and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness. And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders of His love.

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Easy Kids Recipe:

Christmas Cookies: Santa's Midnight Snack

Cookies. Who doesn't love them? We dip them in milk. We cover them with icing and sprinkles. We make them in various shapes and sizes and devour them with abandon, not giving a second thought to their caloric content.

Why? Because they're delicious!

We eat cookies year 'round and don't need an excuse to crave them, but the holiday season is the perfect time to overindulge. No cookie is better than a freshly baked Christmas cookie, after all. We bake them with our children while singing Christmas songs or decorating the Christmas tree. We sneak late-night bites while wrapping gifts and stuffing stockings. We leave a plate of cookies, along with a glass of milk, for Santa to nibble on during his Christmas Eve visit.

Of all the food and drink we associate with the Holidays , none are more essential and revered than the Christmas cookie. Which is why we're bringing you a recipe you'll want to try in your kitchen come December. Not just any run of the mill cookie can be a Christmas cookie, after all. You want something special when you celebrate the occasion with family and friends, and we're happy to oblige by showing you how to make the best Christmas cookie on the block (no offense to your grandma's time-tested recipe!). And, to boot, they're easy and quick to make!

Santa's Midnight Snack (or Rudolph's Sugar Cookie)

3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing and sprinkles

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large mixer bowl at medium speed with electric mixer. Mix until light and creamy. Next, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture and mix on low speed until well blended. Cover dough and chill for one hour. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut in desired shapes (Christmas trees, stockings, Santas, gift boxes, etc.). Place on baking sheets and bake 8-10 minutes, until edges are golden brown. After cooling, decorate Cookies with icing and sprinkles as desired.

Did you know that Santa's also a peanut butter fanatic? That's right, jolly ol' St. Nick can't get enough peanut butter fudge in that jelly like tummy of his. As long as you don't have any elves at home allergic to peanut products, give this recipe a try (not a cookie, we know, so we're fudging a bit on this one ... but, hey, this recipe is super easy and super tasty!):

Penultimate Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup milk

1/2 stick margarine

Pinch of salt

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, milk, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Boil, stirring frequently, until it forms a soft ball in cold water. Remove from stove and add peanut butter and vanilla. Beat until creamy and pour into buttered 9x9 pan. Let cool before cutting.

Jeremy White, a writer for Imaginary Greetings, Inc. (http://www.imaginarygreetings.com), is a regular contributing author specializing in features, sports, business and food writing, and frequently contributes to a a variety of print and online publications. To learn more about how to truly light up your child's eyes this holiday season like never before visit: http://www.santashotline.com.

Child Arts & Crafts Activities:

“Cats Christmas Ornament”

This can also be made out of construction paper or gray cardboard.

This project is rated VERY EASY to do.

What You Need

• Gray craft foam

• Pen

• Heart stencil, die cut, or cookie cutter

• Scrap of yarn in any color

• 2 Tiny wiggle eyes

• Scissors

• Hole punch

• Green or red 1/4" wide Ribbon

• Green or red "Painters" paint markers

How To Make It

1. Lay the middle of the heart stencil on the edge of the craft foam. This creates a mouse shape. Trace around the stencil.

2. Cut out "mouse".

3. Hole punch two holes on the top of the mouse and one on the rounded end of the mouse. (see photo)

4. Cut a piece of ribbon to hang the mouse.

5. Tie the ribbon at each end. 6. Write your cat's name on the

mouse. You may want to write the YEAR on the back.

7. Tie the yarn for the tail.

8. Glue a wiggle eye on each side of the head. 9. Hang on your Christmas tree and enjoy!

“Giant Paper Tree”

This is a great project for as few as a couple of children to a whole

classroom of kids! Great way to recycle too!

Parental supervision is recommended.

This project is rated EASY to do.

What You Need

• about five feet by three feet of Cardboard (you can use several pieces of old boxes and tape together to get your 5 X 3 foot giant piece of cardboard)

• Sharp craft knife

• Green paper (either rolls of green paper or construction paper)

• Tape

• Glue

• Scissors

• Sparkles

• Christmas colouring books

• Yard (knitting wool)

• Paper angel

How To Make It

1. Draw and cut out a giant Christmas tree form from the 5 X 3 foot of cardboard.

2. Glue green paper all over the cardboard to cover.

3. Have children colour Christmas pictures from colouring book and cut out.

4. Make bows using yarn.

5. Create all sorts of paper Christmas ornaments.

6. Glue the handmade ornaments, pictures, and bows on the cardboard Christmas tree.

7. Glue sparkles all over tree.

ENJOY your recycled Christmas tree. We placed ours in the front garden under an awning to protect it from our cold Canadian winters! It works great!

Positive Parenting Resources:

Friendships

Eileen Hayes Between the ages of about five and nine, friendships usually form quite casually and may change very rapidly. Your child may be great friends with someone one day, then best pals with somebody else the next.

Friends will be friends After the age of nine years or so, it becomes more likely children will have a 'best friend' and may form more intense, longer-lasting friendships on the basis of a variety of shared interests and things in common.

Your child may be happy with just one friend, or be extremely popular with a large circle of friends. Alternatively, he may seem perfectly content on his own - sometimes because he has interests that are different from most other children his age, whether older or younger. If he's happy with the situation, that's fine. You only need to worry if he seems upset about rejection by friends.

Friendships can be a wonderful source of strength emotionally for children, and help their developing self-confidence.

What if your child has trouble making friends? This can cause enormous anxiety. It's right to worry if your child seems upset by a constant lack of friends. This can mean they're more vulnerable - not just to loneliness and low self-esteem - but to later problems such as lower academic achievement, or even eating disorders and depression.

Your child may be so shy that he has great difficulty reaching out to make friends. Alternatively, a bullying or very aggressive child may find other children avoid him.

However, there are children who don't fit into either of these extreme categories, but who just seem to be loners.

Not all of these children are troubled by it, so it's important not to overreact. While the vast majority of children do rely heavily on their friendships, there are some who seem quite happy without this, and many grow into resourceful, creative adults.

Tips
• Encourage your child - talk to him about friendships, share memories of your childhood friends and ask your child's views about his.

• Teach social skills and socialable behaviour - explain to your child how to understand non-verbal and verbal cues, for example, someone smiling at him or making a jokey remark. Your child may be misinterpreting these and miss opportunities to make friends. Your child may overreact to teasing, or pressure others to play when they've said "no". Take the time to use role play to show your child, for example, how to make eye contact and to smile to show he's friendly. Your child could also practise saying something like: "Hello I am Sam, would you like to play?".

• Teach basic social rules - not to snatch things, or hit others and how to share and co-operate.

• Teach negotiation and conflict resolution - talk to your child about how to listen to others, state his point of view assertively and how to compromise.

• Make your child's friends welcome in your home - don't judge your child's choices too harshly or force him to play with children you choose.

• Make an effort to talk to other parents at school - this encourages children to get to know each other.

• Find local activities - where your child will have opportunities to make friends outside of school, such as cubs, a drama group or swimming lessons.

• Show love - this is invaluable as it help bolster your child's confidence, even if there are occasional friendship difficulties. Never show up your child or tell him off in front of friends.

• Try not to interfere too much in matters connected with your child's friendships and social life - he should have the chance to sort these out in his own way whenever possible.

Bad company You may worry about your child getting in with a 'bad' crowd or making 'unsuitable' friends. This can be quite tricky because any moves you make to ban such friendships usually only make a child more determined to carry on with them. It's better to allow the friendship and to keep an eye on things, especially when in your own home. You can stress they must stick to your house rules - for example, no swearing or hitting.

Safety advice

• Don't let your child go off alone unsupervised - especially with a friend you feel uncomfortable about.

• Be wary of groups that you don't feel happy about - boys especially can be led on into much worse behaviour when a 'gang' is egging them on.

• Make sure you always know where your child is - have clear rules that they must come and tell you before moving on somewhere else.

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