treats... easy favors for school age kids

treats for our friends...

An inexpensive plastic bad coupled with a white sheet of paper. Add a glue stick to adhere you label and staples to seal of your treats. The only thing easier is eating the sweets inside.

The adorable labels are from two straight lines.

a chore for you and you and you...

The dread hasn't set in yet, as for now the kiddos are enjoying their assigned chores. Charts work well at our house. My kiddos (that do chores) range from 5 years old to 8 years old. I partner the kids together on some tasks so they learn to work together and a task with a partner is way more fun. This chart is divided up into 6 days. Mommy and Daddy handle the kitchen on Sunday. Each of the kiddos has only one task for that day of the week. Two kiddos have "washing the dishes" so that a five year old always has a bigger kiddo to help. The other task include spraying the counter (the favorite!), sweeping (the least favorite), and clearing the dishes. As with a lot of other things at our home, the kids are allowed to work as a team. So when one person is having an off day and refuses to perform their chore another sibling may (and often does) step in and complete the task. So as long at the task is complete there are no consequences even if one person did not work. They seem to find comfort in knowing their siblings will step in for them, and enjoy helping each other.

As you can see things don't always go as I planned. :) Sometimes there is a mess made, but soggy rug or not, the seeds of responsibility are worth sowing.

Displaying kiddo artwork...

Keeping special artwork in a visible place is an easy way to remind your kiddos how much you value their creativity. We had a few extra boys over to spend the night and this was one of their creations. Outside painting is a great activity when friend come over to play. We have talked about it before, but I think it is worth repeating. Paint is not something to be scared of, with the right prep it can be a fun and easy activity. And what kiddo doesn't love to paint? I love that our guest's mom hung up the special flag at home. My boys were so proud when they heard that the flag was hanging in their house. What a fantastic way to remember a great day! 

getting a grip on dinner...pre-made shopping list

Walking through the grocery store collecting stares the friendly "boy, you have your hands full" greeting is no place to be making decisions or organizing a list. So that should be done in the peace and quiet (chuckle) of my home. The grocery list are organized to include the following categories: produce, dairy, meat, frozen, beauty/paper, and other. If you keep a list on the fridge, divide it into the same categories. As you fill in the items, you will be making your shopping trip more pleasant with each pen stroke. The grocery store is divided into departments, make your list fit the store. It is much easier standing in the dairy department knowing you need cheddar cheese and milk than figuring out you forgot the cheese when you are at the check-out line. Or, even worse making the discovery when you are preparing a meal. Bringing a pen helps if you mark things as you buy, but scanning the entire list in each department waste precious time. The best foods are in the perimeter of the store. Wendy Boswell says is well, "That's where all the fresh foods are. The less you find yourself in the central aisles of the grocery store, the healthier your shopping trip will be. Make it a habit—work the perimeter of the store for the bulk of your groceries, then dip into the aisles for staples that you know you need." By using the divided list, it is evident when when I am taking to many dips into the aisles. The meal system shopping list for the first week looks like this: Please remember the first two weeks may be a little more expensive and time consuming than the other weeks because we are beginning to stock our dinner arsenal (freezer). Stick with the program, the reward is great! As a little bonus... this is the matching fridge list. Simply cut in half and use a magnetic clip to keep in on the fridge. Enjoy! P.S. I am excited to share this system. Please leave me a comment, let me know if you have any suggestions to make it better or what part you enjoy the most. Tell a friend, too.

charting progress...

I love charts! Not because they look cute, but the peace they bring my household. We are currently enjoying the tea party chart. There are a few reasons this chart has worked so well for us. The first is that the rewards are quick. My kiddos don't have the attention span to work six months on a big prize. They only have to earn seven stickers for each part of their reward. The kiddos also go "outside the lines" and use their stickers at bartering tools with each other. I will clean your room for you if you give me two of your stickers, etc. Secondly, the kiddos feel like they are part of a team. Since they are all working toward the same reward (tea party) they have enjoyed talking and planning their contribution. Noah is very excited about cupcakes while Abby can't wait for brownies. They have been very encouraging to each other,"Becca, just one more sticker and I will help you make a cake." Most importantly, I have a easy reward/discipline. When they get in the car, buckle up, and are kind to one another they each get a sticker. But, if I hear an unkind word I will remove one of their hard earned smiley face stickers. We don't set up clear guideline about what constitute a sticker, so the kids will often ask if I _______ can I get a sticker? We don't have a set time frame for each chart, we just make a new one when they loose interest. Generally we have a new type of chart every other month. Some stick around longer than others, we still uses the reading club chart that we started back in November. I make my charts in photoshop, because I like the way they look. This is a blank, ready for your imagination and pen to make it fit your household.Happy Charting!!

just the right spot...

We have this fun little niche in a hallway that we use to keep our "Mommy's Magic bags". One of my favorite ways to turn a moment that I am thinking of going bald with my own two hands into a great time with the kiddos. I finished the bags back in December, but there was just alway something missing. Eureka...A bench with even more room for pre-packaged activities.  I found the storage containers that I wanted to use and waited for the perfect bench to grow around them. But, no bench grew and I couldn't find one right size with a price tag that I could swallow.  You know what they say, if you want it done right (or you are too cheap to buy the one from that speciallity store that is really cute) you have to do it yourself.  So a couple of 1X12, a little plywood, and a few coats of paint later...tada!I wanted a little personality since it was a kiddo area, but didn't want it to look like we live at a preschool. So I stole this idea from my sister (the queen of everything cool looking) and added a little fabric to the back. I "laminated" with a peel and stick product from a fabric store. I had actually bought it to make bibs, but I am very happy with the final resting place. So easy, but what a change. 

Hum...think it might still need a cushion....to be continued.

Birthdays...

I just love birthdays! What a special time to enjoy looking back, looking forward, and savoring today. We have a few traditions that have developed over the years. 

1. We give the kids 

a choice on their birthday to either A: have a big blowout birthday party with all their friends, B: take a weekend trip with on their own with one parent, or C: take a weekend trip with the entire family.  This

 starts around age 4, but is

 really enjoyed at age 5+. The kids talk about it all year and usually change there minds often and dream big. Our youngest daughter invites and disinvites other family members to her birthday

 celebration (including her twin)throughout the year depending if she likes their behavior or not. 

2. Each of the kids enjoy

 making something for the birthday kiddo. Gifts range from drawings to sock puppets, but each one is filled with love and thoughtfulness. The exchanging of these gifts is

 usually a very special and often touching time.

3. The birthday fairies come to decorate. Either the day before or while they sleep the other kiddos (with help) decorate the room of the birthday kiddo. We

 keep a decoration box that the kiddos usually pick from, but when parents are unprepared a roll of toliet paper and construction paper chains work well. 

4. Birthday Princesses/Prince wear their crowns. The girls have special birthday tiaras that they wear on their special day.

 Since one of the girls has a twin brother we have a special crown for him as well. :) 

5. Leave the icing off. When serving birthday cake we leave the icing off and serve each slice with a scoop of icing and a dash of sprinkles.

 That way each kiddos has the fun of decorating their slice and no arguments over who gets what piece.  Everyone wins, not to mention one less job for mommy on the special day.

6. Sleep where you want. The birthday kiddo gets to choose where they sleep after the big day. They are usually accompanied by at least one sibling and talking is usually not kept to a minimum. We made the mistake of doing this the night before the birthday but after one grumpy birthday boy we decided this was a better way to end a special day.

We just celebrated our 30th kiddo birthday last week. I can't wait to see what the birthdays look like after 30 more, according to my calculation that should be in about 4.5 years. 

cooking with kiddos...

Cooking with kiddos is big fun at our household. Sometimes so many little fingers (and spills) can be frustrating but these rules help me enjoy.

1) Kiddos help when the food is for our family. If I want something to look just right or taste the way it should I don't ask for kitchen help. 

2) Before we start we have all the ingredients on the counter and each child gets to choose their special ingredient. They are responsible for that ingredient: holding, pouring, measuring, stirring, cleaning up, etc. The unchosen ingredients are added in a rotation or by a parent.

3) Never sweep the floor before kiddos cook...the dirtier the better. That way I don't mind if they spill a bit, after all I needed to sweep anyway.

4) A little saran wrap on the counter or table goes a long way.

5) Special cooking apparel is so fun!

6) The time together is worth way more than the resulting treat/meal.

Today we made cookies. I love doubling the recipe so there is plenty of dough to freeze. Just wrap a "log" of dough in saran wrap and freeze. Try to get it as smooth as possible so once the dough is frozen it is easy to unwrap. Just slice and bake once the wrap is removed. I love having cookies ready at a moments notice. Great for a special snack or just to cover of the smell of too many stinky feet in the house. :) 

Enjoy!

for the love of reading...

In our family, it more important to love to read than to read well. Don't get me wrong, we strive for excellence in all we do, but we believe if we can foster the love, the skill will naturally follow. The boys were starting to get a bit legalistic about the number of pages they read each day. So to entice them to want to read extra books we created a reading club. The older boys helped me come up with the rules. I had to think about how we adapt them to four year olds, so everyone could be involved. Here is what the Kelly reading club looks like:

Each time they read 4 book, they can choose a dessert at home. If they save up and read 6 books they can plan a family dessert for the whole family. If they choose to read 7 books they get to have a special dessert night with mommy or daddy. To encourage reading to siblings when the big boys read to the little ones, the book counts for both kiddos. We read to the kiddos a lot, but lately I realized we are skipping a lot of our favorite younger books for the 4 year olds. This program encouraged me (because they asked) to read their books too.

We choose dessert (for now)because the kiddos love to cook, but any reward will do.

Organizing with kiddos...

In honor of the "be more organized" resolution that we seem to make to ourselves, we are going to talk about organization with kiddos. Organization is only useful when it fills a need. My love for organization comes from the desire that the "have to(s)" take less time, so we can fill our days with the "get's to(s)". Think of your heart's desire before you invest your time and effort.

1. Narrow your target.

Think of where you want to start. Clear your mind of what you want to have done this year, this week, or this millinium. Know that each small change brings more "get to" time to you and your family. Like I tell my kiddos when they ask "Are we there yet?" on a long trip. "We are getting closer every second." Once you start tasting success the desire will grow, but met with frustration the project will end. So we start small, "I want to organize my daughter's dress up clothes." is a much better goal than "I want to organize my kiddo's stuff."

2. Determine your audience.

Simply put, who is going to use the stuff I am organizing. When organizing my kiddo's room I use the 5 minute rule: Can I straighten up this room in 5 minutes? When we had three two year olds we used big tubs and all the toys went in. The toys that were stored in that room had to fit into the tub(s). So, if a toy did not have a special place or fit in the tub we moved it to another room(or house). Now that the little ones are four we have separate tubs for dress-up, babies, and other. We keep special toys where they can't reach. These toys need to be put away properly. One card in not near as fun as a whole deck. So, I get them down for their special playtime and ensure they are put away correctly. Quiet time toys, stored separately with limited access, hold little ones attention better than if they were left out.

4. Be inspired and Start

Inspiration can be found with-in or from other sources. Use your friends, tap into the knowledge of books or internet. I usually do a quick google search before I head to my target area. Just be careful not to buy yet. Get your hands dirty and use temporary storage until you have taken inventory of what you need. Shoe boxes, ziplocks, grocery bags, etc. will do just fine to create your new organization system. I find it less overwhelming to work left to right. One of your most important organization tools will be the trash bag...don't store JUNK! Then go looking around the house before you part with your hard earned dollars for new containers. You may be suprised how many perfect sized containers are waiting to be used.

5. Finishing touches

Now that you know what size and location for the containers, start thinking big. Make your storage work together. I have a few favorites that I use over and over. When I buy small plastic boxes I head to the same place for the same style. All umpteen clear plastic boxes in my house coordinate and fit together. So think big, you may only be buying 5 boxes this time, but think about the variety of uses and extended availablity of that piece. In this project I used the same zipper bags that we use in our homeschool drawer. Now, make sure you have growing room. If you have room but not the need, grab a few extra boxes/bags and leave them empty.

6. Relax and Celebrate

Enjoy the step you have taken and savor the feeling of success. Sometime my best attempts are foiled my little hands. Thus making them more frustrating or more time consuming to keep up than if I would have left it alone. That simply means there is a better solution waiting to be discovered. But, this time when I start I have a bit more knowledge, (of what doesn't work & why) my new solution is bound to be better.

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A reward to remember...

The kiddos enjoy working toward a goal, and I love having reward ( or reason to change your behavior right now) handy. After my oldest daughter received her first tea set, the kiddos started working together to have a party. This is Abby's chart, after she has 7 stickers in a category we will work on that area of the party. Each kiddo had their own chart and worked on their part of the party. It is fun to see each of them get so excited. Since all the kiddos worked on the party we invited both boys and girls. The girls enjoyed their fancy princess tea party while the boys enjoy their cowboy and indian party.

The chart made this party special on many levels: -they all worked together -they earned and worked for each piece -we get to share a special day with friends.

Easy painting with kiddos...

Painting can sometime be an intimidating activity. Visions of your children looking like these may be enough to make your blood run cold. With a little preparation painting can leave little clean up. Painting outside is my first choice, but when done right inside can be just as easy. Preparation is the key, these are the simple step I use to prepare:

1. First I have a tablecloth to cover the table.
2. Place a bag of wipes and a small bottle of lotion on the table. I store the table cloth, lotion, and wipes in a drawer next to our table so they easily accessible.
3. With the table covered I get my tackle box of paint. Paint-shirts, paper cups, disposable plates, paint, and brushes are stored in one tote. Putting the paint on a plate keeps is contained and gives a great pallet for mixing. Best of all I toss it when I am finished.
4. Just before we start painting I lotion up my little artists hands. This works very well with ink projects too. Hands are so much easier to clean up if lotions is used first.

I let the kids choose their colors for painting, fill their plate and let them get started. Once they begin I place a small (very small) amount of water in their cup and set it on a napkin. I let them paint as long as they are interested, but before they get bored, I start talking about what we do when before we leave our table. As long as they take off the paint shirt and wipe their hands (or have them wiped) with a baby-wipe they are free to get down. We have a line with clips hung in our garage that works well drying the art created outside and prevents them from being blown away. I place the paint back in the tackle box after each squirt, so all I need to do is place the art in a safe place, put the napkin in the cup and toss the paper products. A quick rinse of the bushes and a roll of the tablecloth completes our art project.

The pictures above were taken when oldest son was young. These are a few of his friends that had come over to play. After a good coat of lotion, they took off clothes that couldn't get paint on them and replaced them with ones that could. I gave them each a color and they covered themselves, the paper, and each other with it. I had a roll of newsprint unrolled in the back yard and they walked, crawled, ran, patted, and rolled on the paper. They had a blast and after a spray with the hose and quick towel dry they were ready for the next activity. I let the sun dry the painting and sent home a section with each boy.