Great ideas for end-of-summer fun!

Posted on August 22, 2010 by viviankirkfield

We just got back from a five-day vacation in the mountains of Colorado. The weather was perfect. The fishing was great. The cabin was outfitted with everything you could need…even a flat-screen TV which we never turned on because we were too busy during the day having fun outdoors and too tired at night to even want to watch anything. Cell phones don’t work there and we didn’t bring the computer. And I began to realize how life was like in the days before TV and computers and phones. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the technology that allows each of us to know what is going on in the world the moment it happens. But it made me more aware of how much closer a family could be if they were more isolated from all that is happening out there or if they made an effort to spend time together without the distractions that usually keep us going in different directions.

So here’s a list of a few great ideas for end-of-summer fun that might possibly bring your family closer together and won’t cost a fortune:

Go camping…even for the day…but overnight, if possible. Rent equipment or borrow it from friends if you don’t already have what you would need.
Check out local parks, museums and art galleries. Some are free and many have special deals for families. You might even purchase a museum membership that entitles your family to special museum privileges during the year.
Have an end-of-summer get-together. If your child is going to school (or nursery school or daycare) this year, see if you can find out who will be in his/her class or group. Invite the children and their parents…what an awesome way to help your child start the year already knowing some of his classmates. The get-together can be a pot-luck with everyone bringing something to eat so that the burden of food is not all on you. Also, have each family bring a favorite game…there will certainly be plenty to do. Take lots of pictures and have your child help you make a collage or album of this special day. He/she can bring it to school for show-and-tell…great for a child who is anxious about the first day of school…something like BILLY AND THE BIG NEW SCHOOL by Laurence and Catherine Anholt.
Plan to have dinner together as a family, if possible. And please, turn the TV off and don’t answer the phone if it rings 🙂

That’s it…just a few simple suggestions…hope they help you end the summer on a high note and begin the school year in a positive way.

Tips to keep your child healthy when school starts

Posted on August 3, 2010 by viviankirkfield

The start of school usually brings hurried shopping trips to purchase needed school supplies and new outfits. It also has generated lots of blogs and columns with advice about school anxieties. But another big issue that arrives with the start of school is the increase of colds, sore throats, pink eye and other infectious diseases that sometimes run rampant through classrooms.

How can we help keep our children as healthy as possible? Here are several simple tips:

Provide your child with healthful balanced meals and snacks.
Encourage your child to wash his hands frequently (or wash them for him if he is too young).
Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep – older children with cell phones, TV’s and computers in their own rooms can often stay up half the night while their parents think they are sleeping.
If your child does get sick, please keep her home, even though this may be inconvenient (if you work) or she begs to go because she will “miss” something. You will be doing your child no favors if you send her when she is ill, and the teacher and the other children will not be exposed to whatever she has – also, if she is sick, her resisitance will be lowered and she might catch something even worse from another child.

It is definitely difficult to keep preschoolers doing quiet activities indoors when they are sick, especially when they start to feel a little better. We always had a special box which contained small toys and games, stickers, small boxes of crayons, small pads of paper – all brightly wrapped and beribboned. When all else failed, out came the box and the sick child was able to choose something from the box. The eager anticipation while unwrapping the package was beautifully distracting – make sure there is lots of wrapping and ribbon on each. We also had a special, ornate spoon which was the medicine dispensing spoon.

Need some quiet activities to help pass the time? My new book contains several picture story suggestions, with related craft and cooking projects, that focus on sick children. Here is one of them.

For a story to help your young child feel he is not the only one who doesn’t like being sick – read JOHNNY LION’S BAD DAY by Edith Hurd.

Then make paper plate lions: You will need: 1 paper plate, 1 piece of brown or yellow construction paper, markers or crayons, paste and scissors.

Cut the paper into one-inch wide strips and roll each strip around a marker or crayon to create the curl.
Paste one end of one strip to the edge of the plate. Continue with the rest of the strips all around the edge of the plate to form the lion’s mane.
Using markers or crayons, draw the lion’s features.

For a yummy, healthful, child-friendly alphabet chicken soup (studies have shown it really DOES help make you feel better): You will need: 1 quart chicken broth, 2 Tb diced onion, 1/4 cup alphabet noodles, 1 cup diced cooked chicken, 1/2 cup sliced carrots, 1/2 cup cut green beans, 1/4 cup corn kernels, fresh parsley (optional), and a large pot with a cover.

In a large pot, mix broth, onion and noodles and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat to simmer and add the chicken, carrots, beans and corn. Simmer with the cover on for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Garnish each serving with parsley, if you like.
Makes about 4 to 5 cups of soup – refrigerate or freeze what you don’t use.
You can substitute other vegetables if you like – peas, lima beans, zucchini – use your imagination!

Is your child anxious about starting school?

Posted on July 29, 2010 by viviankirkfield

With just a few days left to July, all parents know that school is just around the corner.

Do you have a young child who is anxious about starting school? Is it his first experience away from home? These days, many children do have experience at nursery schools, daycare, and other facilities where they have taken part in sports, dance or other activities. Even those children, however, may be fearful of a new school, unknown teacher, and unfamiliar children.

How can you help relieve your child’s anxiety? What can you do to help make that first day of school one of joyous expectation?

Acknowledge your child’s feelings. We sometimes gloss over their fears and anxieties by telling them, “It will be fine. Don’t worry about it.” Worse still would be a response of “Don’t be a baby! There’s nothing to be afraid of.” For that child, there obviously is. Perhaps it would be more helpful to just listen if they are expressing their feelings. Maybe you can share similar feelings you might have had as a child.
Visit the school before the first day. Many schools offer opportunities for new students to spend some time in a classroom before the term starts. Take some photos of the school, classroom and your child in that setting and hang the pictures in your home. This will help your child feel more comfortable about going to this “new” place.
Read one or more of several children’s picture books that target the anxieties young children have regarding the first day of school. During my years as a kindergarten teacher, daycare provider and mother of three, I used picture book stories to help children cope with many of the issues they faced as they were growing up. Teaming up the story with an eco-friendly craft project and a child-friendly healthful cooking activity is a great way to encourage discussion, build self-esteem, and create a life-long parent-child bond.

Here are 3 books and accompanying activities that might help your child face the first day of school with eagerness and anticipation instead of reluctance and anxiety.

TAKE A KISS TO SCHOOL: written by Angela McAllister (For the craft activity, you can make a food chart using pictures cut from magazines and pasted on a piece of construction paper. What foods do animals eat? What foods do people eat? For the cooking experience, make pita pocket (instead of the coat pocket into which Digby put his mother’s kisses) sandwiches using store-bought whole wheat pita bread, chicken sliced from a baked chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and mashed avocado.)

BILLY AND THE BIG NEW SCHOOL: written by Laurence Anholt (For the craft activity, you can make a bird feeder using 2 slices of stale bread broken in small pieces, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup chopped carrot or apple and some nuts. Make a ball, press a piece of string into the center and roll in 1/2 cup wild birdseed. When hardened, hang on a tree and watch the birds feed. For the cooking experience, make breakfast granola using 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, 1/2 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, 1 Tb honey, 1 Tb canola oil, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Put all ingredients, except raisins, into a large microwave-safe bowl and mix well. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir well and microwave for another 2 minutes. Stir well again and microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the raisins and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 4-5 cups of preservative-free delicious granola.)

THE KISSING HAND: written by Audrey Penn (For the craft activity, you can make clay handprints. I still have the ones my children made almost 30 years ago. You can use store-bought clay or make your own. Work the clay into a ball and roll it flat…about 1/2 inch thick. Put the flattened clay on a piece of cardboard and position your child’s hand, fingers spread slightly, in the center. Help your child press her hand into the clay. Let dry overnight. For the cooking experience, make thumbprint cookies. Cream 1 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup honey in a large bowl. Beat in 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Gradually add 3 cups flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Roll a tablespoonful of dough into a ball and then roll it in a saucer that has 1/2 cup sugar in it. Put each ball on an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. Press down lightly on each ball with your thumb (or your child’s thumb) and fill each depression with jelly or jam. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees until the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet when cooled. Makes about 4 dozen.)

I hope this helps parents with children who are anxious about the first day of school. I know it helped mine. For more information and support on this issue, go to http://childrensbooks.about.com/b/2010/07/28/august-blog-carnival.htm where Elizabeth Kennedy is hosting a blog carnival about this topic.