DIY Kids Fun

backyard drive-in party, bean fort, diy, Fun, kickball croquet, kids, lawn Scrabble, nighttime lawn bowling, nighttime ring toss, obstacle course, race car track, sunflower house

Stork Club for Kids

Source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/

Build a cheap and easy bean fort.

joyfultoddlers.blogspot.com

See how they did this here.

Set up pool noodles for a game of kickball croquet.

innerchildfun.com

chasing-fireflies.com

Hula-hoops work too. Get the directions here.

Grow a sunflower house for the kids to play in.

Flickr: hartlandlibraryvt

Have a backyard drive-in party for the kids with cardboard boxes.

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Get the instructions on how to make a DIY backyard movie screen here.

Make a race car track.

nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com

Instructions here.

Use glow necklaces and glow bracelets for a few rounds of nighttime ring toss.

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Break glowsticks into bottles of water for some nighttime lawn bowling action.

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Reuse those wooden stakes to create the most epic game of Scrabble ever.

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Tie rope between trees to create a fun obstacle course for the kids.

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Follow Sam and Sofia on a Road Trip Across the USA!

AL, AZ, CA, Colorado, Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup — Funks Grove, Glass Beach — Fort Bragg, IL, New Jersey Boardwalks — The Jersey Shore, Road Trip, St. Elmo Ghost Town — Chaffee County, U.S. Space & Rocket Center – Huntsville, Wigwam Village Motel — Holbrook

KidVentures

Source: http://www.littlepassports.com

Plus, download our free printable License Plate Find-It Game here: http://bit.ly/1xj7VYV

The arrival of summer means a lot of things: no more school, longer and hotter days, plus all the ice cream your parents will let you eat! It also means time to vacation. Sam & Sofia love traveling all over the globe, but as our USA Edition subscribers know, the United States is also chock full of places to explore. One of the best ways to explore them is by packing up the car and hitting the road. We planned a three-day road trip to take you to some of our favorite destinations in different corners of the U.S.  Our only rule? Buckle up! ROAD TRIP DAY 1: The South & the East Coast Our first day started in space…

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Bicycle Safety Tips

Bicycle, Bicycle Safety Tips, Bike, Helmut, safety

Pedal Pushers Partnership

Source: http://safety.macaronikid.com/

Winter is over, and your kids are finally away from the screens and back on their bikes, where they belong. If your relief at having the house to yourself for an hour or two is tinged with just a tiny bit of disaster anxiety (and what mom doesn’t experience just a tad of this each and every day?) don’t worry. We’ve got the tips to help ensure your child stays safe while riding.

Bicycle Safety Tips

• Wear a properly-fitted helmet! If you aren’t sure how to properly fit you or your child’s helmet, here’s a great video by Schwinn:

Or, click on Bern’s fit guide for information on sizing. Wearing an improperly fitted or incorrectly sized helmet can be dangerous, as can riding with no helmet, so make sure your child’s helmet is snug, but not too tight.

• Choose a bicycle that is the right size and has…

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MOM’s got your stuff – Pick A Chore

What bullying really looks like

Source:  http://www.allparenting.com – By Sarah Kovac

Bullies have been getting a lot of press lately. As parents and caregivers, we’re all watching out for the kid getting shoved on the playground or taunted between classes. And with good reason. That kid may very well need some help. The ones doing the shoving and taunting certainly do! But what about when bullying is invisible? It was this invisible bullying that drove me to the fire escape where I nearly jumped to end my life.

When I was in grade school and junior high, I would never have claimed that I was bullied. Bullying, in my mind, involved shoving and hitting and tripping someone at the school Christmas play. And I was right. That is bullying. So I had no excuse to cry. I had no excuse to quietly battle depression day after day. I had no excuse for my despair the day I hung over the fire escape and pondered jumping.

I had no bruises, but I was certainly bleeding.

Social bullying

Even as I write this, I still feel nervous talking about the topic. I had to find the definition of “bullying” to again reassure myself that, yes, I was a victim, and yes, I have a right to talk about this. Here’s the definition from StopBullying.gov:

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

“Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time… Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally and excluding someone from a group on purpose.”

Bullying takes a few different forms, but what I experienced (what many kids experience), was known as social bullying:

“Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:

• Leaving someone out on purpose
• Telling other children not to be friends with someone
• Spreading rumors about someone
• Embarrassing someone in public”

I experienced social bullying for much of my young life. As a girl with a severe disability, I naturally blamed my struggles on my differences. But I wonder if perhaps my isolation was more about me feeling I didn’t deserve friends than my peers excluding me. Maybe they excluded me because I was bitter and angry and sometimes quite hostile.

I quickly learned not to have an opinion at school, or it would be ridiculed into oblivion. I learned not to play in groups of three, because the other two neighborhood girls thought it was funny to ditch me and leave me bike riding alone. Enough of this sort of thing, and you grow into a person who feels unworthy of friends, but can’t pinpoint why. You grow into the kind of person who is terrified to pursue friendships or even reciprocate them. You grow into the kind of person who doesn’t trust a smiling face… not really.

Growing up small

I am now 30 years old. I’ve continued to endure social bullying from grown adults (I use the term “adults” loosely here) on occasion, because in this internet age, it is so flipping easy. And difficult to track. You don’t have to be bigger, stronger or even more popular. People are always looking for a juicy story to freak out over. It’s no fun when you’re headline news. Or when you might as well not exist.

If you push someone’s emotions hard enough, you can get them to hurt themselves and save you from getting your hands dirty. It’s as lazy as it is cowardly.

I want to tell you that today, bullying is more often emotional than it is physical. If you push someone’s emotions hard enough, you can get them to hurt themselves and save you from getting your hands dirty. It’s as lazy as it is cowardly.

The bullied individual isn’t limping. She doesn’t have bruises. She doesn’t complain because she has been told no one wants to hear her. She’s been brainwashed into believing no one cares. She believes she is too small, too insignificant.

But sometimes, she grows up and learns to write. Sometimes she doesn’t need to have a voice, because she has a keyboard. Sometimes she can acknowledge her pain, and acknowledge that she did not — she did NOT — deserve to be treated like she was nothing.

Confessional

Let me stop hiding in the third person. My name is Sarah Kovac. As a child and as an adult, I have been the victim of social bullying. I might have a smile on my face, but my insecurity keeps me lonely. I am afraid to build relationships… with anyone. I feel emotionally crippled. Sometimes I wonder if my husband and family only love me because they’re required to. Not always, but sometimes is quite enough. My hesitance to be open to friendship has cost me many, many relationships. I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am always watching for the truth to come out: They never liked me. They felt sorry for me. They are nice to everyone, so I’m not special.

I am always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am always watching for the truth to come out: They never liked me. They felt sorry for me. They are nice to everyone, so I’m not special.

I test people. I push them away to see if they care enough to pursue the relationship. I turn down invitations and stay holed up in my house, because if they really liked me, they would be willing to work for it. It’s a broken way of approaching relationships. But it’s the only way that feels safe, because I am broken.

An invitation

I know most of us have participated in bullying, as a victim or aggressor, though it’s easy to see how a victim might feel the need to become an aggressor. (Watch yourself closely if you’ve been bullied — your subconscious is angry.) There is healing in public confession. And there is awareness for those who hear it. Please, talk about your experiences. Especially if it’s difficult to do so.

This article was written through hot tears and cold sweats, but my pain deserves a voice — so does yours. Consider the comment box a confessional box. Tell us about your wounds. If that’s a little too public, shoot, send me an email and I’ll be your witness. You need this. We need this. Start healing now.

The Magic Glass

Chronic Conditions & Life Lessons

Before I left Arizona last week, I saw my Great-Aunt one last time to say, “Good-By.”  I picked her up from my relative’s house where she lived and slept.  She had combed her short blonde hair pretty and straight, scrubbing her face shiny to glow in the sun.  “Are you ready, Aunt Shirley?”  “Oh, heaven’s yes,” she answered,  her sparkling blue eyes twinkling.

As we drove to one of her favorite restaurants in town, we passed familiar cactus in the wide open desert together with several stray dogs roaming on the street.  Aunt Shirley’s frail hands were folded in her lap.  She fidgeted, knowing it was our last visit, for this trip at least.  When would I be coming back?  That’s what she was thinking, as I read her silent senior mind. My visits were one of the things that she most looked forward to.

It’s hard for…

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20 Things that terrify me about being a mom

Parenting Imagine the scariest job in the world — take the scare-factor of that job, multiply it by a million and you have… read more

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/parenting

20+ Crafty Back-to-School Supplies

This year give your school supplies your own personal twist with these school supply craft ideas perfect for back-to-school.

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

Culinary Explorer

This is another great recipe for those busy weeknights, when you don’t have time to make anything complex.  Though my own kids could write the book on picky eating, I could see a lot of kids even being ok with this one.  The flavors are fairly mild, but still really good.  It definitely throws together very easily, and if you’re like me, a lot if not all of these ingredients are things you often have already on hand, making this a great go-to recipe when you haven’t planned ahead.

While these obviously aren’t a real philly cheese steak sandwich, I was surprised at how closely the flavor does resemble that of the real deal.  I really enjoyed the steak sauce in these.  Since I am a cheese-lover I doubled the cheese on ours and think that is definitely the way to go.  They aren’t called cheese steak for nothing after…

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Yard Sale Confidential: August 13 is National Yard Sale Day

Source: http://www.vocalpoint.com – by Alyssa B.

August 13 is National Yard Sale Day, so gather up your family’s unwanted and unused items and start prepping for your killer yard or garage sale. The most important feature of a great sale is planning, so check out these tips before you put up your first sign!

•Check with your neighborhood or homeowners association or local government about any yard sale requirements or rules in your area. Some developments and communities may have regulations about signage and how frequently you can have yard sales.

•Consider the day of your sale. Nix holiday weekends when people may leave town. Saturdays and Sundays seem like no-brainers but consider having your sale on a Friday—that’s often when dealers and retirees like to shop and you’ll have less competition.

•Ask your neighbors or friends if they’d like to join in the sale with you. It’s great to have extra help on sale day, plus a sale with lots of merchandise is more enticing than a paltry one.

•Put a price tag on everything. You can buy preprinted dot tags for smaller items, but use 3×5 index cards for larger items like furniture. You’ll (hopefully) be really busy on sale day, and having everything priced ahead of time will be a lifesaver. If you have a lot of things like paperbacks or matchbox cars you could always put them in a box labeled $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00 or make a sign stating that.

•A note on pricing: the point of a yard sale is to sell, and shoppers come expecting yard sale prices. So even if that Norelco razor you bought hubby for father’s day five years ago is still untouched in it’s original box, it’s used to your customers. Try using a 50-30-10 guideline when pricing items: price nearly new things at 50% of retail, slightly used items at 30% of retail and used items at 10% of retail.

•A week before your sale, start putting up flyers on community bulletin boards and list your sale on a site like craigslist.org or local online site. You could also alert your immediate neighbors about your sale. They’ll appreciate knowing in advance, rather than being surprised by extra cars and people when they step out to get their newspaper that morning. The night before your sale or early that morning, put up your signs directing shoppers to your house. Be sure to use sturdy cardboard, poster board and Sharpie type markers to make your sign. Write in big block letters so drivers can easily see your signs. Consider including big arrows directing people to your location.

•Most yard sales are morning and early afternoon gigs. Be sure to put a beginning and an end time on your signs, like 8am-3pm. You could include the phrase: “PLEASE NO EARLY BIRDS” to discourage the inevitable early bargain hunters, but expect some will show up anyway.

•The day before your sale, hit the bank for $75-$100 worth of small bills rolls of quarters, dimes and nickels.

•On the day of the sale, be sure to remove non-sale items from your garage or yard or cover them with sheets. You can guarantee that someone will want to buy your lawnmower or other items not for sale if they’re visible.

•Take some time to merchandise your wares. An organized, attractive looking sale will encourage drive-bys to stop and browse. Cover tables with cloths and group like items together (glassware, books, kitchen gadgets, garden tools etc.) and don’t display anything on the ground except furniture.

•Instead of a cash box, wear a fanny pack or multi-pocketed apron. That will reduce the risk of your profits accidentally walking away

•If you have a dog, no matter how friendly, it’s best to keep him/her inside on sale day. And don’t let any customers inside your house to use the restroom. Instead, direct them to the nearest gas station or fast food joint