Sleep

I found this cool article on the Sam's Club Healthy Living Magazine, and I thought I would share. Tip #4 always seemed to work for me when I needed it.

FOOD THAT HELP TODDLERS SLEEP
-Tim Vandehey

1. Bananas
The body converts bananas to serotonin and melatonin, hormones that promote sleep. Bananas also contain magnesium, which relaxes muscles and can help little ones nod off.

2. Oatmeal
Oatmeal (often with a little sweetener) is very palatable for young children, and oats are a good source of melatonin, which helps bring on sleep naturally. Oats are also rich in vitamin B6, which increases serotonin levels, improving the chances of a deep, restful sleep.

3. Honey
A small amount of honey added to warm milk deactivates a neurotransmitter called orexin that produces alertness.
Note: NEVER GIVE HONEY TO CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 1 YEAR OLD.

4. Warm Milk
The granddaddy of all children's sleep aids, warm milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, which has a sedative effect. The calcium in milk also helps the brain use tryptophan more effectively. plus, the simple act of drinking warm milk before bedtime can be soothing and relaxing.

Thankful

The one thing I love about this time of year and about Thanksgiving is the feeling of gratitude and thankfulness that takes over. I saw this video today and I loved it.

It's so easy to complaint and find things that we don't like, but how often we do stop and actually list the things we like and especially the things - big and small - that we are grateful for.

Last year I made a thankful tree, much like this one, with Thomas and this year I am trying to decide what to do - but still something along that same line.

Here are some ideas that I've seen and really liked:

This upscale version of the Thankful Tree.

Thankful Tree - Simply Vintage Girl

I also loved this idea for a thankful countdown to Thanksgiving - those who can't wait until Turkey Day will have fun with this! ;o)

Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar

And this super fun Thankful Turkey! 

Today I'm grateful for rainy days, what are you grateful for today?

Preschool :: Thanksgiving

With Halloween behind us, we can now focus on Thanksgiving and then Christmas - hurray!

So, going along with Aline's idea for preschool activities, I'll be sharing some fun Thanksgiving ideas I've been collecting. To start off, Allison at Oopsie Daisy has some great home preschool ideas and packets, including this one that she has for download (and for free!).

Found HERE 

So take a look, print it out, have a fun, and come back to check out some more Fall and Thanksgiving ideas to do with your kiddos!

Preschool Activity Week 1:

Let's have the subject for this coming week be:

The letter "Aa"

The number "1"

The color "Red"

So for this coming week, post here as many times as you want with lessons/activities involving the subject of the week.

Preschool Activities/Lessons

I'm not sure how many of you guys are still checking the blog. It's been a while since we all posted something.

Anyway, one thing we all have in common is that we all have relatively small children close or of preschool age. I am planning on doing preschool at home for my 3 yearl old daughters rather than sending them to a preschool. I figured heck I didn't go so many years to college to earn a degree and not use it (I got my degree in elementary education). As soon as I have a little more extra time I plan working on a preschool curriculum for my girls so that I can begin implementing it at home. I also thought that maybe some of you guys might be interested in teaching your children at home (regardless if you send them to preschool or not) and thought it could be good to share some lesson ideas on here.

I thought maybe each week we can post a theme on here and we can post as many times as we want that week, with lesson/activity ideas that go with the theme. Could be shapes, letters, first words, music, science, you name it. By doing so, we could use this as a resource for lesson helps.

So please let me know what you think and if you would be at all interested in doing something like this.

Bored...

So I just took my "Welcome Spring" sign down because really, where IS spring? Well, it is definitely not here in Utah.

Yesterday I watched my daughter as she laid on the couch and watched a movie and I felt so bad because we'd stayed home all day long. For many of you, this might seem normal, but for me it's, well, not. I'm fine with staying home all day for a couple days, but then I need to get out. Even if just to go to a store, or something! I feel even worse for my kids. I'm pretty sure they don't care, but they absolutely love going outside and playing on the playground, and just being out. I know I could bundle them up and go, there's really no excuse, except I'm pregnant and a little lazy. And I obviously hate the cold.

So, if you're like me and feel bad for your kids that have stayed inside all day long (and maybe even for a few days now) I have found a cute activity to do with them at home. I don't know if the littlest ones will get this (it's probably more of a preschooler activity) but it's just an idea for you to get creative and have many other ideas to do at home.

 

It's a color scavenger hunt by The Artful Parent. What a neat idea, don't you think?

I'm also planning  thinking about starting preschool at home with my two kids. I have a 2 1/2 year-old and a 3 1/2 year-old. My oldest will start preschool in August but I wanted to get things going already. The thing is, I used to be a preschool teacher and I had tons of material but it's all stored at my parents' house...In Brazil! So now I don't have anything and have to get creative. So if any of you know of some good websites/blogs (I used to know a ton but I lost it all along with my old laptop) I would very much appreciate it!

As soon as I get all my ideas organized, I'm going to start posting about our little preschool. I'm only planing on doing it twice a week, so we'll see. 

Cheers!

Welcome, Spring!

I know, we just got some snow today, but now the sun is shining again! And guess what? Friday is supposed to get up to 66 degrees Farenheit here in Utah. SO exciting!

Anyway, I've compiled a few of my favorite crafts for spring, all really easy! Some of them are for you, some of them for your kids, but most of them you'll have to do together with your kiddos. But then you get to join in the fun!

 

 Click here for the flower easter egg tutorial.

Click here for the Bunny finger puppets tutorial.

Click here for the Easter Egg Hunt bags.

Click here for the No-Sew flowers for mom tutorial.

Sheep Egg by Disney Family Fun.

Bee Egg by Disney Family Fun.

Seven Flowers. Awesome Pop Up - Click here for another funny movie.

This is a video tutorial for a Flower Pop-Up card from instructables.com

Wash Cloth Easter Bunnies by Sitting at our Kitchen Table.

And here's one for April Fools':

Chicken Not-Pie from Disney Family Fun.

HAVE FUN!