High Maintenance Mom

Happy Mother's Day!

I made a huge amount of salt dough today for kids to enjoy. I was impressed by how easy it was to make and how much fun the kids had sculpting it. I also really like the idea of making something like this from basic ingredients at home so the kids can see the process instead of just going to the store to buy it...

As a parent I love when a teaching moment presents itself. Earth Day is one of those moments. My 4 year old daughter loves bugs & worms and my 2 year old son loves flowers (specifically "mulups" or as we adults call them Tulips) so it is easy to start a conversation with them about nature. Get your kids outside and you'll be surprised how easy it is to start talking about nature....(more)

I've found Valentine's Day to be the perfect opportunity for my kids to practice writing. Since I have two boys who claim they do not like to write, I try to start a few weeks before Valentine's Day. In preschool, we left valentines for everyone for fun - my kids would sign the first letter of their name or take days to write out their name on each card. When we started elementary school, I found the kids in our school were very serious about making Valentine's Day into a big deal. I was shocked by the Valentine's Day celebration and by the amount of candy in B's kindergarten class. I've always tried to make the holiday more about doing something fun than sugar so I try to look for fun "activity" Valentine's Day cards. This year, we are trying to make our own. We've already made six so we'll see how far we get. Some schools use Valentine's Day as an opportunity to do a post office unit. The kids address cards to each other and then they figure out how to best deliver them in a classroom. Below are a few fun card suggestions...

I am a huge fan of good manners. I am not talking militant manners but the basic good manners many kids and even adults lack. My 4 year old loves to write so with the Make Your Own Thank You Notes she got for her birthday we have been writing thank you notes for some time now. My 2 year old son likes to add his drawings. Here is how I engage my kids in writing thank you cards...

Our kids have a Halloween homework assignment to make their own Halloween costumes. They are supposed to pick a character from a book they really like, create a costume, and then present a report on the character on Friday morning. My kids picked characters and then we had to find books. N is going to be Sir Lancelot and B is going to be George Washington. Before I describe what we did to make their costumes, I want to mention that making them has been a learning experience for us that we've all enjoyed. It think it's been enjoyable because the kids know everyone else is making costumes, we are spending several hours over three days, and we are not making a Star Wars character where $70 masks are available for comparison. Plus I bought some glitter sticky foam paper for some of the decorations. We've been reading library books at bedtime about knights and George Washington. We've explored patterns for N's shield and tying knots to make the epaulets for George Washington's shirt. I asked both kids to think about what they wanted to look like, we talked a little bit about how we might do it, and then I went to the store to see what I could find. Afterwards we worked with the materials we had to see what we could make...

Rosh Hashanah starts tonight and I am still trying to figure out how to manage a nice dinner, services, soccer, and soccer pictures. Rosh Hashanah is one of two main Jewish holidays. It literally means "head of the year" but instead of a loud New Year's celebration, it is a time of reflection. The Ten Days of Repentance start tonight and end with Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. These days are set aside to think about what we've done in the past year and ask others for forgiveness.

Happy 4th of July! Here is a link to hydrogen explosions on Science Friday and a previous post on fireworks, Fireworks - a fun introduction to physics, chemistry, and geology. I also recommend the Liberty's Kids episodes for an enjoyable and kid-friendly introduction to U.S. history.

April 22nd is Earth Day 2009! As each year passes I get more and more into celebrating Mother Earth and now that I have children, that makes it even more fun. That being said, I would like to make respecting the earth party of our daily activities. I have been recycling since I was in grade school so that is second nature to us and many of you too, I suspect. We have gone all non toxic in the home and garden and watch labels very carefully for food and bathroom products. My plan is to get my kids eco friendly very young so it is part of their life. I found many resources online that can help you all do the same. www.earthday.net and www.earthday.gov are great places to start. I also found some books that embrace the eco friendly lifestyle; Green Start: In the Garden is a very cute little book for young children. I also liked 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World. It has easy to remember tips kids can relate to and do with their family. And of course, The Lorax (Classic Seuss) . He understood the importance of saving the environment before it became trendy. And finally, a big hit around our house, Dora Celebrates Earth Day!: Little Green Nickelodeon (Dora the Explorer). Think about what you and your family can do, however small, to help preserve Mother Earth. You can make it fun and not a chore easily and you and your kids will feel better knowing you helped make the earth better for future generations. Happy Earth Day!

I found several web sites that explain how to color Easter eggs naturally and although it is a bit time consuming, it is the best way to do it without all of the artificial dyes. Here is a list of the colors and how to obtain them and some instructions....

Yesterday my kids and I went to the Matzah Factory at our synagogue. A local rabbi came in with an oven, rolling pins, and wheat. We talked about how when the Jews left Egypt, they had to leave quickly so their bread didn't have time to rise. Then we all got to thresh the wheat (we rolled our small piece on the table) and then added our seeds together. My youngest helped grind the wheat, which was then passed around for everyone to see. Afterwards, we mixed store bought wheat with water and then had 18 minutes to roll it and bake it...