Operation Christmas Child - Family Project

As a family we have been trying to focus on giving to others lately (and trying to avoid "consuming" so much ourselves!)  One way we decided to do this pre-Christmas time was to make some Operation Christmas Child boxes with our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group.

During allowance time the kids got to choose how much they wanted to donate towards making an Operation Christmas Child box and then we (mom & dad) matched their funds - a lesson in doubling your money.

6 year old donating $6

My almost 3 year old "counting" out her $, she ended up donating $3

My compassionate 8 year old donating $10 (I had told them this was the highest amount I would match!)

At the Dollar Tree

Once we had our money set - their funds plus the doubling left us with $40, we set out to the Dollar Tree to buy goods for two boxes, we decided to let the boys shop for a boy box (for a boy ages 5-9) and the girls shop for a girl box (for a girl age 5-9).  Each "team" of kiddos got to choose 18 items for their box - they choose to work together on some items too - for example one team purchased a pack of toothbrushes and the other team purchased a pack of soap.

The boy box pile

Once we were home we separated out all of the goodies to pack in the boxes.  We decided to remove all the packaging that we could so that our boxes would fit more items into them.

Packed up boy box

Girl box goodies, getting ready to pack it up!

Packed up girl box

Filling out our "paperwork"

On Operation Christmas Child's webpage you can print out an "All About Me" form designed to be filled out by your child and sent with your box - you can choose to share as much or as little info as you'd like, including an address - we might even get a letter back!

Here is the link for the All About Me form - you can download it as a PDF:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Graphic_Resources/

More paperwork

Complete Girl Box

 We decided to also put a family picture in our boxes - so glad I printed out plenty last time I ordered :)

Complete Boy Box

Final touches on the envelope that the "All About Me" papers went into - unsealed!

                                     

Something new to me this year was the "track your box" option on the OCC website.  We were able to make our shipping donation for each box (they recommend $7 per box) and then printed off a label to put on each box, these labels also include the boy / girl option and ages to check off (so that they know who your box is designed for!), and now we will be able to find out where our boxes end up!

Track you box link:

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/followyourbox/

It was a fun project and interesting to shop with the kids - for our kids it is important to talk about 3 things before we get into a project like this:

1. Why we are doing this (some kids don't get ANY Christmas gifts, while we have PLENTY of everything)
2. When we go shopping we will NOT be spending any money on ourselves (I have found that as long as I remember to talk about this ahead of time it really cuts down on the whining about wanting this toy and that toy - not all the whining, but most of it!)
3. And finally to have fun imagining what you would like to receive if you were a boy or girl living in poverty.  Giving with joy can be tough for kids, but a little perspective setting can go a long way.

What about you - do you have a project you like to do with your family for others during this season?

Have you packed a box for OCC?  What did you include?

Summer Gardening with Kids

I was lucky enough to grow up in a small house that had a nice size fenced in yard.  Within that yard we played, ran, and grew a garden.  I have very pleasant memories of planting, tending, and harvesting our own foods most summers.  Okay, so weeding wasn't my favorite, but overall it is a memory so strong that I knew I wanted to do this someday with my own children.  But how?

As our babies kept coming some years I planted small gardens and usually was too tired to keep them up so that they would produce the best they could.  One year in talking with my friend Mindy, she mentioned that each of her children had their own plot to tend and be responsible for.  I immediately filed this away in my brain for use when the time was right....fast forward to 2012 - this was the year!

We explored all the options for creating the boxes, building, buying, etc.  With a husband who coaches track and field in the spring I knew whatever option we went with I would be the one who implemented it.  So, I choose boxes that Sam's club was offering.


My two oldest weeding their boxes

As a family, we dug up the ground, added in compost, and tilled it all up (in a slight drizzle - wish I had pictures of that!).  Then, put in our boxes.  A trip to Walmart and each child was given the choice of 3 things to plant in their box.  It was so fun to see them process and ponder what they wanted to plant!  Eventually they all made their choices and we went home and planted and waited.

One of my 2 year old's choices - Dragon Tongue Green Beans

Each week they are responsible to weed, help me water, and harvest their garden bounty!


My 2 year old and one of her "ccini's"

The bounty!

What do you think tasks like gardening teach kids?

Is there something like this that you are excited to do with your kids and you are just waiting for the "season" of life to be right to do it?

Childhood Joy

"True joy is that which gives us more energy
and makes us feel more alive."

Robert Puryear

              

What an amazing treasure it is to get to experience things through the eyes of our children.  This photo does not fully capture the joy my 6 year old was experiencing during the rush of waves from Lake Superior, but it brings her giddy giggle to mind for me.

Children are so exhausting in so many ways that I feel it is so important to truly tuck into our minds and hearts these beautiful moments.  They offer a balance to all the "work" of parenting. 

Pure Joy.

When have you really enjoyed watching your child experience something new?

How did it make you feel?

Kids and Money

8 year old money management

There has been a lot of talk in the media about many specific areas of parenting lately.  I think possibly the two most popular areas of talk center around child obesity and raising a financially savvy child.  In our home we have always striven to eat healthy and exercise, but only this year did we implement the next step of raising financially literate kiddos.

Here is how we set it up to work in our home ~

We started with two main thoughts:

• Kids cannot learn to manage money without having some & some guidance about what to do with it.
• Regular chores / jobs will not be paid for (they are part of being a family member), but everyone gets a set amount each week and has the opportunity to earn more if they would like to.  (for more about set jobs see my earlier post - http://parentinginlittlefalls.blogspot.com/2012/04/managing-small-home-and-large-family.html)

After we had our purpose set, we set the wheels in motion - each kid got a "bank" - for our family we chose to do wooden boxes from the craft store and have each kid paint their own (see above photo).  Then each kid received three envelopes - one for money to give, one for money to spend, and one for money to save for bigger items.  There are so many great ideas out there on how to design kid friendly banks - check out Pinterest for more inspiration!

Here is specifically how this worked out this past year for my now 8 year old -

Nintendo 3DS savings envelope

First he created his three envelopes - money to give, money to spend, and he chose to begin saving up for a Nintendo 3DS.  He set his goal and made check boxes to record his progress each week.

Every Friday night (or Saturday depending on the week) (or sometimes it takes an extra week - I just hang on to our sheets for any unpaid weeks and keep them until the next time we do "payouts") is our family night -

Our Weekly To - Do Chart

Each child, including the 8 year old, has opportunity to earn more money by doing more jobs -

Our 8 Year Old, 6 Year Old, 4 Year Old, and 2 Year Old's allowances.
The top part shows how much they get every week and the bottom are the optional jobs & money.

At the end of each week we sit down as a family and look at how much each child gets for their bank and help them think through which envelope to put it in.  It was so fascinating to watch my 8 Year Old process whether to "spend" his money right away or keep on saving up for the Nintendo 3DS.

After many months of saving and a big help from birthday money, he had quite a bit saved up.  Now he did his research...he found that he could indeed buy the Nintendo 3DS, but would be unable to afford any games right away.  He thought about that while we looked at the other options and ended up being the happy owner of a Nintendo DSi and two games!

Proud Nintendo DSi owner!

I am very proud of him for sticking with his large goal.  Our 6 year old set a goal of saving up for a puppy from the local toy store and met it, and our 4 year old has been able to buy some smaller things and has had to pay for some things he has destroyed, he is still working towards his larger goal of a Captain America shield.  Overall, we have liked the blend of intentionally giving them money with the express purpose being to learn how to manage money and also giving them the chance to earn more.

There are many different parenting philosophies about money and how to teach kids about it, this is simply ours for now.  Yours may look very different and that is okay too!

Who taught you about Money?  What do you wish you had learned earlier?

How are you teaching your children healthy money habits now?  Why do they matter?

Managing an Inconveniece + What to do When Kids are Bored

Upon finding this quote on pinterest some time back it has weaved it's way into my brain and rattles around from time to time.  There are days when I all feel that I do is "manage" things.  Plan and make meals, get laundry washed and ready for put away, clean toilets and floors.  However, I hope that I take the time to make my children feel like valued little human beings.

I think this is harder than it sounds because it means that I both spend time and effort to train and love them, but that I also don't overdo it.  That I spend time stepping back and letting them discover parts of life on their own.  I want them to feel successful and confident as they grow.

As a society we are horrible at letting our children be "bored."  At my house I have found that typically boredom has a ten minute hump.  One of my children will come up and tell me they are bored.  I will respond with a few ideas (usually some fun and some chores) and let them know I will trust them to find something to do.  They then go on the whine and flop on the floor for 5-10 minutes, then they find something they are interested in.

During these "bored" sessions my children have made some of the things they are most proud of.  Creations of art projects are a popular one.  Reading a new library book, or even organizing a closet have happened too.

There has to be management of a home.  It is more pleasant to live with at least an outline of what needs to happen.  Some of you are great at checklists, some of you just have an overall idea of what needs to get done by tomorrow.  Whatever works for you is great.  As you are managing, think of ways to build your little human beings alongside you. 

Here are a few links to some "I'm bored" jar ideas - a simple craft to make for your family:

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/the-mom-im-bored-jar/

http://imom.com/tools/training-tools/im-bored-jar/

http://www.shabbybeachnest.com/101-idea-im-bored-jar/

http://www.homespun-threads.com/hp_zencart/download/bored.pdf

How do you "snap yourself out of it" when you are feeling like being a manager is your ONLY role?
What do you think are some of the best things you can encourage your kids to do when they are bored?

Making a Memory: Babe the Blue Ox Hunt

Last fall we had an evening with no Daddy home and a Mom (me) who was going to go crazy in the house with four lovely children - we needed something to do...however this something needed to be free or almost free.

We ended up using an idea I remember my friend Wendy Kresha doing with her children one summer - going on a Babe the Blue Ox Hunt.  There are 19 individually decorated Babes in the Brainerd / Baxter/ Nisswa area.  We took one evening and were able to find 10 of them and have a lot of fun doing it!

This activity was great for our family because it appealed to everyone (then ages 1-7).  We didn't unbuckle the youngest for every picture, but for enough of them that she definitely felt included too.

So, for the cost of gas and a little prepping (when you act excited about something like this, it tend to rub off on your kiddos) we had a great night!  My kids talk about this experience often and have some fun shared memories of these few "spur of the moment" hours.

More "Making a Memory" posts to come!

What ways have you made one day or one evening memories with your kids?
Why do you think it is important to have spontaneous fun with your kids?

Themed Summer Activities for Families!

A Little Summer DQ Treat - 2010

The first summer I had four children I craved a way to instill a little summer "homeschooling" and have a little order to our weeks - This is the brain child of that desire.  I am happy to share these with you - use one idea or the whole bunch - several resources are specific to Central MN, but could easily be adapted to other areas with your resources.  During this summer my kiddos were - 6, 4, 2, and 6 months - so the activities are pretty geared to these ages.  We did not accomplish everything on this list, but had so much fun doing many of these things!  Enjoy ~

SWAT Weeks (Swisher Weeks of Activity Themes)

Every week includes whatever books I order from the library (www.griver.org) , coloring sheets(http://www.coloring-book.info/coloring/; http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html ),  plus info from the field trip destination’s website.  Of course intermingled with this will be lots of opportunities for letter and word learning, vocab building, coloring and other projects, etc.   We have purchased a family membership at Pine Grove Zoo, MN Historical Society , & State Parks Pass….to accomplish all of this with a reasonable amount of money J   FAD - is my code for Family Adventure Day.

Little Falls Greenhouse

Week one: Plant Week –

·         Visit greenhouse, plant flowers (and veggies?)

·         Field Trip to Munsinger Garden (Friday)

·         Carnation Science project (white carnation in colored water – each kid picks the color)

·         Walk to Lindbergh State park to find as many different plants that we can

Underwater Adventures (Mall of America)

Fish Project - Cut a triangle out of a paper plate and attach to the other side with a staple - decorate!

Fish Cookies!

Week two: Fish Week –

·         Field trip to the MN Fishing Museum (not sure what day yet)

·         FAD to the Underwater Adventures & Children’s Museum

·         Hopefully fishing with dad

·         Look at fish at Walmart

·         Watch Finding Nemo, Shark Tale

·         Eating Nemo fruit snacks, Sweedish fish, and Goldfish

·         Eating Tuna and Salmon

Reading with Dad

Week three: Book / Reading Week –

·         Write a book as a family and publish it

·         Meet an author, have a book signed

·         Read, read, read

·         Do letter learning activities

·         Go on a word scavenger hunt around town

Baking at Home

The BEST Bakery Ever - Pete and Joys!

Week four: Baking / Cooking Week –

·         Field trip to Bakery (Wednesday)

·         Kids choose things to cook and bake

Apollo Space Shuttle - Apollo High School, St. Cloud

Week five:   Solar System Week - 

·         Field trip to SCSU planetarium (?)

·         Track down someone with a telescope

·         Paint glow in the dark stars on kid’s ceilings or attach plastic ones

·         Visit Apollo space shuttle if in St. Cloud at all

·         Visit the Lindbergh House – flight, space, etc….

Creating birdfeeders - pinecones covered in pb, rolled in birdseed, hung with some yarn - fun and messy!

Our bird checklist for bird watching at Crane Meadows near LF

The clipboard is almost as big as the 2 year old -

Week six: Bird Week -

·         Set up birdfeeder

·         Watch birds with Grandma

·         Make pinecone feeders (pb, seeds string)

·         Field Trip to Hemker Zoo?

Releasing our Butterflies

Como Zoo Butterfly Pavilion

Week seven: Butterfly week –

·         Order butterfly garden habitat http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000ISC5/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

·         FAD to Como Zoo & MN History Museum (?)

·         Butterfly paint projects

Week eight: Bible Discovery Week –

·         VBS

·         Bible Stories for book times

·         Veggietales for all shows

River Bats Game (now St. Cloud Rox)

Week nine: Sports Week –

·         Field trip to River Bats game, Sun night 6:05

·         Play different sports, different places

Week ten: Bee Week –

·         Watch a Bee Movie

·         Contact Elizabeth for any bee ideas (?)

·         Try honey on new things / different kinds of honey

Week eleven: Dinosaur Week –

·         FAD to MN Science Museum / Kelly Farm (?)

·         Dinosaur dig in sandbox

·         Dinosaur egg discovery

·         Watch Dinosaur Train on PBS

·         Watch The Land Before Time

Week twelve: Farm & Vegetable Week –

·         Contest between mom & dad and kids as to how many different kinds of veggies each can eat

·         Visit the Farmer’s Market

·         Field trip to a farm (?)

·         Help Grandma & Grandpa with garden

What fun activities for learning have you done with your kids in summer?
Does your family have favorite places to visit that you feel have educational value?

The Only Constant Is Change



Me 13 months pregnant with baby #3 (2008)
Our beautiful crib in the background!

"The only constant is change"~ Heraclitus a 500BC, Greek philosopher

I am reminded of this fact over and over in parenting.  Just when it seems I have "mastered" one aspect (or at least begun to maybe understand it a little) of parenting it seems that my children move forward in their development.

Yesterday was momentous in our house - this week with school ending it seems every day has been momentous - but yesterday we disassembled our crib.  Our wonderful bundle of wood that held and protected each of my babies through their earliest days and nights.  It has been a fixture in our home for 8 years.

It was a poignant reminder to me about how each stage of parenting seems overwhelming at the time you are going through it.  New babies are a LOT of work, toddlers are an emotional roller coaster, preschoolers long for independence, and so forth.  However, once you are past each stage there are days when you miss it - not the exhausting parts of the stage, but the perks that went with it - newborns snuggle, babies are loving, toddlers explore, preschoolers discover.

"This too shall pass" ~ this is probably the quote that runs through my brain the most often when I am feeling overwhelmed as a parent.  But here is the secret - the pleasant and unpleasant stages will pass.  My challenge to you today is to not let the joyful parts of each stage get lost in the sleepless nights and endless days. 


What part of the parenting stage that you are in seems overwhelming right now?
What part of the parenting stage that you are in are you loving right now?

Why I Run.

Not me, what I imagine I look like ;)

I have not been a runner for many, many years, however 4 babies in 5 years pushed me to need to find something - something to do that would be for me.  Something that would help my mental health and my physical health.  Something that I could feel a personal sense of accomplishment about.  So many wonderful things about parenting are such a process - I needed something with an immediate result.

I began by running one block and walking one block.  I was in bad shape in the beginning.  I was quite overweight and have bad joints - not a good combination.  BUT I kept going.  My husband bought me a shuffle for Mother's Day to listen to while I ran - it helped immensely in the beginning - kept me from hearing my own heavy breathing.  Now I rarely use it, but prefer the quiet of the road instead.

My kids are incredibly supportive of this endeavor of mine and occasionally ask to go with.  I would love to share this love with them.  Not that they all need to be runners, but I like that they think it looks fun enough to try.  It is so fun to run with them around the block, they all approach running very differently!

My husband is my champion.  He helps me to make the time to get this done every week.  I am not a daily runner, that will never be the case for me and my arthritis, but I feel awesome when I can get out 2-3 times a week.

For me to be selfish and claim this time out - on a good week it ends up being about 3 hours for the week of running - spills over into the other parts of my life.  I am less irritable.  I feel healthier and therefore I eat healthier and therefore I have more energy for my family.  My brain has had a clear space - a quiet time - to process things that are bugging me or things that I am excited about.

I am an outdoor runner.  To be outdoors has always energized me.  I made a point to get the gear to be able to run outside in MN all winter long.  It was beautiful - I highly reccomend it!

I am a competitive person.  It has helped me to enter races to keep myself motivated to keep pushing myself to run farther and faster, however I do just run for the enjoyment of running.  I recently finished my first 10K and am curious if my body can accomplish a half marathon someday.  I am not a fast runner and frankly I really don't care.  It feels good to finish and over time I will get better.  Every race I come home from my kids ask if I won.  In my own way I did every time.

Every parent needs something for themselves.  It might be reading a non-picture book for 15 minutes a day.  It might be scrapbooking at night after kids are down to bed.  It might be fishing by yourself one night a week.  If you need ideas think about what you enjoyed doing before kids - are there things you would like to do again?  Can you make it happen for yourself?  Can you hire a sitter once a month for yourself?  Or trade childcare with a friend?  There are lots of ways to make this happen (and LOTS of guilt that we feel doing it - taking time for ourselves).  If you are parenting with a spouse or partner be honest with them, be specific about what you would like to do and why.  Clear expectations people.

Conversely, every parent needs to be flexible.  There are going to be times when you want or even need to have some time and space to yourself and it is not going to happen because your children and/or family will need you.  This is tricky, it is easy to become bitter about this.  Do your best to stay flexible, to let your family know you are there for them and you will get done what needs to get done and make a plan for yourself to rearrange a time for you to get that little time for you.  What I am saying is that there will be times that you have to BE THE PARENT and simply suck it up and keep going for awhile.  Just don't let that go on forever or you will burn out.

How do you create a little time for yourself?
What do you enjoy doing when you have the chance?  Read? Fish? Run? Other things?
Why do you think it matters to get a chance to do these things?  What is it modeling to your kids?

The Most Powerful Way to Teach Your Child

Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.   ~Robert Fulghum

As my children have grown a little bit older it has been fascinating to hear things come out of their mouths that drive me nuts for one moment, then after a chance to ponder what was said I realize that it is something that I say or a way I react at times.

This is one of the most frustrating things for me as a parent.  I want my children to be better than I am.  I want to bequest them a gentle spirit, a slow temper, and grace.  However, these things are not things that have ever come naturally to me.  I struggle with being graceful, gentle, and slow to explode.  How can I possibly hope to pass along a better chance for my children?

One way (there are many) that I work through my weakness with my children is to point them out, tell briefly why I struggle and what outcome I would prefer.  At no point do I dismiss any behavior that they have chosen that is not acceptable, however I do often apologize if I have chosen to behave in a way I would not allow them too - ie. yelling.

My four year old son has been talking a lot lately about the "Golden Rule"  that we have at our house.  He tells our friends, random people in the grocery store, and our family, he is very proud of it.  And really a lot of modeling for our children does boil down to the Golden Rule in my mind.  Do I want to be treated like I am treating my children?  They DO need consequences for their actions - negative and positive, but are my consequences delivered in a respectful way?  One that allows my children to grow and develop good habits, and good reactions to the world around them.  Do I carry myself in a way that I would be happy to see my children replicate?

Here are two books that we really enjoy as a family that talk about the Golden Rule -
Berenstain Bears -
http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-Golden-Living-Lights/dp/0310712475/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1336394699&sr=8-4

Do Unto Otters -
http://www.amazon.com/Do-Unto-Otters-About-Manners/dp/0312581408/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336394797&sr=8-2

Taken as a whole this is a VERY intimidating idea.  No one can act perfectly all of the time, nor should we expect to, however we must remember that how we live our lives has a more powerful influence on our children than we can ever imagine.  Do you give to others?  Do you treat the store clerk with respect?  Do you open doors for the elderly?  Think about small ways you can be a positive model for your children and keep building on it!

What are things you are proud of modeling for your kids?
How do you help your kids work through attitudes and words that they need to improve?

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

My little Captain America & his punching bag

Hitting, biting, kicking, punching, spitting, licking.  All things that my children have done to each other on an occasional basis.  We have not dealt with chronic biters, which I am grateful for.  We had not dealt with any of these things on a wide scale until we had our beautiful, intense third born child.

This boy was born ready.  He arrived after we had been at the hospital for just under 1 hour.  My previous labors has put me in the hospital for at least 12 hours of my labor.  He came so quickly that one nurse had my doctor on the phone and the other nurse called down for the on-duty ER doctor to please come up.

There are so many things that I have come to learn through this child.  He will try something just to see what happens, or to simply see if he can do it.  Among other places I have found him (under the age of 4) on top of the van, on the ledge of the deck, and on a friend's roof (a low hanging roof over a deck).  I realized that none of these things had I specifically told him "not" to do.  He is a smart kid and will keep thinking of things to try that I will not have anticipated.  So, for the past two years I have been drilling into his brain that he needs to make "safe choices."  We talk OFTEN about what this means.  We talk about how it makes mom and dad feel when he does NOT make a safe choice.  And we also compliment him whenever we can we we notice he DID make a safe choice.

Hitting has been the single other biggest struggle so far with this child.  He has the need to constantly move and constantly hit things - most of all his brother.  So after incessant reminders, time-outs, and talks about being gentle my mom and I were talking one day and came up with the idea of a punching bag.  After doing some research and checking out Craig's List, we found an awesome bag.  It does take up space in our house, however it has been such an amazing fit for the needs of my child, I would gladly do it again.  We have all enjoyed using it - whether it be to work out (me), get out some anger (my 6 year old), or just have fun trying it (everybody else).

Do you deal with any active children in your home?
How do you encourage them to make "safe choices?"
Would you ever consider something like the punching bag to help fill a need of your child (something to bite for a biter, something to spit on for a spitter)?