That Twinkle

Incredible shot of my child's personality by Nadine ~ Lifeprints by Nadine

Do you have a child who has "that twinkle?"

You know if you do.

They feel things so strongly, they approach life differently, they are a challenge & a blessing to raise (aka. you both want to tear out your hair and then the next moment they might do or say something that melts your heart).

So, how do you handle a child with a twinkle - here are three things that have helped us...

 #1 ~ Make sure your child has LOTS of opportunity for physical activity.  Invest time & money (as you are able) in making sure they have an outlet for that twinkle.

#2 ~ Share control when you can with your child.  When you are dealing with a child who is always thinking of new ways to do things, or new ways to climb things, or new ways to just approach life in general - figure out how to make of choice of things when you can.  "Would you like to wear your jeans or your tan pants to church?" (the windpants aren't an option)  "Would you like to climb up to the third branch or the fourth branch on that tree?" (the top isn't an option)

#3 ~ Acknowledge your child's feelings - kids with a twinkle tend to feel things strongly.  Don't let them push your buttons when possible (yes, I know this is totally easier said then done...)  It helps me to think of my twinkle child and I like an old fashioned balance - when he is freaking, then I need to suck it up and hold it together to be able to help him calm back down.  Let's face it, it just doesn't end well when we both freak out...

Twinkle kids, when given good direction early on, are kiddos who change the world...they aren't afraid to try new things (maybe a cure for cancer?), they don't care as much what other kids think (pure pressure affects them differently), and they tend to see good & bad as fairly black & white, so they are bothered by things that aren't fair (working to help the homeless or food shelf?) and are capable of being kids and adults with high level of integrity.  They can come up with million ways to challenge our parenting, but also make us smile...

I love most of this post by Dr. Laura Markham for more info too ~
http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/positive-discipline/Parenting-Strong-Willed-Child

Do you have a "Twinkle" kid?  What tips / advice do you have for others who are raising one?

What amazing things has your "Twinkle" kid done or said?

Baking Soda & Vinegar Fun!

Quick, fun, and cheap activity for your kiddos!  Probably best for ages 2 1/2 and up, but nothing involved that can't be ingested ;)

First we got the baking soda patted down onto trays, both kids tried licking their hands after this and decided they agreed with mom that it didn't taste like sugar.

I prepped 3 cups of vinegar & liquid watercolor (but of course you can use good ol' food coloring too!) and droppers.  Then they took the droppers we talked about how you fill them up and then release them onto the baking soda - fun!

Both kids (ages 3 & 5) stuck with this until all of their baking soda was "painted" with the vinegar (about 20 minutes) - if you have never tried this combination, it bubbles and fizzes - so fun!  If the mess worries you, try this out on the deck or in the yard - good cheap fun!

Enjoy!

Do you have any cheap, easy "science" idea for kids?

Do you tolerate a mess well as a parent or do you like to save things like this for summer and outside?

6 Ways to Be a Better Parent

Children are like plants - they need water, fresh air, gentle pruning, and room to grow.

Parenting a child is such an amazing gift.  To be able to raise and mold a little being.  To guide and shape a small person.

What an amazing, incredible, EXHAUSTING opportunity.

So how do you keep it up?  How do you mold and shape and love this small person or small people without your own well running dry?  Well, here is the real deal people.  Your well WILL run dry from time to time, because the world isn't perfect.  However, I believe you can cut down on those empty moments by following a few guidelines for yourself.

By finding your times, maximizing those times when you can fill up your own tank.  And cultivating a thankful heart.  And building a support team.  And....well read on.

It is so easy to get caught up in this culture's way of letting us know we are not good enough, smart enough, thin enough.  But to that special little person you ARE enough.  You are the best parent for the little one(s) entrusted to you.  And now comes the big work for you - keeping yourself, your mind, your body, your "tank" healthy for them.

How can you do this?  There are lots of ways, but here are 6 I have settled upon for myself at the stage of life I am in:

1. Get as much sleep as you can.  This means different things in different stages of parenting, but to me this is huge.  I do everything better when I have more rest.  Get off facebook, put down the pinterest and let your mind & body rest.
2. Fuel your body and mind well.  Try to limit to junk that weighs down your mind and body.
3. Find time for refreshment.  I have long struggled with the guilt of sitting down for a quiet moment and have determined that to wake up early and get in both exercise and quiet time is the way to go for me.  I also value highly our bedtime routine and the chance to have a few quiet moments at the end of the day.  Create, write, photograph, pray, find something that fills your insides and make the time to do it.
4. Move your body.  Good things happen when you move your body - get a dvd from the library, challenge your child to run up and down the hallway with you, enter a race to get motivated.
5. Build your support team.  Different people from different walks of life will make up your support team.  You need someone who can listen when you have a bad day, someone who can physically help you with your child raising, someone you can share your wisdom with, someone you can let loose with.  Maybe you need someone to clean your house, walk your dog, mow your lawn.  Remember you need to be a friend to make a friend, but no friendship should be all one sided.
6. Finally, you need to figure out how to be thankful & grateful.  Our world begs us to be unhappy with what we have, what we do, and who we are.  Buck the system, find ways to be content with your world.  Find ways to show others you are thankful for their help.  Look at the intentions behind the actions of those around you, especially your children.

These are six things that make a difference in my day to day parenting.  Your list of six might be different.  The important thing is to realize that this time, these little ones, are a gift for this season.  A wonderful, sticky, loud gift.  Enjoy the journey.

What choices do you make to be a better parent?  What are your thankful for in your parenting journey?

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?