Our older son grew up with grandparents, aunts, and uncles all within an hour of our home.  He was truly raised by a village of people!  However, before the birth of our second son, we moved four hours away from our amazing family support system.  We knew, though, how amazing those relationships with extended family were, so we came up with a way to help our younger son identify his kin as he grew older.

We took pictures of all of our relatives and printed them out on sheets of photo paper.  Then, we mounted these pictures to magnetic sheets.  Next, we cut out each individual person (I cut close to the outline of the person to make them “paper dollish”) and cut out names for labels for each person as well.  Our refrigerator and dish washer are decorated with smiling faces of family and close friends, and our sons both love to “play” with their family.  When we talk to relatives on the phone, the boys can look at that person they are talking to and make a connection with them!

Are you looking for a few ideas to hold your sanity in tact until warmer weather arrives?  Even if you are already seeing signs of Spring, these are great activities in ANY kind of weather!

• Let’s go on a treasure hunt!  Hide a treasure somewhere outside, then leave a trail of colorful aquarium rocks, bread crumbs or even cereal for them to follow to find it.  If there’s snow around, the edible trail idea will be great for hungry animal-friends!  Too chilly for those little bodies?  Create a treasure hunt indoors!
• Become a weather bug! Have your child monitor the weather each day by writing or drawing what he or she sees.  Make a journal or chart of the changes in your local weather, and see if your child can predict what might happen the next day.
• If you are in an area still covered with snow, fill a few squirt bottles with colored water and bundle those kids up.  Have them spray the snow to create fantastic works of art right there on the ground!
• If springtime storms are starting to make an appearance, have your child create a picture with watercolor markers on a piece of posterboard or even a paper plate.  When the rain comes, place the drawing outside and watch what happens.
• Create an indoor snowman…make good use of those styrofoam packing peanuts be drawing an outline of a snowman on a piece of heavy paper.  Have your child glue packing peanuts all over the snowman, then embellish with spare buttons, scrap material, twigs, bottle caps or whatever goodies you have just sitting around!

In one short month, Valentine’s Day will be here.  Giving someone a Valentine is a wonderful way to show how much you care, and when these Valentine’s are handmade, the message is that much more special.  Here are a couple of easy homemade Valentines for your kids to make - for neighbors, friends, relatives and classmates!

1. Cut hearts from red or pink construction paper, about the size of a 3×5 index card.  Cut two slits in the heart, large enough to slide a stick of gum (such as Big Red) through, much like Cupid’s arrow through a heart.  On the Valentine, write “I ‘chews’ you to be my Valentine” and sign it!  These are always a huge hit with friends and classmates!
2. As in suggestion #1, cut hearts from red, purple or pink construction paper.  Cut two finger-sized holes in the lower portion of the heart (you can start a hole with a hole punch then use scissors to increase the size).  Decorate the heart with a face, wiggly eyes and cute smile, then pen a message on the back, such as, “You make my heart dance!”  Viola!  A Valentine finger puppet!

With the holiday season upon us, it is difficult to NOT get caught up in the crazy frenzy of holiday shopping.  However, I came across a great idea for teaching children about the act of giving of themselves.  This is perfect for children because not only do they give something to someone they love, but they find the joy of creating that gift.

Have everyone in your family draw names from a bag.  In our family, we’re doing just the four of us, but it would be wonderful to get the grandparents and other extended family involved in this, too!  The name you draw is the person for which you will create a gift.  Here are some simple ideas that kids can do for gift-giving:

• dressed-up coat hangers: have children wrap colorful ribbon around coat hangers to create a beautiful and unique gift.
• beaded bookmarks: string beads onto yarn and knot at the ends for a lovely way to mark your reading place.
• magnets for mom: print off different letters and/or words in a variety of colors and fonts from your computer.  Cover both sides of the paper with contact paper, cut out, and attach a self-sticking magnet to the back.  Or, find extra photos and create photo-magnets!
• for the gardener: choose a packet of favorite seeds and present them in a hand-painted pot.
• Old standbys: using clean, recycled material, kids can create virtually anything: a pencil holder out of a tin can, a new mail basket out of a plastic milk jug, a colorful paperweight by painting a pretty rock, and even a set of pretty holiday coasters by covering old greeting cards with contact paper.

I came across a great little site that will be full of oodles of activities to get you in the holiday spirit.  Heather created this site for the holiday season based on our 50 Days of Summer Fun.  How fantastic is that?  Check out what Heather is coming up with this week, and check back each week for a new batch of activities!  She’s quite crafty, too, so be ready to have some creative fun!

I just finished an article from the November 2008 Parenting magazine about children and boxes (page 144).  The scenario they gave is so very true.  I used to sell specialty toys for a home-party company, but my son’s favorite part of the whole experience were the large boxes of packing peanuts I would discard as I inventoried products.  He could have cared less about the brightly-colored toys and balls, the noises and lights, the glitz and glitter.  He was happy sitting in a box, kicking packing peanuts into the air and burying himself in the sea of white foam.

For my son, it was a matter of space.  In a box, he was secure and comfortable.  It was a small space, just like him, and he seemed to feel protected.  I have witnessed this same phenomena in our church nursery.  We will have small children come in and be totally overwhelmed by the room, the toys the stimuli, but if you place that same child in a high chair with one or two small toys, they are happy and will stay there until they are more familiar with the environment.

Boxes are also great for creating and imagination.  We used to place several large boxes in a row to make a train, a rocket, and, at one point, a school bus.  Children are not confined to the way a box looks; a box is generic.  It can become a castle, a cave, a restaurant, and even Grandma’s house.  Older kids can use paints or paper to visually create what their imagination “sees”.

Small boxes are awesome tools for storing toys and objects.  Small children love to fill boxes and other containers with cars, balls, animals - whatever toys are at their disposal.  The act of putting a toy in a box and pulling it out is a wonderful lesson in object permanence with younger children.  Even though the object isn’t visible, the child realizes it is still there, just inside the box.

So, as the holiday season approaches, keep those boxes handy for all sorts of creative and imaginative play.  And, when your child is more interested in the packaging rather than the product, realize that it is okay.  Boxes are actually a good thing!

With each year that passes, I stand in awe at all that my boys accomplish.  I guess what they say is true - time flies when you’re having fun!  At each birthday, though, I want to stop time, take a moment and relish the experience of my child right then, right there.  While that isn’t possible, it is quite easy to “freeze frame” the memory into something tangible.

Here are several ideas to hold on to those precious, fleeting moments as your child grows up.  These are adaptable at any age and are a great way to remember these amazing years.

• Make a stepping stone.  Stepping stones are quite easy to create.  Craft stores usually sell kits to create one, or you can gather the materials yourself to make your own.  Use either a disposable baking pan (such as a 9 inch square aluminum pan) or, if you want a round stone, use a saucer for a large flower pot (we’ve done this one!).  Purchase a bag of quick-set cement, mix up a batch and pour it in the pan.  After it starts to set, have your child press his or her hands or feet into the cement.  You can decorate it with rocks, colored stones or other objects.  Be sure to use a stick to write the year in the stone as well.
• Design your own plate - there are some inexpensive kits available for creating a unique design.  My boys have “birthday plates” they created and use on their special day.  Try Plate Works Design Your Own Plate or, for a twist on this idea, why not create a wall clock?
• Preserve those special birthday cards by creating a unique placemat for your child.  Take a piece of poster board, cut it to an appropriate size for a placemat, and glue special cards to the posterboard.  Cover the entire creation in contact paper to protect it from spills.  Imagine the fun of looking back at neat cards and notes received on birthdays past!
• Use a kit, such as My Photostory, to chronicle the past year in photos.  This is an awesome tool for preserving those special moments from the past year.  Once the book is completed, it is sent off for production and mailed back in a bound, archival-quality product.  This is a wonderful idea for those milestones, such as the first birthday, turning thirteen, turning eighteen…
• Create other projects to mark the occasion, such as mugs, wristwatches or a painting.  Another great kit is a calendar kit.  Use a picture or a drawing from each month of the past year to create a special birthday edition calendar for the following year.  Or, use the calendar to record special events from the past year.

Birthdays are a wonderful time to reflect on the amazing growth our children go through.  Marking it with a tangible reminder is a wonderful gift to you and your child!

For my Mother’s Day gift when my older son was three, he created a stepping stone in his little preschool class.  It graces our front flower bed and greets everyone as they walk to our front door.  And, it is a constant reminder of how little he used to be (and how big he is now, six years later).  Creating stepping stones is an easy project that makes a sentimental and one-of-a-kind gift.

Start with a large container, shaped as you would like your stepping stone.  Ours was created in the saucer of a large flower pot.  Old baking pans (9×9 or even large pie pans) work well, too, depending on the size of hands or feet you intend to impress into the stone.  Other materials are handy to have around as well: glass stones or large beads, pretty rocks or other items to set in the cement, perhaps a twig or other pointed object for writing in the cement should you choose to chronicle the event with a date or name.

Purchase a bag of ready-mix cement and mix enough to fill your container about 2/3 full.  Reading the directions on the package is essential, as each brand has their own instructions and setting time.  Allow the cement to set somewhat, then impress whatever objects you would like into the forming stone.  Hand prints work well as do footprints (be sure to wash right after pressing into the cement).  Let the child decorate the stone with pretty beads or other objects; don’t press them INTO the cement, though!  Let them sit on top so you can still see them.  Any writing needs to be done before the cement is completely set.

This is a simple project but is a great gift for grandparents, parents, close friends and other relatives.  Repeat it year after year to create a collection of stepping stones, chronicling your child’s growth through the year.  It is a unique and beautiful addition to any landscape!