How to Make Sure You Decorate for Thanksgiving With Children

Recently, my sweet sister got me hooked on Once A Month Meals.  Basically, you sign up with them, and they help you plan menus with all the information (shopping list, prep list, cooking schedule, recipes, etc.) that you need to shop and cook for a month's worth of meals in a little over one day.  We usually break it down into at least two days: The shopping and prep day and the cooking and freezing day.  It's awesome.  Now, there's always a great meal ready to cook every day.  And it saves on the grocery bill as well.  (After setting it up to work out to food for two weeks instead of four, the average cost of groceries was about $160/2 weeks for our family of five.)

  I decided to apply this theory of having things prepared in advance to make a daily art adventure easier.  And to make sure that we have some Thanksgiving decorations to put up.:)

The countdown to Thanksgiving is on... And it's down to 4 days left.  And we still have our Halloween decor up.  So... Since I love doing crafty stuff with the mini's, and I don't feel like I do enough of it, I have decided to prep some projects out ahead of time, then just pull them out over the next few days.  Thanks to Pinterest (LOVE it!), here's what's on the agenda:

Thankful Turkey Book

Thanks to the blogger at b-inspiredmama.com, I found these adorable Thankful Turkey books.  Instead of using paper bags, I simply cut two sheets of  printer paper and a sheet of construction paper in half the long way, folded the printer paper and one half of the construction paper together, then stapled them.  They are tucked into a paper lunch bag, awaiting creation. My little man and baby doll will be able to write in their own books with  minimal help, and the super baby will be able to dictate.  Then they can draw away to illustrate all the things that they are thankful for at this point in their lives.  I'm excited to see what they come up with.

Lego Stamped Indian Corn

Crafty Morning inspired me to set this art project up for my kiddos.  We have a few (TONS!!) of Legos hanging out around here, so this should be an awesome art project for us to do.  No bag for this one, I just printed out the picture and basic directions so I wouldn't be scrambling for an idea.

Turkeys

I wish I knew who to give credit to for this adorable project... :(  Anyways, we have tons of TP rolls hanging out for art projects, and paper plates, so another bag is prepped with those two basic needs to create turkeys to set out to replace the pumpkins hanging out.

Rock Turkeys

Another Crafty Morning project... When we bought our house, one of the back flowerbeds was landscaped with rock.  Still is, though that is changing in the spring.  But, for now, there were just enough rocks not buried in snow for me to pick out three that are perfect for this craft.  As soon as they are dry, they will go into the next bag to motivate our creativity.

Coloring Sheets

Mommy Octopus gathered some awesome coloring sheets.  Little man has already colored in the turkey color by number and the Thanksgiving scene.  These should be some great fillers for the kiddos Thanksgiving day, so we will be printing off extras to share with the cousins (and aunts/ uncles/grandparents/friends) should they feel the desire to do some holiday coloring!

I'm so looking forward to doing some intentional projects with the kids.  There is so much to be gained from them- not the least of which will be the wonderful memories made of doing these things together.

(Huge thanks to all who shared inspiration for the crafts! Everyone I could find a link to give credit to is linked in the caption of the picture!)

My Top 10 Things to Have on Hand to Make Life Easier

So, I recently got to thinking about things that I usually make sure to have on hand, both as a parent and as a teacher.  You never know when you're gonna need that one little thing to keep the peace and make the day go by that much smoother.  Here are some of my must haves- and why I make sure to keep them around.

1.  Art supplies.(I grouped this category because the list would be waaay too long if I listed them individually.) Crayons, markers, colored and graphite pencils, construction paper, watercolor paper, drawing paper, coloring books, tissue paper, magazines/ads/newspaper for cutting, scissors, glue, stickers... The list is pretty much endless. But art supplies are the kind of awesome free exploration that kids love, and learn so much from. Truly, having a well stocked stash of art supplies can save the kids (and parents/teachers) from going up the wall.

2.  Tape.  Tape is one of the most versatile tools you can have as a caregiver for young children.  It can fix books or toys (electrical tape makes a great cast for a broken Barbie wrist or dragon tail!) Painters tape works wonderfully for creating a race track for Hot Wheels and their friends, or for marking shapes and spaces for other games that need a bigger 'board' than the traditional board game. Washi tape is great for art projects.  And we all know about Duct tape...  Fixes everything, right? :)

3. Play dough.  Weather you buy Play-Doh from the store or make your own at home, play dough is definitely a must have. It's another one of those boredom busters, and is such a great fine motor workout for little hands.

4.  Laminator (thermal + pouches or self adhesive).  I LOVE  my laminator.  Definitely one of the best $20 investments I've made.  We use it to make dry erase and play dough mats.

5.  Dry erase markers and mats or boards.  My kids love dry erase activities.  And I love that they aren't going through a ton of paper. Dry erase activities are just enough of a novelty that even the most resistant practicing writer will be hard pressed to refuse.

6.  Sensory table, filler, and scoops.  We use a regular under-the-bed type storage tub for our sensory table.  I love that it has a well fitting lid, and the kids know when the lid is on, the bin is not available unless they ask.  We also keep gallon size bags of mixed pasta, colored rice, and mixed beans on hand to put in the table.  I have made cloud dough for it, and am thinking about dumping some cornmeal with cinnamon in for the holiday scent.  We'll see!  And the scoops are nothing fancy- just salvaged yogurt and spice containers.

7.  Notebooks. You know how stores have notebooks on sale for $,03 at the end of the school supply sales? (I may be exaggerating slightly about the price, but they're still super cheap when they are trying to get rid of the oodles extra they ordered in preparation for school supply shopping.) Anyways, I always stock up on a bunch of them when I can, then give them to the kids with their name on the cover as a journal. It's so much fun to see the things they 'write', actually write, or draw in them.  And I love looking back at their earlier journals and seeing how much they have learned. Notebooks are also handy for the parent/teacher for notes and lists and whatever else one uses a notebook for. :)

8.  A library card.  You never know what kinds of treasures you can find at your local library.  We went one time, just to check out some books, and found out they were having a terrific book sale!  We walked out with a reusable shopping bag, packed full of books, that cost us $2.  There are so many family activities to take advantage of, from story time to movie nights. And the novelty of a new book never gets old- literally.  The more reading your child (and you!) do, the better!  There are so many new worlds to discover between the covers of a book.

9.  Camera.  I don't use my camera as often as I feel I should, especially now that I have a phone with  a pretty decent camera in it.  Either way, have a way to capture those special moments.  There's no need to go overboard and take a million pictures (unless you really want to- then by all means, snap away!)  But having those moments recorded means a lot, and I for one love having the option as opposed to kicking myself for forgetting to have something ready.

10.  Chocolate.  You never know when you're going to need it.  Potty training toddler makes it to the bathroom by themselves?  Have a bite.  Preschooler shares the most favorite, sacred toy without being asked?  Here's a nibble.  School age kid spends 30+ minutes reading to his siblings, never getting frustrated with the million and 12 interrupted questions? Take half.  Had a long day?  You, mom/dad/caregiver/teacher, get the whole thing.  :)  Some days, chocolate just makes everything better.

There are so many things out there billed to make your life easier...  These are the things I love to have on hand to make a melt down day into a fun filled day. Find what works for you, and make sure you are never without!

The Loss of Discipline...

I recently saw this image on one of the Facebook pages I follow.  I have to admit, it made me sad to see.  So many people see or think of discipline as punishment for a child, when the full scope of discipline is so much more.  Truly, the last line- "providing conditions in which a child can realize his or her full human potential"- is one of the best definitions of discipline for children I have seen.

Discipline is providing structure and routine for a child.  Children need structure in their day.  They thrive on knowing what comes next, that they can trust you to be there, that there is predictability in their lives. Discipline allows you to tell your child that there are limits, there are routines for the things you do, that you can be trusted to be a safe place for them.

Discipline is letting a child know that there are expectations for him or her.  Each family, community, culture all have their own expectations for everyone who is a member- including children.  Discipline lets you teach your child what those expectations are, and how to succeed at and within them.  It lets you teach your child that there are times when they must wear clothes, there are places for using the bathroom, that we need to take turns for the safety and well-being of everyone.  When children are in group settings (like child care or school), there are expectations for learning.  If your child has no concept of discipline, in increases the chances of the child having a harder time interacting with the group and taking advantage of the learning opportunities offered.

Discipline allows a child to know how to interact with others.  It provides the framework for culturally appropriate communication rituals.  When children don't have clear boundaries (discipline!), it can lead to a child being overly affectionate or to hang back in the wrong situations. It teaches a child when a hand shake is more appropriate than a hug, the space we leave between friends or strangers, and the words we use when we speak to the different people in our lives.

Discipline tells a child we will keep them safe.  There are expectations for how we interact with other people, for how we interact with our environment. Offering appropriate discipline tells a child, "I won't let you hurt yourself and others.  I will help you learn how to be safe. I will help you learn about being a friend."

Discipline is not synonymous with punishment. Discipline is providing the expectations and framework for growth and learning.