Tag Archives: activity

Gymboree Play & Music

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In March 2009, my mom suggested that Jessie would probably benefit from an activity with other children her age. What? Jessie doesn’t get enough interaction from watching me work at home? Mom’s suggestion was Gymboree. It sounded like a good idea to me. I looked up the website and found the location nearest to me. Oh my! The nearest location is about an hour away. That’s okay; we’ll just go try the class. Little did I know that I would love Gymboree. The jury was still out for Jessie, but enough parents told me that sitting and watching was common … Continue reading →

Valentine Family Tree Project

If you need a project to do with your kids this month, consider using the festive colors and hearts of the popular Valentine’s Day themes as inspiration for a fun and colorful family tree. Let’s look at how to create a Valentine’s family tree. Here are the supplies you’ll need: *White poster board *Red construction paper *Craft glue *Black marker *Red marker *Red glitter (Optional) *Photos (Optional) *Photo corners (Optional) Now that we have all of the supplies together, let’s look at the steps to create this fun family tree: *Write the title of your tree in large letters across … Continue reading →

How to Make the Most of Your Fitness Time

If you are like most people your day is buzzing with numerous chores and activities. The average American has to not only work a job, but tend to many other responsibilities as well. We are trying to be more health conscious by eating healthier and exercising more, but our other commitments do not leave us much time to do this. The bottom line is, we must make the time or we will never do it. Even if it means sacrificing something else, for instance our evening television show, a few nights a week, it has to be done. Try to … Continue reading →

Fight Feelings of Hopelessness with Activity

Feeling hopeless? Maybe you’ve got the economy on your mind. Maybe it’s the crummy job market in your area, or worries about losing your job. We live in stressful times! New research from Kuopio University Hospital in Finland shows that an active lifestyle may help improve your outlook on life. Researchers interviewed nearly 2500 men between the ages of 42 and 60. Participants were asked about their mood and physical activity levels and were tested for physical fitness. The more active the men in the study were, the less likely they were to experience feelings of hopelessness. The more vigorous … Continue reading →

Why High Energy Isn’t All Bad

I think high energy kids get a bad rap. We’ve come to expect quite a bit from our children in terms of the ability to sit still, be sedate, and settle down to school work and small group activities from a much earlier age. Kids who run, jump, “act crazy” and “bounce off the walls” are seen as needing medication and therapy. As any parent of a high energy kid can tell you, however, all that abundant energy is not necessarily a bad thing. Some kids have high octane energy levels hard-wired from conception. They are often more active in … Continue reading →

Exercising Together

Let’s face it—even though we know that exercise and physical activity is important, it can be incredibly difficult to carve out the time to do it as a single parent. One solution is to find physical activities that you can do with your kids—doubling up play and quality time with getting some exercise too. There are some classics that work well for single parents—riding bicycles together or going swimming, but you might also consider taking a yoga class or some other exercise class, or how about a dance class together? Hiking, camping, and bird watching are other ways to get … Continue reading →

Shake Things Up With a Day of Non-verbal Communication

Think that vows of silence or silent weekend retreats are only for monks and holy people? Trying a day or afternoon or weekend of silence as a family can be fun, calming, and a way to focus on each other and be together without the chaos of chatter. Kids and parents can find it fun and challenging to find alternative ways of communicating when talking is out… My kids and I used to have fun with “silent hour” or “silent day” (We also used to have “opera day” but that is for another blog). The goal wasn’t to avoid each … Continue reading →

Berry Picking is a Great Family Summer Activity

It is early here and we have another cooler, overcast day. I have the baskets ready and we are soon heading out for an early morning berry-picking session. Forget that we live in a fast-paced modern world and my kids are physically attached to i-pods and computer games–we still enjoy the adventure of an hour or two of berry picking. Where we live, we have a few berry picking seasons–strawberries and then blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Spending a few hours or an afternoon at the berry patch is a great way to spend time together as a family, build memories, … Continue reading →

Sitting Still is Overrated

Have you ever thought about all the mixed messages we send our kids? Things like teaching them not to talk to strangers and then urging them to sit on the mall Santa’s lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. Or how about “respect your elders” and “stand up for what you believe in”? One of the issues I think we really send mixed messages about as a culture is physical activity. We tell our children we want them to be active and go outside and play, but then we are constantly telling them to sit and be still … Continue reading →

Fun with Oobleck

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One scientific mystery that I have seen enjoyed by students in pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade is the creation of Oobleck. Oobleck can be a very fun experiment to try when studying the phases of matter. The lesson’s objectives can be condensed to fit any age level. If used with small children try reading Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss before the project begins. The Recipe for Oobleck (enough for six groups of students to investigate) Ingredient List Large mixing bowl 4 boxes of cornstarch 6 ¾ cups of water 15 drops of food coloring (Oobleck is usually made … Continue reading →