Captive Mommies

by Nicole Calhoun

When my son Jordan turned ten, we wanted to do something fun, yet inexpensive, for his milestone birthday. After all, the kid was growing up. He would no longer be in the single digits, anymore, and we wanted to celebrate in a way we hadn’t before.

My husband and I both have large families, and there is a great mix of ages. There are grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and all range from the late sixties to two years old! In order to have a party that would not exclude anyone from being able to enjoy themselves took real creativity on our part, but we pulled it off!

We wanted to have a celebration that would be memorable for our son and still be able to make sure that everyone would have an activity that would cause them to feel appreciated that we considered them, as well.

So, what did we do? We thought about the times we had gotten together as family and tried to remember when everyone had the most fun. That simple exercise helped us remember the perfect venue for holding our son’s 10th birthday party.

The park! But not just any park. This park had it all: barbecue grills, a tennis court, a basketball court, a sandy volleyball court, a playground, a walking trail, numerous picnic areas and huge shade trees scattered abroad!

I mean there was something for everyone! The tinier tikes played tirelessly at the playground that had equipment suitable to their needs. The ‘tweens (eight to twelve year olds) enjoyed everything! If they weren’t playing on the playground, they were on one of the sports courts.

The teenagers played basketball and volleyball and made new friends with the others who were their enjoying family time, as well. The folks in their early twenties to early thirties enjoyed playing against the teens…just to show them that although we’re older, we could still kick their butts in a sporting event! And for the record, we whooped them in every sport…but the next day, we were all feeling it!

The more mature adults, our parents and aunts and uncles, chitchatted at the picnic table over hot dogs and hamburgers that had been grilled to perfection!

So, for a child’s birthday party, the park is a great place to hold the party to rival all parties. It’s free to use, and it comes equipped with everything you need for everyone in attendance to have an enjoyable time.

Our son and lots of his guests (young and old) tell us to this day what a great time they had at his birthday party. Everyone’s excited to see what we have in store for him, this year!

You know what? We figure, if it’s not broke, we won’t try to fix it. I’m thinking the park is going to make a great place to hold number eleven, as well.

So if you’ve been painstakingly thinking about where you could hold a party for your precious little pumpkin, the park is a fantastic location. All your guests are guaranteed to have a good time!

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Nicole enjoys spending time with her son, Jordan and her husband, Muri. She loves to travel, work her home-based business, shop and meet new people. If you would like to spend more time with your loved ones, please contact Nicole. http://www.fulltimefamily.com
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
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by Stephanie Foster

Back to school means it’s time to go over your child’s wardrobe. What fits, what doesn’t, what’s stained, what’s plain worn out?

Even if there’s still a good selection of clothes you’ll probably still do some back to school shopping. What child doesn’t like having a new outfit for the first day of school?

This can also start the annual debate… what kind of clothes are you willing to buy for your child?

I’m lucky. My daughter is 6 and still doesn’t care about brand names, although if you put a princess on it she’ll want it. I don’t expect that situation to last forever. Not for the brand names, and please oh please not the princesses!

But problems can be more than just the brand names. You may not approve of current fashions. Too short skirts for girls, questionable sayings and sometimes just plain ugly (to your eyes anyhow) clothes. Shopping’s a pain if you don’t agree on the basic styles to buy.

Fortunately when you’re the parent, you can decide what you will spend your money on for your child’s wardrobe. You earned it after all. If he or she doesn’t like it, that’s their problem.

And if they’re old enough to buy their own, you’re still the parent and you can set rules for the kinds of clothes that can be worn.

I don’t recommend being an utter tyrant about it, of course. Appropriate compromise can make life much more pleasant for both of you.

At my daughter’s age, we start out with appropriate clothes, but she gets to decide how she combines them. As she has absolutely no sense of what goes with what, her clothing combinations can look ridiculous, but she’s happy. I’m content so long as it’s appropriate to the weather.

In contrast, I see many of her classmates already in carefully coordinated outfits. I don’t know whether it’s the child making that choice or the parents, but that makes little difference to me. My daughter is happy and in clothes that she is not feeling self conscious about.

I gather it can be somewhat different for boys, as many are reputed to care less about what they wear, or have a single favorite item that must be worn repeatedly. My son right now has a few favorites, but at age 3 it’s out of sight out of mind.

But just as with girls it comes down to which battles are worth fighting. So long as the clothes are kept reasonably presentable, is it a disaster if he chooses to wear the same shirt frequently?

That said, there are some fashions I really hope aren’t popular when my son gets older. Just for the sheer sloppiness of it.

Whatever your family rules are, start out by shopping accordingly and don’t overdo it. It’s very easy to buy more outfits than a child needs, which wastes money and increases the mess in their bedrooms. Remember that you can always add more if what you start out with at the beginning of the school year turns out to be insufficient.

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Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.homewiththekids.com/blog/ about being a work at home mom. Get more tips on getting ready for back to school on a budget

by crackmarketing

Henry ward Beecher once said, “The mother’s heart is a child’s class room”. This is quite true. Being a mother, you can teach your child through the process of homeschooling. This is one of the best options if you want your child to be safe from the dangerous public situations and inculcate strong family bonds in him or her. For moms, this is the most exciting and rewarding journey to play the role of both as a mother and teacher. These days quite a number of such homeschooling moms could be found in church and towns. However, there are certain steps to follow, not only to be successful in homeschooling, but also prove to be beneficial for the mothers.

Here are some homeschooling tips for mothers, to help guide them through the process of teaching.

Be clear with your approach: First make a firm decision to opt for homeschooling and you should have a strong reason, why you opted for it. There could be many reasons such as safety of your child, individual attention in academics, religious or philosophical. You should be very much clear with your approach, before you plan out for your homeschooling program of your own and execute the program to guide your children in the right track.

Update self with the homeschooling programs: Usually education laws change and varies in different town and state. It would be better, if you can consult the local school district authority to know the basic requirements of the homeschooling programs in your area. Some of the schools may require a strict curriculum, whereas others may specify particular subjects to be covered.

Be flexible and patient: Till now you were playing the role of a mother, but now having decided to homeschool your child, you become a teacher as well. It is a very difficult job, as some moms could be pushovers. But, on the other hand the teacher ’s qualities in you would expect excellence, as the target or goal is productive education.

Discuss with other homeschooling parents: Internet or the local community groups are the best way to find other homeschooling parents. Parents can meet to discuss about the kids’ science projects, field activities and seek support and advice. However, once there is a get together, new ideas may open up to adopt new process for homeschooling. You can discuss various homeschooling approaches or methods, which could be implemented and prove to be effective. This kind of discussion or get-together can also help to broaden views and the social life circle, which would help the kids too to interact with other home schooling kids.

A working relationship could be developed: Try to develop a working relationship with your child by sitting together and setting the goals. This will make him feel more attached to the studies, as you are also working with him.

Be organized and fix a time and place for studies: You must have noticed that those who have home offices have a specified area or place to conduct business. There is no involvement in family activities during the working hours. Similarly, when you start a homeschooling, its better to keep a specific place for kids, where they can study at the fixed time. The place should be well lit, neat and clean. A secluded area in the home would keep away any kind of distraction. Or the kids may not be able to concentrate and develop interest in studies.

Design a method to evaluate your child: There are programs, which are set to evaluate the child either yearly or quarterly wise. This includes an oral test, project report, test, or anything as per the criteria of the programs.

There are children who have succeeded to achieve best results and these are the same children raised by a homeschooling mother. Follow the above mentioned tips and you could train your child to be the best, as you are able to provide not only the academic knowledge, but also to induce moral and spiritual values.

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Article Source: Content for Reprint - http://www.content4reprint.com
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by Cindy Ashworth

Summer is here. Kids are home and just when you think all is fine and everyone is happy, you hear those words you dread… “Mom, I’m bored”.

Yes, school keeps our kids busy during the day and homework keeps them busy at night. But during the summer months, it is easy for kids to get bored. It’s as if our kids rush to get everything done that they want to do in the first couple weeks of their summer vacation. Then entering the third week they find they are bored and have nothing to do.

Here are some simple summer time tips that may help.

1) If you don’t have a swimming pool, take your kids to your local community swimming pool. Or if you are near the beach (that’s where I would be). I have a baby pool that my kids find themselves having alot of fun in when they are bored and it’s hot outside.

2) Set an hour aside and show your kids your creativeness. Maybe you have a plain picture frame laying around and you would like to personalize it. Grab a few buttons, beads, uncooked macaroni noodles, and have your kids choose the places they would like to add these items and glue them on. You can even use finger nail polish and paint stars and smiley faces on the frame.

3) Don’t forget the Lemonade sale I don’t see kids do this as much anymore. But I believe this teaches more than just selling lemonade. It also teaches the kids that they have to do a little work to earn a little money. Let the kids make the lemonade as well.

4) Grab your garden hose, bucket of water and wash your car with your kids. This shows kids the work it takes to keep a vehicle clean and you will have fun along the way. When you can spray each other, let your kids spray you and wash your car at the same time, and have fun doing it, life does not get any better.

5) Grab a blanket and lay outside under the stars. You will be amazed the the conversations you can have with your kids by doing this. You will find yourself relaxed and creating another bonding moment with your children.

6) Go for a nature walk in your local metropolitan park. They all have trails that you can walk through. Not only is it cooler with all the trees and shade, but you never know what kind of animal you may stumble across and walking through the streams of water, looking at the fish, plants and rocks is really fun for the whole family.

7) Have an ice cream party. Grab all the toppings you can think of. Sprinkles, cherries, nuts, caramel, hot fudge, whip cream and marshmallow. Kids love to make their own creations and odds are, no matter how it turns out, they will eat it anyway.

Go for an evening stroll with your kids. It is cooler in the evenings and much healthier for our kids to be out walking instead on inside playing video games. And if losing a few pounds is on your to do list, this could very well help.

9) Head to your library. Our library has so much to offer. We receive a newsletter lettng us know all the classes that are coming for adults and for the kids. Every class is free, too. But most require pre-registration so they can have an idea of how many people will be coming. From a story time class, arts and crafts class, bingo evening, movie night. There’s something for every age a couple times each week.

10) My favorite. A cook out at the park. Grab a few friends together and head for the park. Most have a pavillion and grill where you can prepare a nice lunch while the kids go play on the playground. After a few hours, the kids have let out some of their energy and everyone is happy, full and tired.

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Article Source: Cindy Ashworth @ www.mykidsmywhy.com and www.successfulwahm.blogspot.com
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
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