We all know the struggle of keeping our little ones entertained without defaulting to screen time. Engaging them in hands-on activities offers a fantastic alternative that keeps their hands busy and their minds sharp.
You will quickly notice just how much they gain from building a birdhouse or simply baking a cake from scratch. Let’s explore the five positive impacts of projects on children and why you should embrace creative chaos.
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Fostering creativity in children is one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting. If you’ve been searching for creative ways to spark your child’s imagination at home, this blog can help. By simply reimagining everyday activities and providing the right tools, you can help your child explore their creativity in ways that are both enriching and fun. Read on for some ideas to transform your home into a hub for imaginative play.
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Moving to a new country with children can be overwhelming. The uncertainty, new routines, and emotional adjustments make it challenging for the entire family. A well-thought-out plan helps minimize disruptions and makes the experience easier. Open conversations, familiar routines, and emotional support provide stability during this major life change. Children may struggle with leaving friends and adjusting to a new environment, so it is important to address their concerns on time. A structured plan simplifies logistics and reduces stress. Focusing on organization and communication will help make an international move with kids less difficult and more manageable for everyone involved.
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Preparing children to stay home alone is a significant milestone in their development and in your role as a parent. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago they needed you for everything.
Guaranteeing kids have the necessary skills for this growth in independence is imperative for their safety and your peace of mind. Learn how to help your child take another step toward standing on their own by teaching them how to trust they’ll be okay after you shut the front door.
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Long gone are the days when children’s clothing looked formal or was dictated by their elders. Many modern parents are now letting their kids choose what they wear on a day-to-day basis to express their personality or showcase their interests.
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Finding the perfect gift for a child can be challenging. You want to ensure it’s enjoyable while still being valuable for their development. These five fun but educational gifts for children offer both entertainment and learning opportunities, ensuring children get the best of both worlds.
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As a parent, you want your children to grow into confident, compassionate adults with a strong sense of respect for others. One way to develop this quality is during their school years, when they are spending a lot of their days with their teachers. Teaching your kids to respect their educators is not just about fostering a better classroom environment; it’s about preparing them for life beyond the school’s doors. Consider these tips for teaching kids to respect their teachers.
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Thank you all for the birthday wishes! It was an awesome birthday. The first gift of the day, the gift of time with a snow day! I mean, come on, ALL parents can agree that that is the best gift, having a work day suddenly canceled, the BEST!!! Followed by my man dropping off my favorite, Rustbelt Coffee & Bakery Unlimited donuts!
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Messes happen! And with a house full of kids, pets, and activities this house sees its fair share of messes. So much so that my husband and I have come to the conclusion that we will never own anything nice again, or at least, not until the kids move out. I mean, who wants to spend a fortune on new drapes just to have your toddler pee on them while potty-training? Or have your preschooler spill their wet pink paint Picasso rendition all over your new bedspread? And don’t even get me started with male dogs’ obsessions with throw pillows! Thus it seemed as though our home was destined to forever be stuck in the, “we have kids” design style. That is until I visited a store that I hadn’t visited since I was a kid, JCPenney!
I have to be honest, I always steered clear of JCPenney, I thought of it as an “old lady” store, filled with outdated fashion & designs, cheap quality; let’s just say I just didn’t have the fondest memory. Then one day I took a stroll in, went upstairs, and instantly feel in love, and the rest, as they say, is history. The quality was good, the designs were amazing-this definitely was not my grandmother’s JCPenney! But the one thing I really like that didn’t change was the prices. Affordable, quality items, that a parent doesn’t have to sentence a child to a lifetime of grounding to for spilling glitter glue (yep, that happened, lol!). I have since purchased custom blinds, drapery, bedspread, quilt, etc. at JCPenney and I am currently in the market for some wallpaper for the kitchen (yes, I said wallpaper! Who’s their grandmother now!? Lol!)
But wait, it gets better! JCPenney totally knows how to cater to us, “we have kids” design styles, you can couple it nicely with a French Country look, Contemporary, Modern, etc. but what about those prices, can we couple those with anything? How does a Groupon Coupon sound?
So, on top of their already more affordable price points you can also pair that with a Groupon Coupon. They offer in-store, online, or “day of” codes for some sweet deep discounts. For example, here are some (3 of 20+) that they are offering now on clothes & house/home items:
Here is the JCPenney Groupon Coupon link (you might want to add this to your favorites): https://www.groupon.com/coupons/stores/jcpenney.com
One last thing, while I have your attention, which one do you prefer?
It is that time of year again, wedding season! I become a kid in a candy store when I see the elegant envelopes in our mail box. I tear them open like a child delving into their gifts Christmas morning eager to see what’s inside. The paper, fonts, and phrases so delicately and gracefully announce the future union of husband and wife. I am an advocate for marriage and I realize the time, energy, disagreements, financial obligations, and work that goes into a wedding. So when I open that envelope and see that I have been invite to witness such a magical, holy, and emotional union I am truly honored. In fact, it rather makes my day; I find it difficult to remove the grin from my face. That is until I finish reading all the wedding ceremony and reception details. I am finding that these days the invitations far too often include the following words, ADULTS ONLY. It is then that the huge grin on my face fades to a frown.
As a child I remember attending weddings, becoming excited when the entire church rose as the gorgeous bride walked down the aisle in her breathtaking gown. I remember the magic that occurred when they exchanged vows and were announced Mr. and Mrs. The experience of attending weddings encouraged a dialog about marriage, why we marry, and the importance of marriage. In fact; children attended so many weddings back then that they could actually pretend to get married and make that pretend wedding look pretty realistic. These days’ children are not welcomed to weddings like they used to be, which I find moronic. Forgive me if I am wrong, but isn’t one of the purposes for the union of husband and wife to bear children, have a family?
Marriage is already getting a bad rap. A considerable amount of people prefer to “shack up” instead of proclaim a commitment before God, family, friends, and future generations. Apparently, at least based upon one television show, Whitney, the reason they prefer to “shack up” is because it is nice to know your partner is there because they love you, not because of a piece of paper. Funny, I wonder how that “love” will hold up when you are deathly ill, when you lose your job and are caught up in financial woes, when you have to care for an ailing parent, when you are up 5 times in one night with a sick child, when you are so exhausted that you can’t give one more ounce to another individual. It is in those moments that the union, bond, promise, COMMITMENT comes into play. That euphoric love feeling does fade but COMMITMENT, UNION, PROMISE and VOWS are what maintain the relationship through the tough times and make the good times that much more enjoyable.
Thus, with society portraying that it is okay to live with a person, that marriage isn’t necessary, it disheartened me that much more when I glance down at a Wedding invitation and see ADULTS ONLY. It seems like the New Age or, sadly, what has become a rather unorthodox thing to do these days is to invite children to a wedding, which is why I would like to give praise to my cousin and his wife for going against the grain and inviting children to attend their wedding.
Our kiddos can’t stop talking about their wedding; they had such a wonderful time and will remember it always. In fact, that was the first wedding 2 of our kiddos had ever attended and only the second that our eldest had attended. Our son was very excited for the entire process, he felt so special to be a part of something so monumental. He had so many wonderful questions that would have otherwise never been brought up without the experience of attending a wedding. The highlights of the evening, from a child’s perspective was, the beautiful bride (I agree, her dress was gorgeous, it looked vintage and her makeup and hair complemented the dress perfectly), trolley, bubbles (hello, a child’s dream come true, bubbles at church, AWESOME!), the Wedding Day Fun activities packet & crayons, the chocolate covered mint Oreos, the photo booth (they had a blast with the hats, glasses, etc.), cake, and dancing! I have to admit, I think those were my favorites too, in addition to the amazing itinerary provided that included various local destinations to pass time between the ceremony and reception. Those included fun family destinations such as, Firehouse Museum, Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, Curtis Park, Ypsilanti Riverside Parke, and more. I also really enjoyed the venue, Wellers Inc. was gorgeous, a wonderful backdrop for pictures outside and inviting décor inside.
Five minutes after we left the reception….and yes, our little man is still wearing his medal from the Olympics held at his preschool two weeks ago.
Congratulations to Rob and Desiree!!
May God be with you and bless you. May you see your children’s children. May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
What are your thoughts regarding children at weddings? For it….against it…..indifferent?
Mom on the go in Holy Toledo 