Sunday 22 April 2012

For the night stand... No Regrets Parenting

I think I'm going to have to purchase this book, No Regrets Parenting by Dr Harley Rotbart.








To learn more, check out the website  http://www.noregretsparenting.com/

Friday 20 April 2012

Happy Earth Day




Earth Day 2012 is this
Sunday, April 22.

It's a great opportunity to teach little ones about conservation and protecting the earth's resources.  Even preschoolers and toddlers can participate.  Many local libraries even hold Earth Day Fairs; you can check for schedules on their web pages.

This week in my enrichment science class, I taught the four year olds what biodegradable means.  We discussed how our trash goes into the ground and can either harm or help the soil and earth.  We walked around and collected items in the school that can be recycled.  Then we took a nature treasure hunt outside.  We saw the trees' branches swaying in the wind as if they were waving to us and we waved back saying, "hi trees, we're going to help take care of you."

A great earth day craft is just emptying out the recycle bin and seeing what items can be used to create all sorts of things, even building cardboard box towers or cutting open a cereal box and using the inside of the cardboard to decorate, gluing on lids of cans to other materials, turning tp rolls into binoculars to spot the birds.

For more Earth Day craft ideas and activities check out Family Fun's page.

You can really get into the spirit be singing some of these Earth Day songs.

Pick an area around your community or neighborhood and help clean up any litter.

Have a picnic outside.

Plant some seeds.

Learn about the history of Earth Day and meet the Planet Pals.

It's important that we don't take our precious resources for granted and that we teach our children little ways to respect our planet.   Happy Earth Day!


Thursday 12 April 2012

Spring Breaking

Ahhh, spring is here. Such a great time to renew ourselves and recharge our spirits. The days are getting longer, the grass is turning greener. I love hearing my resident woodpecker every morning and having that feeling that we are all coming out of our own hibernation period.

If you're out shopping, this handy wallet sized spring seasonal produce list is a great resource.

For a little mommyhood inspiration check out these tips on becoming a "happier mom"

Spring is a great time to get our kids outdoors, exploring and enjoying nature. Naturerocks.org is a great site to give you activity ideas by age, treasure hunts, nature games, plus all kinds of fun ways to connect to nature.

And we can't leave out spring cleaning. Nobody likes to do it but at least we can get some humor out of it with these quotes:

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the
walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown

I'm not going to vacuum until Sears makes one you can ride on. ~Roseanne Barr

I like hugs and I like kisses,
But what I really love is help with the dishes!
~Author Unknown

Please don't feed the dust bunnies. ~Author Unknown

Dull women have immaculate homes. ~Author Unknown