April Is Full Of Fun Days To Celebrate With Kids

Don’t let Easter fool you this year, because April Fools Day and Easter share the same day, there are plenty of other days to celebrate this month, including Friday the 13th and Earth Day on the 22nd.

One of the hardest-working and most quiet adults your child is influenced by on a daily basis is the School Librarian. April 4th is the day to show your appreciation by celebrating School Librarian Day. Talk to your kids about the Dewey Decimal System, they may not even know that it’s a catalog system for the library. Then give your School Librarian a dewy smile and a “thank you.”

April 8th is Draw a Picture of a Bird Day! This one is easy … get the crayons and pencils out and start drawing. If your kids need a little inspiration, go for a walk and follow the avian songs, you’ll spot a bird in no time.

To all the parents who spend most of the day playing referee for your kids, maybe April 10th you can get a break from the rivalry: It’s National Siblings Day! Have your kids create cards for each brother or sister and make sure they list at least one thing they like about their siblings. It just might become a tradition they can continue into adulthood.

Parents will be vacuuming up bits and pieces of granola bars stuck in the crevices of our car seats for years after they have been eaten (or dropped) by our kids. So, why not celebrate by dropping (or eating) more on National Granola Day on April 20th?

If you’re ready to unload some of that Easter candy still sitting in the pantry, April 22nd in your day. Celebrate National Jelly Bean Day today by using jelly beans to create art. Grab some glue, paper and those decorative candies and start working. Be sure to warn your kids about the dangers of eating their art supplies and have fun.

Stir your kids’ imagination on Tell a Story Day celebrated April 27th. Today skies the limit, any story can be told, fiction or nonfiction. This is the perfect day to introduce the words “fiction” and “nonfiction,” and explain their meanings to your budding storytellers.

To be totally honest, the last day of April is National Honesty Day. Talk to your kids about the importance of honesty and explain the difference between truth and lies. As parents, we sometimes take for granted that this is something our kids inherently know, but it can be a learning experience for all of us.

St. Patrick’s Day Is Green With Envy Over These March Holidays!

We all know March is the month we celebrate the luck of the Irish, but there is a world of other fun holidays we can have fun with this month with our kids.

Every kids’ favorite author (whether they know his name or not), Dr. Seuss is celebrating a birthday on March 2nd. One way to recognize this day in his honor, is to read Happy Birthday To You! or Happy Birthday To Me! There is also a birthday book for baby too: Happy Birthday, Baby! Reading one or all of these is a great way to start any birthday and can become a tradition your kids can pass down to their kids.

March 8th is Popcorn Lovers Day and the perfect time to get your hands dirty and make popcorn balls. When you Google the recipe, they pop up quicker than heated corns in a pot! Try this vintage recipe, it’s our favorite. Let your little helpers shape the balls, but remember to slather their hands in butter to keep from sticking.

For your little brainiacs in the making, Albert Einstein’s Birthday is a smart choice for March 14th’s celebrations. Use your smart home speaker to ask questions (just like Einstein) about his discoveries and life story. If you want a more authentic Einstein experience, give everyone a hair makeover, really poof it up!

Lucky for us, St. Patrick’s Day is on Saturday the 17th. That means you can start your green activities early that morning with green pancakes (just add a few drops of food color), then follow that up with washable green hair spray to lock in your kids favorite crazy hair for the day.

The 18th of March is First Walk In Space Day, celebrate with an out of this world mobile of our solar system. While you’re building, have your kids talk about the feeling of walking or sleeping in space with no gravity to hold them down to Earth, or where would they go it they could float there?

Get outside with the kids on the first day of Spring on March 20th. Plant a tree or flowers in the yard, take a walk to the park or many cities sponsor trash pickup days, so sign up for that. If enjoying the outdoors isn’t an option, create an indoor garden using construction paper cutouts of your kids hands (the flowers) on popsicle sticks (the stems).

One of our favorite days is celebrated on the last day of the month, Crayola Crayon Day. Today is the day to become a crayon. Make colored hats which mimic the tip of the crayon by rolling colored paper into a cone shape, then name the color yours kids have become. Get creative with the names like Anna Banana for yellow and Sterling Steve for silver.

Want more? There are bonus fun days on the bottom of the calendar, then share the fun, let us know what days you and your kids like to celebrate during the month of March.

We Heart These Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Your Kid’s Classroom

Valentine’s Day means you either hear the pitter patter of your heart or the tick of the clock, reminding you to do something for your kid’s class. Let’s face it, getting creative is great, but who has time for that?

That’s why we put together some of our favorite past Valentine’s Day projects for you — they’re creative and easy, making them a match made in heaven for any parent.

1. Valentine’s Day Fish Kisses
   It’s not chocolate, which is just one reason why this bag of healthier-for-them crackers is sure to be a hit for your kid’s “school.” It’s also super easy. 
2. Kid’s Valentine’s Day Cards That Rule!
   Non-candy treats get the thumbs-up from teachers and other parents — though, let’s be real, not always kids. Not so with this clever idea. It’s totally inexpensive and gets high marks for its emphasis on education.
3. Best Kids Valentine’s Day Cards Ever!
   If the Force is strong with your kids, they’ll be all over this Star Wars–themed idea. And the other kids? Love it, they will.

Make A Diaper Donation

Harvey has been devastating, and when disaster strikes we all feel the need to help. As moms we immediately think about other moms and what they must be going through. Many of the victims of Harvey are those who can’t help themselves, they are the children in the community.

When our babies are young, we’re conditioned to grab the diaper bag no matter where we go, but what happens when what you can carry runs out, where do you turn? Thanks to the Texas Diaper Bank, help is getting to kids who need basic necessities. It’s a critical service because disaster relief organizations generally do not provide diapers.

If you are wanting to help and don’t know how, this is an organization with goals focused on the “diaper gap” through a series of programs that provides access to the most vulnerable.

Let’s help moms and kids get though this disaster.

A Magical Interview

It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, my oldest son is angry, my middle daughter is whining, the baby is crying and I can feel the grey hairs sprouting from my scalp, as I usher everyone into the house. Next thing I know, the TV is on full blast, the refrigerator door is left open, and it’s a free-for-all in my little nest which had always been so care free. I just can’t take it anymore … this has to change. My free-spirited style has created a hole of chaos, maybe we need a little more structure in our lives, before I become even more invested in Nice ‘n Easy hair color.

We interviewed Dr. Thomas Phelan, clinical psychologist and behavior expert. His popular book 1-2-3 Magic has sold close to 2 million copies and many schools use Dr. Phelan’s behavior strategy in the classroom.

Dr. Phelan says a consistent routine is one of the keys to promoting good behavior. He recommends having a regimen for every crucial part of your child’s day. One example is evening, that time between getting home from work and dinner. Start with a scheduled mealtime, “Now it’s time for dinner.” This establishes a routine. Then continue with, “What do we need to do to get ready for dinner?” Reestablishing a process to stick to that routine. Routine is not only comforting to children, but Phelan believes it is essential to a child’s success.

Dr. Phelan list two important behavior types, “start” and “stop” behaviors. Positive or “start” behaviors are the actions you want from your child, such as, make the bed or brush your teeth. He identifies obnoxious behavior as “stop” behaviors. These include, fighting, teasing, arguing and whining. These are the behaviors which make us want to yell STOP! But, we all know, yelling is not always a best practice when it comes to parenting.

He suggests, alerting your child about their unacceptable behavior and warn them to stop, by counting. If your child is participating in a stop behavior, hold up one finger and say, “that’s one.” If the behavior continues, hold up 2 fingers and give a second warning. If you get to three and has not stopped, tell the child to “take 5.” This should signal to them that they need to take a break by sitting on the stairs or a chair. If they continue acting challenging send them to their room.

Consistency from you is important here, Dr. Phelan says, “Sometimes it can take a week to make believers out of them and get the new routine down.”

He also includes some advice to help us get though consistency in parenting. The first is to talk less. Talking too much is less effective in discipline. When you are at the dinner table and your child is not eating, simply say, “Johnny eat” and make eye contact, so they know you’re serious. This is not the time to go into nutritional values and the time you took to make the dinner. Just tell them what you expect of them.

Second, don’t let your kids get you to react. You are the parent. It is your responsibility to stay calm. They get their cues from you, so to de-escalate a situation and as hard as it seems “be sure to stay calm.”

His third suggestion is to bond with your child. Bonding helps in discipline because, if you are bonding there is less arguing and more understanding.

Last, be a sympathetic listener. If your child complains, “This family is so boring.” Your response is, “I’ve never heard you talk like that before what’s going on?” Listen closely when your child makes bold statements and investigate, there my be something more they want to talk about.

The 1-2-3 Magic is a preventive program for negative behaviors for younger children and many pediatricians have used it in their practice to help parents with tantrums, bedtime struggles and consistency.

Adapting these techniques in my everyday parenting style has been a learning process for me, but I do see a difference in my children’s behavior. Gone are the days of disorder when we get home for the day and this has even given me the much-needed time to touch up my roots.

If you would like to learn from Dr. Thomas Phelan, we are giving away a copy of 1-2-3 Magic and we are also giving away a copy of his book designed for parents of teenagers called 1-2-3 Magic Teen. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, tag either 1-2-3 Magic or 1-2-3 Magic Teen, depending on your interest, and anyone else you think could benefit from Dr. Phelan’s discipline system. Visit Dr. Phelan’s website for more information. To be eligible, submit your interest by Saturday, May 6, 2017 and winners will be notified online on Sunday, May 7, 2017.

Click below to listen to Andi’s interview with Dr. Phelan.