Earth Day can be everyday with kids

At our house, we try to do "earth day" things as part of our usual routine. We try hard to encourage environmental stewardship within our children from the get go.

As children are provided opportunities to care for their environments (e.g. gardening, cleaning, recycling, water conservation, etc.) they will develop an understanding of how their own actions may affect nature and the planet. Talk to your child about different ways they can take care of the planet.

I thought I would share a couple SUPER easy things to do with your kids that will encourage respect and love for our earth.

1. Go for neighbourhood nature walks; take turns pointing out interesting things to
each other such as birds, cloud formations, trees, and green spaces.

2. Kids love to collect things. Bring along a container when you go outdoors
so your child can collect treasures along the way – seeds, leaves, rocks – and bring
them home to examine.

3. At the grocery store, help your child point out items that can be recycled (like cans
or cardboard boxes) and show items that are made of recycled materials (like paper
products).  Help them make artwork and crafts using recycled materials. Actively
recycle at home.

4. Encourage help with household chores if your child is interested. Tearing lettuce,
folding clothes, making beds and setting the table may be work for you, but these
tasks can be fun for your preschooler — and will set patterns for responsible behaviour as they grow up.

5. Help your children understand where food comes from.  Show them food being
grown in neighbourhood gardens or at local farms, orchards, or greenhouses. Plant a small garden - even a single beanpole in a pot on the windowsill is educational and fun for kids!

Are there things that you do as a family that helps promote environmental stewardship?

for my daughter too.

This is an excerpt from Tina Fey's new book.
Pretty much sums up my hopes and dreams for my daughter too....

Tina Fey's Prayer For Her Daughter

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her
When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short - a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day - And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

-An excerpt from Tina Fey's new book -Bossypants, 2011

giveaway psa

Here is a linky link to a great giveaway on Baby Half Off.
If you have ever thought about cloth diapering, but have been a bit put off by the cost of starting up....you can WIN a stash!!! WOOT WOOT!
Here is the link to enter! http://babyhalfoff.com/blog/?p=3131&cpage=18#comment-50925
Good luck!

Wordless Wednesday

This is what happens when you leave a three year old and some markers alone to go nurse a fussy baby.

"Look mama...I am Princess Tiana...."  Ha ha ha...how can I scold such a creative and observant little soul.

for those of you not in the princess know...look it up...you'll laugh for sure.

Goats in the store

I had to take the kids out grocery shopping today. Whenever we go do something like this... it never ever ever goes smoothly. I am practiced now in handling all types of outing disasters.
Here are a few tips that I would like to share when venturing out on errands with kids.

• one word - snacks. lots and lots of yummy snacks. 
• make use of a little thing called novelty. I am constantly handing my kids random things off the shelves to entertain them a little...things that I usually don't buy, but are fun for a couple minutes. Things that shake or crinkle or make noise of some sort are the best.
• always always bring an extra change of clothes. Just leave it in the car or pack a sleeper in your diaper bag. 
• make sure you have a little baggie of bandaids in your purse or car
• make an errand bag the night before and put everything you will need into it. Items to return, packages for mailing, whatever.
• try not to do it all on one outing. The kids and you will tire quickly...tired kids and tired mama = disaster.
• make a grocery list and stick to it. Makes for a faster trip!
• be mentally prepared to bail out if all hell breaks loose. It is okay, and you can try again another day!

There was a funny list that circulated through Facebook not long ago called the 11 Step Program to Follow Before Having Kids.... here is one of the steps.....

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

so true.

Game Night!

I love board games...I am kind of embarrassed about this, but I love playing them! I love getting together with friends and laughing till my sides hurt. Mind you, this hasn't happened for a long time...kids kinda make it harder to do!

But now that my little girl is a big preschooler I am getting my fix by playing games with her. I have discovered a great company called Orchard Toys Ltd. They have so many different games and the quality of them is awesome - not just in product, but also play value as well.

We currently have three different ones:

• Jelly Elephants
• Shopping List (seen above - Hana's favourite)
• Crazy Chefs

I like how you can alter the game to better suit the age you are playing with. We have a lot of fun with these games and I often give them as gifts as the price point is reasonable too!

I hope you pick one up for your young family or share one as a gift. They really are a great way to cultivate the love of fun in your family... and perhaps even start a games night tradition!