Christmas Jars

These jars are simple to make and are also a great way to recycle. All you need are some acrylic paints and some empty jars. Let your kids paint the jars any way they want to and then figure out what you want to fill the jars with to turn them into gifts. You can fill them with red and green m&m candies to give them extra festive appeal. Or you can make chocolate spoons to put in them. (I suggest tying a ribbon around the jar to make it even prettier.)

Here are some of the jars that my kids and their friends came up with. They wer elimited by the fact that my supply of acrylic paints was running out, so they didn't have a lot of colors to choose form.

















Examples of the jars with some ribbon and full of chocolate spoons:









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Teaching Our Children To Have The Courage To Dream

Very few people have the courage to live life to its fullest. Very few people are willing to take risks in life. Very few people are actively striving to reach for the dreams that they hold deep in their hearts. But there are a few. What is it, exactly, that those few have that makes them different from the rest? What makes them keep trying? What keeps them from settling for less like so many other people do? And if you had to choose whether or not your child would be the type to sit back and settle in life for whatever he was given or would be the type to reach out and take few risks and grab for his dream, which would you choose?

Most of us would say that we want our children to dream and to believe that they can make those dreams come true. Most of us want our children to reach for their dreams. Most of us want our children to set themselves goals and then work towards making those goals a reality. But if we are not living our dream, how are we supposed to teach our children the importance of living their dreams? If we have given up on our dreams, how are we supposed to teach our children not to give up on theirs?

The best way we can teach our children to reach for their dreams, to make goals and achieve them, is by doing so ourselves. Dreams don’t always have to be about careers. Some dreams are very different from that. And how we, as parents, achieve them, teaches our children some important lessons about life.

An overweight mother might dream of losing weight. By taking steps toward being healthier and losing the weight, she would show her child the importance of setting goals and reaching them. If she loses the weight in an unhealthy manner, the weight loss is not likely to be a lasting one, and the child will only learn to go for the quick and easy route or that reaching goals isn’t really all that likely or lasting. But if the mother loses the weight by eating healthily and adding in some moderate exercise to her daily routine, her weight loss will be healthier and more lasting. From this, her child will learn that setting goals can be productive and that it takes time, effort and commitment to meet those goals.

A hard working dad might hate his 9 to 5 job. He might have dreamed about writing a novel ever since he was a child. By continuing to work at his 9 to 5 job, without giving any outlet to his writing dream, he is showing his daughter that it’s better to take what you’re given and accept your lot in life. He will teach her to settle. But if, on the weekends, he writes short stories for magazines and writes a bit more of his novel, he is showing her that it is important not to give up on your dreams. If he actively researches what it will take to find an editor and literary agent, joins writing clubs and continues feeding his dream of writing by taking positive steps towards it, he teaches his daughter that it is worth the effort to work towards your dreams.

A hardworking mom might be unhappy in her current position at work. She might dream of moving higher up the ladder in her profession, but she lacks the education required to do so. If she just accepts that this is as good as it can be for her, then she teaches her child to settle. She teaches her child to give up. But if instead, she starts taking some night courses that will help her eventually get the required education that she needs in order to get a promotion, then her son sees a better example. Her son sees her not giving up. Her child will learn that education is important and that it is important to obtain whatever learning is needed for reaching our dreams.

A dad might have lost his job and be looking for a new one. He might let himself get depressed and mope about the loss of his job. From this, his child would learn about self-pity. If instead, the dad never loses faith in himself and never loses the belief that he will find another job, so he keeps putting himself out there for interviews, then his child learns that it is important to believe in yourself if you want to reach your dreams.

These are just random examples of how people raising families can not just reach for their own dreams but can also be an example of doing so to their children, but there are many different scenarios that will still teach our children to value goal-setting. If we want our children to believe that they can attain their dreams, we have to believe it for ourselves. Children learn from us, not just from what we say but from what we do.

What is it that makes those few people with the courage to take risks and reach for their dreams different from the rest? What is it that makes them keep working towards their dreams? What is it that makes them keep taking step after step towards reaching their dreams no matter what obstacles stand in their way? It’s actually quite simple. They don’t give up. No matter what stands in their way or what seems to be making the task seem impossible, they keep working for it. They believe in themselves and in their dreams. They ignore the people who tell them it can’t be done. They think positively about the outcome of all of their work. They know in their hearts that they will obtain their dreams. They picture themselves reaching their goals. And we have to believe it for ourselves too, if we want to teach it to our children.



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What To Do With Left-Over Pumpkin

Have pumpkin and pumpkin seeds left-over from the jack-o-lanterns you carved for Halloween? Try making roasted pumpkin seeds and making pumpkin puree to use in other recipes.



Roasted pumpkin seeds make a great replacement for crisps/chips and other food you might like to munch on at parties.




Pumpkin puree is great for using in a variety of other pumpkin recipes such as pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin muffins. You can use it right away, refrigerate it for a few days or even freeze it to use much later.

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Ghost & Jacko-O-Lantern Candle Lanterns

You will need:
empty jars
acrylic paints - white, orange and black
candles

This craft was very simple to make.

First I saved some jars. I removed the labels on them, washed them and let them dry. Then I got out my acrylic paints. I needed orange, white and black paints.

I painted one of the jars white and the other jar orange. Then I let them dry. Once they were dry, I painted a jack-o-lantern face on the orange one and a ghost face on the white one.

Then all I had to do was put some candles in the and light them.







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Ghost Meringues

I made Ghost Meringues for Halloween. You can find the recipe on Kids Creating Cakes.


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The Artistic Endeavors Of Children

Children are amazingly creative and full of an abundance of ideas. Drawing, storytelling and other artistic endeavors come naturally to them. It's important to encourage children in their artistic and creative pursuits.

There are many different ways for children to express themselves creatively. Some children like to color with crayons or colored pencils. Some children like to paint. Some children prefer to draw in pencil or ink. Some children love to tell stories or to write them down once they are old enough to do so. Some children love to take photographs. Some children love to cook and make up recipes. Some children love to sculpt and play with playdough. Some children love to dance. Other children love to act and play imaginary games.

It's a good idea to let your child use a variety of different methods to express their creativity. He will naturally be drawn to one or two, sometimes more, but by giving your child a variety of forms for his self expression, you give your child a variety of ways to express his creative side and this helps to keep him open to new ideas.

I have helped my children by creating self-published books from their drawings and stories. I help them by typing up the stories they tell me, and asking them questions as they tell the stories to keep the stories moving. I always show them that I am interested in the stories they tell and proud of them for being storytellers.

I have started blogs for my kids to showcase their different forms of self-expression. Gabriella has her own blog where she decides what to post. It's called Gabby's Art Gallery. Isabella has a blog that showcases some of the fairy stories that she has told. It's called Tangle Fairies. Through Innocent Eyes: Art By Children is a blog that shares artwork and drawings from all of the children. Imaginative Minds: Writing By Children is a blog that shares all of the stories they have told over the years.

In order to encourage them to do more than just tell stories and draw pictures, I have started some other blogs for them. Kids Creating Cakes: Cooking For Kids is a blog of recipes of dishes that they have cooked up. Photography By Kids is where they can share some of the photos that they have taken.

They always seem more inspired when they get comments from others about things that they have posted on the blogs. (I moderate the comments myself.) In order to get their blogs more notice, I have started Facebook pages for all of their blogs. There is a Facebook page for Gabby's Art Gallery, Tangle Fairies, Through Innocent Eyes, Imaginative Minds, Kids Creating Cakes and Photography By Kids. I even started a blog and Facebook page for them to review toys, books and other children-oriented things in order to encourage them to think critically about what makes something have value to them; it's called Children Review.

My kids also earn a bit of money from their creativity. Every time they make a sale of one of their pieces of art or photography or from one of their books, it inspires them enough that they suddenly get a burst of renewed creativity and they create more in a few days than they have done in the previous month. For this reason, I have spread their shops into various places to give them more chances of making sales.

They sell things through Printfection. They sell things through a section in my main store. They have stores at Zazzle too: Tangle Fairies, Imaginative Minds, Through Innocent Eyes, Kids Creating Cakes, Photography By Kids, Angelica's Designs, Kayla's Art and Spirit Of Imagination.

These are just some ways that I have used technology to help encourage and inspire my children. However, one of the best ways I have found to inspire my children to embrace their creativity is to let them see me embracing my own. I tell them stories that I make up on the spur of the moment. I try and draw pictures (even though I am not very good at it). I try and act out different roles in the stories I read to them by changing my voice for each character. I turn on the radio and dance with them in the middle of the living room. I write stories for them to read. I design artwork and practice my photography and sell both in my on-line shops. I blog on my favorite topics (and there are many).

We haven't practiced every form of self expression yet. Gabby recently bought herself a little Hello Kitty sewing machine. It's not professinal enough for her to make much using it, but it is giving her practice at sewing that she may be able to eventually transfer over to using my sewing machine. I want to learn to knit, and I think it would be something that the kids might like to learn too. Gabby used to take dance lessons, and I think Bella and Connor would enjoy taking dance lessons too. I'm still coming up with ideas and ways to help them continue to use their minds in imaginative and various ways. Because it's important.


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10 Ways To Show You Love Your Kids

I am working on writing "100 Ways To Show You Love Your Kids," and I thought I'd share the first ten with you here.



1. Tell your child you love him. Nothing means more to a child than hearing those words from you and hearing them repeatedly. Even if you believe that your child already knows that you love him, your child needs to hear it. Knowing it and hearing it said are two completely different things.

2. Listen to your child. You can give your child a sense of being important and valuable to you just by the simple act of listening to what she has to say. And you will be amazed by what you can learn from your child when you listen.

3. Play with your child. At the end of a hard day at work, sometimes the last thing you feel like doing is running around with your child or getting out a board game, but your child has just spent a whole day at school without you and spending that tiny bit of “fun time” with you will mean the world to him.

4. Help your child with homework. Your child may not appreciate it at the time, but you are doing something worthwhile for your child by helping her with her homework. In years to come, she will look back on the time you spent helping and learn to appreciate it. Plus, it gives your child the added benefit of seeing you place importance on the act of learning.

5. Prepare healthy, nutritious meals for your child. Eating well is important for your child’s health and well-being, and it is important that your child learn early how to eat healthily. You will be saving your child from future health problems or eating disorders by teaching him through your example and with good, wholesome food, how to take care of his body.

6. Exercise with your child. Take your child for a run around the local park or a nice nature walk. Go for a family bike ride. Doing physical activities that involve healthy and fun forms of exercise are a great way to help your child stay fit and healthy. You will be teaching your child that it is important and fun to maintain an active lifestyle.

7. Hug your child. Physical cuddling is important for children. Hugs are simply the best way for a child to feel safe and loved and special to you all at once. A hug can comfort and lift your child’s mood when she is feeling down or just let a child know that she is loved and appreciated.

8. Tell your child you are proud of him, and mean it. Every child has an ability or a personality trait or something else about him to be proud of. One child may have a sweet and generous nature. Another child may do really well at multiplication. Another child may be really creative at drawing or writing stories. One child might be good at making friends. Maybe your child is willing to stick up for others. Maybe your child is good at making others feel special. There are numerous things you can find to be proud of your child. So tell him.

9. Be patient with your child. Children don’t always learn as quickly as we might want them to, and sometimes they do things more slowly than we would like. But that’s okay. Let your child learn things and do things at her own pace.

10. Believe in your child. No matter what, you have to believe that your child is capable of great and wonderful things and that someday he will achieve them. Your belief in your child is one of the most important ways you can help him to believe in himself.


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