Arts and Craft Project with Photos

Present idea for Grandma and Grandpa: Find twelve pictures of your child from different stages in their life with and without Grandma/Grandpa. Make a calendar from these photos. Some computer programs make such calendars. Otherwise take the pictures to a specialty store where they can be made into a calendar. Another idea- You can take one or two of the photos and take it to a place where they can copy the picture(s) on a mug. I've seen small stands at the mall that do this. Next time you're at the mall ask the information station about such stands.

Your child can also make a pretend picture clock with 12 photos. Have your child cut out their face in 12 pictures (starting from baby to age now). Glue them in a circle around a paper plate or a round piece of cardboard. Then in the middle of the plate draw a fake hour and minute hand, each pointing to a photo.

Parenting Tip: Easier Clean Up

Do your kids use lots of dishes, making cleaning a hassle for you? Than with a permanent marker write each child’s name on a cup. (Or put masking tape on a cup and write their name on that.) They are to use this cup all day long. They can rinse it out if need be. Since this cuts down on the amount of dishes you have to wash you’re helping the environment. To cut down on the amount of plates and bowls used, have a matching color for each child. Cindy gets a pink bowl and plate. Billy blue. Kathy yellow. You can do this with cups too. So instead of a child reaching for a new bowl every time they have a snack or a new cup for water, they reuse their bowl or cup.

Book Review: No Sleep For The Sheep!

“No Sleep For The Sheep!” by Karen Beaumont. Pictures by Jackie Urbanovic. A very cute picture book! The story is about a sheep who is trying to get some sleep in a barn. A new barn animal keeps coming in and waking the sheep up. The sheep tells each animal one by one to go to sleep. A very tired sheep sleeps in the next morning. The pictures are well done and match the story perfectly.

Parenting Tip

Baby sign language. I was told it’s easier to teach a baby a hand signal for something than how to say the word for it. My sister-in-law taught her baby a sign for “more” even though he couldn’t say it. She started knocking her (knuckled) fists together to show him “more,” as in do you want more food? More play time? More books to be read? I saw him do it himself when he indeed wanted more. In fact, it started looking as if he was arguing with her in sign language. Once he wanted more books and kept doing the “more” sign even though she told him it was time to go to sleep.

Movie Review: Road to Utopia

Movie Title: Road to Utopia. One of the Hope and Crosby Road Trip movies. Comedy. Family movie.
My nephew and I loved this movie! I've seen Road to Utopia over and over and I'm never bored. Vaudeville isn't working out for Chester (Bob Hope) and Duke (Bing Crosby). They head for colder pastures in Alaska. On the way there they get mixed up with two ruffians, Sperry and McGurk. The pair have on them a stolen gold mine map. To dodge authorities, Hope and Crosby pose as Sperry and McGurk. They soon learn there's more to these bad men than they thought. The town is scared stiff of them. They have the worst reputations around. This movie is Hope and Crosby at their best. And finally Hope gets Lamour in the end. However, Crosby still bests him in the very end. I highly recommend this movie for families with kids age ten and older.

Last Dog Days of Summer Dog Tip

Do you hate it when your kids yell at the dog when you're on the phone or eating dinner? Well here's good news, dogs can learn sign language for commands. Get a book on it or make up your own sign language. My dog knows the hand stop sign for stop. Palm down for sit. Palm upwards to get up. Two palms way down for lie down. One finger over the mouth for Shh! And other non-verbal commands. I’ve been told dogs can learn sign language easier than verbal commands.

Arts and Craft Project

Decorate a wooden bookcase or toy box.
Items needed: Wrapping paper with designs (footballs/teacups/cats/dogs/gnomes…) Scissors. Glue stick. Small can of Polyurethane. Paint brush.

Have your child cut out designs from wrapping paper. Next have them glue designs where they want them on the shelf or toy box. Let dry. In ventilated area (meaning do project outside or open all windows in room) you the parent brush Polyurethane over designs or over whole top of shelf/toy box. Let dry in ventilated.