Separated from the Kids?

Being Separated

I have had my children, separately; go away with a family member out of state. My daughter adjusted to this distance quickly however my son had a harder time. I made a card for each day they were gone – I used printed family photos on cardstock, along with a message instructing them to open one each night. A small inexpensive wrapped gift to go with the card gives them something to look forward to. Include some stamps and money for postcards they can send back home.

Pass Along

I learned a lesson the week of Thanksgiving, the hard way. When your kids get a little older you need to remember to let them in on certain things. What I discovered was my kids didn’t know you should not put metal in a microwave. My son was heating up water for oatmeal in a metal rimmed cup. To make a long story short, small fire, panicked kids, smoky kitchen and smelly house. My husband had to remind me not to be mad because this was our fault not theirs, they just didn’t know. I need to remember things that didn’t apply one day, may the next as the grow up.

Cheap Things

SLIME you will need: water, Elmer’s white glue, borax food coloring (unless you want uncolored white slime)
First mix the mix 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of Borax until dissolved, in a separate container mix ½ cup of white glue with a ½ cup of water – add coloring if desired. Then mix the 2 together, it will become stiff, then remove it from the bowl and finish by hand. Some water may remain in the bowl.

Foam Just for Fun you will need: empty plastic bottle (for each kid) like a 2 liter or Gatorade with no lid (do not even have the lids available), water, dishwashing detergent, baking soda, and vinegar.

First fill each bottle most of the way full of warm water and add a squirt of dishwashing detergent. Make sure you have all the needed items ready. Next add some baking soda (2-3 teaspoons) to each bottle. Put your hand over the opening and shake it up to get suds, then pour in vinegar which will start the reaction. Squeezing the bottle may help move things along. Add more baking soda and vinegar when needed. Have a foam fight. Remember do NOT cap the bottle.

Salt dough
1 cup of flour 1 cup of salt ½ cup of water mix, microwave the shaped dough in the microwave 20-30 second intervals until it is fairly firm

No Cost Games
Memory - Shoe box with lots of small objects like a key, coin, pen, cover box and set it in the center, remove the lid and give the kids 1 minute to look and then replace the lid and ask them to write down what they saw. This can be played for a theme party – see showers - not rain. The more items you use the harder it is. Be creative and use things from other games – a timer, cards, dice, and so on.

Balancing Act – index cards, write 10 objects that are small and unbreakable that you have around – ball, book, stuffed animal; 1 per card. Then write 1- body parts that are on the left / middle side do the same for the right / middle side – chin, stomach, knee, and shoulder
Players draw one from each pile. Than challenge to hold them for at least 3 seconds.

Some Science Stuff

Bubbles – empty 2 liter without cap, glass of water wide at the top, bubble solution – make your own with a few drops of Dawn and 1/4 cup of water. Put the dry bottle in the freezer for 5 minutes then in the glass. Without being squeezed it will blow underwater bubbles. Cold air is dense and you can fit more of it in the bottle but that the air starts to warm and expand creating bubble to let the air escape

Cheap Crystals

You need: black construction paper, pie or cake pan, warm water ,Epsom salt ,scissors
It doesn’t have to be sunny but it is helpful and faster – you can use a sunny window
Cut black paper to fit on the bottom of the pan, put aside
Add a tablespoon of the salt with ¼ warm water and mix until the salt is dissolved
Pour the salt water over the black paper in the pan and place in the sunny spot you found
As the water evaporates crystals will appear, use a magnifying glass to see them closer

Good Cheap Stuff

Something to do:
Thick balloons, pinch and snip little spots in several areas, over a bowl fill a balloon of another color with birdseed, fold over the neck to trap the seed, then pull the 1st balloon over it to hold the flap down. You can play hacky sac, juggle or toss

Foam Paint
1 cup of Shaving cream, 1 cup of school glue
mix, let set for 2 min. – you can add food coloring (FC)
This if fun for smaller kids. We painted foam hands that we cut out, it is great for a winter scene

Spray Glue
¾ c. water, ¼ white glue, spray bottle
mix all together in bowl until blended, pour into spray bottle, shake before using

Fruit Tie Dye shirts
Unsweetened drink mix – 2 Tbs., ¼ white vinegar, 2c cold H2O, rubber bands, t-shirt, rubber gloves
Mix drink, vinegar, water in pot – boil over med heat – then remove and cool, scrunch shirt in ball and wrap with RB, put on gloves and dip, shirt sit over night until dry then remove RB, you can use different colors

Educational Entertainment

Pour water into a bowl, sprinkle pepper on top. Dip a bar of soap, or put a drop of liquid soap into the water. Watch the pepper scatter.

Make some slime (this stuff is really cool) – mix in a bowl: 4oz. of Elmers glue, ½ cup of warm water, and several drops of food coloring, in another bowl mix 1-2 teaspoons of Borax and 1 cup of warm water. Mix the 2 in one bowl and let it sit for 1 minute, then lift your slime out and store in a ziplock.

Reading

Family Fun Magazine – my goodness, I have FF magazines dating back to 1996 when I became a mom. Each is filled with creative ideas that I just couldn’t part with. FF covers crafts, food, games, and much more, kind of what I wanted to do with this site. Great magazine! National Geographic for Kids – great mix of articles on wildlife, science, sports, experiments and useful information. We have renewed our subscription and my daughter even had a drawing published in NGK in August 2007. Highlights – I remember looking thought them as a child at the doctor’s office, wishing I got them at home. I still even like the hidden pictures page. My kids have enjoyed Highlights and I think it’s a good buy.


Ranger Rick, Your Big Backyard
I believe these 2 magazines are put out by the same company. My kids have had both and always looked forward to seeing them in the mail box. I found these to be some of the better choice because they learned from them, and love animals. Lots of nature info, ideas and good articles. Although Ranger Rick is geared towards the older child, it says up to 12, but by the time my daughter was 10 she wasn’t as interested.

Family Night

Family Night – Time just seems to slip by and each day brings new things to get done. Many times I think about the things I want to do with my children before they are off on their own. I grew up in a smaller town with small town values and one thing we did have often was family dinners. We all sat at the table together and talked while we ate, not TV, no phones, just us. I think my mom being a stay-at-home mom was a big reason why we could do that. Now that I am a mom myself I just do not have the kind of time needed to prepare dinner and then cleaning up. But as my kids grew I realized that I didn’t want them to miss that. So we started “family night”. We picked Wednesday to have it because it was in the middle of the week and it worked for us. I have the kids’ alternate weeks. Whoever’s week it is gets to plan the menu, help cook, set the table, clean up and pick an activity for the 4 of us to do together (games, bike ride, drive) but nothing that involves money. I was so surprised at the excitement they each had when it was “their” week. And the other one got to spend some one on one time with dad! So even if you cannot find the time to cook meals every night, set aside one each week for Family Night and see what a difference it makes.
**See Games for ideas on things to do