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The Mom Challenge – Week 27 – The Power of a Note

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It’s week 27 of The Mom Challenge! If you want to see all of the challenges see them all here.

One thing that I think is super important to establish early on is a clear line of communication. I want to make sure that my son looks forward to telling me about his day; that he feels comfortable telling about things that may embarrass him; talks to me about things that upset him. I want him to know that I will do my best to give advice, to listen, to understand and that I won’t lie to him if asked about something (and that I expect the same in return) Things happen, true there are consequences; however, but no matter what I still love him.

Having that relationship won’t just happen. But starting out while they are young will help lead to years of good communication! I wish I would have started this sooner because I really love the idea. It’s simple. It’s sweet. It can be started very early. Want to know what it is? (This is also really great if your spouse is out of town a lot or works odd hours!)

Love notes.

 

Melissa & Doug My Own Mailbox

 

Melissa & Doug My Own Mailbox

First you will need to have a special place to drop off your notes. You can choose to have a mailbox in the kitchen, mini mailboxes in each of the bedrooms (Target has some out for Valentine’s Day in their Dollar Bins that would be perfect!) or just make your own! Get creative! (The one in the photo above is a Melissa & Doug Mailbox you can get here)

Then, make sure you have paper, pens, markers, crayons and envelopes available.

 

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Then get to writing, drawing or both!

Letters are a great way to express yourself. Having some ground rules set up will make sure that it stays a positive experience.

Some rules you might have could be don’t show your letters to anyone.

If someone asks you to keep something a secret you need respect that.

Notes are meant to encourage, support and uplift. Not to hurt or embarrass.

Remember that the point is to keep the lines of communication open and encourage your child to talk to you!

love note journal

Or you can chose to create journals for your children like Mama Jenn did!

And in case you need an extra reason why this idea is wonderful – think about reading your letters a year, five years, ten years later! 🙂

       

The Mom Challenge: Week 26 Parenting Resolutions

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Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful 2012 and that 2013 is going to bring lots of happiness, health and lots of wonderful memories! To read all of the past Mom Challenges go here.

The beginning of a new year always, for me, brings reflection of the year past. It’s the time of year that I think about what experiences and opportunities we had. It’s also the time of year that I think about what I want the next year to bring.

This is the time of year that you hear about people making their resolutions to lose weight, get organized, get out of debt or read more books. But how about making parenting resolutions? Or if your kids are old enough you can make resolutions together.

Last year our family resolution was to have family game night once a week. 2012 was filled with Mousetrap, Go to the Head of the Class, Uno, and Bowling. Our nights are filled with pizza and time together. It’s fun pulling out games from when Andy and I were little. (Does anyone remember The Grape Escape?)

Last summer we went to an auction and we got TONS of vintage games for less than $1 each. Most of the games were donated, but we kept some like Snatch, Sunken Treasure, the original Clue and Gambler (which by the way, is a really fun game!)

This year Josh made a resolution (well, I may have had some influence in the resolution choice) to limit his video game time. Ok, maybe I had a lot to do with his decision. My momolution (you like that word? Yeah, I do too.) is to have date night once a month. Josh and mom date nights.

DSC00009I’m pretty excited to start our monthly date nights. I think it’s really important for us to have time and to create memories together. In January our date is going ice skating. I haven’t been in years! What better way to have fun than to make a fool out of yourself in front of your 9 year old?

What parenting resolutions will you make this year?

       

The Mom Challenge: Week 22 – Creating Peace during Homework Time

Welcome to week 22!! You can find all of the challenges one of two ways! One, you can click The Mom Challenge up at the top! It will take you to them all! OR you can click categories to your right and select The Mom Challenge. Please pin and share with friends on Facebook to get the word out about The Mom Challenge! 🙂

If you are interested in sponsoring The Mom Challenge please send me an email at [email protected]

‘At our house homework time can be a struggle. And to be honest, who can blame him? After being at school all day who really wants to come home and do more work? Not me! And apparently, not my son either.

We’ve had the days where he answers every question with “I don’t know.”

We’ve had days where there is whining. Sitting there just not doing anything. Complaining. Grumbling.

We’ve had to make the trip back to school to pick up a book; we’ve had projects magically be due the next day (don’t you love that?)

But we’ve also had awesome days. We’ve worked really hard to get to a point where homework isn’t a chore (well, so much of a chore).

Here are some tips that have worked for us:

Moms (and Dads) you have homework too! You have to be aware of what is required and needed so you can help your child succeed. If your child knows that you are involved with their homework they will be less likely to try to sneak something by!

– Do you know your child’s homework schedule? Do they get homework each night, once a week or does it change? Josh get’s his week’s homework at the beginning of the week and it’s due on Friday. (Which, by the way, is SO nice. If we have a busy night or just a hard day we can skip homework that night and make up for it the next day).

– What supplies do you need to keep at home? Do you have them all? Do you have pencils, paper, pens, markers, poster board? Do you have Power Point if they need to make a presentation?

(NOT that this has anything to do with homework….just made me laugh! LOL) 🙂

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– Are they supposed to show their work on math assignments? Or is just the final answer fine?

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– What happens if an assignment is missed? How will it affect their grade?

Alright so you know what’s going on and what the teacher expects! Congrats! That’s half the battle! Now you need to let your child know what you expect.

Do you have a rule about when video games, playing outside or TV time can begin? Do you expect homework done first thing when your child gets home? After dinner? Or half before and half after?

If your child is old enough to get homework then they are old enough to help decide when to do it. If you make your child involved in the planning process they are more likely to follow through! Our rule is you can play for 30 minutes and then math/English homework has to be done. Then he can do his 30 minutes of reading in bed at night time. Breaking up the work makes it easier for my son to get it all done without being a daunting task.

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After you and your child come up with a plan – FOLLOW THROUGH! 30 minutes means 30 minutes! This is the part I struggle with the most – and not on purpose. I just lose track of time. Timers are essential in our home! 🙂

Make sure all of the supplies are readily available to your child.

Be there to help with homework, to answer questions, but NOT to do it for them.

Encourage them to do their best.

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Check their work. If your child knows you are going to check it then they are more likely to do it right the first time! Plus, if you notice your child struggling you can be proactive about getting them extra help!

Reward positive behavior! If homework is a constant struggle try an incentive for having 3 good homework days, then a week, then 2 weeks and so on. You might offer to let them play for 45 minutes before they start their work, staying up Friday night an extra 30 minutes, having a friend over, or a favorite dinner. Show your child that everyone has to come home and work – they do homework and you do work too (whether it’s office work, making dinner or house work). It’s just part of life and it never goes away.

But it feels awesome to get it done – and get it done right! Building these great habits now are so important to our children (and our sanity!) for the future!

Do you have any tips on getting your child to do their homework?

       

The Mom Challenge: Week 21 – How to Avoid the Gimmies this Holiday Season

Welcome to week 21 of The Mom Challenge! You can find all of the challenges here.





It’s that time of year again. Toy catalogs are coming in the mail, commercials are in full force and wish lists are being made.



The “gimmies” are in full swing and if we aren’t careful our wonderful little children turn into green-eyed monsters.



How to avoid the gimmies this holiday season:



1. The Power of a Dollar

I think one reason that kids want (and sometimes expect) to get so many things is because they honestly have no clue how much things cost. Show your kids how far money goes by giving them a budget (bonus points if they earn their shopping money!) and letting them shop for family members. I know some families draw names and others buy for everyone – it really is what works best for you.



2. Giving to those in need

Giving our children the opportunity to give to others, I think, is so important. I want to keep my son shielded from the harshness of the world, but I also want him to know that he has it pretty darn good! I don’t think it would have ever crossed his mind before that somewhere out there someone would be grateful for his ‘junk’ or that someone would be excited for a pair of shoes – even if they didn’t cost $140. At our house we only have 1 child so Josh doesn’t have siblings to buy for, but I do give him a budget of what he can spend for our Holiday giving. The chance to give is all around during the holidays – Toys for Tots sets up toy bins at lots of retailers, many stores have trees that have children (or the elderly’s) wish list on them or you can fill shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child (just to name a few!). We have a yearly tradition of cleaning out our closets a few days after Thanksgiving donating items we no longer use to make room for any new items Santa might bring. Clean closets and items for donations? Win win!



3. Give time – not stuff

This holiday season give the gift of your time! Pinterest has tons of great ideas on “to do” advent calendars (I’ll be making one this year!) where each day you do something different to celebrate the season, whether it is baking cookies, decorating the tree or reading a story together. I’ve also seen awesome ideas of putting things like bed time passes in stockings for kids to stay up late.



(Salt Water Kids’ fort kit tutorial)



Saltwater kids made an awesome fort kit – easy, cost effective and something to do together!



4. Choices, choices, choices

The first time that Josh handed me a Toys R Us catalog that was circled like crazy I laughed. I flipped through it and realized he circled things I knew perfectly well that he would never play with. He just circled it to circle it.

Christmas Wish List



When I saw this Christmas list from Somewhat Simple I thought – how smart is she? I think it’s important for kids to know what they want and also for them to learn how to make choices! This list helps them do that. Plus, it really helps decipher those catalogs filled with circle after circle after circle! You really know the top wish list items!



5. Realize that you don’t need thousands of presents (MOM!)

I will admit that Josh usually is pretty good about telling us the top 5 or 6 items he wants. I am just not so good at listening. I wanted to buy stuff. I wanted him to wake up and walk into the living room over flowing with presents. I would buy things that I thought were cool even though I knew the chance of them getting played with were slim to none. I would buy things just so I could have more things to wrap. But I didn’t do it just for Christmas. At Disney World I wanted to buy him souvenirs. I asked him in every gift shop (you know the ones they make you walk through after every single ride?) and he would say no thanks. I should have just listened to him. But instead I bought something at most of them. I ended up spending a few hundred dollars on Disney stuff. He could care less.



As mom I want to give him everything. But I’ve learned that if I just give him the 5 or 6 things he really asks for he’s more than happy. If I buy him the 5 or 6 things he wanted plus another 50 things he’s just as happy. And I’m not broke. 🙂

How do you avoid the gimmies at your house?



       

The Mom Challenge – Children’s Eye Health & What You NEED To Know

Week 20 of The Mom Challenge! If you missed any of the previous week’s make sure to check them out here.
(I NEVER ask for favors but if you think about it – will you leave Josh some love about his new glasses? Please! 🙂 I think he is still a little unsure of them!)
Today we are talking all about eyes. We recently had to get Josh glasses and when we were at the eye doctor I felt horrible! His eyes were 20/80!!! How did I not know this?
The whole situation got me thinking about kids and eye health. I really didn’t know anything about it. When are you supposed to take them to the eye doctor for the first time? What signs to be looking out for? What can you do to help?
I admit – I was clueless!
Here is what I learned:
Eye examinations:
Newborns have their eyes examined before they leave the hospital – especially preemies!
Your pediatrician should be checking your infant’s eyes at each check up.
At about 3 ½ your child should have a vision health screening and acuity test either with your pediatrician or family doctor.
At around 5 you should have your child’s vision and eye alignment evaluated.
If your child wears glasses they need to get their eyes checked annually!
Now I remember our pediatrician checking Josh’s eyes when he was little. And even now I know they’ve done the light test (they shine a little light and watch as your child’s eyes follow it). But I know we haven’t had a vision test lately and I never thought about asking for one while we are there.
So it would be a good idea to get into the practice of asking for one at the end of all your appointments! They don’t take long! And looking back it’s something I wish we would have done!!
Spotting pesky eye problems:
· constant eye rubbing
· extreme light sensitivity
· poor focusing
· poor visual tracking (following an object)
· abnormal alignment or movement of the eyes (after 6 months of age)
· chronic redness of the eyes
· chronic tearing of the eyes
· a white pupil instead of black
In school-age children, watch for other signs such as:
· inability to see objects at a distance
· inability to read the blackboard
· squinting
· difficulty reading
· sitting too close to the TV
(List from kidshealth.org)
At home Josh would always play his games/watch TV and inch closer and closer. I just thought he was excited! (He usually stands and plays his games and jumps around!) Looking back it’s obvious to me know – he kept moving forward so he could see better!
At parent teacher conferences make sure to ask how your child is seeing! Sometimes things don’t seem relevant (like Josh being close to the TV) until someone specifically asks or mentions it.
If your child needs glasses:
Here are a few tips if your child needs glasses:
1. Let them pick them out!
2. Spring hinges are more durable – and if they are toddlers plastic frames are the best.
3. If your child asks for contacts make sure that they are responsible enough and can handle putting them in/taking them out by themselves. Contacts are great for kids who play sports but they take some extra effort!
Girl getting eye exam
Tips for Eye Health:
1. Eat your veggies!
2. Take daily vitamins.
3. Wear sunglasses while outside – they not only look cool but they help keep UV rays at bay!
4. If your child is going to be outside on a sunny day put a hat on them! The brim of a hat can cut the UV that reaches your child’s eyes in half!
5. Wear protective eye gear during sports.

       

The Mom Challenge – Week 19 You are Awesome

Week 19 of The Mom Challenge! Woo hoo! If you have missed any of the previous week’s make sure to find them all here.
As most of you know a few weeks ago I was at Bloggy Con. It was so much fun and I had a chance to meet so many amazing women (and a few good men!) while I was there. But do you know what I was finding myself doing? Comparing! I know, it’s normal. I know, we all do it. But why?
Here I was having lunch with some amazing new friends, learning about their lives and all I could think of was “How in the world is she running 3 blogs, have 10 kids, and probably wear the same size she did in high school. No wait, I bet she’s skinnier now than she was in high school.” Then I found myself feeling self conscious about oh I just have 1 child. No, I haven’t tried that. I uh- don’t have time? (Saying this to a person who obviously must not sleep in order to fit everything in a 24 hour period).
Ok, so maybe that example above was a little exaggerated BUT you know what I’m talking about! That PTO mom who manages to run every function. Or the woman who runs a successful company and household. Or the stay at home mom who does things like paper mache with 8 kids and looks perfect as she does so (and so does her house!)
The truth is that yes, those women are super heros. They manage great, wonderful things each and everyday. But I am too! And so is every other so called ordinary mom out there.
So this week’s challenge is to not compare yourself!
So what that Michelle Duggar has 20 kids and makes her own laundry detergent or that the woman who works 60 hours a week also has a sparkling clean house or that the mom down the street lost all of her baby weight as fast as Heidi Klum. Stop comparing yourself to others and do the best that you can do.
And sometimes that means asking for help (gasp – I know!) or telling someone no you can’t take on another project as this time.
Do you have a day where your to-do list is out of control? Get a babysitter for the afternoon! So what if you are sitting in your office 1 room over. Some people say that’s silly but who cares! Your children are having fun (supervised!) and you are getting your work done!
Or if you work all week and just want to relax with your family do it! I know there are dust bunnies under the couch and the windows need cleaned. Get a cleaning lady to come once a week! If you go through a private person (check out care.com, your local classifieds or even check to see if there is a small business Facebook group for your area) many of them have 2 hour minimums but will work for $10-15 an hour. To me $25 a week to have the house vacuumed, windows washed, furniture dusted and 1 day I don’t have to do dishes is worth it!
We all know that being a mom is a 24 hour job! Instead of comparing ourselves with others and thinking about all of the things we don’t do or the things we struggle to get done take this week to reflect on all of the awesome things you DO each and every day!
What are some awesome things that you do each day?

       

The Mom Challenge: Week 18 How to NOT raise a Bully

Have you ever done something and then all of a sudden things around you just seem to click? That has been me lately with my Raising Bully Proof Kids post! Just real quick and then we will get on with the Mom Challenge! I wrote last week’s article on bully proofing your children and that afternoon my son came home and told me he wasn’t allowed to play on the jungle gym (are they still called jungle gyms?) at recess. There was a bully. Uh oh. What timing I thought. A quick email to his teacher and thankfully it’s been taken care of.
I went on to Bloggy Con where I met an AWESOME group of guys who have started this amazing children’s book company called Neon Tiki Tribe. You have to check them out – positive books that are fun to read. Plus they are written in a new font called dyslexie which is made for kids with dyslexia. It makes the books easy to read! How cool. Anyways they wanted to give me a book. It was on, you guessed it bullies. (In the story the girl becomes a hero and stands up for kids getting bullied. Great book – it even has discussion points in the back to help discussions!) I told him about the Mom Challenge and how I just wrote about bullies. He said you know it’s anti-bully month right? Noooo. I didn’t! How crazy. Talk about good timing!
And last week I told you that the second part of our Bully Proof Mom Challenge was how to NOT raise a bully. And I got a tweet from Ellen (ok so she didn’t send it to JUST me it was to everyone – I wish Ellen would tweet me!) about this You Tube Video concerning a news anchor who confronts her bully. So I watched it last night and I thought to myself – Oh my gosh! That’s what I was going to talk about tomorrow!! J So maybe the coincidences are cool only to me (probably) but I had to share! And you should most definitely check out the You Tube video. It really is wonderful.


But here we go. The Mom Challenge – week 18. How to NOT raise a bully. (If you want to see all of the other challenges please click here.)

I know that no one wants to think of our child as a bully. It’s hard. And a lot of the discussion about bullying comes to as how to protect our kids from bullies so this week I wanted to talk about how to prevent your child from doing the bullying.



First of all I want to make this crystal clear:



Just because your child does something wrong it does not mean that you have failed as a parent.



In fact, in my opinion, if your child does something wrong – whether it is bullies another child, cheats on a test, steals a pack of gum from a store, or whatever – and you are alert to the problem and fix it then you are one of the best parents in the world. Good parenting is opening our eyes – seeing that sometimes our kids aren’t doing what they are supposed to do, correcting the behavior and teaching our child to make amends for it. I’m a firm believer in teaching your child not only the correct behavior but also to take responsibility for their actions and make up for it. They can do that by (sincerely!) apologizing, returning that pack of gum, or helping others.



Moving on.



You’ve heard someone say “they only said that because they are jealous” or “they are just trying to make themselves feel better.” It’s true! Studies have shown that kids who bully other kids usually suffer from negative views of themselves. They are also at a higher risk for psychological problems, substance abuse and delinquency. Not that this gives people an excuse for mean behavior! However it does take me into way # 1 that we can NOT raise a bully.



1. Teach your child about respect, empathy and confidence! Talk to your children. Hang out with your children. The more you time the better.

And while you are with your child spending all kinds of time building with legos, riding bikes or playing Barbies make sure you are setting a good example! We live in a bully society. It blows my mind how adults can bully each other and then they act completely at a loss as to why our children act that way. Our children have picked it up from us – the parents. It’s all around them and unfortunately for some it’s normal. Are you setting a good example?



Look at things like road rage, fighting with your spouse, the music that you have on in your home/car, the television shows and video games your child sees, the jokes you and your husband/friends talk about. Do you see someone at the store as say “What is she wearing? She can’t possibly think that looks good.” Or catch yourself talking about your work day “he asked a million questions today at the meeting. Honestly, the guy is just in idiot.” Or yelling “learn how to drive!!!” You don’t have to say these things directly to the person – and you could just be talking out loud – but if your kids hear it think about how it transcends to them.



You don’t have to like everyone and everything. But you DO need to respect everyone (and their property!). Just like in the You Tube video that the news anchor pointed out. It’s none of anyone’s business to point out to her about her weight. And maybe that lady at the store loves what she is wearing.

Everyone has a story to tell. Some stories are hard to tell. Sometimes they don’t get told at all. So when we go judging to those people without knowing what their story is we look like fools. And guess what – judging others like that – is bullying.



We can never expect our children to not do something when we do it ourselves! Actions speak louder than words.



If you catch yourself or your child bullying (either through aggressive behavior or through hurtful words) make sure you bring attention to it and stop it immediately. Unfortunately hurtful comments get said all the time and no one thinks twice about it because they are things we are used to hearing. We really need to change our mindset! Rumors and gossip starts by one person sharing one mean/hurtful word. And rumors and gossip are a very real part of bullying!



So this week’s challenge is to look at the example that you are setting. Are you setting your child up to think that bullying is ok? Or are you teaching them that no one has the right to bully others?

       

The Mom Challenge: Working to Bully Proof Your Child

It’s week 17! If you are new – it’s never too late to join! To see all of the other weeks please visit here.
That’s a picture of my son. He’s a really sweet kid. He is smart. He is handsome. He is funny. And I could go on and on! He’s also been bullied before.
As a mom, when your child has been bullied it makes your heart ache and your blood boil!
Here are some tips to keep your child from being bullied:
1. Talk to them and start early! We need to teach our children that everybody is special; we each have our own unique ideas, talents, style, and voice. Being different isn’t a bad thing! We learn from each other – if we all were the same this world would be a boring place to be!
2. Know their friends. Unfortunately the child who is playing alone is more likely to be targeted for bullying. You don’t want your child to be the odd man out of the group – and you don’t want your child to treat someone else like that! Getting involved in your children’s friends not only ensures that you know what is going on but you can maintain a safe environment. Have them over to play games or to go camping. I would much rather know that my house is full of stinky 9 year olds and know exactly what is going on than to have to wonder! At some point as hard as it is for us to accept it, our children won’t want us playing with them and their friends. But make sure to stay engaged! Make a snack and sit down and eat with them. Ask them if they want to order a movie and have it play in the living room. Keep the doors open. You don’t have to hover but you can be present!
3. If you think your child is struggling socially talk to their teacher. My son has Autism and making friends is really hard. We got him started in some programs at school like Circle of Friends and a Big Brother/Big Sister type group. The teacher also helps in assigning groups and choosing Josh & another student to do special jobs around the classroom. You can get involved too! I volunteer in the classroom and on field trips so it helps me get to know the other students better. We invite them over to play on the weekends. No one wants to be alone! Ask them who they play with and what they do. If you feel like your child is lonely try to initiate some activity and ask for help.
4. Monitor phone/internet use. Cyber bullying is unfortunately something we and our kids have to deal with. Kids that are struggling with cyber bullying often don’t tell anyone because they are embarrassed or ashamed. Keep the computer in a central location. If you notice your child exiting out of windows or turning it off quickly when you walk into a room know that there might be something up. Monitoring Internet activity is hard! With it being on televisions, tablets, computers, phones – even the DS! And text messaging is hard to monitor as well! Tell your child not to accept friend requests from anyone that they don’t know. And if they do get a harassing/embarrassing/or mean text/email not to delete it and show you right away.
5. Teach your children that they are awesome people. Instill confidence, assertiveness, respect for others and compassion. Tell them you are proud of them! Show them that they have a voice in the family and that they will be listened to. That doesn’t mean that you will agree with them or follow through with their wishes, but you will respect them and consider their opinion. When your child feels confident and assertive they are much less likely to be bullied or to put up with being bullied!
There are so many ways that we can teach our children that bullying is wrong! We need to make sure that we talk about it because it is such a real issue!!
Next week we are going to talk about how to make sure your child doesn’t become a bully. I know as moms it is hard to think our kids could ever do something like that, but I think it’s important to teach our children! There are so many influences on our kids and it is so important that we make sure that we are the biggest influence of all!
For more discussion on how to bully proof your child visit us on Facebookor over at The Blog Frog!
If you are interested in anti-bullying resources here are a few books (and a movie) that have really great reviews:
Cyberbully DVD $10.93 (ships free with Amazon Prime)
Confessions of a Former Bully $7.99 (ships free with Amazon Prime)
Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Bullies $10.20 (ships free with Amazon Prime)

       

Week 16 of the Mom Challenge – Raise an active child

Welcome to the Mom Challenge on our new site – It’s A Fabulous Life! I really hope you enjoy your visit! 🙂 Make sure to like us on Facebook and subscribe to get us delivered right to your inbox!
If you are wanting to view past challenges make sure to visit them here.
This week we are talking about raising active kids. With the Xbox, 3DS, and Angry Birds it can be hard sometimes to peel your child away from the screen long enough to be active. Remember back when you were young? What did you like to do? We used to ride bikes all day long! We would ride everywhere! We were always outside playing, riding bikes, rollerblading, and pretending. Now, my son comes home and wants to pick up his 3DS first thing. In fact the other day he was just complaining about the bus ride home. He wants to bring his DS with him on the bus because he “has nothing to do”. I found myself giving the old “When I was young…” speech. Geez.
Being active is such a vital step in living a healthy life. It not only decreases the chance for obesity but it also helps teach socialization, confidence and a positive self image. Plus, if your kids learn to live (and love!) an active lifestyle now they are much more likely to live that lifestyle when they are older (and to pass it along to their children!).
I think that most of us wish we could live a little active. And guess what? It all begins with you! If you make active living an important part of your life – your children will notice! We need to show our kids that there are fun and exciting things to do that don’t involve video games and television!
Let’s be honest. Exercising is hard if you aren’t used to doing it. Some of us (myself included!) don’t do it enough. For those of us who are trying to live an active life it can be a slightly negative. We think of things like running, lifting weights, and sit ups. But there is so much more! Living an active lifestyle isn’t just about exercising.
Your challenge this week is to do something active each day with your kids for at least 20 minutes. Sound daunting? Here is a list of ideas to get you started.
* Go on a bike ride as a family
* Walk to a close by grocery store, church, or park
* Go bowling
* Play mini-golf
* Take a class – try karate, zumba, swimming
* Get a pedometer – see what family member can get to 10,000 steps first
* Go to a nearby state park to hike
* Go for a canoe or kayak trip
* Try horseback riding
* Go swimming or stay at a hotel with an indoor pool
* Go to a batting cage or play catch
* Play basketball
* Play flashlight tag
* Walk the dog
* Try laser tag
* Go rock climbing
It’s super important to introduce your children to new activities! Things to do, places to visit and games to play! Not only will being active together help you physically but it will also help develop an awesome family relationship.
To talk about how you are going to get active with your kids visit us on The Blog Frog! Or tell us what you are going to do this week over on Facebook!

       

The Mom Challenge: 20 Things your child’s teacher wants you to know

Find all of the Mom Challenges here!
School has just started (or is getting started…) so I thought having a school themed Mom Challenge was in order.
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I’ve sent emails to teacher friends and got some great answers (some were kind of funny!) so here it is. The list of things your child’s teacher wants you to know.
1. Lunch – make it nutritious. Schools are working on making healthier school lunches – offering more whole grains, more fruits and veggies. So if your child brings their lunch don’t fill it with soda, chips and cookies. Not only does it fail to teach them healthy food choices, but poor food will reflect in the classroom! Food has the impact on making your child very tired, irritable, or wild and crazy. Feed their brains!
2. Send your child to school with a hug and a compliment – it will set their day full of confidence.
3. Remember it’s their homework, not yours. Seriously, who are you kidding when you do your child’s project and have them write their name on it. One you are teaching them they don’t have to do the work; that you aren’t confident in them that they can really do it. But two, do you think that their teacher isn’t smart enough to figure it out?
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4. Field Trips – they need volunteers BUT know this. If you take the kids to the gift shop when you were told not to, act like a child and not a parent while on the trip, or spend the day stalking the teacher trying to just talk about your child you probably won’t get picked to go on the next one. Field trips are fun, but parents have to follow the rules too.
5. READ
6. Be a partner with your teacher – but do it privately. Don’t let your child hear negative things about their work or their progress. Don’t criticize your teacher to your child!
7. Being partners with your teacher does not mean that your child’s teacher does all the teaching. Manners, shoe tying, staying active, are all things that should be taught at home as well.
8. Follow the dress code. It maybe harder to get your children to follow the dress code in middle school and high school but they need to! While your child is still young and you play a larger role in picking out their clothes make sure that they are appropriate.
9. Start each year as a clean slate. Forget about last year when little Johnny would always forget to bring home his folder. It’s a new year – and a time for new progress!
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10. Respect your child’s teacher! They aren’t there for the big pay check! Lots of teachers put in their own money to their classroom supplies for YOUR children. They bought that book your child borrowed and you found in his room a year later. They buy those reward pencils your daughter brought home. They bought those white board markers they use! Summers off don’t really mean summers off. They go to conferences, they work on curriculum. Some have summer jobs to help pay for said books, pencils and white board pencils. They come in early and stay late. Trust me – they do all that – and they really care about your child.
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11. Make sure your child can tie their own shoes. PLEASE. (I think every teacher I emailed had this on their list!!!)
12. Don’t tell the teacher your child is bored. They put a lot of time, energy and heart into making learning fun and engaging. If your child finishes their work early and has nothing to do talk to your child about what they are supposed to do when they are finished. Often teachers give instructions on what to do while others are finishing. Is your child following those instructions? If your child genuinely doesn’t know what to do next ask the teacher to explain to them what they can do. I’m sure the teacher would be more than happy to!
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13. Parent teacher communication is vital but know that a teacher is only 1 person with 2 hands and 25 students AND their parents to attend to. Plus they pass along information to resource teachers, any speech therapists/occupational therapists, principals, music teachers, etc. Newsletters? Read them. Not only does a lot of work go into making them, but they are full of important information. IT’S A PARENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THEIR CHILD’S CLASSROOM!!!!
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14. If your teacher comes to you with a behavioral problem please know that it’s not an insult to you or your parenting. Don’t say “well, he doesn’t do that at home.” We have different expectations for our children at a strangers house than we do at home so naturally we have different expectations at school too. Your teacher is coming to you to so you can work together on the problem. If you say you are going to talk to your child – make sure you really do!
15. Make sure your children have all their supplies at the beginning of the year and check again halfway through. If it’s snowing send them with boots. If it’s cold make sure they have a coat that is warm enough. There’s not much worse than having to send a child outside and then worry about if they are warm enough. In many states teachers are mandated by law to send kids outside. Make sure they are prepared!
16. If you are sending in a birthday treat make sure it is pre-cut/individually wrapped. If you send in pudding packs/fruit cups send in spoons. Celebrating special days is great but hard to cut,dish and serve 25 hungry kids at once!
17. Your child will make mistakes. They don’t know it all. (and as hard as it may be to hear – neither do their parents!) They are at school to learn. You shouldn’t expect them to know everything and ace it all. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Support them, tell them you are proud, congratulate them on the A’s and show them sometimes you have to work a little harder.
18. Turn off the TV!
19. Be on time. Whether you are dropping your child off in the morning or picking them up. Be on time. It’s embarrassing for the child to be the last one and the teacher has other things that they need to do!
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20. Get off the phone. Whether you pick your child up, you meet at the bus stop or they walk through the door; those first few minutes should be your child’s. They want to tell you about their day! You want to ask about it (that way important details don’t get forgotten. Nothing worse than telling your child to brush their teeth and get into bed and they say “oh yeah, I forgot. I need to bring 25 cupcakes to school tomorrow.”) Show your child that you care and that you are interested in their day. Give them the respect of 20 minutes of your whole attention to listen. One day you will feel like you have to beg them for details on their day so don’t lose this time!
Amanda

       

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