Will Blog for Kids

I’m venturing into the world of blog talk radio this Friday with a great co-host. Here’s what is happening:

Join experienced mommy bloggers, Jo Brielyn from Creative Kids Ideas and Michelle Debenport from SomeGirlsWebsite, as they dare to delve into the world of blogging for children with their new radio show, Robin Falls Kids – Will Blog for Kids.

In this episode, Jo will chat with guest Lindsay Maddox of the hilarious blog, Silly Mom Thoughts. Lindsay is a freelance writer, author, humorist, avid blogger, and Mommy extraordinaire. This mother of four kids under the age of five has tons of stories to tell and the talent to tell them.

Also joining the show as Michelle’s guest is Deb Chitwood of LivingMontessoriNow.com. Deb is a Montessori certified teacher of preschool age children with training in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play (both Montessori-based religious education programs). Through her blog, she writes about using Montessori principles and methods in Montessori schools, traditional classrooms, homeschools, parenting, and life in general.

Come listen in as Jo and Michelle chat with these great guests about parenting and childhood issues, and learn the who, what, why, when, and how behind their popular sites. This show isn’t just your ordinary mommy blogger’s show!

Show details:

Link to the show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2010/09/03/robin-falls-kids

Date: Friday, September 3, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM Central/Noon Eastern

Show length: 1 to 1-1/2 hours

Call-in number: (646) 595-4478

*Online chat is also available during the show, so be sure to log into Blog Talk Radio before the show begins.

Robin Falls Kids – Will Blog for Kids is looking for guests who are parents, educators, and writers who blog about content related to children under the age of 18. If you’re interested in becoming a guest on one of our future shows, you can contact us at Will Blog for Kids, send us an email at Willblogforkids@gmail.com, or leave Jo a comment here.

Kids lives are stressful too! How can you help?

Our post today comes from guest blogger, Stacy Hensley. I recently read Stacy’s article that spoke about how to help children deal with daily stresses, especially kids in the tween and teen years. Her advice is excellent, and I believe it has can benefit a lot of kids, parents, and educators. And what a timely and appropriate subject to kick off the school season!

I asked Stacy to share a few words with Creative Kids Ideas readers about the topic, so here’s Stacy…

As parents, we often forget how stressful it can be as a kid. Kids have numerous stresses to deal with such as academics, peer pressure, pressure to do well in sports or other clubs, and the continual pressure to please their parents. Changes that go on at home can be a big source of stress for the younger generations. Seeing their parents stressed and dealing with disruptions in their routines can be stressful for tweens, teens and younger children.

Kids need to learn how to cope with stress in healthy ways. Ignoring the stress can lead to more problems such as behavioral issues or anxiety. There are things that parents can do in order to help their child deal with stress during trying times. Here are some suggestions that can be used by parents to help their child deal with stress in many different situations. Read Stacy’s article, How to Help Your Tween or Teen Deal with the Daily Stress of Life.

Photo courtesy of: Stacy Hensley

Stacy Hensley is a freelance writer and the work-at-home mother of three kids, twin 14-year olds (a boy and a girl) and a 6 year old daughter. She writes on a variety of subjects, but focuses most of her writing energy on educating others about autism, special education, and sexual abuse. You can read more of Stacy’s work at Associated Content by Yahoo!

Thanks to Stacy for taking time out of her busy schedule to drop by Creative Kids Ideas to share with us!

Baby checklist for home, family, and hospital

Most expectant mothers to go into labor somewhere between the 37th and 42nd weeks of their pregnancy. Since the actual date is a mystery, it’s wise to prepare for the hospital trip by the 37th week.

But, preparing your home and family for a new baby is not something done at the last minute. Those preparations should be an ongoing process, best started months in advance. There is so much more to getting ready for a new baby than simply buying adorable outfits, furnishing the home with baby paraphernalia and decorating the nursery. While they’re fun, in the beginning, most of those accessories and gadgets are more for the parents than the infant. Your time and money will be better spent on taking basic steps to prepare the home for a newborn baby. Also, if there’s an older child in the home, he or she will no doubt be excited, and a little nervous, about the prospect of a new baby joining the family. Following simple steps to prepare older siblings for a new baby will help ease the transition for both the child and parents.

Here is a practical baby checklist of things expectant parents need to do ahead of time when preparing for a new baby. It is a list of helpful baby preparation tips for the home, family, and hospital. Read the baby checklist…

Note from Jo: This baby checklist is by no means all the things parents must do to prepare for bringing a new baby home. They are, however, the ones I found most helpful in preparing for a new baby when I was a new mother. I believe planning ahead is a key step in preparing your home and family for a new baby. It will help make the hospital trip and homecoming process a less stressful experience and allow you to focus on the joy of bringing home your new precious baby. I hope the tips help. Enjoy the new addition to your family!

Raising a family often means extra spending cash is scarce or that extra money needs to be spent to meet the needs of your children.  Little or no money often leads to no more date nights. It doesn’t have to. Planning a date doesn’t have to break your budget.

My husband and I discovered a few years ago how little time we were devoting to each other in the midst of raising our girls. We started a practice which has now become a regular occurrence in our home – date night for Mommy and Daddy. Occasionally we hire a babysitter and go out on the town for an evening. More often, though, we prepare while the kids are awake, tuck in them into bed, pray they stay in bed, and enjoy the evening together at home. Sometimes it’s as simple as eating dinner together in a candlelit room and relishing the silence. Other time we spend more time planning, come up with a theme night, and dress the part. Date night has become such a tradition in our home, now the kids beg to have date nights too. <—- Also a fun activity, but I’ll save it for another blog post!

The main thing is to find ways to enjoy time together and focus on your relationship. Tap into your creativity, add a little preparation, and plan a memorable get-together with your sweetheart. Here are a few creative ideas for cheap, fun date ideas to get you started:

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples – Thrift Store Fun

Visit the local thrift store. Decide on a budget and split up to shop. Buy something for each other. Take your time and put some thought into the purchase. It can be a sentimental or humorous gift. You might be surprised at the gifts you’ll find in a thrift store!

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples- Play Dress Up

A fun twist on the thrift store idea is to use the money to buy an outfit for your date. Take the items home and wash them ahead of time. Plan an inexpensive outing or a date at home on which you both must come wearing the chosen outfits. Be sure to bring your sense of humor with you on the date.

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples- Go Picking

Spend a sunny day with your date at a local berry patch, fruit stand, or open-air market. Pick a few baskets and take them back home to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Relaxing with a cup of coffee and a fresh-fruit desert is a nice, inexpensive way to spend special time together.

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples -  Flip a Coin

Begin this spontaneous date where there are plenty of historical sites or other places to see. Start walking and flip a coin to see where it leads you at each intersection. Designate directions for both sides of the coin, such as ‘heads’ means left and ‘tails’ means right.

Limited finances don’t mean less romantic dates. In fact, cheap date ideas such as these require more creativity. Imagination leads to great fun and romance.

Instead of allowing the dinner table to become a battleground between parent and child, try using some creativity to make it more fun. Fighting with your child at mealtime does nothing beneficial for the family dinner setting or for the digestive system! If you’re imaginative enough, you’ll find your child eating more healthy foods in no time (without the arguments!). Although kids are unpredictable and the results may vary according to each child, here are a few fun ideas to help get kids to eat healthy foods and enjoy it, too.

1. Serve healthy foods in an ice cream cone. Kids like variety. Stir things up a bit and offer your child an ice cream cone filled with cottage cheese, nut and fruit mixture, tuna or yogurt. This is also a fast, easy trick for feeding an older kid on the run.

2. Let them dunk the healthy foods in something. For kids, there’s simply something appealing about dipping their food into condiments. Offer your child ketchup, ranch dressing, or any other condiment that does the trick. Be forewarned, it may not look pretty. In fact, watching your child dunk his peas into a pile of ketchup may be downright disgusting, but at least he’ll be eating them.

3. Substitute and mix healthy foods into the meals. Sometimes there are foods your child will shy away from no matter how hard you try. In those cases, you may have to draw on your creativity to conceal the healthy foods inside something more appealing to the child. Substitute cottage cheese or vanilla yogurt as a replacement for butter in your child’s meals. Blend up vegetables or meats into a puree, and add them to a sauce your child loves.

One of the keys to getting kids to eat healthy foods is to offer variety of healthy foods. Children tend to stick to what they know and love. Keep offering different foods, and don’t give up the first time your child rejects it. Allowing them to eat the same foods, the same way every night will make them more inflexible to trying new foods. Also, keeping the menu varied helps kids discover new, healthy foods they love and need to grow strong and healthy.

Check out this healthy snack food recipe for kids. This recipe includes ingredients that will fill your children with a healthy assortment of fruit, fiber, protein, and antioxidants. As a parent, I know the importance of these things in my children’s diet. I also understand the difficulty sometimes involved with convincing them to eat food that is healthy. The secret to this healthy snack food recipe is that kids love the taste so much they forget it’s good for them!

If you enjoyed this article, you may also want to read our post about a creative way to teach kids manners.

So, now I’d love to hear from you (and I’m sure CKI readers do, too!) . What’s your creative secret for getting your kids to eat more healthy foods?

Photo courtesy of: Jennifer Walker

Bubba Goes National, the debut novel of Jennifer Walker, is a compelling story about a girl, her horse, and the journey they embark on together. Although the book is written primarily for preteen and teen readers, the storyline will appeal to horse lovers both young and old. Anyone who has ever dreamed of owning a horse or ever loved a pet, will feel an instant connection with Leslie, the main character of Bubba.

The insightful and talented Jennifer Walker manages to get inside of the mind of a 13-year-old with the skill of a seasoned professional. The result is a novel  packed full of adventure, drama, interesting horse facts, important lessons, and believable characters. Through Leslie’s example, young readers are reminded that anything is possible if you want it enough and are willing to work hard for it. Jennifer cleverly weaves in accurate details about horse care and competitions, teaching young readers while telling an entertaining and realistic story. The conclusion leaves her readers wondering what will happen next and longing for more adventures with the kids at Green Stables. Read my full review of Bubba Goes National…

Note from Jo: I love the clever way Jennifer created an entertaining story for kids, while managing to teach them information in a fun and non-condescending way. My 9-year-old daughter couldn’t put down the book, and neither could I. (I’m a 9-year-old plus thirty! ) Although the book is written with tween and teen readers in mind (most suitable for ages 12 and up), horse lovers of all ages will love this story and its characters!

I happen to have it on good authority that the second book in the Riders of Green Meadow series is written and now in the editing phase. Jennifer and I just completed our novels together in the LAFFN challenge (Let’s All Finally Finish a Novel), which is Jenn’s brainchild.

About the author, Jennifer Walker:

Photo courtesy of: Jennifer Walker

Jennifer is the author of Bubba Goes National and Budget Horse-Keeping for the New Horse Owner. Her work has been published in several horse magazines, including Arabian Horse World, Modern Arabian Horse and Sierra Style. Ms. Walker also has short stories that appear in the anthologies, Elements of the Soul and The Ultimate Horse Lover. She is a freelance writer and editor, who also works in a dressage barn in California and is the proud owner of two Arabian horses.

Fans will be happy to know that Jennifer is already working on two sequels to Bubba Goes National, part of the Riders of Green Meadow series. To read more about Jennifer Walker and her current projects, please visit her at Jennifer Walker Writing Services. You can also read more of what Jennifer has to say on her blog, Jennifer Gets Bloggy.

Bubba Goes National is available for purchase on Jennifer’s website. Click here to order your autographed copy from the author. Bubba can also be bought through Twin Trinity Media (Windswept Destiny is an imprint) and is available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION:
The book reviewer is a friend and colleague of Jennifer Walker, the author of Bubba Goes National. An author-provided copy of the book was provided to Creative Kids Ideas for the review.

To jumpstart the school year, Little Tikes is hosting a huge “Back to Preschool” sale for the first half of August. As part of this promotion, prices are slashed on many of the items used for home school, daycare, and preschool programs. Discounts on these items may be as much as 50%, and Little Tikes is also throwing in FREE shipping. (*The free shipping offer is only valid within the 48 contiguous US States.)

This is an excellent time to shop for great ride-ons from Little Tikes, as well as pools, climbers, playsets, and seasonal toys! At these reduced prices, not only will these items make perfect additions to your school or daycare programs, they will also serve as great Christmas gifts – after all, Christmas is only four and half months away and it’s never too early to buy ahead when you can save money.

Also, during the “Back to Preschool” sale, every $50 you spend (product total, not including taxes/shipping costs), you will receive a coupon code good for $10 off your next order. This offer is good from August 1, 2010 through August 16, 2010 11:59:59 PM PST. Some restrictions may apply.

Click on the icon at the top of this post or follow this link to buy Little Tikes toys at a special online rate!

The wild imagination and crazy antics of one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature come to life on the big screen in Ramona and Beezus. Based on the Beverly Cleary’s book series (including favorites like Beezus and Ramona, Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Great, and Ramona the Brave), this family film appeals to old Cleary fans – the series began in the 1950s – and introduces the characters to a whole new set of fans from the younger generation.

The adorable and hilarious newcomer, Joey King, stars as Ramona Quimby. Her big sister, Beatrice “Beezus” Quimby, is played by multi-talented teen star, Selena Gomez (star of Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place). Also appearing in the movie are John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as Robert Quimby (the girls’ father), Bridget Moynahan (I, Robot) as Dorothy Quimby (the girls’ mother), Ginnifer Goodwin (Walk the Line) as Aunt Bea, Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas and Transformers) as Henry Huggin’s Uncle Hobart, Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy) as Mrs. Meacham, and Hutch Dano (Disney’s Zeke and Luther) as Henry Huggins.

Ramona and Beezus is a compilation of plots from several of the books in the Ramona series, leaning heavily on Ramona and Her Father, Ramona Forever, Ramona and Her Mother, Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona’s World. While many of the scenes focus on the amusing situations Ramona finds herself in, one main theme resonates above all others in this film: positive family relationships. Although the Quimby family certainly has its shares of trials and frustrations – such as job loss, sibling rivalry, death of a pet, and financial stresses – the importance of family replays throughout in the supportive relationship Ramona shares with her Aunt Bea, the meaningful “daddy time” spent with her father, the way her mother lovingly allows Ramona to explore who she is, and the tender bonding moments experienced between the sisters.

This film is guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, and walk out with a renewed outlook on family. With a G-rating, tons of hilarity, and first-class performances from the cast, kids and parents of all ages will enjoy this one!

Note from Jo: I had the privilege to attend – and take my kids to – a prescreening of this movie a few weeks ago. I have been a huge fan of all Beverly Cleary’s books since I first starting reading on my own. I was a little nervous of how the movie would compare to those books in my mind. Let’s just say, I was pleasantly surprised. Not every single part of the movie was the same (did you seriously think it would be?), but it stays pretty true to the original stories. My kids (4 1/2 and 9 years old) and I truly enjoyed this film, and it was nice to watch a movie with my girls that I loved as much as they did! My favorite scene: I have two. The hilarious water scene and the touching bedtime scene between sisters. That’s all I’m saying. You’ll have to check out the movie to find out more.

Oh, and I also had the honor to speak with both of the leading actresses (Joey King and Selena Gomez), so stay tuned for more on that later. I was impressed by these young ladies!

Disclaimer: This reviewer received free admittance to a press prescreening of Ramona and Beezus in exchange for an honest review of the film.

]]> http://creativekidsideas.com/2010/07/27/ramona-and-beezus-movie-review/feed/ 1 http://creativekidsideas.com/2010/07/08/fun-and-inexpensive-party-ideas-for-kids/ http://creativekidsideas.com/2010/07/08/fun-and-inexpensive-party-ideas-for-kids/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:30:44 +0000 Jo Brielyn http://creativekidsideas.com/?p=368 It’s party time! Whether the occasion is a child’s birthday, a holiday or simply an excuse to hang out with friends, planning and hosting a kids’ party is often a stressful event for parents. What’s a good party theme for children? Where do I find party games and activities? How can I host a fun party for the kids without breaking my budget? These are only a few of the panicky questions swarming in a parent’s mind at the mere thought of planning and hosting a party for children. Try these fun, low-cost party ideas for kids. They’ve all been kid tested and parent (and budget) approved.

Photo courtesy of: Jo Brielyn

Throwing a Curious George Party -

Throwing a Curious George Party offers tips and ideas for creating your own Curious George or monkey-related party invitations, baking and decorating this adorable Curious George cake, finding and creating your own inexpensive party hats and decorations, playing silly monkey games and stuffing your own cheap party favor bags. This fun Curious George themed kid’s party is sure to leave little monkeys and Curious George fans OOH-OOHing and AAH-AAHing.

Photo courtesy of: Jo Brielyn

How to Host a Mexican Fiesta -

Whether for a child’s birthday or Cinco de Mayo celebration, a Mexican Fiesta is always a hit with kids and parents. Bright colors, delicious food, lively music and games are trademarks of the Mexican culture and are easy and fun ways to liven up a party for kids. How to Host a Mexican Fiesta provides everything needed to plan and host a Mexican Fiesta guaranteed to have guests donning a sombrero and jumping off their feet to dance the Mexican Hat Dance in no time at all!

Photo courtesy of: Jo Brielyn

How to Throw a Western Cowboy Themed Party -

Treat the cowboy or cowgirl in your life to a good, old-fashioned western cowboy birthday party. Regardless of age or gender, people seem fascinated with horses, cowboys, and the Old West. How to Throw a Western Cowboy Themed Party takes you through the steps of creating unique Wild West WANTED poster invitations, making this fun horse cake, tips for decorating and preparing the party location and food offered, ideas for fun Western party games, and creative suggestions for Cowboy-themed party favors served up in a bandana.

Photo courtesy of: Jo Brielyn

How to Host a Manners Party for Kids -

A Manners Party theme is slightly different from most kids’ parties because it focuses more on learning proper etiquette and less on running around acting like, well, like children. The key to remember is even though this party is more subdued, it still offers plenty of fun for kids. How to Host a Manners Party for Kids addresses how to use a Manners Party to teach kids about good manners and allows them a fun, hands on opportunity to practice their newly learned skills. Allowing kids to exercise proper etiquette in an elegant, yet comfortable, environment is a realistic way for them to practice their manners. It’s also a thoughtful way for them to show appreciation to their loved ones.

Hosting a Wet and Wild Teen Birthday Party -

Your baby is officially no longer a sweet little child but a teenager! So, how do you throw a teen party that won’t leave them rolling their eyes is disgust? Try this Wet and Wild Teen Party with it’s “Spring Break” theme. Regardless of where you live, it’s possible to host a “Wet and Wild” beach party in your backyard or nearby park. Hosting a Wet and Wild Teen Birthday Party provides party tips for cheap, creative party invitations, cake and food ideas (no teen party is complete without lots of food), wet and wacky party games, and cheap party favors. Win cool points with your teen with this “Spring Break” party, minus the alcohol and naked coeds, of course! If you’re lucky, you may even managed to merit a smile or two from your teen and his or her friends.

I have created and hosted all of the kids’ party ideas included in this post, so please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding planning and hosting the parties. Also, if you have any other great party ideas to add, please post them in the comments sections so all the Creative Kids Ideas readers can benefit from your suggestions.

Best of luck and party on!