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A fun idea from the Girl Scouts
Daryl picked up an old Girl Scout book and it had this fabulous idea in it. Go on a paint chip hunt! Grab some paint chip cards from your local home improvement store in an assortment of colors and then head out to try to find matches.
For a related
idea, Magical Daddy Daryl got some wood samples from a home improvement
store last year and had the kids go around the house matching up wood tones.
It kept them happily busy for a surprisingly long time!
A reader shared....
a woman i clean for used to be a teacher, her wonderful idea is:
take a metal
nuts and bolts container (purchase at hardware store, it has numerous drawers
in it) she puts sticky alphabet letters on the drawers and then she places
items with that letter in the drawers, she had enough drawers to also include
numbers 1-10, and again placed the items that coincide with the numbers!
i think
it is a great idea!!!
I agree!
Thanks!
Instructions
for kids to make a "Do it yourself Yearbook":
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/ch_friendshipalbums.html
Good news for low income families...
Harvard
is now offering free tuition for students that have a family income
below $40,000.
http://adm-is.fas.harvard.edu/FAO/index.htm
Princeton has
a similar program, with reduced tuition for middle income families: http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/01/q1/0127-aid.htm
The University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has a program that allows low-income students
to work 10-15 hours a week on campus and graduate debt free: http://www.unc.edu/news/newsserv/archives/oct03/covenant100103.html
This site has
lots of college information, including bulletin boards on subjects from
financial aid to SAT preparation to information for homeschoolers: http://www.collegeconfidential.com
Got broken
crayons? Here's a fun idea to turn them into a cool t-shirt...
http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/tshirt.html
Got
ants?
Magical
Mama Claire shared this non-toxic alternative for dealing with them:
Just
before ant season starts, I go to Costco and buy a gallon of cheap maple
syrup and uncork the thing outside. I set it under the deck, near
where the ants seem to want to enter our home. The kids don't go
under there and - by providing outside food for the ants - the ants stay
out. Plus, it's not poisonous to anyone.
Magical
Mama Suzanne recommends this site full of rules for jump rope rhymes, playground
games and more: http://www.gameskidsplay.net./
Fun!!
Here are many really good suggestions for what to do when nursing babies start to nibble... http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/biting.html
Here's
a cool craft for older kids. Make a blue jean journal...
http://www.geocities.com/kraftproject/craft-blue-jean-journal.html
"Every child is an artist. The
problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
10 Ways to Make Today Magical...
1. Go rock hunting together. Pick any spot with lots of stones and look for ones that are particularly beautiful, sparkly or cute. Compare rocks when you're done and pick a few to bring home.
2. Make a garden sculpture. Scavenge at the garage or basement for assorted odd parts that nobody wants. Add some wire, electrical tape or anything else you fancy to hold your parts together and have the kids create something wild and wonderful.
3. Gather up old, stale spices and let the kids take them outside to "cook" with. Save empty containers to fill with sand, dirt or crushed leaves. Give them a couple of bowls to mix their creations in and spoons to stir.
4. Go puddle stomping.
5. Go for a bird walk to see how many different birds you can find and ID. Bring a bird guide if you like or start a journal to document how many kinds you've spotted.
6. Fill some squirt guns or spray bottles with water and have the kids spray designs on the side of the house or the driveway. Invite them to draw pictures with the water and see if they can write their names.
7. Lie on your backs in the grass and cloud watch.
8. Hold a carnival in the back yard. Rig up some easy contests (knock over pop bottles with bean bags, toss the ball into the bucket and so on) and get extra toys or stuffed animals that can be passed on. Invite friends and ask them to contribute their own games and prizes.
9. Make up your own super heroes and super villains and act out a scene together. Our girls were recently Butterfly Girl and Fashion Queen and they attacked the Evil Messy Haired Daddy. (Snort) The campier the better!
10. Pick out an exotic new food from the ethnic food section of the supermarket to try together. Have you tried Grass Jelly drink from Japan? Perhaps some mango syrup from Mexico? Once a week, agree one strange new food to sample. Don't forget to get out a map to find its origin.
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And with that, I'm out the door! I'm foolish enough to fly across the U.S. alone with 3 small children. Please send lots of good flight vibes!
Kiss your babies, count your blessings and don't forget to take extra good care of you!
Till next
time,
Alicia
.....................................
A Magical Childhood
http://www.magicalchildhood.com
Copyright 2004, Alicia Bayer
A Magical Childhood Newsletter is just something I throw together because I love children and those who love them. To subscribe, send a message to abayer@rrcnet.org. We do not use ads. It's not about money. :)
Feel free to pass this on. Don't steal it,
that would be rude.