Printable Christmas Books

Tags: Christmas books, Christmas gifts, gift giving, homemade gifts, printable, printable books, recipe books

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Wrapping paper, ribbons, tinsel, carols, candy canes. I can almost smell Christmas. That means at our house we are in the full swing of the preparation for this holiday, and I am doing what I can to help foster the spirit of giving with the kids. We love spending time making homemade gifts that will hopefully speak to the heart of the holiday, and as my kids will readily tell you, if I can combine the gift giving with a learning experience (the eternal homeschooler in me), it is the best present ever.

Free Printables for Christmas Gifts

When I was a little girl, my father always told me he only wanted me to give him gifts that I created with my own hands. This tradition we have been carrying on to our children, and encouraging them to give of themselves during the holidays. The following two printable books encourage kids to write, create, and give of themselves. Dad would be happy!

Christmas Recipe Book

Print these pages and have your little one compile all of his favorite recipes to present to someone as a Christmas gift. There are different styles of pages from which to choose, and room on each page for your child to either draw or take, print, and paste a picture of the finished product. Then staple, hole punch and tie with ribbon, or put into a folder.

Memory Book

Have your little one use this printable memory book to create a personalized gift for someone special – Grandma, an aunt or uncle, or even a special neighbor. There are pages on which to record special memories, and boxes where your kids can draw illustrations for each memory. Print all of the pages or just the ones you want – even just one page of a special memory is a great gift.

Coupons

My kids used to love to give coupons – for hugs, loading the dishwasher, making breakfast in bed, or anything else they thought the recipient would appreciate. Just print these basic templates and let your child decide what each person on his or her gift list might like.

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Nurturing Healthy Relationships Between Dads and their Little Girls

Your daughter’s dad is her GPS – Gender Positioning System – at least according to Peggy Drexler, Professor of Psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College and author of Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers and the Changing American Family. According to Drexler, girls grow up to be women who have learned how to orientate themselves in a “…fluid landscape of gender expectations.”

Fathers, intentionally or not, teach their daughters:

• How to interact with the opposite sex, including flirting
• How to communicate with men
• How to view themselves from a male perspective

The research conducted by Drexler, along with Dr. Margo Maine – author of Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters and Food – all shows that a disconnect between fathers and daughters can be responsible for things such as negative self-body images, anxiety, and even depression. As much as modern families are changing the landscape of family structures, the research continues to demonstrate that daughters seek out approval from their fathers, even when they are adults and can cognitively and logically determine that the relationship might not be a positive one. The emotional connections that daughters want from their dads seem to transcend the evolution of families.

How Can Dads Build Connections with Daughters?

One of my favorite memories as a mother was the day my husband and I brought home our first child – a daughter – as young, inexperienced, and awestruck new parents. Snuggling on the sofa with our tiny cargo, my husband looked into her sleeping face and said that this exact moment reminded him of the memories he had of childhood Christmas. Excitement, wonder, and total anticipation.

Somewhere along the way my daughter grew up to be a beautiful young woman who is preparing to graduate from high school and go on to college, and it is even more important than ever that she has a solid relationship with her dad. Researchers have long been studying the father/daughter connection and keep coming back to the same conclusions: daughters need their dads. So how can moms help encourage those relationships?

Don’t give a choice – Make sure there are opportunities for your little girl’s dad to be the caregiver, even (maybe especially) during those first months. I was still attending night classes, so my dear hubby had to care for our little girl. Bathe her, feed her, soothe her, and begin to build the relationship that she would need – will need – for the rest of her life. This also helped to build my husband’s confidence as a parent, something that would come in handy for our children to come.

Don’t force him to be you – Dads have a different way about them. They sing different songs (in my case a little old school rock), maybe care less about coordinating outfits, and might not understand that fruit snacks generally have little actual fruit value. The trade-off for your toddler singing AC/DC while visiting Grandma, wearing a hideous outfit, with a fruit snack in her hair, is a relationship she can lean upon when she needs that male rock.

Be a gentle interpreter – Through the tween and teenage years dads sometimes need a little help interpreting. They don’t always understand that when their 13 year old daughter comes home slamming doors but says nothing is wrong, and then cries because there is no peanut butter left, that it is likely not about the peanut butter. Many times, when the look of horror crossed my husband’s face because he just had no idea how so few words could be so confusing, I would gently pull him aside and explain what I think might be going through our daughter’s mind. I don’t need to tell him how to react to it, I just need to interpret it so he can make a plan – whether it is buy more PB or ask her if she wants to go for a bike ride.

Give him a behind the scenes preview, not a play-by-play – Try to help keep your daughter’s dad up to speed on your daughter’s friends, boyfriends, academics, athletics, and all of the things that keep her so busy 24/7, but don’t give him the play-by-play unless he asks for it. Sometimes dads just want to know the facts – not how people were feeling about the facts.

Thank him – When you see your daughter’s dad extending his thoughts, energies, and affection to your daughter, tell him how much that means to you. Dads are doing this for the first time, too, and a little encouragement can go a long way. Remember – it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be present.

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Raising Writers and Readers

Tags: free printable, lesson plan, poetry, poetry lesson plan, printables, reluctant writers

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Free Lesson Plan and Tips

You don’t have to be raising a Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson to feel the joy of poetry in your home. And not only is poetry fun for kids to hear you read (and for them to read to themselves), poetry is an excellent way to encourage reluctant writers to explore their creativity. Poetry can be less intimidating to write because you aren’t required to write tedious things like introductory paragraphs and closing sentences. When you introduce your kids to some of the basics in poetry, it can help give them the structure they need so they don’t feel like they have to rhyme all the time.

Use this free, printable lesson plan for introducing your kids to poetry. It covers:

• Vocabulary related to poetry
•  Acrostic poems
• Cinquains
• Haikus
• And includes printable forms for your kids to use to write their own poems

Why is Poetry Important?

Poetry is a time tested branch of writing and literature that still attracts readers. A study of poetry in the United Kingdom revealed that children appear to be drawn to poetry because of:

• Rhythm and rhyming (62%)
• Humor (36%)
• Repetition of sounds helps improve kids memories (34%)

Poetry is also attributed to sparking the imagination of kids, bringing families together and creating new memories, expanding vocabulary, and providing an outlet for stress.

Poetry Foundation – This wonderful organization promotes poetry for the young and old (and everyone in between), and their website includes a wonderful section for children. Check out some of their videos that explore the imagery of poems – ones that kids will want to watch again and again.

Poetry4Kids – This is a wonderful resource for parents and teachers, offering descriptions of poems, games, contests, and opportunities for kids to publish their poems online.

Mr. R’s World of Math Science – You might not think that science and math have much to do with poems, but this is a great resource site for poems that aid in kids’ memories related to science and mathematics. It might also inspire your budding scientists to develop their own poems that will improve their studying habits. Science Poems

Great Poems for Kids

I’m a firm believer in reading classic poetry to kids – like Frost and Dickinson – but I also incorporate lots of modern poets that help grab the kids’ attention and set their imaginations in motion.

• Shel Silverstein
• Song lyrics
• Eric Carle
• Dr. Seuss (my dad even used The Cat in the Hat as an example in the junior high English class he taught)
• Jack Prelutsky
• Lilian Moore
• Billy Collins
• So many more – go to your library and find the fun!

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Giving Kids the Ability to Discern

The more rules you create, the more opportunities your kids will find for loopholes through which they can jump like trained acrobatic monkeys. And believe it or not, some rules are made to be broken. Think of some rules in your own home – there are likely those that are there for safety, moral and social development, and personal preferences. Rules tend to be those rigid, solid expectations we put forth in our homes, tempered with expectations and guidelines.

A researcher from the University of California, Kristin Hansen Lagattuta, PhD, has studied the correlation between rules, rule breaking, and childhood development. The results of her studies indicate that between the ages of 4 and 7 children go through a transitional phase that takes them from rule breaking for selfish reasons (I want to), to more complex reasons (I feel I need to). By age 7 children also start to recognize the differences in the types of rules that are established – those they feel can’t or shouldn’t be broken for moral reasons they understand, and those rules that sometimes need to be broken because they intrude on a sense of self-worth, value, or intrinsic need.

By age 7 children also start to discern for themselves those feelings that are associated with rule breaking – the turning in the pit of the stomach because you know you just did something you shouldn’t have, and the satisfaction of self-control that you feel when you know you want to break the rule but you don’t. Kids are also at this age developing the maturity (developing – not mastering) needed to recognize when it is OK to break rules.

Why is Rule Breaking Important?

Children are the masters of “the exception to the rule” – playing those games and asking questions that challenge the basic rules. “What if a bear came in the house – would I really have to stay in my chair during dinner?” What kids are asking for is an out – a get out of jail free card. And it is OK to give that to them. Think of all the rules we have, but we don’t want our kids to live by them so extremely that the rules put their safety or their development at risk.

Be Careful of the Always and Nevers – They are the Most Dangerous Rules

Always do what your coaches/teachers/leaders tell you to do.

My 1^st grader (and us as parents) got caught in this rule that we reminded him of every day before t-ball practice. And then one day after he practice he came to me and said, “Mom – I think I did something wrong. But I was just listening to Coach like you tell me to do.” When I asked him to explain I found out that “Coach” – a high school boy – had asked my son to deliver a message to the high school girl who was helping at practice. Unbeknownst to my son, the message had sexual overtones (and undertones), and the high school girl began yelling at “Coach”. My son knew from the reaction that he shouldn’t have said what he said, even though he didn’t understand all of the words. He said he also had a “feeling in his stomach” that he should deliver the message, just from the way “Coach” said it. From that day forward we had a new rule in our family. Listen to your coaches, use your best judgment, and question authority if you really feel it is needed.

Never break promises or secrets.

The truth is that there are some secrets and promises that kids shouldn’t be asked to keep. We need to teach our kids the differences between those secrets that are safe to keep (which Christmas presents are hidden away for Dad), and those secrets that are dangerous.

• Adults should never ask kids to keep secrets from their parents about where they go, who they see, and what they do.
• Secrets that give kids the “turning stomach feeling” are probably not good secrets. Encourage your kids to come to you if they are asked to keep secrets that make their tummies turn.
• Don’t punish or criticize kids for breaking these kinds of secrets. It takes bravery to come forward and ask adults if secrets are OK.

Rules are needed for a reason – traffic safety, moral compasses, and even business matters all require rules and standards. However, if we only teach our kids to be rule followers, they won’t be able to grow to be trail leaders.

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5 Homemade Gifts Your Kids Can Make

Tags: Christmas, gift giving, gifts, gratitude, holidays, homemade gifts, presents

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The only gift is a portion of thyself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s that time of year again when the gift lists start rolling in and the kids are scrawling their secret notes to Santa. But it is also the best time of year to encourage kids to focus on making gifts for others and sharing their own talents and treasures.

All that is left of Thanksgiving are the last crumbs of pumpkin pie and some green bean casserole you’re just not sure you want to save for another day’s leftovers. For some, this means it is Cyber Monday Mania – virtual shopping carts are overflowing and they’re ready to make the Fed Ex man work overtime. In our home, however, the Monday after Thanksgiving represents Make It Yourself Monday – the day we kick off our Christmas gift giving with a plan for all of the gifts we want to make this year. I want the focus in our home to keep close in our hearts the real reason for Christmas, and encouraging the kids to share those portions of “thyself” is a great way to do this.

1. Bookmarks

Each year everyone in the family receives at least one book, so for years my kids have been creating homemade bookmarks to give as gifts. These can be as simple as a rectangular piece of paper that they kids decorate, or an elaborate jewelry bookmark like this kind my daughter made one year. You can also try these ideas that my kids have enjoyed making (and are planning to make this year).

• Favorite quotes – Have your kids write the favorite quotes that remind them of the gift recipient. Maybe Grandpa always greets your boys with, “Ahoy, mates!” – or you daughter shares a special goodnight saying or prayer with her dad. These things can be written on the bookmark on one side, and leave the other side for decorating.
• Special memories – Take the same idea of the favorite quotes and encourage your kids to write down a special memory of the gift recipient. The gift becomes so much more than a bookmark – it is a reminder of the impact that person has on the life of the child.
• A picture is worth a thousand words – Have the kids take pictures of things up close (so large details show) with a digital camera and then make a collage of them. Print these as a rectangular bookmark and laminate them. Your kids can then hole punch the top and attach a ribbon or yarn.
• Corner page bookmarks – This is on the agenda for my kids to make this year. Even though the picture shows a monster theme (maybe not quite a Christmas theme), these are still adorable for kids, and they can be presented over the curve part of a candy cane – as if the monster is eating the treat – and then used as a bookmark.

2. Wooden Christmas Tree

Inspired by what he saw shopping one day at Target, my 11-year-old is making these for some special people in his life, and he can make 3 for the cost of buying one (even though making it homemade is priceless).

Supplies

• 1×1 or 1×2 strips of wood (the lengths of which depends on the size tree you want)
• Dowel rods (to hold the tree together)
• A piece of wood for the base (my son plans on make a mini tree skirt to cover the base)
• A star or angel for the top (look at the thrift store for miniature ornaments)
• Paint
• Extra – we have large wooden beads that my son is using to separate the layers of wood and give the tree another dimension
• A drill

3. Button ornaments

The same craft son who is making the wooden Christmas tree has also made Button Buddies, and these cute ideas for button ornaments at the Martha Stewart site are an easy way to use up old buttons. If you don’t have buttons, look at the thrift store or the clearance section of the home décor store.

4. Patchwork journal

Try this cute idea for a patchwork journal. You can use themed fabric, such as comics, flowers, or even character fabrics (they have everything from Mickey Mouse to Dora and in between) you can find at your local fabric store. Search your scrap fabric drawer or the remnant aisle for the best bargains – you only need small bits of fabric.

5. Quotable quotes

My kids and their friends are always sharing inside jokes, repeating their favorite “sayings”,reciting lines from movies, and using their own slang versions of words. These magnet gifts are clever ways for kids to make personalized magnets that represent these quotable quotes.

If you’re still short on ideas, take your kids shopping for inspirations. You might find a Christmas tree craft you could make on your own like my son did, or perhaps become inspired to come up with your unique gift ideas. Making homemade gifts with your kids helps to keep the focus on the giving, builds gratitude, and it also teaches kids about intention and purpose of gifts.

It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving. ~ Mother Teresa

Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BetterParenting/~3/uREpF4RwgZ8/

5 Homemade Gifts Your Kids Can Make

Tags: Christmas, gift giving, gifts, gratitude, holidays, homemade gifts, presents

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The only gift is a portion of thyself. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s that time of year again when the gift lists start rolling in and the kids are scrawling their secret notes to Santa. But it is also the best time of year to encourage kids to focus on making gifts for others and sharing their own talents and treasures.

All that is left of Thanksgiving are the last crumbs of pumpkin pie and some green bean casserole you’re just not sure you want to save for another day’s leftovers. For some, this means it is Cyber Monday Mania – virtual shopping carts are overflowing and they’re ready to make the Fed Ex man work overtime. In our home, however, the Monday after Thanksgiving represents Make It Yourself Monday – the day we kick off our Christmas gift giving with a plan for all of the gifts we want to make this year. I want the focus in our home to keep close in our hearts the real reason for Christmas, and encouraging the kids to share those portions of “thyself” is a great way to do this.

1. Bookmarks

Each year everyone in the family receives at least one book, so for years my kids have been creating homemade bookmarks to give as gifts. These can be as simple as a rectangular piece of paper that they kids decorate, or an elaborate jewelry bookmark like this kind my daughter made one year. You can also try these ideas that my kids have enjoyed making (and are planning to make this year).

• Favorite quotes – Have your kids write the favorite quotes that remind them of the gift recipient. Maybe Grandpa always greets your boys with, “Ahoy, mates!” – or you daughter shares a special goodnight saying or prayer with her dad. These things can be written on the bookmark on one side, and leave the other side for decorating.
• Special memories – Take the same idea of the favorite quotes and encourage your kids to write down a special memory of the gift recipient. The gift becomes so much more than a bookmark – it is a reminder of the impact that person has on the life of the child.
• A picture is worth a thousand words – Have the kids take pictures of things up close (so large details show) with a digital camera and then make a collage of them. Print these as a rectangular bookmark and laminate them. Your kids can then hole punch the top and attach a ribbon or yarn.
• Corner page bookmarks – This is on the agenda for my kids to make this year. Even though the picture shows a monster theme (maybe not quite a Christmas theme), these are still adorable for kids, and they can be presented over the curve part of a candy cane – as if the monster is eating the treat – and then used as a bookmark.

2. Wooden Christmas Tree

Inspired by what he saw shopping one day at Target, my 11-year-old is making these for some special people in his life, and he can make 3 for the cost of buying one (even though making it homemade is priceless).

Supplies

• 1×1 or 1×2 strips of wood (the lengths of which depends on the size tree you want)
• Dowel rods (to hold the tree together)
• A piece of wood for the base (my son plans on make a mini tree skirt to cover the base)
• A star or angel for the top (look at the thrift store for miniature ornaments)
• Paint
• Extra – we have large wooden beads that my son is using to separate the layers of wood and give the tree another dimension
• A drill

3. Button ornaments

The same craft son who is making the wooden Christmas tree has also made Button Buddies, and these cute ideas for button ornaments at the Martha Stewart site are an easy way to use up old buttons. If you don’t have buttons, look at the thrift store or the clearance section of the home décor store.

4. Patchwork journal

Try this cute idea for a patchwork journal. You can use themed fabric, such as comics, flowers, or even character fabrics (they have everything from Mickey Mouse to Dora and in between) you can find at your local fabric store. Search your scrap fabric drawer or the remnant aisle for the best bargains – you only need small bits of fabric.

5. Quotable quotes

My kids and their friends are always sharing inside jokes, repeating their favorite “sayings”,reciting lines from movies, and using their own slang versions of words. These magnet gifts are clever ways for kids to make personalized magnets that represent these quotable quotes.

If you’re still short on ideas, take your kids shopping for inspirations. You might find a Christmas tree craft you could make on your own like my son did, or perhaps become inspired to come up with your unique gift ideas. Making homemade gifts with your kids helps to keep the focus on the giving, builds gratitude, and it also teaches kids about intention and purpose of gifts.

It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving. ~ Mother Teresa

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Without Money Becoming the Most Valuable Thing

Money doesn’t grow on trees. Money can’t buy happiness. Money talks. And the new one my daughter recently shared with me… M.O.M. stands for Made of Money. Teaching kids the value of money, without letting money become a core value, is a challenging job. Our kids are exposed to so much commercialism, and it is only natural that they get excited about the thing that often cost money – toys, trips, things. But statistics in the United States show that we need to do so much more when it comes to financial knowledge and our kids.

During the holidays it can be even more overwhelming to try to teach financial literacy to our kids, but there are some tools we can use to see our families safely through to the other side of Christmas without our kids, and us, going mad over money.

1. Use Bankaroo, the Free Financial Planning App for Kids

If you’re kids are asking for money left and right, or see stars light up when they receive gifts of Christmas money, help them to make good financial decisions by using this free app, Bankaroo, that will help them make financial goals and help you see where they still need some help. This app allows you to work with your kids in a virtual world that can imitate their real financial goals.

• Users can input how much money they have in a savings account, how much allowance (if any) is received, and if there are any matching funds.
• Kids can track their deposits and withdrawals, allowing for recurring deposits and withdrawals and one time transactions.
• There is an entire section devoted to making goals – why I like this program the most. Kids record financial goals – buying a new bike, saving to make a donation or buy a gift, etc., and then track how they meet those goals. (Just a programming note – when you enter your goal amount, don’t include the $ symbol or it will not read your amount correctly – so instead of $25, just type in 25.)
• Kids can also earn virtual badges for various accomplishments.

2. Take Them Shopping with a Purpose and a Plan

I am recovering from a night of shopping the Black Friday deals with 3 teenagers. We made lists, made plans, and then hit the stores. And through it all we talked about prices, needs vs. wants, and why we were making purchases. To help you guide your kids through holiday shopping and teach them how to make good decisions, try asking the following question (of yourself and them).

Why am I buying this item? If the answer is only “because it is a good deal,” then ask yourself if that is a responsible spending decision.

Put your kids in control of the finances, and shop with cash. It is amazing how much power those two things have on our spending.

• Our exchange student has to manage his money judiciously, and he even remarked that it is so amazing how much more he pays attention to his spending because it is his own money. Help your kids determine their budget, and let them spend their own money. Money mistakes are much more powerful in their lessons when it is your own money.
• Shopping actually puts you in control of spending. There is a finite amount in your hand and you are much more likely to spend it wisely.

You can also teach your kids about financial responsibility, especially during the holidays, by setting some parameters for holiday spending.

• Set a family budget. You can get detailed about how much per child is typically spent, or at least create a budget for other expenses (How much do you spend on Aunt Sally and the cousins each year?).
• Set spending limits for gifts, especially for extended family.
• Set priorities and realistic expectations. Even when my kids were small and would write letters to Santa, they knew to choose 2 or 3 top things on their lists, and they just knew Santa wouldn’t be delivering a pony or new full-sized airplane.
• Be a good example. Last night when I was elbow to elbow with other shoppers, and face to face with “good deals”, I would stick to my lists that we made ahead of time.

3. Focus on the Free and the Fun

Yes – toys and gadgets are part of the draw of excitement for the holidays. And if you’re like me, there is a strong, faith-filled reason why I want my kids to be celebrating (and it doesn’t involve celebrating the latest i-Anything). The spirit of Christmas can still be filled with wonderful activities and opportunities, and celebrating these with your kids places the emphasis on what matters in your life.

Take advantage of free and fun activities in your communities.

• Concerts at churches and other local venues
• Parades of lights
• Holiday plays
• Volunteering
• Watching Christmas movies together
• Baking holiday treats together to share with neighbors and friends
• So much more!

When you fill their hearts and minds with memories and purpose, there is less focus on filling their stockings with gifts. 83% of college students have at least one credit card, and the average debt is $2000. Let’s help our kids figure out how to manage and control their money before they find that the bills are controlling them. The season of giving is the perfect time to give our kids lessons about financial responsibility.

It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy. ~George Horace Lorimer

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How Old Should Kids Be Before They Can Date?

Hanging out. Going out. Dating. Going with. Group dating. Hooking up. Gulp. Suddenly potty training and teaching the kids to tie their shoes seems so much easier. But as a dear friend reminded me of my own words recently, we need to try to be conscious parents, and the world of teens needs us to be conscious and caffeinated-beyond-belief when it comes to dating.

And this leads to the age-old question: How old do kids need to be in order to date?

As I’ve been finding out, that answer is different for every household, and some of the answers might surprise you (at both ends of the spectrum). I know families who don’t have age minimums, even on group dating, and their 12 year-old can have an un-chaperoned date. But I also know families who believe that dating is only to be used as an immediate step before marriage – so nothing is allowed until that child is essentially no longer a child.

According to research and author David Elkind (The Hurried Child), dating – which is considered to be the change of a relationship from just friends to something on a romantic scale – should not be considered for most kids younger than 14 years of age.

• Kids younger than 14 don’t tend to have the social skills needed for dating. They try to emulate relationships based on television characters rather than on personal, healthy needs.
• Teens younger than 14 have often not yet developed their own identities. They simply are not sure who they are, so they have a much more difficult time determining who might be a good fit in their lives.
• Young teenagers and tweens have a more difficult time resisting peer pressure – which can result in poor decisions when it comes to sex, alcohol and drugs, violence, emotional abuse, and more.
• Kids younger than 14 who date lose out on the value of friendships – the guys playing ball in the yard together, the sleepovers with best friends – because these things are no longer a priority.
• Young teens are not always equipped with the maturity needed for a dating relationship, and they are at increased risks for premature sexual relationships. The younger teens are when they start dating, the more likely they are to become sexually active during their teenage years.

How Do I Know My Child is Ready to Date?

I admit that for me, it was easier to assign a number to this issue (and I felt like 25 years-old was a good age to start…), but the more I parent and the more conscious I become, the more I see that age and readiness are two vastly different points. Dr. Elkind feels that 14 years is an appropriate age for kids to be allowed to date (and many other professionals agree with him), but it is the general sense of readiness that he describes that I agree with more.

• Social maturity
• Emotional maturity
• Intellectual maturity

All of these three ingredients need to be on board in order for parents to consider the readiness of their kids and dating. Without these, our kids aren’t going to be coming to us and talking with us about these relationships and aren’t going to be able to make the safe and responsible decisions that dating requires.

Above all – we need to work to make sure that our relationships with our kids are ready for them to begin dating. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do we talk openly about the responsibilities of dating – emotionally, socially, etc.?
• Does my child come to me with questions?
• Am I available for my child when he or she has questions?
• Are my kids and I discussing both of our expectations when it comes to dating?

Define these terms with your kids: hanging out, going out, going with, dating, group dating, hooking up

Focus more on the expectations and responsibilities than the age, and if you are honest with yourself, you will likely see that tweens just don’t have the developmental capacity for dating, just as preschoolers don’t have the developmental capacity to be left home alone.

Listen first. If you are fortunate to have your kids come to you about dating, take a deep breath and listen first. Then take some time to formulate your responses, and avoid the knee-jerk “You can date when you’re 25!” response. Otherwise it might be one of the last times your kids come to you about dating.

Talk with other parents and ask questions. While I admit that it can be an awkward conversation to have, ask the other parents why types of conversation they are having with their kids.

• What are the expectations of the kids?
• Who will be there?
• Who will be driving your kids to and from the activity?
• Is there a back-up plan? (If the movie is sold out, do the kids have plans and permission to do something else?)

Look for Red Flags

Unaware – Parents who aren’t aware that the other person exists or that they are “hanging out” with your child aren’t having conversations with their kids about the situation. This doesn’t mean that they are bad parents – it just means that somewhere along the way something went amiss. Maybe the teen thought their parent wouldn’t understand, didn’t care, or would be too restrictive. The point is that if the other parents aren’t aware of the (potential) relationship, then it is time to turn on the lights for everyone.

Secrecy – If your teen doesn’t want you to meet his or her friend, or insists that your house is too boring so the movie-watching and hanging-out time is always done elsewhere, this can be a red flag. Sure, it might just mean that your teen is having typical “my family is a bunch of aliens and I can’t relate to them” moment, but when it comes to teens and dating, embarrassment of family is just not an option. The secrecy might also mean that the teens aren’t supervised elsewhere, and have way too many opportunities for alone time.

Violence – Dating violence is a frightening reality. Parents need to have ongoing discussions about dating violence, and help their kids define the term. Some kids think that it is only violence if there is blood or bruising, but we need to let our kids know that dating violence often reveals itself as controlling behaviors and demeaning words. Make sure your kids know how to participate in a relationship without violence.

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The Funnies are Serious Business

Tags: comics, education, free printable, graphic novels, printables, prtinable, reading, reluctant readers, writing

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How Comics Can Help with Reading and Writing Skills

It honestly didn’t really register with me that it counted as reading. That is before I had a son who only really wanted to read in short bursts – like how his brain operated for many things. Before I realized it he was hooked on comics, and I learned to appreciate the short, witty, and sometimes confusing world of comics and graphic novels. This child went from rolling his eyes towards the Heavens to having a favorite aisle in the library (all kids need favorite aisles in the library!).

Encouraging Reading Through Comics

In order to keep him reading, I helped him find every kind of comic book in the library, and we used graphic novels for deeper subjects. He also took a short comic writing class with his brothers and some friends. In the end, his heart belongs to old-school Garfield, but if you flash the comic section of a newspaper he will race to be the first to read that page (all kids should race to read something!). Researchers and educators have noticing the power of comics and reading as well.

• Comics tend to be shorter and more manageable.
• Comics are reliable – they use the same characters strip after strip.
• Kids are more likely to read when the material is something they enjoy.
• Graphic novels are drawing older reluctant readers into the joy of reading.

Encouraging Writing Through Comics

Then I also noticed a trend in my son’s writing – he began to be eager to write when he could write as a comic strip. If I would ask him to write anything else, it was usually met with moans and more rolling eyes to the Heavens. But if he can convey his thoughts in a comic strip – he gladly fills the page. So we write with comics – and he his spelling and punctuation have soared. When it comes to writing, comics offer lots of wonderful opportunities.

• Kids learn how to write dialogue.
• Kids learn how to formulate internal dialogue in the forms of thought bubbles.
• Kids learn how to sequence their sentences and tell stories.
• Kids can express themselves artistically as well, and the pressure is taken off of just their writing abilities.

If you have reluctant readers or writers (or just kids who want to explore something new), take a look at these lesson plans for teaching all about the basics of comics. Then encourage your kids to develop their own comic strips. Read comics with your kids and point out the different basic parts (listed below and in the printable) of comic strips.

• Printable Activity for Kids and Comics

Basic Parts of a Comic

Panels – These are what most of us probably think of when it comes to comics – the square or rectangular boxes that form together to make a comic strip. You might also see circular panels in some comics.

• Blank panels of 3 – a comic strip – in a rectangular pattern
• Blank panels with gutters

Balloons – These are where the words and thoughts of the comic characters come to life, and are often referred to as thought bubbles or speech balloons. The thought bubbles usually have a series of small bubbles leading to a larger “thought” – somewhat like a cloud, and tell us what the characters are thinking. Speech balloons usually have some sort of tapered line or shape, called pointers, that lead from the speech bubble to the character who is saying the words.

Splashes – There are two main kinds of splashes – splash balloons and a general splash. Splash balloons are those dramatic, jagged shapes that you would see enclosing words like “Pow!” or “Yikes!”. One splash usually refers to a title panel or one, large panel that is very dramatic.

Gutter – Just like it sounds, this is the extra space in a comic strip. There are typically no other drawings in these spaces, which are usually narrow strips between panels, but some artists do bleed the panels into this space.

For other tips to help your reluctant readers and writers, try these printable activities.

writing activities

reading lists for older kids

reading printables

writing printables

reluctant readers no-more

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We are in a snow globe, sitting peacefully amid the plastic, waterproof flakes, and suddenly someone gives us a shake. Then as the flakes swirl, the annoying shaker decides to unleash a full maraca-style shake action on us and we are left dizzy, unable to see clearly, and disorientated. This is how life feels in my house the past two years when it comes to traditions, and I’m struggling as a mom to help my children settle amid the blizzard. Our traditions for holidays, birthdays, and even just those little, comforting traditions have become jumbled. We watched a dear loved one become ill with cancer, mashed and mixed up life to be with her as much as possible, and then had to say good-bye. We have watched close loved ones move away. My parents are now snowbirds, so Christmas traditions suddenly blew away, and other family dynamics have changed so much that sometimes it doesn’t seem like we are even in the right place – our globe just doesn’t feel like our own.

Building Traditions with Kids

Ask my husband – I’m nuts about traditions. And I am not alone (or even too crazy) for feeling this way. According to research, Dr. Martin Cohen says that children are drawn to rituals and traditions, “artistically, spiritually and emotionally.” Traditions also help to provide our kids with healthy foundations that:

• Strengthen core beliefs
• Build self-esteem
• Give tools with which to deal with stress, fear, and anxiety
• Provide kids with a sense of control, security, and continuity

When we provide routines and traditions for our children, we are giving them more than memories in their scrapbooks. We are using those rituals to help shape who our children are, and who they will become.

5 Ways to Develop Rituals with Kids

We’ve been sorting through family photographs and mementos, separating each into different storage totes for each child, and reliving memories. My kids are at ages where there are striking differences between my memory of that day in the mall, sitting on Santa’s lap, and the memory my child has of Santa’s stinky breath, yet super soft voice. Research also shows that there are different reasons why our kids remember certain aspects of their childhood, and what we can do to strengthen those memories.

• If you want them to remember it – do it more than once. Think about the things you remember from childhood. They are the routines – watching movies together on Friday nights, stopping for doughnuts after church, looking for constellations as you drove home from Grandma’s house – these small things we do without great planning, but they were done often.
• Write it down. If your child is too young to tell you how she feels, write down her reactions to certain things. If you kids are old enough, ask them to dictate the memories and record their thoughts on the backs of pictures, as captions on digital pictures, and in journals you keep together.
• Record their stories. Video and voice recordings are priceless keepsakes. One of my favorite things my husband has done is to record the voices of our kids at different ages – just simple things like saying (or trying to say) their names, saying phrases such as, “I love you, Mommy”, and capturing their laughter in audio files. (The kids absolutely love to listen to these as well, and it only takes seconds to record.)
• Have them choose their favorite drawings and school papers – their reasons matter to them and they will know why it has been saved. You can keep some of your favorites, too, but the memories will be more meaningful for your kids if they had a say in which items were kept.
• Save a few tangibles – their baby hat, first keychain, or first pair of glasses. My children love to touch and hold the items that they remember cherishing. My 9 year-old still has the teddy bear his siblings picked out for him before he was even born.

Building Traditions with Kids

Sometimes we get so busy with the day-to-day craziness that we lose sight of all the ways we have the opportunities to build traditions with our kids. According to publications from Ohio State University, there are 3 main types of traditions parents should recognize for their kids:

1. Celebrations – These are traditions built around special occasions such as holidays and birthdays.
2. Family Traditions – These are specific traditions that are unique to individual families, such as Friday night game night, summer vacations at Grandma’s, etc.
3. Pattered Family Interactions – These are routines that we often forget help to create traditions that are important to our kids, even small things such as morning routines, who cooks dinner, reading together in the evening, etc.

What to do When Traditions End

It just isn’t the same. I’ve heard those words a lot in my house over the past two years, and my heart sags each time my kids say this phrase, for I am feeling it, too. However, we are slowly emerging from the sadness of losing some traditions and getting excited as we start to build new ones. If your family is struggling, especially this holiday season, with trying to build new traditions and rituals, try some of these ideas.

• Volunteer together. Nothing makes me and my kids stop the pity-party like volunteering to help someone less fortunate, and the volunteer opportunities can serve as new rituals for your own family.
• Start small. Sometimes when I see my kids sad about a tradition ending as life events have changed things beyond our control, I want to wave my Magical Mom Wand and make a grand gesture that will distract them. But trying to overdo new traditions can backfire. Can you really keep topping it each year? Instead of going all out, try getting back to the basics of the tradition.
• Think outside the box. Get creative in your solutions and try celebrating in ways that are non-traditional. If birthday celebrations are the source of sadness because of a loss in your family, spend a year celebrating half-birthdays.
• Don’t try to recreate. My mom always hosted the most magical Christmas Eve celebrations for our family, but now we are a country apart and my kids still miss that magic. The first year I fretted over how I would duplicate what Mom did, but then I realized that what I needed to do was create new traditions for my family.

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