Pop The Balloon Create tons of anticipation and excitement for the kids as you countdown to the New Year on New Year’s Eve. Each hour have each child pop a balloon and complete the activity written on a piece of paper inside the balloon. I use the same color balloon for each child to make […]
Symbolism of the Colors of Kwanzaa Make a woven placemat for Kwanzaa. Only a few supplies are needed to make this inexpensive craft. Use red, green, and black paper because they are the symbolic colors of the holiday. Red represents the struggles of the African ancestors and the blood they shed. Black is used in […]
Christmas Eve Fun Many families leave cookies and milk for Santa, but what about his reindeer? Be sure to take this magic reindeer food and sprinkle on the lawn on Christmas Eve. On Christmas, Santa’s reindeer travel miles before the dawn. The smell of oats and glitter path will guide them on their way. And […]
Cooking With Kids I try baking a new recipe with my Nanny Kids each holiday season. The kids love gathering the ingredients needed, greasing the baking dish, measuring the ingredients, and mixing the recipe. This year I tried a recipe found on the back of a fresh “Top Crop” fresh cranberries. I love the tartness […]
Creative Christmas Craft Don’t throw out little crayon pieces that are too small for the kids to hold on to. Use them to create big, chunky crayons. We made multi-colored chunky Christmas tree crayons but you can make solid colored crayons if you prefer. We even wrapped some up to give as gifts to our friends. Melting […]
Nice List Certificate Nothing is more exciting then watching my Nanny Kid open her annual letter from Santa Claus. All you need is Internet access, a printer, printer paper, and an envelope to make your own letters from Santa and Nice List Certificate. There are dozens of businesses that can make letters from Santa to […]
Inexpensive Gifts and Treats In an attempt to make inexpensive holiday gifts with my Nanny Kids this year, we made these adorable hot chocolate or coffee stirrers. We used ingredients that we thought would make a mug of hot chocolate or coffee taste better. Wrap them up in cellophane and add a ribbon for holiday […]
Don’t Allow Kids to Negotiate In the book, Ignore It!: How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction author Catherine Pearlman explains that giving attention to children doesn’t necessarily mean happier and healthier kids. Selective ignoring bad, attention seeking behaviors helps minimize or eliminate the unwanted behaviors and increases […]
Weekly Trip to the Library Ignore It!: How Selectively Looking the Other Way Can Decrease Behavioral Problems and Increase Parenting Satisfaction is one of the best parenting and discipline books I have needed to read in many years. I have been guilty of being pulled into a battle of wills, arguing, negotiation, nagging, and begging […]
Cooking With Kids My nanny friends keep saying they feel guilty that they can’t afford to buy gifts for members of their Nanny Family this holiday season. Although in-home child care providers want to show appreciation to the parents of the children they care for, they should never be expected to buy gifts for their […]
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