Wednesdays with Whitney Only one more day until Thanksgiving! Feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of keeping the entire kiddie table occupied for the day? Keep these games on hand to keep the kids busy and the parents child free. Thanksgiving Tic Tac Toe Put a holiday twist on this classic game by using mini pumpkins […]
How a Natural Disaster Can Make Us Grateful, Not Envious I still feel cold after 12-days without heat and power at my employer’s house due to the high winds of Hurricane Sandy. I have neighbors who have major damage to their homes, neighbors that have family members that have lost their homes and all their material belongings, and I even know one nanny […]
Nannies and Au Pairs Should Help Keep Things Calm During the Holidays The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone, especially children. Busy parents, a hectic and disjointed schedule, and time off from structured school activities all add up to an unhappy child. What can you do to help? As the nanny or au […]
Do You Share Thanksgiving with Your Employers?By Farrah, Nanny, Los Angeles, CA As a live-in nanny in Los Angeles, originally from Louisiana, I celebrate Thanksgiving with my employer’s family each year. The entire extended family comes for the big dinner in which my employers absolutely refuse to let me work. They don’t allow me to […]
Weekly Trip to the Library In the spirit of Thanksgiving (coming up on Thursday) I borrowed some books from the library about thankfulness and the many blessings we have, rather than specifically about the holiday of Thanksgiving. I think these are great choices for children to share the spirit of Thanksgiving. Of course if you […]
The Nanny and ThanksgivingDo you resent the kids you care for have many more material possessions than you do? Thanksgiving is the must-be-there time for family reunions and family feasts. Thanksgiving is our only true national holiday, especially if you exclude the Super Bowl. And the holiday is an opportune time for reflection about the nature […]
Celebrating ThanksgivingBy Carleton Kendrick, Ed.M., LCSWIn our journey to Thanksgiving we’ve been discussing how to teach kid to be grateful. Here are some suggestions from familyeducation.com. How can we give thanks every day?Keep “gratitude journals;” set aside time for family prayer; try to be more physically affectionate with one another; make an effort to express […]
The Last Working Day Before ThanksgivingThis is your last working day before the Thanksgiving holiday. We hope you used some of our suggestions over the past few days to help kids appreciate all they have. If not, there’s still time to check out our Eight Days of Thanksgiving series by looking over our posts from […]
Eight Days of Thanksgiving With only two more working days until Thanksgiving, we suggest using negative experiences to teach children the value of being grateful. The Walt Disney movie, “PollyAnna” is a great example of making good out of bad situations. In the movie, PollyAnna plays the “Glad” game. In this game she found many […]
The Importance of Manners to Show You are ThankfulWe have been discussing how to teach children to be thankful in the days before Thanksgiving. With three more working days until Thanksgiving let’s teach kids that using good manners shows respect towards others. Saying, “thank you,” is an easy way to show others our appreciation. Begin […]
