If you are sharing living and play spaces with your children, read on for some tips and tricks to declutter play rooms and make your shared spaces more fun for kids and less stressful for parents!
Convincing your kids to start enjoying reading books is an extremely important thing to do as a parent. Sometime in the future, it will be worth the investment of time and energy. Reading is learned in school however most kids associate this endeavor with something that it work-related, and not with something done for pleasure. Consequently, their desire to read is lost; and that’s exactly what should entice them – the interest and curiosity to see what books have to offer.
1. Read books to your kids out loud
One of the most productive and efficient ways of encouraging kids to start loving books is to read them stories out loud. The sooner you start the better. Make reading a special time spent together on a daily or weekly basis, and share the pleasures of unfolding the mysteries of a good story. A well-written book for kids can be an incredible delight, and with a bit of luck you might even have a bookworm child.
2. Allow kids to choose
Convince your kids to start reading by offering them books they can understand. This way, if they enjoy it they will ask for another one. It’s important to allow toddlers to choose; this creates excitement and motivation. Comics, vampires sagas, sports books are all excellent choices. And since technology prevails, allow them to use an e-book or tablet to read. Colorful images help boost the experience and thus make them enjoy the story a whole lot more.
3. Set up a book nook
Have you ever thought of setting up a book nook for your child? Organize it properly to entice the senses of your little one. Colorful cushions placed on a comfortable sofa with underneath open shelves for book storage is an excellent idea. Use your imagination with these storage spaces and fill it with new books weekly. Don’t forget to include proper lighting; it would be great if you could arrange the book nook by a window.
4. Be a role model
When they’re little, kids like to imitate their parents in their daily chores. If your child sees that you prefer to read a good book before bedtime rather than watch TV, they will become curious. Have the patience to answer all their questions and you might convince them that reading is fun and interesting. Encourage them to choose a book and start reading, too. Make this activity a 1-hour reading session before bedtime, and in a few months the results will be amazing.
5. Make reading fun
Don’t force your kids to read whole books, and start slow. Begin with short stories, use book charts to explain ideas or paragraphs they haven’t understood in the first place, and have enough patience to explain words and phrases that seem challenging to grasp. Use post-its for challenging words and stick them to the fridge; this way your child will also learn new words daily.
6. Use technology to draw attention
Today’s kids are part of the new generation. They’re not used to actual books; their school notebooks are either a tablet or a laptop, and as soon as they get home, they see parents using some sort of smart device too. Rather than ban technology, you should embrace it. Kindles, nooks and other ebooks are great devices. Allow children to use them to read stories and they might develop a passion for reading as an activity. As they grow older, they might even end up appreciating real books too.
There are numerous other tricks parents can use to convince their kids to read. It’s all about making this activity seem fun and engaging. Don’t force a child to read a book because he will grow up thinking you’re punishing him for something. Make this whole endeavor seem fun; the safest way to do this is to select great books and stories. Start reading out loud and really dive into the subject. A cool trick to preserve the engagement is to stop reading right when things get interesting. This way, your toddler will want to know more. He will be curious and he will impatiently wait another day for you to finish the story, and start a new one.
Motherhood is quite like running an unending marathon – it requires an immense amount of preparation, strength, flexibility, patience and determination. Before you become a mother, many will sound you off about the do’s and don’ts needed to master this life marathon. Only when you experience the run yourself will you truly enjoy the euphoria associated with each little victory and realize how every bit of your effort was worth it! Being a mother is unique for every woman in the world. Just how no two people in the world are alike, so is the experience of bringing them up equally different. Some, experiences, however, form a part of every mother’s life and leave a mark far beyond the baby-naming, breastfeeding, nappy-changing and sleepless nights! Here are ten things you never knew about motherhood (unless you are a mother, of course):
1. Your Focus Will Shift From Yourself – Ever had your husband complain about how long you take to dress up before a party? When you become a mother, the complaining won’t stop; only now, it would be directed towards how long you take to dress your little one! Doing things for your kid will give you greater pleasure than doing anything for yourself.
2. You Will Cherish Being At Home – If holidays mean traveling the length and breadth of the world with your partner, wait till you have a baby! You would want to spend all your free time at home playing and fooling around with your little one. You’ll cancel lunch dates with your girls, your monthly spa appointments, and many other commitments so you can cuddle with your cute little angel all day long. You won’t have any regrets!
3. You Will Become An Excellent Multitasker – Of the many life skills that being a mother teaches you, multitasking features high on top! You’ll learn to do everything, from cleaning your baby’s dirty diaper to cheering him up, while gearing up for his next meal, all together. You’ll play the roles of a chef, doctor, entertainer and caretaker all at once!
4. Your Child Will Be Your Therapy – The world raves about peaceful retreats to help calm the mind. Only a mother, however, knows that her child can light up her life with the greatest amount of happiness and harmony, beating every other therapy hollow. Looking at your kid sleep is indeed the most beautiful sight that can bust your stress in a matter of seconds.
5. You Will Grandly Celebrate Every Achievement Of Your Child – No matter how self-critical a person you might be, when it comes to your kid, you will be an unabashedly proud momma! You will fawn over everything from his smile to his cute talks and will want to capture and share everything he does with the world!
6. You’ll Be Amazed At Your Strength – The world may see women as the weaker sex, but the truth is that they are much stronger than what they get credit for! Experiencing over 12 hours of painful labor to going many nights without sleeping and keeping composure in the most stressful days of initial motherhood, is highly brave! Motherhood requires not only physical strength but also emotional and mental strength.
7. You Will Discover A New You – Though you were once known to be the most impatient and non-accommodating person in your group but when you become a mother, you’ll discover a whole new side to you. You’ll amaze everyone around with your patient and calm demeanor! No matter how big a problem might arise, you’ll handle it with an immense amount of composure.
8. Your Friend Circle May Change – From a gang of crazy girls to a gang of overanxious mothers, your friend circle may also change over the course of your motherhood. Given the drastic turnaround of things and situations after the arrival of your baby, needless to say, your equation with your pals is also likely to get impacted. When all you’ve left to talk about is your kids’ weird rash and his potty training stories, you need someone who can relate to your situation and share tips that have worked for them!
9. You Will Become A Nutrition Expert – Vitamins, minerals, calories, fiber content – all of these details of various foods will be at your fingertips when you become a mother. You will become extremely cautious about healthy-eating to be able to give your child the wholesome nutrition he needs to grow up into a healthy individual!
10. You Will Love Beyond Comprehension – One never truly learns the meaning of the word love until they become a parent. It’s only your child that you can love unconditionally, even more than you love yourself. It’s the most satisfying feeling to see your child flourish and grow more than you did! Your child will give your life a whole new purpose!
Most importantly, motherhood will make you realize that there isn’t anything else that could give you as much happiness as seeing your child smile! Not a perfect job, a lottery or a couture gown – nothing at all!
– Aradhana is a veteran writer on topics concerning parenting, child nutrition, wellness, health and lifestyle. As a regular contributor to popular sites like Huffington Post, Natural news, Elephant journal, Thehealthsite, Naturally Savvy, Curejoy and MomJunction.com, Aradhana writes to inspire and motivate people to adopt healthy habits and live a stress-free lifestyle.
Are you a mom? On the go? Ha! (Trick question!) Code Vitesse is a Canadian designer with the goal of giving women the freedom to do as they please while remaining comfortable, yet stylish in their clothing. It’s awfully hard to find stylish and flattering back to work fashion. These versatile pieces are easy to pair up or down, and can help a busy mother easily transition from a work function to her kid’s play date.
Wrinkle free, cling-resistant and flowy, the Code Vitesse pieces allow moms to look polished in seconds. Just don’t forget the lipgloss as you run out the door!
I wish the luck of the Irish could get me to one of the countries of the world where I haven’t been! Here just may be my chance. Smart travellers to Ireland know that spring is the best season to visit the Emerald Isle. The bluebells and daffodils are out, the summer crowds have yet to arrive and transatlantic airfares are low. This year, there are even bigger spring savings, thanks to Vagabond Adventure Tours of Ireland. The company is offering a 10% discount for travelers who book a tour for travel during March and April 2015, including two festive St Patrick’s Day itineraries.
Not only does Vagabond Tours bring travellers well off the beaten path in Ireland, but they utilize custom-designed Land Rovers (oh yes!) that take no more than 13 passengers on adventures that can include hill walking, horseback riding along an Atlantic beach or mountain biking in a forest.
For anyone who has always wanted to experience an authentic St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, Vagabond’s 10% discount and the strong US dollar mean that this is the year. While Dublin often gets all the attention, small cities and towns around the country celebrate the saint’s day with festivities and music in their own local style.
The “Frozen” gang returns!
Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf are back to the big screen in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ all-new short FROZEN FEVER! The featurette will open in theaters on March 13th, in front of Disney’s CINDERELLA, a live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale. To find out more information about the new Disney’s CINDERELLA movie, visit the website and social media links listed at the bottom of this post. In “Frozen Fever”, it’s Anna’s birthday and Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever, but when Elsa catches a cold, her powers may put more than just the party at risk. Don’t miss this unique animated short featuring all of your favorite characters from the movie “Frozen”! You’ll wanna get to your seat early at the movie theatre to see what happens during Anna’s birthday celebration.
Watch this special clip from the makers of “Frozen Fever” here: http://youtu.be/HOxSaP9orhE
Visit the official CINDERELLA Website at: http://disney.com/Cinderella
CINDERELLA opens in theaters everywhere on March 13th!
Is there anything, really, like the smell and health benefits of coconut? … Just in time, as we find ourselves in another dry, cold winter that’s bound to wreak havoc on our hair, Live Clean Introduces Coconut Milk Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner. Capturing the moisturizing and rejuvenating powers of coconut, Coconut Milk Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner (developed specifically for all hair types) delivers just the right amount of moisture to keep your hair shiny and supple. The coconut oils in coconut milk with their Vitamin E, lauric, and capric acids both moisturize and protect, penetrating the hair shaft to help prevent breakage and seal in moisture. Both shampoo and conditioner are enriched with Vitamins C and Provitamin B5, milk protein and rice protein adding to their nourishing, hydrating, and strengthening properties. Live Clean’s Coconut Milk Moisturizing Shampoo lathers richly – and eco-safely! Both shampoo and conditioner are infused with just the right amount of coconut for a scent that evokes without overpowering. Eco-friendly, natural, plant-based, and free of harsh chemicals.
We’ve been using it for a few weeks and I’m loving the texture of my hair (and the smell lifts the mood in this ugly winter!)
Teachers do so much for our kids, each and every day. We spend so much time talking to our kids about how great their teachers are, but when was the last time you told your child’s teacher that you appreciate all that they do for your kiddo?
Here are 10 handmade teacher Christmas gifts that have a personal touch to help you express your appreciation.
1. Thank you for coloring our lives and making us Sharpies teacher gift from Design Wash Rinse Repeat
2. DIY fabric covered book (this would be so cute to do with a journal or notebook) from Two Twenty One
3. Homemade Tea Wreath from Kojo Designs
4. Thanks a Latte for all you do teacher gift from Longing For Home
5. Succulents planter from Shabby 2 Chic
6. DIY Tub Teas from Martha Stewart
7. Dum-Dum lollipop tree from Meet the Dubiens
8. DIY Oh Sew Easy 10 Minute Fabric Flower Brooch from Sew Creative
9. Teacher Scrabble tile coloured clothespins from Pen and Paint
10. DIY Chalkboard Coasters from Living Well Spending Less
Don’t you just love Christmas? The excitement, the anticipation, the magic in your children’s eyes as they imagine what they’ll find under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning?
We decided to help you with your Christmas countdown fun by curating our favourite DIY Advent Calendars from Pinterest.
1. DIY Magnetic Tin Advent Calendar from Makoodle
2. Colourful Forest Advent Calendar from Love From Ginger
3. DIY Modern Advent Calendar from The Sweet Escape
4. No Sew Reusable Branches Advent Calendar from Design Mom
5. Muffin Tin Advent Calendar by Doodle Bug Blog
6. DIY Lego Advent Calendar from Frugal Fun 4 Boys
7. Mini Stocking Advent Calendar from Trillium Design
8. Bright and Colourful Advent Calendar from Love My Dress
9. Toilet Paper Tube Advent Calendar from Modern Creativity
10. DIY Wall Chart Advent Calendar from The Painted Hive
Halloween is just a couple of days away! Does your family have their Halloween costumes yet? There is nothing better than having your doorbell ring on Halloween night and opening the door to a family with a themed costume. My family got very busy this year and our kids are into very different things, my daughter wanted a Littlest Pet Shop costume and my son wanted to be Spiderman, but in past years we’ve had lots of fun dressing up as a family.
One year my family dressed up as a Little Red Riding Hood themed costume:
And the year my son was born he and I went as mommy and baby zombie (we took a cue from The Walking Dead)
Since I’m lamenting the fact that my family isn’t dressing up as a theme this year, I decided to hit Pinterest and pull together some fabulous family Halloween costumes.
Peter Pan and the Lost Boys from A Beautiful Mess
Where’s Waldo Family Halloween Costume from The Homes I Have Made
The Avengers Family Halloween Costume
Angry Birds Family Halloween Costume from Sugar Bee Crafts
Star Wars Family Halloween Costume from Under the Sycamore
Mommy and Baby Popcorn Vendor from Blooming Bath
A Christmas Story Family Halloween Costume from Costume Works
Mommy’s Pregnancy Cravings Family Halloween Costume
Ratatouille Dad and Baby Family Halloween Costume
Solar System Family Halloween Costume from Martha Stewart
We love it when celebrities get in on the family Halloween costume spirit too!
Canadian boy Jason Priestly as a Canadian Mountie with baby as Uncle Sam
Neil Patrick Harris has just about the cutest little family in the world. This Wizard Of Oz family Halloween costume makes us love him even more.
What are you and your family dressing up as for Halloween this year?