Lifestyle & Family Resource site for everyday women and moms
Sometimes it can feel nearly impossible to drag your kids outside to enjoy a beautiful day. Outdoor play can not only keep your child happy and healthy, but it can also spark their imagination and curiosity. Here are 5 kid friendly activities you can do with your children to create long lasting memories.
… [read more]When you are trying to deal with your anxiety, it’s important that you find methods that work for you. Everybody experiences anxiety differently and everybody has their own way of managing it. There is no simple solution that works for every single person. These are some of the best natural remedies for managing anxiety. Let’s talk about 3 Natural Methods for Reducing Anxiety.
If you speak with a doctor, they will be able to prescribe you medication for your anxiety and for some people, it’s a great solution. It helps to manage your symptoms and makes it easier to live your life without letting anxiety get the better of you. But a lot of people don’t like the idea of taking medication because it does not deal with the root causes of anxiety and they don’t want to be dependent on medication to get through the day. If you feel that way, it doesn’t mean that you can’t treat your anxiety, you just need to find other ways.
… [read more]When you’re not feeling your best, it can be really hard for you to work out what’s going on. But still, you’ll know that you don’t feel good. Maybe you’re someone that tries to be healthy? Or you believe that you are in good physical health, yet something is still off? And this can be really unsettling when you just want to feel good. So, what do you do? You’re busy with life, family, job, kids, housework, chores, etc. And how can you make sure that your health really does start to become a priority? Let’s look at 5 Things Busy People Can Do To Boost Their Health.
Well, you may find that you want to be able to boost your health for the better. Sometimes, when you’re just feeling off, it’s a sign that you need to make changes, improvements, and see what works for you best. And this isn’t always in the usual diet and exercise sense. Let’s take a look at a few things that may just help you.
… [read more]
March is here which means it’s time to start submitting the enrollment forms for Kindergarten. At least in my area, that’s the case. Over the past year, we have really buckled down and began preparing for kindergarten when it comes to my oldest who just turned 5 last month. Reading has been a huge help for prepping with kindergarten.
Now I know you are probably asking yourself, how? How does reading really help with preparing for Kindergarten? It all comes down to the way you introduce books to your children. There is more to reading than just the words on the page.
When you read a book to your child and you make reading an interactive experience, it feeds young imaginations as well as their problem-solving skills, communication skills, and even their ability to understand what the intent or purpose of something is. My end goal with every book we read is to leave a lasting impression. This may not always work of course but I do put the effort in to make the story worthwhile.
When we truly began introducing books, and not in the I bought these because they were cute and in all of the nursery decor sections of Pinterest, we started with just looking at the pictures of the book. I worked on W questions which help with one’s receptive language skills as well as critical thinking skills. Who, What, Where, Why? What do you see? Why do you think “insert person, animal, object, etc” is doing that? What colors are on the page? Where do you think they are going? Etc. Take this time to let your child think for themselves but also as an opportunity to explain the W questions back. This allows your child to see that not only is there an agenda with the story but that there is more to the story than words on a page.
One other extremely important topic we have addressed with reading is our emotions as well as how their actions/choices matter. I wanted my children to understand how they are feeling, why they are feeling that way, how someone else is feeling, how actions or events might make someone feel, etc.
We really enjoyed reading The Boy Without a Friend by Bruce Jassett, These Are My Faces by Bret J. Ludwick and Leo’s Moon by Cinthia del Grosso. Now, these books aren’t crazy popular like other books and that is really what I liked most about them. When preparing for Kindergarten, a variety is best when it comes to reading. Just like you and I, children will have different tastes in books. My 5-year-old is on the more serious side and he enjoys books that are more realistic. My 4 year still enjoys the bright colorful books you find in every book section. That’s okay!
Get silly with the books you read and plan some fun activities to go along with them. Coloring pages, crafts, recipes (If You Give A Mouse A Cookie), and anything else I can find. Eric Carle has always been a favorite of ours and there is an endless amount of ideas on activities to go with his work. Pinterest is an amazing resource for finding ideas and I know if you are anything like me, most Pinterest ideas are a fail. However, this has not been the case so far when it comes to finding activities to go with the books we read.
These ideas don’t just apply with preparing for Kindergarten but it is one way we have chosen in our home to help prepare. You also don’t have to use the most popular books on the shelves to make reading interactive for your child. Let’s face it, some children mature far beyond their physical age. Use magazines, read chapter books, whatever you have to do to gain their attention. Reading is such a crucial part of education and you can never go wrong with using it as a step to prepare for kindergarten.
I also wanted to take a moment to point out to those with children under the age of 5 that Dolly Parton runs an Imagination Library. When you sign up for this program, and it is determined on where you live if the program is available, every month from birth until age 5 you receive a free book in the mail. We have quickly been able to build up our mini library simply by participating in Dolly Partons Imagination Library.
Another great option for building your book stash is through The Book Bundler. This company bundles gently used books and sells them at a fraction of the cost. For example, a stack of 100 books for approximately $50 (this does change based on promotions and other variables such as age group, types of books, etc). That is an amazing deal! Their customer service is also on point.
Would you be interested in a Pinterest board or even a separate blog post sharing books we enjoyed as well as the activities we enjoyed with them? Let me know with a comment on this post or send us a message on Facebook or Instagram.
Several nights a week my husband works overtime on night shift which leads this mama bear to get all of the kids fed, bathed, and entertained until bedtime. Mom guilt sets in and while it is so EASY to grab the tablet or turn on a movie, I usually like filling this time with books that I can easily tie a craft in with or with other independent activities that get my kid’s brains running but their bodies in one place. Feed thir brains and moms sanity all in one. An occupied child means I can get the house picked up so when everyone is fast asleep in bed, I can sit back and RELAX. I know, that sounds horrible but I enjoy a few hours of solitude after the kids have gone to bed to catch up on my TV shows or even read a book. We Craft Box has made my last minute evening task, rainy day activity, and even a moment of silence possible.
As a mom of 4, I am so very guilty of over thinking on what activities would be “fun” for my toddlers and I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. I find myself constantly searching the internet for toddler fun and fun toddler activities in my area or pinning a million posts on my Pinterest account that I know, I probably won’t ever go back and look at. It’s a shame truly because the ideas are amazing but the motivation to round up all of the supplies necessary just isn’t there to complete such an elaborate task. Not to mention toddlers attention span lasts a lot less than the time it takes to round up and prepare for some activities but I desperately try to eliminate screen time as much as I can in our technology-filled world. That’s not to say they don’t get any screen time because they do, but I try to feed their minds in others ways as well. That is why I took a step back and reevaluated what else I could do that would be fun for toddlers and the answer is, sticking to the basics! Crayons, markers, stickers, and paper. It really is that simple.
Halloween is quickly approaching and honestly, it is one of my favorite holidays. Something about the excitement in the air and the thrill on children’s faces when they see each other’s costumes or the Halloween decorations meticulously placed for all to see.
Happy Fall, Ya’ll
I mean, I know we’re in the dog days of summer and it’s about ten degrees shy of Satan’s kitchen out here in the South. Can you really be too prepared for those great, breezy fall days though? I have Facebook friends sharing some great fall crafts and it got my wheels turning for some low cost fall themed ideas and activities to work up for myself and my four year old daughter. I came up with a handful of things and I just had to share. I can’t be the only one anxiously waiting for the moment it’s appropriate to don my holiday gear and binge eat some Candy Corn.
Hello! I thought I’d introduce myself as a new writer here on Beauty Brite. My name is Misty, and I am the mother of 4 little ones. On a side note, summer is here, which means fun in the sun! Summer also means afternoon rainstorms if you live anywhere like I do in North Carolina. They are quick thunderstorms, but it does mean dragging the kids inside until it passes which brings in the inevitable whining of, “I’m boredâ€.
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