26 Winter Dishes and Holiday Treats for Kids

26 Winter Dishes and Holiday Treats for Kids

written by Cathy Jacobs, posted on The Spruce Eats

When kids have time off from school in the winter, they love the break—but then after a day or so, they often complain of boredom. This winter holiday season, why not keep the kids in your household busy by inviting them into the kitchen to help you cook up a batch of Christmas cookies, festive candies, or yummy comfort food? They’ll not only assist in making some kid-friendly winter recipes and fun treats, but they will also be able to eat and enjoy all of their hard work.

You’ll find everything from a hot dog potato puff casserole you can serve at a playdate to Rudolph’s nose cookies for Santa’s cookie plate. Many of these recipes are also great gift ideas for family, friends, and neighbors.

50 Fun Family Spring Activities

50 Fun Family Spring Activities

posted on Today’s Parent

Shake off the winter blues and try any of these fun, spring activities that will have you and the kiddos enjoying the fresh air.

Blow bubbles

Go buy some bubbles at your favorite dollar store, or make your own at home. Don’t want to leave home? This six-pack of bubbles is cheap and ships right to your door, but really—you can make your own.

Fly a kite

Go fly a kite—literally! Choose an open field and run around with the kids to try and get their kite up in the air. If you’re having trouble, try any of these 4 tips for successful kite-flying. We love this colorful butterfly kite.

Play hide-and-seek

Who doesn’t love this classic game? Springtime means you can head outside for an epic, neighbourhood round of hide-and-seek!

Make a bird feeder

What better spring craft is there than making a DIY bird feeder? Or try painting a birdhouse, which you can purchase at your local craft store. Just make sure to stock up on some bird seed like this bag of black oil sunflower seeds.

Ultimate Summer Bucket List Ideas

Ultimate Summer Bucket List Ideas

posted on mommypoppins

To help you get summer started, we’ve come up with the ultimate summer bucket list of 100 (mostly) FREE ways you can pack more play into your day with (mostly) outdoor games and activities for kids. These summer bucket list ideas aren’t just for kids—they’re fun and engaging activities for the whole family. After all, grown-ups need time to play, too.

Check out our roundup of outdoor games for kids, crafts, experiments, and other activities below. If you make your way through all of these, try our list of ’70s outdoor games, our 25 water games for kids, our favorite bounce houses and kiddie pools, and 15 backyard science experiments for messy outdoor fun. Not to boast, but summer really is our forte.

Now, set aside school, work, and stress; it’s time to focus on this summer bucket list of 100+ ways to play with kids this summer.

12 Quick and Easy Craft Ideas for Kids

12 Quick And Easy Craft Ideas For Kids

27 Games & Activities for Kids with Autism

27 Games & Activities for Kids with Autism

written by Sam Walker-Smart, published on https://word.tips/

The importance of play in any child’s life cannot be understated. It helps develop motor skills, cognitive development and enables one’s ability to socialize. For those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, play can prove more challenging; special considerations need to be made from both parents and teachers on what resources are used to allow interaction and expression.

Fortunately, nowadays, with the advent of digital technology, we don’t only have learning support online, but also entire purpose-made apps and even mainstream video games that can prove entertaining and rewarding for those on the spectrum. Below 27 games for kids with autism, These have been broken into categories for ease.

Snow Volcano

Volcanos help kids understand their anger.  To help bridge counseling with home,  make a volcano together! Thank you Rose LaPiere & Quinte for a fun snow activity!
Michelle Molle-Krowiak Ed.S, LCSW
Snow Volcano
Materials:
2 spoonfuls of baking soda
1 spoonful of dish soap
A few drops of food coloring
1 ounce of vinegar
Snow
Small cup/container
Instructions:
Take the plastic cup/container and place it in the ground
Build up the snow around the cup, packing tightly. Be sure to keep the opening of the cup/container free from snow.
Add all ingredients except the vinegar into the container
When you are ready for eruptions, add the vinegar into the container
Stand back and enjoy!

The Sensory Duct Tape Challenge for your Kids

You’ve probably watched the viral videos of the duct tape obstacle courses shared on facebook recently.

We are all looking for creative ways to keep our kids engaged and active. While this is a wonderful way to keep your kids active during this unprecedented time in our lives, there are so many skills you can work on with your children through this simple activity.

Children are not born with executive functioning skills, but have the potential to develop them.

Electronic devices provide immediate stimulation and feedback for children and may lead to difficulties in focusing attention, filtering out distractions and inhibiting responses. Having children follow multi-step directions helps to improve working memory, attend to detail, and improve emotional control.

by Rachael Berringer, LAC, MA

Silver Lining of Quarantine Life: NJ Moms Share the Bright Side

We asked our New Jersey mom friends about the moments they treasure most about staying home.

#NJstrong has taken on a whole new meaning since we started staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Finding the silver lining of quarantine life matters more than ever. Never before have we been more united in our gratitude for healthcare heroes on the front line of this pandemic as well as every essential worker making sure we are safe and have access to food, medicine, and other necessities.

Meaghan Murphy chalk art

These past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. We’ve felt anxious, scared and hopeless. But we’ve also felt peaceful at home with our loved ones, grateful for all that we have through this tough time and more united than ever before knowing we are in this together. And we feel hopeful, knowing we will get through this and be stronger for it. We feel thankful knowing that the simple act of staying home is making a big difference and that we can pull together to help those who need it most by donating supplies, food and more.

In the spirit of positivity, we asked our mom friends to share the silver lining of quarantine life… 

Click Here to Continue Reading on NJFamily

 

 

 

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