A Cop Out Post But Some Great Information and Links!

Hey!

I hope you remember me! I missed you last week due to St. Patrick's Day tipsiness. I wrote a post but not only was I too filled up with Hard Cider to edit, something funky happened with the font on the post and I'm even too tired to fix it this week. So, that post will have to wait. This week has been filled with lots of stressful commitments and I have ended up with a pretty bad cold. Maybe allergies. Either way I feel bad. Wiped out. Plus, now my husband feels sick too. And you know, a husband's sickness always trumps his wife's sickness. LOL!

On the upside, I was quoted in two informative articles recently. Please have a look:

Parents Magazine - Creative Ways to Teach Sharing

She Knows Parenting - Your 4 year old - Development, Behavior and Parenting Tips

As I stated above, I am really in no shape to fully answer a parent question this week. What I do have is a a link to an article that gives some great, low or no-cost ideas to do over Spring Break. I really thought they had some gems. Who isn't looking for ways to survive over spring break?

Finally, in this cop out of a blog post I have been invited by babybites, a moms educational group, to facilitate a workshop on the Daycare Dilemma, in April. I'll be talking about the different types of facilities and what to look when choosing a daycare. Please sign up and pass along to other moms or expectant moms who have questions about daycare.

Happy Passover to all the M.O.T.s (Members of the Tribe) out there! I plan to post next week even though I will have the kids home full time.

Diary of an Unstructured Staycation

Okay, on a staycation with the kids and my hubby. I'm feeling a bit unmotivated and if your kids are home with you, I can't imagine you're doing much blog reading so this post will be a shorty! I'm also exhausted from staying up and watching the Olympics. My friend recently posted on facebook that she does not know why she cries during the Olympics, "...like I know them or something..." I was happy to see that my response was not the only one admitting that the Olympics are like one giant Hallmark Card commercial! Check out last weeks post about how you can introduce math, culture, geography, sportsmanship and the dedication of the human spirit all through the Olympics!

In any case, I was hoping to jam pack it with cultural events while I had my husband around but it seems we have done a lot less than I had hoped. Not only are their fewer free choices (the economy plays a part in this!) and it seems like low key agrees with everyone so I'm going with it. Here's a list of things we have done and while they may not seem like much perhaps one activity will be new to you and might help you to fill up the week for you and your kids:

-A Family Film program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (one film short was Jackson Pollack demonstrating his technique). My 7 year old really liked it. I told him when the weather gets warmer we could try out his Pollack style OUTSIDE, in the park. I'll let you know how that goes!

-A Start with Art program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

-The Museum of Natural History

-Rearranged the kids room (yes, all three kids aged 7,4 and 1 share a room!)

-A sleep over with a cousin

-Opened up a tent (IKEA) and the kids camped out in the tiny living room

-Garden State Plaza on Rte. 4 in NJ (the Lego Store was a hit!)

-Dinner with friends who live in a house and who have a playroom (any apartment kid's dream!)

-Stopped in our local NY Public Library and picked up a new reading series (I gently encouraged it and also let each child choose a movie)

-Emptied our piggy banks and counted away. We put aside some for charity and virtually shopped on Amazon for items the kids would like to save.

-Going to the Diamond District to trade in some unwanted gold for cash! (A walk on 5th Avenue to follow!)

-Friday, road trip to Albany and joining our friend, the coordinator of Art Night Schenectady

So there you have it. Enjoy your vacation and feel free to share your ideas and thoughts about what to do when you are feeling unmotivated on your staycations!

Don't Know Much About History...

So the summer has begun and my ideas are many... I have received lots of questions since we went on facebook. Make sure to add us as a fan and encourage friends to join! Please keep sending those questions in and check back often for your answers.

I received a great question from Diane who asked "Is it important to keep my kids connected to patriotic American holidays? While our family 'celebrates' the day off we certainly don't make any reference as to why we have the day off. It seems my kids don't learn much about them at school? Should we be doing more?"

Answering this question is almost like giving me an opportunity at Speakers Corner in London and allowing me to stand on my soapbox! I am getting my 'Patriot on' and posting a few thoughts on how we can and should educate our children about our American holidays.

On to my soapbox...

I, like many of you, grew up thinking that major American holidays were simply created so that I could enjoy a backyard bar-b-que with my lucky friends or family that had a backyard and of course, so that Macy's could have a sale. You know Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Labor Day and July Fourth which, in addition to a Macy's sale, put on the best firework display in the country! I appreciated many of these experiences as a child (still do) and think Macy's is really one of the few stores that does a great job giving back to New York City.

Something recently changed the way I thought about these holidays. Two of my cousins were sent to war; one to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. (The Afghanistan cousin left a six week old daughter and 5 year old son for a year). Having children of similar ages and being close in proximity we spent a lot of time visiting and watching first hand how our cousins coped without knowing the fate of their dad and husband. Can you imagine not being without your kid/dad/spouse for a year? While I made small references to these "support the soldiers" and other patriotic holidays in the past, looking at these sacrifices that hit so close to home it was clear I needed to do more to connect my kids to the history and celebrations of this country .

I started this past Memorial Day by taking my kids to the Vietnam Memorial in Lower Manhattan. It wasn't easy to see those veterans cry at the wall and deal with such painful memories, but boy, were we ever welcomed! One smile after the next on those Vets faces thanking us for coming! We took the time to remember and the thanks was so heart warming. It was a teachable moment for sure! I talked to my children about why these soldiers were sad and why it meant so much to them to have us there; they felt remembered. History is a favorite subject of mine so I always incorporate a book or small activity about a holiday with both my students and my own kids. For so many educators though, history often falls by the wayside in elementary schools. A teachers' day gets bogged down with the basics and very little time is left to explore and discuss the importance of our history in the way that we should. As well, if parents do not carry over what might be shared in class the information goes no where.

So to my point - This Fourth of July Independence Day (America's 233rd birthday), go to your bar-b-ques ( I know I always look forward to seeing a special group of friends), go to the sales and enjoy the extra day with your kids. However, take the time to share some history about the day and those many other "day off/sale days". Older children (7 years or so) are capable of learning a small bit about the history. For younger children acknowledge the holiday with a craft or song and a small explanation (take out a map of the United States and have your little ones sing "Happy Birthday") the important idea is that children learn that these days exist for a reason. You don't have to be a flag waving, Stars and Stripes boxer short wearing, America the Beautiful humming patriot, to learn about the history of the US of A!

Below is great kids site and a few books that address different Independence Day. Check them out:

http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/121/27/

We The Kids: The Preamble to The Constitution of the United States by David Catrow

In 1776 by Jean Marzallo

Smart About the Fifty States

Happy Fourth!