The Mom Crowd

If you have a toddler, then you know how eager they are to explore everything they come across. This is a fun and exciting time in their little lives but your son or daughter’s thirst for activity can and will wear any adult down in a matter of hours when you aren’t prepared for endless play.

Tricks for Working with Toddlers
Here are a few tricks of the trade I learned when working with roomfuls of toddlers. The following activities are age appropriate play ideas that can help any parent keep their child occupied and entertained.

• Roll of butcher paper: A roll of butcher paper has a variety of uses. They are inexpensive and can be found at craft or home improvement stores. They can also be purchased on Amazon and shipped right to your front door for about $10; and moms, this may be the best $10 you ever spend. Taped to the table top, this surface is perfect for drawing, coloring, or painting with much less mess than when we try to get our toddlers to stay on a small piece of paper. You can trace shapes one day and finger-paint the next. Whatever you decide to do with your blank canvas, your toddler will be thrilled with the freedom to color all over the table!

• BUBBLES, BUBBLES. BUBBLES! This is an often overlooked cheap activity that will hold your child’s attention for a long time. You can blow bubbles while they pop them or you blow them and see if they can then blow them through the air. After they tire of chasing the bubbles around, you can give them a bubble wand to try. This can be done outside or inside, but if you are doing this as a rainy day activity, I recommend laying down a sheet to catch all those soapy explosions.

• Kiddie Pool: Still have that Kiddie Pool hanging around since last summer? Toddlers love it when you fill the pool with unexpected items for them to explore. Crumple up old news papers or magazines and throw those in the pool, you will see your toddler has a lot of fun crawling through them or stomping them beneath his feet. There are as many possibilities as you can imagine.

• Scarf Play: Round up all of your old scarves and bring them to your play area. Toddlers love the feeling of all the different textiles and will enjoy a little “dress-up” play with all the different ways you can wrap these fabrics around them and yourself. Put on a little music and now you have dance party props!

As you can see, an added bonus to these ideas is that they will most definitely not break the bank! Hope you have fun with these easy ideas that keep the good times rolling!
Feel free to add your own ideas in our comments section. We can always use new ways to keep our little ones happy, learning and exploring!

My family of five and I are an average family. We make messes, break a glass here, loose a fork there, forget about homework until the morning its due, you know the normal things. I have no magic up my sleeves, though I check daily to see if I’ve missed it.  I have two boys under six, a husband in the military and my grandmother all under the same roof causing all sorts of chaos and havoc! This was all just fine until we added moving across the country into the mix. Upon the news to move we decided to put our house up for sale. Now, I know how to handle two kids on my own for months. I can change the oil in my car, mow the lawn, build a garage, juggle soccer, work out, and a whole lot more while my husband is deployed. But moving my family to the opposite side of the country…aahh, I don’t even know where to start and he’s home right now!

So I figure like anything else I might as well just jump in. My OCD allows me to keep my house clean on a daily basis, even if it’s a never ending battle, but now the OCD is in overdrive waiting for these showings to happen! Like I’m sure many of you are aware cleaning up after a two and five year old is no laughing matter. Then trying to keep the house spotless for the drop of a dime phone calls is a full time job in itself! When the two are combined we’re lucky if we can even remember our names by the end of the day! Here’s a few tips I’d like to share with you and remember I’m still going through this myself so bear with me!

• There’s no point in trying to make the house spotless until before the kids are awake or until after they’ve passed out
• Find all the local parks
• Keep snacks handy in your car..purse..bag in the pantry
• Plan on eating out on the weekends
• Find a book, crossword or pick up knitting because you’re going to be at those parks for a while
• Those Swiffer wet pads and dusters really are a time/life saver!

As you can see it’s mostly common sense things BUT when you’re trying to vacuum, chase a kid around attempting to get their socks on, sticking the dogs in the crate or car, finishing those dishes and quickly hiding all the miscellaneous things laying around, they tend to be forgotten! We all know moving is hard and we just can’t wait until we finally get it over with. Just remember that your house is as clean as its going to be because, well, you’re still living in it!! Chances are you’re going to be more stressed about the appearance of your house then the potential buyers are, they understand that you’re living there! Remember moms, your little ones are going through a lot too right now. Either they are simply too young to understand what is going on, or are just as nervous as you are about this new chapter in your life. Just breathe, laugh off the small things and make the most out of what little down time you have. Everything will fall, in one form or another, into place! Even for a super mom moving is mayhem!

Homeschooling is not a one-size-fits all method and homeschooling families are as varied as the children they raise. What works best for one family does not necessarily work for another. However, all homeschooling families agree in one area: public education is failing and not the ideal place for raising children.

I realize also that homeschooling my children is a true gift.  I am able to do so because my husband has a great job and because I have been able to successfully work from home.  Our lives are not easy, but for us, this is the right fit.  The truth is, homeschooling is different for everyone.

Although homeschooling may seem a novel concept to some, the growth of a 20th century public school education depicted in media as lack luster is more so every day. Our current educational system was created during a whole different time.  We are such a technology based society and world, and sadly our educational system just has not caught up yet.  Today’s homeschooler has a vision for their child’s future.

Early history shows that homeschooling was the norm and many of the world’s greatest leaders, philosophers, scientists, musicians, poets, and thinkers enjoyed a homeschooling education. Some homeschooling families choose to have the mother as teacher while others used a private tutor. The truth is homeschooling is different for everyone.

Homeschooling saw resurgence in the late 70s to early 80s and in the 21st century, is no longer viewed as a strange or foreign educational choice.  We as a society needed alternatives to teach our children and homeschooling became a strong option.  Today’s homeschoolers are not all deeply religious people.  They are regular families, they are famous families, they are families that simple have a different idea of what their kids need.

If you are considering homeschooling here are something to consider:

• Can you organize your life to make room for educating at home?
• Are you aware of the state laws for homeschoolers in your area?
• Can you make time to educate at home?
• Are you willing to learn something new too?  You might have to teach something you don’t know much about.
• Is your child-parent relationship open?  Is their good communication?
• Can you afford to be at home and educate your child.
• What kind of homeschooler will you be?  Will you use a online public school program like k-12 or will you choose your own curriculum?
• Can you afford the investment.  If you choose to educate at home you will have some costs associated with buying curriculum, materials and other supplies.

With so many options, programs and unique qualities, if you choose to homeschool then there is an option out there that will fit your needs.  You just need to make the jump and go for it.  Remember every homeschool family takes their program one year at a time, so if you try it for a year and it does not work out for you, you can always go back to a traditional brick and mortar schooling program.  The important thing to remember is that you or your child don’t have to be unhappy with the current state of their educational program.  You can take charge, course a new direction and get back on the path of what education was created for:  to prepare and educate the young people of society and teach them that they can work hard and achieve all the goals they choose too.