Service Ideas for the Whole Family

The holiday season is a popular time of year for people to look for ways to serve in their community. If you have children, you know that it can be difficult to find time to volunteer on your own, and that it is also difficult to find service opportunities that you can involve your kids in. Below is a list of service project ideas that the whole family can participate in this holiday season.

5 Ways for Your Family to Give Back This Season!

The holiday season is full of joy, happiness, and giving! It is a time to come together with your friends and families and reflect on the year and enjoy quality time together. Kids are excited about the gifts they will receive and parents are excited to buy them for their little ones! In between all the holiday parties, programs at school, and family obligations, it can be hard to remember that it is also a time for our families to give back to those less fortunate. Here are some easy ways to give back to your community this season while spending some quality time with your family!

The Ultimate Guide to Surviving (and Enjoying) Winter with Your Kids

As the daylight hours shorten and the weather gets colder, it can become increasingly more difficult for your entire family to enjoy winter (especially when it can seem to last forever!). The change of season signals less time children play outside and more time indoors, which can add pressure to parents. Unfortunately, many of the go-to indoor activities are watching TV or playing video games. While fun in moderation, being cooped up in the house can make you and your children go nuts! Here are five tips and activities to help you and your family enjoy winter:

Children's Book Spotlight: Snowmen At Night

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Winter is a time of snowball fights, snow angels, sledding, and building snowmen.  When I was younger, and even now, I have many happy memories spent playing outside in the snow.  In fact, on Thanksgiving I was out with my nephews building our first snowman of the season.  But by the next day, he didn't look quite the same.  How could he change so much in just a few hours?  That is why I chose to spotlight Snowmen At Night by Caralyn Buehner.  (For more fun picture books by Caralyn Buehner, go here.)

Beating the Winter Blues - Indoor Gross Motor Activities

It’s that time of year again. As the smog descends on the valley and the ice creeps still over the yards, the winter blues have officially hit. The last months of winter are hard on all of us, but possibly the hardest for our little ones who are tired of being cooped up inside all day every day. With the holidays over and the excitement of their new toys worn off your lil guys are ready to move! The park is still too cold so we have brought the fun to you! 

Here are a few, simple ideas to turn your own living room into a wiggle-release zone. We just might all make it through this winter!

Penguin Waddle!

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You'll Need:

• medium ball (i.e. kickball, exercise ball)
•  masking tape (optional)

How:

• The child holds the ball between his legs (knees or ankles- whichever is more comfortable) and they have to waddle while keeping the ball in place.
• Variations:
• Make it a relay race by marking a start and finish line where the child must pass the ball to another child or to you.
• Mark lines on the floor with the tape that the child must walk over, like zig-zag lines, curved lines, circles, squares, etc.

Freeze Skate! 

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You'll Need:

•  Paper Plates
• Music
• Masking Tape (optional)

How:

•  Give each child two plates- one for each foot, and skate around the living room carpet floor.
• Turn on your favorite tunes and freeze when the music stops!
•  Variations
• Tape off a “rink” that the child can skate inside.
•  Do a skate train where every one hangs onto the person ahead of their shoulders and skate together.
• Take turns showing each other your best skate tricks. Name them and teach each other how to do them!  Source

Snowball Fight in the News!

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You'll Need:

• Old newspaper

How:

• Depending on the age and interest of your child, make “snowballs” with them or on your own by scrunching newspaper into balls.
• Place them in one big pile in your living room and go to town throwing them at each other, gather and go again.
• Couches or chairs make great forts and places to hide.  Source

Marshmallow Hockey!

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You'll Need:

•  Marshmallows (big or small)
•  Broom (best if child sized but not necessary)
•  Masking tape

How:

• Tape a circle with masking tape on the tile, laminate or wood floor.
• Give child a broom
• Spread marshmallows around room and let him sweep them into the circle
• Variations:
•  Count the marshmallows as he gets them into the goal.
•  Pass/Sweep the marshmallows around the circle.

Let it Snow!

If you're here in Utah, you're well aware I'm sure of all the snow we got over the weekend! If you're like me, getting snow means staying inside and only venturing outside when completely necessary. But, as parents, you may go crazy trying to keep your kids entertained inside all winter so why not take advantage of the changing seasons to enhance your child's development?! Your kids may be really experiencing winter for the first time or as they grow they can understand it in a different way! So bundle up and head outdoors!

Outdoors

Build a Snowman: By using their little muscles to build a snowman they are working on their gross motor skills! Plus they can do some problem solving to figure out what would make the perfect nose on that face.

Make a Snow Angel: They can also work on their gross motor skills by plopping down in the snow to make angels, get those muscles moving!

Taking a Walk: By simply taking a walk around in the snow your child can be visually stimulated by how different the world is when there's snow! Talk to your kids about what they see and get them talking about everything they're experiencing.

Sledding: Not only is sledding completely exhilarating, it's another way to get moving!

Coloring Snow: Fill a squirt bottle with some colored water (just use food coloring) and let them go to work decorating the snow! Just as coloring with crayons gets the creativity flowing, imagine how much fun it is in the snow!

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Be creative! Get your kids out and about in the snow so they can experience the world around them and learn from it! Just remember to stay warm and play safe.Of course you can't always be outside, so bring winter inside!

Indoors

Snowflakes: Make snowflakes by cutting shapes out of white paper and decorating! Using little scissors will get your child's fine motor skills working! You can even take it a step further by using glitter or coloring your snowflakes!

Build a Fort: Use blankets, chairs and pillows to make a great fort to watch the snow fall outside. That way you can be cozy and warm to watch the world change outside. Talk about what's going on!

Bake: When it's cold outside, warm treats are always especially great! Have your kids help you or watch you bake, having them involved will help them to get their brains working! Plus you get to enjoy a yummy treat!

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There are many more ways that you can take advantage of the changing seasons, find ways that are fun for your family and use it as a learning tool to help your kids to continue to grow! Just remember to stay warm!

Christmas Ornaments for Kids!

'Tis the season to be wrapping gifts, drinking eggnog and putting up the Christmas tree. As you set the tree up let your little ones help out this year with the decorating. Here are three darling ornaments that I found on the Martha Stewart website. Your kids will love making these as much as you will love hanging them up for display. Happy Holidays! 

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Button Wreath Ornament 
Tools and Materials 
-Needle nose pliers or wire cutters
-16 gauge copper wire, cut to 9" lengths
-72 buttons for each wreath
-Scissors
-Satin ribbon, 1/8" wide and 6" long
-Seam binding for decorative bow

Directions
1) Using pliers, make a small loop at on end of the wire.
2) Thread buttons onto the wire until you have enough to form the size of the wreath you want. Our wreaths are 2 1/2" in diameter. 
3) Using pliers, bend the plain end of the wire around the looped end. This will form the wreath.
4) Use the satin ribbon to make a loop for hanging the wreath; tie the ribbon in a knot about 3" above the wreath. 
5) Tie a bow of seam binding to decorate the wreath. 

Candy Cane Ornament 

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Tools and Materials
-5 1/2" long red and white pipe cleaners
-Scissors
-Green pipe cleaner
-Hot glue gun
-Glass beads (optional)
-Ribbon (optional)
-Small ornament (optional) 

Directions
1) Twist together 5 1/2" red and white pipe cleaners. 
2) Make sure the stripes of the combined red-and-white stem are neatly spaced
3) Curl the top into a hook. Bend a 3" length green pipe cleaner at 1/2" intervals to shape a holly leaf. Hot-glue the leaf in place, then hot-glue on a cluster of glass beads for berries, or tie on a ribbon threaded with a small ornament. 

Peppermint Ornament

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Tools and Materials 
-5 peppermint candies 
-White frosting 
-5 red cinnamon candies or mints
-6" long twine 

Directions
1) Lay five or so peppermint candies in a circle to form a wreath.
2) Bond candy sides together with icing. 
3) Adorn front with cinnamon candies or mints. 
4) Let dry for two hours before hanging. Loop twine around ornament; knot. 

Indoor Activities!

Now that the seasons are changing and playing outside isn't always an option--here are 3 different activities you can do with your kids that helps develop gross motor skills. Plus, they are really fun and will help you and your child grow closer! 

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1) Scavenger Hunt 
*Pick several toys or other objects and hide them around your home. You can create a list with drawings or pictures of the objects and help him cross them off. Don't hide things in difficult spots and exercise caution when hiding beloved objects like security blankets or pacifiers. Some toddlers love this and think it's very fun to find them, while others melt down at the mere thought. 
2) Find the Timer
*Hide a ticking kitchen timer set to 5 minutes. He should be able to detect the ticking noise getting louder as he gets closer. You can also indicate closeness by saying closer, farther, or hotter, colder or by increasing or decreasing the frequency of clapping as he approaches the object. 
3) The Up and Down Game
*Let him hold an object (flags are especially fun for this game) and tell him to raise it high if you say a word that is high or hold it low if it's something hta tis low. For example: if you say grass or ant then he would hold his flag low and if you say sky or stars he would hold his flag high in the air. 

Fun Cold Weather Indoor Activities

Want to enjoy sometime indoors this winter with your family? Maybe you could give The Monte L. Bean Museum a try.http://mlbean.byu.edu/

Create your own Christmas cards

Materials:

• Red craft paper
• Glue stick
• Plain notecard or card stock

• Tempera paints
• Paper plates
• Googly eyes

 

Instructions:

1. Cut Santa-hat shapes (minus the pom-poms and white trim) from the craft paper, then glue one onto each card. Glue a pair of googly eyes a fingertip's width below each hat.
   
2. Pour white tempera paint onto one paper plate, and a dollop each of red, black, and pink (mix some red and white) onto another. Stamp white handprint beards, then use fingertips to stamp the trim on the hats, and a nose, mouth, and cheeks on each face.
   

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-cards/crafty-christmas-cards/handprint-santa-673633/

Fun Cold Weather Indoor Activities

Trapped inside due to the of cold weather and snow, ? Just plain bored? It's probably driving your little ones nuts, and chances are it's draining your sanity as well. You've already tried television and exhausted your supply of toys. Here are some ideas for activities to help you stop the indoor insanity.

littleocean.blogspot.com

• Indoor camping and picnic- have fun with your kids pretending to camp out indoor.Don't have a tent? A rigged-up sheet will do just as well. Surround the tent with stuffed animals, and then eat lunch while sitting on the carpet. If you're feeling especially ambitious, you can also cuddle in front of the fireplace and make s'mores.

• Shoe box Relay-
  

• Supplies: Tootsie Rolls (1 for each child) Shoe box for each team Bell for each team 2 mittens for each team 2 bowls for each team Place tootsie rolls, in a bowl, at the opposite end of the room. Hang a bell, from the ceiling, over the tootsie roll bowl.
• How To Play: Divide the children into two or more relay teams. Explain that when you say, "GO" the first person on each team will put on the mittens, step into the shoe boxes and race to the other end of the room where they will ring the bell with their nose. They are then to pick up a tootsie roll out of the bowl and race back to their team still wearing their mittens and shoe boxes. Pass the mittens and shoe box to the next person in line, sit down, eat your tootsie roll. The first team to finish eating their tootsie rolls wins!  

For more fun Indoor activity check out this great website http://party.kaboose.com/seasonal/winter/winter-party.html