Developing a Sense of Self

Allowing your child to be what they want to be is important when they a young. We want our children to be free to express themselves, appropriately, and to discover and explore. This helps them develop their own idea of who they are. By allowing them to be silly, laugh, dress up, get dirty, and have fun, they can feel safe to be their own person. We do not want to make little clones that are the "perfect child." We want them to learn to respect, to obey, and to use their brains, but we also want them to develop the sense that they have choices- good and bad, have some say in what they do, and have consequences if they make a wrong choice. We want them to be able to think through a problem without someone saving them. We want them to eventually be independent!

Think about this when you are guiding or directing your child. Maybe, ask them for their opinion!

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A Hamilton Beach Mixer for Holiday Baking

The Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® Mixer is the perfect addition for all your holiday baking. Baking is such a wonderful part of the fall and winter holidays. Whether you are making cookies, fresh bread or pie crusts, baking with a stand up mixer makes life so much more simpler!

One of my favorite holiday recipes is a favorite from my grandmother. Refrigerator Rolls were a standard each Thanksgiving in my grandmother's home. They are a simple bread to make and possible to do correctly even if you have never made bread before. You can use the whole batch or store them in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, using only what you need.

To add these to your holiday meal, follow these directions:

4 cups milk
1/2 c shortening melted
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 pkg yeast, dissolved in 1/4 c lukewarm water
flour (1 4 pound bag)

Scald milk, melt shortening. Mix together with sugar and let cool (very important). After it cools, make yeast mix. Add to cooled mixture. Gradually add 3-4 pounds of flour to form batter. Mix thoroughly with a mixer after each addition of flour. Put into greased bowl and let rise double. Punch down. Store in large covered bowl in refrigerator. Pull off desired amount. Form into rolls and let rise double (about 1 hour) on a greased pan. Bake for approximately 10 min. at 350.

The best part about using the Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer for this recipe is the 400 watts of power. That means that this blender can stand up to tough jobs like bread dough- powerful enough for 4 1 pound loaves of bread. Using the mixer after each addition of flour helps to ensure the flour is distributed evening and that you do not use too much flour. Using a hand held mixer is very labor intensive and using the mixer will overheat before you finish. Using your hands to mix is a messy option. A stand up mixer is the perfect option since you can easily raise and lower the beater bars and adjust the speed as needed for flour (never start too high!).

The great part about the Hamilton Beach® Mixer is the great colors that are available- apple, pineapple, sugar, ultra marine, sterling, and licorice.

Using a Blog to Make Some Money From Home

You may notice that some of my blogs are not just about preschool activities. Occasionally I will do some adverting for a variety of companies or organizations. I am paid for these posts and make a little money each month from them. Since my Smart Mom Team is always trying to help other moms make money from home, I wanted to explain the reasoning for these posts. If you are interested in making some money from your blog, you can start by or click on the Pay Per Post badge on the sidebar of my blog.

I hope you will still continue to read the great activities and maybe find out about a great new website or product that is available.

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Mother Goose Rocks

If you have not listened to any of the Mother Goose Rocks, you are missing some great kids music! You and your kids will love them if you are into pop rock! I happen to catch a song on XM Kids on day and went to look them up on iTunes. They use a twist on names from real bands, like Stung or Dave Math Shoes, and have a song in that artists' style. TOO CUTE! Some samples are available through the website MotherGooseRocks.com (the whole album has samples on Volume 3) or listen in and buy just a few songs on iTunes. They are fun, upbeat songs that will get your whole family jamming! Plus, your little musician will learn the most common children's songs with a bit of a twist!

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Shop the Alzheimer's Foundation eStore

I just discovered the the Alzheimer's Foundation of America has a store with beautiful jewelry and training videos for caregivers of those with Alzheimer's. I am always on the look out for gifts that are different and a gift that can do more. What a great place to buy a holiday gift for someone special. The products are meant to raise awareness and enhance knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease and related illnesses. Proceeds from the sale of these products support the programs and services of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and its member organizations. Not only will you find a unique gift, you will also be supporting a worthy cause. The unique and beautiful Heart of Care necklace and bracelet are great gift ideas, even for those that are not caregivers. But if you know a caregiver in your life, this would be the perfect gift for the upcoming holiday season.

It is so important for the Alzheimer's Foundation to help fund the search for the cure for this terrible disease, but also to provide care for those that suffer with the disease. By purchasing a gift from the Alzheimer's store or by making a gift donation, you can do your part to help those that live each day with the disease.

The Alzheimer's Foundation website is a great resource for anyone that needs more information about the disease, services, care or clinical trials. There is also information on an upcoming screening day to help find those that may have this disease. The Foundation's store helps to support all of these services.

Supporting a worthy cause during the holidays helps you gift do double duty... you give a wonderful, unique, and thoughtful gift as well as give support to those that are in need of help and a cure. That is the gift to yourself- giving to others with a purpose!

My Picky Lunch Eater

I have a picky eater. He does not prefer eating most of the time; he would rather drink chocolate milk (made with Olvatine or Instant Breakfast to get something in him!). Making his lunch to go to preschool this year has been a challenge. He eats strange things, but not always a "main dish." The best thing for us to do is to ask him each morning from the selection we have to provide. The key is to get a well insulated lunch box with some frozen packs to keep cool things cold. We also include milk for lunch too- kept cold- so he can get his fix in the middle of the day.

The biggest change in going to school is having to eat when you are told to eat- morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. Also, drinking when you are allowed to drink. My kids like to drink, so when I was home with them, they did drink. They also ate, but not at scheduled times!

We now just ask before we pack. Some options are yogurt (well insulated), rice, beans and rice, small pizza slices, frozen chicken (the school does heat food up), pudding made with whole milk, and peanut butter sandwiches- with sprinkles (it is the only way he will eat it- or with chocolate chips or marshmallows- the protein is the important part!). Some snacks are strawberries, a favorite fruit, baked Cheetos, a tortilla, or corn chips.

Sometimes the lunch box comes back almost completely full- except for the milk and usually a snack or two.

And we do not worry about it.

He will not starve.

Mostly, he always has milk!

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Cultivating Giftedness in Preschoolers

Today, my child's teacher told me he was smart. Of course, I knew he was smart. My husband knows he is smart. But how many parents don't think their child is smart??? And how many think their child is gifted?

This year, I returned to teaching in a job that works with gifted and talented students. (Before I taught students with disabilities.) I have learned a lot about the traits of gifted children. I am not diagnosing my child, but many parents and teachers overlook giftedness in their children because they do not want their child to be different or placed in a separate program. Many parents feel they don't know what to do IF their child is gifted. What if the child is smarter than the parent?

My son has a great memory. That may make him smart. But only if he can apply what he has memorized. And only if I can work with his strengths and weaknesses and develop both.

There are some markers to use to gauge if your child is gifted. Any parent would like to encourage the natural talents of their children. Beware of not giving your child too much praise or attention. This may do one of two things: inflate his ego or make him embarrassed.

If you think your preschooler is gifted, use these ideas to cultivate the giftedness. Allow your child to explore and develop at his own pace. Do not try to force your child to read early, memorize facts, or drill flashcards. Preschoolers are still preschoolers and need to develop preschool skills. They may memorize and recite facts to you, but are they learning and understanding. They may read at an early age, but only encourage it if they are interested. If they do not learn it now, they are still going to learn it!

Enjoy your child, no matter what strengths and weaknesses they have. Encourage the love of arts, reading, and learning- not the dislike or worksheets, pencils, and coloring in the lines!

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