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If you want to know why it is so important to teach our children to think, watch this...

Let Them Try It! Increase a Preschoolers Intelligence

I drive my husband crazy! In an effort to not stifle the creativity of our children, I frequently let them make a mess. If you can clean it up, let them try it! I believe that part of developing intelligence is allowing your child to experiment without the worry or stress from a parent worrying about the mess. Children that worry about making a mess become perfectionist and fearful of risk taking. Before you say no, think about it... why are you saying no? If it is safety, by all means, say no! If it is because the thought of the parent worrying about things on the floor or drips on the table, rethink!

An example of this is my son's interest in a orange juice commercial with the straw in the orange. He was amazed that it looked like you could drink the o.j. right from the orange, without using a glass. He asked to try it, so I let him. I cut a small slit in an orange and stuck the straw in. It actually worked with a very juicy orange! He did not drink very much, but he squeeze the juice out through the straw, and all over the table, chairs, and floor- all washable! He did this two times. Then he was done! He knew it was possible and it worked, and he was satisfied. Not to mention, the squeezing was great for fine motor skills!

The lesson is, think before you nix an idea! If you are a perfectionist and a neat freak, try to not force that one your child. Getting dirty is most of the fun!

Deceptively Delicious- A Must Have for Preschoolers!

I purchase Deceptively Delicious just before Christmas. My children are not the best eaters. My preschooler would eat any baby food, but changed his taste as he started eating food. My toddler never ate baby food and went straight for Cheerios. Both of them are hesitant eaters and like to eat things that are familiar.

I had not seen any of the press on Deceptively Delicious- I ran across it one day while in the book store and bought it. The recipes are really great, especially the desserts. My children love the chocolate cookies (with chick peas) and the chocolate cupcakes (with avocado). My friend that hates avocado loved the cupcakes too! I told him after what was in them and he was shocked! They have not eaten much of the other things yet, but my husband and I have loved everything I have made... brownies from scratch (with spinach), rice balls with chicken (and sweet potatoes), homemade frozen yogurt (I made a smoothie with it- YUM!) and peanut butter chocolate dip (with carrot). I am sure they will gradually work into some of the other recipes and I continue to try each and every day!

This is a great cook book for any parent, even if you do not have picky eaters or a picky husband! More veggies are never a bad thing!

Preschool Schedule Changes

What a week! My husband and I are both teachers, so we both had two weeks off during December/January. My children stayed up a little later, slept in a little longer, and truly got off their school time schedule. Not to mention, they both kept sleeping in our bed and not their own- a habit that is so hard to break.

And this week, we have been paying for it! Getting back into the school time schedule has not been easy for the adults or children in the house. It is important to stay on a schedule with preschoolers or be flexible when you do change it. We have had to have an extra amount of patience this week with our son especially. Not to mention, we are potty training our toddler too, which adds a great amount of fun!

Scheduling is important, but so is knowing how to adjust to a change in schedule. Keep this in mind as you have scheduling changes with your children, whether it is for vacation, summer break, or a new baby. Everyone has to learn to adjust to new activities and new adventures.

Snapfish- The Solution for Your Holiday Pictures!

Snapfish is offering a new lower price on prints-
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You can upload all of your pictures to Snapfish and print them for less than going to any store, all from your home computer. Nothing can be easier or make life better for a busy family. If you don't start printing those pictures now, you know you may never get it done!

Another option I love is the photo books and other photo gifts Snapfish offers. Why take so much time making a fancy photo album when you can do a completely digital book in a few hours? Check out Snapfish today. It is free to open an account and upload your pictures. You will never go back to going into a store and getting it done there!

New Year's With Preschoolers

You can celebrate New Year's Eve with your preschooler, you just need to adjust the clock! Change your clock back a few hours, whatever time frame you decide (it should at least be dark). Plan a celebration, with sprakling juice or cider (add club soda to some juice to make a perfect celebration drink!), some fancy foods, and some fire works or sparklers. As your "clock" approaches midnight, have a count down, and scream and yell with it strikes 12! Then, you preschooler can go to bed and you can stay up to watch the real ball drop. Your preschooler will enjoy the celebration of the new year without the crankiness in the morning!
One other option is to celebrate the first New Year's on our planet in the Christmas Islands near Australia. Their New Year will be at 1:00 pm EST. You can see all of the New Year's Count Downs at Countdown to New Year 2008. Choose a county and countdown to their celebration. This could be an all day event! With a world map handy, it can be an introduction to a geography lesson too!
You may also choose to follow Greenwich, UK. This is where time is set. As of this posting, it is a 5 hour difference from the Eastern Time Zone. That would put our celebration at 7:00 pm! Perfect for preschoolers!

Happy 2008!

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Playing With Christmas Toys

If your preschooler is like mine, the layers of paper and gift bags have spread throughout the house and the children really don't remember everything they have opened. My children got three gifts from Santa, three gifts from Mommy & Daddy, miscellaneous gifts from aunts, uncles, and cousins, and TONS of gifts from Papa and Mimi! They hardly remember what they opened yesterday. I have an aunt who used to make her daughter write a thank you not before she got to play with anything (following Christmas day). That was encouragement to get those notes out! I have a lot of things in a box and we are taking them out slowly. Help your preschooler appreciate the gifts and not be overwhelmed with the abundance of gifts. Help them appreciate the person that gave the gift by reminding them who took the time to remember them this year. And the thank you notes would be nice too!
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