Kids

Successful Sleepovers
By Stacie Haight Connerty

My fondest childhood memories are those where I had or went to sleepovers. Secrets are told, friendships are strengthened and a lot of fun is had by all. Sleepovers are a rite of passage for children as evidenced by my five year old who asks almost every day if he can have a sleepover. Sometimes I let him but there is a little preparation required first. The key to a successful sleepover is keeping your sanity, having a strategy and making sure that the kids enjoy themselves.

Straighten up - Clear the clutter or manage those areas that will be seen.

Be bathroom ready! - Stock plenty of toilet paper, towels, cups and toothpaste.
Sleeping arrangements - Decide where everyone will sleep. Get out some extra blankets and pillows. Make sure that the temperature is comfortable.

Snacks and drinks - Don't just go for healthy because snacks are the best part of a sleepover and everyone expects to splurge a little. Nothing is more fun than popcorn and soda with a great movie.

Establish where the no-go zones are located - Show all attendees which rooms are off limits to them such as the office or your bedroom.

Drop Off - Talk to every parent and get a phone number where they can be reached. Ask if their child gets homesick and what should be done. Ask about allergies and also tell them what time to pick up their child.

Stuffed animals - Consider setting out a basket of stuffed animals. Almost every child gets homesick and a stuffed animal may help them feel a little more secure.

Activities - Do the more excitable activities at the beginning of the evening. Host a scavenger hunt or have kids decorate their own mini pizzas. End the evening with a movie which will help settle the kids down.
Theme parties - Girls? Host a makeover fashion show. Boys? Go on a nocturnal bug

hunt. Boys and Girls? Host a cooking sleepover. Make cookies or muffins and pack goodie bags for children to take home to show off their hard work. A child as young as 3 can stir a bowl of muffin batter or shake sprinkles on cookies and little chefs are just eager to help.

Fun, Farewell Breakfast - Custom make pancakes by buying a can of whipped cream and some mini chocolate chips. Spray out a smiley face, sprinkle some chips and you have Smiley Face pancakes for every child. Kids will love it and it is pretty easy to do.

Tips

-Recognize that you, as the parent, will not get much sleep.
-If your child has siblings and they are far apart in age, you may want to consider letting the younger child go to their grandparents house.
-Try to keep guests to a minimum as this is much easier to manage. In fact, let your child invite three friends which is an even number so no child is left out.
-Establish guidelines for the evening such as bed time, do's & don'ts, what movies are acceptable, safety rules, no climbing or hitting, no leaving the house or turning on the appliances, etc.
-Whatever you do, don't hang around with the kids. This is their time and these are your child's friends. Make yourself scarce as much as possible. Your child knows where to find you if they need something.
-Try not to embarrass your child by nagging or yelling about the noise or mess. It is only one night!
-Limit any caffeine after about 8PM or you may have kids up all night.
-Lead the charge for brushing teeth or it most likely will not get done.
-Be willing to negotiate a little bit later bedtime. If the kids have been good and everyone is having fun, give them a little more time.
-Give the kids a countdown to lights out so that they know when to expect it. 30 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes and 1 minute until lights out.
-Leave enough lights on to light a path to the bathroom in order to avoid accidents.
-The next morning before breakfast have the kids straighten up and pick up anything from the floor. This way there will be no huge mess to clean after everyone is gone and the kids can take responsibility for cleaning up as well.
-Be firm with the other parents about the pickup time. You don't want to have to entertain one child because they are still there a few hours after everyone else left.

The Most Unique Arts and Crafts to do with Your Kids over the Summer
By Lindsey Clair

There are a variety of fun and unique arts and crafts that you can do with your children over the summer months. Many of the items can come from within the home with things you already own.

Puffy Paint

Puffy Paint is basically very easy and is a fun recipe to make as well. It contains Elmer's Glue and Shaving Cream. To make it even more fun and exciting you can add any color of food coloring to the mix. Poor equal parts of shaving cream and glue until you have a stretchy consistency. You basically can not go wrong with this recipe as along as when you mix the ingredients, it stretches and topples over much like that of taffy except not as thick. You can have precut shapes made to paint on such as flowers or the sun. To make a summer picture you could get a blank sheet of white paper and puffy paint with blue food coloring. This could be the water (beach) and then add cut outs of sea shells etc. to liven up the picture. The possibilities are endless. Using thick bristled paintbrushes makes it easier to apply the puffy paint. HINT: Shaving cream gets out food coloring stains on tables, skin, and clothing.

Car Tracks

Instead of painting with an ordinary paint brush you can change it up by using small to medium-sized toy cars. Dip them in variety of tempura paint colors and roll across a large sheet of construction or paint paper. If you do not have any paper, newspaper works just as well. Both boys and girls love this type of art project. It's open ended and everyone's completed paper turns out differently. Be sure that when using brightly colored paints you have smocks or old shirts handy since this can be extremely messy. HINT: Adding soap to the paint and mixing well makes it easier for the paint to wash out of skin and clothing.

Spray Painting

If you already have empty spray bottles you are good to go. Make sure they are rinsed out completely of harsh chemicals before applying the paint. Try to find 3 to 4 empty spray bottles for this project. Fill each bottle with a different color of tempura paint. Because you want the paint to spray out of the bottles easily you will need to water all the paint down a bit and test the bottles until you get the consistency you want. It is strongly recommended you do this art activity outside since the paint can get on floors, furniture etc. Lay a large piece of paper on the ground for children to aim at. The end result can truly be a masterpiece. WARNING: Wear smocks or old large shirts for this project and have the children avoid spraying each other and their faces.

Sugar cone apple trees

This edible craft is definitely for the sweet tooth. You want to make sure you have enough sugar cones for the children present. You will need a tub of white/vanilla frosting and green food coloring. For the apples you will either need green, red, and yellow runt's candy or round multicolored cereal such as Trix. Provide each child with a tiny plastic cup and a craft stick for easy and safe spreading. Add the green food coloring to the white frosting and mix well until it turns green. Give each child a generous amount of green frosting to spread onto the sugar cone. Insert two fingers up the base of the cone to make it easier for spreading. When the cone is completely covered, have each child stand the sugar cone pointed end up. Now they are ready to add the apples to their little tree. Within one hour the frosting will be dried onto the cone. The children are then free to eat and enjoy. You can also do the same recipe for Christmas. Using a variety of candy and frosting colors turns these cute little trees into Christmas trees. This is a definite kid pleaser!