The curriculum uses classic children’s storybooks like The Story of Ping, Katie and the Big Snow, and Make Way for Ducklings and bases lessons in English, geography, history, science, art, and other subjects on the story.

Children easily remember things that they are interested in. Think about the last time your five year old explained, in great detail, the plot of the last Pokeman cartoon that he saw. Five in a Row uses the same idea – entertainment for almost effortless learning.

You get a teacher’s guide with all of the activities for each story in it. You don’t have to do all of the activities – there are many to choose from. You don’t even have to do the stories in any particular order.

Once you have chosen a book you will read it to your child every day for a week, thus the Five in a Row. Each day you and your child will explore a different subject related to the story. You may learn about Paris when reading the Madeline story or find out about maps and how they are made when reading Katy and the Big Snow. Since you can get many of the story books at the library, the actual investment is usually not too bad.

I enjoyed this curriculum. There are four volumes in the basic program – enough to take care of four years of learning. You can even get supplemental guides to help you use the program with preschoolers or older children for those parents that are teaching a variety of grades.

One of the best parts of it for me was the feeling of having quality time with my children while we were reading. Cuddled up on the couch, while a steady rain fell outside the windows, we traveled to Paris, experimented with lemons and taste buds, and created a variety of descriptions using a personification technique. It was more than school – it was a time of making memories.

You can find out more about this curriculum at the Five in a Row website.

photo credit: IowaPolitics

While these events built camaraderie and memories among the kids it didn’t help me to get to know them, their hopes and dreams, fears and frustrations as individuals. I knew I wanted to change that. I knew I didn’t want kids that grew into teenagers that lived in a world so far from my own that I couldn’t even imagine it, let alone enter it.

It was at that point that I made a commitment to take one child per week out for at least an hour. I decided that, as funds allowed, I would use this time to introduce them to new cultures, experiences, and ideas. We would go to lunch, or to the park, or shop and I would leave much of the time in the control of the child.

We call it Mom and [child's name] day at our house. It happens every single week like clockwork unless there are extenuating circumstances, and those don’t happen often.

At this point in my life, I have five of my eight children at home. Each week I have a glorious block of time to get to know them as they grow and change. It isn’t a time to correct, discipline, or vent – at least for me. The child is free to say what they need to say and we can talk about whatever they want to.

Sometimes we go for fast food and sometimes we go for Thai. If funds are short, we may just get a drink and go to the park to sit and talk. Sometimes, especially with one of my kids in particular, we sit in companionable silence. It really isn’t about what’s said; it’s about what’s felt. Even the quiet builds intimacy between us.

It has been interesting to watch as my children grow and turn into teens (I have done the “teen” thing six times – only two more to go!) and still talk to me about anything you can imagine. Dating, sex, drugs, friends, fears, and physical concerns are the topic of conversation as often as favorite movies.

Because they are in the habit of speaking to me, there is no reason for them to pull away. Because I am in the habit of listening, there is no reason to worry that they are wrestling with something I don’t know about.

We know each other on a level that encourages communication.

If you have small children, now is the time to begin building those strong ties, but even if you have teenagers that are uncommunicative, it isn’t too late. The key, if there is one, is to listen more than you speak. Don’t use this precious time as anything other than a chance to get to know your child and allow them to know you.

It may take several outings before your child opens up to you and that is O.K.  Don’t push and don’t have an agenda. Keep it relaxed and fun.

I now have three grandchildren in addition to my children. Lately I have been kicking around the idea of having a bit of time with each of them. Perhaps it will be a little different, but I want to give my grandchildren the opportunity to know me as a person. Someday the memories we make will be all that they have and I want them to be good ones.

In this society where families text each other from across the room and communication is often very superficial, it is important to create a real bridge of communication with our children. It helps to ensure that they grow up knowing that they are treasured and accepted for who they are as individuals and that we, their parents, are imperfect humans that will always be in their court.

Discipline is an important part of parenting, but it must be balanced with communication and acceptance. When you spend one on one time with your child, it makes that balance much easier.

How do you get quality time with your kids?

photo credit: WalkingGeek

More and more consumers are using the convenience of their computer to buy gifts of all kinds. It is certainly convenient to be able to log on to a registry, click a few buttons, and have the gift paid for, wrapped, and sent to your home so that your child can present it to his or her friend without ever having to actually see it.

Surprise!

It makes me wonder if, despite the convenience factor, society isn’t depersonalizing relationships. In the past, when a child was invited to a birthday party the guest took a Saturday and shopped for the perfect gift, the thing that the child most wanted to get her friend. The gift was taken home, carefully wrapped, and presented.

Like Forrest Gump’s proverbial box of chocolates, you didn’t know what you were going to get.

I understand the ease of choosing from a registry. I get that it is nice to know that the birthday girl or boy will get exactly what they want. There is no time consuming search for just the right gift. It is a no-brainer.

In that convenience, you have to wonder if something isn’t lost – the lesson of receiving gifts graciously perhaps. More than that, I wonder if we aren’t smudging the definition of what a gift really is.

Gift: noun. Something bestowed without any particular effort by the recipient.  Something given in honor of an occasion.

The gifts the child wants may be above some people’s over-stretched budgets, and I am pretty sure that registries take the fun out of getting someone a gift for some of us.

So, what are your thoughts? Is signing your child up for a registry hot or not?

photo credit: Julie Rybarczyk

We’d play until someone noticed that it was too dim to see much and the lights were blinking on all over the neighborhood. At that point it was a mad scramble to get in your house before your mom noticed it was dark.

Red Rover was a favorite back then and it provides just as much fun, exercise, and entertainment now! It is a great way to use up the last bit of energy before bed.

You’ll need at least six people, but it’s better if you have more.

How to Play

1. Choose two captains – one for each team.
2. Divide everyone up into two equal teams.
3. Each team forms a line, holds hands, and faces the other team – keep the lines about 20 to 30 feet apart.
4. The captain of the first team calls one player from the other team by saying, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send (player’s name) on over!”
5. The person called has to leave his team and run to the other team, attempting to break the other teams’ chain.
6. If the player doesn’t break the chain he has to become part of the other team.
7. If he does break the chain he can “capture” one of the players whose link was broken and take them back to his team where they become part of that team.
8. Teams take turns calling players from the opposing team until all of the players are on one side.

As with all games that involve physical interaction, you should be careful. Try to have the players all in the same age group and similar weights and sizes. If a large person breaks through the chain with too much force, obviously someone could get hurt. Remember, these games are supposed to be fun!

photo credit: Lauren Lank

Hibiscus is a flower that gives a citrusy punch and a bright red color to lemonade, tea, and punch. You can usually find it in dried forms at health food and natural foods stores. It provides calcium, iron, beta-carotene, and vitamin C to your child’s diet – always a good thing!

Keep the hibiscus syrup around for a quick, colorful alternative to those other drinks kids love. You can also make popsicles with it. You can even add it to your favorite cocktails for a beautiful twist.

The hibiscus syrup will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for several weeks.

Hibiscus Lemonade

• 5 cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup culinary hibiscus buds
• 5 cups water
• 2 cup lemon juice

Instructions

1. Bring 5 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Boil until the sugar dissolves.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Add the hibiscus and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
5. Strain the flowers out of the sugar mixture by lining a colander with a paper towel or cheesecloth and setting it over a bowl. Carefully pour the liquid through the paper towel and into the bowl.
6. Add the strained sugar mixture to a pitcher.
7. Add 2 cups of lemon juice and 5 cups of water.
8. Stir and taste. Add more sugar as necessary.
9. Drop lemon slices and ice in chilled glasses and pour the lemonade over the ice.
10. Serve immediately.

Makes about 8 servings

photo credit: Marye Audet

Here’s a novel idea – for those nap times that little Johnny just won’t go down for a nap, how about having Winnie the Pooh read him a story? Try the upcoming release called The House at Pooh Corner by AA Milne.

A friend was telling me that her three year old is not napping at preschool when every one else sleeps. The poor guy has to sit/lay there for 2 whole hours while everyone else snores away…what torture! The teacher suggested my friend send her son off to school with an iPod so he can at least lay down and listen to something interesting…and it got me to thinking, are there children’s books on tape for such a thing? And, if so, can a three year old manage to listen to it?

I simply don’t know – do you? If you have any insight in to this, I’d be all ears, as they say. In the meantime, I did find this Winnie the Pooh book on CD that looks quite promising, to be released on September 22. Seems like Pooh is up to his old antics.

You can pick it up at Amazon:

Now this is a book I can really get behind. Mo Willems has such a way with children’s literature and his latest book is no different. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is a delight to read for both parents and kids.

Wilbur, a Naked Mole Rat, is unlike the rest of his colony in that he likes to wear clothes. See, being naked mole rats they typically don’t wear clothes and Wilbur gets plenty of flak for being different. His friends consult Grand-pah, “the oldest, greatest, and most naked naked mole rat ever” to see what he has to say about Wilbur’s peculiar predilection.

When asked why Wilbur chooses clothes by Grand-pah, Wilbur simply asks, “why not?” This gives Grand-pah pause and he has to go away to think. Well, Grand-pah jumps on board with Wilbur and echoes the sentiment, why not indeed. A party ensues where moles rats in varying states of dress have a good ol’ time. Ahh, the wisdom of tolerance.

We have all the pigeons books in our house and this is a great addition – especially if you like quirky animals who do quirky things but seem to enjoy the hell out of it!

Mommy: “Which one do you want? The pink one or the blue one?”

Baby: “No.”

Mommy: “Look how nice they both are…you can have one – the pink or the blue one”

Baby: “Nooooooooo”

This was the scene behind our front door the other morning as we headed out to the playground. Since it’s cold here most of the summer, I was trying to get the little one to choose which coat to wear since not wearing one did not seem like a viable option…it was (or at least felt like) 50 degrees outside.

The “no” went on for some time until she managed to actually choose the pink one. It was funny, too. She just all of a sudden, in the most reasonable tone said, “pink” and let me put it on her. Then she was all excited to get zipped up. Off to the playground we went and I was already exhausted.

At what point is it OK to just let her walk outside and be cold so that she’ll ASK for her coat?!?

photo credit: Lars Plougmann

OK, this is simple but incredibly effective. Stash away some of your child’s toys for about a month or two. Then, “re-discover” them, or better yet, systematically place them out for your child to re-discover, and watch their face light up. It’s like finding an old, long lost friend!

I did this for the first time about 6 months ago and have been slowly letting my daughter find her old toys in odd places around the house. It’s like a huge game of hide and go seek for her.

The best was when I squirreled away her stuffed puppy (she LOVES puppies) and then strapped him in to the high chair for her to discover in the morning. When she came in to the dining room for breakfast and saw him, she ran over, threw her arms around him and squealed, “puppy!” (Yes, he is a no-name puppy for now, but that doesn’t diminish the love!) She’s been dragging him around ever since.

One note of advice: be sure to do this when they CANNOT see you do it and when you’re sure that they won’t immediately go looking for the “lost” toy…that’s no fun for anyone – trust me!

photo credit: Travis Isaacs

I was reading the recall notices in this month’s issue of Parents Magazine and thought, “ahh, nothing I have,” but it got me to thinking – do I really know what has been recalled and what hasn’t? Apparently not…I just found out our car seat has been recalled! Yikes.

We have the Maxi Cosi car seat (2, in fact) and there is a problem with the latching mechanism to the base, so the company is recalling them to fix the problem. Here I am driving along thinking that I’ve got my kid all safe and snug in the back when in fact, no I don’t. If her seat isn’t attached to the base – well, I don’t even want to think about what could happen if I got in an accident.

So, if you have a Maxi Cosi Mico car seat manufactured from July 2007-February 2008 with the model numbers 22-371 and 22-372 and bases with the model number 22-515, then contact Dorel at 877-657-9546.

Other recalls that got my attention: Bugaboo Bee strollers have a risk of break failure and Gap Children’s coats with toggle fasteners that can detach and be a choking hazard.

There is a great list of recalled products at the US Consumer Product Safety Commission or at babycenter.com, if you already frequent their site. However, in the interest of spreading the information myself, I’m going to start a recall reminder – so even if you don’t have anything I talk about, you can follow the link to see if there is anything that you own that I haven’t covered. You can’t be too cautious when it comes to child safety!

OMG! When thinking about the whole idea of having a second child, my husband and I forgot a number of crucial data points, which, unfortunately, have now reared their ugly heads. First, exhaustion. I mean, our toddler (20 months, now) is so precocious – she’s in to everything.

It’s fun, at times, to catch her studying how a chip clip works for minutes upon minutes, and I realize the wonder that has yet to unfold before her. Then, when she decides to remove each and every item from the pantry while I’m loading the dishwasher, it’s not so fun.

Just when I think I’ve gotten the house straightened up, I turn around to find hurricane Sophie has blown through, leaving bits of paper, stuffed animals and books strewn about. Everywhere. Now, add to that the exhaustion that comes with breeding a baby and you see where things get tough.

I never guessed that toddler-hood would require so much of my waning energy when I thought about getting pregnant. I based my decision on the facts I had at the time – little, docile 14-15 month old teetering from couch to chair back to couch. That was fun to watch, and I could do it sitting down!

Then, let’s address the whole morning sickness cover-up. I mean, the first time I was pregnant I was sick straight through, morning till night. No relief. Of course, on looking back I *remembered* it as being not so bad. When I had to lay down, I did. When I had to take it slow, I did. When I had to run to the bathroom (or pick up the nearest bucket), I did.

Oh oh, not so lucky this time…hormones are a wonderful curse – they cause all sorts of memory loss that, let’s be frank, is the only reason humans have continued to reproduce. If we actually remembered the hell that is pregnancy and childbirth, we, as intelligent, liberated women would NEVER choose to do it again. But, magically, we forget. At least I did.

Now, when I have have to puke (read: all day long) I can’t just lay down and bury my head…I have to *play* with my little one. Granted, no one watching me do this would regard it as playing for either adult or child, more like mild torture for both parties. But, hey, I do my best to at least throw up discreetly into a plastic baggie behind my back.

There is more – trust me – there is more, but full on complaining won’t get me anywhere. Although, a little venting is always good for the soul. Suffice it to say, if I knew then (ok, remembered) what I know now, my daughter would be a happy, well attended only child. That’s not to say I’m not looking forward to this little baby arriving – I am only too happy to get the tiny little thing out of my body and safely in to this world…it’s just that sometimes I wish I could skip the whole pregnancy part.

image credit: wilpf.org

At less that two years old, my daughter, who sees me and my husband brushing our teeth each morning (she’s usually asleep by the time we do it at night) has taken a keen interest in the toothbrush.  On a recent playdate, she even convinced her friend to join in on the fun.

Since we’re all about Montessori in this house, I have taken her cue and begun teaching her about personal grooming habits: specifically brushing her teeth.  According to Maria Montessori, children learn best when they are ready to learn the lesson in front of them.  Their readiness is usually a sign that they feel some sense of control over what and how they will learn.  Or maybe it’s the control that leads to the readiness.  Children have, what Montessori termed, an “absorbent mind” and when the mind is ready, learning becomes more of an organic *knowing* rather than a chore.  Think of it as an exploratory environment.

We’ve been trying to get Sophie used to brushing for some time now, but only recently has she shown any real interest. I’d say she’s still *tolerant* of the nightly brushing but it’s during the day when she really just won’t let go of the thing.  I do hope this infatuation with the toothbrush stays with her.

The next lesson: potty training as her new favorite word is “poopy.”