Inspire Imagination & Character with a Classy Collection of Dolls (Holiday Gift Guide Tip #1)

What wishes and dreams do we hold dear for our young girls as they grow up?  How are we speaking life and love into them.  What kind of story are we hoping they write for themselves, for others, and for the future? 

As mothers and teachers of young ladies we feel a tremendous burden to guide the next generation to seek love & mercy, to recognize inner beauty, to find joy, to develop their passions, to recognize their potential, to stand for what they believe, to inspire others and so much more!

One simple way  to inspire our little ladies to dream big is by helping them to develop their imagination. There are role play activities, art projects, and creative play centers we can set up in our homes and classrooms to encourage imagination.  Pretend play with dolls is one timeless activity to encourage exploration, friendship, kindness, communication, and imagination.  

Our girls have so much to offer their generation.

Confident. Stylish. Smart. Responsible.

Creative. Capable. Friendly. Talented.

Compassionate. Service Minded. Adventurous. Strong.

 Athletic.  Conscientious. Determined.

Our Generation is an exceptional avenue for introducing girls to the world of dolls. More than just lovely 18 inch dolls, Our Generation is committed to creating a community of girls growing up together to form an extraordinary, empowered force for good.  I especially love this {paraphrased}quote, from the OG dolls, found on their website,

"We're helping our families learn to recycle, supporting charities, raising money to build homes for Haitian orphans, helping our sisters learn to read, and making sure the new students at school does not feel left out.  All that are we find time to play hopscotch and hockey, catch frogs and climb trees...to be kids. Grabbing hold of the joy that is today!"

How can a toy company accomplish all these goals?  

by creating dolls that highlight admirable character traits

including stories that encourage conversations and give dimension to each unique character

with a website encouraging girls to follow their heart

from a company who sets the example of giving back.

My 6 year old daughter has Jenny (the Sweet Shoppe Mystery gal).   She is a beautiful, affordable doll who easily passes for a more expensive, unnamed brand of dolls my daughter's friends bring over when they come to play.  Jenny, and the rest of the OG dolls, come with appropriate accessories and outfits that are easy for little hands to change.  The product line includes fun add-ons for adventures, travel, pursuing hobbies, and changing clothes.  We have found our doll to be sturdy and easy to clean.  All of the dolls feature rooted hair that makes it possible to brush and change styles. 

If you are considering a doll for Christmas for a girl in your life I would recommend checking out Our Generation.  I noticed today several of the dolls are at clearance prices on Target(dot)com. I have also heard a tip that there will be significant savings on Our Generation dolls and accessories on Black Friday. Hopefully you will be able to get your shopping done early and under budget.  Leaving you with extra time to  explore, pretend, instruct, and dream with your daughters, and extra money to share with those in need! ;)

Disclosure: Battat toys sent Jenny and the Sweet Shoppe to our family to introduce us to the brand in hopes that I would share my experience with you here on ABC & 123.  All opinions are my own and I was not paid to promote specific text links.  

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More Than Just Math: Financial Literacy (with a Flip Camera Giveaway)

Welcome! New to ABC and 123? Please check out our FAQ in the sidebar.

Updated 7/23: Thank you to each of you who contributed to our conversation here.  What a lot of interesting thoughts on money.  Congratulations to Shelley - comment #36, chosen by Random.org - the winner of the Flip camera giveaway.

Today we are talking about money. money. money. We hope you enjoy some clever suggestions from our readers, a lively discussion about financial literacy, and a neat great giveaway opportunity!
Rachelle offers a free Coin Counting game with spinner in her math feature: It All Adds Up.

Coin Dominos, like these from Green Olives and Ham, are an interesting way to learn to identify coins and their values.

Superheroes and Princesses played the game Trading Coins inspired by The Penny Pot.

Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile  uses board games to teach concepts of money such as counting bills and making bids.

My Paper Pony used state quarters to inspire an interest in US geography and to create some fun etchings. The pdf for this activity is available for free in her post.

Quirky Momma has a suggestion for shining up your coins before counting them.

The Adventures of Bear shared a play based way of learning about and using money.

They also did activities using several different  books about money.

As a classroom teacher it may be enough to teach kids to identify coins and count money.  However, as parents we must go a step further and intentionally teach them concepts of managing their money as well as how to make wise desicions with their financial resources. 

In collaboration with Disney, T. Rowe Price has created The Great Piggy Bank Adventure®  as a valuable teaching resource for parents to use when talking to their children about saving and spending wisely.  The Great Piggy Bank Adventure will offer lessons on four key financial themes: setting goals, saving and spending smartly, staying ahead of inflation, and diversifying your investments. They believe these lessons are more important than ever and desire to guide parents as they talk to their kids about good financial habits.

As parents and educators we would love to join the discussion on best practices for teaching financial literacy.  In the comment section of this post we are hoping to facilitate a valuable conversation about our families, our money, and how we are preparing our children to manage finances.

Here are some questions for your consideration:

~Do you think it’s appropriate to discuss your family’s financial situation with your kids?

~If so, at what age should you talk to them about family finances?

~Was the topic of money “taboo” in your family growing up?

~If so, how have you overcome that “taboo” with your kids?

~At what age do you start introducing financial concepts such as saving and spending or inflation with your kids?

~What advice would you give to other parents trying to use every day moments to teach their kids about the importance of saving and spending wisely?

These are questions every parent deals with and the answers are important because they can determine how your child learns about key financial concepts that will impact their lives.
To encourage your participaiton in this discussion we are excited to offer a Disney Piggy Bank Adventure branded Flip camera giveaway.  Each answer, reaction, or new question asked on topic that is left in the comment section between now and Tuesday July 19th will be counted as an entry into the giveaway. 

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Disclosure: The Great Piggy Bank Adventure-branded Flip camera and a gift card for this post's author have been provided courtesy of T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is not involved in or responsible for the outcome of this giveaway.  A specific comment is not required for entry into the Flip camera giveaway.  If you would prefer not to comment email us to be entered.  A winner will be selected from all entries after 10 pm est on July 19th, using random.org.

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Chores for Children

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Getting in the busy back to school routine sometimes requires the kids to share more of the chore responsibilities athome as well. It is empowering for kids to feel successful when helping around the home, and teaches them very important life long skills. Here are a few suggestions for organizing your household chores and encouraging children to be involved.

My Little Gems made chore charts out of placemats. She gives great instructions on putting together your own.

Mom of 2 Dancers, and perhaps others, have discovered how to make work more fun with handipoints.

320 Sycamore shares how they used chore cards for the summer, which would be easily adaptable for school year responsibilities.

Making The World Cuter shares their system for organizing chores and allowance money.

The Idea Room has a clever idea for making a magnetic chore chart. Check out her site for photos.

Simple Mom has put together a chore chart for preschoolers. She shares the downloadable chart for free.

Button Makers also has a free Kids Chore Chart pdf available for download along with instructions on how to put it together.

Creating by Cami created the Ultimate Chore Chart out of laminated cardstock, fabric, and more. Cute and Colorful.

The Examiner gets kids excited about chores with a 3D flower pot chore chart.

Stephanie's Mommy Brain manages her busy household with a weekly chore schedule.

How Does She teaches the step by steps of making a chore chart that works for multiple kids in the same family.

Chores are fun - right??? Well, at least it looks like fun to put together the organizational system for assigning them!

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Valentine Themed Learning Activities

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Katie's Nesting Spot suggests Conversation Hearts for a math sorting, counting, and graphing activity.

Tired, Need Sleep put together a printable count and clip game great for practicing basic counting this heart day.

Use something simple you already have in your home, playing cards, to make a Valentine memory game.

Using a pile of conversation hearts as story starters for creative writing, or have children add to a collaborative round table story by using key words of a conversation heart.

At Muffin Tin Mom, see how Michelle put together this simple sight word file folder matching game.

Katie has also put together a post of Valentine activities worth checking out: Heart Attack (writing / life skills), Secret Cupid (life skills), Hidden Hearts (reading/life skills), and Converstation Starters.
What heart themed learning activities have you put together for use with your students this week?
Please link to your posts below! (Please Note:  We will be featuring a Valentine Cards and Crafts link on Friday, so please save artsy-craftsy suggestions until then).

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Open Up to Possibility

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If you believe you can change the world, you just might.
This featured YouTube clip, created by a video team inside the walls of one school, is a reminder for all of us that the future is the children. It is a great encouragment for us to keep on keeping on in our daily teaching, learning, and loving!



Are you teaching your children and students to dream big and to make an impact?
Imagine all they can do to change the world?

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Life Skill: Hard Work & Detemination

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All the so-called "secrets of success" will not work unless you do. ~Author Unknown
There is nothing more satisfying than working hard toward an important goal and accomplishing it with a team or on your own. Often as parents we are tempted to make it easy for our kids by giving more advice and assistance than we should. Yet, part of our responsibility as parents and teachers is to train children for life and to give them the message that they are capapble.

~Teach children to break big goals into small steps that make hard work motivating with simple rewards along the way.

~Give children opportunity to see you working hard along side them.

~Give encouragement, avoid all critisism

~Talk to your children about their opinions of hard work vs. good luck

"We parents face the challenge of needing to create opportunities to work rather than just having them presented to us." About.com

Start a project that is sure to teach yoru children about hard work:
~Start a home garden
~Build a multistep project with legos or another model building set
~Require independent chores

The happyhome club has printable family activities focusing on perseverance which includes conversation starters, a game, and a celebratory dinner.

What are you doing with the children in your home, and your classroom, to teach the values of hard work and determination.

For a fantastic list of picture books on determination you will appreciate the reference found on the Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University.

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Teaching Generosity

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When I (List Maker Katie) think of the word generosity I think of giving abundantly to others out of the great abundance we've been given.  Although I am sure we would all say we hope to encourage generosity in all seasons, December is an obvious time to find opportunities to generously bless others with our time, conversation, attention, hospitality, and gifts.

To be generous is defined as giving or sharing without hesitation.  I love that!  There are many synonyms for generousity, to name a few: bounteous, bountiful, charitable, liberal, openhanded, unselfish, unsparing, hospitable, humanitarian, and benevolent.  Now those are some characteristics I hope to develop in my family!  Below is a collection of several resources that may be helpful.

The Suburban Journals suggests practical ways to turn holiday gift giving into lessons about generosity.

This books in this list all have lessons about generosity.

Robyn gives a fantastic list of 22 ways to teach generosity to children in her post.

Check out the printables from happyhome club for some generosity inspired family fun and conversation starters.

Wonder How To?  Check out Factoidz for an article on teaching generosity to your child.

Read more about teaching children generosity at Motherhood Inc.
Check out the list of Top 10 Christmas Service Projects, sure to open the discussion about being generous.

Families with Purpose has also put together a helpful list of suggestions for giving of our time and resources to others.

Work with your children to clean out their toy boxes and clothes closets to find items to donate to families in need.  Generosity starts at home.

Be sure to check in next Friday on our Holiday Blog Hop devoted to Homemade Gift Giving.  What better way to teach generosity than to get your children involved in creating gifts for others.

Please feel free to leave links in the comment sections to posts that show your families demonstrations of generosity this holiday season and all year through!

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Life Skill: Gratitude

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November is about gratitude, being thankful for what we have instead of thinking about what we don’t have.

Here is a great article with a list of suggestions for teaching children to be grateful. The suggest that your children experiment with going without, offer their service to others, and role play situations.



Find some inspiration for creating a Tradition of Gratitude from A List Maker's Life.

MaryAnne from Mama Smiles has shared two simple Gratitude themed crafts that require only tape, a pen, colored paper, and scissors:

Gratitude Chain

Thankful Hands


Thanks to Valery from Our Journey at Hillside Manor for submitted her suggestion for creating a tree of gratitude. Every memeber of their family will write something they are thankful for on a leaf and then we stick it to the wall. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around they will have a beautiful fall tree full of leaves.

Search these suggestions for sharing your grateful heart with your family at the HappyHome Club: Grateful Rolls, Letters of Thanks, Thanksgiving Gazette, and Leaves of Thanks.

Put together a Gratitude Garden.
A gratitude garden is a fun craft project for kids. Make a list of things you are thankful for. Next, cut some flower shapes from colorful construction paper and write each of your items of gratitude on a flower. Arrange and paste the flowers to a green poster board.

Make Stuff Together: Future Craft Collective has featured a lovely hand made Gratitude Banner.

Start a family traidtion by creating a Tree of Gratitude centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Start a family Gratitude Journal.

List all the things your family is thankful for on a Gratitude Garland or a Gratitude Wreath.

The HappyHome Club's monthly downloadable activities include Conversation Starters about Gratitude, Family Fun Night Turkey Placemats, the Leaves of Thanks tradition of the month, creating a Family Legacy of Gratitude and the Gift of Gratitude card. Download and print these activities for the month of November.

Try the Attitude of Gratitude Building Exercise suggested by Family Cares.

Prepare for the Christmas season by putting together a Giving & Gratitude Countdown. Thanks to Elise for sharing this neat submission.

Part of teaching children about money is teaching them to be grateful for what they have and to be willing to give to those who do not have all they need. Thanks to Amy for sharing her Money post.

Now, it's your turn! We are sure that the rest of our readers have many wonderful activities and suggestions for teaching our children to be grateful during this Thanksgiving season. Please link up and share all of your great ideas!

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Life Skills: Honesty

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"Honesty is always the best policy" George Washington

Halloween is all about masks and disguises, so it’s the perfect time of the year to talk about shedding the masks we create to hide who we really are. Many of us are honest with others but not always honest with ourselves, or how we represent ourselves to other people. We are afraid that if we reveal how we really think or feel, others will not like us. Since authenticity (being true to who are) is the foundation for all good relationships, this is one of those important life lessons that will impact your child’s happiness throughout their lifetime.

We need to teach the little people in our lives that it is okay to express their true feelings, as long as they do it in respectful and constructive ways. Young children naturally say what they feel and think, but they learn early in life that many emotions are “bad,” so they begin to lie in order to hide those “bad” feelings.

It is important to tell your children that honesty means expressing emotions that may seem silly, scary or bad. Always praise them for being honest and never reprimand or punish them for expressing their feelings. There should be consequences for behaving in disruptive, unkind, hurtful ways, but feelings should be accepted for what they are – just feelings. One of the best ways to teach your children the importance of honesty is to be honest with them by openly discussing your own feelings as much as is appropriate.

Exercpts taken from The Happy Home Club.

Conversation Starters:
What is honesty?
Why is it important to be honest?
What are the consequences of dishonesty?
Tell about a time you were honest. How did it make you feel?
Is there ever a time when "honesty is not the best policy"

Talk honestly about silly masks and faces with your children while making Glad/Sad/Mad Pretzels

Work with your children to write an honesty pledge. A commitment from them to be truthful in their words and actions. Ask them to sign the pledge after it is written.

With young children, put together this printable honesty train.

The Baby Center has a useful article on how to teach honesty to young children.

Teacher Planet has assembled a long list of Honesty lessons and activities.

Read a rebus story about honesty.
The Honest Mouth from Object Talks For Any Day by Kokmeyer
Ask the students if anyone knows what happens when you eat black licorice? (Put a piece in your mouth. You may want to put extra black food coloring on your piece before visiting the classroom; this will enhance the effect.) A mouth that has eaten black licorice turns black. (After chewing, open your mouth to show the result.) Yuck! Not only does your tongue look horrible, but soon your teeth and even your lips get black. It takes a long time before your mouth returns to its normal color. Dishonesty has a lasting effect on you, just like the black licorice. Like the licorice leaves our mouths black for a long time, we can see the results of telling lies long after we've told them. Others will lose their trust in us, privileges will be taken away, and friendships will be lost. Telling lies will leave a black ugly mark on you--just like the black licorice. Remember: It's always best to be honest and true, don't let the stain of dishonesty leave its mark on you.

The Tower of Flour from 10-Minute Life Lessons by Jaime Miller
Begin by spreading newspaper on a table. Place the dime in the center of the bottom of the plastic cup. Scoop flour into the glass. Pile it to the brim and press down firmly to make it compact. Place the paper plate on top of the glass and turn them over together on the newspaper. Tap the glass gently, and carefully lift it off. The flour will remain standing in the shape of the glass with the dime on top. Explain that the dime represents the trait honesty. Next, take the knife and carefully slice off the edge of the “flour tower’ being careful not to cut
too deeply. This represents what happened when we tell lies. Our reputation is weakened. Others will not trust or respect us, and eventually the tower of trust falls. Notice how each time more flour is removed the dime’s position becomes more precarious. Continue until the dime drops in.

Book Suggestions for Honesty

Franklin Finders Keepers, Paulette Bourgeois
Berenstain Bears and the Truth, Jan Berenstain
Jamaica’s Find, Juanita Havill
Arthur’s Computer Disaster, Marc Brown
To Tell Truth, Patti Farmer
Sly Fox and the Chicks, Carl Sommer
The Big Fat Enormous Lie, Margorie Weinman Sharmat
Tyrone, The Double, Dirty Rotten Cheater, Hans Wilhelm
Too Many Tamales, Gary Soto
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire, Diane DeGroat
Honest Abe, Edith Kunhardt
Summer Wheels, Eve Bunting
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire, Gordon Korman
The Summer When I was Ten, Pat Brisson
The Honest to Goodness Truth, Patricia C. McKissack
If You Had To Choose, What Would You Do? Sandra McLeod

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Teaching Responsibility & Independence

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This Sunday we will continue to look at the life skill of RESPONSIBILITY! As parents we have the responsibility for teaching our children our family values, developing their self-discipline, and helping them to understand that life is a series of rewards and consequences of their choosing.

We'd like to introduce you to a program developed to address those specific parenting goals and more. Champ Ladder is a personalized and powerful reward system that provides the tools for turning family chaos into order.

As they explain on their website,
"Children move up and down the Champ Ladder according to their behavior, and in so doing choose their own consequences. Champ Ladder™ becomes an unbelievable simple way for everyone to know at a glance what privileges they are entitled to.Through the feedback of hundreds of families and years of experience Champ Ladder™ has worked out the kinks to provide you with a simple yet powerful system that taps into the competitive nature of siblings to propel them to the top allows your children to "self-discipline" and see a direct relationship between their behavior and the privileges they are entitled to promotes a environment where discipline is consistent and fair..."

The Champ Ladder system comes with a complete Companion Guide. The guide is full of helpful suggestions for establishing and implementing the ladder. The guide also suggests defining a list of your own family principles to teach your children during nightly or weekly family meetings. Our family has put together a list of our own Family Principles that are now displayed in our kitchen. We use specific statements from the principle list anytime we are correcting or guiding our children's behavior. We also spend time each week focusing on 1 or 2 of these principles and what they mean in our daily life.

On the same board we have displayed for the kids exactly what their expectations are for being able to move up the ladder. In addition we have a score card that lays out exactly what the consequences will be for negative behavior, ex. Lying - move down 1 step.

It is working! Even for our young children. The other day in the car Gavin was arguing under his breath with his sister. I asked him if he was arguing. I heard him mutter to himself, "Hmmm...arguing is down 1 on my ladder and lying is down 2." He then answered, "Mom, I was arguing and I'm sorry. I will move down 1 when we get home." End of argument.


The rewards and consequences on our ladder include things such as: chores, books, puzzles, board games, computer time, t.v. time, extra 1/2 hour before bed, riding bikes, playing Legos, and more. Each of these privileges are attached to a different step on the ladder.



What I love about Champ Ladder is that it is adaptable for children of all ages. This same system will be effective for our children when they are teens, as long as we adjust the consequences and rewards to be age appropriate.

We have also found a way to tie the kid's weekly allowance into this system. They receive a quarter for each number they have on the chart during Friday's Family Fun night. Ex. If Anne Hope is on level 8 she gets 8 quarters ($2.00). When they are older I think it would be appropriate to give them $1 per level.

I have been working on establishing solid family traditions for our family that correspond to each month of the year, and the life skills we are working on at the time. I love that the Champ Ladder fits in perfectly with the plans we already had in place. In fact, the Companion Guide even suggests monthly family projects, tied to the family principles, that easily tie into the things we are already trying to do as a family.

Are you ready to check it out? Does this sounds like a solutions for your family? It sure has been exciting for us so far. Using the easy form on the Champ Ladder website, you can personalize your family's ladder based on the rewards and consequences of your choosing.

The website also has a lot more detailed information about the program if you'd like to take a closer look.

Here's some fun news for you...
Champ Ladder would like to give away personalized champ charts to 2 of our readers!!
To enter to WIN, please leave a comment telling us one of the benefits you see in the Champ Ladder. Use their site as a reference for ideas!

Additional Entries:
Tell us one of the privileges that you might include on your child's Champ Ladder.
Follow ABC & 123 publicly
Become a fan of ABC & 123 on Facebook

This giveaway is open to everyone and we will be accepting entries until October 13th!

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Teaching Responsiblity with Chores

Welcome to Life Skill Sunday! New to ABC and 123?
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As parents, when we think of back to school time we often make new goals for our families. It is a good opportunity to define new responsibilities and to give everyone a fresh start. We search for ways to foster independence and to make our homes run more smoothly. Throughout September we will be highlighting a few different aspects of teaching responsibility. This Sunday we are talking about CHORES! Help with chores, when done correctly, makes for happy moms and dads.

As with anything we are hoping to teach our children, assigning chores requires a fair amount of modeling, role playing, step sequencing, and positive reinforcement.

Before assigning chores it is necessary to consider what jobs may or may not be appropriate for your child.

~Mariel at Or So She Says has a post listing age appropriate chores for children.

~Joanne McNulty has put together lists of Appropriate Chores for Children by age. She has a list for 2-4 year olds, 4-7, 8-11, and 11-18.

Family Tips suggests 3 ways to Teach Your Children to Clean.

Goal for It offers free chore charts, however you do need to register to use the site.

Handipoints is a similar service useful for creating free chore charts.

Deck of Chores has come up with a clever card game to make chore time more fun! This game is appropriate for family members of all ages.

The Deck of Chores comes with instructional cards and suggested games, including Parent's Choice and Kid's Choice, however these colorful cards can be used in hundreds of different ways.

Our family has been experimenting with the Deck of Chores cards for about 3 months. Our chore aged children are 5 and 3. At this point we still spend quite a bit of time teaching what it means to do chores correctly. I will often pull out a card a day to display as the chore we will be practicing. Once the kids are successful with that particular chore it is put into the draw pile for more frequent independent use.

I love the size of these sturdy cards. They are large enough to hold the bold graphics that grab the kids attention. They are also easy enough to hold on to without losing. As we've used them we've found large wooden clips to hold the kid's "hand" while they are in play. However, I think it would be fantastic if Deck of Chores would market a clip of some sort that matches the cards to sell with the deck. Just an idea...

The suits on the cards are familiar as they are the same seen on a regular deck of cards, yet each of the 52 cards is accompanied by the name of a chore and a visual representation of that chore. After a brief introduction, even my three year old can easily identify which job she has been assigned based on the pictures.

Most of the suggested games encourage you to record your child's progress on a chore chart. You may want to reference the free services listed above or design your own.

Interested in hearing a sample game?
Game Option #1 for 2 or more players:
Each player is dealt seven cards. Place the deck down in the middle of the table. Turn over the top card to create a discard pile. During your turn you can discard any cards that match the number or suit of the card facing up. If you don' t have any cards to discard, draw from the deck until you can. The first person to get rid of all their card wins. The people with cards remaining perform the chores shown on their cards.

Thinking back, I sure wish our college sorority house would have had a deck of these cards. It may have saved us time and arguments about which responsibilities belonged to whom and maybe our house would have been clean enough to invite mom and dad in when they came to visit - smiles!!

The Deck of Chores promotes confidence, responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment while teaching children the valuable skills necessary for making a home run smoothly.

Deck of Chores is available for purchase in their online store for $14.99 a pack.
Or...you can WIN a deck of your own by entering their giveaway here on ABC & 123!

ENTRIES:

Choose any (or all) of the following options for entry. Leave a separate comment for each entry.
~Take a look at the Deck of Chores site
~Follow Deck of Chores on Twitter.
~Tweet about this giveaway using @DeckofCards in your text
~Tell us your least favorite household chore or your child's favorite chore
~Explain a game you could envision playing with these cards
~Publicly follow ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative

This giveaway will close next Sunday, September 13th, at 10:30 PM EST.
The winner will be announced on Monday the 14th!

Good Luck & Happy Cleaning!!!

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Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards Review and Giveaway PLUS Picnic Table Talk: Encouraging Others

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Hello Picnic Table Talk participants!

Today we are talking about ways we can encourage our children, family, and friends for our collaborative Picnic Table talk and we wanted to share a way to encourage children that we discovered for our contribution.

Please scroll down to the bottom of this post for today's sharing blog hop linky.

Congratulations to comment #6 Annette! You're our winner of the Daily Affirmation Cards!

Back when we first started thinking about doing a Prize Picnic promotion for the summer one of the first businesses we came across was today's sponsor, The Daily Whisper. We immediately liked her colorful, whimsical, and positive affirmation cards. We liked how they helped kids begin to have positive self talk and believe in themselves. We thought they were a great tool to teach something that can be difficult to teach in a concrete method.

One of the most powerful tools we can teach our children is how to be positive in the face of adversary and tribulations. One way is to help them have an overall sunny outlook on life. If they believe strongly in themselves they will have an important tool to help them persevere through tough times. But how do we teach that? Is it enough to give them lots of praise and support or are there directed ways to instill this in our child? That's where the Daily Whisper's Affirmation Cards come into play.

Barbara the artist behind the cards sent us the following thoughts on her product and why she thinks they are so important and ways you can use them with your children.

How powerful are our thoughts?
Do you speak to yourself in a positive and loving way?
Are your beliefs holding you back or moving you forward?

Daily Whisper Affirmation cards are designed to help us talk to ourselves in a positive way. Did you know our subconscious mind says “yes” to whatever you tell it? If we say “I AM Smart” or I AM Stupid”, each will become a belief, if we say it often enough.

To break the pattern of negative self talk, read the simple statements on the Daily Whisper Affirmation cards many times throughout the day. The positive statements on the card will override your old negative beliefs and allow you to enjoy a more positive and happy future.

Children are all different. Some are born with high self-esteem while others are born with low self-esteem. It is believed that a person has to earn their self-esteem on their own. In other words, as parents we can’t penetrate this belief with our love and praise. Our children have to find a way to change their self belief by themselves. Their self talk or Daily Whisper needs to be altered. But how, as parents can we help our children with this life changing re-programming?We can help in many ways. We can find something for our child to do that they excel in. Maybe that is swimming, tennis, soccer, baseball, artwork, sewing or many other activities that bring a smile to their face and a feeling of importance to their minds.

Another way is to give them tools to help re-direct their secret dialog. Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards for Children were designed to encourage children to talk to themselves in a positive way. Did you know our subconscious mind says “yes” to whatever we tell it? If we say “I AM Smart” or I AM Stupid”, each will become a belief, if we say it often enough.

The Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards can be used in many ways. They can be read daily by choosing one card that fits the mood of the day. If your child had a conflict with a bully at school the affirmation card that states “I am not afraid of bullies” may be the perfect answer. If the child feels lonely in a large family maybe the perfect choice is “I AM an important part of my family”.
A young child who is not able to read may enjoy the pictures and ask siblings or parents to read the statements. This is a wonderful learning tool because it will teach the child to talk nicely and it may be a good reminder for the person reading the card as well!

As parents we need to stay proactive in our children’s lives. Whether you have a child with low or high self-esteem, the Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards for Children are a wonderful tool to teach our children to speak kindly to themselves in their Daily Whisper.

Jump Start a Brighter Outlook on Life!

Looking for ways encourage your child and way to help him or her develop positive self talk? Visit the Daily Whisper and purchase a set of Affirmation Cards for Children, at only $8 a pack they are a wonderful way to help get your child develop a positive outlook on life! Barbara has several other fun and unique products and pieces of art that will make your smile so look around while you're there!

Barbara's Affirmation Cards are printed on thick card stock and feature her own original illustrations, you can view the cards included in the pictures above. They are laminated for durability and the corners have been rounded so there are no sharp edges. Your child can carry these around with them and look at it throughout the day many times and it will hold up to repeated handling.

Their business card size means that they can be discretely carried around and easily brought to school in a pocket. Your child can refer to an Affirmation Card and get a little pep "talk" from mom or dad by looking at it throughout the day and begin positive self talk at the same time.

My three year old has taken to carrying the cards around in her purse, she calls them her credit cards and asks us to read them to her throughout the day during play. I like how she's "purchasing" positive feedback from me. I can't stress enough how much the lamination really helps keep the cards looking beautiful and has helped the cards withstood frequent use from a toddler. Her personal favorites are the reading dog "I enjoy reading" and the smiling flower "I AM loved and very lovable" cards. After I read the flower one to her, she always says, "Yes I am," and gives me a big hug. I have to say sometimes the affirmation cards have also been reminder to me too to think positively about myself too!

Giveaway: {now closed}

The Daily Whisper is giving a set of Daily Affirmation Cards to one of our readers!

To Enter:

Visit the Daily Whisper at Etsy or on her personal artist site and tell us which product she carries you like most, were most inspired by, or give us a suggestion for product for her to add to her line. Do this and then any extra entries.

This giveaway has been extended and is open to all of our readers worldwide. Please continue to enter! Good luck!

Additional Entries: {please leave an additional comment for each method}

Visit the Daily Whisper Blog, leave her a comment on any post but make it meaningful and give her some feedback. Leave us a link to the post you comment on.

Follow the Daily Whisper Blog, please note it is not on Blogger so you will need to go into your Dashboard and hand enter it into your list of blogs that you follow.

Leave us a suggestion for a new affirmation for the Daily Whisper add to the package to encourage kids at home, school, or extra curricular activities.

Tell us how you encourage your children or family members {or} tell us how someone has encouraged you.

Participants in this week's Picnic Table Talk, see linky below will get an extra entry for sharing a positive strategy or story with us.

Weekly Picnic Table Talk Link Up

Please add a link to a post on your blog that shares how you encourage others. We'd love to get new ideas on how you support your children, students, family, friends, co-workers, and just about anyone else who needs encouragement. You can also share how someone has encouraged you too.

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The Birds and the Bees

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This week's Fun Friday post explores the birds and the bees. This may be a touchy topic and we understand that each family has their own ideas about how and when to teach your own children. However, we have received a few appropriate submissions that we wanted to share with you.



There's No Place Like Home provides age appropriate information for parents on what to discuss and how to include your personal beliefs and values in the conversation. There are links for children ages 3 through 12th grade.

Great Schools has an article on teaching the facts of life to students who struggle with learning and behavioral disorders, The Birds and the Bees and Kids with LD.

Family Education has a lesson on Talking About the Birds and the Bees for children ages 4-7.

Parenting has an article called The Birds and the Bees and Curious Kids aimed at helping parents of young children.

Birds +Bees + Kids ask and answers many common questions parents might have.

Sprittibee has an extensive post, on her homeschool photography blog, full of resources for teaching children about the birds and the bees.

Mariel sent us the link to a helpful post on teaching your children all about "The Birds & the Bees." She suggests many appopriate books for broaching this topic with your children.

Is this post all a bit much for you today?
How about a little buzz along the lines of ...


...Birds and Bees?

Bee Mobile from Hands On Crafts for Kids

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Life Skill of the Month: Joy

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Joy

- A source or object of pleasure or satisfaction

- To be glad, excite, exhult, or enjoy

As parents we've probably all realized that we are not able to make & keep our children happy all the time. That wouldn't be realistic or healthy. However, we likely all desire to teach our children to be Joyful despite their circumstances.

Start Talking About JOY

What's the difference between happiness and joy?

What makes you happy?

What brings you joy?

Tell about a person you brings you joy. How?

What have you done this week to make someone else happy?

What types of actions make you feel joyful?

Teach your child about JOY

~Write a letter to someone who is positive and thank them for their example

~Feel Joy by sharing Joy with random acts of kindness

~Write a personal and/or family recipe for joy

~Write your child a note about 10 Reasons he/she Brings You Joy

~Brainstorm a list of characteristics you notice in people who are full of Joy

~After you've discussed what brings you joy, as suggested in the first section, make a book of joyful things. You child can add his or her own personal drawings and together you can write captions. Start a Book of Joy and add it it frequently. It will be a handy reference to read and remind yourself how blessed you truely are☺

We'd love to know what gives you joy in your life? Leave us a happy thought or two and spread the sunshine around!

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Encouraging Independence

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Today's Life Skills Sunday post is focused on INDEPENDENCE.

Independence
The state or quality of being independent; freedom from dependence; exemption from reliance on, or control by, others; self-subsistence or maintenance; direction of one's own affairs without interference.

If we give too much independence at too early of an age our children may misuse it.
However, it we don't give them enough they will becoming overly dependent.

India Parenting suggests 4 steps to creating the right balance:

1. Take one step at a time

2. Don't be in a hurry

3. Watch

4. Help Your Child Make Lists

Resources

Read an article on Toddler Independence.

Search Warp suggests Teaching Children Independence by:

~Refuse to Step In

~Believe in Your Child

~Teach Life Skills Through Routines

~Let Children Experience Consequences

~Coach as They Learn

The Dicipline How to Blog has several posts devoted to Tips for Raising Independent Children at various age levels.

~Don't Do Everything for Your Child

~Teach Life Skills

~Teach Them to Prioritize

~Teach About Money

Parenting.com has age-by-age suggestions for raising independent children.

Parenting for Independence the Montessori Way

Suggestions

~Encourage "Free Play" in your home. Check out these suggestions on encouraging unstructured play.

~Put juice and snacks in plastic containers where your child can easily reach them.

~Allow your child to answer questions - avoid answering for them.

~Child proof your home so your child is free to explore.

~Offer opportunities for problem solvin

~Do not do things for your child that they could do for themselves.

~Install shelves at the child's level so they can put away their own books, toys, and clothes.

~Use words of encouragement instead of words of praise.

~Scholastic lists several ideas for encouraging independence in infants and toddlers.

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Responsibility

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This month's life skill focus is Responsibility
Responsibility can and must be taught.
Being responsible is an attitude& a skill.

What is Responsibility?
~Having a duty or obligation

What does it mean to be Responsible?
~accountable ~having a capacity for moral decision
~capable of rational thoughts and action
~able to discharge obligations or pay debts
~reliable
~dependable

Individuals must learn to take responsibility for themselves, their role in the family, and their behavior & choices.

When teaching responsibilty it is important to praise your child's efforts, make sure your expectations are ade appropriate, and openly share your own experiences (good & bad) with being responsible.

Conversation Starters:
~What are you responsible for?
~How does it feel when someone gives you new responsibilities?
~What type of new responsiblities do you think you are ready for?
~What are the responsibilities of a good friend?
~What responsiblities do you look forward to as you get older?
~Would you rather live with rules or without them?
~If work (or school) were an option would you go?
~Who do you know that is a really responsible person or that has done something
especially responsible lately?
~Do you look within your own person before blaming others when something goes wrong?

Activities to Teach Responsibility

Celebrate Dad & teach responsibility with some of the activities on the Happy Home Club site. ~Make a "Papa Pizza"
~Help a dad out by taking on some of his responsibilities

Acknowledge acts of responsibility you see in your home during the month by recording them inyour booklet.

Write a note of appreciation to someone who has shown great responsiblity.

Have each member of your family create a "Help Wanted" sign displaying their job in the family. What types of things would each of you include?

Natural Family Online has a Top 10 list for Raising Responsible Children.

Good Character writes about How to Be Responsible and Feel Great About It!

Ask older children to complete a self evaluation to determine "Are You a Responsible Person?".

Scholastic has a great article on Teacher Made Activities for Teaching Interpersonal Responsiblity. The ideas are appopriate for early elementary students.
Activities include:
~How We're Doing Chart
~Clock Watch
~Money Matters
~Kindness Chain
~and MANY others

Character Ed.net has a list of storybook helpful for starting conversations about responsibility.

Fun Child Learning Activities explains how she assigns chores to teach responsibility.

Living Values shares this language activity for bringing attention to responsible behavior.
Ask the children to think about a time when they were proud of helping, that is, proud of being responsible. Ask them to stand in a circle. Ask each child in the circle to take a turn saying the root sentence, "I feel proud when I __________."

PBS kids has an art activity for teaching responsibility called The Responsibility Caterpillar.

Resource Books:
Teaching Responsibility Through Physical Activity by Donald H Hellison
Teaching Your Children Values by Richard M Eyre
Amazon has a lengthy list of books that talk about responsibility.

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Family & Respect

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During the summer many families spend more time together. In fact, we often have the opportunity to reunite with family members from near and far as we vacation & picnic! Having the family together is an excellent time to celebrate each other, practice respect, and demonstrate being respectful! Here are a few suggestions for you & your families!

Family:
Any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins
or
A group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together.

Respect:
To show regard or appreciate for someone. To acknowledge their worth and uniqueness as a person.

Talk About It:
~What does family mean to you?
~What do you do to stay in touch with your family who is far away?
~What is your perfect family experience?
~Who is someone in your family that you really respect? Why?
~Have you ever been respectful to someone who is disrespectful to you?
~What does it mean to be respectful? disrespectful?
~Give examples of being self-respectful.
~Should you respect yourself as much as you respect others?

The Happy Home Club offers suggestions for families about ways to celebrate each other once a day, once a week, once a month, once a year, and once in awhile. There are some very valuable ideas listed in this printable lesson guide.

School Family shares a nice article suggesting way to use everyday opportunities to teach respect.

Building Blocks also has an article on showing respect to our family.

Looking for poems about respect? Building Blocks also provides a lesson plan for creating your own respect poem.

Respect Poetry
Quotes About Respect

Value Parenting explains several games appropriate for different age levels geared toward defining & role playing respect. These ideas would be helpful in planning a family night.

Family Reunion is a site that suggests many different idea that are appropriate for summer family gatherings. The family quilt is an interesting way to feature the uniqueness of each family member and talk about respecting our individualities.

Other Suggestions:
~Interview family members on a variety of topics. Turn the answers into trivia questions. Take turns reading and answering the questions around the dinner table (or picnic table) with your family.
~Ask questions of other family members and listen respectfully to their answers.
~Embrace Differences
~Look for Common Ground
~Learn to Accept
~Give Second Chances

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