Tips and Tricks - Parenting Healthy

These 14 soft and colorful cubes provide simple suggestions for kids and adults to nourish the mind and body throughout the day. They also squeeze for stress management and release!

Zendoway Cubes: Relaxation and Stress Management Tools

The themes of these cubes include:

Happy (Gold Cube)
Gratitude (Orange Cube)
Positivity (Light Blue Cube)
Affirmations (Red Cube)
Breathing (Blue Cube)
Coping Strategies (Purple Cube)
Feelings (White/Blue Cube)
Nourishment (Yellow Cube)
Play (Earth Pattern)
Principles (Green Cube)
Questions (Black Cube)
Yoga Poses White/Orange Cube)
Chakra (Multi-Color Cube)
Stressed Out (Light Green Cube)

These make excellent Teacher and Counselor gifts for your child’s school. Sometimes kids just need simple release. Like adults, kids can benefit from calm activities that just help them refocus and reorganize their thoughts.

With my son I always keep that in mind. At 10 years old he is very well adjusted and is an excellent friend and student. We always read before bed every night since he was an infant. He goes in and out of phases being an independent reader, but I mainly have kept reading before bed as a traditional me-time and a way to de-escalate at night.

I also give him days off! For sports season and school he gets a certain number of free passes ( 1 per semester at school and 1 per sport season). His free pass can be used at anytime he wants which means he gets to wake up and for no real reason say “not today”. He does not abuse it and has learned through the years to SAVE his free days when he looks ahead and realizes an event may happen where he wants or needs that day. Why? Because sometimes we just need to self care and to call in a day but not in ways that it becomes bad habits. I gave them to his step brothers when they were younger too and they remember it. Both older boys are excellent employees today and this ‘time off’ did not create bad habits for them but they learned to ‘slow down’ and ‘take a day’.

These Zendoway Cubes are excellent tools and every home and classroom should give them a try.

Buy Zendoway Cubes

Comment: I was sent sets of the Cubes for feature. All opinions are my own

2019 Valentine's, Education, Gift Guides, School, School Gifts, Tips and Tricks

5 DIY Valentine’s Gifts for the Classroom

January 2, 2019January 3, 2019 Erin Sluka

Our youngest is 10 and even in 5th grade the kids still love the holiday gifts that arrive for celebrations. I showed up to the classroom on the last day before the Christmas holiday with donuts from the grocery bakery and you would have thought I brought a movie star with me!

“Whoa! Do we all get 1 whole donut?”

“Thank you so much!! The donuts are our favorite”

They were so excited I kind of felt guilty. Other kids brought in so many great sweets and treats and the kids were drooling over these donuts like it was all they needed. Then as they got their donut and the rest of the kids handed out there items, there was another popular treat.

The only handmade item (the rest were typical store bought cookies and cupcakes) was a boys homemade cookie treats and the kids began admiring those. They weren’t store bought and they were unique so the kids were intrigued. Even at grade 5, the kids still appreciate the effort and uniqueness of DIY class gifts.

So, I have not totally made up my mind of what to send with Anthony for Valentine’s Day but here are my favorite DIY Valentine’s Gifts for the Classroom right now I have saved into my bookmarked pages.

1. Fruit Snacks Valenties

I found these on Domestic Executive Online and in her Free Valentine’s Printable post she has this fun idea for fruit snacks. Cheap and easy!

2. Goldfish “Hooked On You” Valentines

This is so fun and also very inexpensive. All you need is some goldfish crackers, baggies and the instructions from Frugal Coupon Living’s post for these fun free Valentine’s printables!

3. Capri Sun with Cupid’s Arrow Messages

Like I mentioned above, I attended my son’s 5th grade class holiday party and with 30 kids who brought treats, no one brought drinks and us adults were running for water for very sugar-high thirsty kids! This is a fun idea I found from Joy’s Life for this fun drink Valentines printable.

4. Crayon DIY Printable

Boxes of crayons are a great non-food gift for the kids of all ages. I found this free crayon printable for this Color My World Valentine from Dreaming in DIY.

5. Peel the Love Valentine

Want to bring the healthier treat? This is a fun free Valentine’s printable from Happy Money Saver for cuties oranges

Parenting, Tips and Tricks

5 Tips to Capture the Perfect Family Holiday Card

September 18, 2018September 15, 2018 Erin Sluka

Chances are that in the next few weeks you will be planning that perfect family photo for your annual Christmas card. I have not done a family photo card in years. We have 3 boys and 2 are grown and on their own or in college. When we all happen to be together I always forget to snap a photo and then months can go by until our schedules meet up again in a moment to grab a photo.

As the kids grow you almost have to plan all year. To keep in the back of our brain to snap that photo when you get the chance. Maybe it will be with the restaurant tables in the background, but you were all together. Better yet, getting everyone all together is easier the younger they are and you can take some steps to make that posed photo fantastic.

Tim McCabe, creative director and cofounder of CardFool, has put together his five tips to capturing the best photo.

1. Magic Time. If you have grade-school kids, be prepared to get in and get out. Kids typically can sit and participate for about 20 minutes. But with a game plan, you can utilize those 20 minutes efficiently.

2. Get Lit. Make sure the background is properly lit. With cameras these days, you can review a photo before you go ahead and print it to ensure everyone’s faces forward and clearly visible.

3. Skip The Props – if you are having more than eight people in the frame, skip the props and instead focus on your location. You don’t need any extras like bales of hay or a gigantic Christmas tree taking up precious restate. Think simple and clean, regardless of how many people are in the photo. This applies to everything, clothing, background, poses, etc.

4. Smartphone – if you don’t have a fancy camera, or know someone who does, don’t worry. Today’s smart phones are equipped with a great camera. The key to making the photo professional are three simple tips. First, have someone else snap the photo. You don’t want your holiday photo to be a selfie. Second, capture the photo both horizonal and vertical, making sure that the legs and head are not chopped off. That way when it comes time to choosing the card layout, you have some options. Third, have fun with the filters. Your phone comes with several color options and lighting, play around with it, but don’t choose more than two different filters to prevent the photo looking over-processed.

5. Have fun – with today’s busy life, treasure the moment that your family is all together and you’re spending some quality time capturing a great moment. Reflect on the past year, your family’s accomplishment, and don’t forget to say “cheese.”

Books Reviews, Education, Healthy Living, Kids, Parenting, Tips and Tricks, Wellness Wednesday

Fun Ways To Teach Hygiene To Your Children

August 20, 2018September 7, 2018 Erin Sluka

A few nights ago I sent my son in for his pre-bedtime potty and to wash his hands. He is the child that at age 4 ALWAYS washes his hands after using the restroom as Daycare and myself have installed that method into his head. I noticed he came out of the restroom way too fast. “Hold on, Mister…did you wash those hands?” I got a “Huh?” look and he shoved his hands in my face and I smelled soap. It then hit me….we tell him to wash his hands and he knows to put his hands under running water, use soap and rinse but I have never actually given him any concept of why or how long. At 4 1/2 he is perfectly capable at comprehending the concept so I thought fast about all those books and articles I have come across on creative ways to help him learn and to not just wash his hands or brush his teeth, but to CORRECTLY wash and brush! Here is what I found and will use from now on with my own son……

Washing Hands

Facts

80% of germs are transmitted by hands
CDC protocol is to wash hands in warm, clean & soapy water for 20 seconds.
The proper sneeze etiquette is to sneeze into your sleeve, NOT your hands.

Fun Ways to Encourage Hand Washing

Have your child sing Happy Birthday twice or the Alphabet song..any song, really. It needs to be a minimum of 20 seconds of their hands under water rinsing with soap!
Glitter! It is great for teaching hand washing for 2 reasons. First, you can put glitter on your hands. The glitter resembles GERMS. Have them see how easily the “GERMS” spread as you shake there hand, open a door, touch the flusher, etc… Second, glitter is a challenge to wash off. Give your child a paper towel and see them struggle removing the GERMS. Then have them rinse under cool water without soap-better, but still doesn’t get the GERMS. Finally, have them rinse with soap and warm water. The GERMS go away!
Buy the fun and colorful soaps for them

Brushing Teeth

Facts

It takes 3 years for toddlers to grow their 20 primary teeth
40% of kids will have a cavity by Kindergarten
2-3 years old is when self-dental care should begin-supervising them until about age 6-8
Use soft Bristle Brush with Flouride paste

Fun Ways to Encourage Teeth Brushing

Mix 3-4 drops of red food coloring in about 2-3 tbsp of water. Have your child rinse and spit out carefully into the sink or another cup. Let them look into a magnifying mirror and see their plaque and germs.
Put Tempura paint between your fingers and give them a piece of string. Demonstrate flossing. The paint is a bit challenging to remove resembling the work it takes to floss well.
Don’t forget the eyeball catching toothbrushes and toothpaste. Let them be Germ superheros. I did this with my son as I started him brushing his teeth (he brushes after I do it first as he is only 4). We went to the store and he picked out his own toothbrush and paste then he had his “weapons” for fighting the germ monsters that invade his teeth morning and night!

A great book to use is ‘Germs Are Not For Sharing’. I highly recommend it!

Whatever you do, have fun with it and educate them!

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Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. The link to the recommended book is that of my Amazon affiliate page. Book suggestion is my own.