MomTrusted on Parenting, Kids, and Early Education

Earth Day Activities for Kids

Celebrate Earth Day with some of these fun Earth Day activities for kids:

 

Clean up the outdoors

Grab everyone in the family and head to a local park, bike path, pond, lake or river. Grab some gloves to stay clean and some paper or reusable cloth (just wash them after!) bags. Spend a couple hours picking up trash and reducing litter in natural areas within your community.

 

Ditch the car

Vow to spend the day carless if you can. Rely on long walks and bikes to get around. Not only is this a great way to stay fit, but explain to your kids the negative impact of cars and how minimizing their use can benefit the environment.

 

Have a blackout party

Teach your kids about conserving energy by hosting a blackout party. Grab some candles and leave all the lights off when it gets dark. Don’t use any electricity and spend the evening playing games and telling stories by candlelight.

 

Plant a garden

Dedicate a special, small garden in your yard to Earth Day. Spend the day laying fresh soil and planting flowers, vegetables and herbs.

 

Plant a community tree

Contact your local park or community center to see if your family can help plant trees or flowers at any public locations. Then, every time you walk by it you’ll be reminded of the Earth Day you spent together.

 

Sources:

-“Earth Day for kids” Activity Village

-“Get your kids involved for our planet” She Knows Parenting

-Photo courtesy of pat138241/freedigitalphotos.net

Earth Day Resources for Kids

Looking for some great places to visit to help teach kids about the environment and Mother Earth? Look no further than Mom Trusted. Here are some great Earth Day resources for kids:

 

Helpful Hits for Planet Earth

Helpful Hints for Planet Earth has a whole variety of activities for children. It has a list of fun ideas to do, all themed around Earth Day, from puzzles to maps. It offers an online quiz to help teach valuable, green lessons. It even offers a full list of books related to Earth Day.

 

 Earth Day Games by PBS

PBS offers a colorful page filled with fun, online, Earth Day games. Learn how to garden with Caillou Gardner. Have Sid the Science Kid help teach how to plant veggies. Go on a Sesame Street Earth Exploration. Learn about recycling with Gabriela Cleans Up.

 

Earth Day Activities from DLTK’s Crafts for Kids

Check out DLTK’s Earth Day page for a long list of crafts and activities. They offer everything from coloring pages to games and puzzles. There’s also a list of Earth Day crafts where kids can make earths out of coffee filters and festive wreathes and pinwheels.

 

Earth Day for Kids from Activity Village

Earth Day for Kids from Activity Village has a whole list of interactive Earth Day activities. Choose from one of the fun coloring pages or watch a few of the Earth Day videos. You can even read a recycling poem to the kids.

 

Photo courtesy of ddpavumba/freedigitalphotos.net

Potty Training Tips

Potty training can be a frustrating and messy (trust us, we’ve been there too) process. But with a little bit of structure, guidelines and positive reinforcement, it doesn’t have to be a disaster. Here are some potty training tips from MomTrusted:

 

Follow the rule of 15.

When you have the time to keep a close eye on your toddler, ditch the diaper. Then let your little one go about their playtime and meals as usual, but plop them on the potty every 15 minutes. Gradually lengthen the time of the sessions until they’re all-day long.

 

Practice positive reinforcement.

Every time your child goes in the toilet, praise them. You can even keep a handful of a small treats (try M&Ms or stickers) in the house and give them a special reward every time they go in the right spot.

 

Let is all hang out.

Let your toddler run around the house naked or pants-less. This way, when they have to go, they don’t have the option of going in a diaper. That leaves the floor or the toilet. Odds are, they’ll choose the toilet.

 

Keep sitters and teachers in the loop.

Make sure that everyone who watches your child knows that they’re in the process of potty training. This way they can help remind them to go now and then and they’ll be extra prepared for potential accidents. If you’re rewarding at home, be sure to explain the process to your little one’s babysitter or teacher so that they can mimic what you’ve already begun. Consistency is key!

 

Provide a target.

For little boys, give them something to aim for. Throw some Cheerios or Fruit Loops in the toilet and make a game out of it.

 

Stay protected when training is not in session.

The easiest way to keep the process mess-free? Pop on the pull-ups when you’re not in the middle of a training spurt. And at nighttime, especially in the beginning.

 

Sources:

-“How to Potty Train in a Week.” Parenting.com

-Photo courtesy of arztsamui/freedigitalphotos.net

Best Books for Moms

Trust us, we know how important some down time is for busy moms. So after you tuck your little ones in at night, before you collapse in exhaustion, relax by reading a book. MomTrusted is here to help! We’ve scouted out the top 7 best books for moms:

 

Where’d You Go, Bernadette

By Maria Semple

This is the hilarious story of an agoraphobic woman who goes missing. Her best friend and daughter must hunt her down. This goofy read explores the strong bond of a mother and daughter.

 

No Biking in the House Without a Helmet

Melissa Fay Greene

Right before Melissa’s oldest of her four children headed off to college, she and her husband adopted five more. They took in four children from Ethiopia and one from Bulgaria. In No Biking in the House Without a Helmet, the author explains why and how they doubled their family size.

 

Bossypants

Tina Fey

As any fan of Saturday Night Live knows, Tina Fey will have you laughing out loud in no time. In Bossypants, Fey talks about being a mother. She touches on the funny parts of being a mom and the scary ones, making for an incredibly relatable book for any mom.

 

Cinderella Ate My Daughter

Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein explores what influences like Miley Cirus, the American Girl Dolls and Disney World are doing to young girls in today’s society. She argues that these influences are putting an unneeded emphasis on appearance and sexiness too young.

 

It is Well with My Soul

Ella Mae Cheeks

106 year-old Ella Mae Cheeks tells the story of her life in It is Well with My Soul. She reflects on watching W. E. B. Du Bois speak in the early 1920s and attending President Obama’s inauguration. Learn about how she lived a happy life for 106 years.

 

Forgotten

Catherine McKenzie

When Emma Tupper heads to Africa on vacation, she has no idea that an illness will strand her in a small village for six months. When she finally returns home, she finds that everyone thinks she died. Read as Emma struggles to reestablish her family and life, all the while discovering her true self.

 

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms

Kristine Carlson

Kristine Carlson writes of her own experience as a mother, with an understanding voice, offering advice and learning from her own mistakes.

 

 

Sources:

-“Mom Will Love These Entertaining Reads.” She Knows

-“Books Moms Will Love.” Oprah

-“10 Best Mother’s Day Books of 2010.” The Christian Science Monitor

-Photo courtesy of marin/freedigitalphotos.net

Mommy Math: Kids and ADHD

ADHD has been receiving more and more attention in the media as diagnosis numbers continue to rise. This disorder affects children more than adults by nearly eight times and boys are two times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls. In our most recent Mommy Math, we dug into the math surrounding the disorder:

5 Everyday Objects that Your Baby Will Love to Play With

Sometimes we get so caught up with the cool, new technological baby toys that we forget how much fun they can have with simple, everyday objects. Babies’ curiosity makes simple items lying around the house new adventures. Here are a few to explore with your little one:

 

Scarves

That pile of scarves sitting in your closet is more than just a bunch of accessories. It’s a great way to make your little one smile. Not only do babies love the silky texture of scarves, but the colorful, bright patterns are sure to catch their eye. Try throwing them around so your baby can watch them twirl around in the air.

 

Pots and Pans

Just like in the movies, babies love the sound of banging on some pots and pans. Grab a spoon or spatula, some pots or pans and let your little one rock out. OK, so we know the noise can be enough to cause a migraine, so just make sure that you set aside a short time period and stick to it.

 

Plastic Cups

Safe and simple- babies love stacking plastic cups. Grab a variety of sizes and colors and set them out in front of your little one. The best part? They make for a fast cleanup!

 

Tupperware

Grab some Tupperware with lids and show your baby how to snap them on. They’ll have a blast matching up the right ones.

 

Cardboard Boxes

Grab some big cardboard boxes and make a tunnel for your baby to crawl around in. Let them hide under them and cruise through them.

 

Sources:

-“11 Fun Activities for When Winter Weather Traps You Indoors.” Parents.com

-“5 Unexpected Household Items that Babies Love to Play With.” Yahoo Shine

-Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

5 Ways to Bring Outdoor Activities Indoors

Have you read as many children’s books as you can stand and downed hot coco until it’s coming out of your ears? Stop longing for the long days of summer and bring some outdoor activities indoors with these 5 fun activities for toddlers.

 

Hopscotch inside

Who says you need a driveway for hopscotch? One of the easiest ways to bring outdoor activities indoors is by making a hopscotch board. Simply head to your local craft store, unroll about 10 feet of paper and use some markers to draw a colorful hopscotch board on it. Then let your cooped up kiddos jump around and let loose on the new toy.

 

Throw a pool party

Throw on some reggae, pour some pineapple juice and dig those swimsuits out of storage. Then grab your kids and pile into the bathtub, your own, personal pool. Invite Barbies and action figures to join! You can even blow up a mini beach ball to toss around. Just remember that this pool party should remain soap-free because a slippery bathtub can be dangerous.

 

Create tropical creatures

Use pipe cleaners to put together a whole jungle of tropical critters. From lizards to leopards, you’ll have your own rainforest in no time. Just start with a loop for each animals’ heads, coil around for their bodies and stick a few cut pieces on for the legs, tails, and tongues. You can even encourage your little ones to make trees, grass or water for their pipe cleaner animals to live in.

 

Stylish sunglasses

Buy a few cheap pairs of sunglasses and help your children glue summery decorations to them. Maybe you want to add shells, sequences and rhinestones. What better way to brighten a grey winter day?

 

Picnic time

Have an indoor picnic. Spread out a blanket in your living room and chow down on summer favorites like sandwiches, fresh fruit and lemonade. Plus, cleanup’s a breeze. When you’re done, just throw the blanket in the washer.

 

Sources:

-“Hopscotch Mat” Martha Stewart

-“Pipe Cleaner Creatures” Martha Stewart

-“Fancy Shades” Martha Stewart

-“20 Indoor activities for kids besides TV” Simple Mom

-“17 Great Indoor Games and Activities” Parents.com

-Photo courtesy of stockimages/freedigitalphotos.net