Fun Fall Activities

The fall season is full of fun activities to do as a family. Many visit pumpkin patches, apple orchards, and corn mazes. But there are plenty of interesting things you can do as a family without ever leaving your house. Here is a list of a few things you can do to celebrate fall without having a break the bank:

1.       Raking leaves and then collecting leaves for an art activity- you and your family could spend the morning raking leaves and creating piles to jump in, have contests to see whose is the largest, or pick which pile has the most colorful leaves. Once the majority of your leaves are bagged and ready to be picked up, collect a small pile to create leaf art. You could use them to paint with, glue them onto paper and make your own collage of colors and shapes, or even create pressed leaves to add as decoration to make your own fall place mats or name tags. (cost for supplies: free)

2.       Pumpkin carving- purchase several smaller pumpkins or one/two larger pumpkins and use cookie cutter shapes and a mallet to create designs in your pumpkin. Instead of using a candle, use glow bracelets/sticks or the artificial battery operated candles you can purchase from the dollar store to light up the inside of your masterpiece. If you are looking to make your own design or a pumpkin face, you can purchase a simple carving kit for about $1.00 at the dollar store or your local Walmart. (Cost for supplies: Between $5-15.00)

3.       Homemade edibles out of apples- collect a few baby food jars from the child care center and use them to make homemade apple butter or apple sauce from apples collected at an orchard or your local grocery store. You could also make homemade apple cider or apple juice. (cost for supplies: $5-15) Here are a couple of easy recipes to follow for these activities: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_butter/ and http://www.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/spiced-hot-apple-cider-26711

4.       Fall table centerpiece- have your family go outside and collect various fall items such as pine cones, large acorns, pine needles in bundles, and sticks. Lay the items on paper or wax paper and use glitter spray or regular glitter and paint to decorate your items. Once they dry, place them in a clear bowl to use as décor for your dining room table or coffee table. (cost for supplies: $2-5)

5.       Pumpkin play dough- Have a fun time pretending making pies and let the kids get into the actual pie pans and pie servers or mold them into small pumpkins and add a stem to make the project complete. Here is an easy recipe that requires items you probably already have in your kitchen! ( Cost for supplies: Free- $5) http://spoonful.com/crafts/pumpkin-pie-play-dough

Summer Eating

When it comes to being outside in the summer time, no one ever feels like going in to a kitchen and cooking a hot meal. Sometimes, we want to just stay outside and enjoy the nice weather and focus on another hour of sunlight. During the summer months, it’s nice to come up with creative alternatives for meal times such as a picnic in the park, sack lunch dinner, a cookout, or even a snack meal instead of a heavy meal. The most important thing when eating outside is to make sure the food that should be refrigerated is kept cool and that there are plenty of opportunities to rehydrate with water and other healthy beverages.

                Another way to shorten time on meal prepping is to plan ahead. Have your main dish cooked ahead of time or frozen so that all you have to do is throw it in the oven or crock pot and serve when outside time is over. Meal planning saves time and can save money when buying in bulk and freezing.

                I have included a list of websites that offer fast and healthy meals to prepare for outdoor adventures or extended nights outside and a couple of fun ways to drink water that even your kiddos will want to drink.

Sample recipes:

Fruit Infused Water:

Slice 1 orange (leave peel on) (You may also do this with lime and lemon or add all three- a few slices of each)

Slice 1/2 cucumber (leave peel on)

Add mint leaves (optional)

Fill 1 pitcher ¾^’s full of cold water and place sliced fruit and cucumber to infuse overnight. Serve beverage over ice.

For those wanting a sweeter taste to their water, simply substitute the fruits above with kiwi, strawberry slices, and grapes sliced in half.

Picnic in the backyard:

Turkey and cheese roll ups

Apple slices

Veggie chips

Fruit and grain trail mix for evening snacking

Infused water

The following Websites offer fun alternatives to the classic tuna salad or PB-J sandwich for outdoor meals.

http://www.albertsons.com/2013/05/kid-friendly-picnic-ideas/

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/family-friendly-recipes-00000000023901/index.html

http://family.go.com/food/pkg-summer-recipes/

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

After all of the rain we’ve had, I have noticed we are dealing with a lot of bugs. What do you do to guard yourself from the hungry mosquitoes outside? I have been doing some research on how to protect our bodies from the bugs and debating on what methods work best.

Some people are all about their home remedies for pesky insects while others trust the name brands to keep them from getting bitten. I think it is important to guard yourself from overexposure to bug bites because you never know what insect could be caring a virus that could make you sick. Here is a list of some of the diseases bugs can spread: 

•    West Nile Virus- Mosquito
•      Lyme Disease- Ticks
•     Malaria- Mosquito
•     Myiasis- Fly Larvae
•     Typhus- Fleas, Mites, Ticks, Lice

Though most of these illnesses are rare in the United States, we must always be cautious about overexposure to insects during the summer months, especially around bodies of water and wooded areas. 

I have created a list of products you can purchase over-the-counter and a couple of home remedies you may also want to try when venturing outdoors. If you have any remedies you would like to share with us, please leave a comment below. 

Insect Repellants:

•      OFF! Insect repellant- several varieties to suite your needs
•       AVON Skin So Soft/Insect repellant
•       CUTTER Skinsations
•       Burt’s Bees Insect Repellant

Home Remedies:

•       Lavender Oil- Mix 30 drops in water and place in spray bottle. Spray and repeat when needed
•       Citronella Oil- Mix 30 drops in water and place in spray bottle. Spray and repeat when needed
•      Parsley or Basil leaves- boil into a tea and either rub on skin once cooled or add to spray bottle and  spray as often as needed
•      ½ teaspoon of vegetable glycerin, distilled water and witch hazel, and eucalyptus oil- mix in a water bottle and spray as often as needed. The stronger the oil the better it works. 

What is up with Illinois weather?

Illinois is notorious for unpredictable weather and I think Memorial Day topped all of the weather conditions so far for 2013. Our campus, and mainly our center, experienced power outage and major damage to some of the beautiful nature surrounding our campus. We were fortunate enough to have been closed at the time of the storm, but the loss of trees and power resulted in a closing and a lot of cleanup. Check out some of the pictures of the destruction from the storm:

                Have you created a plan of action for situations like this one and other storms that could cross our path? Do you have a basement or safe place to go to in case of a tornado? Our children participated in their annual tornado drill just this morning and this afternoon we received word that there is a tornado watch until 8pm.  In the event that the watch turns into a warning, know that your children are in good hands and know exactly what to do if this ever happens. If we need to evacuate, our plan of action is to head immediately to the PAC tunnel, the safest place on campus.

                Here are a few measures you could take with your family if a tornado warning occurred while you were at home:

http://www.disaster-survival-guide.com/tornado-safety.html

http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4340177_Tornado.pdf

A Week of Celebrating...

What is “The Week of the Young Child”? It is a week- long celebration of us. Who? Read on and see…

·         The child- We celebrate the child because our center would not exist without the little ones who fill our classrooms as well as our hearts, participate in our activities, and remind us of why our jobs are important.  Children are the reason we do what we do!

·         The family- If we didn’t have all of you and your support for what we do, we would fail. Our goal is to share the educational responsibility in your child’s growth and development as well as care for them while you are working or in school. We appreciate your support and your trust in us.

·         The Center- We have an amazing group of people who love and care for the children and their families and we want them to know how much we appreciate them.

Please help us make the “Week of the Young Child” a successful one and join us this April 15-19^th in the activities planned to celebrate YOU!

For more on The Week of the Young Child, you can visit the following:

http://www.naeyc.org/woyc

Pinterest and other cool websites...

Did you know that you can make cool designs on paper using glue, salt, and food coloring? What about making your own birthday decorations instead of spending money on items that can be easily made? In today's world, we have modern technology to thank for sharing ideas, recipes, and kid friendly projects that create hours of fun. (especially on days like our recent snow day!)

The following websites are easy to use and offer a variety of ideas and activities to pass the time, engage in family time, or to just expand our creative experiences.

www.pinterest.com
www.pbskids.org
 http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/kids-websites
www.nickjr.com
www.familyfun.com

These websites offer cool activities, recipes for food and science experiments, art projects, and games. Next time you are home and looking for something to do with your little one, spend some time exploring one of these sites to create a fun filled day!

*Cool Art Activity to Try:

What you will need:  construction paper, glue, salt, and food coloring
What to do: Take the glue and create whatever design you want on the construction paper. Use a salt shaker to sprinkle over the glue design. Make sure glue is covered in the salt and shake excess salt off of the paper. Take the food coloring and drop one drop at a time on the glue/salt design. Watch the colors spread all over the design to create a cool art project. This activity is great for kids who want to make their own name signs for their bedroom door- just hang when it dries!