Election day with kids

Can you believe the election is today? Spencer has really gotten involved in the whole process (think Alex P. Keaton) so we are having a day full of election fun. Here is a list of some fun things you can do with the kids to include them in the day.

Books:

Duck For President by Doreen Cronin is the perfect book in my opinion. It is written by the same team that did "Click Clack Moo." It is fun enough to keep my 4-year-old interested, educational enough for my son, and entertaining enough for me to want read several times without going bananas. The story follows the life of Duck who is disatisfied with life on the farm and all his chores. He decides to hold an election to replace Farmer Brown. He wins and realizes that he now has more work to do so he moves on to running for governor which lands him in even more trouble. The book shows the political process in such a fun way and with enough satire to keep adults interested. We will be reading this book again at breakfast tomorrow.

Vote by Eileen Christelow is another good book that explains the election process in a little more detail. The pictures are great so it is something fun for little kids to look through. I will have this out tomorrow for Spencer to read and Ella to look at.






Our lunch plans for tomorrow include So You Want to be President by Judith St.George. This book is filled fun trivia about past presidents that appeal to kids. As it goes over different character and physical traits of past presidents it shows the kids that anyone can grow up to be president. Here is part of a review from Publisher's Weekly "This lighthearted, often humorous roundup of anecdotes and trivia is cast as a handbook of helpful hints to aspiring presidential candidates. St. George (Sacagawea; Crazy Horse) points out that it might boost your odds of being elected if your name is James (the moniker of six former presidents) or if your place of birth was a humble dwelling ("You probably weren't born in a log cabin. That's too bad. People are crazy about log-cabin Presidents. They elected eight")."

Web Sites:

Brain Pop has a ton of information and fun movies about the election process for kids. There are short little cartoons about many topics (for example political parties, presidential power, etc.). The cartoons look like they will entertain Ella as well as Spencer. Guess we will find out tomorrow. They also have a pop quiz section which looks like fun.

The Democracy Project from PBS Kids looks great for older children. They have a section showing what a difference one vote has made at different points in our history, another section details what is great about the 2008 election. They also have a place where kids can make their own election stickers.

Time for Kids - Spencer gets this magazine in his classroom and loves looking through it. The website has a bunch of election information presented to kids in an easy format for them to understand.

Food:

I am still working out the kinks on this but we are going to vote on different parts of our meal tomorrow night. I think the kids will get a kick out of it.

This site tells you what places will give you free food after you vote (i.e. Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Ben and Jerry's, etc.)

I am looking forward to watching the election unfold tomorrow night with Spencer. He really is so excited - it's cute! It has also made me brush up on the whole political process. I think we might also print up a map of the United States tomorrow for him to guess which states are voting which way based on predictions. It might be fun for kids to make predictions of their own and then see what happens.

Happy voting everyone!

Are we overscheduling our kids?

I went to Spencer's parent teacher conference today. While we were talking, it came up that she leaves her classroom open during lunchtime for kids to work on homework and projects. She eats lunch in there and helps the kids that need help. She mentioned that she does this because parents these days micromanage every aspect of their kids lives which doesn't often leave room for the kid to even choose to do the work they are assigned. The kid can have the best of intentions but by the time they get home from school (4 PM or later) if they have extracurricular activities they don't have time for homework. She says that a large majority of the kids eat lunch in the room and work on homework. Spencer often eats in there, not to do homework, but to help another kid with payroll for their class. He LOVES doing the math.

I am happy that she makes this option available but sad that in 5th grade kids are skipping lunch to get homework done. I remember doing that in high school, not elementary.

We live in a highly competitive area. It is not unusual to have your kids involved in something every day of the week. We have tried to limit Spencer's extracurricular activities to 3. He does a sport, Odyssey of the Mind, and scouts. We usually have been able to fit homework in but there are mornings where he is doing it before school. Thank goodness Spencer is an insanely early riser and has a good three hours before school even starts. Spencer has not even had a very heavy workload when it comes to homework. I don't know what we would do if he did.

So I realize that not everyone lives in uber-competitive Fairfax county. I'm curious, is this a problem where you live?

FHE and Faith

Halloween pics are going to have to wait until tomorrow. The kids begged for FHE tonight after church (our meeting time is 2-5 pm) so we quickly had dinner and an improptu FHE. Ella conducted which always makes for a long but fun evening. If you ever need a time filler, Ella's your gal. She can make up a 5 minute song on the spot complete with dance moves and plenty of angst much to Spencer's chagrin. It was a typical FHE: lots of teaching moments, some fun, some spiritual moments, and at least one person crying before its over (I really wish I was kidding).

I heard a quote last month about faith that I have been thinking about a lot today. I'm not sure why it's on my mind, whether it applies to a situation we are currently going through (adoption) or the grace that I have seen demonstrated by several family members and friends who have recently had some pretty big trials. But I think this quote very succinctly explains faith.

HOPE is the anticipation that the outcome will be good

WORRY is the anticipation that the outcome will be bad

FAITH is the anticipation that whatever the outcome, it will be for our
good.

Don't you just love that?

Halloween: A retrospective

4 Years ago:

3 Years ago:

2 Years ago:



1 Year ago:

Last Night:

This little exercise reinforced something that Spencer said when looking at our pics from Disney World this summer: "We are just not picture taking people mom." I have great pictures of both kiddos apart but trying to find a picture of them together was painful. I agree Spencer, I wholeheartedly agree.

Halloween week was awesome. I say "week" because we had activities every single day. Is it just me or is Halloween slowly creeping up to becoming a bigger holiday? It was fun but boy am I tired. I will post more pictures of the kids, costumes, candy, pumpkins tomorrow. Tonight Lance and I are busy eating away at the pillowcases full of candy they brought home.

Now that October is over, do you know what month it is??? It's NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). The challenge is to write a post every single day for the month of November. I wanted to try it last year but got caught up in the craziness of something I can't remember now. So this month I'm promising a new post daily. Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to posting the aforementioned Disney pics. Should be fun!

Murder Mystery Dinner

For our combined activity this month, the YW were in charge so we did a murder mystery dinner (here). It was so much fun and a huge success so I thought I'd pass the idea on.

The murder mystery is actually a story from the Book of Mormon but the kids have no idea. The game is played in three rounds with food served at the beginning of each round. We did chips and salsa, taco soup, and dessert for our rounds.

This activity works well with a small group or large group because each table of eight works by themselves. The game starts with a leader setting the scene and reading the character descriptions. I made packets for the kids with this info, a nametag, and a sheet of paper to take notes on. This was set on each table before the kids came in.

The scene reads:

The scene is the home of Judge Jones, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. On this Thursday evening, Judge Jones was found murdered. He had multiple stab wounds and was found lying in a pool of blood. There are six suspects, all with a motive for the murder.

We had a leader at each table who was in charge of handing out the clues at the beginning of each round and keeping the discussion going.

The kids really got into trying to solve the murder. They dissected all the clues while they ate, took notes on what different characters said, and had very strong opinions about who they thought did it. Even our kids who sometimes struggle were very into this activity. At the end we asked each table who they thought did it and why.

The best part though was the ending. After each table explained who they believed was the murderer, we revealed it was a story from the Book of Mormon. We used the revised script found here for the reveal. We had a member of the bishopric summarize the scripture story while two YM leaders read directly from the scriptures when he asked them too. (It's all in the revised script). I was initially hesitant about the # of scriptures it included because of the glazed eye effect you get with teenagers quite often while scriptures are being read - but it was absolutely perfect. Because the kids had gotten so invested in trying to solve the mystery, they were making connections right and left while the scriptures were being read. They were literally sitting on the edge of their seats and I heard lots of "OH!" and "NO WAY!" and other various exclamations. It was neat to have them understand the scriptures so much better because they had literally been in the middle of the story themselves trying to figure out what happened. (It is the story in Helaman of the Chief Judge's murder). They could see the confusion that ensued from that particular event and why different people acted the way they did.

We ended with the same member of bishopric talking about how we are told to "liken the scriptures unto ourselves" and then he bore testimony of following the prophet.

We had VERY simple decorations. I had the worst head cold and Lance was out of town right up to a minute before the activity (he showed up in a cab and hopped in the car to come up to the church). We knew we only needed four tables so we were able to do it in the primary room. Our mutual just switched to Thursdays and our numbers have significantly dropped due to sports etc. - so sad!

As a side note, when we did this activity in Seattle I went all out with decorations. That was the night I unfortunately learned we were not allowed to have lit candles in the church building. Fortunately, I didn't learn that until after the activity so we were able to have cool decor. I HATE the candle rule but I understand the need for it.



I made the body outline out of a vinyl tablecloth from the YW closet. I was cutting so fast, significant mistakes were made.



One last thing - Something that I think worked really well was how we had the youth enter the room. We were kind of tricky. While the youth did opening exercises in the chapel, I explained the game to the four leaders I had sitting at the tables and had them at each table ready to go. The other YW leaders sent the kids down in groups of four (we tried to send four friends or chatty kids together). When they came into the room I would give those four kids all the same character so they would each be at a different table from each other. I think this helped keep the kids more focused on the game.

Back on the farm

Is there anything better than a day spent:

WFMW - Coupon Binder

After finally starting The Grocery Game in January, I have become obsessed with coupons and just how cheap I can get something. Yep, I am THAT coupon lady. I knew very early on that I needed a system to stay organized or couponing would never work for me. It had to be easy and FAST on both ends (both clipping at home and using them in the store). I poured over different coupon organization methods for a couple of days and this is what I ended up using, definitely not my original idea but something that works for me . . .

Here is my coupon binder:

Just look how lovely and FAT it is:



TRUE STORY: A couple of weeks ago I noticed my binder was missing. After frantically combing the house I knew it was gone forever. I just knew that if I had left it behind whoever found it would not be able to resist taking it home with them. So many GOOD coupons! For Free! A couple hours later I realized I am a big fat geek and not everybody shares my same obsession. I called Harris Teeter and it was sitting in the Lost and Found. Thank goodness.



Okay, back to organizing.

I get 4 Sunday papers. I have 3 delivered to my home and I buy one early edition on Saturday. Instead of cutting out one coupon at a time, I stack the four inserts together and cut out all four coupons at the same time. Make sense?? Some people staple them together before doing this - I throw caution to the wind. Who has time to staple? While cutting, I sort the coupons into two piles - Food and Non-Food. This makes it a lot easier when I file the coupons.

My binder is divided into the same two sections. I have alphabetical dividers for both sections, so A-Z for all my food items and A-Z for all my non-food items. In between each divider are baseball card inserts.



I then file my coupons by manufacturer name (i.e. Nestle, Pillsbury, Campbell's etc.). I originally was going to file by category (breads, dairy, etc.) but found that my brain couldn't handle it. There were just too many products that I felt could go in multiple sections and I didn't want to take time guessing which section I thought I filed the coupon under. By filing by manufacturer's name, I know right away every time where the coupon is.

Each individual letter is not alphabetized. For example, if you look under "P," the coupons in that section are not in order. Why? It would drive me insane and take up too much time to move around each week. At the grocery store I can quickly scan my "P" section to see what I have and don't have.



This next part is critical: I then file only one type of coupon per slot. So say I cut out a coupon that reads "Pillsbury Crescent Rolls Buy One Get One Free." All 4 of those coupons would go in one slot. Even if I already have the exact same coupon from last month. I don't put them in the same slot because they have different expiration dates. I need to be able to quickly glance and see what I have without digging through coupons. If the coupons don't fit in the slot, I fold them. I try to keep it so the expiration date is visible on the front. At the beginning of each month I go through and pull out expired coupons.



In the back of my binder I try to keep a calculator, writing utensils, and a price pad to jot down the prices of different things at different stores (I'm not so good at this yet). The calculator is missing in this pic due to a curious 4 year old.



Breakdown of Time:

I cut and file coupons every Sunday night while watching TV. This takes anywhere between a half hour and 1-1/2 hours depending on what show is on :)

I print my list from the Grocery Game and try to shop every Tuesday morning. Shopping for the week usually only takes me 30 minutes.

Having a system for coupons is what is working for me this week. For more fun tips head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow InstructionsManaging school papers
Fall Traditions

Class Clown

Today was the Primary Program at church. For those of you who aren't LDS, our primary program happens once a year. It is when all the kids (ages 3-12) put on a program during our sacrament meeting in place of the normal speakers. The kids usually each have a speaking part and they sing the songs that they have been learning in Primary for a year.

Anyways . . . this was Ella's first year. Our Ella LOVES the spotlight. She was elated that she got to go sit at the front of the chapel. I was a little bit apprehensive about what she would do once she was up there. The first half of the program went well, she did stand up and wave any time she caught our eye but for the most part she did okay. Then it happened. It was time for a song. Ella was front and center. The kids all stood up to sing and I noticed that she had her back to the audience. I couldn't figure out what she was doing - then she quickly turned around. She had both fingers pulling down the bottom part of her eyes so you could mostly see only the whites of her eyes . . . her pinkies were in her mouth tugging on both sides as to completely convulute the shape of her mouth. It was a completely crazy inappropriate face to be making while singing "I am a Child of God," which she was not doing. I burst out laughing. She stayed that way for a good long while. I would have loved to known what in the world was going through her head. Then she folded her arms and sang the rest of the song very sweetly. Such a crazy girl.

At least she made the program more entertaining.

Hot Tip!!!

Michael's had all Halloween and Fall items clearanced at 70% off today! An employee told me she is pretty sure they will be 90% off tomorrow. I love hitting good clearance sales.

I got some wrought iron pumpkins for approx. $2, a large witches broom for approx $1.50, NICE Wilton's cookie cutters for .20 (the comfort grip ones with the nice rubber top), and a bunch of Halloween crafts for the kids - most to be saved for next year (all under .50). They also had a bunch of awesome candles and the Martha Stewart Halloween stuff clearanced.

I realize I've been neglecting my blog lately - a bad cold completely knocked me out this past week (combined with tons of Young Women's stuff). I hope to update more regularly again starting this weekend.

In the meantime, head to Michaels!

Princess Hair

One of my favorite hair blogs is doing tutorials on how to do Disney princess hair for Halloween. So far she has Belle, Cinderella, and Tinkerbell up. She is adding Sleeping Beauty and Ariel today. You can check it out here.

I couldn't resist adding a picture of Ella from Disneyworld. Michelle did a fabulous job on her hair!

Speaking of traditions . . .

Every family vacation we go on, we buy a cookie cutter as our main souvenir. It is a lot of fun to hunt with the kids for the perfect cookie cutter to represent the trip (plus it keeps the kids from buying a lot of junk - you know the stuff that seems cool when you're on the vacation but just becomes clutter once you get home). The best part about the cookie cutters though, are the memories they inspire whenever we make cookies. The kids love pulling out each one and talking about different parts of our trip. So easy and fun!

More Cox Farms Pics

Climbing up to get to the rope swings:

Can you spot Ella?

The "BIG slide." You go down this one on a potato sack:

One of several other slides:

Ella jumping down the haystack:

WFMW - Fall Traditions

"Wholesome family recreation is important in building successful families"

I watched a show this past Sunday that focused on the value that traditions have to our families. Professor William Doherty (director of marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota) shared four reasons why our traditions are so important:


1. Family traditions help make family life predictable. In a world where life is often unpredictable having a family ritual helps make life more secure for both parents and children.

2. Creating new family traditions gives families a chance to reconnect and share their lives. Traditions cultivate connections between immediate family members and between generations.


3. A family identity is formed through rituals. By establishing family traditions & rituals we give children an identity, a group to belong to, and a sense of who they are.

4. Family rituals teach children values. Children learn what their parents value by the rituals that are observed such as attending church, giving service, and visiting elderly relatives. Rituals give children a set of values that they can take into adulthood and use in their own families.




Family traditions are the "we always" of family life. For example, "we always go out to lunch on the last day of school," "We always go to Cox Farms every fall." Traditions are meaningful time spent together as a family.

The show focused not only on yearly traditions, but weekly ones as well (attending church together, etc.). An idea I am going to try and incorporate is taking a family walk on Sundays. It is the one day of the week I know we all will be together - cheap, fun, easy - LOVE IT!

OUR FALL TRADITIONS:

The pictures above are from our yearly Cox Farms trip. We surprised the kids by taking them yesterday. In addition to Cox farms we have a couple of fall traditions - Friday Night Fright Flicks, Trunk or Treat at the church and trick or treating, baking Halloween cookies and pumpkin bread, and of course Halloween parties.

I would LOVE to hear your family's fall traditions. Please share!

Cox Farms - October 2008

Creating meaningful family traditions is what is working for me this week. For more fun tips, visit Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

"Scarycrows"

Ella keeps asking me when we are going to see "scarycrows." I've pointed out to her a couple of times different scarecrows but when she sees them she says "no they are farmers - they not scary." I wonder what image she has come up with in her mind. So if anyone sees any scarycrows, please let us know - we are on the lookout!

On my radar

1. Angela has the most amazing Disney ABC's on her blog. You have to go check them out. She is one talented lady! I hope she sells these, I would LOVE a set for Ella. Check out some of her other projects, you will be blown away.

2. Creature Features for Families - Family Fun has compiled a great list of Halloween movies. This whole month we are having "Friday Night Fright Flicks" at our house. What's better than friends, popcorn, Halloween treats, and scary movies. We'll be watching Mr. Boogedy, Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, Gremlins and of course It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. I'm going to run out of Fridays!

3. Have you seen what this man did to his basement with $10 worth of Sharpies. Unbelievable. I wish he'd come do mine.

4. Love, love, love this post by Mrs. G at Derfwad Manor.

5. Fall consignment sales are here! Last week was my favorite biannual sale. We packed up and tagged a bunch of our less played with toys and too small clothes for the sale and then I got to shop! I bought the kids more toys for now but I also was able to get most of Ella's Christmas shopping done and some of Spencer's. (I got Ella a three story wooden doll house with all the furniture for $20 - it is practically brand new). It is crazy how many brand new/still in the box toys and dolls they have. We've done this sale for 3+ years so the kids are used to going through their stuff and deciding what to give away. Not only is it a great way to go through the toys every six months, but I love the lessons it helps to teach the kids. Along the same lines, I think about this post -Why do with Less quite often. We are looking for more sales these next few weeks to pick up some baby girl clothes so if you know of any great ones in the metro DC area let me know!

6. One last thing to point out. Check out this
organized fridge. I am so jealous. Would anyone like to come implement this system in my house???