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Love means believing in someone, in something. It supposes a willingness to struggle, to work, to suffer and to rejoice. Satisfaction and ultimate fulfillment are byproducts of dedicated love. They belong only to those who can reach beyond themselves; to whom giving is more important than receiving.
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Play Ideas
Delete Trouble with Bubbles and Other Fun Stuff The day is hot, the kids are driving even themselves crazy. Here is a delightful way to change the atmosphere. Bubbles – delight the young and old and all you need is some dish detergent and water to make a simple solution, a bucket of water and various open items – string, pop can plastic connectors or a wire coat hanger. Let their imaginations come up with ideas. 1. If bubbles pop easily or solution does not work well, add more water. 2. Dawn and Joy seem to be the best choices for bubbles. It is the anti-grease agent. 3. Bubbles work best on an over cast day. 4. Bubbles love moisture so right after a rain also works well. 5. To catch a bubble just get your hand wet. The simplest solution : 8 T dish soap and 1 Quart water Tears no more Bubbles 1/2 C Baby shampoo 4 C water 3 T corn syrup Mix together let set a few hours. Ultra Bubbles 1 C Ultra Joy or Dawn 15 C Water 1 C Glycerin Super Bubbles 2 parts Dawn 4 parts glycerin 1 part corn syrup.
Mix 2 parts Ivory Soap powder with 1 part water until thick and creamy. Add food color or temper, put in molds, ice cube trays to harden. Goop In a zip lock baggie, mix 2 parts cornstarch with 1 part water to a sticky but loose consistency. Squeeze the bag and surprise! Silly Putty - GAK – Flubber! Mix 2 parts Elmers Glue with 1 part liquid starch. Add food coloring if desired. Mix well in a cup using a craft stick first. It will be stringy! Then place the mixture in your hands and play with it. Add a little liquid starch if it continues to stick to your hands. The mixture will eventually be able to be handled without sticking to your hands. It will be solid and bounce! Children may color with markers if you did not add food coloring. How About Some Clean Mud ? Unroll 6 rolls of white bathroom tissue paper into a very large container. Generously add water until covered completely. Grate 2 bars of Ivory soap into mixture, and add 1 1/2 c. of Borax. Mix up well and PLAY!! Will last a LONG time! This is a very practical way of using up the toilet paper after a kitten or toddler has taken it for a ride. Playdoh – UNCOOKED Mix food coloring with 1 c. water, set aside. Mix 2 c. flour, 1 c. salt, 2 T. alum, 2 T. oil in a large bowl. Add colored water, and mix well. Knead until firm. Store in an air-tight container. Playdoh - SMELLY Mix 2 pkg. of unsweetened Kool-aid with 2 c. hot water until dissolved. Add 1 T. vegetable oil to kool-aid water. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine 2 1/2 c. flour, 1 c. salt, 1 t. cream of tartar. Add kool-aid water to dry ingredients and mix well. Add 2 - 3 additional cups of flour as needed. Store in air-tight container. Children coming into foster care may never have experienced the toys we often take for granted. For many of these children these toys may be frustrating – not enjoyable. Many times you will discover toys at younger developmental ages are enjoyed the most. With a little creativity and sleuthing you can make or discover toys that even a teen can enjoy and grow from. Puzzles Jigsaw puzzles date back to the 1760s when European mapmakers pasted maps onto wood and cut them by hand into small pieces. The jigsaw machine was invented in the 19th century and puzzles for adults gained popularity in the 1900s. Puzzles encourage children to practice motor skills, develop the ability to solve problems, and utilize concentration techniques. Younger children benefit from visually appealing puzzles that help them understand how different pieces are assembled to form a whole picture. Working with others to complete a more advanced puzzle is an ideal way for children to learn how to cooperate. All children benefit from experiencing the feelings of mastery and self-confidence that result from completing a puzzle. Puzzles allow kids to engage in a meaningful, intellectual activity that requires quiet concentration and extreme patience. For young children, manipulating puzzle pieces enables them to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It also encourages close observation, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Working with others to complete a complex puzzle is an ideal way to experience cooperative learning. All children can benefit from experiencing the feelings of mastery and self-confidence that result from completing a puzzle. Encourage your child to describe the puzzle's picture. Challenge her to guess what might happen next. Have your child draw the sequel on a piece of paper. When done, work together to cut curvy lines through it to produce a homemade puzzle. If your child is right-handed, have him try to complete the entire puzzle using only his left hand. If he is left-handed, have him try using just his right hand. Encourage him to discuss how it feels to work with his opposite hand. Find one of the many jigsaw puzzle sites on the Internet. Some Web sites let you choose the image, the number of pieces, and many encourage you to e-mail or print out (to then cut out) an unassembled puzzle for a friend. Puzzles are one of the first learning toys where parents can actually see their child engaged in the use of thinking skills. Even young children love the challenge of making things fit or go back together again. When you introduce your child to the world of puzzles, you will be able to watch their learning and enjoyment come together like the pieces of a puzzle.Language Skills - As your child focuses on putting the pieces of a puzzle together, there are many opportunities to expand their vocabulary. Encouragements such as “Where does the rounded end go?” or “This piece is blue, where would it go?” help children to experience the meaningful usage of descriptive words. Motor Skills - Working with puzzles can help your child develop small muscle skills plus eye-hand coordination. Reading & Math Skills - Matching is a basic pre-reading and beginning math skill. The better children are at decoding similarities and differences, the better they will be at differentiating between “b” and “d” or “cat” and “hat.” Thinking Skills - Puzzles offer many opportunities for children to practice basic problem-solving skills. As children attempt to find where each piece fits into the puzzle, they must consider such things as shape, color, size, direction, and image. Maximizing Teachable Moments: One way that parents can assure their child will get the maximum learning from shared experiences is to plan ahead and make sure they have everything they need. Preschoolers' attention spans are very short. If they have to wait while you collect the supplies, they may get tired of the project before they even begin. No parent wants to set their child up for failure. It is very important that you are aware of your child's skill level with puzzles. Most children will want to do puzzles that are too hard for them – often resulting in feelings of frustration and inadequacy about their abilities. When purchasing puzzles for your children, look for ones that contain recognizable objects. As a rule, children ages one and a half to three should have knobbed puzzles with two to six pieces. Children ages three to four are able to work with between four and eight puzzle pieces. Four-year olds can usually handle puzzles with six to 12 pieces and five-year olds often can do puzzles with 24 pieces. Another important way parents can help their children with puzzles, is to show them simple decoding skills; such as, matching colors and shapes or looking for straight-edged pieces that frame the puzzle. ACTIVITIES Note: All the activities below are designed for children between the ages of one to five, but you can adapt these ideas for older children. Each of the suggested learning activities below uses simple, homemade puzzles. COOKIE CUTTER PUZZLES On a piece of thick cardboard, trace two or three cookie cutters with a pencil or pen. Use a craft knife to cut out the shapes. Give the cookie cutters and the cardboard to your child and let him place the cookie cutters into the matching holes. SHAPE MATCHING BOARD get simple familiar objects (a key, a jar lid, a small box, etc.) on a piece of lightweight cardboard. Use a marker or a pen to trace the objects. Remove the objects and encourage your child to place them back in the appropriate places. Begin with just two objects and add more as your child's ability increases. CEREAL BOX FUN You can make simple puzzles for your preschooler using the fronts side of cereal boxes. Simply cut out the picture and then cut it into two to eight pieces (depending on the ability of your child). Show your child how the pieces all fit back together to form the picture. Next, mix up the pieces and encourage your child to put them back in the proper order. Puzzle pieces when not in use can be stored in small plastic zipper bags. PIZZA PUZZLE Have your child color a paper plate to resemble a pizza. Next cut the plate into four to eight triangular pizza wedges. This puzzle could also be used to show children what half of a pizza (or circle) is what a quarter of a circle is. How many pieces are in a half? How many are in a quarter ? STICKER PUZZLES You can make mini two-piece puzzles by placing large stickers in the center of small index cards. Then cut the cards in half through the center. Have your children match up the mini puzzles by looking at the features and colors found on the sticker halves. PUZZLE STICKS To make this puzzle you will need four to five large popsicle sticks or tongue depressors and a picture cut out from a magazine. Turn the picture upside down and spread glue across the back. Next, lay the sticks side by side over the glue. When the glue has dried, trim the outside edges of the picture to fit the shape of the sticks. Then, using a utility knife, slice the picture into four to five pieces by slicing between the sticks. Show your child what the picture looks like one more time, them mix up the sticks and have her put the sticks in the proper order to recreate the picture. STORE BOUGHT PUZZLES Store-bought puzzles are great and should be a part of every child's life but home made puzzles also have a lot to offer. Children learn from modeling our actions. When we make something ourselves, we provide encouragement through example. We teach that everyday objects can be turned into learning tools. Don't be surprised if your children start figuring out ways to create their own puzzles. SUNDAY COMIC STRIP PUZZLES Depending on abilities of child cut out comic strips and have the child reorder the sequence. Ziggy is usually a good comic to order simply. Memorization is important in many subject areas. Flashcards are great tools that help youngsters memorize facts and practice concepts and skills. Flashcards present a fast and easy drill-and-practice method for learning letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and basic math facts. Each time a certain letter, number or symbol appears, say a silly word such as “bingo.” Children have fun looking for a symbol and then being the first to say the special word. Building toys and construction sets provide children with a wonderful way to explore their creative side, while developing visual planning and logical reasoning skills. Deciding which pieces should go where, how to make a structure more stable, as well as exploring how different pieces interconnect, is an excellent way for children to build critical thinking skills in a fun and engaging way. When children play with a construction toys, they often spill the pieces onto the floor to survey every piece. Their imaginations run wild as they create unique structures, vehicles, creatures, and places. As they create, children learn physics, geometry, and art skills. Through art, children express themselves and their emotions in a variety of new and inventive ways. Arts and crafts also enable children to demonstrate what they have learned in reading, writing, science, and many other subjects. By providing an environment rich in artistic opportunity, children can improve their visual-perceptual skills, and develop coordination and fine motor control. Arts and crafts provide a wonderful opportunity for children to express themselves creatively . Depending on individual interest, children can paint, sculpt, sew, construct, and much more. Many craft projects require children to practice patience, careful planning, and direction-following. Once finished, youngsters enjoy a well-deserved sense of accomplishment. ENJOY YOUR
CHILDREN . . . Below are 15 simple things parents can do to help their kids learn:
Source: U.S. Department of Education/Helping Your Child Get Ready For School series Fun Family Learning Experiences Children are eager learners: they are interested in everything around them. These easy-to-do activities encourage children’s active learning and those wonderful words of growing confidence, “I can do it.” Think of these as starter activities to get your ideas going. There are opportunities everywhere for teaching and learning. Take a little time to do a lot of good! Reading Activities A Lifetime of Reading—Encourage lifelong reading. Read with your youngsters by taking roles in stories and acting out dramatic poems. Whenever possible, tape record these sessions. Then listen to and enjoy these performances together. This is also a great gift to send to previous foster children. Street Smarts—Put reading skills to practical use. Gather bus and subway route maps and schedules to a special place in your area—the zoo, a museum, a football stadium. Let your child plan a trip for friends or family. Figure out the travel time required, the cost, how to get there, and the best time to make the trip. Hidden Letters—Build reading observation skills with this activity. Ask your child to look for letters of the alphabet on boxes and cans of food and household supplies. For example, find five A’s or three C’s, or any number of letters or combinations on cereal boxes, soup cans, bars of soap. Start with easy-to-find letters and build up to harder-to-find ones. Then have your children write the letters on paper or point out the letters on the boxes and cans. Writing Activities Nice Words—Make someone happy. Write each family member’s name on separate sheets of paper. Add a note or a drawing—for example, “I like the way you make breakfast,” or “You make me happy when you do the dishes.” Fold the paper and put them in a bag. Ask each person to choose a paper from the bag. Place the notes where they can be found by family members. And watch for the smiles! Looking at Advertisements—Take a closer look. Help your children improve their thinking and writing skills by looking carefully at newspaper, magazine, and TV advertisements. What is the main point of the ad? What details does it use to communicate its message? For example, a strong, handsome man holding a soft drink in an expensive car with a beautiful woman at his side is telling us something about the soft drink. Disappearing Letters—Promote creativity and build muscle control with a pail of water and a brush. On a warm day, take your children outside to the driveway or sidewalk and encourage them to write anything they wish. Talk about what they’ve written. Writing Instead of Talking—Exchange notes instead of words at different times during the day—when getting up in the morning, at dinner, or at bedtime—or whenever the noise level becomes too high. Day-by-Day Calendar—Turn a large calendar—commercial or home made—into a personalized family communication center. Have your children fill in the blanks with morning messages, weather reports, birthdays, special activities, or notes to the family. Math Activities A Trip to the Supermarket—Plan ahead with the 3 R’s. Ask your child to choose a dish to prepare for a meal—a fruit, a salad, a sandwich. Have your child check to see what supplies are on hand and then make a shopping list. At the supermarket, let your child select the food on the list. First, your child decides which items are the best buys and makes selections. Also have your child write the price of each item on the list and if possible figure the total, checking the prices against the sales receipt. Telephones —Give your child practice in reading numbers left to right by dialing a telephone. Make a list of telephone numbers your child can read—for relatives, friends, the weather bureau—and have your child make a call or two. On the Move—Sharpen math skills on trips. Use even short trips around town. For example, at the gas station, ask your child how much gas you needed and the cost per gallon. On the highway, ask your children to read the signs and check the different speed limits. Then ask them to watch the speedometer readings and notice how fast or slow the car is going. Have your children estimate distances between cities and check the estimates on a road map. Newspaper Math—Use the Weather section to check temperatures across the nation and the world. This is good geography practice, too. Discuss baseball and football scores and averages on the sports pages. Who are the high scores? What are the percentages? Laundry Math—Sharpen skills by doing a necessary household job. Ask your youngster to sort laundry—before or after washing. How many socks? How many sheets? And you may find a lost sock as well. Napkin Fractions—Make fractions fun. Fold paper towels or napkins into large and small fractions. Start with halves and move to eighths and sixteenths. Use magic markers to label the fractions. Weigh Me—Teach estimating skills. Ask your children to guess the weight of several household objects—a wastebasket, a coat, a full glass of water. Then show children how to use a scale to weigh the objects. Next, have them estimate their own weight, as well as that of other family members, and use the scale to check their guesses. Some brave parents get on the scale, too. Living Within Our Means—Teach children who have allowances or regular spending money how to budget. Ask them to make a two-column list of expenses and income. Under expenses, they list what they expect to spend for movies, bus tokens, lunches, etc. Then, have your youngsters add all the expenses and subtract the total from the income. Ask them to think of ways to reduce their spending. If their income is more than their expenses, talk about a savings plan. Social Studies Activities The Foreign Touch—Travel abroad at home. Visit ethnic shops, food stores, and restaurants in your community. Before the trip, have your children find on a map different countries you will “visit.” After the trip, encourage your children to talk about what they have seen. Science Activities Ice Is Nice—Improve observation and questioning skills by freezing and melting ice. Add water to an ice cube tray and set it in the freezer. Ask your child how long it will take to freeze. For variety, use different levels of water in different sections of the tray. Set ice cubes on a table. Ask your child how long they will take to melt. Why do they melt? Place the ice cubes in different areas of the room. Do they melt faster in some places than in others? Why? Float and Sink—Encourage hypothesizing (guessing). Use several objects—soap, a dry sock, a bottle of shampoo, a wet sponge, an empty bottle. Ask your child which objects will float when dropped into water in a sink or bathtub. Then drop the objects in the water, one by one, to see what happens. What Does It Take to Grow?—Teach cause-and-effect relationships. Use two similar, healthy plants. Ask your child to water one plant and ignore the other for a week or two, keeping both plants in the same place. At the end of that time, ask your child to water the drooping plant. Then talk about what happened and why. Plants usually perk up with water just as children perk up with good words and smiles from parents. For more information on other publications to help your children learn call: 1-800-USA-LEARN U.S. Department of Education These home learning “recipes” have been tested and developed by Dr. Dorothy Rich, author of MEGASKILLS ®, for the National Education Association. Reprinted with permission of the National Education Association and The Home and School Institute, 1994. Reproduction of this brochure is permitted. DRIVEWAY GAMES - consider painting a four-square court, hopscotch pattern or free throw basketball lines on your driveway to encourage physical activity. Sink a pipe in the middle of the drive way for easy set up tetherball or sink two pipes at each side of the driveway for a game of volleyball or badmitton. Plan an evening barbeque and challenge a neighbor family to a game. Make sure your cars are in the garage, there children are old enough to not run in the street and you do not live on a busy road if you are going to partake in these ideas. HAMMOCKS, SWINGS and ROPE THINGS - Survey your property and consider adding some old fashioned fun to sturdy tree limbs. OBSTACLE COURSE - Think safety when you set up the course, time children as they whoosh down an old slide, jump rope, hop through old tires, ride an old tricycle up and down a sidewalk, hurdle over noodles, etc. Try completing it backwards. Video record and enjoy with popcorn and sodas. HOOPS - Add a laundry net to an old basketball hoop and mount in the bedroom to encourage dirty laundry making the basket instead of under the bed. Mount two in the laundry room marked light and dark to encourage young sportsman to separate the colors they are shooting. DISHPANS - work great to return laundry back to a child’s room, consider giving each child a different color pan and adding a linen bag for them to put their dirty socks in. SOCK FIGHT - Need to burn some energy and put orphan socks to good use. Roll them in a ball and enjoy a snowball style sock fight. “DO NOT DISTURB” Sign - Make a sign on a piece of cardboard with “Do Not Disturb” written on it. Set up rules like any person can use the sign 1 time each day, for up to twenty minutes and the rest of the family must respect that person’s desire to be alone. FAMILY FUN FUND - Take an old snack container and decorate it with paper and whatever colors or whim you want. Cut a slit in the top and began a Family Fun Fund by deciding on an activity and how much you need to all save to make it happen. BUILD SOMETHING FROM CARDBOARD - Collect a bunch of boxes from a local retail or grocery store. Let your imagination run wild to build a train, submarine, fort, dream house, or a plane. Decorate with paper and colors using kid safe glue. HELPING HAND COUPONS - Outline your hand on a piece of paper, add your name to it and cut it out. It’s can be a coupon for someone to use t o get your help on anything they choose. DINNER COMPLI ‘MINTS’ - Buy a small wrapped mint for each family member. At the end of dinner each member has to share one compliment about each of the other people at the table to get the mint. LETTER OF ENCOURAGEMENT - Write a letter to your child and leave it somewhere he or she will find it. Don’t be surprised if they do not mention it, it may be too emotional. GET OUT OF TIME OUT CARD - Reward good behavior with a get out of time out card a child can turn in when they have difficult behavior. TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY DAY - See how important electricity is in our lives, use the barbeque, candles at dinner, read a book with a flashlight. Fill a beautiful perfume spritzer with water and a little drop of vanilla. Spritz away bad dreams In good weather, put two angry kids on opposite sides of a strong window or glass door. Provide each with a spray bottle of window cleaner and a rag. Then let them "attack." Their angry words will turn to laughter . . . and your window will be clean!
Need a Gift Idea - Give a Lifebook! Lifebooks are tools for children to help understand the stories of their lives. They can be prepared using purchased materials or they can be put together using handmade pages. It is not the form it takes that is important. It is what is contained inside that counts.
Note: Make a color copy of the child’s life book and put it in a safe place. These little books are often lost during the child’s life. Many foster children search for foster parents who they haved loved as children when they are adults. What a treasure to give them when they leave your home but even a bigger treasure when they return as adults. What To Do with Leftover Socks What do you do with the ever growing pile of socks without partners. 1. Slide in all the old slivers of almost used up soap. Either sew or tie the sock and you hve a self lathering body scrubber until the soap is gone then you can finally discard that sock it has served its purpose. 2. With tube socks especially fill that lonely sock with long cooking white rice. Again sew or tie it off. On those cold nights heat the sock of rice in a micro wave for 2 to 3 minutes. put it in the bed where your cold toes are usually left on their own to find warmth. It feels so good. 3. Stuff some of those other lonely socks inside of one and embroider or draw with laundry markers a cute little face. these window watchers lay on the window sill and keep drafts out and smiles in. 4. Hold on to those single socks. In the future other socks that make their way into your world with no partner will appreciate having a nice choice of potential new partners. 5. Use those single socks to slip your shoes into when traveling. If you stick a dryer sheet in with the shoe. It not only keeps the rest of your luggage contents clean but it will smell better too. 6. Stick those washable tennis shoes into socks when you put em through the washer. It makes them bang a little quieter during the spin cycle. 7. They make great hand puppets on a long winter day. 8. Let the kids decorate them and wear them for mittens. 9. Some goofy kids wear them even if they don't match. 10. They make great marble sacks. Or any other treasures that need to be carried around like little cars. 11. Let the kids take them out into the driveway in the summer and fill them with gravel to carry around. Why? Who knows. But if it takes them 20 minutes or more to fill a sock that will take up to at least an hour of their day. Any ideas for those stray, lonely shoes? How about mittens? Plants can help benefit you by helping to decrease your risk of allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory problems linked to indoor air pollutants, which come from all kinds of sources, including building materials, furnishings, carpets, and home office machines.
Plants produce oxygen, add moisture and filter dangerous toxins. Cover the soil with aquarium gravel to reduce growth of molds and mildew.
1. Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) 2. Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) 3. Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea Seifrizii) 4. Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta) 5. Dracaena Janet Craig (Dracaena demensis “Janet Craig”) 6. English Ivy (Hedera Heliz) 7. Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix Roebelenii) 8. Ficus Alii (Ficus Macleilandii “Alii”) 9. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis Exaltata “Bostoniensis) 10. Peace Lily (Spathi[hyllum sp.) 11. Corn Plant (Dracaena Fragrans “Massangeana”) 12. Golden Pothos (Epipremnum Aureum) |
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Foster and Adoptive Care Association
of Minnesota |
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