Activity Books

Here are a list of some books that contain several different types of activities, from mini-mysteries, mazes, and crossword puzzles to coloring pages, connect-the-dot, jokes, and car bingo:

• Miles of Smiles: 101 Great Car Games and Activities
• Best Travel Activity Book Ever
• Are We There Yet?
• The Everything Kids’ Travel Activity Book

Free Games

Here are some common car games that don’t require anything but players!

• License plate game: See how many states’ license plates from you can find on your trip.
• ABC game, take 1: Starting with the letter “A”, look around and find a letter on a sign, truck, building, or license plate, say the letter (and where you saw it) and then move on to the next letter. The first one to get to the letter “Z” is the winner!
• ABC game, take 2: My family still plays this game in the car! Someone thinks of a topic (like names of cities, countries, types of fruit, animals, movies, TV shows, celebrities, etc). The first person to start has to name something corresponding to the topic starting with ‘A’, the next person gets the next letter of the alphabet, and so on around and around the car. If it’s your turn and you can’t think of anything for your letter, you are out. If you get to ‘Z’ and play is still going, go back to ‘A’ and keep going – but no repeats are allowed. Play continues until there is one person left – the winner! (My sisters and I are huge fans of the TV show Friends and so one time our topic was “anything related to Friends”!)
• I Spy: One person picks an object they can see either in the car or along the road. They give others a clue such as, “I spy with my little eye… something blue.” The person keeps giving more clues until they can guess what it is.
• 20 Questions: One person thinks of something and the other person gets to ask 20 yes/no questions to try to figure it out.
• Fortunately-Unfortunately: Neat game described in full on Momsminivan.com. (Scroll down 2/3 of the page.)

Travel Games

Here are some of your favorite games that come in a travel size:

• Memory
• Hangman
• Bingo
• I Spy Memory Game
• Connect Four
• Battleship
• Perfection
• Sorry
• Candy Land
• Trouble
• Guess Who?
• Bingo

Card Games

Here are various card games:

• Scavenger Hunt For Kids – Travel Game
• Rubberneckers: Everyone’s Favorite Travel Game
• Rubberneckers Jr: Fun for Backseat Travelers
• For the Car Brain Quest Card Deck
• Zobmondo!! Would You Rather…?
• Namits Travel Game
• Regular deck of cards
• Card games (such as Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Slap Jack)
• Wiz Kidz (from Discovery Toys): I had this game when I was younger. It features two stacks of cards, letter cards and answer cards. You draw one card from each pile and find a corresponding answer. For example, if you draw a “P” and “Something cold” you need to think of something cold that starts with a ‘p’ (maybe popsicle).

Books

Here are many types of books to keep kids entertained:

• Puzzle, Sudoku, or maze books
• New paperback books to read
• Magnet books (like this Tree Fort one or this Fire Station one)
• Hidden picture books
• Picture puzzle book or Picture Puzzles
• Sticker books
• Mad Libs
• Kumon workbooks
• Kids Travel: A Backseat Survival Kit

Creative Activities

Here are a few creative activities suitable for travel:

• Pipe cleaners (how to make pipe cleaner creatures)
• Play Doh, silly putty, or Crayola Model Magic (bring cookie cutters for added fun)
• Wikki Stix (similar to pipe cleaners but are made of wax so they stick to surfaces)
• Sticky mosaics
• Peel and stick by number
• Lacing cards (while the wooden ones are sturdier, it might be a good idea to bring the cardboard ones on a trip as they are lighter)
• Origami book and paper
• Rub on transfers (and something to rub them onto)
• Fashion Designer plates
• Twirled Paper
• Make a Cootie catcher

Small Toys

Here is a list of small toys your kids might have that would be easy to bring along:

• Cars
• Rubik’s Cube
• I spy bags (found on etsy)
• Finger puppets
• Colorforms (I wonder if they stick to airplane or car windows?)
• Magnetic paper dolls
• Magnetic puzzles

Drawing and Coloring

Here are some travel-friendly items for drawing and coloring:

• Crayola Color Wonder markers and paper
• Crayola Color Wonder fingerpaint
• New coloring books
• New crayons
• Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center
• Travel Etch-A-Sketch
• Magna Doodle
• SpinDoodles
• Scratch and Sketch books

Educational Activities

Here are a few educational activities:

• Kumon workbooks
• Brain Quest Cards
• Learning wrap ups

Personal Comforts

Don’t forget your child’s personal comforts:

• Favorite stuffed animal or blankie
• Music player (MP3 player or iPOD type device with headphones) Disney Mix Sticks is one brand

Accessories

Here are a few other things you might want to consider bringing:

• Travel Tray
• Travel Pal
• SippiGrip

Tips

• Use pencil bag or box to store crayons and markers to keep them from going everywhere.
• Bring triangular crayons as they can lay flat on a tray and not roll around like regular crayons.
• Give each child their own suitcase (on wheels) that they are responsible for packing and carrying.
• Check their toys and veto anything that may annoy yourself or other passengers.
• Find inexpensive items at the dollor store or Target’s dollar spot (post it notes, calculators, etc. can be great fun).
• Bring out a “new” item every half hour or so to keep things interesting.

Other Sources

Here are some other places for you to find travel tips and information:

• Mom’s Minivan: Neat site filled with printable car games, ideas for toddlers and babies, and articles.
• Family Fun
• Activities for Kids

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

Last year I shared some recipes for homemade popsicles. I’ve done some more searching for healthy recipes, as I’ve yet to create any of my own. Enjoy these recipes!

Fruit and Vegetable Smoothies

I really like the idea of making regular smoothies and putting them into popsicle molds. At NatureMoms.com, the author found a way to put kale and spinach into popsicles – and her kids ask for them that way! Here are a few recipes from her blog:

Almond-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

3 just ripe bananas

2 tsp raw honey

3 cups water

Blend up the almonds and the water to make almond milk. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag. Blend the almond milk together with the rest of the ingredients and either drink or pour into popsicle molds. Enjoy!

Green Pineapple Paradise

Ingredients:

1/4 fresh pineapple, chopped

3 large Kale leaves

1 ripe banana

3 fresh mint leaves

2 to 4 cups water

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth and either drink or pour into popsicle molds. Enjoy!

Spinach Recipes

For her spinach smoothie, she mixed strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with 1-2 tablespoons of raw agave nectar, and then added a cup of freshly juiced orange juice and a big handful of baby spinach.

Here is another spinach popsicle recipe, found on Eco Child’s Play.

With Yogurt: 1/4 cup cooked organic frozen spinach (to make the spinach texture smoother), half a cup each of organic frozen mangoes, organic frozen strawberries, and 1/4 cup organic frozen blueberries with 1/4 c vanilla nonfat yogurt, 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt and an organic banana. If you need more liquid, add some orange or apple juice.

Green Pop: One orange, one banana, one fresh pineapple spear, a handful or two of fresh spinach, one cup of ice, two or three cups of water, and one measure of stevia.

Red Pop: One pineapple spear, one apple, three carrots, three celery stalks, one beet peeled and topped,  one cup of ice, two or three cups of water, and one measure of stevia.

From Carrot Juice to Rootbeer Tea to Fudge Pops

I found a great list of 32 popsicle recipes and ideas from one of my favorite sites, TreeHuggingFamily.com. So many of them look good to me, but the ones I may try first are the ones with pineapple, or carrot juice, or apricots, or honeydew. The rootbeer green tea one is interesting to me, too.

Other Additions

There are other nutritious items that can be added to the popsicles:

• Spoonful of spirulina, or other blue-green algae
• Shot of heat grass juice
• Protein powder
• Alfalfa or other sprouts
• Mint, cinnamon, anise, or other herbs/spices (we try to use turmeric; I wonder how that would be)

When considering the distance food travels to you (bananas, pineapple, etc.) many people want to eat local. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind if your goal is to eat locally grown food as much as possible:

• Use yogurt instead of banana
• Honey (rather than agave), unless agave is local for you
• Apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, or any other local fruit instead of pineapple, unless pineapple is local for you

Other sweeteners, if needed:

• Honey
• Stevia

Don’t forget these foods:

• Grapes
• Peas or other legumes
• Celery

Non Toxic, BPA Free Popsicle Molds

It is also important to make your popsicles in a BPA free popsicle mold. I have found a few these by Tovolo: Yellow Groovy, Green Shooting Star, and Blue Rocket.

What healthy recipes do you enjoy? If you try any of these, let us know! Stay cool!

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

I’ve done some searching and have heard from teachers themselves regarding which gifts have been their favorite and most useful. The vast majority say gift cards, especially if to a store or restaurant they frequent, are the most useful (and probably most preferred) gift. While teachers appreciate the thought behind any gift, most agree that little trinkets that sit on their desk aren’t very practical or useful. (That means you might want to re-think that “World’s Best Teacher” coffee mug.)

With those thoughts out of the way, here are a few more gift ideas I came across. Maybe something on this list will help you decide on a gift for your child’s teachers:

• Basket of baked goods, especially if the child helped make them (cookies, pumpkin bread, etc.)
• Cute terra cotta pot and some seeds to plant, or perhaps this “forget-me-not pot” idea. You could also choose a flowering plant that can be planted in the ground, such as an impatiens or begonia (easy to grow) and just wrap the pot from the nursery in paper with a ribbon around it and some handwritten gardening instructions on a snazzy tag. You could also put a handprint of your child on it for personalization.
• Cookie mix in a decorated jar
• Make a fabric book cover, and put it on a classic novel and include a gift card to Barnes and Noble or Half Price Books (or buy one on Etsy).
  
• Photo album of all the kids in class, as a group gift (this would require advance planning to take pictures of the teacher interacting with all the kids during some of the moms’ visits to the classroom)

Ideas for Special Area Teachers

I know it may seem overwhelming but if you can, it’s nice to remember the special area teachers (PE coach, PE assistant, librarian, library assistant, music, art, computer teachers) as well with a token of your appreciation. These ideas can be smaller variations of the ideas above.

• $5 gift cards to Starbucks (or other store)
• Mini loaves of pumpkin bread
• Some home-made cookies in a decorative bag

Group Gifts

I have heard the idea to organize a donation to get the teacher one big gift card from the entire class. You can contact the other parents, or maybe the ‘room mom’ could send a letter home with the kids, and everyone who wants to participate can pool their money.

This idea also works for the special area teachers. Parents could donate a couple dollars for each special area teacher or teacher’s assistant. Pooled together, it can be a nice gift card.

Taking the idea for the flower pot above, in addition to a group gift card you could get a nice plant and have all the kids’ hand prints and/or names on the pot along with the school year.

Gift Card or Cash?

Why give a gift card; why not just a nice fat check? One teacher I came across explained the best gift she received as a teacher. At the end of the year, all the parents contributed some cash and a couple of the moms came to school and presented her with flowers, a card, a check, and a speech about how great the year was and how much they appreciated her efforts. The public speech of thanks was very meaningful to her and the cash was a nice way to start summer. That does take some cooperation and organization, but it’s a wonderfully thoughtful idea.

Another caution about giving gift cards; if you give gift cards that are not useful for the teacher, they may sit around for years – unused. That’s why many people suggest giving gift cards for Target, or another common store. Visa gift cards are another option, as well. If you can find out which stores your child’s teacher likes shopping at, that would be perfect! (And yet another vote for cash.)

Crafty Ideas

Even though I warned about getting the teacher “stuff” that may or may not be useful, I couldn’t resist including these links to some pretty amazing teacher gifts ideas. If you are the crafty type, maybe something at Tip Junkie will be just the thing:

• Teacher gifts
• Gift ideas

What NOT to Give

Gift cards to teacher stores might seem fitting, but it’s not really a gift for the teacher if it can only go back into the classroom. Also, teachers probably have enough bath beads, perfume, cologne, bubble bath, wallets, handkerchiefs, notepads, desk calendars, coffee mugs, and salt and pepper shakers. And you can forget the APPLE items, too.

The Most Simple Gift

Don’t forget the most important part of the gift – the thank you note. Even if you can’t give a gift, a heartfelt thank you note would be very much appreciated. The note can be from the parent or the child. (Since my son is only two, I plan to write the thank you notes from his viewpoint.) If you can include a specific example in the thank you note, it makes it more meaningful.

The key to gift giving for teachers at the end of the year is to make it personal. The gift doesn’t need to big and flashy or expensive; just something that comes from your heart.

Wendy - Parenting Tips 365

Enjoy my big list of books that love the earth!

Earth Is Our Home

• Our Big Home celebrates the interconnectedness of all living things; it shares the important environmental message that we not only share this planet with all the people but also with the plants and animals.
• I Love Our Earth features a poem that celebrates nature and complements photographs of people and places around the world, which reflects our shared connection with the planet.
• The Whole Green World is the story of a little girl who goes off into the world to plant seeds. She spreads happiness as she goes and is surrounded by the flowers and trees that make the “whole round world”.
• The Earth and I is the simple story of a boy and his interactions with his special “friend”, the Earth. One example is: “I help her to grow. She helps me to grow”, which accompanies pictures of the boy tilling soil, then eating food.

Earth Day Books

Here are a few books with an Earth day theme:

• It’s Earth Day! (Little Critter) is about Little Critter learning about climate changes and then wanting to do something to slow down global warming; he learns to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Earth Day-Hooray! combines math ideas with Earth Day and recycling as the students try to collect 5,000 aluminum cans to raise money to buy flowers for their park.
• Earth Day Birthday is written to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”; it celebrates Earth Day and 12 different creatures that inhabit the planet (e.g., eleven seals a-swimming). It also provides a brief history of Earth Day, ideas for gifts that children could give the Earth (e.g., plant a tree), and the lyrics and music.

Little Green Books

Little Green Books are produced by Simon and Schuster. Their slogan is “Green books for Green readers”. Not only do the books have green themes and stories, the manufacturing of these books is environmentally friendly. The books are printed on recycled materials with vegetable or soy inks and most books are Forest Stewardship Council certified (responsible use of forest resources). The SimonLittleGreen.com website has great “green” tips as well. Here are some of the books in the “Little Green Books line:

• The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling is the diary of a plastic bottle as it goes on a journey from the refinery plant, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a garbage can, and finally to a recycling plant where it emerges into it’s new life…as a fleece jacket!
• Easy to Be Green: Simple Activities You Can Do to Save the Earth is filled with cool coloring pages, Earth-saving tips, fun facts, and easy activities kids can do to help the environment.
• My First Garden follows a mother and daughter as they dig up soil, plant a flower bed, and water the seeds to make their very first garden. Together they watch the colorful vegetables grow!
• I Can Save the Earth tells the story of Max the Monster, who is an environmental nightmare. His excessive ways finally cause the power to go out, which forces him to go outside where he discovers the big world and all the ways he can help the environment. I found an interview with the author, Alison Inches.
• Little Monkey and his friend Little Panda spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together! It is a supersoft fleece cloth book that’s made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• Little Panda his friend Little Monkey spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together. It is also made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.
• The Polar Bears’ Home: A Story About Global Warming is an 8 x 8 storybook that shows how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their family. It includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming.

Why Should I Books

Why Should I books present brief, entertaining stories that answer children’s questions and feature amusing color illustrations on every page. A note at the back of each book is for parents and teachers, suggesting ways to use these books most effectively. Books in the series are:

• Why Should I Recycle?
• Why Should I Protect Nature?
• Why Should I Save Energy?
• Why Should I Save Water?

Kids’ Involvement Books

Here are a few books that have activities kids can do to help save the earth.

• Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids discusses how to recycle to cut down on the need for landfills. The author talks about paper, plastic, glass, cans, and polystyrene as well as mentioning the ozone layer and facts about garbage.
• 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth shows children how specific elements of their environment-like a light switch or a toilet-are connected to the rest of the world. Practical tips show kids how they can conserve energy, recycle waste, and take on important environmental projects.
• Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment is filled with ideas for arts and crafts projects, experiments, and experiences that encourage children to enjoy and heal the environment. Topics discussed include acid rain, endangered wildlife, pesticides, energy, recycling, pollution, landfills, rain forests, water conservation, and related topics.

Theme Baskets

Instead of traditional Easter baskets, use something else that can hold goodies and build a theme around it:

• Fill a big plastic bucket with fun sand box toys such as sand molds, shovels, and sifters.
• Fill a bucket with swimming items such as new swim suits, water shoes, floaties, pool toys, or goggles.
• Fill a flower pot with packets of seeds, gardening tools, gloves, etc.
• Fill new backpacks with fun things like a flashlight, bug jar, magnifying glass, etc.

Non-Food Ideas

Here are a few non-food goodies and toys, especially for younger kids:

• Bubbles
• Bubble blowers
• Coloring books, crayons, markers
• Books (Happy Easter Little Critter, The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs, Peter Rabbit’s Easter)
• Card games (such as Uno, Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy Eights, Slap Jack)
• Fun flashlight
• Homemade play dough
• Yo-yos
• Natural finger paint
• Egg & Chick-Shaped Chalk
• Stuffed animals
• Travel games
• Homemade silly putty
• Bug collecting kit
• Flash cards
• Disposable cameras
• Egg shakers

Here are a few ideas for older kids:

• Age appropriate reading books
• Sketchpads and pencils (for older kids)
• Origami paper and instructions
• Cross-stitch kits
• Model car kits
• Movies

Oriental Trading is a great place to find some goodies for their Easter basket.

Healthier Food Ideas

Here are a few ideas for some healthier treats:

• Pretzels
• Granola bars
• Small box of raisins or other dried fruit (my son *loves* dried cranberries so those would indeed be a treat for him!)
• Trail mix (raisins, pineapple, banana chips, almonds, papaya, walnuts, etc)
• Fruit leathers (such as FruitaBu Organic Smooshed Fruit)
• Yogurt-covered pretzels and crunchy sesame snacks (check out the bulk bins at natural food stores)
• YummyEarth Organic Lollipops

I found a place to buy all natural candy, but their Easter deadline has passed. You should check out The Squirrel’s Nest and see what they have!

What to Put In Plastic Eggs

Here are a few small things that you can put in plastic eggs:

• Small cars
• Stickers
• Small toys
• Money
• Coupons (for things like an hour of TV time or video games, stay up an hour later, etc)
• Puzzle pieces (regular for older and wooden ones for younger kids)

For the puzzle piece idea, assign each child (if you have more than one) one egg color. Buy a small puzzle for each child and place a few puzzle pieces inside their plastic eggs. Instruct them to only pick up that color egg. Once they find all their eggs, they open them up and start putting their puzzle together (with the help of the puzzle box).

I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for alternatives to candy in Easter baskets. What are you putting in your kids’ baskets this year?

The book is designed to be a step-by-step guide to help parents learn the new communication skills. The information is presented in seven chapters:

1. Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings
2. Engaging Cooperation
3. Alternatives to Punishment
4. Encouraging Autonomy
5. Praise
6. Freeing Children from Playing Roles
7. Putting It All Together

Each chapter is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 discusses the new topic, provides short exercises to help learn and understand the topic, shows cartoons that illustrate “ineffective” and “effective”methods, and ends with a quick reminder page that is perfect for reference.
• Part 2 is filled with common questions, comments, and parents’ stories to help understand the topic further and hear about real situations.

The book starts by addressing how important it is to respect and accept your child’s feelings. Empathy towards another person, especially a child, might be difficult for many people. The authors suggest reading the book slowly so you can practice one aspect at a time.

The book has a great section on problem solving and it focuses on involving your child in the process.

I was surprised to learn how they don’t agree with the common use of time-outs as punishment. Once they explained their reasoning, I agree with them completely.

What I Thought

The book was easy to read and I loved the cartoons they used to help illustrate ideas; the visual aspect really helped me learn the ideas. I did do all the exercises, as they suggest, and it really helped me understand why these ideas work so well. I was also surprised to learn the correct way to give praise; it will definitely take some practice!

This is easily the best parenting book I’ve read! It falls in line exactly with how I wish to parent my child. It will take some time for these new ideas and methods to become more natural, but I’m so glad I have this book to help me.

When Should You Read This Book?

As the authors say, it’s never too early or too late to read this book. I read this book now and my child just turned two. Even if he’s too young for some of the situations discussed, he’s never too young to have a mom that talks to him with respect. I’m glad I read it now; it gives me time to start changing the way I talk – and think.

The book is also great for improving relationships with anyone; it can help improve how you communicate with adult family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Other Books by the Authors

The authors have also written several other books that may be of interest to you:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
• How To Talk So Kids Can Learn
• How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk
• Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family

Some of their great products include:

• Lunch kits
• Party paks
• Cloth napkins
• Stainless steel bottles
• Stainless steel food containers

Using these products is a great way to help the planet – nothing to throw away at the end of a meal! And the products are made with safe materials.

The nice people at Kids Konserve have offered Parenting Tips 365 readers a coupon code to use on their products! Hooray! Now’s a great time to get those products you’ve had your eye on. How about getting your kids a lunch kit for school? Or maybe a party pak? What a great way to avoid wasting all those paper plates, cups, and utensils at parties.

To receive 10% off your order, use the coupon code parent365 at checkout. But act now, the coupon code is valid until 4/30/09. You can get to their site by one of the links in this article, by the image on the right side of the page, or directly at www.kidskonserve.com. Happy shopping!

Once you’ve used your discount to purchase some great Kids Konserve products, come back here and share with us! Yes, let’s have our own Kids Konserve show and tell! What products did you get and how will you use them?

How to Remove Chemicals from Water

Now that you want to keep these harmful chemicals from being absorbed into your baby’s or child’s body, how do you do it? There are a few ways to filter your water for bathtime:

• I came across this baby shower filter that attaches to a kitchen faucet or shower arm. You can use this on the kitchen sink for bathing infants or connect it to the shower arm for  toddlers and young children.
• Shower filter: There are several inexpensive filtered shower heads that remove impurities in water.

We use two of the Sprite High-Output shower filters; one in our master bathroom and one in a secondary bath. To fill the tub for our son’s bath, we run the water through the shower head (since it’s filtered). Filter replacement only needs to be done once a year and costs around $15-$20.

If you want more information about the dangers of chemicals in our water, here are a few resources:

• Short article about the dangers of chlorine
• Listen to Renegade Water Secrets
• Mercola.com article on Poisoning by Chlorinated Water

Wendy – ParentingTips365.com

Snack Containers

I don’t know about you but whenever we head out of the house with our toddler, we always make sure we have a snack and drink along for him. I imagine it’s the same for many other parents out there. Have you been relying on plastic (disposable) baggies? Or maybe small plastic bowls with lids? I have found a few options for snack containers that will reduce waste and are BPA-free:

• The Snack Sack: This is a great option for those who want to add a bit of fashion to their snack containers. These snack sacks consist of a small cotton bag with a drawstring and a small stainless steel bowl. You put the snack in the bowl and then slide it into the bag. It also comes with a carabiner that easily attaches to a belt loop, purse strap, diaper bag, or backpack.
• Stainless Steel bowls: I found these stainless steel food prep bowls with lids and think they would be perfect for transporting snacks. They are the perfect size and have lids. A set of four bowls and four lids sells for about $17.
• Kids Konserve Stainless Steel Round Container: These great containers are another great option for a safer way to take snacks on the go. They also have an even smaller option: mini stainless steel containers.
• Boon Snack Ball: This fun, sphere-shaped snack container is BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free.

Lunch Containers – On the Go

If you need to send a lunch to school with your child, there are several great BPA-free options. Some of these would be great for you, too!

• Laptop Lunch Bento Box: I use this great lunchbox for my son and it works well for him (he’s almost 2). I wrote a review of the Laptop Lunches lunchbox last year. The product is phthalate-free, bisphenol-A (BPA) free, and lead-free.
• LunchBots: You have your choice of one compartment or two, with the aptly named Uno or Duo LunchBot. These stainless steel lunch boxes can be used for your lunches or snacks.
• Kids Konserve Waste-Free Lunch Kit: This wonderful lunch kit comes in several style choices and contains two of their Kids Konserve stainless steel round containers. It also comes with everything else your child will need for lunch on the go: a stainless steel bottle, sandwich wrap, cloth napkin/place mat, and a recycled cotton sack (with drawstring) to carry it all in. What a great way to reduce waste!
• Stainless Steel Tiffins: I found several stackable stainless steel tiffins. Kids Konserve makes both a child size and a large size. To-Go Ware To-Go Ware Two Tier Stainless Steel Lunch Box: This stainless steel lunch box comes with two stackable containers and a small condiment container. Each container can be used alone and the lid can also be used as a plate.
• Bubee Stainless Steel Vacumm Lunch Jar: This stainless steel lunch jar contains two layers and keeps food hot or cold forup to five hours.
• Aladdin Lunch and Go Lunchbox: This BPA-free option is a stylishly slim (slim enough to fit inside messenger bags and backpacks) option for your lunch. It comes with a removable icepack, snaptight latches, and a crush-proof design. It also comes in a mini size.

Eating at Home

Here are some safer options for kids eating at home:

• Thinkbaby Feeding Set: This cool orange feeding set contains a baby bowl with lid, soup bowl with lid, bento box with air tight lid, cup, fork, and spoon. The pieces have a stainless steel interior and polypropylene exterior. They are free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and melamine.
• Bambu Kids Organic Plate and Utensils: These items made of bamboo are another great options for kids. They have a spoon and fork for babies, another set for kids, and a spork.
• Green Sprouts Cornstarch Dishes: This feeding set is made from a cornstarch-based eco-friendly plastic that is BPA, PVC, phthalate, and petroleum free. Products available include a baby bowl, divided plate, and a fork and spoon set.
• Boon Groovy Interlocking Plate and Bowl Set: This unique feeding set has four compartments to keep food separate. It contains a toddler-sized plate with two compartments and two small bowls that can be placed anywhere on the edge of the plate. It is available in orange/white or pink/white. Like the snack ball, this product is BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free.
• Boon Toddler Catch Bowl: Boon also makes a bowl designed to catch food and funnel it back into the bowl. Also BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free, this bowl is available in orange/white or pink/white.
• Boon ModWare Toddler Utensils: Boon also makes toddler utensils which are BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free and are available in orange/white or pink/white to coordinate with the rest of their feeding products.
• Boon Saucer Stay-Put Divided Plate: This plate features devided sections to keep food separate as well as a unique edgeless design prevents little hands from lifting it off the table. This product is BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free
• Yamazaki Tantalyn Feeding Set: This stainless steel set includes a 6″ feeding spoon, a fork and spoon set, and a 6″ dish with large handles for easy gripping.

As always, Safemama.com has compiled a great list of safe dishware as well. Let me know what options have worked for you and your family.

Display In a Special Frame

I dislike clutter and messiness and I try to simplify when and where I can, so I love the idea of displaying one piece of artwork at a time in a special frame. I have come across several neat framing ideas:

1. I really like a floating or gallery frame as it works great for irregular shapes of art and the clear glass shows the color of the wall on which it hangs, therefore the matting matches your decor! A set of gallery frames like this would also be a great way to create an important display space (not the fridge) to display selected work. You could create this display in their play room, or better yet in an adult room, such as the living room or office, to show the importance of the art.
2. Lucite box frames work well, too. They can be displayed on tables or walls and are relatively inexpensive; they can be found in craft stores.
3. Check out this art frame: L’il DaVinci Store and Display Art Cabinet You can hold up to 50 pieces of art in one frame! It has hinges and opens like a cabinet. Very neat option!
4. Everyday Display, by Creative Memories: The Everyday Display features an 18×18 frame, with a 13.5×13.5 fabric covered magnetic board; matching magnets and clothespins are included. The Everyday Display comes in three colors (white, black, and chocolate) so you should be able to find one to match your room’s decor! Here is a picture of mine; although now it doesn’t hold art; just pictures in my son’s room.



5. Keepsake Display, by Creative Memories: Features a magnetized display board and includes matching magnets.
6. And to take framing to another level, check out this professionally framed collage of artwork, the Jan Eleni Collage. You send them your child’s art pieces and they arrange them and create this collage. It’s beautiful!

Whichever framing method you choose, be sure to keep the art rotating in and out of the frames and perhaps even toss some of it every now and then. Shocked? I have heard that new bursts of inspiration can come about by clearing out old art.

Make place mats by laminating the artwork. Use some place mats during meals and others for messy arts and crafts. Once you reach your limit of place mats for your household, they make great gifts for relatives!

Create a Clothesline

Screw wooden hooks into opposite sides of a wall in your child’s playroom or bedroom. String a clothesline between the two hooks. Add colorful clothespins along the line and attach artwork with the clothespins.

Make a Border

A neat idea I came across is to make a wall border with your child’s artwork. Paint stripes around the room, either at chair rail height or just below the ceiling. Use tape to make the stripes straight. Fill in the space between the stripes with your child’s artwork.

Bulletin Board

Put several favorite art pieces on a bulletin board; either in your child’s room, the hallway, or their playroom.

And a neat spin on the bulletin board idea is to use cork squares, magnetic squares, and pegboard squares such as these at Pottery Barn Kids. Alternate cork and magnetic squares, in colors matching the room, to create a hip and colorful display for your child’s art! Here is a great picture of a fabric covered pinboard, also from Pottery Barn Kids.

My friend decorated bulletin boards for her kids’ artwork. She purchased some wooden letters to spell each child’s name and painted them white and then put them down the side of each bulletin board. Here is one of them:

Make A Scrapbook

Create a scrapbook that’s dedicated entirely to your child’s artwork. It is easily displayed and takes up a relatively small space. Your child will love showing to to visitors; what a great way to boost their self esteem!

Store It

When it comes time to take the art down from its display area, you will need to decide what to do with it. Here are some ideas to help you with the next steps:

1. You may want to keep several pieces of art that are important; either to you or your child. (For example, a friend of mine always keeps artwork that has her children’s hand prints on them.) Sit down with your child and have them look through the year’s art and choose a few they want to keep. You can store the art in an art portfolio, in a flat box under the bed, or in a scrapbook.
2. You can save all your child’s artwork by taking a picture of each piece. Put all the pictures in a scrapbook; it takes up a lot less space and they can see every piece of art!
3. Have your child choose a few pieces of art to send to friends and family. Have them write their name and a message on the back. It will brighten their day!

And yes, the art that does not get stored in a portfolio or scrapbook gets put in the trash. *gasp* Don’t worry; remember, you are just creating room for more bursts of inspiration from your budding artist!

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365