Ten Terrific Ideas For Rainy Day Fun

Writen by Katelyn Thomas

It's been raining for a week and the kids and bored and restless. How do you cure those rainy day blahs? Try some of these parent tested and kid approved ideas and your children will be hoping for another rainy day when the sun finally peaks through.

1. Share a book. Pick an action packed, funny book and take turns reading aloud. Some great choices are My Brother Louis Measures Worms by Barbara Robinson, The Great Brain by John Fitzgerald or Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parrish. For more great reads, check with your local library. Your librarian should have reading lists available.

2. Put on a play. Your children can write their own play and act it out or make paper bag puppets for additional fun. A great book for quick and easy skit ideas is The Skit Book by Margaret Read MacDonald.

3. Go on an indoor picnic. Put out a blanket and pack a basket full of goodies. For a quick but special picnic lunch, jazz up ordinary sandwiches with cookie cutters in animal shapes.

4. Hold rainy day Olympics. Make the events things that can be done in the house, such as standing on one leg or seeing who can make his bed the fastest. Give the winners chocolate coins instead of medals. 5. Learn a new craft or hobby. Check your local library for instructional videos that will tell you how to knit, crochet or paint and buy enough supplies for everyone to give it a try. If you decide to learn to knit or crochet, your children can make scarves or blankets to donate to a local shelter.

6. Hold a fancy dress party. Put together a trunk of old cocktail dresses, suits, fancy hats, and costume jewelry. Have everyone dress up and give prizes for the most creative and fancy costumes.

7. Go on safari. Make an indoor tent by draping a blanket over a table or several chairs. Serve trail mix as a snack and provide binoculars for hunting wild animals. Then pull up a cushion and read Maurice Sendek's Where the Wild Things Are or play a video or DVD about wild baby animals.

8. Get ready for a yard sale. Work with your children to clean out the attic, garage and bedrooms. Clean and price all the items and box them up by category so that you can quickly set up your sale on the next sunny weekend.

9. Have an indoor market. Buy snacks, activities, and other inexpensive items and set up a store table for each child. Provide market baskets and spare change so they can buy from each other and make sure you stop by the shops, too. For additional fun, let them keep their profits to restock their shops for the next rainy day.

10. Make portrait cookies. Buy a sugar cookie mix, a gingerbread cookie cutter, colored icing and sprinkles. Roll out the sugar cookies and help the kids cut out their people and then let them decorate the gingerbread men to look like themselves, friends and family. For additional fun, find dog or cat cookie cutters so your children can include the family pet.

Katelyn Thomas is the editor for Cecil Child, a free online parenting magazine for Cecil County residents at http://www.cecilchild.com

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13 Things For Your Child To Do Instead Of Watch Tv

Writen by Carrie Lauth

C'mon, admit it. You sometimes use the television set as a cheap babysitter. That's ok...we ALL do it sometimes! Ah, but it's a double-edged sword, because kids who watch a lot of TV have trouble keeping themselves entertained, which in the long run makes your job harder!

If you're trying to limit the TV viewing in your household, you might need a little inspiration. Try these TV-free activities guaranteed to keep the kids busy... at least for a little while!

1) Make paper airplanes
Warning: This one is highly addictive! My two boys absolutely love making paper airplanes. Buy them a book on the fine arts of paper airplane making, and then put your feet up and read a book.

2) Make a tower with toothpicks and peas
Go ahead- encourage them to play with their food!

3) Make homemade ice cream
Put two parts milk and cream and one part sugar in a coffee can, with any flavorings you want. Put the lid on, then put it in a bigger can and pour ice around the little can. Put rock salt on the ice. Put a lid on the big can, and give it to your child to roll it back and forth for about 1/2 hour or until it turns into ice cream! (Do this one even if it's winter...I won't tell!)

4) Give them a magnet and instruct them to run it all over the house and see what they find.
And loose couch change is fair game!

5) If you have bunk beds, put blankets around the lower one and make a submarine. Make it a yellow blanket. Then sing the appropriate Beatles tune.

6) Play First Family Savings and Loan
Save your cancelled checks and fake credit cards that come in the mail. Supply the kids with a calculator, pencils, small table and Monopoly money. This one was my favorite as a kid!

7) Build a mini log cabin with twigs

8) Have a tic-tac-toe tournament

9) Make your own soda.
Do a Google search to find an easy recipe

10) Make a card for Grandma.
Get out the rubber stamps, art supplies and construction paper and make a greeting card for Grandma or another loved one.

11) Bake a cake
Buy the kids an easy cake or brownie mix and let them loose in the kitchen. Tell them they can enjoy the fruits of their labors as long as they clean up all mess.

12) Make up a treasure hunt
Buy cheap dollar store toys. Hide in your closet. Make a list of items they must find outside. (A white rock, a feather, a red leaf, a penny, etc) Tell them an exciting booty awaits when they bring all the items to you.

13) Make a cave inside the house.
Put old blankets over the backs of chairs or over a table to make a tent. Grab a flashlight and instruct child to go read scary stories inside it.

http://www.InsteadofTV.com is a resource for parents trying to turn off the TV and turn on life. Sign up for our free newsletter and get "101 Things To Do Instead of Watch TV".

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How To Deal With Teasing At School

Writen by Wayne Po

It inevitably happens to everyone. Some more than others.

Whether it's because you wear big glasses, you're not wearing the coolest clothes, you're too tall or too short or big or too small – teasing is a timeless "activity" that never goes out of style (unfortunately).

So, how do you deal with it without having to resort to physical violence?

Here are a couple of tips that I've learned:

1. Walk away. When kids, teens or even adults tease one another, they do it because they want to get a reaction out of you. They enjoy seeing you squirm, get upset and feeling bad about yourself.

   Mostly they do it so they can make themselves feel better by making others feel bad about themselves. (yes, I do feel sorry for those teasers).

   When the teasers begin to find that their teasing no longer affects you, no longer gets a reaction out of you, they inevitably stop (and most likely move onto another target). It's no longer fun for them.

   So, don't give them what they want. Don't react, just walk away and ignore them.

2. I've found that tip #1 works the best, but what if you can't walk away? What if they corner you in and you can't push your way out? Firstly, I would keep with ignoring them. Stand there with a straight face (as if you're waiting for the silliness to stop).

   If that doesn't work?

   Scream and yell "Help!" – bring as much attention to the teasers as you can. If you're on school grounds there should be monitors and teachers around that should hear you and come to help.

   If you're off-school grounds, I would yell "Fire!". If you yelled fire on school grounds, you may end up getting yourself in trouble so I would reserve this for off-school grounds.

These two tips are what I've found to work. Of course, each situation is different. Each person is different.

If you or your child is being teased at school or outside of school, talk to your child and tell them that they don't have to face this problem alone. Seek professional help, by no means should you take these tips as concrete advice but I hope it gives you a starting point.

Speak to the parties involved. Speak to teachers and principles as they have a responsibility to create a safe and comfortable learning environment.

There may also be a need to involve the teaser's parents as well. As they have a responsibility for the behavior of their child.

Wayne is the founder of BuildingSelfEsteem.net, an online resource offering practical tips and advice on improving self-esteem and self-confidence. Visit the website, http://www.buildingselfesteem.net

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