|
Life Support for Mommies Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
May28, 2008 - Life Support for Mommies >> |
|
Welcome to Life Support for Mommies the ezine for mothers of all ages with children of all ages. I created this ezine to provide helpful tips and advice for Moms. I hope that it is a source of support and that it provides a feeling of community and sharing. If you have any ideas that you would like to share, please feel free to send me a message. Enjoy . . . 10 Tips for Baking Up Memories with Kids! The kitchen is a terrific place to bond with children. Gayle Gaggero The kitchen is a terrific place to bond with children. Whether youre planning to rustle up breakfast, or decorating cookies, you can create memories that will last a lifetime. Here are 10 super suggestions for making cooking with the kids fun for everyone! 1. Safety First- Kids need to understand the importance of safety. Teach young children to stay away from the hot stove, sharp knives, and other kitchen dangers. Every child loves to pour the milk and add the flour, so take a couple extra seconds to turn off the mixer and let them! Even better, do the mixing by hand when you can! That leads right into 2. Cootie Protection- Good hygiene is an essential kitchen lesson to teach your kids. Make sure they understand the importance of washing their hands often, sneezing away from food, and to use clean dish cloths and cutting surfaces to avoid cross contamination. If you do it they will too! 3. The Simpler the Better- Kids love to dig in with both hands. Choose recipes that are easy, hand formed cookies are a fun start that keeps them involved. 4. Dont Watch the Clock- If the recipe says it takes 20 minutes to prepare count on 40 with kids in the kitchen. Plan accordingly and keep it fun. You and your child will have a much more enjoyable experience if you are not in a hurry, and the extra time is well spent when you consider those priceless memories and life skills! 5. Relax and have fun- There WILL BE funny shaped cakes, maybe a few egg shells in the batter. Take it all to heart and give praise often, even if its not perfect. This is a great time to share your own memories or even a baking secret. Shhhhhh! 6. Its Not Just About Cooking - The kitchen makes a fantastic classroom for kids. Learning to read and follow written directions is a very important lesson. Take advantage of showing them how fractions work in a recipe, how many minutes are in an hour when baking a cake, or the science in making a souffl rise, the educational opportunities are endless. 7. Why? We all know thats a childs favorite question. Even if they dont ask it you can provide all kinds of useful information. Explain why you need yeast in the bread, how baking soda works in cakes and cookies, and the differences between similar items like granulated sugar and confectioners sugar. Give them an opportunity to see, touch, and smell all the ingredients you are using in the recipe. 8. Food Safety - Its important to teach kids how to care for food. Make kids aware of the bacteria that can live in food if not treated properly. Remind them that hot food should be kept hot (over 140F) and cold food cold (under 40F). 9. Its OK to Use a Mix The attention span of small children can be short to say the least. Using a mix can take less time, leave less room for error, and create less of a mess. Yes, this is one of those times where less can be more! Keep mixes handy for when time is of the essence. So what if its not made from scratch it was still time well spent! 10. Clean Up - Teach children that cleaning up is all part of the process. Do it as you go to keep a safe and sanitary cooking area. Remind them that no good chef leaves the kitchen until its clean. We hope these helpful tips provide you the recipe for successful kitchen time with the little ones near and dear to you! Bon Appetite! Chef Gigi Chef Gayle Gigi Gaggero is co-owner of Kids Culinary Adventures (KCA). This exciting cooking school is where math, science, reading, and art mix with kids. KCA is proud to serve as the Bay Areas premier professional cooking school for children and teens. KCA boasts a broad spectrum of offerings ranging from one-day classes to a professional culinary certification program. KCA also mixes up a great time for seasonal camps, birthday parties, special events, and field trips. For more information on Kids Culinary Adventures visit http://www.kidsculinaryadventures.com How To Create A Daily Family Schedule Lisa Fraley Having a daily family schedule is beneficial because it provides a structured environment which is critical especially for elementary age children. A daily schedule will communicate the family’s shared goals and will allow your child to contribute to his/her accomplishment. Here are some simple steps to help you create a daily schedule for your family. 1. Start by analyzing your day. Try doing a simple time study. Use a daily calendar and note what each family member is doing at each time of the day. Watch out for problem times and think about how to structure the schedule to eliminate problems (problems related to hunger, stress, behavior, disorganization, etc.) 2. Decide what your schedule goals are. Do you desire less confusion in the morning? How about homework completed by bedtime? Is having a clean home one of your goals? What about family play time, children in bed by a certain hour, or relaxation for you and your spouse? Be sure to balance family activities with family rest-this is very important. Take a honest look at both parent and child needs. 3. Write it down. Put the family schedule on a poster board and hang in a high traffic area for all to see. Let the family know you will now be following this schedule. Stand firm against opposition. 4. Follow the schedule for one week. Check it often and let it guide your days for one week. Have the children check the schedule and follow it. Ultimately you want the children to learn to take responsibility for their part of the schedule. 5. Schedule tweaking. Once you’re through the first week, check your schedule for what is working and what is not. Make the necessary changes and rewrite the schedule on a new poster board. Hang it back in it’s high traffic area spot for all to see. Continue to follow the family schedule until it comes naturally for your family. Successful scheduling to you! Lisa Fraley owns and operates Home Works Natural Skin And Body Care. http://www.home-works-enterprises.ws Natural skin care and body care products for natural you. Home Works also offers affiliate, wholesale, and drop ship programs. Visit Lisa's natural product blog for articles, tips, do-it-yourself recipes and more. http://www.all-natural-products.info How To Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck and Build the Wealth You Desire Earlvin Harris No one likes to come to the end of the month and have nothing to show for it. After the bills have been paid, we wait until the next paycheck and do it all over again. It doesn't have to be that way. Here are tips to learn how to cut your debt, have more money at the end of the month, cancel interest cost and accelerate your wealth. If you ask a person how much money they would need to feel comfortable, they likely wouldnt be able to tell you an exact amount. Most of us want to have enough for peace of mind. We want to be able to provide for our family, have money in the bank, and know that we wont be bankrupt if the car breaks down or someone gets sick. One way to ensure that is to create a debt-free plan. It is hard to build wealth with debt hanging over our heads. To stop living paycheck to paycheck we need to use our paycheck in a different way. It may seem impossible now, but each step will now be leading you out of debt. A budget is the first step. It is hard to see what can be eliminated from our spending if we dont know what we are spending. Budgeting is a scary word for keeping track of our finances. Write down your expenses and your income. Most of us are already spending more than we bring in. Though, one of the keys to building wealth is to have more money coming in than going out. Even if as little as $50 per month, the rule of thumb is to create more discretionary income by spending less than you make. Decide what can be eliminated. If you eat out for lunch every day, start carrying your lunch to work. Packing lunch for the kids stops them from buying costly meals at school. Take on some of the jobs that you would typically hire out for. Teach the kids to mow the lawn. Designate one Saturday a month as clean the entire house from top to bottom day instead of using maid service. Now let's have a look at those credit card bills. Paying the minimum wont cut it. At that rate you will be paying them off until you are eighty years old. Start with the small amounts and work your way through them. Pay the minimum for all except that one. Pay larger sums to eliminate your debt one card at a time. Speaking of eliminating debt, what is the biggest debt we take on as everyday hard working consumers? You've guessed it, a mortgage note! To cancel interest cost on your debt, accelerate your wealth and have your money working for you, establish a Money Merge Account. With this interest cancellation system, as your money sits in your account waiting for you to pay bills, your money is working for you instead of lenders. Taking the first step to make a commitment to get started may get hard. Tell yourself that this is all for a good cause. By the time you've left easy street, bypassed hard street and hit skid-row, it will be harder to pull yourself above water. So make a commitment and take action. Once the credit cards are paid off, hide them away to be used for emergencies only. Don't close them. That may count against your credit rating. Little by little you will gain control over your finances and with it will come the peace of mind you have been seeking. Eventually, there will be more money at the end of the month than you can imagine. You have shown yourself that you can live happily without the extra things you were spending money on before. Funnel that money into a Money Merge Account and/or certificate of deposits or mutual funds. It is time that the money you worked hard to save does some work for you. Earlvin Harris is recognized as an expert wealth coach, author, speaker, entrepreneur and teacher. He enjoys spending his time coaching others how to go from "broke" to millionaire lifestyles. Homeowners, visit http://www.MortgageFreeClub.net, click the yellow video play button and get a free mortgage analysis and learn how you can be mortgage free in 1/3 to 1/2 the time, without refinancing, without increasing your mortgage payment and with no change to your monthly budget. |
|
|
May28, 2008 - Life Support for Mommies >> |
|
Life Support for Mommies Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on Life Support for Mommies |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |