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Field Trips, Games, Creative Ideas
The countdown to Christmas advent box was never really a tradition in our home, rather something I inconsistently did from time to time. While my intentions were always in the right place, I sometimes forgot to fill it, or didn’t follow through with the activity behind the door, or I just wasn’t prepared. I let our box fade away for several years until……
Continue reading “25 Easy Advent Box Ideas”
“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Isn’t that just beautiful? I feel the same, but fail to have the eloquent wording, or the painting skills like Van Gogh, but it certainly makes for a better intro than my southern greeting, “happy fall, y’all”! I really am a fall-lover, a lover of artsy things, and I’ve got several ideas, (four tried and true, because I have more ideas than time) for your fall art projects! Most of these projects are perfect for younger kids, bigger kids, and the moms or dads who want to join in!
Continue reading “Artist-themed Art Projects for Fall”World Kindness Day is officially observed on November 13th. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were every day, or at least once a week? Well, it can be with these thirteen ideas!
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For obvious reasons, I listed thirteen ideas for World Kindness Day (celebrated on 11/13). Of course there are many more ideas out there, but these are specific. Specifically stealthy, like a ninja. No one needs to know, a committee doesn’t need to be formed to carry them out, and public recognition isn’t necessary. Kindness should become habit forming, beyond just a one-time good deed. These ideas are hand-picked for teens and adults from two sources: Do Nice, Be Kind, Spread Happy – a “keeper book” my PaperPie company no longer carries, but have since kept for myself. The second is from life itself.
Remember when our kids were little, and we would remind them to say please and thank you, mind your manners, and be helpful? Hopefully, all those things stuck with them. As I was thinking about kindness day, I also began thinking about ways to go beyond the basics of being polite and having good manners. Sure, their dad and I have prepped them to be good people, but a refresher is never time wasted, especially when it’s in the form of a boost beyond the basics.
There are a ton of kindness ideas on the internet, and they are all good ones. I would encourage anyone to do them as they feel comfortable. However, several of them are just awkward, especially for shy teens. Give a compliment to a stranger? Hand out flowers on the street corner? Ummmm, that one would be a stretch for me to do, and I’m one who will talk to most anybody!
So here are 13 super-secretive ideas that no one has to know that it’s you – in fact, it’s better if they don’t.
Be sure to grab my Niceness Ninja printable in the Free Resource Library – keep it close by!
The teen years are the perfect time to review, model, and share kindness. They will soon be heading into a world that can be bitter. Make it better!
“The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.” -Charles Kuralt
Vacations create memories that last a lifetime. Follow this easy how-to post on how to preserve those memories!
Whether it’s a major vacation, a day trip to a neighboring town, or a field trip to a museum, those are the things we remember. I am a keeper of ticket stubs, pressed pennies, several t-shirts, and a couple of coffee mugs. I am also one of those 80’s kids who collected stickers. Puffy ones, scratch-n-sniff, holographic, and glitter stickers – I loved them all, and kept them in sticker albums. Remember those? I have no idea what ever happened to them, as the sticker-craze faded – along with the other fads of the decade.
Continue reading “How to Preserve Vacation Memories on the Cheap”
With only one month left of the school year, we were long overdue for a field trip. Two years overdue to be exact. Wilmington is the perfect place to learn about nature, history, and a double dose of the unusual.
Continue reading “Day-Tripping with Teens in Wilmington, NC”An entire day dedicated to harmless pranks and practical jokes with no repercussions? Sign me up! I don’t remember exactly when we started, but April Fool’s Day has become one of my top holidays to celebrate!
For the past several years, I have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the quirky holiday with my children. I’ve attempted to include my husband, but he has blatantly said not to mess with his stuff. That’s okay, it leaves me with more pranks to play on the kids! Both kids are now teenagers, so sometimes I get smiles, other times eye-rolls. They know I’m all about some light-hearted fun, so as long as they live here, they can expect something on April Fool’s. Before I give you my list of 25 pranks, here are some fun facts and history about the day. First fact: Homeschool moms will try to turn most anything into a lesson.
Continue reading “25 Fun, Harmless April Fool’s Day Pranks”
It’s no secret that Christmas is not my favorite holiday. It seems the commercialism begins earlier with each passing year. I, of course, go through the motions, but warm, fuzzy feelings are not what I get from the “magic of Christmas”. In fact, my closest friends have dubbed me as “The Grinch”. I’ve had a little fun with the deserved title over the past couple of years, and thought I would share 20 Grinch-themed fun activities for your holiday season in this round up post. I’ve combed Pinterest for the very best grinchy activities that include things to make, eat, and do with your family this season! Hey, we Grinches have our own way of being festive.
Continue reading “Twenty Terrific Ideas for Grinches”Horses and Bourbon were not part of our recent trip, but an amusement park, a really big boat, a bridge, a Bible, a grave, and a Yeti were!
It’s approximately 10 hours from my location in the the Tarheel State to The Bluegrass State. The rolling hills of Kentucky are a beautiful sight for someone who lives at just 10 feet above sea level. I will say though, it is a stretch to find blue grass in Kentucky. Perhaps because the lawns were so well manicured, I missed it. While we didn’t see the blue hues, we did see a lot more. Come with me on a road trip to Kentucky!
Continue reading “Road Tripping in Kentucky with Teens”Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited for the phrase, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”, or some variation of it. I think he was talking about life, but the phrase can certainly be said for road trips. The Great American Road Trip is back this year, and I’ve got some ideas to make the journey just as much fun as the destination!
