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Winter time can be a beautiful time of year even if you do not live in a snowy area. Inspiring artistic creations that represent winter will teach children about this season and pass the time if you are waiting for the snow to melt!  AllKidsNetwork.com and MarthaStewart.com has some adorable ideas to spark creativity for winter crafts.

Snow Measuring Stick

Live in a place where it snows? Teach your kids to monitor the inches of snow by creating a snow measuring stick. This is a cool way to educate children on what inches are and get children curious about how much snow is falling each time it snows.

Whether you are watching the snowflakes accumulate on the ground or you wish to see snow fall, making a snow globe can fascinate your children and be a wonderful creation to make!

Snow Globe

Shaking snow globes that are bought during the holidays are fun and beautiful but what could be more exciting than making your own snow globe?! The ingredients to make this snow globe are easy to find in stores and all you need is a clear jar or bottle to contain the pretty decorations.

The next two crafts can be made whether you live in a hot or cold region and will be tons of fun for the kids to create and showcase around the house.

Styrofoam Penguin

Making masterpieces of animals that live in the arctic will be fun for the whole family. Also, it does not have to be just a penguin that the kids create; they can also create snowmen out of Styrofoam too. These pieces of artwork will be nice to display around the house to make it more festive even after the holidays are over.

Beyond constructing arctic animals, mythical creatures, snow globes, and snow measuring sticks, what does everyone need to keep their hands warm when it is cold? Mittens!

Mittens

This craft is simple and you can probably find these items already lying around the house if your children like doing artsy activities. Mittens are easy to make and each child can personalize their mittens by the color of the construction paper and paint their own unique design. This is another great decoration that can be hung around the house during winter. Also, if you are from a warmer region, you can teach your children why wearing mittens and gloves are important when you are in cold weather. This is great opportunity for those that do live in regions of colder climates to talk about the dangers of not wearing gloves or mittens.

Which winter time crafts are you planning on making with your children?

 

Eating cake, cookies, burgers, pizza, and other delicious foods may be a delectable meal for some, but it can also be an unhealthy lifestyle to pursue all the time. Teaching and encouraging healthy eating habits to your children may help with their development.  There is no guarantee that your children will not become picky eaters, but suggesting the importance of being healthy may open their mind to at least trying new foods.

We found this article on PBS that explains ways to encourage healthy eating habits for your little ones. Here are some of the highlights:

Get them involved by bringing them along. Taking children to the grocery store can an adventure or a struggle, but bringing them, will allow an opportunity for your children to choose the food you purchase. Let them pick out the fruits, vegetables, cheeses, bread and other food you are planning on buying. Try to give them a simple description of what the particular food they have picked tastes like. A great way to stay away from unhealthy food is to try to avoid going down the aisles that supply it. If a child cannot see their favorite unhealthy food in front of them, they may not even think about it or want it.

Go to the source. Speaking of describing how a food tastes to children, it is equally important to increase your children’s food knowledge. Sometimes, instead of going to the grocery store travel to your local farmer’s market. Your children can meet the people that actually grow and pick the fresh fruits and veggies. Even planning a day to go to a dairy farm will teach them where dairy products come from. Besides, showing your children where healthy foods come from- stocking up on plenty of nutritious snacks in your home is a smart idea too!

Have healthy snacks readily available. Having the fridge and cabinets filled with sliced apples, cut up carrots, whole grain crackers, and water bottles is never a bad idea. These are snacks that children can access without your help. In addition, they are snacks that can travel with them in the car. Portable snacks help keep children busy! Besides feeding children healthy snacks, being a role model and eating healthy too can benefit both you and your children.

It takes dedication to eat healthy but if a family tries to do it together, it becomes a group effort. Kids look up to their parents and want to imitate what the adults are doing. If children see their parents eating the same food as them, they may be influenced to enjoy these nutritious and delicious foods instead of complaining.

Overall, implementing health conscious food choices into the family’s meals and snacks is a fantastic way for everyone to receive their daily nutritional requirements. What do you do to try to get your children to eat healthy?

Have you ever considered your home or play room a disaster zone because the kids have made it their duty to leave their toys everywhere? Cleaning up after your children can be exhausting. After play time is over, maybe suggesting that clean up can be fun will encourage children to tidy up more.

Focusonthefamily.com suggests creating a point system You can encourage kids to clean up by developing a point system. Each time they clean up their toys you can give them a sticker by their name. Once they reach a certain amount of stickers by their name reward them with their favorite food.

Putting toys away every day could get tiring, so set a day and time each week, or twice a week, to straighten up toys. This will help teach kids how to stick to a routine. Clean up can be fun and rewarding if you make it challenging and rewarding.  Try to emphasize the benefits of cleaning up to your children such as: they will be able to find their toys better, they will not step on their toys, and they will prolong the life of their toys.

A great way for children to straighten up their toys is by having an organizer to arrange their toys in. The Fun Time Room Organizer will help children to put their toys away while harmonizing where their toys belong at the same time. The vibrant bin colors and dry-erase labels will allow children to locate and return toys easily. There is even a Corvette Room Organizer for the little car enthusiast in your life!

What tips do you have for helping children to clean up?

The winter season is in full effect. During snow days and weekends, kids may be looking for something fun to do. Making snowmen and snow angels can be a blast but why not try some new creative ways to play in the snow? If you and your children are feeling adventurous, use your Step2 toys outside during winter.*

Turn water play into winter play

Use a sand and water table while the snow is on the ground for a different way to play with a table that may only be used for the spring and summer time. Instead of filling up the play table with sand and water, fill up both parts of the table with snow. For added fun, pat down and smooth the snow on the table to create an ice rink for dolls and action figures. What if it does not snow where you live? Do not worry, we have an idea! You can fill up the sand and water table with ice cubes and still pretend it is a roller rink!

Winter Wonderland Playhouse:

Are some of your kids’ playhouses too big to be brought inside for the winter? Take the fun outside and play in them! Dust the snow off of them and suggest that the children pretend that they live in an arctic region. Have the children create snow decorations (like snowmen) around their little house and afterwards, go into their house and pretend to warm up with some hot chocolate. For those living in an area with no snow, cut out snowflakes from paper and tape them to the playhouse. Also, tear up more paper and throw it over and around the playhouse to act like it is snowing.Ask your child it imitate an Eskimo while in their playhouse. It is always fun to pretend!

Skyward Summit turns into Snowward Summit:

Do you have a Skyward Summit that lingers outside during the winter months because it is too big to bring inside? Step2 was inspired by Mama Loves Her Bargains’ review on the Skyward Summit. As you can see below, it is tons of fun to climb and hang out on the Skyward Summit during the winter.  Also, it can help children to stay active during the cold weather. Make sure to watch carefully over the kids during this activity because their boots may be being slippery while climbing on these products.

How are your children playing with Step2 toys during the winter?

*Disclaimer: The Step2 Company LLC does not promote or condone the use of our products in ways other than the original intent. This blog was solely written for the purpose to encourage creativity during the winter months. Please refer to the instruction sheets for all Step2 products for the appropriate age, weight, and height limitations.

 

 

 

As the flu continues to spread rapidly, it is important that everyone takes the necessary precautions to stay healthy.  There are many steps you can take to make sure that your children do not get the flu this year. CNN.com had many great tips to keeping your children healthy during this time of year.

• Vaccinate: It is never too late for your children to receive the flu vaccination.  Even though the vaccine cannot fully guarantee your children will not get the flu, it still increases the chances of not contracting the illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccine is about 62% effective. The vaccine can shorten the illness if they do get sick.
• Coughing etiquette and social distancing: Continuously tell your children to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue if they feel that they are going to sneeze or cough. After they are done coughing or sneezing, they should immediately throw away the contaminated tissue. Then they should make sure to sanitize their hands. The faster they do these measures, the fewer germs will spread. Also, if your children begin to show any cold-like/flu-like symptoms, keep them home from school if at all possible. CNN Money just discovered that one in three U.S workers has no paid sick days. This will make it extremely hard to contain the flu with many sick people going to work when they should stay home. Another great way to prevent children from getting sick and swapping germs is to suggest to the teacher to separate the desks from one another during this time of year so children are not too close to one another.
• Clean surfaces often: Sanitize all objects that are shared by the family such as door knobs, railings of the staircase, bathrooms, television remotes, telephones, toys, and chairs.
• Practice a healthy lifestyle: Make sure the whole family is getting plenty of sleep at night, consuming plenty of vitamin C and iron, eating fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, and having at least one hour of physical activity during the week.

Has the flu bug hit your household this year?  Please share your tips with us to prevent the spread of this nasty bug.  Flu Activity Video:

The first week of January is over and for most children, this means that winter break is over too. After almost two luxurious weeks off, it may be hard to transition back into “school mode.” However, just like resolutions, after winter break can be a great time to re-establish a better work ethic and more organized routine for children. TodaysTHV.com had many suggestions for helping children transition from their winter break.

One possibility when getting used to going back to school can be sitting down with your kids and creating a morning routine and an evening routine. Ask them what they think the most important thing is that they need to do in the morning and at night. Working on this routine together can help a child readjust better instead of being forced into a routine they may not agree with.

In addition to working on a routine together, try to make small steps toward this organized routine. The first few days of going back to school may not be easy. If both you and your child keep calm, the morning and nights may go a lot easier.

Another great advantage to a New Year beginning is explaining what resolutions are to children. Although they may not have a list of resolutions, it may be fun to create a list of goals that your children would like to complete during 2013. One goal could be finishing their homework before dinner or eating everything on their dinner plate for a week straight. Come up with fun yet challenging goals that the kids will enjoy.

Also, while the transition back to school is occurring, it may be nice to continuously tell your kids that you are always here to help and if they are struggling with anything, to please let you know right away. Problems that your children are having at home or at school can sometimes be handled faster if children feel comfortable knowing that you are open to hearing how they feel and that you will always lend a helping hand.

Good luck with the transition of back to school! What suggestions do you have for making the transition easier?