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If you live in a warm weather climate like I do, you probably haven’t carved your pumpkin yet. We wait about 5 days before Halloween for this family event. For others, this weekend is prime time for carving those pumpkins with the kids! It’s a Halloween tradition for my family and Zippo has assembled some easy-to-follow tips so that you’ll be able to hit the ground running.

What You Need:

• Pumpkin (choose a large pumpkin for easier carving)
• Newspaper (just roll up and throw away the pumpkin guts!)
• Marker (to mark the lines of where you’ll be cutting)
• Stencils (search online for free stencils)
• Sharp knife and spoon or a pumpkin carving kit
• Small tea-light candle (to show off your talent!)
• Zippo Flex Neck ($19.95, http://www.zippo.com/product.aspx?id=1023899) — with a flexible nozzle, you don’t have to worry about burning your fingers when you bring your carving to life!

Instructions:

1. Place a pumpkin flat on its bottom, on a flat surface (you may need to cut the bottom of the pumpkin to keep it stable)
2. Draw a circle around the stem with a marker – make sure the circle is large enough so that you can fit your hand through it!
3. Cut around the outline with a long, sharp knife
4. Lift the newly made lid and remove the flesh of the pumpkin with a spoon. Go ahead and use your hands and let the kids give it a try. There’s nothing like the feel of pumpkin guts! Separate the seeds for roasting later on. Yummy!
5. Rinse the interior, clearing out the remaining flesh, and tip away the waste.
6. Draw your design on the front of the pumpkin with a marker or draw around an already-made stencil. Go simple if this is your first time, then move on to more difficult and amazing designs.
7. Insert the tip of your knife into the lines drawn and begin carving your design
8. When your Jack o’lantern is done, place the small tea-light candle inside the pumpkin.
9. Save your fingers from any unnecessary burns by lighting it with a Zippo Flex Neck. The long, slim, adjustable nozzle will fit right in between the carvings so that you don’t have to remove the candle to light it. Your fingers will thank you!

Zippo is on hand to get your family together this Halloween.

Information for this post was provided by Zippo. I will receive a Zippo Flex Neck for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

At his school, he had to bring something for each classmate on Valentine ’s Day. One year, I forgot about it and had to scramble at the last minute. Luckily, I love buying school supplies at the back to school shopping sales. There are great bargains to be had.

Here are some things that I always keep in stock for the last minute projects or  Valentine’s Day cards

• Colorful construction paper
• Stickers, glitter, ribbons, and glue
• Markers
• Old Shoe Boxes—they come in handy if you have to bring notes for 25+ people.
• Fancy cut scissors are extraordinary. They are a simple twist that goes a long way.

With supplies, the options are truly endless—simply making “love” coupons that they can give to their friends or siblings for a hug or a smile or a nice gesture could make some kids truly happy.  And don’t forget that you can make a special valentine for your kids as a surprise as well such as a Valentine’s Day Coupon Book.  Use any of these ideas as a starting point and think about what would make your kids feel the most loved.

Most of all, remind them that caring for each other should happen year-round, not just on Valentine’s Day.  But there’s nothing wrong with an extra-special treat on this extra-special day.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

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This is a guest post written by Aparna Vashisht who is the founding mom and CEO of Parentella.com.

Grab some hot cocoa, sandwiches and blankets and set the TV to watch if the famous groundhog comes out of his burrow. You can follow Punxsutawney Phil on his own Facebook page or read about him on the official Groundhog Day website.

The website is full of information about the day’s events, news and activities for your children. You can even watch Phil’s live prediction and send a free eCard.

Here’s a poem about Groundhog Day:

There’s only one day the whole long year, that I hope the pray the sun won’t appear.
The second of February, you all know, the ground hog goes searching for his shadow.
If he should find it, the story is told, we’ll have six more weeks of winter’s cold.
But if it’s cloudy, his shadow’s not there. There’ll soon be warm weather and days will be fair.
So please, Sun, for just this one day, find a big dark cloud–and stay away

Some More Activities

• Have a fun discussion about superstitions
• Use a weather website to learn about what is really predicted for your area
• Make a craft of a groundhog
• Read about the history of Groundhog Day
• Find some free online coloring page for this special day
• Since groundhogs eat greens, serve up a salad and pretend you’re groundhogs

Enjoy this video about Groundhog Day:

And remember there’s nothing like making a day even more special when you spend it with your kids!

Reading is a very important skill that needs to be developed in children. It is necessary for academic survival, and is a tool needed for many things in our daily lives, improving our comprehension of the world around us and providing us with independence. Many things are dependent on our ability to read, therefore, games to teach reading can make a significant difference to a kid who is struggling to develop this skill or would like to improve it.

What can reading do for a child? Learning to read offers many benefits including, but not limited to:

• Constantly learning new subjects and topics
• Gain experience
• Learn life lessons
• Discover new ideas
• Enhance social skills
• Improve hand-eye-coordination
• Inspire creative thinking and fun through imagination

How can games to teach reading benefit a child? For starters, they are fun and entertaining, providing children with another learning experience in addition to traditional book reading. They can help a child develop visualization, which is an important skill that enables greater comprehension when reading. Furthermore, games are interesting and have goals, which keep the child’s attention and focus, critical factors for learning.

Thus, by engaging in games to teach reading, kids can learn the alphabet, new words, picture-word association, spelling, and many other aspects integral for the development of this vital cognitive activity.

http://cmp.ly/3

This contest is fun and easy! Just print the black and white coloring page of one of the Avocado Amigos – Ava or Al – then color and design the page. Add hats, facial features and other accessories, color Ava or Al and then upload the image to the website (must be uploaded and entered by an adult).

Three winners will be chosen from the following age categories:

• 4 years and younger
• 5 – 9 years old
• 10 – 12 years old

These are the prizes:

• Grand prize – $250 Bank Issued Gift Card
• First Runner Up prize -  $100 Bank Issued Gift Card
• Second Runner-Up prize – $50 Bank Issued Gift Card

And for parents, there’s some amazing recipes from Celebrity Chef Rick Bayless on the main site. As well as Back To School recipes such as this one:

I wrote this blog post at the request of Avocados From Mexico, making me eligible to win a $25 iCard gift card.

1. Planning The Cruise – When you’ve narrowed your choices down by what you can afford, let your tween in on the planning phase. Gather brochures, library books about the areas you’ll be visiting and visit the online cruise sites. Many of the online sites provide video tours. The brochures and sites include information on what is available for children, tweens and teens to do on board, which is plays a big role in the choice of your cruise.
2. Buy Clothes – Choosing cruise attire will help your tween get in the mood for the activities on board, the excursions, the pool, etc.
3. Countdown The Days: As your cruise gets closer, mark off the days on your calendar or use an online countdown calendar. This increases the fun!
4. Music Downloads: Find music from the places you’ll be visiting and download it for your tween. Let them get an idea of what to look forward to.
5. Attend A Formal Dinner: Either prepare one at home or go to a formal restaurant so your tween is ready for formal nights on your upcoming cruise. It will make you all comfortable not having to remind them what fork to use, etc. Although mistakes are overlooked on cruises, it’s nice to at least know some of the basic manners.
6. Visit The Cruise Forum: Almost every cruise line has their own forum now. Join and/or visit to learn about what regular cruisers are sharing. There’s usually up to date information about the tween clubs on board.
7. Choose Excursions: Involve your tween with deciding on what excursions to take. Read about the rules and regulations carefully to see if there is an age limit.
8. Earn Money: Give your tween extra chores so s/he can earn some extra money for the cruise. There’s souvenirs, tween club sleepovers and other extras that are tempting. Provide the opportunity for them to make money so they can pay what they want.
9. Camera: Let your tween have their own camera and be responsible for it during your cruise. Find an inexpensive one at a yard sale, online or give them your hand-me-down. Let them practice taking photos before the cruise so they’re ready to shoot lots of their own when you’re on board and sight seeing.
10. Motion Sickness Items: Just in case, talk to your tween’s doctor about what is recommended for motion sickness. Buy it and bring it along.

We’re off on a Carnival Cruise within the next few weeks. This will be the third cruise for my 11 year old daughter. She’s enjoyed every one.

Do you have any questions or suggestions for tweens traveling on a cruise? Please leave a comment.

Here’s some ideas to make your mother and daughter sleepover party fun for the both of you:

Pajamas and Clothing

Let your daughter wear your women’s pajamas. Dress up in some weird outfits. Do makeovers.

Junk Food

Get out the junk food, like popcorn, candy and potato chips. See what creations the two of you can come up with. What about pickles and potato chips?

Play Games

Board games, story telling games, and charades are just some examples of games you can play together. Go online and shop, but not for real. Choose the most expensive and stylish clothing, toys, furniture and even pretend to buy women’s pajamas and girls pajamas for the next party.

Sleep In

Stay up late and sleep in the next day. Have a huge breakfast and eat a yummy brunch. And don’t forget to stay in your womens pajamas while you’re eating!

Maybe this will turn out to be a family tradition you’ll enjoy for years to come. Let me know some other party ideas for your mother and daughter sleepover party.

This is a sponsored post.

Mother’s Day crafts are one of Mom’s favorite presents. She’ll treasure them always. When a child creates something with their own hands, it’s the most special gift of all. I write the date on my gifts and cards and save them all. I have boxes of crafts saved from years ago.

Here’s some Mother’s Day Craft ideas:

• A picture drawn with crayons, painted or sketched. Add a frame from the dollar store or a magnet to hang on the fridge so it can be displayed.
• Decorative Soaps – Use a Soap Making Kit to make this task easier.
• Bookmarks – Create a bookmark with beads, heavy cardboard or craft foam. Remember to add some extras that your Mom likes, such as cats or angels.
• Jewelery – Use beads or kits to help you.
• Candy – Yes you can make your own candy, even chocolate. Think strawberries dipped in chocolate or something sweet and yummy. (I take photos of these delicious treats.)
• Flowers – Either handmade or real make lovely Mother’s Day gifts. Plant some flowers just for Mom or make a few of your own with tissue paper or fabric.

Share these craft ideas with your child or a single mother’s child to help them make Mother’s Day special.

1. Rainbows are popular for St. Patrick’s Day. Get out some crayons or markers and draw a colorful rainbow. If you’re lucky enough to see one, take some photos.
2. Going along with rainbows, make a batch of rainbow cookies. Use sugar cookies and add rainbow sprinkles or icing to make the shape and colors of your rainbow.
3. Leprechauns are easy to make out of paper lunch bags. You’ll need construction paper to add some extra touches like the hat and beard. Let your imagination guide you!



Image by bon_here via Flickr

4. Get a rock, paint it white and add a kiss from an ink stamp or paint to make the Blarney stone. You can even decorate it further with some glitter.
5. Make Irish Soda Bread with your child. Here’s a recipe from AllRecipes for Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread.
6. Make a Leprechaun box and watch your child’s eyes grow with excitement! You can use a cardboard box, covered with a paper bag or green construction paper. Decorate it as you see fit. Be sure there is a small opening. Leave it out the night of March 16th. Open it on March 17th at night to see what the Leprechauns have left to thank you for making them a place to stay for the day.
7. Look for clovers if weather permits. You’re sure to be lucky if you find a four leaf clover!
8. Eat a bowl of Lucky Charms for breakfast.
9. Here’s a video to teach you how to draw a shamrock:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Be sure to spend some time with your children making some crafts and cooking some food. Maybe they’ll try Corned Beef and Cabbage this year.

We usually start getting warmer weather in mid-February, or even earlier. It’s actually been in the 30′s here in the past few days and we’re going stir crazy. My daughter won’t have off from school for spring break until April, so it’s time to get ourselves out of the doldrums and pretend it’s spring by celebrating.

1. Make tissue paper flowers. There’s lots of ways to make these. Use your imagination or get a craft book for more details.  Make lots of them and put them around the house or one specific room.
2. Have an indoor picnic. Make it as authentic as possible with real picnic foods and with the scenery too. Use blanket or table cloth on the floor, be sure the blinds are open, spread around some fake bugs and add lots of pillows to feel comfy.
3. Make bird feeders and study a book about birds in your area. You can even go birding, just dress for the weather and don’t forget your binoculars.
4. Plan a hike or camping trip. Then do it when the weather is more spring-like.
5. Plant some plants. Get them started indoors and then move them outdoors when it’s safe to do so. You can even get some vegetable plants going.
6. Make donations. Spring cleaning isn’t fun, but when you let your tween know that you are going to fill a donation box, at least there’s a better purpose for it. Celebrate after with a pizza party.
7. Create t-shirts. Use a kit, fabric paint, or make tie die shirts. Get ready for short sleeve weather.
8. Make a fruit salad. Find the freshest fruit possible and make a huge salad to devour.
9. Write a poem or short story about spring. Use your imagination to create a masterpiece explaining why you love the spring season.
10. Talk sports. Into baseball, soccer, softball? Get information on your local teams, players and their schedules. Discuss, plan when you can see them, decide if you’re going to join a team.

How would you like to celebrate spring? Do you have a family tradition already?