10 days of group games: #1 - 'Mommy' Race Tag!

Whether or not you're celebrating holidays this time of year, most people are thinking about family right now. And many of us are going to be seeing extended family soon. In that spirit, we thought that it would be fun to post some of our favorite games to play with 2 or more kids that don't require too much adult guidance. Check in over the next 10 days for more fun game ideas!

#1. 'Mommy' Race Tag

I thought up this game over the summer when we were up helping a friend who had a lot on her plate. She has a little girl who is Rowan's age, and all the girl wanted was attention from her mother, which is natural and fine, but became an issue when the mother was fielding important phone calls or dealing with other essential business. This game was a way to turn the little girls' energy towards a positive game that involved the mother, but also gave her enough space so she could do what she needed to do.

Here's how you play:  

You need one adult or older kid to be in charge and a bunch of little kids to play. All of the kids gather at a 'start' place. The person in charge gives them all the 'ready, steady, GO!' and all of the kids run off as fast as they can to find their mother, give her a big hug and kiss, and then race back to the starting place.

Variations:

• Use this as a way to get kids excited about getting to play with family members that they may not have seen in a long time or may not know very well. Turn it into 'Uncle Greg Tag' or 'Grandma Tag'. 
• This may also be a fun game that will involve family members who may WANT to play with the kids but have some physical limitations. They can be the ones that the kids race to. Or everyone can 'start' where that adult is stationed.
• Add obstacles into the mix. Make the kids run around a tree or a chair before they come back to the 'start'. Or have them bring something to the person that they're tagging. A note, a toy, a present...

I was thinking that this would be a good game to play when you have a lot of family around because, although the adults are involved, they are also going to be able to carry on doing whatever they need to do, whether it's catching up with old friends or family, preparing for dinner with guests, or just spending some time relaxing. 

Kids just want to play. It's their life! As well is should be. 
So let's play. 

Beeswax Candles in Recycled Teacups

During this time of the year, I'm normally crazy busy creating homemade gifts...except this year I wanted to keep it super simple, healthy, and be eco-conscious.  At first I started making ripped T-shirt scarves, which on the  pinterest pictures  looked adorable, but in practice turned into a huge mess of little fabric pieces all on the floor and myself.  So, Plan B was creating candles in recycled teacups.  

I decided to go with beeswax because it's an eco, non-toxic, all natural product with no additives, chemicals, or fillers.  During my research I found out that most manufactured paraffin candles (the kind you find at the dollar store or name brand candle or a craft store) are made of poisonous chemicals.  According to the American EPA, paraffin candles are known to release carcinogens like benzene and toluene.  Often, the candle wicks contain lead, the scents are artificial chemicals, and the paraffin wax is a waste product from the petroleum industry.   A popular alternative are soy candles, but unless they are marked as 100% soy, they also contain the toxic paraffin and are not an eco choice because there is a lot of energy involved to make soy into a soy wax.  

Instructions:

1. Place wick in middle and fill the teacups to the very top with beeswax pellets.  Press them down a lot and fill it up again.  

2. Cut up two strip of card board, staple together and place on top of tea cup, with the wick in the middle. This is to hold the wick in place. 

3. Place in oven at 200 - 250 degrees on a tray that you don't mind getting wax on.  It could take 30 minutes to an hour for the wax to melt. Once melted, adjust the wick and make sure it's in the middle of the cup.  Turn off oven and keep it in over night to prevent the wax from cracking. 

4. I designed my own labels and attached to the cups (see the image below - you are welcome to use it!).  

For the beeswax, I ordered an 8lb organic bag of Beeswax pellets through Amazon for about $70.   I bought natural, lead free wicks on amazon as well.  And all of the teacups, are upcycled from the local Goodwlll and thrift stores.  What a super fun and healthy craft to do with kids, the family or on your own that will brighten anyones day! 

Happiness and health!

Yvonne 

 

A Little Bit Of Sunshine For a Rainy Day

This is YoYo's Ukelele debut. Well done, YoYo! We hope that you enjoy our little song and that you're all enjoying warmth and happiness despite a little gloom outside.

Egg Characters

I can hardly believe that it was a week ago that I was writing about playing in the snow! It's in the low 70's and feels a lot more like spring than early December. But, hey! I've never been one to complain about a beautiful day.
Before Rowan and I hightailed it to the park, we got a little picnic basket together. Picnics gives a normal park visit a little bit of an adventurous feel, so we always bring something along with us. She was happy to pack up some pears and juice, but since it was lunchtime, I wanted to bring something else that would be filling & nutritious. I suggested hard boiled eggs, but she wasn't very enthusiastic at first about that idea. However she changed her mind when I suggested that we decorate the egg shells. All it took was some boiled eggs and some crayons (non-toxic of course). Easy peasy. She loved drawing little faces on them. I made a lizard monster face on one of mine. She asked me to help give hers lipstick.
When we got to the park, she gobbled down our eggs. And she hasn't stopped talking about her Egg Characters all day! What a fun way to get kids excited about eating a healthy, portable snack. Now if I can only figure out how to get her to devour a salad...

First Snow!

Although we've had a few flurries around here, I'm calling today the first real snow in our little town.  We all woke up with a little extra energy & excitement.  It's really not even that much snow and it's supposed to turn to the dreaded 'wintery mix' before too long.  So we're off playing right away.  

I've mentioned in previous blogs that I think the first few days of a new season are pretty important. What you do with them can set the tone for the rest of the season. So even if we can't build the epic snow men & snow forts that Rowan has been longing for, we can still have lots of fun in the dusting of snow, making 'animal tracks', mini snowmen, and even having a small scale snowball fight. Little hands don't need very much snow to make a good snowball.

Wishing you many 

safe and playful snow days,

Lolly

Trick or Treat & Flying Things!

Last year for Halloween I decided to do something risky.  I wanted to hand out a healthier alternative to candy... something that was more in sync with what I encourage every day to the kids and parents in my classes.  First thought: carrot sticks.   Second thought: my house might get toilet papered.   Final decision: a big bowl full of airplanes, flying disc and toys to play with.  I can't tell you how cool it was to see the kids run back to their parents jumping up and down telling them they got a plane to play with!

Oriental Trading sells a box of 72 Gliders for $12.  Here's the link!
Note: These items worked well for my neighborhood because all the kids are preschool and kindergarten age.  For the older ones, jump ropes, fake tattoos, punching balloons, or kazoos might work too! Now that I have a new nickname with the kids I'm going to have to try Yo-Yo's next year!

Snack time

 Finding a healthy snack can sometimes be a challenge, especially on the go, in the car, or after you exercise!  These are a few of my favorite mini meals for on the move that I've shared with my private clients I train. Justin's peanut butter & honey and also Justin's almond butter & chocolate are a delicious protein packed, easy to slurp up, mini treat. Another favorite are the ZBARS (chocolate brownie) made by CLIFF and KIND bars (my favorites are coconut, and the peanut chocolate). Two others are called RAW ORGANIC FOOD BAR (of course... I like the one with the chocolate chips!) and BORA BORA (apricot quinoa).  If you find bars that are USDA organic, then they are also GMO free!  I’m also a big fan of making my own food bars – more details coming soon!  Happy healthy eating!

~ Yvonne