Fall Fun

A great part about fall is being able to be outside without unbearable heat! Here are some inexpensive, fun, fall activities for you and your family!

Kids want to learn how to do things on their own. So many times I hear, “I do it, mommy!”

Giving them something constructive to do that allows them some self-confidence and independence really helps build strong character. I always hear about the different skills kids develop as they grow: motor, social, practical. I want my daughter to learn these skills in the most organic, reasonable way possible. Here are some neat ideas to inspire, encourage and have a great time with your kids in fall:

1. Hiking
   Hiking allows you to get outside, spend some quality time together, get some great exercise, and usually costs little to no money (besides the gas to drive somewhere if you do not live next door to a state park). You can even make a scavenger-hunt out of it or play I-Spy.

2. Gardening
   Gardening requires no driving, is a great time to get dirty, gets the whole family involved. If it is too cold to plant, you can start to plan for a family garden for spring. Ask everyone what they like (flowers, herbs, vegetables or fruits), and let everyone pick a responsibility.
   

3. Apple/ Berry picking
   Show the kids how fruit grows and you get something to take home.
   

4. Pumpkin Patches
   Find a local pumpkin patch, walk around, have each child pick out a pumpkin and take them home for some pumpkin seeds or pie.
   

5. Astronomy
   Check out the stars from the backyard. Look for the “Sky Watch” in the paper to have as a guide.

6. Nature Centers
   Naturalists are usually on staff to answer questions from the kids, so you don't have to know everything.

7. Make a Clean-up Date
   On your trail walk, pick up any trash or foreign items you seen. Bring along some bags for pick up. Preservation activities educate kids about their ability to do something constructive for the environment and community. This is also a chance to model responsible environmental manners that will help instill those values in our kids.
   

8. Other outdoor family ideas
   Depending on the weather, think about bird watching, sledding or biking.

What activities have you and your family done this fall?

Holiday

What are you doing this holiday season?

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we have officially entered the holiday season. It’s a time for celebrating and singing, a time for decorating and eating, a time for traveling and shopping.

Hold on a minute! This sounds more like a time for being overwhelmed – too much food, too many people, too much noise! I’m not trying to sound like the Grinch, but he did have one thing right: when we are too busy with the festivities, we lose sight of the meaning of the season.

So what can we do to manage all the hustle and bustle that comes this time of year? Well, we could try to get all of our shopping done weeks ahead of time. Or we could follow the advice of Mr. Benjamin Franklin who listed moderation as one of his thirteen virtues. Moderation is avoiding extremes. We’ve got to find a way to stay balanced and not run ourselves ragged.

Here are a few suggestions for slowing down and reconnecting with ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors.

Caution: do not try to do all of these – Pick one or two, and enjoy.

• Breathe deeply – smell the cinnamon and the pine

• Pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa, sit by yourself and reminisce about the past year

• Gather your family together and read your favorite holiday story

• Invite your friends over to watch the classic film “It’s A Wonderful Life”

• Bake cookies and take the kids to share them with an elderly neighbor

• Volunteer as a family to serve a meal at a homeless shelter in your area

• Remember: slow down!
  

• Look and see the twinkling lights.
  

• Taste and savor grandma’s apple pie.
  

• Hear and listen to the familiar carols.
  

• Enjoy the present moment. May this be a meaningful and memorable holiday season for you!
  

About the Author:

Tamara Batarseh, Executive Director of Love In A Big World (LBW), is a singer/songerwriter/performer with over fifteen years of performance experience. She is co-founder of LBW and has been the creator of the organization’s programs and materials. Batarseh has recorded two albums, written LBW’s character education curriculum, trained LBW’s performers, and performed live for thousands of kids.

An Artistic Life

Get your kids involved in your creativity.

We often think of the artist as one who inhabits the studio all day creating paintings. Maybe an image comes to mind of a writer by the seaside, staring out the beach house window in deep reverie over her next title. But the artistic life is for everyone, not just those recognized, well-paid artists. An artistic life is led as one looks at life through a different lens. Everything we do is an art form. In order to live artfully, we must fight against culture norms of productivity, efficiency and consumerism.

Living artistically can be seen as a counter to efficiency but it does not have to be if it is thoughtfully and meticulously carried out.

Any time that you bring beauty to someone, you are caring for them and that care is artistry.

Parenting can be artistic.
Marriage can be art.

Relationships take great care and time to nurture. As you pour beauty into the places that you live around in life, you are living an artistic life. There is really no facet of life in which art can be absent. But it is up to the one steering that life to bring art into it.

Remember: As you learn to be artistic in the ordinary, your children will begin to see the value of artistry.

Try this: Think of a task that needs to be done. If it is time to clean out a closet, put your child in charge of a pile. Help sort through things you do not want and draw your children into it. Make it a game. See how creative you can make it. Set it up as an art project for the children. Build a tower with all the old shoe-boxes you have. Or have them help you fold the laundry. Fold each shirt in a different way and stack them according to color, person or texture.

Rays Your Grade

Check out ways you can learn about sun safety!

November is National Healthy Skin month. Although it seems that summer is the optimal time to discuss sun exposure, this time of year is just as good. We often go outside more now that the temperatures are cooling off even though we are less likely to think about sun exposure. Over exposure to sun is just as critical now as in the summer months.

I decided to take the “Rays Your Grade” survey by the American Academy of Dermatology in honor of National Healthy skin month (It took less than 5 minutes). I am more likely to put sunscreen on my little girl than I am myself. My grade of a B on this survey got me thinking. Here are the tips they offer in order to get an A (I have always been one for extra credit):

1. Generously apply sunscreen to all exposed skin using a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15 that provides broad-spectrum protection from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Re-apply every two hours, even on cloudy days, and after swimming or sweating. Look for the AAD Seal of Recognition TM on products that meet these criteria.

2. Wear protective clothing, such as a long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, where possible.

3. Seek shade when appropriate, remembering that the sun’s rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

4. Use extra caution near water, snow and sand as they reflect the damaging rays of the sun which can increase your chance of sunburn.

5. Protect children from sun exposure by applying sunscreen.

6. Get vitamin D safely through a healthy diet that includes vitamin supplements. Don’t seek the sun.

7. Avoid tanning beds. Ultraviolet light from the sun and tanning beds causes skin cancer and wrinkling. If you want to look like you’ve been in the sun, consider using a sunless self-tanning product, but continue to use sunscreen with it.

8. Check your birthday suit on your birthday. If you notice anything changing, growing, or bleeding on your skin, see a dermatologist. Skin cancer is very treatable when caught early.

What is your grade?

Get 'em out!

It is recommended to get your Holiday cards out anytime between now and Christmas day. Will yours be green?

This year, your Holiday Greeting Cards (which most people send out anytime between now and the end of the year) can be more eco-friendly. Get creative and seek to be different. And, feel free to share some of your ideas with us. We would love to hear them!

Here's how you can make Green Greetings:

• Send holiday wishes via e-mail. Scan in photos or drawings by yourself or your children.

• Use eCards. With places like eVite, you can let all those you know how much you care! Let the kids sit down with you and help you choose which layouts and colors to use. Upload a family picture in the space provided.

• Instead of sending standard greeting cards, decorate postcards and save envelopes. Besides, postage is cheaper for postcards! There are multiple companies that make eco-friendly postcards that you can print from home.

• What about eco-friendly wooden cards? These are unique and special, and still good to the earth!

• If you are a little more tech savvy or inclined to do your own design work and want to have some eco-friendly postcards made professionally, try to upload to a eco-friendly printer (most of these only take PDFs or Zip files).

Making creative, green greeting cards make a huge difference.

Talked More Thanks and Less Turkey

Thanksgiving is about more than just turkey, dressing and desserts.

I grew up in the South. On Thanksgiving Day, our dinner (that's the noon meal in the South) table was covered with turkey, ham, multiple vegetables, various salads, and several kinds of bread. No decent Thanksgiving meal would be complete without the "dessert table," loaded with every conceivable kind of sugary delight. Thanksgiving meant food, and plenty of it.

After I married and we had started our own family, I was well aware of my Thanksgiving responsibilities: a full-sized turkey and as many accompanying side dishes as my table could hold were requisites. I should have realized that there could have been better Thanksgiving traditions to pass along.

I could have used the day to truly give thanks - not just for the food on that day, or vague remembrances of good things received throughout the year. I should have used the day as a true day of recognizing the wonderful and unique experiences and gifts that made our family special.

Last Christmas, my daughter-in-law gave me a "blessings bowl." In it, I am to write my blessings on small pieces of paper, and put them in the bowl. I could have done this when my children were young. I could have used a Tupperware bowl, an empty cookie jar, or a shoe box. We would have decorated the container as a family project, and daily put in papers describing the things that were special to that day. On Thanksgiving, we would have taken the bowl and dumped out the contents. Maybe over turkey or maybe over peanut butter sandwiches, we would have read aloud the blessings from the past year, not only giving thanks for each blessing, but reliving happy memories.

We could have used our calendar as a diary of the events of the year that were extraordinary for our family. Each day we would have listed the actions that transpired on that day. We would have had a chronological narrative of our year. On Thanksgiving, maybe over a bowl of soup or maybe over Jell-O salad, we could have gone over each month and celebrated that month for the gift that it was.

We could have kept a family journal. Each night, just before bed, we should have gotten together as a family, and written a story about that day. We should have listed our highs and lows, and the other things that made that day ours alone. We would have had our own family story to read on Thanksgiving Day, maybe over roasted ham or maybe over take-out burgers.

Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a time for food and family. I will have an enormous Thanksgiving dinner this year, because as I look at the faces that surround my table, I will realize the cornucopia of love, memories, and gifts that each person represents. For that, I will be truly and humbly thankful.

About the Author:

Luanne Davidson is the proud mother of three adult children and wonders what might have been if she had done a thing or two differently. She writes her "Coulda, Woudla, Shoulda" column each Thursday.

Choice: Invest Your Time

We can give our kids a safe place to share their hearts.

Do you ever wonder what is going on in your children’s mind? Do you wish that they would talk to you and share their problems? In order for us to be a safe place for our children to share their hearts, we must give them the opportunity. Take time to tell them your stories and take time to listen to theirs. Make a choice to invest your time. Don’t watch the clock or rush off to something else. You are doing the most important thing you can do when you are spending meaningful time with your child.

Quick Tip:
Reading together is a great way to invest your time with your child. Together, select stories of interest. Even young children enjoy chapter books such as Stuart Little, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Little House on the Prairie. Read a chapter a night and talk about it. Your conversation will be revealing.

Definition:
Choice is the opportunity and power to make decisions

Read:
Oh, The Places You’ll Go
by Dr. Seuss

Talk:
What is the most important Choice you have made in your life?
How has that Choice affected you and your family?

Act:
Get a book of mazes.
Take turns having each family member complete a maze. Talk about how life is a maze, and we must choose which way to go.

About the Author:

Tamara Batarseh, Executive Director of Love In A Big World (LBW), is a singer/songerwriter/performer with over fifteen years of performance experience. She is co-founder of LBW and has been the creator of the organization’s programs and materials. Batarseh has recorded two albums, written LBW’s character education curriculum, trained LBW’s performers, and performed live for thousands of kids.

Water Talk – Save it! Use it!

Let's talk about water!

Save it!

Greywater is water that has been previously used, but is still clean enough for multiple uses. There are some products you can order to use in a small capacity in your home for the sinks and toilets, or you can try some of the things below, if you want to use things you already may have in your home. However possible, avoid putting water down the drain.

• After boiling sweet potatoes for supper one night, I used a slotted serving spoon to dish the sweet potatoes into a serving bowl then proceeded to boil my fresh green beans.
  Multiple benefits: You don't have to refill the pot with more water, the water is already hot so takes less gas (or electricity) to boil, and the water is nutrient-filled. Continue this with more vegetables as desired and store them for later meals. Use the remaining water as a stock for homemade chicken soup or freeze it in ice trays for later use.
  

• When cleaning the fish bowl, have the kids help you empty it into the garden rather than the sink.

Use it!

Consumption of water is imperative to children and adults alike. Dehydration can cause problems in all of us.

Here are some tips to keep dehydration at bay. Remember, it does not have to be 100 degrees outside to get dehydrated:

• Drink plenty of fluids and eat foods high in water, such as fruit.
  

• Choose beverages wisely - the more water, the better.
  

• Hydrate the day before activities that will require more exercise.

• Sports drinks can help maintain electrolyte balance, but be mindful of their sugar content.

• Plan outdoor activities for cooler parts of the day and in shaded areas.
  

We encourage you to find out ways to conserve and use water and share them with us. We love hearing your stories!

For more water tips see Living Green.

Welcome

We welcome you to CoolMomsCare.org. Starting something huge can start with something small! We are here to help parents and their kids start with something small in order to change the world.

So here it is - coolmomscare.org: the online community for parents and their kids who want to make a difference. We’ll help you encourage your kids to change the world around them by helping the environment, other people, and themselves.

I have wanted to change the world as long as I can remember. I told my parents as soon as I was old enough to talk that I wanted to be president of the United States. This is perhaps a common dream for many children, and I truly believed that I would be. I felt like I was destined for something huge.

Well, I am not president, and to some I may not be very remarkable, but I am a mom. I am remarkable for one little person in this world and I have such an amazing opportunity in being her mom, which is one of the greatest, most fulfilling, yet tasking jobs in the world. And as for changing the world, well, let's just say I am making progress each and every day.

Sam and Stephen, founders of CoolPeopleCare, always say that no dream is too big. I may not be able single-handedly cease all hunger in Haiti or decrease the number of children per day that die from the lack of clean water and sanitation services around the world (about 4,500 children per day), but I can do something small every day to help our world. As we're now used to hearing, "There’s no such thing as not enough time."

The place that I've found this to be true is in my own home. This is where my passion lies and where I have the most influence. If I change my own behaviors, my own views and my own habits, the world is changing. If I take these principles to my family, the world is changing. If I share what I find with others and in turn have others share with me, the world is changed, and before long we have what is known as a New Day Revolution.

Our children love us from the moment we meet. We very soon realize that they are like little sponges, anxiously waiting to receive love and knowledge. From birth, they are intrigued by everything - especially life. We are the guide for these sweet creatures. We are the ones that teach them everything, from words to principles to how to ride a bike.

In my opinion, kids come into the world with so much knowledge, wonder and creativity - it is our responsibility to direct that towards positive attributes as we give them a little more independence each day of their life until one day (I shutter to say this), they leave home and are adults. The more they learn, the more they become individuals - and I know my little individual is pretty amazing!

I want my little girl to know so many things: the value of helping others, gratitude, strength in who she is, self-awareness, self-love, to take care of herself, to have a giving heart and not expect things from others, to reach out to help others in need, contentment, joy, creativity, peace, trust in others, how to have fun, faith, how to get dirty, responsibility, consequences, compassion, love for every living thing, generosity, patience, an appreciation for the environment and its resources, ways to save, appreciation, how to listen, conservation, healthy eating habits, goodness, that she is enough just the way she is, that no one is better or worse than anyone else. She knows some of these things already. As for the other things? Well, that is where I hope to have opportunities one day at a time to teach her as she grows up.

Please share your experiences, thoughts, stories, feelings, failures, strength, fears, and hopes with us! We are here to help encourage you on this journey towards changing the world.