101 Ways to Praise Your Child

Yesterday I gave you 101 ways to be a child. Now, today, I give you 101 ways to praise your child:

Wow, Way to go, Super, You’re Special, Outstanding, Excellent, Great, Good, Neat, Well Done, Remarkable, I knew you could do it, I’m proud of you, Fantastic, Super Star, Nice work, Looking good, You’re on top of it, Beautiful, Now you’re flying, You’re catching on, Now You’ve got it, You’re incredible, Bravo, You’re fantastic, Hurray for you, You’re on target, You’re on your way, How nice, How smart, Good job, That’s incredible, Hot dog, Dynamite, You’re beautiful, You’re unique, Nothing can stop you now, Good for you, I like you, You’re a winner, Remarkable job, Beautiful work, Spectacular, You’re spectacular, You’re darling, You’re precious, Great discovery, You’ve discovered the secret, You figured it out, Fantastic job, Hip, hip, hurray, Bingo, Magnificent, Marvelous, Terrific, You’re important, Phenomenal, You’re sensational, Super work, Creative job, super job, Out of this world, Exceptional performance, You’re a real trooper, You are responsible, You are exciting, You learned it right, What an imagination, What a good listener, You are fun, You’re growing up, You tried hard, You care, Beautiful sharing, Outstanding performance, You’re a good friend, I trust you, You’re important, You mean a lot to me, You make me happy, you belong, You’ve got a friend, You make me laugh, You brighten my day, Good listening, I respect you, You mean the world to me, That’s correct, You’re a joy, You’re a treasure, You’re wonderful, You’re perfect, Awesome, A+ job, You’re A-O-K my buddy, You made my day, That’s the best, A big hug, A big kiss, “I love you.”

PS: Remember, a smile is worth 1000 words!

A Project With Each of Your Children or Grandchildren

Yesterday, I had a delightful time in an effort to complete a five-generation pedigree chart on a few of my family lines. The time spent was so pleasurable that I was amazed that five hours had passed without even an urge to eat or sleep or move around. Now, this morning, the thought struck me for a wonderful activity with your children.

Why not prepare a pedigree chart for each of them to display in their bedroom. One could make it as simple or as eloquent (with pictures, etc.) as desired. The fun of doing it together is what I am envisioning. There are so many internet sites that would enable you to find records and pictures of ancestors. I found success by Googling names that I knew and wallaaaa… there was the name. Of course, not every name was easy to find, but I did have lots of success. In fact, just for fun, I followed one name through and it carried me almost exactly to 1000 AD! (Of course I had to write them all down on the back of my poster-size pedigree chart for future reference.)

I am confident your children will be amazed with the names, dates and places of birth and deaths that you will find about your ancestors. I can’t wait to tell my Rachael Ann about an ancestor with the name of Rachel Ann Canarda. She was born in Tennessee in 1813. I didn’t even know we had ancestors from Tennessee!

Anyway, you get the idea I hope. Spend some pleasurable time making these pedigree charts with your children or grandchildren and I know you’ll never have any regrets.

Another Activity for Summertime Fun

We’ll call this “Library Book Hunt.” This activity will help keep your child’s reading skills up to par for the return to school in the fall. Here’s what you do. On a 3 x 5 card make a form that says “In the library, I want to find a book about: (Then list the following) an animal, an athlete, a detective, a monster, a mystery, an outer space adventure, United States History, a scientist, a famous person, a family, a holiday, a place I would like to travel, an ocean adventure, and other (child’s choice). Now, make as many cards as there are children and give one to each of them. Have them put their names on their cards. Then, by the subject they wish to borrow a book about, have them put a check mark. It’s now time to go to the library.

Ask the librarian to explain the basic layout of the room, then let your children inspect the shelves until they each find the type of book they indicated they wanted on their 3 x 5 card.

This would be a really nice one-on-one activity for mom or dad to go on with just one child at a time. Repeat visits during the summer would help your child complete the project I described on May 7, 2010.

We’ll make good readers out of them yet!

One Way to a Man’s Heart

Today is my sweetheart, Jeff’s, birthday. Of all he could have asked for, for his birthday, he wants me to make him his chicken pot pie. It’s really quite simple to make but this is the pie he raves about. When I make it, he does something that he has never done for any other meal—he talks about it for a few days past the pleasure of it. Through the years, I have often asked Jeff what he would like for dinner and he has always said, “Anything.” Now, if I ask him, he will say, “How about one of your fantastic meat pies?” Thus, today I share a pie recipe that is a direct way to my man’s heart. Maybe your sweetheart will love it too!

Chicken Pot Pie:
2 C cubed cooked chicken (or turkey)
1 C sliced carrots
1 C chopped onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
Milk (to brush on pie crust)
1/4 C chopped celery
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 C butter
1 C diced potatoes
1 can of corn or frozen corn
Pastry for 2 crusts (When I have limited time, I buy pre-made crusts in the refrigerator section of the store. Now, making the pie is not so overwhelming, either.)

In a frying pan, melt the butter and add the thyme and pepper. Add the carrots, onions, celery and potatoes. Turn frequently. Sauté until carrots and potatoes are almost tender. Stir in soup, chicken and corn. Add filling to a 9” pastry-lined pie dish. Lay the other pastry on top. (Be sure to vent.) Brush top pastry with milk (This makes the top golden brown when baked.) Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Enjoy! Serves 4 people if your husband loves it like mine does or 8 people if they can control themselves.

Note, if there is too much filling, save the leftovers for lunch the next day. They are great without a crust.

Additional Note: I love to make a beef version by frying 1 lb. of hamburger with the onions. I then add the butter and seasonings and all of the vegetables and fry them until tender. I then add the can of soup or about 2 cups of brown gravy. (Jeff likes the brown gravy.) Instead of corn I might add peas. Jeff loves this version, too.

I hope this will add to your collection of recipes that lead you to your man’s heart. Oh, and I love it, too!!!

Penelope Leach, Ph.D. (Psychologist and author of Your Baby and Child) said, “If you’ve been around kids, particularly young kids, for any length of time, [you know] it’s absolutely true that all the most important things in life are learned through play.”

Now, my question is, is there enough play going on when a child sits in front of a television or a video game? Kids are mesmerized by television and video games. Thus, stuck to the “Boob tube,” they make less demands on their parents time and this gives parents the freedom to play the things they want to play. Ahhh! Could this be true? Yes, I’ve been there and done that. Perhaps not consciously, but the T.V. can be a great babysitter. Is that really what you want for your child--your grandchild? If so, then read no further. If you want a list of things you and your child can do to minimize time spent in front of the screen, here’s some things your child and you can do together:
1) As my mother-in-law used to call it, “water your toes.” Turn on the hose, fill a bucket, paint the sidewalk with water, make handprints with water, splash water. Use a cup and count how many cups of water are in the bucket 2) As you kick a ball, feel the wind in your face or the warm sun on your face, neck, head. 3) Chase each other. Include friends in a game of tag. 4) Have a tea party—even with your son(s). Dress up and let children pretend they’re adults. 5) Learn how to bounce and dribble a ball. 6) Wear each other out learning how to jump rope again. 7) Lift up rocks and boards and find creatures under them. Look at them through a magnifier. 8) Catch grasshoppers, frogs, lady bugs, ants. What do their bodies feel like—smooth, slimy, rough? 9) Make some mud and squish your hands and toes in it. Make mud pies. Let the mud dry on your skin. How does it feel. (I was just thinking the children are such a wonderful excuse to play and be a kid again.) 10) Find caterpillars and learn about them as you touch them. 11) Pull up grass by its roots and eat the white end of the root and pretend that you’ll never run out of food as long as there’s “grass-root soup” to be made. (Make sure no chemicals or fertilizers have put on the lawn recently.) 12) Blow up balloons and then let the air out slowly. Be animated by the sounds they make. Let them fly. 13) Fill balloons with water and...you know the rest. Does your child? 14) Roll and tumble on the ground. This will lead to acrobatics. 15) Play in sand—make sandcastles, sift sand, bury each other in the sand. 16) Play on swings and gliders. Talk about what going high does to the tummy. 17) Have jumping time and hopping time and skipping time. 18) Find a hill (not too big) and roll down it. 19) Take turns being pulled in a wagon. Carry treasures in a wagon. 20) Find a little stream or ditch and let different things float down it. What things float or sink? 21) Practice taking turns drinking water from a hose, crossing tricky bars, going down slides, putting pieces to a puzzle together. 22) Get large boxes and have fun pretending you’re in a spaceship, a car, a jail, a boat, etc. 23) In winter, make snowmen, angels in the snow, catch snowflakes on your tongue but never stick your tongue on frozen metal. 24) In Spring, take a close look at blossoms from a tree. 25) In summer, enjoy fresh produce from a garden you work together on. 26) In Fall, study leaves and critters that are preparing for winter.

In conclusion, Just play for the joy of it all. Oh, and check out www.intermountainlive.org for some humorous reminders about our lifestyles.

Blessings of a Wonderful Man in Your Life

I've been thinking a lot about the different roles men and women play. I am impressed with the thought that we women do not always take the time to appreciate all that our husbands do for us--that we take for granted--that we expect as every-day, routine things. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky few that has a husband that gets up every day and goes to work without expressing dread. He works long and hard at work and then, when he comes home he asks me what I would like to do. If I have nothing in mind then he says, "I think I'll go out and work in the yard (greenhouse or garden)then."

If I have something I want to do, then my husband readily makes himself ready for my heart's desire. I am amazed how kind and compassionate a man can be. You would think that after a long day's work that a man might say, "I've done my work now let me alone. I want to do my own thing." I know I'm not saying this very well but if a man takes his family, work and church responsibilities seriously, there just isn't very much time left for him to do things that are for his personal gratification. Good men seem to give their all for those they love. They don't think of themselves first and foremost do they?

Today, I would like to encourage that a little more empathy be given to that wonderful man in your life. Think of things that you can do to build him up. Can you express a little more appreciation? Can you make sure you fix him good, nutritious meals? When he arrives home, will you drop everything you're doing and greet him with excitement because he's home? Perhaps you could find interest in his interests and be by his side a little more. With a prayer in your heart, brainstorm on ways that you can lighten your sweetheart's burdens. Don't take him and all that he does for granted even one more day. Evaluate on paper all that he does for you, your family and others and I know you will feel deep gratitude for the blessings of a wonderful man in your life. Now, I must go and take my own advice.

Hooray! It's Daddy Day!

The other day I mentioned that Jeff gave each of our children (individually & when they were little) 1/2 hour every Sunday to play whatever they wanted to play. Sometimes he played Barbies or with dolls. Sometimes he played games. Sometimes he wrestled. Sometimes I would find him answering questions that the child would have. I found that the bonding between Jeff and each of the children was amazing. I don’t think any of them have ever forgotten the love that was felt during those times. So, with Dad’s in mind, I’ve been wondering what Dad’s could do (or Mom’s) to create quality time with their children. Here are a few ideas: 1) Pack a picnic and go for a surprise outing to your favorite place—the back yard, the canyon, a park, Grandma’s. 2) Go to Deseret Industries or other discount or Seconds store and allow your child to find a “Theme” treasure—a book on animals, an amazing cooking utensil, a game for “memory’s sake,” an outfit for “An Evening of Dancing” 3) go to a ball game, fishing, hiking, a nature walk, digging for worms. 4) go to the library and explore a child’s interest with him or her. 5) listen to different types of music and dance and/or sing, too! 6) Ask questions like, “What’s the most important job in the world?” or “Who is your hero?” 7) Lay on a blanket on a cloudy day and find different shapes in the clouds. Don’t forget to listen to your child’s ideas as they start to flow freely. 8) Make something with “Dad’s tools!” 9) Read a book together. Show enthusiasm by reading the book faithfully each day or night as pre-determined. Be sure to review the previous reading day’s pages. 10) Dad, you could also make of list of things you want your child to know in the next year and then systematically work on these. 11) Work on a scrapbook.