Avoiding Hungry Bus Kid Syndrome

This morning my middle child posed a strange question, "Mom, if I have any leftovers from my lunch, do you mind if I give them to the hungry girls?" I followed up on this, "What do you mean hungry girls?" My daughter's explanation: apparently there are a couple of girls that go kid-to-kid on the bus asking for food. "They'll even eat the stuff you drop," offered my daughter. Lovely.

We're not talking malnourished girls here, just energetic elementary schoolers whose last meal was before recess at 11:30am. The situation got me thinking about how to pack my kids' lunches not only for lunch, but also for potential bus hunger pangs later. As a result my kids’ lunches underwent a bit of a redesign.

Pack in layers. Just like you dress in layers on breezy days to be prepared for a variety of weather, pack for a variety of hunger levels. Some days your kids will be ravenous, other days they’ll have problems finishing a mini-bagel. You don’t want them to waste food so offer some fillers that can last through the week. If they don’t eat it Monday, it’ll still be good on Friday. Granola bars work well.

Put in plastic. Instead of baggies, stash snacks in small plastic containers. That way, if your son doesn’t finish his Goldfish, they won’t be crushed by the time he’s hungry for them later.

Go for snacks with longevity. Pretzels, baby carrots, Twizzlers, Fiber One bars (I’m told that’s a “hungry girl” fav) won’t go bad if your kids don’t eat them right away.

I’m not encouraging eating on the bus (which I’m told isn’t allowed--but the bus driver doesn’t mind), just that I want my kids to have enough food at school to keep their energy up throughout the day. And I don't want them combing the ground on the bus floor for snacks!

Baby butterflies: Newborn smarts

Could it be that babies are smarter than adults give them credit for? That's the gist of a recent opinion essay from Alison Gopnik, which appeared in New Scientist. Now I'm no scientist myself, but I'm amazed that by the age a child reaches 3, she's gone from not knowing how to walk, talk or eat solids to a fully functional (for the most part) little person. I've been working off and on for a decade to learn a new language and I can barely crank out a decent hello in Spanish, yet children not only learn a spoken language but so much more.

Beyond just what babies are learning, Gopnik explores how they learn--through creativity. A kind of creativity that gradually wanes as we become adults. Says Gopnik: "Babies are brilliant learners but terrible planners, with fantastically creative and visionary imaginations but absolutely no executive capacity. They are the R&D department of the human species, the blue-sky guys, while we adults are production and marketing."

So is human development really a matter of reverse metamorphosis? Gopnik seems to think so, "with babies as exploratory, bright butterflies while the adults are caterpillars, inching along their narrower paths." I hope I can learn (and relearn) from my children how to stay a little younger at heart by letting my imagination and creativity get a little more childlike every once in awhile.

--mom in the marketing department

Keeping Busy on a Rainy Day: Hello, WebKinz!

Okay, okay, I know I mentioned WebKinz in my last post, but the weather kept my kids inside and stir-crazy all day. After we’d exhausted all our other options—five rounds of Uno, one stack of library books and one lame Nickolodeon movie, my kids uttered, “I’m bored.”

There’s one place online we love to visit together, yup, WebKinz. I try to stay away from game sites as a rule--I just get sucked in. Every since Nintendo’s Tetris, I know how easily I get pulled into games (probably why I’m not as vigilant with my Facebook status as I should be). So, if you dare, visit WebKinz with your kids or wait til there in bed and go on by yourself.

If you’re a WebKinz newbie, here’s how it works. You buy the stuffed animal at your local kids’ clothing store—I find the best deals at Justice for Girls. The stuffed animal has a tag with a code on it. WARNING: Be careful, don’t let your son/daughter/hubby/significant other/dog rip the tag off the stuffed animal—you’ll need it. Enter the code online to “register” your animal. You’ll find an online version of your stuffed animal with a room to decorate and all sorts of activities to explore. I go straight for the arcade (under the Things to Do tab)—so should you.

Here’s my favorite games:
1)Polar Plunge: I’ve never made it to the end despite hours of trying. You’re a little polar bear on skis trying to make it past igloos, trees and such.

2)Zingoz Pie Throw: Like the title says, you just chuck pies at this little cartoon character. Silly, but therapeutic.

3)Quizzy’s Word Challenge: Hey, look the kids are learning how to spell! With this game you have to spell out as many words as you can with the letter tiles provided.

PS, anytime the system is slow loading my kids are convinced it’s a conspiracy on the part of the folks who man Neopets!

Okay, I’ve admitted my game addiction, what’s yours?

Summertime Smarts for Kids

Yup, I’m one of those mean moms who makes my kids do homework—in the summer! Frankly, I like sitting around our kitchen table and spending a few minutes remembering the capital of South Dakota (Pierre) and figuring out fractions. I try, try, to have my kids do “lessons” every day, but I’ll admit it doesn’t always happen. It helps to have someone else put all the worksheets (and answers!) together for you. Here’s what my kids are working on:

 

Summer Bridge Activities. (my two oldest kids) I like how these books are organized. One page (front and back) per day is manageable. Plus, the kids complete a goal/reward page before they start. There’s three reward periods during the summer, each lasts around 10 lessons. My middle daughter is working toward a WebKinz (to add to her expanding collection).

 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. A friend recommended this book to me when my middle child began to struggle with reading in 1^st grade. I’ve already started my youngest on the program. I like the emphasis on simple phonics and easy instructions. My youngest is on lesson! Our story today was about a cat licking a kitten. A cat can kiss a kitten. A cow can not kiss. A cow can lick…

8 Mistakes Every Mother Should Make

So I’m not a perfect mom, that’s no news flash. But I must admit I sometimes fall prey to that idea of being close—you know, the mom that volunteers every week in her child’s classroom, works part-time, mows the lawn, reads to her kids every night, plans amazing meals. Sometimes when I forget a permission slip, or miss a deadline for a class sign-up, I have to remind myself, we all make mistakes. Some mothering mistakes are worth making, keep reading for eight you really should try!

 

Letting your kids eat junk food.

Now I’m not saying you should let your kids eat Cheetos and brownies for every meal. But the occasional bowl of rocky road ice cream and King-size Hershey bars doesn’t guarantee your child will have heart disease when he’s 50. Food creates memories at our house, so bring on the brownies.

 

Forgetting deadlines to register your child for activities.

Often at the beginning of the school year I get so excited about all of the classes and activities offered afterschool that I make plans to sign up my kids for too much. Luckily, I often miss the enrollment deadlines. Children need freetime (so do moms!) so every once in a while don’t turn in the soccer/pottery class/Spanish camp form.

 

Bribing your kids to be good.

We’ve all heard you’re not supposed to bribe kids to get them to do something, right? But I dare you to find a 3-year-old that doesn’t respond to doing whatever you say—like cleaning up her room--for a Dum-dum (I guess that’s a mistake double-whammy, bribery and candy).

 

Giving kids too much TV time.

We have a designated movie night every Friday. We eat dinner in front of the TV and watch movies. I’ve given up feeling bad about our TV habit. Instead, I look forward to sharing some of my favorite flicks with my kids. We’ve watched some classics, like every episode of Scooby-Doo, and some clunkers. But watching them together has given us a common language to talk about things.

 

Leaving your house a mess.

I like to have my house clean—who doesn’t? Yet when it comes to kids some messes are worth leaving alone or else you’re going to drive yourself crazy cleaning all day.

 

Moving in on your kid’s space.

There are plenty of terms out there for moms who are deemed overly involved in their kids’ lives—helicopter parent, hovering parent. But I’ve found the more I know what’s going on in my children’s lives, the better I can help guide them through the tough times and celebrate with them the good times.

 

The mistake list could go on—and on. The truth is sometimes as moms we’re too hard on ourselves. And often what might be considered a mothering blunder can turn into a real blessing.

 

Swim Meet Survival Pack

Ah, the smell of chlorine at 6:30am! Must mean its swim meet time. This June you’ll find me and my crew at swim meets every Saturday morning. But having a successful meet is about more than just what your kids’ times are at their events.

 

Yup, swim meets are all about the snack bag. When I was little, I loaded up on sugary snacks for meets (remember Razzles?). But with my kids I’ve noticed that keeping them on a constant sugar buzz isn’t fun for anyone—especially mom. Now that’s not to say there’s not a place for a little candy on a Saturday morning, but if you want to keep your kids sane, pack a little protein in your grab bag.

 

Here’s a peek at what I’m packing up for this Saturday:

•Water bottlesx5—one for everyone. I’ve tried to skimp in the past (I just didn’t want to lug something else) and that meant I was the one parched by the end!

•Frozen muffins. I buy or bake chocolate chip muffins so my kids feel like they’re getting a treat while they’re still getting their tummies filled. Freeze ‘em so they’re less messy and tasty while you’re sitting in the sun.

•String Cheese. For a shot of protein that’s also fun to eat, bring one for each of your kids.

•Chips. There’s something so satisfying about eating salty potato chips or tortilla chips in the sun.

•Sandwiches. On the ride home from meets my kids used to get snippy (even I did). Turns out we were just hungry. I pack a ham and cheese sandwich for everyone. Last time I only packed a couple and sure enough I was the one going without. Can you say, cranky mom?!

•Airheads. No, not the kids [insert courtesy laugh here]. Airheads are the perfect candy—takes the kids awhile to eat ‘em and they’re not so sticky that you’ll be running for paper towels.

•Ice pack. Don’t forget to keep your treats cool!

 

Here’s what I won’t be packing:

•SunnyD. I brought these drinks to the last meet only to end up with sticky orange gunk all over the bottom of our bag. Stick with water—easy clean-up.

•Ringpops. I’m no fan of these sticky, sugar pacifiers. My kids always beg me for them, finish half then hand me the rest with the fingers nearly glued together. Yuck!

 

What do you bring in your snack bag?