Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas {With 3 FREE Printables} (she: Brooke)
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Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas {With 3 FREE Printables} (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Happy October to you all! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots. This is easily my favorite time of year! And while baby boy number four will be here in a matter of weeks, I’m still trying to squeeze in any Halloween crafting, baking, and partying that I can. We have our other three boys’ birthdays this week, so we’re in full party-mode around our house. I’m just hoping this little guy waits until after the big party to make his arrival. My four-year-old was very cordial five years ago, and waited until the day after my twins’ birthday to make his entrance into the world, so I’m crossing my fingers that will happen again (at LEAST the day after all the birthdays, even a few days later would be better!).
Today I have some fun pumpkin carving party ideas, and FREE printables to share with you. My dad’s side of the family has a fun pumpkin carving party every year, and we’ve only been able to make it a few times. I wish we could make it more often because we have the best time! Since we don’t make it to the family carving parties very often, I’ve decided it’s high time to start our own little jack-o-lantern making party. Here are a few of the ideas I’ve come up with for our party:

teaching kids not to gossip
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Teaching Kids Not to Gossip: A Great Family Night Topic (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello everyone! It’s Veronica and I’m so excited to be here this month sharing a fun Family Night idea with you: teaching kids not to gossip. I know Mariel has explained the concept of Family Night before, but for anyone new to this idea, we basically gather our family once a week, we have a short lesson, play some sort of game and then have a treat at the end. It’s such a great way to reconnect as a family, but also a great time to teach your children in a fun and uplifting way.
When school gets back in session, I always feel a bit nervous for my kids. I want them to learn new things, make new friends and be happy as they go through their school year. But, it doesn’t seem so easy anymore. The world seems to be a lot harder to navigate than it was for me as a child. They deal with so much pressure, beginning at very young ages. Friendships seem a bit trickier at times and it feels like more kids struggle with a good solid sense of who they are. And with the awesome tool of social media, these things seem to be magnified. One of the other struggles they face is gossiping. It’s been around forever, and always will be, unfortunately. It can be so damaging and destructive to anyone involved. Recently I’ve seen the effects gossip can have, so I wanted to take the opportunity to teach my kids about it. I think it’s a great reminder for ALL of us, regardless of our age.

family games
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Entertaining Kids Without Electronics: 8 Family Games They Will Love (she: Jamie)

ByJamie S.

It’s easy to overdose kids with TV, video games, and catapulting Angry Birds around (everything my kids are currently doing right now 🙂 – but I encourage you to try to disconnect from electronics a few times this Summer and teach your kids they can actually survive without them. Entertaining kids without electronics doesn’t have to be a lot of work!

Many families pass down photos, memories, & names – well our family passes down GAMES! I decided to share our absolute favorite ones with you! Each time we play these I can’t help but think of going to Grandma’s and having some good ol’ family fun!

Family Night – Teaching Kids Their Words Matter! (she: Tonii)
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Family Night – Teaching Kids Their Words Matter! (she: Tonii)

ByTonii

Hello everyone, it’s Tonii again and I am so glad to be back with another fun and simple Family Night! This month, I felt inspired to talk to my kids all about the importance of WORDS. The words that we use, and the way that we use them. It’s so important to spend time teaching kids their words matter.

To get started I whipped up a simple printable with the words I say to my kids every day before they head off to school… Check it out!

goldilocks valentine
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Goldilocks Valentine… A Fun Valentine Story For Kids (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Your first year of teaching is a lot like having kids. You think you know what it’s like, but really you have no idea until you’re knee-deep in it every day. I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Lewis (my cooperating teacher) take my hand and guide me through every step of teaching my first year. She was so current, organized, loving, and amazingly creative! The Goldilocks Valentines and story I have to share today came from her. I’ve searched the internet for this story, and can’t find it anywhere. I don’t know if she made it up, (I’ve misplaced my original copy) or found it somewhere. Either way, this is one of my all-time favorite things to do for Valentine’s Day! My boys love to hear it year after year, and it would be the perfect activity for any valentine parties you have next week, or just to do at home with your kids.

Fun Printable for Setting New Year's Resolutions www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Setting Goals for the New Year! ~ Family Night Ideas (she: Tonii)

ByTonii

Hey again, it’s Tonii from Blue Skies Ahead. I am so thrilled to be back at Or so She Says…sharing another fun family night idea! I don’t know about you…but I LOVE the start of a new year. A clean slate, a chance to do anything you want and start fresh! I was really excited to do a simple activity with my kids to help them learn about goals and have fun making a visual that we could focus on ALL year long to remember what we want to accomplish in 2014.

First up I made this printable to hang in our home. I love this quote and have found it to be so true in my personal life. There is so much power in simply believing in ourselves!

interviewing grandparents www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Family Night: Kids Interviewing Grandparents ~ Family History

ByMariel

Did you know that the more your kids know about their family history… …they will have “higher levels of emotional well-being, and also higher levels of identity achievement.”  They are also more resilient through tough times, according to a fanscinating study done by Emory University.  Pretty cool, huh?  Probably something worth taking the time to…

family hug
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Sending a Family Hug to Loved Ones (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Having nine children in our family is crazy fun. But, as those little buggers grow up, they leave us! SO RUDE! 🙂 We have two in college and one who just recently left for a two year mission for our church in Salt Lake City. So, even though we have 6 kiddos left, it’s feeling very empty. (I know…it sounds crazy, but it’s true).

I decided that it was time to start sharing some fun ideas on care packages. Everyone has someone they know who would love to get a fun little treat in the mail. With technology being so advanced, it doesn’t seem to happen as often as it use to. So today, I thought I’d share a fun idea I first saw here. But, with having so many kids, I thought I’d make a few changes. We decided to send our son Israel a family hug from home.

Popcorn Olympics ~ fun party or family activities! www.oneshetwoshe.com
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The Popcorn Olympics ~ Fun Activity for Kids! (she: Veronica)

ByMariel

There are many things I love about being a mom. So many, I don’t think I could name them. But, there are many things that are challenging as well. Lately I have been on Pinterest and have started feeling overwhelmed at all the GREAT ideas I’ve seen. There are so many ideas that I would…

Journaling, Family, Memories & Fun ~ An Awesome List of Ideas! (she: Brooke)
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Journaling, Family, Memories & Fun ~ An Awesome List of Ideas! (she: Brooke)

ByMariel

Hi! It’s Brooke again from Blissful Roots. The month flew by, and here I am again. We’re talking journals today. I have my wonderful parents to thank for my dedication to journaling. My dad has volumes upon volumes of his own journals, and while my mom may not have volumes of her own, she started…