Finding family time during school

Finding Family Time During the School Year (she: Heather)

ByHeather

September already!? School bells have rung and any day now the leaves are going to start changing colors. Heather here, from FamilyVolley.com. I am excited to share with you some tips for finding family time, now that school is back in session.

A new school year means family life gets a little crazy and a lot busy, which means family time can easily go out the window. The question is, how can we focus more on family and less on the hectic lifestyle we are living?

I have eight suggestions for you and your kids that will help you find more quality family time during the school year. Some are simple, like establishing a set bedtime for everyone in the family, eating a meal together regularly, or reading together. Others, like limiting technology time every day as well as weekly extra-curriculars, may be a little more difficult. But I promise it’s worth it!

olaf beach ball game
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Olaf Beach Ball Game and Printable (she: Adelle)

ByAdelle Belnap

Hey Everyone, it’s Adelle from over at PackedwithFun.com, the official blog for Get Away Today, where I get to share fun ways to keep vacation magic alive at home. School has started and depending on where you live, fall may already be in the air. Although I love the change of the seasons, every once in a while I start to feel a little like Olaf and wish to bring back summer!

A few months ago I put together this Olaf beach ball game and printable that is perfect for those days when your kids long for some summer fun. My kids have had so much fun with it, that I wanted to share it with you!
You can play any basketball-type game at your party with the Olaf hoop. We bought a 24 pack of 6-inch beach balls for less than $10 at the party store. We used them as decorations for our Frozen themed party, in the Olaf Ball Game and then gave them to the kids to take home as a party favor! We of course held onto a few beach balls and the Olaf inspired summer fun continues on at our house year round.

Adirondack Park
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Adirondack Park for Families (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Happy August from Allison at Tips for Family Trips! I know that many of us are getting into the back-to-school groove, but I can’t let the summer slip away without sharing one more top vacation destination – Adirondack Park in New York.
August is one of the best times to visit the Adirondacks because temperatures are cool and comfortable, while the park’s many lakes are just right for swimming and canoeing. If you love colorful autumn leaves, then fall in the Adirondacks is unbeatable.

Lake Placid, a two-time Olympic host city, is located in the Adirondacks, and my family had the opportunity to visit this lovely town last June. Here are some of the fun activities we recommend in Adirondack Park.

inspiration for moms
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Inspiration for Moms… “You Are Enough” (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hi my friends! It’s Veronica, and I’m so excited to be back this month with some inspiration for moms (and kids)! Here in Tennessee, we have been back in school for two weeks now. So life has been pretty chaotic around here!

Over the past little while I’ve seen the saying “You Are Enough”. It seems to be all over Pinterest and the internet. After the past couple weeks I’ve had, I think I’m beginning to understand why! I’ve needed this great little reminder.

halloween at southern california theme parks
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Halloween at Southern California Theme Parks (she: Kimberly)

ByKimberly w/Get Away Today

Hey everyone, it’s Kimberly from PackedwithFun.com, the official blog for Get Away Today. We specialize in Southern California vacations and I love sharing insider travel tips and tricks here on “Or So She Says.” The Southern California theme parks are always fun, but one of my favorite times to visit is during the Halloween season. Now, just to be clear, I love Halloween, but I don’t do scary. I know there are a lot of people that love to be scared to death, and if that’s what you’re looking for, Southern California is the place for you, too. Each September – October, the major theme parks celebrate the holiday and the events range from G-rated fun for the whole family (my personal cup of tea) to good luck going to sleep at night for the next month or so. Since October is a really popular travel month due to U.E.A. and other fall breaks, I wanted to share a brief overview of what you can expect during Halloween at Southern California Theme Parks:

back to school mad libs
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Back to School Mad Libs Round Up (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Hello, hello! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots here with you today. I’m always so excited to spend time here with Mariel and her readers! And I’m always so excited about this time of year. Fall (my favorite season) is on the way, back to school time is just around the corner, and this year it will mean baby boy number four in October for our family. So many fun things to look forward to.
I like to try and add a few new activities to our countdown each year, just to mix things up a bit for my boys. In July, our family took a big road trip from Utah to Arkansas. I packed up a ton of activities to keep my boys busy during the 23 hour (one way!) drive. And ya know what? The big book of Mad Libs was their favorite! It was mine too, actually. I love how my four-year-old already knows that a noun is a person place, or thing (thank you, Mad Libs). And we all get a kick out of how funny our stories turn out. My twins laugh and laugh and laugh over them!
So, I thought I’d see if I could round up a few back to school Mad Libs to add to our countdown this year. They are the perfect way to add a bit of light-hearted humor to what can be a kind of scary first day.

dealing with a bossy child

Dealing with a Bossy Child (she: Heather)

ByHeather

Happy August Everyone! It’s Heather from FamilyVolley.com. I’m excited to be here today to share some parenting tips to make things a little bit easier in your home. And although today’s post is geared toward toddlers, the parenting tips can be used when parenting kids of any age. When our oldest child was nearing 2, I clearly remember my mom telling me that the twos were terrific, not terrible. I have always been grateful for her counsel. I ignored all the people telling me “to brace myself for the terrible twos”, went into parenting a two year old with an open mind, and you know what, she was exactly right. Now, five kids later, two is one of my favorite ages. As much as I love all the toddler developments, there is something that comes with being two that isn’t terrific. Two year olds tend to be a little bossy. Toddlers in general seem to be a little bossy and want things their own way.

family mailbox
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Family Mailbox Fun! (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello again! It’s Veronica from Nine A Plenty. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! It’s such a fun time for families, but I always can count on my kids getting stir-crazy. They do much better with routines and things they can count on. Lately, we’ve had a bunch of craziness, so I thought it was time for a fun activity that brought them closer together. Thus, the Family Mailbox has begun!
What is a Family Mailbox? Well, it really can be anything you would like it to be. That’s the best part. For us, we’ve been writing little notes to each other. These can express love, appreciation, something the other person does to make you happy, something you admire in them, etc. I’ve been surprised at how excited they were to do this for each other. Our mailbox has been full and it’s been fun to “deliver” the mail.

http://www.skiutah.com/passes/passports
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Tips for Visiting Utah’s Dinosaurland in Vernal (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Hey there! It’s Allison from Tips for Family Trips and today I’m sharing my tips for visiting one of Utah’s most under-rated vacation destinations – Vernal. The Vernal area is Utah’s Dinosaurland, and if you haven’t been there lately, you might be surprised to find how much the area has grown and how many fun activities there are. Vernal is located about three hours’ drive from Salt Lake City, so for us, this was an easy weekend getaway.
Here are our recommendations for a fun weekend visit to Dinosaurland in Vernal:

what to do when kids lie

What To Do When Kids Lie (she: Heather)

ByHeather

Happy Summer! Heather here, from FamilyVolley.com. Today I am excited to share parenting advice to make things easier in your home.

Call it what you will, Fibbing, a Whopper, Tall Tale, Story Telling, it is all the same. Lying. And it can be really frustrating when our kids start to tell them.

First, it is good to understand lying by age and stage. Young children tell fibs based on fantasy, and they are usually made up stories of who they wish they were (princesses), or what they wish they could do (today I ate 10 popsicles and didn’t get sick). Elementary School Children start to tell “smarter” lies to get out of punishment, to sound “cool”, and to get what they want.

children's book and activity
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Children’s Book and Activity… A House Is a House for Me (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Hey, Or So She Says readers! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots. How was your 4th of July weekend? Fun, and festive, I hope!
I’m sure if you’re not sick of hearing it by now, you might be soon, but I pulled this children’s book and activity from my first grade teaching files. I’ve been wanting to share it for quite some time, and finally have gotten around to it. It’s the perfect activity for a lazy (or bored) summer day, and you can actually add to it all summer long!
This is the book you’ll need. It’s called A House is a House for Me (click here to listen to it on YouTube). Have you heard of it? If not, it’s one you need to add to your collection as soon as possible. It talks about all of the different houses in our world. A hill is a house for an ant, a web is a home for a spider, the sea is a house for a whale, a husk is a home for a corn cob, etc. So many clever ideas in this book! It makes your children (and you!) realize how many things house things in our world.

bike parade
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Fourth of July Bike Parade (she: Darleen)

ByDarleen

Happy Fourth of July! Do you have any exciting plans tomorrow? There is something extra special about festivities that happen around the Fourth of July. Well, this is Darleen from Darling Darleen, and at our house we go all out on this patriotic holiday. I make sure we are all donned in red, white and blue outfits…of course! When we lived in the Northeast we spent many 4th of July holidays in Boston and on the beaches in Cape Cod, attending the parade and fireworks show. Since living in the South, we’ve picked up a tradition that many of the neighborhoods do, which are bike parades! This was new to us, but we love the idea.
We love this because you can take your party on the go–whether hitting up your town’s annual parade or having a festive picnic at the park. Visit the dollar store or your local craft store just a few days prior to the 4th or better yet TODAY. They usually mark down holiday party items a couple days before the actual day. Pick up paper pinwheels, streamers, garland, flag picks and the inexpensive what-is-this-used-for items. Chances are most of it will look pretty darn good on an 8-year-old’s bike.