Adventures In Odyssey

Click HERE to go to the Adventures In Odyssey podcast & downloads page where you'll have access to free episodes!

Created for ages 8-12 but enjoyed by the whole family, Adventures in Odyssey presents original audio stories brought to life by actors who make you feel like part of the experience.

Focus on the Family, Adventures in Odyssey and Whit's End are registered trademarks of Focus on the Family. All Rights Reserved

15 Strategies for Making the Most of Christmas Break

(from the December 2010 email from Hearts at Home)

In the next few weeks, most of us will experience some sort of change in routine. If you have school age children home for a couple of weeks of Christmas break, you'll find that being proactive about the break is far better than being reactive to their certain boredom somewhere along the way.

Need some ideas for making Christmas break the best it can be? Consider these tried and true suggestions from other moms in the trenches:

Go to the library. Stay longer than normal to give everyone time to begin reading the book they're checking out.

Bake cookies together. Make extra dough to form into cookie balls, place on a baking sheet, and freeze in the freezer. Once frozen, put the frozen balls in a freezer baggie to pull from when you want quick, homemade cookies, for an after school snack later in January.

Call an elderly friend or neighbor. Ask them if you and your kids can assist them with any tasks they would like done but aren't physically able to do anymore.

Pre-determine one or two days a week to be "no screen" days. Prepare the kids ahead of time that these days there won't be any TV, computer, or video game screens. Yes, they'll go into withdrawal, but be prepared to help them see the opportunity to read a book, draw, play with toys they haven't pulled out in forever, play board games, do a puzzle, etc.

Have a "clean out your closet" and/or "clean out your drawers" day. Once completed, make the trip together to Goodwill or the Mission Mart to drop the clothes off. Reward them with a special treat at their favorite ice cream shop.

Have a quiet hour each day when the kids go to their room to read or play quietly. (If they share a room with a sibling, have them go to their own space). This helps break up all the togetherness that often leads to arguing.

Get out of the house. Go to a local museum or brave a day at the zoo to see the animals in their winter environment.

Put a 1000 piece puzzle out on a card table that you work off and on throughout the day. When the puzzle is complete, cover it with puzzle glue and frame it to display in your home.

Have an ongoing game of Yahtzee (or your family's favorite game) going throughout the entire break. Play once a day after lunch or dinner and see who has the highest score at the end of break.

Go ice skating. Indoors or outdoors, it's great exercise!

Encourage the kids to play outside at least 15 minutes each day. They need the exercise and the change of scenery!

Give your kids spray bottles of colored water. Then let them paint pictures in the snow!

Blow bubbles outside. When it is cold, the bubbles freeze and they are fun to pop.

Choose one day as your "thank you note" day. Make hot chocolate, put on some holiday music, and sit down at the table to write thank you notes to extended family the kids received gifts from.

Assign each child one day that they are in charge of preparing a meal. Let them choose the menu, then guide them (and help as necessary) in preparing the meal for the family.

Give Thanks

Click here for age-specific ways to help your kids experience the meaning behind the celebration on Thanksgiving Day from Focus on the Family.

And, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

10 Ideas: Summertime Picnics

Countless activities compete for our time and attention today.
Who couldn’t enjoy a break from the hectic pace of life?

Read more from FamilyLife here...

Rainy Day Fun For Preschoolers

Two great resources for moms who are stumped on how to entertain their preschoolers:

1. Indoor Rainy Day Activities for Preschoolers
2. General Indoor Activities for Young Children (organized by topic)

Turn Off Week 2009 (9/20-9/26)

September 20-26 marks Turn Off Your Television Week. People everywhere are accepting the challenge to unplug for one week and discover new avenues of entertainment, be it solo or family-oriented.

Up for the challenge? Wonder what you could possibly do without TV all week? Check out this resource found at SimpleKids.com (click link or image to left).

Family Fun BOZ Night, only $1!!!!!

Mark your calendars moms! This is an event too good to pass up!

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Friday August 28

6-8 pm

Chippewa Evangelical Free Church, rooms F100/F101

Cost $1

(includes a BOZ movie, play-place, chicken nuggets, drink, snack and dessert)
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Come let your kids play in a safe environment while you get to socialize with other parents! If you have any questions you can call the church at 724.843.6381.

For more information about BOZ visit the official BOZ website.

The Importance of Family Rituals

"Kids love traditions and family rituals, because it fosters a sense of belonging and security. They also thrive on routine, so rituals only add to that need." (quote from The Importance of Family Rituals by SimpleMom)

Highlights of the article (to read entire article click here)

1. Rituals are what make your home "home."
2. Family traditions need not be tied to a holiday on the calendar.
3. Family rituals don't have to be elaborate or expensive.

To read more of why family rituals are so important and how to start creating some in your family go the SimpleMom website or click here.

20 Ways to Celebrate Creation With Your Children

1. Call birds, plants and animals in your region, town and neighborhood by name.
2. When traveling find out about the nature you will see along the way.
3. Research the flora and fauna of areas where missionary friends live.
4. Expose your children to nature photographs in books and newspapers.
5. Encourage your children to lift up rocks and see what's underneath.
6. Buy a magnifying glass and binoculars and teach your children how to use them. Keep both out and easy to find.
7. Put up a bird feeder or leave a tree snag standing to provide bird habitat.
8. Grow plants which attract butterflies and ladybugs to your yard.
9. In the fall, let your children rake up leaves, jump in the piles and then spread them around shrubs and plants for winter mulch.
10. Grow a garden. If you don't have yard space, grow herbs or tomatoes in pots.
    Plant an avocado seed and watch it grow.
11. Watch your newspaper for season specific events.
12. Take short daily family walks in your neighborhood. You will notice more each day.
13. Visit parks or nature trails with eyes and ears wide open.
14. Visit a farm to see where food is grown. Some may offer groups an opportunity to feed calves, milk cows, and make ice cream.
15. Go berry picking and then make jam or buy vegetables at a local farmers' market and make stir-fry. Your children should know where food comes from.
16. Set up recycling in your church, Sunday school classes, and fellowship hall.
17. Decrease consumption. Start a book, toy or clothing exchange.
18. Watch for opportunities to help clean up a park or beach.
19. Share your ideas by commenting to this post!
20. Take care of the world around you - pick up trash and recycle.

ideas from author Nancy White Carlstrom

Do You Remember?

Kids have an amazing capacity to remember things. Now, while they are young, is the time to harness that ability and help fill their minds with things worth remembering. Below is a list of ideas on how to help your child remember Scripture:

1. Books of Bible
2. The 10 Commandments: Exodus 20:1-17 (click here to read passage)
3. The Beatitudes: Matthew 5:3-12 (click here to read passage)
4. Psalm 23 (click here to read)
5. The "Love" Chapter: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (click here to read all 13 verses of the chapter)
6. ABC Scripture Memory (click here for more detail)

Family Nights

Here is a great resource for creating memorable family nights with your family. This mom has three children - two biological and one adopted - and is married to the worship pastor at Buckhead Church in the Atlanta suburbs.

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Check out this amazing woman's ideas and perhaps use one in the next week!

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Whittaker Woman Blog - Family Nights Archive

Hold That Dollar

Use your local library as a way to "preview" movies and books.

If there is a title you are eager to check out, check the library first. Being able to view the item for FREE sure beats paying for it, especially in these hard economic times. If you find that the book/movie isn't what you had hoped it would be then you can return it to the library. A free preview can help you decide to buy or not to buy, or even to just be content to borrow for a short time.

DID YOU KNOW? If your local library does not carry a particular title you are searching for, they can help you locate it in another library ... and then get the book shipped to your branch for you to check out. And it's all FREE!

Tap into the great FREE source of entertainment today! Memberships are FREE. It's a win-win situation. Your local library gets used and you get to read books, watch movies, etc. for FREE!

PS - It's a great place for a playdate!

Snow Business

Let's face it. Winter is upon us, and with that comes snowy days. Are you or your kids in need of some fun ways to enjoy the snow besides building a snowman or sledding? Check out these fun ideas sure to excite anyone:

1. Feed nature - string items such as cranberries, popcorn, or dry cereal and adorn some trees/bushes in your yard to give passing wildlife a scrumptious snack.
2. Make "Snowcastles" - use cake pans or sand box toys to create some snow molds. Drizzle or spray food coloring when the molds are done for an added zing.
3. Hide-n-Seek - Pout water into ice tray slots. Add in each slot a small amount of food coloring. Freeze. Once frozen hide the ice cubes in the snow and see how many your child can find before they melt!
4. Target Practice - Using a spray bottle filled with colored water spray a target in the snow. Then take turns seeing who can launch a snowball and hit the target.
5. Build a Fort - Use sand castle toys to build the walls and colored water to decorate.
6. Resurrect Beach Toys - Pull out those summer floats and have fun sliding all over the yard in them.
7. Pin the ___ on the Snowman - Blindfold your kids and then have them try to pin the eyes, nose and/or mouth on the snowman. See who can be the most accurate or the most creative.
8. Move Those Hips- Have contests to see who can hula hoop the longest. It's not so easy when you are all bundled up!
9. Paint the Yard - Fill various spray bottles with water and a variety of different colors of food coloring. Let the yard be your canvas and "paint" away!
10. Examine Snow Close-up - Brink a dark cloth outside and let some flakes fall onto it (or sprinkle some already-fallen ones onto it). Use a magnifying glass to examine the differences in all the flakes.
11. Blow Bubbles - chill some bubble soap in the refrigerator. Then try to blow it away on a freezing cold day. You will be amazed at how long it takes the bubbles to pop.
12. Make an Ice Candle - Fill a large container with liquid. Float a tin can in the center, weighted with rocks, and set outside until liquid is frozen. Pour warm water into tin can to warm and loosen. Remove can and add candle into open hole. Light the candle and ooo and ahhh over the way the light shines through it.

For these and more ideas please visit parents.com. Ideas in this post come from the February 2005 issue of Parents magazine (article by Mary Mohler) and January 2007 issue of Parents magazine (article by Amanda Kingloff and Lauren DeBellis)