Parents' Guide to Summer
We're now taking submissions for this year's Parents' Guide to Summer, a special section that features day camps, classes and activities for youngsters. For more info, check out our submission form here.
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We're now taking submissions for this year's Parents' Guide to Summer, a special section that features day camps, classes and activities for youngsters. For more info, check out our submission form here.
OK kids! Here's the corncob pipe! The button nose! Two coal soon-to-be-eyeballs...all we need is, yes, snow. OK, and a bit of willingness. As it is now, two hours after the magic scroll-across-the-TV screen, the child who would be in science class now is lying in bed listening to his iPod without the slightest intention of going outside.
Who can blame him? Certainly not Mom, who sits here in an oversize sweatshirt reheating her coffee every five minutes or so, listening to HER iPod and trying to get some work done.
Still...her mind drifts back to the magic of childhood snow days...when you wake up and your feet are cold when they touch the floor. You look outside and see the slightest whisper of snow on the ground and have the teeniest of flashes thinking....what if? What if?
You're shivering a little -- with cold or optimistic anticipation, who knows? You smell almost-burned toast and go into the kitchen to eat your oatmeal and the radio is on and the announcer is calling out the school closings. They're in alphabetical order, and if you never paid attention to your ABCs, you can bet you do right now.
And then you hear it. Your school. Closed. All day long. You run into the living room and the good news is confirmed at the bottom of the TV screen.
You call your friend two doors down and you meet outside. You're freezing, but laughing like hyenas and trying to gather enough snow in your wet mittens to make a snowball to push down her turtleneck sweater.
By noon, after you've burned the roof of your mouth gulping Campbell's tomato soup and wolfing down a grilled-cheese sandwich, you rush back outside. There's still hardly any accumulation. Still, the snow falls. And you snatch it up, practically as it drops from the sky, determined to build a snowman. One that wobbles on the brown grass, one that will be gone by the time school would be let out.
But there is no school. Today's a snow day.
We actually sent our ten-year-old off to school today -- and then went back to get him after we found out school was closed! The first thing my boys wanted to do was make a snowball for our kitten Snowball. We adopted her from a shelter in September and, as my son, David, put it: "Ever since we got Snowball, I've been waiting to give her a snowball." Snowball of course wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But the boys put it in her water bowl and she sniffed at it, definitely curious.
As for what to do with the boys on a snow day -- different strokes, as it always goes here. The youngest went with his best friend to the Y to shoot hoops. The oldest will probably sleep half the day away. And the middlest, who is never bored, alternates practicing piano and Nintendo. But when they are looking for something to do, we have also come up with a good group activity. We have put together a calendar with the birthdays of everyone in the immediate and extended families along with an address book of everyone's addresses and a really nice box of birthday cards and stamps. The boys enjoy getting the cards ready to go for everyone's special day. If you pencil in the date it needs to be mailed on the front of the envelope, you can get waaaay ahead. Getting started so early, they will even have time to print out and include pictures.
Friday’s the last day to sign up for the Dallas Metroplex Musicians Association’s annual scholarship luncheon. Past scholarship recipients, as well as local musicans and guest artists, will perform. The DMMA is a branch of the National Association of Negro Musicians, and a portion of the proceeds will help fund future scholarships. Tickets are $50 and the luncheon will be Jan. 27 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, 2222 Stemmons Freeway. For reservations, call 214-942-3466.
Want to get the kids to put down those chips and eat something nutritious?
For ages 8 to 14, Central Market offers Kids in the Kitchen: Healthy After-School Snacks today from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Central Market Cooking School staff will teach kids how to whip up Pita Surprises, Popcorn Ice Cream Cones, Vegetable Pinwheels and yogurt parfaits.
Sounds so good, you may want to snack on them yourself.
Central Market, Coit Road at Bush Turnpike, Plano. $35. 469-241-8300. Visit centralmarket.com to view upcoming Kids in the Kitchen classes.
I'm usually pretty up to date on my kids' movies -- but with the holiday madness, I've fallen behind -- as my kids remind me frequently! This weekend we're thinking of checking out Eragon and Arthur and the Invisibles, maybe Happily N'Ever After. Arthur doesn't open until tomorrow, but has anyone seen Eragon or Happily yet? I LOVE the Eragon books so bad reviews notwithstanding, I'm really looking forward to that one. Anyone have anything else good to recommend?
A reader just wrote in response to my recommendation of Children of the Lamp:
Hi,
I have just finished reading the "Children of the Lamp" series and I have to say I think they are fun and I'm so thankful that the author sees fit NOT to include profanity. They are adventuresome, charming, witty, and pleasing to read. I am looking forward to the next one.
Marcia Vanderwood
Marcia, I'm so glad you liked it as much as I did. I'm currently reading the third book in the series and it's pretty exciting. I just wish I could ride a whirlwind instead of a car to work. If you're looking for another good series, try The Lightning Thief, a contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology by San Antonio writer Rick Riordan (it's also on the Bluebonnet Book reading list). I've just read an early copy of the third book in the series, The Titan's Curse, and I think it's the best one yet. Any other recommendations of good fantasy series out there?
The January credit card bills are looming. Now what? No matter how doggedly we tried cutting back our holiday spending, the unanticipated $50 gift here and there really added up.
This month, we’ll literally be paying for those last-minute purchases, plus the inevitable after-Christmas impulse buys. Here is one way to get back on track and reign in the shopping budget for 2007:
SELL YOUR GIFT CARDS
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans were expected to receive gift cards totaling more than $20 billion for the holidays. But what should you do if you have a $100 gift card to a store you dislike?
Such cards are rarely redeemable at stores for cash. But at www.PlasticJungle.com, you can sell your unwanted gift cards or trade them for gift cards to stores you prefer. (If you’re hurting for cash, it’s wise to use this newfound wealth to pay the bills. Time’s up for any gift card lingering from last Christmas — it’s definitely time to use it, sell it or trade it!
The Detroit News
Question: My girls are 7 and 8 years old. Their dad and I have been divorced for five years. We are now both happily remarried. Their father is a policeman and has inconsistent hours. This is disruptive to the girls' schedules. What is more important: Their dad having them when he can, or the stability of knowing where they are going to be during the week? I need help!
McClatchy-Tribune
Answer: May we choose both, because that's the answer. And because that's the answer, it reinforces the need to be able to talk to your ex using your kids as the measure for making good decisions.
You may think that is exactly what you are doing, looking at what's best for them because you're concerned about inconsistency. But in truth, what's disruptive to your daughters' schedule isn't their father's inconsistent hours; it's their father's inconsistent hours in conjunction with the decision to divorce.
So, take a deep breath – and we know when you don't get along with someone how everything that person does or says looks like a reason not to cooperate – but unless he just recently changed employment, which you say he has not, he's always had inconsistent hours.
Make sure that your frustrations now aren't just old tapes playing in your head. Did you hate his hours when you were married? If you did, you're probably even more frustrated with his schedule now. Be careful that old frustrations aren't interfering with your ability to look for possible solutions.
What does all this mean to you specifically? If you don't want to fight it out in court, it means you may both have to make concessions. Dad may have to admit that his inconsistent hours make it difficult on the girls and look for a more flexible visitation schedule. It could also mean that you may have to become more cordial with his new wife so that you can better coordinate efforts when scheduling time with the girls. It means you may all do something that you don't want to do to make it easier on the kids.
Look at the problem at face value. Is there a way with what is before you to arrange things so that all are comfortable with the visitation schedule? Could he possibly cut down on overtime? Could you possibly be more flexible? Could his wife possibly car-pool to fill in? What about your husband? It's not you against the girls' dad. It's all of you for the kids. Among four adults, we think you'll be able to find the solution.
Looking to start the new year with a cleaner house? We've got some answers. Organizational expert Kathy Peel shares makeover tips as she helps one North Dallas family clear the clutter and reorganize their home. She offers simple solutions so that your family doesn't spend the morning rushing in search of keys, making lunch, etc. Learn how to clear your kitchen counters of paper and junk mail. Reorganize your pantry so you can find what's in it. Join Kathy as she shares her "can't-miss" tips in the Family section tomorrow or online at Dallasnews.com today.
Only 5 years old and Billy Olsson is already getting great shots. He's one of the winners of the Dallas Zoo photo contest, "Feathers, Fur, and Scales." Check out his winning photo and the photos of other kid winners in Kids Day tomorrow.
The Associated Press reports that intense homesickness in young can interfere with normal activities:
DETROIT – Janise Stone spent her first semester in college dreaming of home – literally.
Ms. Stone, 18, would get up in the morning and grudgingly attend classes at Paine College in Augusta, Ga. But the minute she returned to her dorm, she curled up and thought of family in Indianapolis as she slept the day away.
"I was so depressed," Ms. Stone said recently. "I just kept thinking that if I slept through it, I'd eventually get back home."
She isn't alone.
Almost everyone experiences occasional homesickness, but many young people suffer from a particularly intense form that interferes with normal activities, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The report in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics offers tips to physicians for recognizing risk factors among patients who are leaving home for the first time.
"Leaving home is a universal developmental milestone," said Dr. Edward Walton, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. "Our goal is for them not to lose time and experience in the adjusting."
Dr. Walton wrote the study with Christopher Thurber, staff psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
About 95 percent of young people say they miss something about home the first time they are away, Mr. Thurber said. Most of them simply miss their Xbox or their mother's cooking.
But a smaller percentage – about one in 14 – suffer from what Mr. Thurber calls "intense homesickness."
"They're not eating or sleeping right, not playing with others," he said. "Or they have an intense preoccupation with home."
Those behaviors and attitudes can "seriously impair" experiences while away at camp, school, college or the hospital, he said.
Ms. Stone's first college experience could not be going worse. The once straight-A student isn't eating right and is failing many of her honors classes.
According to Mr. Thurber's and Dr. Walton's research, physicians could have predicted her reaction.
Ms. Stone had never spent a night away from home, not even with relatives. Other warning signs include low expectations and little control over the situation.
The study outlines how to ease children into a separation, including giving them practice time away from home; never offering to pick them up before the separation is to end; and involving them in each aspect of the decision.
Ms. Stone said she wishes more resources were available to her before she left for college. As it is, she shudders at the thought of returning to school. "Maybe if I would have been prepared I wouldn't be where I am now," she said.
Let's face it. Most prenatal classes and DVDs are insufferable. They're boring and ridiculously easy. They have to cater to all fitness levels and all body types.
Some of us can touch our toes. Some of us can't see our toes. Women in the first trimester can do virtually all the poses. Women in the third trimester are carrying unfathomable loads. But we still want a good workout and some way to deal with back pain and sciatica.
For my recent pregnancy, I found three excellent workouts that I could do at home. I did one of these DVDs – the one that best matched my mood – every night of the week.
Read more of Chicago Tribune writer Julie Dearorff's review at Dallasnews.com.
Question: My husband and I are trying to coordinate efforts with my husband’s ex for the sake of the kids. All was going well until his ex started talking about how things used to be.
“Remember when we used to go to the lake and how much the kids just loved to make snow angels?”
That’s not fair! Now I don’t want to cooperate with her at all. Do you think she’s doing it on purpose?
Answer: Maybe. Perhaps she’s just not sure of the boundaries and lost her senses. Consider it an “Oh, I wish I hadn’t said that” moment.
For the record, the children are your mutual interest and why you’re having a discussion in the first place. Therefore, discussing the kids is fine, and at first glance, that is what she was discussing.
But after more careful examination, what she did was point out how it used to be, and that’s not playing fair — especially since it’s not all true.
Yes, it used to be like that, but it also got so bad that there was a divorce, so it’s best to stay in the present and just discuss what needs to be decided now. What’s that? Where the kids will be, what time they will be picked up and how you will coordinate efforts when buying them Christmas presents. Perhaps who is going with them to buy presents for their friends, teacher and other relatives might also be on the agenda.
If your goal is to get along for the sake of the children, you leave the “remember whens” in the past and put your emphasis on the present and future.
You do what you have to do to get along. If trips down memory lane don’t help you meet that goal, they are not necessary.
Rover Dramawerks is hosting classes for kids 5 to 17, with topics such as stage combat, theatrical makeup and Broadway Babies. Get info here.