This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Smuckers.
When Ozzie started Kindergarten, he could read.
"Of course he can", his teacher said. I assume **ALL** first-time Kindergarten parents say that because she kind of rolled her eyes at me. But here's the thing... he really could read. We didn't teach him, he taught himself. Seriously... One day, he grabbed the Bible out of my hand and started to read aloud to me when he was about 4 and a half. It wasn't long, however, before his teacher found she had her hands full with a goofy kiddo, the youngest in the class (and with the total immaturity to go with it), who could fluently and comprehensively ... read... and I truly think he was one of her "favorites" because he could understand her jokes and she didn't have to labor over things with him.
One of the ways we, as a family, celebrated Ozzie's reading in Kindergarten was by sending a note in his lunch each day. Sometimes, I encouraged him "You are going to have an awesome time in art today because it's YELLOW day". Other times I just loved on him "Son, you are the greatest 5 year old I've ever known and I'm happy to be your Mom". But what Ozzie really liked was when I included jokes in his lunch (typical boy, didn't appreciate Momma's touchy-feely side).
At first, I wrote out jokes that I knew or could make up. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I was out of ideas so I did what all good techno moms do... I googled. Do you know how many pages of Thanksgiving jokes are online?? MILLIONS! I found jokes for every holiday known to man (and some I'm pretty sure were just made up). I found jokes about whatever hobby or idea Ozzie was into at the time (basketball, trains, animals, beaches). I even found school lunch jokes.
Ozzie's class had 2 aides that were in the classroom all day. One sat at Ozzie's table to help a special needs student. She emailed me and said she loved Ozzie's lunch time because hearing the jokes (when he read them out loud), reminded her to put notes in her own childrens' lunches. She said Ozzie's lunch table really enjoyed them too. I told her I looked them up Sunday night, printed out a page and then wrote them on scrap paper before I stuck them in the lunchbox, simple as that.
Touching base with a child during the school day is so easy, so fun and so important. My boys love to know that I'm thinking of them. Nolan's heading off to Kindergarten
in less than a month and I will be sure to put jokes in HIS lunch too. Being gone 8 hours from Mom is tough on little guys; having a note makes them feel closer to me. Smuckers has a very neat website up... lots of ways to connect with kiddos. I especially like the Kidvitations. On it, you will find places to personalize a note for your child (complete with fonts and graphics) with a special activity together and some loving. How fun to open your lunch after a hard math test to find: "Dear Son, Let's go swimming when you get home. Love Mom" or "Dear daughter, Let's skip chores tonight and go feed the ducks down at the pond. Love Dad". I'm sure ours will say something like: "Hey Boys, Let's go to the home improvement store and BUILD something!"
Life's too short to miss out connecting with our children. It's the perfect time to start! Smuckers gives us ideas, recipes, and a free site to use. I'll be printing these goodies for school lunch, that's for sure!
Do you like sweepstakes? This is a great one. One of my readers will win a $200 VISA gift card. In addition, follow the link below to see the blogs of 9 other bloggers who are giving away prizes. Also, one lucky winner from the roundup page will win a $400 VISA gift card!
How do you enter? Take a look at the Smuckers link and tell me in your comment below, which activity you like to do with your children (or your nieces, nephews, kids you babysit, etc). Please be sure to list a good way for me to contact you if you win. The sweepstakes ends August 25, 2010 and is open to US residents only.
Here are the Official Rules
Look here for 9 other chances to win $200 and even a chance for $400Blogher/Smuckers Round-up PageBe sure to visit: Smuckers website
Create a Kidvitation!
Home can be a busy place with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. That’s why it’s important to set time aside to spend with your kids. Use Smuckers® Kidvitations to invite your kids to share a moment with you over a perfect PB&J. Check it out http://www.smuckers.com/promotions/kidvitations/Default.aspx
255 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 255 of 255We grew a garden this summer. I would like to take them to play Frisbee Golf.
hafner611{AT}gmail{DOT}com
Our favorite activity together is fingerpainting.
3oink63moo484 (at) gmail(.)com
Each summer we go to our neighbors home and bring them vegetables we have grown from our garden. My children and I do the garden together from tilling to planting to weeding to picking. A lot of our neighbors are living on pensions and when we give them vegetables we know that we are all pulling together. I like the way my children have learned the spirit of giving and the spirit of helping each other through rough times.
My granddaughter likes to write stories or songs which she acts out for her parents. I love watching her mind at work. Going to the Smucker's site, made me hungry for a pb&j.
I read with my boys every night :)
jillk77 at aol dot com
We like to help out. We plan a few service project throughout the year. We always have a good time.
katfam95 at aim dot com
My boys and I enjoy playing catch together.
lwoods297@centurytel.net
I enjoy cooking with the girls, playing basketball with hubby (he's my biggest kid) and softball with our great-nephew. trinitygsd at yahoo dot com
We love to bake together, it's fun to get creative when decorating cookies!
jessibear19(at)aol(dot)com
My neice loves to help me with my veggie garden. I let her help plant the seeds then when it is harvest time she is so thrilled!
We like playing scrabble or miniature golf.
This is a great idea from Smuckers.
pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com
We like to roadtrip, roadtrip, roadtrip. It is good to get out of the house and see what is going on out in the world. Thanks for the chance at winning.
the create a storybook idea looks like a good time and my nieces would sure love that! :)
dreamzz12{at}aol{dot}com
We love to go on Nature Hunts in our nearby parks, looking for different plants and animals. honeypie411 at yahoo dot com
I like the nature hunt activity from the site. We do that often and we have a caterpillar that just pupated and is going to turn into a black swallowtail butterfly. The kids love to explore in the back yard or the ocean. Thanks!
I don't have kids, nieces, nephews, young cousins, anything. But when I do I'd love to take them to the zoo and aquarium!
I like the idea of a nature hunt, something fun and a way to learn at the same time
singermagic1(at)yahoo(dot)com
My daughter likes to dress up in her old Halloween costumes and then perform. I am the MC of her performance and announce when whe will be coming out and what she will be singing. I photograph and sometimes video tape her. We have lots of fun together and laugh when we see the footage.
Jesskaufman at hotmail dot com
an afternoon in the zoo would be amazing
here is my tweet
http://twitter.com/rosidentevil/status/22057587301
Going to the lake is a big outdoor hit in the warmer weather months, and playing in the snow is a hit in the winter. If we're stuck in the house we paint family portraits of ea. other w/water colors.
msurosey@yahoo.com
We enjoy reading together.
We connect by volunteering and working together. We recently sorted food at the church food drive.
We love to go to the library.
I think making a bird feeder would be a great thing for nephew and me to do! Then he can give to his mother for christmas along with some bird feed.
pamatmayo at hotmail dot com
Can I say snuggling? We love to snuggle. My oldest is getting to old for this but my youngest still loves it for now. lol She sleeps in my arms most of the night. I'm really going to miss it when she gets older. thank you!
My younger kids enjoy collecting pretty rocks. vidomich(at)yahoo(dot)com
My children are all adults and out of my home but when they were small we went to lots of parks. I had very little money so we made it a game to locate and visit as many parks within driving distance as we could find. They still talk about some of the more interesting ones.
love taking long drives with my son
jdmimi at gmail dot com
we ove hiking in the mountains intime@myself.com
I checked out the Smuckers link and I think the Kidvitations are great :D I like to take my kids to activities they personally enjoy like concerts, tech shows, and baseball games :D
justine417@comcast.net
We are nature and animal lovers, so one of our favorite activities is to walk nature trails together
We love to spend a lot of time outdoors with the kids, teaching them the tricks of gardening, taking nature walks and discovering plants and birds, and trying new dishes on the grill. Thanks!
gkaufmanss@yahoo.com
We like to read and play card games together
kimbly at g mail dot com
We connect through special mom and son time, each boy gets one Saturday a month with just mom.
Diane Baum
esldiane@gmail.com
I have a black thumb yet my son really likes to try to grow things. So, we are always planting things and trying to keep them alive.
tlannan30[at]yahoo[dot]com
We love nature walks we all grab a bag to collect any fallen leaves then make a collage of our walk.
My kids love to do craft projects so making sock puppets with me is somethign they would enjoy.
kerrie@mayansfamily.com
We love to craft and bake.
we like playing games like Boggle and Apples to Apples!
Thanks for the giveaway!
email in blogger profile.
We love walking our local trail and playing in the stream at the end barefooted.
lisalmg25 at gmail dot com
We love to spend a day outdoors, whether it be fishing, riding ATVs, playing soccer; pretty much anything outdoors!
trippyjanet at hotmail dot com
My favorite time with my daughter is reading with her before bed. It is time for us to just unwind from the day and escape to another world. My mom always read with me before bed, and it really cultivated my love for reading. I hope to share that same love of reading with my daughter.
nbalogh522 at gmail dot com
I take my children to the park, the zoo, library and when the weather is nice we go swimming.
s2s2 at comcast dot net
In a few minutes I am on my way to watch my granddaughter at her dance class. I took dance and so did my daughter, so now I can share in this!
spencer1953 at gmail dot com
We love to go on road trips. It doesn't have to be anywhere specific. Sometimes we will drive, find a spot and have a picnic or just look around and see what we can find.
We love to play Apples to Apples at a family. It's great to unwind and have a good laugh.
My email address is in my blogger profile.
We always do puzzles togetehr, luv that
I think my kids (and I) would enjoy Disc Golf
We like to watch Disney movies togethor!
lizajl at hotmail dot com
swimming and cooking together
ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com
We play board games together.
chrystaljns @ gmail dot com
We love to go to movies together as time and money will allow. When the money's running short, we enjoy watching movies at home, too!
Many thanks!
We love to make crafts or draw.
We like playing dress up and painting together!
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
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