1/2 pound bacon
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Cook bacon until crisp and drain, then break into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine flour and soda and stir into butter mixture. Stir in bacon, rolled oats and raisins. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Place them 2 inches apart. Bake 350° for 15-18 minutes. Cool 1 minute and remove from sheets.

As I reported earlier in Raw for Life, I won the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw and Living Foods Home Study Program. I’ve had the course for a couple of months now, and I’m still not even half way through all the information! I’m on information-overload, I think. But the small steps I’ve taken have made a BIG difference! I’ve dropped a couple of pounds. I’m sleeping better at night. And I’ve cut some of my medications in half. I intend to cut out the cholesterol-lowering medication entirely after my next doctor visit. Now that I’m not eating meat or dairy products, I expect I’ll be able to control my cholesterol without medication.

My finicky eater loves raw foods! Young children generally prefer finger foods over anything cooked, and they prefer their food separated. While many kids will eat apples or raisins or celery, they will not eat an apple-raisin-celery salad with mayonnaise. I’ve served raw apple slices with raw sunflower seed butter, which is very popular. I tried a raw carrot soup that neither of us liked much. I froze the left-over soup until I can find a way to make it more tasty. The literature I’ve read on raw foods allows sun-dried foods, dehydrated foods if dehydrated at less than 108 degrees, and frozen foods. Of course, fresh is always best.

I learned how to make muesli – another food item my granddaughter loves. It’s raw oatmeal -which sounds faintly disgusting – but you soak it for a while to soften it, then serve it with fruits and nuts. We like it with banana or blueberries and a dollop of pure maple syrup. Yum-yum! Best of all, besides all that wonderful natural oatbran for its cholesterol-lowering ability, it’s quick and easy to prepare, and no yucky pot to wash. I think I like that part about the best. When you serve raw foods, there are no cooking dishes!

I haven’t learned to like “energy soup” yet. That’s simply a garden salad pureed smooth and you drink it. Lots of good reasons why energy soup is good for you. I just wish it tasted better! I like salad. I guess I’m just not a “soup” person.

Anyway, I’m taking the long way around announcing that I’ve posted Week Two of the raw foods menu. I’m new to raw foods, so I’m not certain that my menus are complete or balanced. This is me, learning about raw foods, and what I’m going to feed my family next week. On Sundays it is our tradition to not eat breakfast before we go to Mass. Then we have a big brunch, so aren’t hungry for lunch. We have a mid-day snack, and then supper at the normal time. This coming Sunday, I’ll be making a raw Peach Pie! I can hardly wait! My mouth is watering already. Peach Pie is one of my favorites, but I don’t like “peach pie filling” that comes in a can. Too gooey. This pie has ripe, raw, sliced peaches with an almond cream topping and a ground almond crust. Maybe I’ll have to make the pie early and sample it, before I serve it to my family? It’s a good thing raw fruits are good for you. I’m really enjoying them a lot, and still managing to lose a few pounds.

If you chose to try raw foods with your family, you may want to check out www.chidiet.com – that’s the website for Creative Health Institute, from where I got the home study course. One thing I like about this “diet” is that you don’t have to commit to it 100 percent. There is such a thing as being “fifty percent” raw, or “eighty percent” raw. With most diets, if you don’t follow them exactly, then there is a sense of failure and guilt. But with raw foods, every little bit that you do only improves your overall health. There is no failure. Only success. Isn’t that the way we want our children to grow up? Eating good, nutritious foods that nourish the body as well as the soul?

For further reading, check out:
Raw for Life
Feeding the Finicky Eater
We Like it Raw
Transition Kids to Raw

Photo Credits:
Top:http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturalmom/ / CC BY 2.0
Middle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpeters/ / CC BY 2.0
Bottom:http://www.flickr.com/photos/savannahgrandfather/ / CC BY 2.0

Last Sunday my husband and I sat near the front of the church right behind a couple with their two boys. The children appeared to be around 8 and 10 years old, although you could hardly tell by their behavior. The pair of them acted more like two year olds! In fact, it does a disservice to two-year-olds everywhere to even make that comparison.

The younger boy lay down on the pew and kicked his brother whenever his parents were standing. He reached around his mom and pinched the older one, sniggered, laughed, coughed, and picked his nose.

The older brother slid up and down the length of the pew, banging against my husband’s hands as we were kneeling. He punched his brother back. He slammed the hymnal and dropped it repeatedly, but when it was time to sing, he was not holding one.

None of them participated in the songs – not even the parents. The boys were loud, disruptive, inattentive, and disrespectful to each other, their parents, and the parish as a whole. And all I could think was, when those boys are young teenagers, they’ll be the ones to say, “I’m not going to church any more because I don’t get anything out of it. It’s just a waste of time”. Actually, I had two thoughts. The other one was, “I bet they behave like that in school, too.”

If you do not already take your children to church, then this article is not for you. I do not mean to proselytize, only to assist those who do practice a formal religion and wish to bring their young children with them. This type of behavior is just unacceptable. Anywhere, any time. I’m sure that your children are not as bad as the two boys I described, because you are reading this! That shows that you already take an active part in your role of parenting. Congratulations! Maybe you won’t win the Parent-of-the-Year award on earth, but you are laying up your treasures in Heaven.

Getting young children to behave well in church is challenging. It’s the ultimate test. Children can get away with more at home, and even in the grocery store. They may squeal inside a few times, as you patiently remind them to use an inside voice. They may pitch a fit in the grocery store, at which you have the choice to either take them straight home and finish your shopping later – alone, or ignore them and all the glares of the other shoppers. But in church it is not acceptable to let them squeal or scream or kick their feet. They need to be quiet and obedient for a full hour – sometimes more, depending on the church where you worship. Ultimately, your goal is to raise a good heart, a cheerful spirit, and a young adult with deep faith, but if that child is too unruly to even come to church, then it may prove difficult to achieve your goal. So here, then, are a few steps to help your child behave better in public.

• Dress for success: We all tend to behave according to how we are dressed.  If we are wearing comfortable play clothes, we are more likely to feel comfortable.  When we are dressed up in our best, we tend to be more aware of our behavior.  Teach children to respect Sunday and Church and the tenets of your faith by dressing them respectfully.  Pretty Sunday dresses, special socks and shoes, even a small patent leather purse and gloves for little girls.  Dress slacks, dark socks, dress shoes – not athletic shoes with blinking lights – clean dress shirts with or without a tie, a sweater vest in cooler weather, for boys.  Young children enjoy dressing up!  Let them!  Also – dress clothes are much easier to find in thrift stores than play clothes, if money is an issue.
• Advance preparation: Good behavior on Sunday morning begins Saturday night.  Do not let little children “stay up late”.  They need those precious hours of sleep.  Make sure they have a bath before bed, even if this is not part of your normal bedtime routine.  Tell them as you help them wash their hair that it is so they can be very clean for church.  Let them know they are getting ready for something special.  Help them lay out the special clothes they will wear in the morning.  Get them a soft, damp rag and let them “polish” their shoes, wiping off any dirt or scuff marks.
• Pack a church bag: They need to be quiet, but most little children will not be still.  It just isn’t in their nature, and God doesn’t really mind the wiggles.   A church bag should have quiet toys or activities (not all parents approve of toys in church.  That’s okay, if you feel that way, just skip this step and read on)  like coloring books and a few crayons.  You don’t need a box of 64 that will get dropped and spilled weekly.  Just a couple – three, maybe.  If the coloring book is on a religious theme, that’s even better.  For Catholics, you can pack large, wooden rosary beads.  Add a picture Bible storybook or prayer book.  Maybe a small Noah’s ark toy, or just a few animals from the set.  Only let them have the church bag while they are in church!  These toys are special, not to take to grandma’s, or the grocery store, or the doctor’s office.
• Snacks? Church is just not that long.  Some parents do not like to bring food, because of the mess it makes, and if the child had breakfast before, then he can certainly go for an hour without eating.  If your child is very noisy though, snacks are a way of getting him to be quiet.  Raisins are quieter and less messy than Cheerios.  Forget the chocolate – they’re in church clothes.
• Correct use of the Cry Room: Always start the service in church.  Let your child see this as an opportunity.  When he gets disruptive, take him, and only him – not the entire family – into the cry room.  Do not allow him to run around in the cry room.  The cry room is JUST LIKE CHURCH.  You still expect him to sit still and be quiet, but here he won’t disrupt others.  Only when he is ready to be quiet can he return to church and sit with the rest of the family.
• Be a role-model: if you want him to be quiet, so should you be.  Do not whisper unduly to your spouse or the people next to you.  Kneel when others kneel, stand when they stand, and sing when it is time to sing!  Don’t keep your voice to yourself, even if you think you sound like a frog.  If you aren’t happy with the voice God gave you, then here is the place to give it back to Him.  Be active in church.  Let your child see how happy you are to be here.  If there is something you don’t understand about your faith, learn it, so you can share it.
• Baby steps.  Try a behavior chart, like the one below.  Pick one inappropriate behavior to concentrate on first, and list the priviledges your child will lose for misbehavior.  Do reward positive results.  Ignore what you can.  Also, try sitting in the same pew every Sunday, at least for a while.  If other church members are irritated by your youngster, they will know where not to sit.  Most people realize that young children will wiggle and occasionally be disruptive.

Sunday behavior chart

Name:_____________________

Date:_____________________

Warning	Warning	Warning	_______
_______	_______	_______	_______

*Rule of the week: ________________________________________________________________

Good job last Sunday on: ________________________________________________________________

This chart is taken from Dr. Koenig’s book, “Smart Discipline” which you can order from here.

Some possible behaviors to work on:

• Sits quietly for _______ minutes
  (begin with ten, then fifteen, etc.)
• folds hands to pray
• sings along
• shakes hands with neighbors
• whispers to mommy to go potty
• picks up toys
• add your own

One final word: You should always feel welcome in your church, regardless of how your children behave! Jesus welcomed the little children, and admonished the adults for wanting to push them away. There may be one or two grumpy members who scowl at you when your kids are acting like kids, but if you feel that you truly are not welcome, then it’s time to find a new place to worship. Your children cannot possibly learn how to behave in church if they never go. How can they learn that God loves them, if they don’t know who God is? Some churches now have one service that is geared more towards children, with a youth choir, or a special children’s church with stories and activities based on the Scripture readings. Find out what is available in your neighborhood.
May God bless you and yours!

Today is Earth Day, so I thought it appropriate to post a short article on the cleansers I use, which are affordable, efficient, and non-toxic to the planet.

Nearly everything around the house can be cleaned with one of three basic cleansers. You need a spray for light-duty cleaning, a spray for heavy-duty cleaning, and a scrubbing powder for stains. These basic three are even listed in some of the major home-cleaning manuals on the market, only they recommend a commercial name-brand. I found that most commercial cleansers have harmful ingredients that irritate my allergies as well as damaging the planet.

For a light duty cleanser, you really can’t beat straight white vinegar in a spray bottle! You can buy a gallon of vinegar for around two dollars, depending on where you live, and it will last you for months. There are literally a thousand and one uses for this ancient liquid made from acetic acid and water, then fermented. (An older method was to allow a distilled alcohol like wine, gin, or vodka to oxidize and ferment). It can cut grease, remove mineral deposits, remove stains, eliminate odors and sterilize inhalers and baby bottles. Sometimes it is used full-strength, sometimes diluted with water, or sometimes mixed with either salt or baking soda. For a more detailed list of uses, check out Vinegar Tips .

I fill a plastic reusable spray bottle with full-strength vinegar. I spritz it on mirrors and windows and wipe clean. It takes a little more rubbing than window cleaner, but it works. The recipe on the above vinegar tips page says to mix it with ammonia and cornstarch. I haven’t tried that. I don’t like ammonia and don’t have it around the house, but you might find that it works better for you.

I spritz the counter tops and sinks with full-strength vinegar and wipe clean. The vinegar removes mildew, mold, and mineral deposits, and leaves a fresh smell behind. The chrome faucets look almost shiny new. I spray the tub and shower area well, then wipe dry with a cleaning rag. I spray a wad of toilet tissue with vinegar and wipe the outside of the toilet, then flush the paper. You can spray light switches and door knobs with vinegar to disinfect. Lastly, I pour vinegar from the jug into the toilet – about two cups – and let sit for an hour or two. Then brush and flush – you haven’t added chemical toxins to the waste water, and your bathroom is sparkling clean and disinfected.

For heavy duty cleaning, add some liquid laundry detergent and water to white vinegar. Use this when straight vinegar alone doesn’t get the job done. The only time I use this is on something VERY dirty that hasn’t been washed in a while. Like toys that have been stored in the attic for years, after my kids outgrew them while I waited for the grandkids to come along. I can clean pet dishes with this, gardening tools, and stubborn stains.

I forgot to mention that the straight white vinegar is great for cleaning carpets! Even pet accidents come up without staining. Pick up any solid mess, blot up liquid mess with paper towels. Spray the area and blot with paper towels, continue to spray and blot until all stain is gone. The vinegar spray worked on spilled grape juice, red playdough, and wine, as well. For really old stains, you need to combine vinegar, salt, and baking soda. Pour into stain, scrub, let dry, then vacuum. This took up some three year old carpet stains that other cleaning products left behind.

Finally, for scrubbing, I use either baking soda or plain white salt. Baking soda is less abrasive, so use on anything you don’t want scratched. Salt has more scratch to it, so use on severe stains and deposits.

With these three cleansers, I keep everything clean and sanitary, and best of all, I don’t need to use an inhaler afterwards. I don’t have to wear protective gloves (thank goodness, as I’m allergic to latex, too). And I can feel good about it, because I know I’m not contributing to global warming or filling up the landfills. I buy in bulk and reuse small containers.

I don’t have any activities for preschoolers and toddlers yet for Earth Day. I will put that on the schedule for next year. But our young children learn best from observing us, so just by being “green” yourself, you’ll be raising a greener child.

Why we should stock our pantries

With the economy so fragile right now, even families who aren’t affected financially are feeling insecure.  Will your favorite grocery store still be open next month?  The small shop where you take your car for repairs?  Is anybody really offering a sale these days, or are they just jacking up the price first, so they can offer you that “discount”?  Now, more than ever, is a good time to get your budget under control, your finances in order, and stock your pantry.

 I’m not a coupon clipper, although I’ve used one from time to time.  Our store is no longer doubling coupons, and that’s where the real savings is, I’ve been told.  If you clip coupons and it works for you, great!  My system can  help you save even more.

How to stock your pantry

It isn’t brilliant.  It’s simple, really.  Buy in bulk whenever something goes on sale.   Stock up.  If you can buy boneless skinless chicken breasts this month for $2 a pound, when it’s normally $3.50 a pound, then why only buy a couple of packages?  Buy as many as the store will allow, and as many as will fit in your freezer (unless you plan on canning chicken, too.)

How long could you feed your family, if you couldn’t go to the grocery store?  For some families, the answer might only be a couple of days, but in some homes I’ve heard, “oh, about six months.  Maybe a year.”  Now that’s stocking up!

But whose got that kind of money?  Maybe you will spend $4,800 or more on groceries this year, but not all at once.  You probably designate a certain amount from every paycheck, and that only covers enough to feed your family until the next paycheck arrives. 

So here’s a way to squeak out a little more food from that limited budget, so you can stock up and save.

First, take a really good look at what you have on hand.  If you couldn’t go to the grocery store, what could you find to eat right now?  Is there a box of macaroni and cheese in the cupboard?  Could you make pancakes or French toast?  Potato soup?  Maybe these first meals aren’t overly nutritious, but they should be filling.

Next, when you’ve figured out every meal possible with what you have on hand, then add a few groceries to round out those meals.  Maybe some hot dogs to go with the mac & cheese, or syrup for the pancakes.  And you only made five menus from your kitchen, so you’ll need to buy some foods for the last two days.  But now you’ve pared your grocery list down to the barest minimum.  You should have some of your grocery money left that you can spend on whatever is on sale – provided it is something you would normally eat anyway. 

Where to shop

I don’t drive all over to get the best bargains.  Gas is too expensive, and my time is valuable.  But I will drive a little bit to shop at a discount store like Aldiz or Save-a-Lot.  Then I finish up at my regular store for items that were not available elsewhere.  Because I often shop with a two-year-old, I split up my grocery shopping over several days. My husband gets paid only once a month, so I really stock up on the days after payday.  Then I save a little for the next three weeks to purchase the fresh foods that wouldn’t keep for a month. 

How much you should buy

How much should you buy to stock up?  As much as you can afford.  Some people won’t do this, as they claim they ran out of space.  But just because you buy food items doesn’t mean you have to keep them in the kitchen.  Store extra bags of potatoes under the bed, or canned goods on a shelf in the hallway.  Fill plastic bins with food stuffs, snap on the lid and spread a bright cloth over the top for an end table.  Put up shelves in the basement or garage, or plan to build a root cellar next summer.  With a little imagination, you can find a lot of places to store your hoard.  Keep track of where everything is, and rotate your stock.  When you buy new cans of vegetables, put them in the storage closet and bring the older cans into your kitchen. 

What to put in your pantry

Your pantry, of course, is anywhere you find to put your food.  Not every kitchen is blessed with one of those darling little rooms built just for food storage.  What foods you stock up may be different from what I do, because your family has different tastes, and some foods keep better than others.  But you should keep a supply of basic ingredients – things to cook or bake with – like flour, sugar or honey, salt, powdered milk (emergency milk!), pasta, rice, dried beans, canned goods, and frozen foods, if you have a freezer.

Below is my list.  Go ahead and print off a copy, I’ll upload the list in a PDF file to make it simpler.  But you will need to adjust the list to meet your needs.  I’m cooking for a toddler, and my diabetic husband.  So no sugar in my home.  Only whole wheat products and molasses or honey in small amounts.

What we will eat in a month:  
 
Meat
o 5 lbs. Chicken
o 3 lbs. pork
o 5 lbs. hamburger
o 5 lbs. fish
o 4 lbs. yellow cheese
o 4 lbs. mozzarella cheese
o 4 dozen eggs
o Abouth $90

Fresh Fruits &Vegetables
o 5 lbs. baby carrots
o 10 lbs. potatoes
o 2 lbs. celery
o 4 lbs. lettuces
o 4 lbs. baby spinach
o 4 lbs. roma tomatoes
o 1 lb. mushrooms
o 1 lb. cucumber
o 2 lbs. broccoli
o 2 lbs. cauliflower
o 1 lb. green beans
o 1 lb. summer squash
o 2 lbs. winter squash
o 4 lbs. grapes
o 5 lbs. apples
o 2 lbs. oranges
o 1 lb. berries
o about $105.00

Dairy
o 5 gallons milk
o 2 lbs. butter
o 1 lb. sour cream
o 4 lbs. yogurt
o about $20.00

Canned goods
o 10 cans of fruit
o 10 cans of vegetables
o about $30

Dried goods
o 4 lbs dried beans
o 4 lbs. rice
o 4 lbs. raisins
o 1 lb dates
o 2 lbs. prunes
o 3 lbs. nuts/peanut butter
2 lbs whole wheat pasta
o  about $30

Frozen foods
o 8 lbs. frozen vegetables
o 4 lbs. frozen fruits
o 2 lbs. frozen potatoes
o about $30

non-edibles
o 12 rolls toilet paper
o 1 tube toothpaste
o 1 box washing soda
o 1 box borax
o 1 gallon white vinegar
o 20 lbs. dog food
o about $35

Baking needs
o 10 lbs wheat flour
o 2 lbs. honey
o 1 can baking powder
o 1 box  baking soda
o Salt, spices
o 1 jar molasses
o 1 box oatmeal
o 2 lbs. rye flour
o about $45

o Total:___$400__________

 

 In closing

Once you start the stocking-up method of making your shopping list, it will get easier.  You’ll have more meals in your kitchen, and you may be tempted not to go shopping at all.  Of course, if you’re sick in bed with the flu, you should skip shopping.  That’s a good  reason why to be stocking up in the first place. 

In a future article, I’ll discuss other methods of saving money in the kitchen.  Until then, happy mealtimes to you!

Play can be divided into seven major categories.  In no particular order, these are Dramatic Play, Block Play, Outdoor Play (or sometimes called “large muscle play”), Table Play (also sometimes called “small motor control”), Art, Music, and Books.   If you have some items in each category, then you have a complete play room.  If, however, when you sort through your child’s toys, you find one category is very small or missing completely, then you have a good idea what to get for the next birthday or Christmas.  Conversely, if one area is overflowing with toys, some of those could be culled. 

Dramatic Play

is also called “playing house”, but it is so much more than that.  It includes any type of role playing, from fairy princesses, to cowboys, to firemen, to space cadets, to play-acting the part of an animal, or even a plant.  Dramatic play includes playing with puppets, stuffed toys, dolls, finger puppets, dress-ups, costumes, and face paint.  Every playroom should have a dramatic play area, regardless of whether you have girls or boys. 

Toy kitchens can be quite an investment.  Childcraft makes a hardwood kitchen ensemble – the kind found in many kindergartens and day cares – that sells for $849.00, not including shipping and tax.  Toys R Us sells a smaller, one piece version that is closer to $100.  If you check on Ebay, you may find something used within your budget.  You could even  make a temporary one out of cardboard boxes for now. 

Toy kitchens, of course, need toy dishes, pots and pans.  Toy food is not necessary.  Most children just enjoy pretending, and adding the toy food makes more to pick up at the end of play.  If you wish, you could experiment with a few plastic food toys, and watch how your child plays with them.  Once in a while it is fun to add water to the toy kitchen sink, but this should be a special, only with permission, rainy day priviledge, and not something your child is allowed to do  regularly.  You don’t want mold growing on damp toys.

Toy kitchens need baby dolls, doll clothes, dress-up clothes, purses, old adult shoes, a necktie or two, hats, and whatever else you can imagine.  Most of this you can gather at Good Will or a second-hand store, or even from your own closet.  Making doll clothes is not hard.  If you don’t sew, ask a grandparent, godparent, or good neighbor to make them for you.  For little children, make sure to use large buttons, large snaps, or large velcro spots, to make it easier for little fingers.

Finally, you can add specific play boxes to the dramatic play area, ones that you rotate from time to time.  This is the greatest trick to renew interest in old toys, and to keep the playroom from becoming so overflowing with stuff that the child can’t pick it all up.  Put some away!  Maybe this month you bring out the duplos and the doctor play kit.  Next month you put them away in a storage closet, and bring out the tonka trucks and fireman play kit.  Get the idea?

Some children’s libraries even stock play kits for you to borrow at no charge!  Check out your library, and if they don’t already do this, suggest they do!  Our local library has over 60 simple playkits.  Right now we have the Curious George one checked out.  It comes with a stuffed Curious George doll, a flannel board with enough pieces to retell several stories, two books, and a list of suggested activities for the parent!

I will post ideas for indivdual play kits in another article.

Block Play

Entire books have been written on the importance of block play.  I’m talking here about the large, hardwood blocks sometimes called “kindergarten blocks” or even “unit blocks”.  These are an expensive toy, but well worth it.  A good set will last through all your children and your grandchildren.  You can sometimes find them on ebay.  Buy the largest set your budget can afford.  A 110 piece set at around $140 costs less than a computer or even a playstation, yet will provide a greater benefit to your child. 

When a child decides what to build with blocks, he is developing his creativity and problem solving skills.  As he builds, he learns about shape, size, balance, structure, and form.  When he discovers that two square blocks equal the length of one unit block, he is learning about math.  He can count blocks, match them, sort them, group them, stack them and knock them down.  If you talk with him when he plays blocks, you can teach him words like “half”, “whole” and “gravity.”

When two or more children play with blocks, they develop social skills.  They work together to create a whole, or they cooperate in the division of the blocks to build separate structures.  They develop language skills as they communicate with each other. 

Picking up, stacking, moving, sorting blocks develops large and small muscle control, and eye-hand coordination – all necessary skills before the child can learn to write his ABCs. 

Unit blocks are so called because the basic shape or unit is a standard size, 5 1/2 inches by 2 3/4 inches by 1 3/8 inch.  The half unit is  2 3/4 inches square.  The double unit is 11 inches long, and the quad unit is 22 inches long.  No matter where you buy your unit blocks, they should always be this size.  Look for a good hard wood, fine sanding, and rounded corners. 

Outdoor Play

This area of play includes riding tricycles, digging in a sand box, splashing water, throwing balls, climbing trees, jumping on a mattress or small trampoline, turning sumersaults, climbing ropes, swinging, sliding, and anything else your child can do while outside.  Finding ways to do these “outdoor” activities inside, especially on a rainy day, can be a bit more tricky.  For very young children, you can buy a small indoor slide.  I once had a neat jumping toy that was a canvas cover over an inflated inner tube. My toddlers loved it, but it was a bit hard to store when space was limited.  Water play, of course, can be done in the bathtub. 

Your child needs a place to play outside every day.  He or she needs to be able to use an outside voice – and be taught the difference between outside and inside voices.  If you have a backyard, perfect!  If you live in an apartment, you’ll need to find a place to walk to every day, twice a day.  Two hours outside is not that long.  It can be divided up into an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.

In a later post, I can suggest ways to design the play yard, but for now, list what your child already has, and what you could add to the pile.  A good tricycle is around $70,  is made of steel and will last a lifetime.  Plastic trikes are not very satisfactory.  Check rummage sales, yard sales, ebay, and auctions if spending the money on a good trike is not in your budget.  Trikes are better than bicycles, too.  They are sturdier, less prone to tipping, and the child can trail a wagon behind him. 

Table Play

These are the games with pieces that can be lost, including Bingo, Candleland and Memory games.  Stringing beads, lacing cards, nesting blocks, and puzzles are better played at the table, so the pieces do not get lost.  Table games also include play that may need some adult supervision, like exploring small objects with a magnifying glass.  For a very young child, keep these toys out of reach, and set them on the kitchen table when you have to be in the kitchen anyway.  The child can play with something new, while being near you, and you can supervise.  As your child gets older, you might still keep these toys in the kitchen, but perhaps move them to a low cupboard so the child can help himself.

Table play is important mostly for developing small motor control.  Learning to manipulate small objects and improving dexterity are important skills so the child can later hold a pencil correctly and learn to write.  Learning to put together puzzles helps develop spacial awareness.  Children who do puzzles well tend to be good at math. 

Art

For the home, art activities are often best done at the kitchen table as well, but they are different from Table Play in one very important distinction.  There are no right and wrong ways to do art!  There is only one way to do a puzzle.  There is only one winner in Candyland.  But art is a process.  It is self-expression.  Never tell your child what to paint, or that he painted something wrong! (Unless he painted the kitchen blue – see Cradle & Crib for more about that!)

Art materials are one of the cheapest toys you can add to the playroom, but you will be replacing them again and again, as they get consumed.  You will need drawing paper, crayons, markers, pencils, scissors, paint, thicker paper for painting on, construction paper, paste, glue, glitter, a scrapbox with assorted items for collage making, like yarn bits, cotton balls, paper scraps, tissue paper, wrapping paper, paper bags, etc., and clay, and cardboard, and posterboard, and whatever else you can think to add.

All children need crayons!  If you could have only one toy, it should be crayons!  I am continually astonished at the number of homes I see that don’t allow crayons!  The parent usually says something about not wanting the child to color on the walls.  Well, guess what?  Crayons wash off.  And you can teach your child not to color on the walls.  We don’t forbid our children to have roller skates because we’re afraid they will wear them in the house.  We don’t forbid our children to have watches because we’re afraid they’ll flush them down the toilet.  We don’t even forbid our child to have a toothbrush because we’re afraid he will stuff it up his nose!  We teach our children the right way to use a toy or a tool, and then we enforce the rules.

That said, it’s okay to keep crayons out of reach, and only let a younger child use them while being supervised.  And crayons really do wash off just about everything.

Save your child’s art work.  Display it proudly.  Mail it to a grandparent, or an adopted grandparent in a nursing home.  Or send it to your pediatrician, your dentist’s office, or even your pastor.  They can always throw it out later, but most will display it at least for a while.  Imagine how great your child will feel when he sees something he created framed and hung in his doctor’s office the next time he visits!

Music

Music should be part of your child’s world, but so should silence.  Don’t play a radio all the time, which may teach your child to “tune out” and ignore you!  The music area of the playroom could include some toy instruments.  Rhythm band toys are very inexpensive, often under $20, and include tambourines, shakers, a drum, bells, triangle, and maybe a swirly scarf to wave in the air while marching to music. 

If your child takes music lessons, that’s great!  Suzuki is a great program, and I’ll devote a separate post to that alone.  But generally the small violin, which costs upwards of $400, is kept out of reach except when the child is practicing under adult supervision, and with good reason!  So having small, toy musical instruments available to the child is still important. 

The music area of the playroom could include a small, child-friendly cassette or CD player, some cassettes and CDs – with a variety of children’s songs, classical music, country, international music, and more.   And most important, don’t forget to sing!  Singing is cheap, readily available, and easy to do.  Teach your child to sing.  Sing to him often.  I’ll upload some podcasts of popular children’s songs for you to learn.  You do not have to have a great voice.  I don’t.  But I sang to my children.  All of them learned to sing.  Two of them went on to state with their voice solos.  All of them sing in church choirs, and all of them have told me how important music is to them.  Music can calm an angry spirit, encourage the discouraged, uplift the downtrodden, heal the hurting heart.  For all that, how can you keep from singing?

Books

This brings us to the last “toy” category in the playroom. Books aren’t really toys.  They are like best friends.  Don’t buy only expensive picture books that you keep on a shelf out of the child’s reach.  These are lovely, and should certainly be part of the reading home, taken down at special times and shared wiht the child.  But your child should have regular access to a wide variety of books.  Board books, picture books, easy readers, read-aloud books.  Even a couple of “gimicky” books – the ones with flaps that open or tabs that pull out – are okay.  But limit the gimicky ones, as they cost more and don’t last long.  Teach your child to respect books, but allow your child to use them.  Love them.  Wear them out.  A child who loves the written word is more likely to pay attention when being taught to read.

So that’s it.  That’s a complete guide to everything you need in your child’s play area.  If you toured a really good quality day care, you would see the block corner, the book corner, the art corner, the dramatic play area, and more.  Your “corners” may not be all in the same room.  You may have to have the art corner and the table toys in the kitchen, the large muscle toys in the garage and back yard, and the dramatic play stuff in an empty closet or spare bedroom.  But the important part is that you plan for play in these seven categories, and encourage your child to play there.  The lesson plans I create will be based on these areas of play. 

Most important of all – remember to have fun!

Related articles:
Defining Creativity
Ten Steps to Boost your Child’s Creativity
A Dozen Uses for Your Child’s Art

Photo Credits:
Top: mine
Blocks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emeryjl/ / CC BY 2.0
Trike:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobikefed/ / CC BY 2.0
Puzzle:http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbybatchelder/ / CC BY 2.0
Blue Paint:http://www.flickr.com/photos/12760128@N04/ / CC BY 2.0
Dancing:http://www.flickr.com/photos/30208099@N00/ / CC BY 2.0
Books:http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/ / CC BY 2.0

If babies came with instruction books, one of the main chapters would surely include family mealtimes. Eat with your children! Eat breakfast with them, lunch whenever possible, and every dinner. Talk to them. Listen to them. Share bits of your day, and ask them about theirs. Develop strong communication habits, and maintain them as your child grows and matures.

Many families today claim they are just too busy to eat together, but I’d have to ask, too busy compared to what? Surely our grandparents were much busier than we are. We do not have to milk the cow or gather eggs from the hens before we can fix breakfast. We don’t have to prime the pump, or start a fire in the stove before we can cook. Never has food been more plentiful. We have freezers and refrigerators and cabinets bursting with options that may have been raised all over the globe. We can easily serve fish from Alaska, blueberries from Maine, potatos from Idaho, with horseradish from Poland, all at the same meal.

We all have the same amount of time in our day. We just have different ways we chose to spend that time. I would suggest that having a family mealtime is so important, that we should take a second and even a third look at our schedules, and see what we may have to eliminate or rearrange to make family mealtimes happen.

When my children were little, I had one in boy scouts, one in gymnastics, one taking horse-back-riding lessons, and one involved in a Mom & Tots play program. They had religion classes, but because the parish didn’t have enough space, the third graders met Sunday afternoons, the second graders met Tuesday after school, and some met on Saturdays, and if parents wanted to continue their learning, that was at another time, as well. I had homeschool meetings once a month with the homeschooling support group, and my four children were all involved in the Suzuki music program. Suzuki is a GREAT program! It is “talent education” and not simply music lessons. But our program was very organized, and each student had three classes a week. Their individual lesson, a group lesson, and a music theory group lesson. Times four kids, that meant twelve classes a week for me. I didn’t live far from the church where these classes met, but it was still a lot of running around.

I saw a bumper sticker one day, that read, “If I’m a housewife, why do I spend so much time in the car?” It made me laugh, but later in the evening, as I was folding yet another load of laundry, I felt closer to tears. I was a car-wife! I felt married to my Ford econoline conversion van. That relavation propelled me to write the article “Coming home, Staying home” for The Teaching Home magazine. And after I deposited the paycheck, I realized it was time to take my own advice.

We eliminated most of our extra-curricular activities. They are called “extra” for a reason and should not become the main focus of your family. We returned to eating family dinners, as it had been our practice in the past, and I started preparing family breakfasts as well. We say a simple grace before meals (actually, we sing it), and no one starts eating until after the “amen”. Now when we visit relatives, we’re usually asked to sing the table grace, and some of our relatives have learned the words to join in.

Find the time to eat together! And do it daily! Some studies have suggested that when families eat together, the children are less likely to do drugs, do better in school, and are more likely to build solid relationships. I’d suggest that such studies aren’t even necessary. Spend time with your kids, and they’ll learn from you. Don’t spend time with your kids, and they’ll learn from their peers.

Isn’t that reason enough to return to the family dinner table?