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.

I was watching some television show a while back, and the father said to his grade-school age son, “Time to do your chores.” The smart-alecky kid replied, “Chores? What are we, Amish!” It was meant to be funny, I’m sure, although I don’t find kids being bratty on television particularly amusing. Is it a sad reflection on our culture that children are no longer expected to help out around the house? Or is this “progress”, that we are financially able to provide everything for our children?

My parents didn’t want us to work after school or in the summers. They felt that our school work was our job. I don’t think now, in hind-sight, that was a good idea. First off, my parents managed to do all three – chores at home, part-time jobs, and finish school. There were some basic job skills and financial management skills that I was severely lacking, and it took years (my husband might add “if ever!”) for me to learn them.

My son got his first paper route when he was eleven years old. He enjoyed it, and two of his sisters were a little envious that he was getting paid real money - espescially when he went out and bought himself a new bike. He took on a second route, then, and subcontracted the work with them, dividing up the two routes into three. His eight-year-old younger sister took the shortest route that was closest to home - delivering just to the homes on our block.

I can still see them now, sitting in the front hallway (the walls were painted white, dumb color for a home with children). The papers would come about 2 pm, signalling the end of our school day. Then they'd work together rollign the newspapers and sticking a rubber band around them, stuffing them in the big, green canvas newspaper bags. The soy-based ink would rub off on their hands and faces, and leave inky smudges on the walls. As soon as the last paper was rolled, they'd hop on their bikes and go out the door - and I'd have a half an hour of private time with the youngest, before they returned.

I worried a little - hey, I'm a mom! I worried about careless drivers backing out of their garage, not looking for a kid on a bike. I worried about the grouchy customers who snapped at kids if they threw the paper in the wrong place. Some customers want the paper on their front porch, some want it by the garage door, some actually want it ON the grass - and they expect a ten year old to remember one hundred different preferences?

Christmas Day there was a paper to deliver! That shocked me, but the kids didn't mind. They decided to deliver it after the midnight Mass the night before. A light snow was falling (we lived in Oklahoma at the time, so snow was rare). I drove the pickup truck, and they rode in the back (okay, I'm confessing to doing something that is now illegal, too). And they flung the papers from the back of the pickup, while singing Christmas Carols at the top of their lungs. It is a happy memory, for me as well as for them.

Then they started getting the Christmas Cards. Satisfied customers sent them nice little notes inside, sometimes with a dollar or two for a tip. That was the best Christmas for them, ever. Not just because they had some spending money, but because of the pride they took in their work, and that their customers appreciated them.

Later, when we moved to North Carolina, they had to retire. It is illegal in the state of North Carolina for a child under the age of EIGHTEEN to have a paper route. Children in that state cannot cut grass for the neighbors! Even McDonald's is not allowed to hire kids under the age of sixteen. And at least in the area where we lived, there was a high rate of juvenile crime. Some kids broke into the school computer lab and trashed it. Even the sheriff claimed it was just because they were bored.

Well, my rambling thoughts are going to draw to a close sometime soon.

The point of this post is, that children can do chores. Whether they should or not is a matter of personal preference. As for me, I wouldn't have robbed my children of those experiences for anything.

I found several blogs that posted very detailed information on this subject, so rather than "re-invent the wheel" I thought I'd just share those links.

The first is Emomsblog, written by an online friend of mine. Her children are older, ages 10 and 12, so her information may be a little beyond the scope of this blog, where I focus on preschoolers ages 2 – 6. But she wrote an excellent article on summer planning, complete with calendars and chore charts, that I thought you might be able to adapt to your own needs.

Next is More4kids, a blog I don’t really know anything about. But there was a great article that listed a number of jobs very young children could do.

And finally, you might want to read Paying Children to do Chores . This blog seems to be more about saving money than parenting, but I thought this article was well written and thoughtful.

So, I invite all of you to comment below, and share with us what chores do your children do? What would you like them to do? Do you pay them or give them an allowance? Thaks for reading! Until next time-

Lorelei

Photo Credits
top photo:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdanvers/ / CC BY 2.0

Bottom photo:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferschwalm/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

To all you mothers out there, I wish you the very best!  May your day be truly special and memorable,whether it is filled with sticky kisses from children or grandchildren, or with aging parents and grandparents. I hope that it is filled with love and respect, peace, joy, and that special magic God calls family.

I just returned from a trip to Wisconsin, to the farm I have for sale.  I had two of my grown children living there, taking care of the livestock, until it sells, which we hope is soon.  By the way – any one here interested in 26 scenic acres in central Wisconsin with a 3+ bedroom split level home built in 1970?  We have a small flock of sheep and a dog sled team there now.  It has a pond, pasture, woods, hills, everything – except a job nearby for my husband.  Anyway, I had a busy, but wonderful week with my daughters.  They are 20 and 23, and such lovely young women.  All week I was filled with a mother’s pride.  These people came from me!  Out of my belly, out of the love I share with my husband. If it weren’t for me, they would not be here!  In some small way, I have changed the world, by bringing them into the world, and by sharing them – releasing them – into the world.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit maudlin, but that’s how I felt.

Now I’m back in my apartment with my darling husband.  I will be going to Mass in the morning, then out to brunch with my husband, two daughters, and my granddaughter.  The rest of the afternoon is open.  Not sure if we’ll rent a movie, go to the park, or play a game of cards, but it promises to be a pleasant, quiet time at home for all of us.

I will have the next week of lesson plans up before Monday morning – but it’s late now, and I need to get to bed.  Thank you, all of you, for coming back every week, for your comments, your support, and your tweets!
Sincerely,

Lorelei Sieja

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

*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!

Some time ago I read about a mother who had lots of experience moving.  Her husband was in the military, and she had a system down pat, from boxing up the dishes to getting the kids settled in the new home.  One thing she wrote was that as soon as the bare minimum was unpacked, she took a day off to take all the kids to a pool.  She felt that kids were just more sociable when wet.

That stuck with me.  My family moved quite a bit, although my dear husband was not in the military.   Many of our homes came with swimming pools in the back yard, and it must have been helpful for usually the children did make friends.  Our last address was sans pool, and sans friends as well.  Guess what’s going back on the priority list for our next home?

But this blog post isn’t about how to move as much as the importance of water play. Children love to play in the water!    When I was working in the public schools, never a day went by that some child – usually two or three – wasn’t caught splashing water from the water cooler.  In day care centers, if there is a water play table, it is one of the most popular areas.  And any community that has a public pool knows how crowded it can get in the summer.

Is all this play important?  Or a waste of time and resources?

If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, especially child’s play and sand play , then you can probably guess what I’m going to say. Water play helps the child develop socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Look at kids in a pool.  How many scowls do you see?  Usually, not many.  Total strangers become best buddies rather quickly.  Splashing and dunking can be emotional outlets.  Tossing frisbees and balls to a friend requires cooperation.  A raft is more fun when you can push someone off, and play “king of the hill”.  Falling is more fun in the water, because it doesn’t hurt.  Kicking water is much healthier than kicking the wall.

Physically, children develop coordination.  At a water play table they may develop eye-hand coordination as they scoup, measure, pour, mix and stir water.  In a swimming pool they may develop large muscles as they learn to swim, dive, kick, splash and jump off the edge of the pool into a parent’s arms.

Children learn pre-math concepts of size, full, empty, volume, measurement, and weight. They can learn science concepts like condensation, evaporation, gravity, sink-float, reflection, refraction, and magnification.  Don’t things look different under water?  Ever lay on the bottom of the pool and look up?  What about sticking a spoon in a glass of water, and watching how the handle appears to bend at the water line?

Water play, like everything you do with your child,can be used to teach vocabulary.  How does the water feel?  Use words like wet, slippery, cool (or warm), see-through, transparent, clear.  Does it have a smell or taste?  Not usually!  Tell me what you are doing?  How does that feel?  What happens if… if you add some liquid soap to the water and splash?  What would happen if you add some oil to the water?  Try this – shake some pepper on the surface of a bowl of water, then dip a finger in liquid soap and just touch it to the surface of the water.  Watch the pepper run away (disperse)!  Why do you think it does that?  (soap breaks the surface tension of the water).  Try explaining that to a three year old!  He may not fully understand the concept, but he’ll remember the lesson.

Bath time is great for many water play activities, but it is not enough.  Fill a child’s splash pool this summer, and invite another child to come over.  Take your family to a swimming pool often.  Or better yet, to the beach!  Combine water and sand play for a thoroughly enjoyable, educational afternoon!  Just don’t forget basic safety guidelines.  A child can drown in an inch of water.  Don’t take your eyes off your child for an instant.  Bathroom floors become slippery when wet.  Kindly and firmly help your child learn not to splash water on the floor.  Empty the splash pool when not in use.  For more on water safety, check this out.

Spiritual growth is a little fuzzier. Water is the symbol of cleanliness. If your child will witness a baptism soon, you can try to explain that the water of baptism washes the soul clean, just like a bath washes your body. When you go camping, you and your child can observe how a light rain nourishes the earth. While gardening, show how water brings new life to wilting plants. Preschoolers are a little young to understand these concepts, but not to be exposed to them.

“What beautiful dogs!” An older gentleman waves at me as he drives by. I smile and wave back, rather proud of my Siberian Huskies as well. They are beautiful dogs. Pumpkin has the traditional black and white pattern and incredible blue eyes. Misha has brown eyes, but an unusual gray and white husky pattern, making her look more wolfish. Both are females, a little on the small side, and well-trained. They are striking dogs, by they are just dogs. It gets a little annoying sometimes that everywhere I go, I get dozens of comments like that. Would people still say that if I were walking golden retrievers, or German shepherds?

“Aren’t they silly, Kaylee?” I kneel beside the stroller, checking to see that my granddaughter is still bundled up against the chilly wind of early spring. The daffodils are in full bloom, but four inches of fresh snow blankets the ground.

“Ah doggy! Ah doggy!” she exclaims. Yeah, no help there. She’s as dog-crazy as the rest of them.

Pumpkin obliges by licking her chin. Misha isn’t as friendly towards the energetic two-year-old. But then, Misha is seven years old and not that impressed by anything. Mushing season is over now. No more six mile runs along the snow-packed trails in Fort Custer Recreational Park. We all miss that. And with the slush still lining the streets, I’m not brave enough to start running the dogs along side the bicycle. Huskies require a lot of exercise. Somehow walking beside a baby stroller and Grandma’s pace just doesn’t cut it.

We see a woman in her front yard, removing the protective mulch from some rose bushes. She gasps as she notices my dogs. “Oh, my! What beautiful dogs! Do you breed them?”

I stop to visit. “I do. But I’m not planning for any pups until late summer.” It would be too hard to raise a litter in our second floor, one bedroom apartment. Besides the fact it isn’t allowed.

“You must give me your phone number!  My son has been wanting a husky for years.”

Kaylee is restless.  Riding in a stroller is not at the top of her list of favorite activities.  She only endures it as it sometimes brings her to the park with the swings.  When she realizes that we aren’t going anywhere, she wants out.  I release the seatbelt and help her to climb down. 

The woman talks on about her son.  I’m only partially listening, as I keep one eye on my granddaughter.

“Huskies aren’t the right dog if you value your landscape,” I caution her.  I’ve never had a problem selling puppies.  I don’t breed often, only when I want to keep some of the puppies myself.  I have had as many as thirteen dogs at a time – a very small kennel for a musher.  I’ve lost a few to old age, and one Alaskan husky to illness.  I don’t run dogs to win races – I just run for fun. But somewhere between age seven and ten most huskies are ready to retire.  I only have three dogs under seven now.  Time for another litter.

She seems surprised that I would discourage a sale.  “What do you mean?”

“Huskies are big diggers.  They will dig up your garden.  I run electric wire fencing a few inches above the ground on the inside of my dog yard to keep them from digging under the fence, and another electric wire along the top of the fence so they don’t jump over. ”

She isn’t deterred.  That’s good.  I don’t mind sellling a puppy to someone as long as they know what they’re getting in to.  I always offer a money-back guarantee, no questions asked.  I’d rather take the puppy  back than risk it winding up in a shelter.  “Just let me get a piece of paper, and I’ll write down your phone number,” she says, taking a step back and tripping over my granddaughter.

Kaylee cries, but she isn’t hurt.  I kiss her owies, and comfort her.

The woman is startled.  “I didn’t even see her!  I didn’t notice you had a baby with you.”

Apparently she missed the large beige Jeep jogger-stroller as well. 

We exchange phone numbers.  I help Kaylee back into her stroller and continue on towards the swing park.  I wipe the slushy snowfall off one baby swing  before helping Kaylee into it.  She adores swings, perhaps even more than dogs.  She laughs, kicking her feet with exhuberance.  I love her enthusiasm.  She isn’t thinking about naptime, or what to have for snack, or whether her braids are straight.  Every ounce of her being is concentrated right here, right now, on this baby swing. 

Not me.  I’m thinking about what I might blog about next.  I’m recalling things like search engine optimizations, key words, and social media.  I’m wondering if my blog will achieve a massive following, and what will I do if it does.  I’m also wondering what to defrost for dinner, and do I have to go anywhere tonight, which will mean having dinner ready early.  My mind is divided, only partially enjoying the moment with my precious granddaughter.  I pull out my cell phone and snap a picture of her big grin, then send it to my daughter. 

Why do so many people admire my dogs, and not my granddaughter? She really is adorable, with her French braids that curl down around her shoulders.  Kaylee was born with more hair than any of my kids had by the time they were two.  She has big blue eyes, and round, pink cheeks.  She’s a little on the small side, but then, so am I.  I’m not even five feet tall anymore, having shrunk 1/4 of an inch since my last doctor visit.

I’m afraid that the reason why so many people admire my dogs, taking the time to tell me how beautiful they are, yet ignore my absolutely adorable granddaughter is because people do not value children any more.  We’ve come to see them as burdens and financial liabilities.  I heard one mom snap at her husband during a bitter divorce, “You get the boy.  I’ll take the girl!”  Her children didn’t even warrent a name, as though hoisting their son off on her soon-to-be ex was a sort of punishment.  And it’s criminal the way someone who abuses animals may serve more time in prison than someone who abuses a child.

Without children, there can be no future.  So many small towns and cities are bemoaning the loss of their public schools, as they’ve been forced to close their doors and merge with other school districts.  It’s not just that families are moving away from their area, but that the families who do stay are having fewer children, or none at all. 

I wish that there was a way to turn this around.  To restore children to their rightful place of honor in our hearts and in our society.   Children should not have to earn our respect by collecting soccer trophies or beauty pageant ribbons.  We need to show respect for childhood by giving them the gift – no, the right - to a long, and happy childhood.

Easter is fast approaching. The stores are bursting with brightly colored baskets, synthetic grasses and plastic eggs filled with high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, gelatin and preservatives. It bears a striking resemblance to the Christmas hoopla of only a few months ago. For many homes, Easter has become a second Christmas with egg-decorated trees and presents underneath.

Building family traditions is very important for a healthy, happy family, as I posted earlier here. I am not suggesting that we desecrate the Easter Bunny, only that we take a moment to consider the origins of certain customs and make a conscious decision whether to assimilate these into our lives rather than merely allowing Wal-Mart to dictate our holidays.

Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ. It occurs at the same time as the Jewish festival of the Passover. The word, “easter”, however, does not occur anywhere in the Bible. It may come from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring “Eostre”. In non-English speaking cultures, the word for “Easter” comes from “pasch”, for the Passover.

The rabbit is also from the Anglo-Saxon pagan customs. The rabbit has always been seen as a symbol of new life and fertility. We still unkindly say of couples who have a lot of children that they “breed like rabbits”. According to legend, the goddess Eostre became angry with her consort, the rabbit, and threw him into the heavens where he became the constellation Lepus the Hare, at the foot of Orion. Interestingly enough, the word “east” and “estrus” also come from the word eostre. The goddess granted Lepus the gift of laying eggs once a year, which is why we have a rabbit delivering eggs.

Easter eggs are also pagan in origin. Many ancient cultures worshiped the sun, as it warmed the earth and was the source of life. Birds were often honored as only they could go near the sun god, so eggs were believed to have special powers. In the long, dreary days of winter in the Ukraine, eggs were intricately decorated, then given to family members and respected outsiders as a symbol of new life – which is why the egg must remain whole. The Early Christian Church incorporated the egg into their tradition, not as a symbol of nature’s rebirth, but of man’s.

Giving chocolate rabbits is a fairly new, and consumerist tradition. Jelly beans are also only loosely related to Easter, as they have no new life within and cannot symbolize anything other than the sugar high our children get from consuming them. That said, we did celebrate Easter with hunting for eggs in my home!

One year I decided to take my youngest child to the community Easter Egg hunt. She was maybe three years old, and not overly addicted to sugar. (She used to hold the sucker part and chew on the stick!). We arrived at the site on a sunny Saturday morning in April all of thirty seconds late, and the hunt was over! The community grossly underestimated the number of children who would show up. There were plastic eggs discarded everywhere, with empty paper candy wrappers blowing in the wind, and the crowd was already dispersing.

My youngster cried big, silent tears, feeling she had missed out on something, and my older children were outraged. A kind city volunteer scooped up some empty eggs and gave them to me. She said I could have them, and refill them myself. I thanked her, ran to Wal-Mart, and a new family tradition was born.

Now every Easter I fill plastic eggs with jelly beans and chocolate to hide around our house or yard – inside if there is still snow on the ground (we live up north!) or outside if the weather cooperates. It is my husband’s job to hide the eggs while I prepare a large Sunday brunch – a weekly tradition in our house, but the Christmas or Easter brunch menu is much fancier. We have Sausage muffins, hard-boiled Easter eggs, a fruit bowl with melon and whatever is available, champagne (my kids are older, but the grandbaby gets juice), and of course, chocolate! We would have gone to church first, so by brunch time we have quite an appetite.

We never talked about an Easter bunny. My kids never really believed in Santa Claus, either. We don’t celebrate Halloween at all, nor do we send valentines. I wasn’t lazy, I just didn’t feel that these were important elements for our family traditions. But my kids love Easter Sunday, and even as young adults, they still want to look for their eggs.

If you decide to include Easter eggs, jelly beans and plastic grass into your family traditions, that’s fine. Just think about what you want your children to learn from the holiday, and include some sort of explanation that fits with your family beliefs.

For more information:
Importance of Easter Customs .
Easter: History, Meaning and Observance .
And for pretty Easter eggs to color, try Pysanky Coloring Book Pages

Photo credits:
Easter Tree by krisdecurtis
Traditional eggs by Scilit
Easter Egg Hunt by dplanet

I’ve been following the singing family face-off a little bit – I didn’t catch all of the performances, but the two semi-finalist groups are really very talented! Personally, I’d love to see the Peay Brothers win the recording contract, but I’d love to see the J4s get a television show. These kids are just that cute! Since this is a blog about creativity and children, I thought I’d share this very talented family with you. Enjoy!

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