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A hectic life can affect your family's health. Studies show that long-lasting stress can cause the body to make too much cortisol, a hormone that can ramp up appetite -- and lead to overeating. Stress can also make you want to turn to food for comfort. For relief: Encourage your family to build relaxation into every day. Even 10 minutes counts. Flip through magazines, sit and talk, or take a relaxing walk -- anything to help you pause and switch gears...Read more here. |
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| What are the most important lessons to teach children about money? It’s a good question to consider, particularly because, thanks to a distinct lack of a broad financial literacy curriculum in schools, it falls on parents to be the ones who instill the core concepts of spending, saving, and handling money in general. While there are certainly lessons all parents should be teaching kids about money, we wondered, what do financial planners, accountants, and others who work in the financial industry teach their kids about money? Read more here. |
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Planning healthy meals isn't any more difficult than planning less-than-healthy meals. You just need to upgrade your ingredients and choose healthier cooking methods. Consider the nutritional value, flavors, amount of food, time and difficulty, and the cost of ingredients when you plan your meals...Read more here. |
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| The mental effects of the Coronavirus are not yet known nor are we able to assess the effects of the fear generated by potential contamination. Social distancing and isolation for weeks will also take a toll on mental health. The short, medium and long-term implications of the combined effect of these factors require study. Uncertainty provokes anxiety, fear of the unknown, stress. In the current global situation, everyone from young children to adults will be feeling a mix of emotions and some will be placed in environments and situations that are new or potentially damaging...Read more here. |
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| All children have the right to grow up safe from abuse. Protecting children from sexual abuse and working to prevent it in local communities is part of creating safe environments that help children grow and thrive. Local services and organizations like child care settings, schools, sports clubs and places of worship should have policies and practices to keep children safe and prevent child sexual abuse...Read more here. |
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There are lots of challenges in teaching virtually. The biggest is keeping the kids engaged. It's good to read some strategies used by teachers this past spring...Read more here. |
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As teachers and parents have had to treat yet another symptom of the coronavirus — the need for kids to be schooled at home — one of the most potent solutions has turned out to be decidedly old school: television. Despite all the advances in high-tech online learning taking place around the country, school districts from New York to California, Alabama to Wyoming, and North Dakota to Texas are now providing remote learning opportunities through educational television programming and partnerships with public TV stations. That’s not just nice, it’s necessary...Read more here. |
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| When parents become drug addicts, their children’s lives are often dislocated. In 2015 alone, substance abuse problems meant that one and a half million children were living apart from at least one of their parents, and 300,000 apart from both. Exposure to the drug crisis increases the likelihood that children live in impoverished households and struggle with family instability. But grandparents are picking up the slack...Read more here. |
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Turn a paper plate into the beloved Cheshire Cat! Alice in Wonderland fans will love crafting that distinctive mischievous grin...Read more here.
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Do you have a bunch of paper cups lying around, leftover from picnics and parties? Make some paper cup music crafts from them. Here there are four easy ideas to get you started, but the sky is the limit and surely you could come up with a few more ideas yourself too...Read more here.
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Yarn can make a gorgeous yarn butterfly craft using this simple weaving technique. This is a fun kids craft and the finished butterflies could easily be given as a handmade gift...Read more here.
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You can re-enact your favorite Muppet mishaps with these handy spoon puppets. You need a few wooden spoons, some pom-poms and glue...Read more here. |
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Water beads are tiny polymers that grow when soaked in water. They typically come in dehydrated packages. As they soak they fill and expand, transforming into squishy, water-filled marbles. Playing with water beads is therapeutic in itself, but you can add lavender to create some relaxing beads...Read more here.
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Here is a great collection with more than 50 homemade cardboard toy ideas for play. You can make cardboard toys from recyclables. STEM crafts, vehicles, pretend play ideas, cubbies and more! Read more here. |
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There are so many things you can make from an empty cereal box! Instead of throwing them away or recycling them, carefully break down the top and bottom enclosures so you can flatten the boxes and save them for future projects. These monsters are a perfect example of how to easily turn an ordinary cereal box into something fun and entertaining for the kids! Read more here. |
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You can create some fun and yummy, Treat Monsters using Rice Krispies. They are fun to make and, certainly, good to eat...Read more here. |
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FROM THE BOOK: "THE CLUB FOR CHILDREN WHO CARE FOR THEIR PLANET" - SECTION: THE PLANTS
TITLE: OUR CLASSROOM IS ALIVE!
WE WORK ON: CARING, & OBSERVATION
ACTIVITY: Each child will bring a plant to the classroom. He/she will show the plant to his/her mates and tell them what kind of plant it is, how it needs to be cared, if it will have flowers, etc. The teacher will help the children to look for an appropriate place for the plants. He also will help the children to take care of the plants: they will have to water them, to observe if the plant has light enough, to root out some weeds that are born around them, etc. To view the full activity, click here. |
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The Cat in the Hat Invents is a STEM based game for preschoolers featuring characters from the PBS Kids series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. In four settings, kids experiment with different tools that can help a robot clear obstacles in its path. The tools introduce concepts such as pulleys and levers, material properties, and wind power...Read more here. |
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Lazoo Art Box would work well as a free-play art station. Kids should be allowed enough time to cycle through the different prompts and experiment with different art ideas. Since there's no save option, teachers can't see what kids have created. Instead of reviewing what kids create, have kids reflect on their experience by describing what they did, what the prompts made them think about, and so on...Read more here. |
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