| JAZZED UP BAG
LUNCHS - 13 WAYS TO TURN HUM-DRUM INTO YUM! If the thought of making
packed lunches has you dreading the Back to School season, try using some of these
quick and inexpensive ideas to perk them up. 1. Pop in a funky new pencil,
cool gel pen, eraser or shaped notepad. 2. Include a tricky food riddle.
"What did the tomato say to his friend? You go ahead. I'll ketchup." 3.
Write a special note. "Thank you for cleaning your locker and returning all
the containers and spoons from last month's lunches." 4. Round up some
unusual eating utensils such as measuring spoons, baby spoons or chopsticks. 5.
Slip in a colorful paper or cloth napkin to celebrate a special day such as Valentine's
Day. 6. Personalize a paper lunch sack with colorful stickers and markers
centered around a theme of interest to your child such as animals, sports or hobbies. 7.
Make a fabric lunch bag using colorful cloth cut in a holiday shape such as an
Easter Egg or heart. 8. Bake pizza in a square shape. Add sauce, cheese,
green pepper strips for X's, and Pepperoni for O's. 9. Make millennium bugs
using celery spread with cheese. Stick in shaped pretzels for butterfly wings,
raisins for eyes and dry chow mein noodles for antennae. 10. Mix cinnamon
and sugar in a salt shaker and shake onto buttered toast. Cut the toast into wedges,
long thin pieces or use a cookie cutter to cut out a holiday shape from the center. 11.
Celebrate 100 days of school by stringing 100 doughnut shaped dry cereal pieces
onto a licorice lace and tie in a knot to make a yummy necklace. 12. Bag
up a bunch of grated carrot, slices of celery, cucumber, green pepper and a handful
of raisins. For a dressing, mix a small amount of cream, a dash of vinegar, salt,
pepper and sugar to pour into the bag and toss before eating. 13. Ask your
child to suggest something they would love to find when they open their lunch
bag and add it to your grocery list right now before you forget. Maxine
Sprague, BEd is a parent, author, and educator and lives in
Edmonton,
Alberta. She is the author of 3 books including her latest,
Super Easy Bag
Lunches. (The Learning Center Press,
Box 82016-GMO#2, Edmonton, Alberta,
T6J 7Eb $12.95US, $16.95CDN.)
Web site: www.telusplanet.net/public/cscltd/ ****************** HASSLE
FREE, COST EFFECTIVE DRESSING FOR KIDS by Maxine Sprague Sarah
arrived at playschool Tuesday morning wearing a very uncoordinated outfit. A string
of rainbow colored beads hung from her neck and a bright smile lit up her face.
"Good Morning Mrs. Ward," she sang out merrily. "Don't I look nice
today? I dressed all by myself." If you've ever felt like sending your
child out with a big banner that reads, "I CHOOSE MY OWN CLOTHES", you're
probably not alone. Many parents feel the way their children look and dress is
a strong reflection on them. This way of thinking might work when they are babies
but since clothing is likely to be one of the areas where a toddler will choose
to assert their independence and because there are many more important issues
to negotiate in a child's life, it's best to get over the embarrassment and give
them lots of room for individuality when it comes to clothing. If you are fortunate
to still be choosing and coordinating their outfits into the teenage years, count
yourself one among few. To make choosing clothing an inexpensive and positive
experience for both you and your child, try using some of the following ideas. 1.
Allow your child to make choices about what she will wear at an early age. Do
this by offering two or three outfits and let her choose which one she would like
to wear. This technique helps the child become a decision maker as well as giving
her a sense of control and independence. 2. Buy or make clothing that is
attractive, comfortable to wear and easy to put on and remove. If all the clothes
your child has to wear are acceptable to you, then even if they choose their own
outfit, they can't possibly choose something you don't like. 3. Teach your
child how to undress and dress himself at an early age. This gives him independence
and responsibility and lessens your need to control the dressing situation. If
you find it difficult to keep from intervening when they are struggling with dressing
themselves, busy yourself somewhere else. Just be sure to allow plenty of time
for them to get dressed. 4. Help your child develop a positive self-image
by encouraging her efforts at self-dressing. When your Toddler runs to you for
the first time, excitably babbling about how she put her own shirt on, offer praise
and resist the urge to point out that it's on backwards. Getting it on the right
way will come with time. Helping your child develop a positive self-image will
also encourage her to take pride in her appearance. 5. Helping your child
become aware of colors will help him in coordinating outfits. Keeping matching
tops and pants together in his drawers or closet will also help him select a coordinated
outfit. Buying tops and pants in a similar color scheme will make for a more cost
effective wardrobe and will lessen the possibility of the mismatched look. 6.
Let your child help you select clothing or fabrics for sewing. If they like the
clothes, they will be more likely to want to wear them. Buying clothing requires
some thoughtful decisions. The cheapest buy doesn't always work out that way in
the long term. There are times when a higher priced item turns out to be less
expensive because the style and durability allows it to be worn many more times
than a cheaper item. 7. If it's really important to you that your child
wears a certain outfit for a specific occasion, explain why it is important and
expect her cooperation. She'll be more likely to go along with your request if
she knows she has freedom to make her own choices most of the time. 8. Avoid
apologizing to others about the way your child looks "because she chose her
own clothes". Chances are you'll draw attention to something they didn't
notice until you mentioned it. 9. Encourage your child to be responsible
for his own clothing. Provide a basket for soiled clothing. Mounting a basketball
hoop above it is a fun way to encourage him to use it. Get him to help with sorting
laundry, washing clothes, folding and putting his own clothing away. It takes
time to teach these skills but the benefits in the long term are well worth it.
Encouraging him to change into older clothing for outdoor and other activities
will help keep his best clothing looking new longer. 10. Relax and let
your children be children. It's more important to encourage a positive self-image
and independence in self-care than to worry about the mismatched outfit they chose.
With the current emphasis on expensive brand name clothing, you might be glad
you encouraged independent thinking and allowed your child to stand out in the
crowd at an early age. Maxine
Sprague is a parent, author and educator living in
Edmonton, AB. She
is the author of three books including her
latest, Super Easy Bag Lunches
(The Learning Center Press,
Box 82016, GMO#2, Edmonton, AB T6J 7E6
$16.95CDN/$12.95US).
Web Site: www.telusplanet.net/public/cscltd/
Well folks, that's it for another month. As usual, if you have any suggestions
or contributions just reply to this email and let me know! We're always up to
suggestions and recipes sent in also have the chance to be included on the website.
Jill Lassaline, editor
Single Parents World | 
