Is your tooth fairy forgetful too?

My poor kids have the most forgetful tooth fairy. She will not come for multiple nights in a row. My kids have taken to making maps and signs to attract her attention. I do have to say in her defense that she leaves extra money for every night that she misses. Recently the kids noticed this trend are a very excited about every extra night's tip that they get.

Q-tip Skeleton

My 3rd grader made this at school last week. All you need is: 1 black piece of construction paper, Q-tips, bottle of any craft glue, scissors, and a small piece of white paper for the face.

1. Make your face and glue it down to the black paper.
2. Cut your Q-tips to the right size for the various parts of the body.
3. Glue the Q-tips down to form the body of your skeleton.
4. Allow it all to dry for a couple of hours.

You can use this project to help learn the names of the bones.

Election Day Fun

My kids love the idea of having a voice in how our country is run, so we really celebrate election days. As parents we make sure to educate ourselves on the current issues and candidates so we can vote responsibly. Then we take the kids to the Kids Vote area, so they can vote too. The kids decorate the house with red, white, and blue (recycle your 4th of July ideas.) I print off some electoral college maps for the kids to color as the votes come in. We serve red, white, and blue food. Then we enjoy discussing kid-friendly politics and how cool it is to be able to vote. This is a great way for the kids to learn about how our government runs and learn to be patriotic. This is also a great way for your kids to memorize the presidents, states, and even the capitals of each state.

A friend told me recently that in Canada they call the opposing political party the "loyal opposition". I really like that term, because it shows that while you may not always agree, you can still be friends, family, good patriotic citizens etc. I think that is a great lesson to teach our children.