Joy!

Finding Joy during the holidays is sometimes a daunting task for young children. Every day activities are magnified as their senses are on overload from all of the excitement surrounding the holidays. Not that this in itself is negative , the problem arises when children become too over stimulated and are unable to cope with the day to day tasks such as brushing their teeth or following simple directions that they normally would not have any trouble with.  As mothers and teachers we can choose to let our children’s behaviour get the better of us or we can remind ourselves that a cranky child is usually on overload and remember to tone down the holiday festivities if it seems to be too much for the little ones to handle at this time.  Too much of anything can have a negative effect on us all. For example, I love chocolate, but too much chocolate can make me sick..so I have to really watch that I don’t over eat around the holidays. The same can go for children. Too many gifts, lights, parties, shopping trips, etc can have a negative effect on a child. I remember one Christmas in particular when my middle daughter was two years old. She had so many Christmas presents to open from both sides of relatives that by the time she got to the last few she started crying and saying “ No more Christmas!”    I think at that moment we all realized that we had lost the Joy of the season by buying into the commercialism of the holiday. So the question is: How to keep Joy in the holidays for the young child?  Balance and moderation are the key!  Little ones can only sit through so many Christmas events. So pick and choose the few that you want to participate in. Gift giving does not have to be extravagant.  In my many years of working with young children I have found that they are usually just as excited about the box and wrapping paper as they are the gift itself.  Educational and home- made gifts are always appreciated and so much more meaningful that the latest fads.  Also playing soft music during the holidays tends to work as a subconscious calming tool. Another wonderful element in finding Joy during this busy time is to stop and take time to read and cuddle with your child. This will allow them an opportunity to calm down and focus on the story rather than the chaos going on in the world around them.  For those children that need to be more active taking quiet walks together works wonders as well as having a time to allow them to explore and create their own holiday cards and gifts.  Christmas can be such a wonderful time for children as long as we take the initiative to keep the Joy alive by spending quality time with them during this busy season.

Looking for something easy to do with your left over jack o lanterns?  How about cooking them up for some yummy treats!

Here’s a delicious and simple recipe from my friend Janet that kids and adults will both love! (Thanks Janet!) Also perfect for a classroom cooking lesson.

No-bake pumpkin cheesecake cookies

Ingredients

1 cup of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of pumpkin puree
2 tbls of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of orange food colouring (optional)
20-24 wafer cookies

Fall is here! The leaves are starting to change colors and the nights are crisp and cool! This is a fantastic time to visit your local farm as produce is plentiful and bargains are easy to find. We have been canning up a storm in our kitchen with the local produce we have found. Tomatoes, Peaches, Apples and Cucumbers to name a few!  The children love helping out with the whole process of gathering the produce from the farm to helping in the canning process. It is so important to teach children where our food comes from . This helps to instill a healthy lifestyle which can last a lifetime!

To celebrate fall MiMi’s House has released a new music video for the classic children’s song, Old MacDonald Had a Farm! The soundtrack features the voices of the Kostamo Kids and was recorded by their Dad in our home studio. you can purchase the single on i-tunes or cd baby for only .99!

We have been super busy this summer at MiMi’s House filming new music videos for you and your children to enjoy!  Our videos will be ready for our new fall season on our youtube channel as well as aired on various community cable television stations. Our videos have all been shot on location on beautiful Vancouver Island. Many thanks to Fiona from Fish Video Productions for producing and editing these fun fun filled music videos.  Also a big thank you to Melissa from Style Me Vintage Hair Salon for making our little fairies look amazing! There are so many wonderful people involved behind the scenes as well as our precious little actors and actresses. The process has been a lot of fun and we can’t wait to share the finished productions with you all! 

From all of us at Mimi’s House we wish you and yours a happy and joyous summer! May you enjoy every moment with your little ones as you soak up the sun! (and don’t forget the sunscreen!)

Although easter has come and gone, I thought I would share with you some of the fun craft ideas I did with my kids this year. I spied these feather wreaths at a craft market and just loved them, but the price was a little too much for my budget so the kids and I decided to make our own for just a fraction of the cost. We purchased three feather boas and a straw wreath from the Dollar Store along with some decorative eggs and ribbon. The process was very simple. We wound the feather boas around the wreath then I hot glued the ornaments and ribbon on. It took about ten minutes and cost us only $6.00!
The other fun idea we came up with was Minion Eggs. I thought we were being quite original but after doing the project we found several blogs with the same concept. If your children like the Despicable Me movies then this is the craft for them. Using blue and yellow easter eggs, we simple switched tops with bottoms added electrical tape and google eyes for glasses and used sharpie to draw on faces. For fun I filled them with dried beans and hot glued them shut so kids could use them as musical shakers. This way we get to enjoy them all year!

Christmas time is filed with excitement and wonderment.  Young children love to create and explore all of the senses during the holidays. Children love cooking and creating during the holidays. Involve your children in as much of the planning and preparations as possible. This helps to foster a sense of ownership in the festivities and builds independence and pride within your child. I have posted some of our favourite Christmas crafts that I have done at home and at school with my children. It just takes some time and a few simple supplies to complete these holiday art projects. May you enjoy the holidays and always keep the wonder and magic of Christmas alive in your hearts!

This adorable Santa was made by placing toothpicks into the apple and adding marshmallows on the toothpicks for the arms, legs and head. A cherry for the hat, cotton ball for the beard, and cloves for the face complete this little apple Santa.

A cute reindeer made by tracing your child’s feet and hands!

Paper plate Santas or elves are made by glueing on packing peanuts for the beard , google eyes and construction paper triangles for the hats.

Coffee Filter Snowman are fun to make. Simply glue on coffee filters (One small and one large) for the body and head and add construction paper hats, nose, eyes and buttons. Decorate with snowflakes and white paint.

Construction paper trees are fun to decorate with foam shapes, buttons, sequins an glitter!