5 easy Halloween crafts for kids

With Halloween right at the corner, it's time to decorate the house and/or the classroom. Here are 5 easy and school friendly crafts for your little ones. My 3 1/2 year old and I did them all on a Sunday afternoon,, it was too windy to be outside and we already watched way too much television. I decided to take out our craft supplies and decorate the house. My son loved making them and they were not too messy to clean up at the end.

 Paper Pumpkin ornament

• orange paper strips,1/2 inch wide (min. of 10)
• hole punch
• green pipe cleaner

Using the hole punch, pierce a small hole through both ends of each strip. Gently thread the pipe cleaner through one hole in each strip of paper. Once all strips have been threaded onto the pipe cleaner, begin with one END of the bottom-most strip of paper and thread it onto the top of the pipe cleaner and hold it in place. Working in a counter-clockwise direction, and always taking the bottom-most strip of paper, continue threading additional strips onto the wire and hold them in place. Work your way through all of the strip of paper. At the end, twist the top into a leaf with the pipe cleaner to hold in place the paper strips. This one was too hard for my son to do, but it's perfect for my students from grade 1 to 6.

Paper Pumpkin centerpiece

• construction paper (min. 2 different colors)
• scissor
• glue
• green pipe cleaner

Cut at least for 4 identical circles with construction paper. Fold each circle in half. Apply glue on one of its folded faces. Glue a second folded pumpkin shape on top of the first one, keeping both 1/2 circle shapes aligned at the edges. Then glue the first and last 1/2 circle shapes together. Attach the green pipe cleaner to the top and twist it to form a couple leave. This one was also a little too hard for my 3 year old, but I will be perfect for my students.

Gummed paper pumpkin (easy for young children)

• 2 sheets of construction paper (black)
• orange paper cut in small pieces and a few green pieces
• scissor

Cut a pumpkin shape on 1 sheet with the black paper. Glue the small orange pieces on the pumpkin shape and some green pieces for the stem. With the other black sheet, cut 3 triangles and a mouth for the pumpkin face. Glue them on top of the gummed orange paper. 

No mess stickers on window (easy for young children)

• All purpose clear wrap
• Halloween stickers

Cut a piece of an all purpose clear wrap and stick it to the window. Let your child put stickers on it. After Halloween, just remove the clear wrap from the window.

Very easy and fun witch hat (easy for young children)

• Black construction paper
• Glitter glue
• Halloween stickers
• Stapler 

Let your kids decorate their paper with stickers and glitter glue. When they are done, staple the paper to form a cone.

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm baking, fall is here! Banana & Pear Bread

With the pears season at it's peak right now, I received so many pears from friends and neighbors that I started to not know what to do with them. Some of them started to go bad, so I decided to give a twist to my traditional banana bread. It turn out great. The bread was very tasty and  moist. The pears bring a natural sweet taste.  It was also a hit with my 3 year old.

Preparation: 20 minutes       Baking time: 55 minutes         Oven: 350°F        Makes: 1 Loaf

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1 cup of oatmeal

-11/2 teaspoons of baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon of salt

-1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

-1/2 tablespoon of ground flax seed (optional)

-2 eggs

-3 medium bananas, mashed

-2 pears, without the skin and chopped finely

-1/2 cup of sugar

-1/2 cup of applesauce

-1/2 cup of cooking oil or melted butter

-1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

-1/4 cup of raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°f. Grease the bottom of a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flax seed. Make a well in the center of your flour mixture and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, bananas, pears, sugar,melted butter, walnuts and raisins. Add the mixture at once to the flour mixture. Stir until moistened. Spoon batter into your loaf pan. 

Bake for about 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center come out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a rack. 

5 Effective and Positive Discipline tricks for toddlers

I recently went to a seminar for my work about effective and good discipline for kids. Although the program was implemented to be used for the public school system, I found many good and useful tools and tips for parenting at-home. The number 1 rule is to be consistent on your discipline. Sound easier than it really is. Our family doesn't have a strict schedule, so to be consistent all the time requires more self-disciple from my part. Consistency is very important when it comes to discipline. When you say "no hitting" the first time your child smacks another child on the playground, you also need to say "no hitting" the second, third, and fourth times your child does it. Using the same words every time you teach your child good behavior will help her following the guideline better. Rule number 2 is to think like your child. Toddlers are not mini-adults. They have a hard time understanding many of the things we take for granted, such as how to follow directions or behave appropriately. Seeing the scenario from your kid viewpoint can help prevent a tantrum and help them understanding better their surrounding. Just ask yourself why your kid did this and it will help you communicate better with your child. Rule number 3 is the art of distraction. When you want to avoid a bad situation, redirecting your child is often the key. It' s time to take advantage of the toddler's short attention span. When your child has been running around dining room table for the 10th time after you've said to stop, redirecting your child to a more productive activity, like moving the game outside or offering a new game like a scavenger hunt around the house can save you an outburst from your little one. Rule number 4 is to give your child a break. The very popular "time-outs" can sometime work, but they may not be the best approach for the toddler stage. The negative implication of being sent away can teach kids that they're bad, rather than promote good behavior. Instead created a "cozy corner," a safe place, without distractions and stimulation, where your child can just relax for a few minutes until she can get back in control. That time away can help you to calm down, as well. And rule number 5 is pick your battles. Not every situations are worth the headache of an argument. My kid is very stubborn and he knows already exactly what he wants when he wants it. Certain things are non-negotiable, like brushing his teeth, eating meals, sitting in his car seat or biting and hitting. But many other situations are easy to give in and can be fun to go with instead of having dispute. Hope this can help your strong-minded child and you to have more good days that bad days.