From all of us here at More4kids, Happy 4th of July. The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of the United States of America. Founded July 4th 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America is celebrating its 232nd birthday this year (2008). 

It is a time for families and friends not only to come together and have fun, but also a time to honor our Veterans and men and women who are putting their lives in danger every day for us, and those who have made the biggest sacrifice for our freedom with their lives. Try to throw your politics aside, and let us all take a moment to think about, and be grateful to all who wear the American uniform, and to our police and firefighters who protect us day in and out. They all deserve our recognition and thanx, more than we can put in words. And don’t forget the spouses and families of those in uniform. It takes very special people to be part of a military family, and our hearts, thanx, and recognition should go out to them too.

No matter whether you travel across the country to celebrate our nation’s birthday, or decide to stay at home in your own backyard, there are many different ways to make this a very special holiday.

All that is needed for a fantastic Fourth are three key ingredients:

1. A Plan
2. Preparation
3. and much, much Enthusiasm.

We’ll provide the plan to get you started!

Ready? Set?

Not lets get the ball on the road and get going!

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Mother’s Day is a tradition that has been celebrated all throughout history. On this special day, Dads and kids all around the nation gather to show the mother in their life how much they appreciate and cherish them. If you are a dad that is searching out for ideas that you and the kids can use to order to achieve the goal of making mom’s day special, then this can serve as a very powerful tool and resource. Here, you will find many different creative ideas that you can put to good use. In the end, your wife will feel absolutely honored that you have taken the time to devise a way of showing her how much you and the children love and cherish her!

Memory Movie

One of the first and most impressive strategies that you can use to ensure that you are successful in making Mom’s day special is to create a memory movie. This is not a difficult task, but there are many different supplies that must be obtained in order to complete this Mother’s Day gift. These items are as follows:

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Grandmas love surprises, and there is nothing more special than a homemade gift that comes from the heart, even if they don’t have a use for the gift. They know just how to fawn over present given in love. Here are a few ideas Mom and Grandchildren can work on together to make Mothers Day extra special:

1. Potpourri pies are popular in gift stores. Here’s how your little one can create a similar experience. Create this pie with a disposable pie shell. Make a bottom pie crust out of flour/salt dough. Add a potpourri that smells like your grandmother’s favorite scent, and then create a lattice pattern out of the dough. Cover the potpourri and allow the dough to harden overnight. To enjoy the potpourri, “bake” the pie in a warm oven.

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Earth Day and kids go hand in hand. This is a special day set aside to bring awareness to conservation efforts and help educate people on how to be more earth friendly.  Parents can use April 22nd to teach their kids how to respect the earth and what they can do to make a difference.

One thing that most people do anyway is to recycle.  If you don’t, contact your trash service and request recycling pick up.  Most trash companies will do this for free, but you may need to use their special recycling bin.  Kids can learn to recycle in several different ways.  First, teach them how to identify whether an item is able to be recycled or not.  The easiest way to check this is to look for the recycling symbol on the item.  Things like plastic bottles and newspapers are almost always recyclable.

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Local Activities For Kids 

Not every family can travel during spring break. And how many of us have truely explored our own local community. We live in Chattanooga, TN, and were amazed of all the local activities we could get involved in when we moved into the area. In Chattanooga we have great parks, a sea Aquarium, a small zoo, camping, and great views, especially from Lookout Mountain.

Like us, many parents may not be able to get the week off of work, or there just might not be enough money in the budget for a trip. But that doesn’t mean that your family can’t have some spring break fun. There are plenty of things that you can do locally as a family. These include:

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The Easter Bunny has made his residence at the mall and the chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans can be found everywhere you go to shop. It’s Eastertime- a time when every kid looks forward to getting a great big basket full of goodies and toys.

It’s hard, especially in these busy, errand full days, to help make Jesus the focus of your family celebration. It takes a bit of ingenuity and time to make sure that your kids understand that Jesus is the center of this celebration and that his sacrificial death is the reason for the season that includes a giant bunny who brings eggs and goodies.
But how do we refocus?

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Most kids love to spend time in the kitchen. Why not foster their love of cooking and baking with a few treats for Valentine’s Day! Here are a few ideas that are easy and simple enough for kids to make with proper supervision.

• My kids learned to cook by making breakfast. Surprise the family with a breakfast created by the younger members of the family. Heart-shaped pancakes can be made with a mold in the frying pan or on the griddle. Omelets in the shape of love can be created using the same mold. If Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, kids can plan their Valentine’s Day breakfast for the Sunday before the day so that everyone can relax and enjoy the breakfast. 

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Most children love celebrating Valentine’s Day. There is a lot of excitement that occurs during this holiday. Children get to enjoy various crafts, social gatherings, and, of course, indulging in lots of sweet treats! If you are in the process of gathering ideas for Valentine’s Day activities for kids, you have stopped at the right spot! Here, you will be introduced to a number of fun and exciting activities for your child.

Valentine’s Day Party

No Valentine’s Day is complete without a party! There are many different things that can be done to make a party for this particular holiday fun and exciting for kids. The key to a successful Valentine’s Day party is interaction! Make sure that there are plenty of games and activities that the kids can participate in! Detailed below are some great ideas that you can implement at the Valentine’s Day party that will be throwing!

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Wow, 2007 is almost over and 2008 is upon us. Now is the time for New Years resolutions. Now is the time to make resolutions that will help build a stronger, happier, and healthier family. For me there was so much I wanted to do with my family that I did not. However, it is not important to dwell about the past but look to 2008 with optimism and excitement. If you failed on resolutions in the past, make smaller ones that can be easily accomplished and build on those successes. Keep a list of your resolutions and small steps you will take to make them happen. Talk about your resolutions with your family, and have your spouse or kids help hold you accountable to those resolutions! In fact, everyone in the family should participate and hold each other accountable. For me there is nothing more powerful then my five year old looking at me in the eyes and reminding me what I had promised to do! Here are some resolutions for mom and dad to think about, and if your kids are old enough have them join in and come up with some New Years resolutions on their own.  

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"Are we there YET?" You’ve heard this for the thirteenth time in three minutes and you’re nerves are about to shatter. "No, honey – we’re a lot closer now than we were." Then you get the whines and the moans from the back seat. This is something that a lot of people have had to deal with during a vacation or other family trip. Long hours in cars and on airplanes do not mix with small children! They have short attention spans and their little brains are programmed to run, jump and climb like monkeys. They have no desire to sit for several more hours until you reach your destination.

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Barbie Girls Helps Young Girls Keep Up With and Make Friends Online

Every year Girls are asking Santa Claus for their favorite dolls for Christmas.  This year Barbie has made a few changes.  Mattel has come up with the Barbie Girls newest doll.  This doll is also an mp3 player and a key to unlocking several items online at www.BarbieGirls.com where there are many other activities available for your young ladies.  With technology ever changing it’s nice to see the Barbie is keeping up with the times.

Barbie girls web site allows young girls to decorate their own space.  When a child signs up they have to get their parents’ permission.  Without their parents’ permission they are not allowed to use the web site.  No personal identifiable information is taken besides the parents e-mail address.  Girls are able to create their own user identifications and create their own Barbie avatar.  Players are able to chat with one another.  The chat is set up to be safe for the children involved.  While wandering through other people’s bedrooms and shops on the web site the avatars are able to chat with one another only by selecting the phrases that are available on the site.

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Beyond Santa Claus

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The Nintendo Wii Increases Fitness and Encourages Family Activities. It is in high demand this year, as it has been since it was first released. It isn’t only seasoned gamers who are asking for this game console, the Wii has appeal to everyone.  Some places are limiting how many can be purchased per household each month to try to keep up with supply and demand. One console can be used by 4 players at once so the only reason families would have to purchase multiple consoles would be to use as gifts. And these make great gifts. Age doesn’t matter; the Wii has something for everyone from preschoolers to seniors.

This isn’t your ordinary sit-on-your-butt-in-front-of-the-television type game. This game console has put active into interactive games. The Wii comes with Wii Sports, a set of sports that can be played with the Wii console and Remote individually or in groups. Players control their onscreen characters by their movements.

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From all of us here at More4kids we wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Even if things are not perfect, it is important to reflect on what we have, and to help out those that may be less fortunate than us. No matter how bad things can be they can always be worse. Thanksgiving for me is a time to reflect and be grateful. It is a time for family and friends. For me I am very happy and grateful to God to have two beautiful and healthy boys, and to have a loving wife which I cherish dearly. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Christmas is an excellent time to start some projects with your kids. Children love creating little, unique projects that they can use to decorate the home. Many children really enjoy creating gifts that they can use to give as gifts to their friends and their family members. Here, you will be introduced to some easy Christmas projects and crafts for kids. These projects are appropriate for kids of all ages and are great fun for the whole family!

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