Here are some tips to save on School Supplies from More4kids:
Follow these tips to keep more of your money in your wallet as your kids head back to school:School Supplies: Stock up during the sales
Filed under Activities, Education and School by 
Beyond Santa Clausby Stacey Schifferdecker
When my children were young, we started a new holiday reading tradition. We would put aside our traditional night time books for the month, and every night of December, we would read a Christmas book. This was a great to have some calm and peaceful moments together at the end of the day. If you'd like to start a similar tradition, here are some of our favorite Christmas books for you to try (in no particular order) — enough to get you through the first half of December.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
by Dr. Seuss
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
Yes, it was a book before Chuck Jones made the fabulous animated version we all grew up with and Ron Howard made the live action version starring Jim Carrey. Why read this book? Well, it's got those great Dr. Seuss rhymes, a funny story line, and amusing illustrations. On top of that, it's a sweet story about the transformational power of love. (It does send the erroneous message that the purpose of Christmas is family togetherness. I make a point of telling my kids that being together as a family is a Christmas bonus, but that the real purpose of Christmas is to celebrate Jesus' birth.)
Country Angel Christmas
by Tomie dePaola
St. Nicholas invites the Country Angels to coordinate heaven's Christmas celebration this year. The angels get busy baking, decorating, and learning songs. Unfortunately, no one can seem to find a way to let the three littlest Country Angels help until St. Nicholas gives them the job the other angels have all forgotten: fetching the Christmas star.
We like to read this book on the day we hang the angels on our Advent calendar.
READ More on Best Christmas Books to Share with Your Children
Filed under Christmas, Education and School, Holidays by
by Stacey Schifferdecker
Have you heard the new Christmas song by Matthew West and Amy Grant called Give this Christmas Away? Every time I hear this song or see the video, it brings tears to my eyes.
The video is on the latest Veggie Tale DVD, St. Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving or you can see it on Youtube.
If you are inspired to give Christmas away, here are some ideas to help you get started. It may be too late to try some of these ideas this year, but you can get a head start on next year.
Fill a Shoebox
The Give this Christmas Away video features children receiving Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes through Samaritan's Purse. Operation Christmas Child is a great way you and your children can share God's love and the true story of Christmas with children from around the globe. All you do is wrap a shoebox (wrap the lid separately) and then fill it with toiletries, toys, and school supplies. You can choose whether you are filling a box for a boy or a girl and for what age. Then you just take your box to a local collection center; the website lists collection sites all over the United States and Canada. Samaritan's Purse asks that you include $7 per box to help with shipping costs. If you pay the $7 online, you can get a code to track where your box ends up.READ More on Giving Christmas Away
Filed under Activities, Christmas, Holidays by
by Stacey Schifferdecker
This young lady is in the Christmas spirit
I remember watching a Sesame Street Christmas special a few years ago when Elmo wishes it could be Christmas every day. Of course, he soon realizes that Christmas every day really wouldn't be a good idea: people need to work, sing other songs, celebrate other holidays, and generally have a break from the whirlwind that Christmas often becomes. But how about the Christmas spirit – the love, kindness, and generosity we often find overflowing at Christmas? Can we help keep that Christmas spirit alive for our children all year long? Absolutely! And it may be easier than you think. The key is to model the Christmas spirit to our children every day in our own behavior.
Practice kindness
I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
William Penn
Kindness is easy to practice all year long. If you have a big cart of groceries, let the person with just a few items go ahead of you. Hold a door open for the people behind you. Speak politely to everyone and refrain from gossip.READ More on Christmas Every Day
Advent Wreath
by Stacey Schifferdecker
The month before Christmas has got to be the longest time of year for kids! Not renowned for their patience anyway, kids have to wait and wait for the big day. It doesn't help that Christmas decorations go on sale in September now and that radio stations begin playing Christmas songs on Halloween. Help you kids make it through the long days of December by celebrating Advent. Even better, Advent also helps you keep the focus of Christmas on Jesus rather than Santa Claus, presents, and other commercial aspects of Christmas.
Advent is a Latin word that actually means "coming." In the Christian church, advent is time of preparation and waiting for the birth of Jesus. Advent officially begins four Sundays before Christmas, which means it often begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
So how can you celebrate Advent? One way is to buy or make an Advent wreath to lay on your table. An Advent wreath typically consists of greenery with four candles, three purple and one pink. Each candle has a specific meaning:READ More on Celebrating Advent with Children
by Stacey Schifferdecker
It's Not Fair!
With Thanksgiving approaching, I am struck by thoughts of fairness and gratitude. I never really thought of these two concepts being related, but we are currently in a phase of "That's not fair!" at my house. W, the middle school boy, says it isn't fair that his friend B has a cell phone and he doesn't. J, the elementary school girl, says it isn't fair that W gets to eat pizza at the church youth group meeting and that everyone has a later bed time than she does. And K doesn't think it's fair that he has so darn many math problems to do every night.
So why does all this whining make me think of gratitude? I sure don't feel grateful for the kids' bad attitudes! Unfortunately, many times a cry of "It's not fair!" is a symptom of an ungrateful heart. W, for example, should be grateful that he gets picked up from school instead of walking home like B does. J at least has food to eat and a warm, safe bed to sleep in. And K has a nice graphing calculator to speed up his Algebra II homework.
All of this reminds me of the Bible parable that my Sunday school class seems to have a hard time grasping. As Jesus told the story, a man sent workers into the vineyard in the morning, after agreeing to pay them a denarius for their day's work. A few hours later, he sent more workers to join them, and a few hours later even more workers. The end of the day came and all the workers received the same payment, whether they had worked one hour or the whole day. The workers who had been there all day protested with the classic cry of "It's not fair!" And the response of the master? "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:13-16).READ More on Its Not Fair! – Thanksgiving Thoughts on Fairness and Gratitude
Filed under Parenting by
by Patricia Hughes
Teen Spending the Afternoon with her Dad
Most parents understand that their influence is important for their children, which is why so many parents spend time reading and thinking about parenting. Most of the research and news focuses on the importance of a stable family for children, but new studies have focused on the role Dad plays in his teenage daughter's life.
A study conducted at the University of Illinois was published in Child Development journal. This study looked at the correlation between sexual activity and parent-child relationships. Researchers interviewed over 3200 teens and their parents. The questions centered on interaction with parents.
Parents were asked questions regarding their knowledge of their kids' friends and how they spent their time. The answers were scored based on how much the parents knew about their teens and friends. Researchers compared this score with the rate of sexual activity in the teens.READ More on Importance of Dad for Teen Girls
Filed under Parenting by
Reserve your date:
January|February |March|April |May |June | July |August |September | October |November |December
More4kids is Accredited by the Better Business Bureau - Click to Verify
Thankyou for your interest in becoming a More4kids Sponsor
We believe what goes around comes around. A More4kids Sponsor will receive a full day of Social Media blitz. A sponsor can be a company or an Individual. A portion of the sponsorship will also go directly to one of our favorite children's charities.
Lets get started, First, a company or individual will be able to be a More4kids Sponsor for a whole day in 2010. Each day in 2010 will only have one unique sponsor. What that means is that there will only be available 365 sponsorship opportunities in 2010. The cost of sponsorship will depend on the day sponsored. January 1st will only cost $2, and the cost will go up by $2 each day so the cost of Dec 31st will be $730.
As a Recap, here is what the sponsor will receive:
- One Youtube video created by myself. The sponsor can send me something with their logo on it (t-shirt – extra large please), hat, jacket, etc) and I will display that logo, shirt etc on the video. Please be aware of the time of year and don't send me a sweatshirt in the middle of summer. The video will either be myself talking about your site or a video tour of your site.
- OR, For individuals, the video can include a "Happy Birthday", a "Thankyou", or special message to your child, family member or loved one.
- The video will be submitted to many other social media video sites.
- Sponsor will be Tweeted about throughout the day with a link to their site if they have one.
- An article on www.more4kids.info with a pic of their logo and profound thanks.
- If the person/company has a banner/ad we will also include it on our site.
- Helping to keep great articles and content at More4kids for another year and helping children at the same time.
- plus much much more…
After you purchase your day of sponsorship here is what we need:
- Product with your logo. If you are sending a Sweater or T-shirt please make it x-large, jackets should be large if sponsoring myself or my wife.
- Products should be recieved a full 30 days before the day sponsored.
- Products need to be sent to our corporate headquarters: More4kids Inc, 8711 Ellington Way, Chattanooga, TN. 37421
Other Notes:
- If you send a wearable item we will try to wear it the full day, but in some circumstances may not be able to. Wearing the item the full day is not guaranteed, but we will do our best. The item will definitely be featured on the website and video.
- Please note the time of year. If it is summer for example please don't send a sweatshirt or jacket. If you do we will still wear and show it in our videos, but may not be able to wear it the full day.
- We reserve the right to reject any sponsor. If we do a refund will be sent.
- Sponsors may request more than 1 day.
- Special requests are possible, so if you have a fun idea let us know and we will quote a cost. For example you may want to sponsor the whole More4kids family (myself, wife and both sons), or have us travel to your location.
- Once the date is sponsored no refund will be given unless we reject the sponsorship.
- All Sponsors must be 18 or older, or have written permission sent to us and confirmed with a phone call.
Now to Sponsor a date, Select a month below and you will be taken to a page with the cost for the day and where you can reserve a date:
January |February |March|April |May |June |July |August |September |October |November |December
Filed under News by
Why YOU are Never Too Young to Make a Difference!
The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes
Whether you are 10, 12, 15, 17, or any other age, you probably don't think adults are going to listen to you. Maybe you have a cause you are passionate about, but you don't think anyone will listen to what a kid or teen will have to say. You're wrong! You may be young, you may not have all the answers, but you are truly never to young to make a difference in this world. Take for instance a young girl, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who was able to speak to the entire United Nations Assembly when it met in Brazil several years ago. At that point in time, she was only twelve years old, and what she would say there in front of leaders from all over the world would silence the entire world and make them think.
At the age of twelve, Severn had raised the money needed to travel to Brazil to attend the UN Assembly. From Canada, this was about 5,000 miles from home for her – a long way for a 12 year old to travel and it was a lot of money for a 12 year old to raise, but she did it. She was convinced that she had something worth saying that the leaders of the United Nations needed to hear, and she was determined to use her words in a powerful way.READ More on Kids CAN Make A Difference: The Girl Who Silenced the World
Filed under Green Living, News, Parenting by
