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
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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
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
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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.
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- 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:
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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 More4kids
Diversity Makes the World Go Around
Even in the 21st century, kids grow up with a lot of prejudice and misinformation about other cultures and races around the world. Often these prejudices come out in their relationships with people at school, and even in relationships that they have later in life. For this reason, it's very important that as parents we work to raise globally aware kids.
The world is a much smaller place than ever before, and teaching kids to be globally aware is an important part of their education. While many parents think they can't expose their children to the world because of travel costs, raising kids that are globally aware doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, there are many things you can do that don't require traveling abroad or even spending a lot of money. If you are concerned about raising your children to be globally aware, here are some easy parenting tips that can help you achieve this.
Tip #1 - Purchase a Nice Globe
One great thing you can do to work on raising globally aware kids is to simply purchase a nice globe for your home. Of course, make sure that it is up to date, so you can use it for a reference in your home. A globe isn't that expensive, so for a few bucks you can make your kids more globally aware.
Tip #2 - Sample Cuisine from Other Countries
Perhaps the best way to get to know a culture is to start out by sampling their food. You may want to take a night a week, or even just one night a month to sample cuisine from other countries. Often you can purchase takeout with different culture flavors, but you may have more fun if you prepare the dishes on your own. Perhaps get some recipes, buy the ingredients, and then get the kids involved. You'll all enjoy cooking these interesting dishes together, and once they are done, you can sample them and have a great time together as a family enjoying the tastes of various cultures.
Tip #3 - Consider Learning a Language as a Family
Learning a language on your own or at school can be hard. However, consider learning a language as a family if you want to increase global awareness for your kids. You could take classes locally or get a good home program. Many kids find a new language exciting, but don't make it feel like work or like school to them. Make it fun and enjoy speaking to each other with the new phrases that you learn. READ More on Parenting Tips for Raising Globally Aware Kids
Filed under Parenting, Parenting Tips by More4kids
by Patricia Hughes
Happy Family of Four enjoying quality family time!
Years ago, I heard Bill Cosby say in a stand up comedy routine that parents don't care about fairness, they just want quiet. At the time, I had no children and it was just funny. Later, as a parent I saw it again and recognized it as a pearl of wisdom. All parents want a peaceful home.
I know all parents want peace because my children like to watch Nanny 911 and the lack of peace is a recurrent theme. This show taught me a valuable lesson, and not just that things aren't as bad in my home as they seem. Whatever the other issues in a family, a lack of peace is always at the core.
A few years ago, I was starting to struggle with sibling fighting, squabbling and yelling. The child not involved in the fight would end up turning up the TV or CD player in response to the noise. On some days, the noise level was out of control. It was destroying the peace in our family and affecting all of us. We'd find ourselves yelling in response to their fighting and it had a negative effect the parents and children.
Around that time I came across a book that caught my eye in Borders. The book is Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids: Practical Ways to Create a Calm and Happy Home by Naomi Drew. That book helped me realize that a peaceful family begins with me. If I wanted to change the dynamic in the house, it was possible. In this book, Drew discusses what she calls three essentials for peaceful parenting that I have used with our kids with success.
The first is to make the home a place of kind words. In our family, the sibling fighting often starts when one of the kids says something mean or puts down another child. That child responds with another insult. The fight soon escalates. To break this cycle, there should be a rule that no person puts down any other member of the family and the rule needs to be enforced. READ More on Parenting: A Peaceful Family Begins With Me
Filed under Communication, Family, Parenting by More4kids
Interview by Jennifer Shakeel
One of the most heartbreaking things for me is seeing a child that is hurting, lonely and sick. If I could I would adopt every child that did not have a parent, because I believe that every child deserves to have a mom and a dad, a family to call their own. I realize that I am not alone in this feeling, there are many people out there that when they see a helpless child want to reach out and do something, they just don't know how to go about it.
Recently I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Karen Maunu. Karen is the Associate Executive Director of Love Without Boundaries and before I go into what we talked about, I really want you to understand why this organization and this woman are incredible.
Love Without Boundaries is a organization that is comprised of people from all over the world working towards one common goal, to improve the lives of orphaned and impoverished children in China. You may wonder why China, consider this fact. Each and every year there are 17 million registered births in China and each and every year there are innumerable babies that are left unregistered and abandoned by their parents… because they are either disabled and/or female.
In the year of 1979 the Chinese government instituted a new policy in attempts to manage population. That policy stated that married couples were only allowed to have one child. This coupled with the fact that generally speaking Chinese culture sees females and disabled people as inferior compared to healthy males. In the US, the birth defect rate is 1 in 47, in China it is 1 in 8…this is from our demand for consumer goods…the amount of pollution spewing toxins into their environment is causing this. Reference: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKPEK155250._CH_.242020071029
Love Without Boundaries is dedicated to making sure that as many children as they can help receive humanitarian aid in Foster Care, Healing Homes, Education, Medical and Orphanage Assistance. The overall goal is to help these children finally have a family to call their own. Believe it or not Love Without Boundaries (LWB) was started in 2003. It was a group of adoptive parents that started LWB in an effort to save a little boy in China. He needed to have heart surgery, without it he would perish. They helped save his life, and it was then that they realized that a true and "pure love for helping children can truly make a difference."
For me, when it comes to charitable organizations, I always wonder why a person chooses one charity over another. It is this question that started my conversation with Karen. Rather than trying to summarize what she said, I think it is important that you read exactly what inspired her. Now, here is the Interview:
READ More on Hope for a Child: Love without Boundaries
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.READ More on Living Green - Dominion and Stewardship of God's Creation
Filed under Activities, Family, Green Living by More4kids
