Recently, there have been quite a few articles surrounding the ongoing debate of parents who chose to fly with their children and the passengers onboard. While many parents believe they have a right to fly with their children, some passengers argue they are being subjected to unnecessary noise and sometimes even irritation.

So how do you keep kids [...]

Until last week, I hadn’t taken a vacation in quite a while. Sure, we take a day here and there to do things together as a family or visit relatives, but it’s been some time since I blocked off time to really get away and recharge my batteries.

Honestly, I think part of the reason we haven’t been away is that it’s such a huge production. Parents, you know what I’m talking about, right? You have to get ahead at work before you go, then worry you’re missing something while you’re gone. Just planning a vacation takes a lot of time and energy. There’s stress about costs, too. And if your kids are young, well, that doesn’t exactly make it any easier.

Sometimes, it feels like vacations actually cause stress, doesn’t it?

Last week, though, I finally did get a chance to get away. Ryan, our oldest, turned 18 (it’s unbelievable how fast time flies!) over spring break. We asked him what he wanted for the milestone, and he — being a big history buff — asked for a trip to Rome. Well, Ron and I played around a bit with the budget, saved up, and were able to make the trip happen for him.

The trip was almost like a gift for me, too, since it was the first vacation we’ve taken where I haven’t had to do much planning. We booked some tours and I gave Ryan the guidebooks. He took the lead while I focused on taking pictures and just trying to keep up! Although, I have to say that on most vacations I’m not as lucky since I usually carry the burden of planning which makes it difficult for me to enjoy things the whole time.

Here’s my advice… if you can, scale back and make sure your vacation is a stress-buster and not just another mammoth task on your to-do list.

Budget your money and your time.
As parents, we plan ahead for vacations by arranging things with the family’s schedule and making sure everything fits within the budget. But we don’t often plan out our time, as well. If you have some time off coming up, start planning ahead at work several weeks in advance so you don’t feel stressed out in the days immediately leading up to the vacation or slammed the minute you get back.

If your kids are old enough, have them help with the planning.
If there’s one thing I learned about this last trip (other than Italian food in Italy really IS incredible), it’s that it’s pretty amazing when you have willing and able travel agents in your own household.

The younger they are, the closer you should stay to home.
Long road trips or flights are tough for our little ones and they’re even tougher on you! If you can avoid having to spend long chunks of time traveling, do it. Have relatives come see you or use the time off to explore some of your area’s hidden gems. You just might have more money on-hand and less stress with a staycation.

Arrange child care ahead of time.
If you have younger children, think about arranging child care in advance. There’s a growing trend of families taking their nannies on vacation with them to help provide care for the kids and a little extra relaxation for the adults. You can also use Care.com to find babysitters in whatever U.S. city you’re planning on visiting.

If you’re thinking about bringing your nanny on vacation, check out the video below for some tips (or watch this one if you’re traveling with pets!).

So, do vacations excite you or scare you because they’re so much work? How do you manage the stress and create your own stress-free vacations?

We’re hoping to head out on a short family trip pretty soon. Sadly, our two puppies (Blake and Sydney) won’t be able to come with us. While we’re gone, they’ll be well taken care of by our great pet sitter.

Sometimes, we do go on trips where the dogs are welcome to come along, too. Typically, we prefer to drive with them then because we’ve found that they really don’t enjoy plane rides!

If you’re planning on flying somewhere this summer and bringing your dogs with you, here’s what you need to know to avoid “turbulence” in air travel.

Photo: Photos8.com, Flickr

We don’t do allowance in our house, just seems like the chores our kids do come with the territory. You know, the “you live here, so you must contribute” territory. But some kids do get a weekly pay, and I guess that’s OK, too. In fact, I just read about this idea, which makes sense. It goes like this: Don’t pay your kids just for doing what they should do anyway. But do redirect some money their way that would otherwise be spent on them. Say you’re in the grocery store, and little Johnny wants a candy bar. Instead of buying it for him, hand him the dollar it would cost you, and tell him he can buy it if he wants. Or he can keep the money and save or spend it later. The point is that it makes him decide whether the candy bar is a wise purchase. That’s what forking over funds for kids is all about, right? Letting them learn about managing money. I like. How about you?

Christians celebrate Easter Sunday, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a great time for daycare providers to enhance their lesson plans with story-time books and activities that celebrate the spring season.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free Easter worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

Easter Board and Picture Books Baby-Age 3

The Angel and The Dove: A Story for Easter by Sophie Piper and Kristina Stephenson [Lion Publishing UK, 2009]

Arthur’s Easter Activity Book by Marc Brown [Little Brown Company, 2002]

Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain [First Time Books, 2002]

Best Easter Eggs Ever by Jerry Smath [Cartwheel Books, 2003]

Best Easter Prize by Kristina Evens Collier [Cartwheel Books, 2010]

Easter Egg Hunt by Chuck Murphy [Little Simon, 1999]

The First Easter by Jesslyn DeBoer and David Austin Clar [Zonderkidz, 2005]

What is Easter? by Michelle Medlock Adams [Candy Cane Press, 2006]

Baby Strawberry’s First Easter by Si Artists [Grosset & Dunlap, 2007]

It’s Easter, Pooh! by RH Disney [Disney, 2003]

Panda’s Easter Basket by Tara jay Morrow and Aaron Boyd [Sterling, 2009]

Peter Cottontails Easter Egg Hunt by Joseph Ritchie and Rebecca Thornburgh [Candy Cane Press, 2007]

Easter Early Readers Ages 4-8

Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny by Lillian Hoban [HarperCollins, 1989]

My Good Shepard by Alice Joyce Davidson and David Austin Clar [Zonderkidz, 2005]

The Easter Club by Justine Korman Fontes and Lucinda McQueen [Cartwheel, 2003]

ABBY the Easter Chicken by Jenette Slay [Lulu.com, 2008]

Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus [Random House, 2009]

Minnie and Moo: The Attack of the Easter Bunnies [Deny’s  Cazet, 2005]

The Secret to Easter Eggs by Josephine Saccheri and Brian Saccheri [PublishAmerica, 2008]

The Animal’s Easter by Avril Rowlands and Rosslyn Moran [Lion Publishing Corp, 2000]

Are you Ready for Spring? by Almaflor Ada and Vivi Escriva [Santillana Publishing Company, 1999]

The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier and Frank Ordaz [Concordia Publishing House, 2004]

A Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor [Aladdin, 2004]

Easter Preschool Worksheets and Printables

There are many worksheets for Easter that you can print out and use for your lesson plans and activities. Worksheets should include coloring pages, handwriting worksheets, and printable craft patterns.

The following websites provide free Easter printables:

First-Preschool: Coloring pages, card, patterns, crafts and worksheets.

A to Z Teacher Stuff: Easter printables, coloring pages, activities and word searches

ABCTeach:  Free Easter worksheets and printables

DLTK’s Crafts for Kids: Easter recipes, worksheets, coloring pages, crafts, games and puzzles

All Kids Network: Free color Easter printable worksheets

Related posts:

• Dental Health Month Reading and Resource List: Free Dental Health Worksheets February is Children’s Dental health month which is sponsored by…
• Random Acts of Kindness Week: Free Reading and Resource List Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 15-21. Random…
• St Patrick’s Day Reading and Resource List: Free St. Patrick’s Day Activity Printables St Patrick’s Day is a holiday during which many parts…

Christians celebrate Easter Sunday, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a great time for daycare providers to enhance their lesson plans with story-time books and activities that celebrate the spring season.

Consider the following reading lists and resources for free Easter worksheets, coloring pages, and handwriting practice sheets for your child care center:

Reading List

Easter Board and Picture Books Baby-Age 3

The Angel and The Dove: A Story for Easter by Sophie Piper and Kristina Stephenson [Lion Publishing UK, 2009]

Arthur’s Easter Activity Book by Marc Brown [Little Brown Company, 2002]

Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Eggs by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain [First Time Books, 2002]

Best Easter Eggs Ever by Jerry Smath [Cartwheel Books, 2003]

Best Easter Prize by Kristina Evens Collier [Cartwheel Books, 2010]

Easter Egg Hunt by Chuck Murphy [Little Simon, 1999]

The First Easter by Jesslyn DeBoer and David Austin Clar [Zonderkidz, 2005]

What is Easter? by Michelle Medlock Adams [Candy Cane Press, 2006]

Baby Strawberry’s First Easter by Si Artists [Grosset & Dunlap, 2007]

It’s Easter, Pooh! by RH Disney [Disney, 2003]

Panda’s Easter Basket by Tara jay Morrow and Aaron Boyd [Sterling, 2009]

Peter Cottontails Easter Egg Hunt by Joseph Ritchie and Rebecca Thornburgh [Candy Cane Press, 2007]

Easter Early Readers Ages 4-8

Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny by Lillian Hoban [HarperCollins, 1989]

My Good Shepard by Alice Joyce Davidson and David Austin Clar [Zonderkidz, 2005]

The Easter Club by Justine Korman Fontes and Lucinda McQueen [Cartwheel, 2003]

ABBY the Easter Chicken by Jenette Slay [Lulu.com, 2008]

Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus [Random House, 2009]

Minnie and Moo: The Attack of the Easter Bunnies [Deny’s  Cazet, 2005]

The Secret to Easter Eggs by Josephine Saccheri and Brian Saccheri [PublishAmerica, 2008]

The Animal’s Easter by Avril Rowlands and Rosslyn Moran [Lion Publishing Corp, 2000]

Are you Ready for Spring? by Almaflor Ada and Vivi Escriva [Santillana Publishing Company, 1999]

The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier and Frank Ordaz [Concordia Publishing House, 2004]

A Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor [Aladdin, 2004]

Easter Preschool Worksheets and Printables

There are many worksheets for Easter that you can print out and use for your lesson plans and activities. Worksheets should include coloring pages, handwriting worksheets, and printable craft patterns.

The following websites provide free Easter printables:

First-Preschool: Coloring pages, card, patterns, crafts and worksheets.

A to Z Teacher Stuff: Easter printables, coloring pages, activities and word searches

ABCTeach:  Free Easter worksheets and printables

DLTK’s Crafts for Kids: Easter recipes, worksheets, coloring pages, crafts, games and puzzles

All Kids Network: Free color Easter printable worksheets

Related posts:

• Dental Health Month Reading and Resource List: Free Dental Health Worksheets February is Children’s Dental health month which is sponsored by…
• Random Acts of Kindness Week: Free Reading and Resource List Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 15-21. Random…
• St Patrick’s Day Reading and Resource List: Free St. Patrick’s Day Activity Printables St Patrick’s Day is a holiday during which many parts…

Good Morning!

Another busy week at the Garden School. This week is Easter Prep week. We will be learning about what Easter means and making Easter things. It’s going to be nice so we will spend as much of our recess time outdoors as we can.

We will be focusing on addition and subtraction in math class this week. We will play Suduko again and do some sorting and grouping and some number pattern work.

In reading, the children are simply reading. Miss Leigh says it’s a work of art.

We will be working on plaid in Fine Arts, and we will learn about the United States in Geography class.

We will experience artichokes this week along with another lasagna, roast pork, and chicken.

School will be closed on Good Friday – April 2.

Have a great week.

One of the things we have invented at the GS this year is something called taco bread. It’s a fun kind of bread the children really like. It’s easy to make and has all the things we find in tacos. It’s the kind of bread that you can make and serve with plain soup. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and run a hot sudsy sink.

Step One: run very hot water into a large bowl. When the bowl gets hot, drain the water and add two cups of water about the temperature of a baby’s bath. The warm bowl will keep the ingredients warm.

Step Two: Add two tablespoons of dry yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and 2 tablespoons of canola or olive oil. Let sit for five minutes while you put your oil container and sugar container away.

Step Three: Add a teaspoon of salt and enough flour one or two cups at a time to make a nice pliable bread dough. This will probably take 5-6 cups of flour. I use a combination of whole wheat pastry flour and white flour.

Step Four: punch your fist into the dough, then gather it up into a ball and punch again. Repeat about ten times, then let the dough sit outside the bowl about five minutes while you wash your bowl, cup, spoon and wipe down your counters.

Step Five: saute ground meat the way you would taco filling. Add taco seasoning and any vegetables you normally add. Drain and set aside while you wash your pan, wooden spoon or utensil.

Step Six: roll out the dough with a rolling pin as thin as you can get it and use flour underneath your dough as well as on top to prevent sticking. This might take up your whole counter area.

Step Seven: When dough is rolled out, sprinkle your taco filling onto the bread and cover the entire surface. Add six to eight ounces of shredded cheese.

Step Eight: start rolling the dough at one end as snugly as the dough will bear until it is completely rolled into a tight roll. Bend if necessary to fit on a cookie sheet.

Step Nine: beat an entire egg and paint the whole loaf bread for a lovely finish. Wash your bowl and fork or whisk.

Step Ten: Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Slice at about an inch intervals.

No school on Thursday or Friday, but we had a great trip to the zoo on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun to go through Amazonia and then forge out into the zoo. We broke up into two groups, the older kids with the younger teachers and the older teachers with the younger kids. It was a great day! The sun was out and the spring weather caused a lot of the animals to be out and about.

We saw the ground hogs, the wolves who gave a great showing, and then the birds of prey. They were all beautiful. Then we moved up to the giraffes and the zebras. I wish they would do something with that paddock. It’s so barren – almost makes me sad. We wound our way through the peacocks making eyes at one another and then we went to the snake house and the dark room. The children were able to watch the bats and the other night creatures! We came out through the hippo’s house.

We went to the children’s petting zoo and out the other side to the goats and the donkeys. Then off toward the kangaroos and the kookaburra and the emus and then the camels and the wild horses.

We saw the tigers and the lions and ended up at the rhino who was very gracious and smiled at us. Then it was of through the goose lake and up the hill past the ostriches. It was a lovely day.

The children were sweet as sweet could be and there were no complaints. We headed over to the Newburgh park and had lunch. They ate everything and enjoyed playing on the Fortress of Fun.

The day ended with a full romp outside.

Owners of daycare centers, home daycare providers, and preschools are affected by our waning economy.  Many daycare centers report that their enrollment rates have decreased as a result because unemployment is increasing. With less clients enrolled, childcare center owners are forced to lay off staff or cut staff hours and reduce services.

OwnADaycare asked childcare center owners and daycare business owners for solutions that may help raise enrollment and get clients back in to daycare.  Responses varied.

Joseph Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc., suggests focusing on customer care and client relationships. In addition, Schumacher advises childcare centers to continue to retain professional staff and uphold high-quality standards.

“Child care providers must continue to focus on customer care and building relationships each day.  Providers are also staying in contact with families who have had to withdraw, through correspondence such as newsletters and including them in school events.  Finally, in some instances, providers must be willing to adapt to families with changing economic circumstances, including offering expanded hours and/or “job interview” care for parents seeking employment.

Retaining and developing a professional faculty is the best way to continue word-of-mouth marketing from current parents.  A school’s faculty is the only real inventory it has and parents are willing to pay for the experience these educators offer their children,” explains Schumacher.

Julie Moye, co-owner of Kids ‘R’ Kids preschools in Cary, Morrisville and Research Triangle Park, N.C., also stresses the importance of continuing to provide high quality services, personal touches. Moye also suggests offering scholarships to clients:

“We have offered scholarships to many of our students whose families are in financial difficulty.  Kids R Kids operates its schools much like a family, and as a family, we are in this difficult economy together.  I think parents appreciate this approach and value this type of loyalty.  There is no substitute though for employing the finest teaching staff, management and implementing an excellent curriculum to bring families back to your school,” says Moye.

It may be necessary to consider offering unique and specialized child care services that other daycare businesses don’t offer in order to attract new clients. In this economy it is extremely important to market your daycare business as a high quality and unique business so that it stands out from others. Specialized child care services are in very high demand and offering them can be extremely lucrative for your thriving daycare business. These specialized services include 24 hour daycare, vacation daycare, green daycare, sick daycare, and drop-in child care.

Related posts:

• How the Economy has Affected Daycare and Childcare Businesses Owners of daycare centers, family daycares, and preschools are feeling…
• How Daycare Businesses Can Reduce Costs Owners of daycare centers, family daycare centers, and preschools are…
• How to Reduce Daycare and Preschool Costs Owners of daycare centers, home daycare providers, and preschools are…

Photo: mr. toaster, Flickr

So, whatcha think: Is Kate Gosselin dancing with the stars for fame or simply to support her kids? ParentDish says Gosselin claims kids come first.

Can’t afford pricey pedicures? Try these MomLogic DIY tips for your tootsies.

Prenatal nutrition can be confusing. The experts at Fit Pregnancy can help — they reveal what not to eat when baby’s on board.

Can you train a baby to sleep well? Lil Sugar discusses.

You’ve heard it before: The bedroom should be for two activities only: sleep and sex. Health.com tells you how to comply with this rule.

Owners of daycare centers, home daycare providers, and preschools are feeling the effects of our waning economy.  As well, parents are responding to our economic crisis by reducing household expenses and sometimes daycare is one of the first expenses they cut.

Statics show that daycare costs average between $3,380 and $10,787 a year for just one preschooler, according to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies.

OwnADaycare asked childcare center owners and daycare business owners for solutions that may help parents reduce daycare costs.  Responses varied:

“The only way to reduce day care costs is to cut back on a child’s schedule or seek out a less expensive program.  If a relative is available to help out, parents can reduce the number of days their child attends.  With regard to seeking out a less expensive program, parents need to be very careful that the program is run well.  As a rule of thumb, programs run by owners are more competitively priced than corporate-owned centers or franchises due to lower overhead, “explains Jann Rudd, owner of Lily Pond Country Day School in Rivervale, New Jersey.

“Parents too are looking at ways to cut child care costs.  They may exercise a flexible work schedule to lessen the number of hours/days needed for child care.  Also, parents look more carefully at programs now and want to get the best value for their child care dollars.  They look carefully at whether there are fees for enrichment programs that are charged in addition to tuition.  Ask if your School offers referral fees for referring new families.  Parents should look for a safe and secure environment with a high-quality faculty, an established curriculum and enrichment programs, all included in the tuition, “ says Joseph Schumacher, CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc.

“Part time schedules can offer access to childcare at reduced cost.  These might include Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, a Tuesday/ Thursday schedule, or half day schedule.  This allows parents to reduce costs, but still receive the benefits of a high quality preschool for their children,” says Julie Moye, co-owner of Kids ‘R’ Kids preschools in Cary, Morrisville and Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Another way for parents to reduce preschool costs is to enroll their child in a cooperative preschool, otherwise known as a “co-op” preschool. The cooperative preschool program is a non-profit organization that relies upon parent participation. While a qualified teacher, director, and staff are often employed, parents are relied upon to run the school and assist in the classroom on a rotational basis. The non-profit business of the preschool is also conducted by parents. This is a less expensive, yet high-quality, option.

Related posts:

• How the Economy has Affected Daycare and Childcare Businesses Owners of daycare centers, family daycares, and preschools are feeling…
• The Answer To Increasing Childcare Expenses Everyone knows how important childcare services are to most parents….
• Childcare Pricing Factors Childcare is really important in the world today. With the…

Honda of the UK Manufacturing are transferring childcare voucher provider as of April 2010.

Apple Childcare Vouchers are delivering a road show at the Swindon location to enable employees to ask questions and view a demonstration of the unique systems developed by Apple Childcare Vouchers.

If you are an employee Honda and would like to find out more information regarding the childcare voucher scheme or view the demonstration then come and meet a representative on:

• 1st April – Room 207  (Engine Plant) – 10am – 1pm

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sitters, want more jobs this year? Make a video!

Sittercity’s put together our own video to show you how to make yours. Simply watch our instructional video about How to Make Your Sitter Interview Video, set up your camcorder, and download the file to Youtube and link to it via your account when done!

Happy [...]

Sitters, want more jobs this year? Make a video!

Sittercity’s put together our own video to show you how to make yours. Simply watch our instructional video about How to Make Your Sitter Interview Video, set up your camcorder, and download the file to Youtube and link to it via your account when done!

Happy [...]

Nottingham Community Housing Association are launching Apple Childcare Vouchers.

If you work for Nottingham Community Housing Association, come and meet a representative who will explain how the scheme works, the benefits of using childcare vouchers and the possible negatives and also demonstrate our unique online childcare vouchers system.

Come and see for yourself how much you can save!

• 31st March – 12.30pm – 1.30pm – Training Room 2, Kingswood House
• 12th April – 12.30pm – 1.30pm -   Training Room 2, Kingswood House

I hope to meet lots of employees on the day.

Marcus

Nottingham Community Housing Association are launching Apple Childcare Vouchers.

If you work for Nottingham Community Housing Association, come and meet a representative who will explain how the scheme works, the benefits of using childcare vouchers and the possible negatives and also demonstrate our unique online childcare vouchers system.

Come and see for yourself how much you can save!

• 31st March – 12.30pm – 1.30pm – Training Room 2, Kingswood House
• 12th April – 12.30pm – 1.30pm -   Training Room 2, Kingswood House

I hope to meet lots of employees on the day.

Marcus

Good Morning!

This is Spring Break Week. We will be in school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. School will be closed on Thursday and Friday. We are planning a trip to the zoo on Wednesday. The cost is $10.00. Schools shirts must be worn.

This week we do class work. Because Mrs. St. Louis will be out of school these next weeks, Miss Judy will be teaching the Math Program. Our teachers will be covering Mrs. St. Louis both in the classroom and out. Please pray for her. She will have surgery on Friday.

It is now a push for excellence in the classroom. Children will spar and vie for top positions in the classroom. This is a time for competitive classroom games and achievement. Small achievements will be rewarded and published. Parents can help by asking children what they know and adding to their skills. Please keep in touch with all the teachers about what your child is learning.

Have a great week!