Crafts, Games, and Activities for Kids During Winter Break

Its almost here. The holidays are coming, so is the dreaded winter break and cabin fever that comes along with it. Here are a few crafts, games and activities to keep the kids engaged and parents sane during Christmas break, in New York and around the country.

Bake cookies: Toddlers through elementary school kids can help bake holiday cookies. Kids ages 5 and under can arrange pre-portioned refrigerated cookie dough on cookie sheet and decorate with icing. Parents of older kids can start from a mix (or scratch) and have the kids help with much of the prep work. Cost: Under $5.
Make ornaments or art display: Children young and old can make artwork either to display on a ledge or mantle, or hung on a Christmas tree. Materials from a neighborhood nature walk, such as pine cones and leaves, can be used to make ornaments or wreaths. Children who have learned to cut can make snowflakes with coffee filters to celebrate the winter solstice. Sticker based art, available on specialty stores such as Oriental Trading, or retailers such as Target and Walmart, can engage the younger kids. Cost: Free to $5.
Make a picture book, photo diary or journal: Grade school children can write a story or make themed picture books, such as the stories and legends behind the various holidays such as Hannukah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa. They can also write a holiday journal. Younger children can draw pictures, or paint coloring pages that can be collated into a picture book. Cost: Free to $5.
Spend family time reading, doing puzzles or imaginative play: A quick trip to the library or store for books and puzzles can result in hours of quality family time that is also educational. Children can also engage in hours of imaginative play making ribbons, castles, tents or boats with used packaging and scrap gift wrap supplies. Cost: Free to $10.

Enroll in a mini camp: Although most activities are closed during the break, a few (such as Super Soccer Stars in the New York tristate area), run special winter mini camps and clinics. Cost: $200-300.
Visit indoor play spaces: Some kids play spaces, such as bouncy castle operator Bounce U, have open play sessions that can help kids burn off energy and get rid of cabin fever. Other places for family fun include bowling, laser tag or even Chuck-e-Cheese. Cost: $10-30.
Play outdoors: Older children can enjoy winter sports like ice skating, hockey and skiing. Snow or no snow, it is always fun to take a short nature or neighborhood walk. Both these get kids burn off energy and cure cabin fever. Cost: Free.
Take a walking tour: Nature walks double as scavenger hunts and can yield supplies for arts and crafts. In urban areas such as New York, a walking tour can focus on holiday decorations in public spaces. A favorite walking tour involves starting at 42 ^nd Street and 6 ^th Avenue, walking up to 59 ^th Street while enjoying the giant Christmas decorations outside the various office buildings, walking across to 5 ^th Avenue, then walking down 5 ^th Avenue looking at the famed window decorations as well as lights at the department stores. The tour culminates at the Rockfeller Center Christmas Tree and skating rink. Cost: Free.
Drive by holiday decorations tour: Sundown at 4:30 pm offers the opportunity to drive around looking at holiday decorations outside private homes in suburban areas. Some cities run competitions for best decorated house or even tours. Several websites are dedicated to houses with impressive holiday lights displays in Long Island. So pack the kids in the car, lower the sunroof and drive! Cost: Free.
Visit museums: Museums not only have great educational value, but many also are dressed up for the holidays. Many offer discounted entry fees for children and students (up to college age). In New York, the most famous is the American Museum of Natural History's Origami Tree. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has a large Christmas Tree. Cost: $10-30.

 

10 Ways To Stretch Baby's Clothing Budget Without Making Sacrifices

Stretching baby's wardrobe budget is not about skimping. It is somewhat about reigning in the urge to splurge, but more importantly, it is about reducing waste. Here are ten rules I shop by. While they don't save me hundreds of dollars like I did on baby gear or other unnecessary baby purchases, they do help stretch my money for plenty of nice baby clothes.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: First Person: 10 Ways I Stretch Baby's Clothing Budget Without Making Sacrifices

Picking a School for Our Child

Which daycare, preschool, nursery or kindergarten? Public or private? Montessori, Progressive, or traditional preschool? Questions I asked and answered while choosing the right preschool for my child.

When my son was about to turn three, I realized he needed more social interaction and explored sending him to preschool. I wanted to choose the best preschool, nursery or daycare--whether it was public or private, Montessori, Progressive or church-affiliated. I also wondered if I should home school until kindergarten. I asked some of my friends and neighbors, and I received overwhelmingly positive feedback on their children's preschool or daycare. This led me to believe that choosing the right daycare, preschool or kindergarten is a very personal decision, and everyone's opinion varies. I needed to identify our priorities, so I focused on what I really wanted in my child's first school and what would be a deal-breaker.

I read a very informative booklet published by the U.S. Department of Education that had a series of questions to ask ourselves and the elementary school. Some of the questions applied to nursery schools, preschools, daycares, and Montessories. This booklet reiterated that in reality, there was no "best school" only one that was the best fit for each child and his or her family.

Since I was open to the idea of relocating, my choices were varied and included 1) local public preschools, 2) public preschools in some other districts we were open to relocating, 3) private preschools, 4) daycares that followed a preschool-like curriculum, and 5) home schooling. I ruled out exclusive home schooling since we wanted social interaction for our child. Amongst the private schools, there were several affiliated with religious faiths, and others than were co-operative or Montessori.

Can we afford private preschool tuition? Annual tuition for private preschools in our area ran up to $19,000 for full day programs. While this was definitely cheaper than several Manhattan schools that charged $30,000-40,000, obviously my husband and I needed to prioritize our own retirement, our children's college education, etc. above private preschool and elementary school. Since school taxes were approximately half of our property taxes, sending a child to private preschool also meant not reaping the benefits of paying those property taxes.

We were not ready to make our decision based on finances alone. Some other questions I considered were:

* What is the demographic mix and will our child fit in?
* How long is the school day?
* Is after school care available?
* Does the preschool run through higher grades?
* What is the meals policy?
* How close is the school to our home?
* Do we have a preference for Montessori, Progressive Education or another special curriculum or philosophy?
* How involved do we have to be in school activities on a daily basis?
* Is there a preferential sibling admissions or tuition discounts?
* Will our child make the school age cut-off?
* What role should religion play?
* Do classrooms have computers?
* What is the discipline philosophy?
* What is the teacher to student ratio?
* Does the school offer special education, enrichment or advanced classes for children?
* Does the school have an honors or gifted and talented program for higher classes? * What does the school do to help develop character and citizenship?
* Where do graduates pursue their higher studies?

I narrowed the choices based on the answers to these questions. I attended Open Houses and toured a few preschools and met with both teachers and administrative staff. There are several public preschools in our city, and assignment was random (and varied from year to year). One of our key concerns was I could not meet the teacher of the class, and my child may have new classmates year to year.

In the end, I chose a private Montessori preschool that ran through kindergarten. What attracted us most to the preschool was that the curriculum was flexible to a certain extent, with the pace driven by the child's unique strengths and challenges. I also loved the mixed age (3-5 years) setting, which allowed my child to mentor younger children and learn from older ones. Although the Montessori method is not for all families, it was the right fit for ours.