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I have gotten tons of emails lately from people offering resources that will supposedly help my kids stay up to snuff academically while they navigate their summer vacation. I also know several parents that are consumed with using the summer months to “homeschool” so that their public school kids have a leg up when school starts again.

I can’t say that I don’t think about this sometimes but mostly I just realize that they are always learning. Maybe it is not the exact stuff they need to know for whatever grade they are entering but for kids in public school, summer is just about the only time that really allows for our children to direct their own learning experiences. And they do learn… all on their own.

A few weeks ago my kids asked me to renew their JumpStart subscription. Well, actually it was my son’s subscription and he used to play the JumpStart game when he was being homeschooled. When he went back to public school he lost interest and I cancelled it. But for the past few weeks my kids have been playing the JumpStart game version for their particular age groups and having a blast. They solve math problems, do spelling, and learn a variety of other things from these games. My 5 year old daughter especially learns a lot because she watches her older brother while he plays too. For parents that seek activities to help their kids stay sharp this is a good one but it is only for kids on the 4-10 year old age ranges. I do have a few complaints about the actual performance of their software but the activities are awesome. The games also really help them learn how to use a computer quite well.

My nearly 9 year old son also got to fulfill a HUGE dream of his. He got to ride down a quarter mile racetrack as a passenger in a 11 second car. He kept saying over and over that it was the single best moment of his life. Here he is standing next to a race car that runs on Ethanol. He is very interested in alternative fuel racing.

This week my 5 year old has also started reading and that was all her idea. She wanted to read before she entered kindergarten. She read me four books this morning from the BOB collection (which we adore).

To keep my son reading I have been a bit sneaky. When he wants to go to the water park in the morning or go to the skate park nearby I grab a book and have him read it to me first. I tell him I have been eyeballing this book and I would just LOVE to hear it before we go… works every time. In the evenings I read Harry Potter to him.

Learning is also occuring via weekly trips to the zoo and at the local Science Center. We are lucky to live 9 miles away from COSI, voted by Parents magazine as the best science museum in the country. I bought season passes so we can go as much as we want and this summer they have an Ancient Egypt exhibit with artifacts, mummies, and a replica of the Rosetta Stone. We also saw an IMAX movie there are about mummies. My son and I LIVE for that stuff. We both adore Egypt, history, and archaeology.

So all in all I see no reason to worry that their brains are rotting away and they will enter school and have difficulties. Their brains are fully functional and leading them to places and activities that truly interest them.

I am so mean and green that I make my kids play in a ten gallon tub of water so as not to waste our precious resources. Muaahwaaa!

And of course I am just kidding… give the kids a big water slide and they will want to play in a plastic storage tub. Kids!

Below is some news from API… an organization that I really like.

Attachment Parenting International

Rita Brhel, Editor                                                      

Samantha Gray, Executive Director

editor@attachmentparenting.org                                samantha@attachmentparenting.org

The Makings of a Movement

Attachment Parenting International offers free issue of its magazine

NASHVILLE, TENN. (June 25, 2009) — Attachment Parenting International (API) is giving away free copies of its latest issue of The Attached Family, a magazine for families practicing Attachment Parenting.

Attachment Parenting is an approach to child-rearing that promotes strong emotional bonds between parents and their children through sensitivity and responsiveness to children’s emotional, as well as physical, needs – reducing the risk of mental illness, substance and alcohol abuse, juvenile delinquency, and other unhealthy behaviors that face today’s society.In celebration of the leading parenting organization’s 15th Anniversary this year, API has released a one-time-only publicly available issue of The Attached Family. This bonus edition gives readers the back-story on the makings of API and consequently the co-founders new book, Attached at the Heart. Inside, readers will find an interview with API’s co-founders Barbara Nicholson and Lysa Parker, a book review of Attached at the Heart along with exclusive excerpts from the book, a preview of API’s summer event in Nashville, Tennessee, with such parenting gurus as Dr. William Sears, the Father of Attachment Parenting, a look into API’s future, and more.

Anyone can download a free, printable PDF copy at www.attachmentparenting.org/attachedattheheart/journal_aath.pdf.  

“We are pleased to introduce The Attached Family to all families and offer existing subscribers a special thank you with this issue. Many dedicated hands over the years have brought API to this point of regularly providing valuable parenting support and resources,” said Samantha Gray, executive director of the nonprofit organization, “and it’s a story we are honored to share.”

Attachment Parenting is based in the practice of nurturing methods that create strong emotional bonds, also known as secure attachment, between children and their parent(s). This style of parenting encourages responsiveness to children’s emotional needs, enabling children to develop trust that their needs will be met. As a result, this strong attachment helps children develop the capacity for secure, empathetic, peaceful, and enduring relationships that follow them into adulthood.

Attachment Parenting International (API) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit member organization founded in 1994 to network with parents, professionals and like-minded organizations around the world. API’s mission is to educate and support all parents in raising secure, joyful and empathic children in order to strengthen families and create a more compassionate world. In addition to providing assistance in forming Attachment Parenting support groups, API functions as a clearinghouse providing educational materials, research information, consultative, referral and speaker services to promote Attachment Parenting concepts.

API board and advisory board members include such noted parenting authors as Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears, R.N., co-sleeping specialist Dr. James McKenna, Lu Hanessian of LetTheBabyDrive.com, Alice Miller, and Jan Hunt of the Natural Child Project, among others.

More information about Attachment Parenting International can be found at www.attachmentparenting.org.

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Guest post by Lisa Cain, co-founder SnackSnoop, a website devoted to healthy snacking.

Feeding children snacks on a daily basis is a really big challenge.  Since they are home from school, they seem to always be in the kitchen asking you for something to eat.  They can really drive you nuts.

So what is a busy parent to do?  First, you want to feed them something healthy.  Secondly, you want to feed them something that they like.  Finally it can’t be too expensive.

Healthy snacks, especially ones that aren’t in packages, aren’t hard to find.  You just need to be organized and a little creative.  Here are five tips to help you choose well:

1. Shop the perimeter of the supermarket.  Since we are in Summer, it is easy to find peaches, plums, watermelon, cherries, and cantaloupe for a reasonable price.  Yes, you will have to wash them off and cut them up, but any whole food that you choose will be much more healthy than anything you buy in a package.  If you are lucky enough to have a Farmer’s market near by, shop there for the best deals.

2. If you only shop once a week, buy a collection of fruits and vegetables that you can serve immediately and some that you can serve later.  For example, strawberries or peaches should be eaten right away, but you can store cantaloupe or watermelon for over a week (even cut up!).  Keep canned pineapple on hand for when you run out of fresh fruit.

3. Use dips.  Kids love to dip.  If you are feeding them carrots or broccoli, have a little cup of dressing for them to dip in.  Hummus, yogurt, and peanut butter, are also good choices for dips.

4.  Make it a game for children to eat their snacks.  Pretend the broccoli is a tree and everyone in the room is a dinosaur.  Or fashion little faces out of apple slices, raisins, and add carrot sticks for the legs.  Give them the raw ingredients and then let them “make” their snack.

5. Read the label carefully of any packaged snack.  Too often, the label will say “all natural” or “make with real fruit” and you think you are buying something healthy.  A good indicator of whether it should be considered a healthy snack is if it contains high fructose corn syrup.  If it does, that food item is more likely a treat than a healthy snack.

Get some more healthy snack suggestions at http://www.snacksnoop.com

Attn: Giveaway at the end of this post!

As parents we may have been taught that hard sole shoes offer the best support for growing feet but research has actually shown that this may not be true. A child’s foot is soft and pliable and pressure from the wrong shoe may actually impede proper foot development. Many pediatricians, including the renowned Dr. Sears, are now recommending that children under two not wear shoes at all. Going barefoot helps their feet to grow naturally and helps them to gain musculature and strength. Soft sole shoes provide an excellent alternative for those times when going barefoot might not be so practical. They still allow for feet to grow and develop with confinement.

My two youngest wore soft sole shoes often in their younger days but I was often disappointed by the fact that most soft sole shoe company’s did not offer shoes for kids past baby and toddler age. So I was thrilled recently to find Nowali Moccasins!

I love soft sole shoes and I adore moccasins so this is the best of both worlds. Nowali moccasins are a cozy sock-in-a-soft-shoe that stay on kids’ feet.  The one piece design makes them super easy to put on, and the double elastic at the top helps to keep them on.  Because they are soft and have fun designs, kids want to wear them all the time.
 
Nowali moccasins are especially popular with children who are starting to walk and run around the house.  The non-skid soles really help prevent slips and falls on hardwood and tile floors.  As parents know, pediatricians generally recommend footwear with flexible soles to help the foot muscles and arches develop naturally.
 
Winner of The New Parents Guide Seal of Approval, Nowali slipper socks have been keeping little feet happy for over 50 years.  This year, Nowali introduces adult versions of their cozy footwear.

My daughter is wearing pink striped Nowali moccasins in size 6Y. They have some styles that go up to 10Y. I LOVE the fact that I can get them for both my older kids AND my toddler. My daughter also really likes them. She does find them a bit hard to get on but with my help she is good to go. They aren’t too hot either because it has been super hot here and yet she wears them non-stop.

This morning she wore them to Costco and we were stopped by 3 different moms wanting to know where we got those cool shoes. At first I think people assume they are socks and then when they look closer they can see they are actually shoes and they want some. We are very happy with ours and will continue to buy them as the kids grow.

So, do you want some of your own? Sure you do! The people at Nowali gave me a coupon code: HAPPYFEET, which gives you 10% off + free shipping for orders over $40.  This is good thru 12/31. They are also going to give one of my readers a free pair of moccasins. Just visit Nowali Moccasins and tell me what print and size you would like. Leave me a comment telling me. For extra chances you can blog about this giveaway or link to it via social media.. twitter, Stumbleupon, Facebook, etc. Just leave extra comments for the extra credit stuff.

A winner will be announced on Friday July 3rd. Good luck!!