Big Sis

Finally a safe site for kids – Yoursphere

July 18, 2011 by Jennifer 2 Comments

The internet can be a scary place and especially this holds true for children. You hear so much about child predators and the internet is instant bait which just sickens me. My girls are limited to what they can do online and I am right there with them when they are online to ensure they are safe. With my oldest daughter M though, we are entering the stage where she wants to talk to her friends online and play games online. I have been searching for a site that would allow her to play games safely online and was recently introduced to Yoursphere.com.

We are taking things slow but I let M dive in last week. Over the next three months, I will be posting updates on my thoughts and opinions of the site.

My first impression:

– I love how secure the site is and how they double check anyone when signing up.

– The team of law enforcement force behind the site really eases my mind.

– I am not sure how I feel about her adding friends but will go deeper in thought with this over the next two months as we continue to research the site fully.

M’s first impression:

– She loves all the different games that is available to play in the virtual world.

– The object of collecting coins is really enticing for her as she is very competitive.

The concept is such a great one and much needed for tweens 8 to 12. There needs to be a safe place and I feel like Mary Kay the founder is really developing this with Yoursphere.com. As stated on their site:

Yoursphere’s priority of children’s online safety and privacy is achieved via implementation of technology, human oversight, proprietary policies including input from their Law Enforcement Task Force populated by former Secret Service, FBI agents and other law enforcement officials as well as through education and action.

I look forward to diving even deeper with M and sharing our experiences. Stay tuned. Why don’t you join with your tweens as well and navigate a safer environment. If you do sign-up, use the code: YS11-RTR8. Also join Yoursphere on Facebook to stay updated and Twitter as well.

Disclosure: I am participating in a summer campaign with Yoursphere. I am compensated for my time. As always, all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

Let The Kids Use Imagination for Summer Fun

June 20, 2011 by Jennifer 2 Comments

Remember the yesteryears when the only technology we had in the house was a black and white television and an old typewriter. Those were the days right? How would our kids survive with so little technology? That is the question of the day parents, but in all seriousness, we are the ones creating technology monsters. Listen, I love technology, I mean… I really love technology, but there comes a point and time that we need to back track a little bit. Especially in these summer months, I will declare, it is no technology time during different parts of the day. The girls will either play a board game, jump rope outside, throw a ball and hopefully not bust a window, or sneak in their room and use their imagination by creating their own play or dance party.

Today was the creation of a dance party. The girls gave hubby and I our invites and told us the time to be there. Hubby and I showed up and were greeted at the girls play room door with the beautiful M. She had our tickets to all the activities at the dance party.

As we took our seats, the food bar was awaiting for us. All we had to do was turn our tickets in and we could have unlimited food the girls had set-up for us.

It was time to get this dance party started.

Of course, they had to pull an audience member, so they decided on mommy.

After so many laughs, smiles and dance moves the show had to come to an end but not before we went on a tour of the room to check out the beautiful dance party decor.

Hubby and I enjoy their little parties so much. We all will treasure these memories forever. Encourage your child’s imagination. It will bring a smile to everyone’s face!

End of Year Teacher Gifts

June 13, 2011 by Jennifer Leave a Comment

It is the most wonderful time of the year. Well, one of the most wonderful times of the year. My girls are moving on up in their school careers. I will never have another kindergartner and this makes me so sad. How can I be a mom of a 3rd grader? Time you know, you could put the brakes on a little bit. That would be the best thing ok?

Introducing, my newest 1st grader and 3rd grader.

We have so much planned for the Summer and are going to enjoy every single minute of it. I actually have put together a schedule that will keep the “I am bored” comments at bay and will share that tomorrow. In the meantime, take a moment to see these cute End of Year Teacher Gifts I found on the Skip To My Lou craft blog.

Embellished Scissors

Teacher Appreciation Flower Picks

Both crafts were a huge hit with all the teachers. I included a hand written thank you note to each teacher as well detailing how much I appreciate them. Teachers do a very hard job and we need to always remember that they are not definitely in teaching for the money but for the love of the children.

Let the summer memories begin!

Can you move your feet to the beat

May 23, 2011 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Grab your partner and swing them round and round. Wait, this is 2011, dancing has took on a whole new meaning. Could you move your feet to the beat? My precious M showed the world this weekend that she could. Specifically, the dance was called clogging. I am amazed each time I see M clog up on stage. All I keep thinking to myself is how does she move her feet so fast and not fall? Now, this is coming from queen of clumsiness who could fall over her own two feet by walking across the yard. Yes, my friends that would be me. My daughter did not get her dance moves from me, that is for sure.

M took to the stage and the smile on her face never left. She danced like she owned the stage.

She has clogged since she was 5 years old and she loves every minute of it. You can see her in the grocery store just clogging away while I am going up and down the aisles.

Let’s start this dance… get ready… here we go…

We could not be more proud of M and all that she has accomplished in her short 8 years. She amazes us each and everyday and she had two parents that had the biggest smiles on their face the entire time. We are a proud family, what can I say?

She is well on her way of becoming a star. Congratulations M on completing your third year of clogging.

Do you teach your children about the Golden Rule

May 12, 2011 by Jennifer 5 Comments

The royal law which is known today as the Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you still needs to be practiced today and we had a long discussion about it tonight with M and L before bedtime.

Unfortunately, an incident happened at school. A little boy told M she was fat. Seriously, we do not even need to go there at this age and I was so bummed that M had to hear those ugly words. You may think that I immediately put the little boy down, but that is the opposite of what happened. M, said “mom the golden rule says I need to be kind to bullies so they will realize how I want to be treated.” This speaks volume folks. Instead of M feeling mad towards the boy, she said mommy I still like B.

I was crying on the inside and called M’s teacher. Here my precious sweet M is being such a kind soul about the whole situation by mama bear was coming out a little. The teacher was amazing and handled it beautifully, with the little boy apologizing and feeling really bad. It came down to the little boy was upset M was friends with another boy, so he let evil words slip out of his mouth. Parents this is why, we need to remember to instill the golden rule into their minds as soon as they are at the age they can understand.

Just imagine if every child lived by the golden rule? This world would be in such a better place. It is such a simple rule but yet one that is so deep and can leave such an effect on a child. L said: “Mommy, I want to be nice to all my friends so they will be nice to me back.” Absolutely, and even as adults, we need to remember this simple, yet amazing rule!

So, have you taught your child about the Golden Rule?

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