Summer is in Full Swing with PBS KIDS®!

Here are some cool tips from the experts at PBS KIDS on how to help ensure that your kids have a fun, safe and active hot-weather season…no matter what your budget is:

Driving to Grandma’s house? Or have an exciting getaway in store? Here are some great FREE ideas courtesy of PBSParents.org to keep kids of all ages engaged during family trips!

o Have a sing-a-long! Sing your favorite tunes from Sesame Street along with other songs…
o Take turns playing games with your child. Find something inside or outside the car and have your children guess what you see by giving hints. Explore the world like Sid the Science Kid!
o Invite your child to be an "alphabet detective" by finding all the letters around them. Players might find an "a" in a road sign and a "b" on a license plate and more – take a page from the Super WHY gang and have fun with the alphabet.
o Use "car time" to talk to your child about everyday activities and events, whether it's how leaves change color in the fall or what makes a great friend. Maya and Miguel know that happiness is the greatest when it’s shared!

Plan an awesome “stay-cation” and keep your kids happy with a few of these summer fun suggestions!


o For preschoolers, slip on your sneakers, pack water bottles and hit the trail! Make the adventure even more fun with a kid-friendly scavenger hunt in search of things you might find along the way.
o For school-age kids, set up a tent in your own backyard, roll out the sleeping bags and melt marshmallows in the microwave to make s’mores. No need to send kids to sleep away camp to get a taste of the great outdoors.
o For everyone, make some popcorn, snuggle up and tune in together to PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO!

An Open Letter to my Children

This was written about 2 weeks ago to both of my kids. One has taken heed and has tried to "clean up his act". The other is oblivious to the world around her and I take total and complete blame for her insensitivity and selfishness. Perhaps a public embarrassment will help. Perhaps not. Perhaps it is snarky of me to post this. At this point I have come very very close to the point of giving up. I don't want to reach that point, but truly I can see it on the horizon.


A letter to my children

Hi, I am your mother. I am not your housekeeper, your personal assistant, your laundress or your slave.

I have loved you from the moment you were conceived and will continue to do so until I no longer exist on this earth.

I am usually at your beck and call. Have I once refused a request from either of you? I have shown you both a penultimate amount of respect, and consideration. I request a modicum of each in return. Why is it that when I make a request of you, I get eye rolling, sighs and grunts in response?

You are both adults and should be able to do basic things to keep yourself and your surroundings in good repair. A bare minimum of upkeep in this house is requested of you it should be of no shock or take anymore than a minor bit of your energy to comply.

A. Do not put your dirty dishes in the sink or leave them on the counter. Put them in the dishwasher. If the dishwasher is full and clean, empty it. If it is full and dirty, run it, then empty it.

B. Do not leave your clothes (or the clothes of your children) lying around anywhere in the house other than your own bedroom. Dirty clothes piles should not exist in the hallways, or the bathrooms. No one else wants to pick up your dirty underpants.

C. Leave the towels in the bathroom. There is no reason for a towel that you did not purchase to ever leave the bathroom. If you happen to mistakenly take one out or send your child out in one, take the extra three steps to put it back when done.

D. If you use something, put it away. That includes anything used by your offspring or your significant others.

E. When doing your laundry, be considerate of others. Do not leave the house with laundry in the washer. Do not leave your dry laundry to live in the dryer. It is very inconvenient to others to expect them to finish your laundry for you.

I realize you are not children and do not expect you to do “chores”, but I expect you to pick up after yourselves at all times and to be responsible enough to see something that might need to be done and do it.

I also realize that my having to remind you of these simple exercises of adulthood means that I have failed in a part of my parenting you. I accept that. I have made many mistakes while raising you and I guess this is one more. But this is your chance to be better than me, to make your life better for yourselves, better than I have made it for you. Take this chance and run with it.

Love,
Mom