Birthday Parties on a Budget?

Throwing any type of kid’s birthday party at home seems like a relaxing, budget-friendly idea in theory. Now figure in entertaining activities for 20 or so very cute toddlers and their parents, the time and money costs of food & beverage, party supplies and goody bags, and don’t forget the invitations themselves… and you’ve just turned a great idea into, “got any other bright ideas?”

For less than you think, Gymboree Play & Music provides a personalized themed party package that kids absolutely love, and parents love even more.  We specialize in 1st birthday parties all the way through to 5th birthday parties.

Gymboree invitations – just put a stamp on them. For busy parents, this will save tons of time. Gymboree party invitations are informative and age-appropriate, and ready to go. Just address and mail!

Friends, family — invite the entire playgroup! Gymboree charges a flat fee for up to 20 kids, not per child… and as many adults that want to attend. For any gathering – that’s a lot of people! Gymboree was created to entertain a crowd…the more the merrier! Having a large group makes for a very fun party.

Just show up! You Get to Relax and Enjoy. Leave the details to the experts. An experienced teacher hosts the entire party. Based on your child’s age, the teacher plans appropriate activities that include music, arts & crafts, interactive games, etc. Plus Gymboree takes care of decorations, party supplies, and helps serve the little ones their food and cake.

Whose birthday is it anyway? The Gymboree staff always goes to great lengths to make sure all the children are having fun, but on this day, your birthday child will feel more special than ever. (maybe add more details here).

Party bags filled with the good stuff. The really good stuff, like bubbles, balls and musical instruments. Items they will enjoy for a long time (which for most kids is at least a couple of hours).

What? No clean-up? For most parents and party-throwers, this just may be the best part ever! All you have to do is say, “Thanks for a GREAT party! See you soon!” That just about sums it up.

When all is said and done, having a Gymboree Party is a smart, cost-effective choice that creates long-lasting memories for you and your child. From before you walk through the doors to the final good-bye, you’ll get the kind of quality, service and experience you’d expect from Gymboree.

More Party Ideas. Hosting your mom’s group? Celebrating the beginning of summer with friends? Having a family reunion with lots of little ones? Gymboree Play & Music locations also welcome other types of groups and parties.

Hope to celebrate with you soon!

National Bubble week is March 11-17, 2012. Take some time to be silly this week. Buy some bubbles or make your own. Have fun with bubbles during bath time or go outside and blow some bubble with your children.

We have the greatest bubbles at Gymboree Play & Music so of course we will be celebrating Bubble Week. All bubbles 10% off at Gymboree Play & Music of Ocean & Howell, NJ. Upload a photo on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gymboree-Play-Music-of-Ocean-Howell-NJ/199328730082) of your child with bubbles and receive 25% off an entire toy purchase.

from erinparenting.com

The one thing working moms have in common is that they’re busy ladies with a lot on their plate. The second thing they have in common is that they feel guilty a lot of the time. One of the main sources of that guilt comes from the feeling that they don’t have time to spend quality moments with their children; “life is just a race” moms tell me.

A very important thing for working mothers to understand is that it doesn’t take much to satisfy their child’s need for attention, and if just a few things are put into place, they can be guaranteed that they are giving their child all they need to.

What are those things?

Well, we all know that children need focused attention in order to feel loved. And, if they feel this focused attention on a regular basis, they are better behaved and happier kids to be around. The point then is to create moments of focused attention.

Here are seven ways working moms can give their child focused attention when they have little time to give:

1) Create a ritual. The definition of a ritual is: a series of actions regularly and invariably followed by someone. With this in mind try to think of what small ritual you can create with your children that can happen everyday, without fail. Perhaps each morning you and your children light a candle (or turn on battery operated ones) at the breakfast table and you share your intention for the day. Perhaps you do and say certain things each night at bedtime. Whatever it is, keep it simple; the more simple, the more impact it has.

2) Schedule one-on-one time. Working moms need to be organized. Carry this organization through to spending one-on-one time with each of your children once a month. Brainstorm activities you and your child would like to do together then once a month pull one of those ideas and schedule it on your calendar. It doesn’t have to be long; 30-60 minutes is all it will take. (Children who I surveyed told me this!)

3) Plan a theme night. This is one of my favourite things to do. Choose a country and plan a family evening around the theme of this country. For example, if you choose Japan, your family can brainstorm costumes, music, dishes to cook, movies to watch, etc. Plan these theme nights every 4-6 months and just watch the bonding that occurs!

4) Make reading together YOUR thing. What could you do to make reading a special event between you and your children? Could you read a chapter book out loud each night for 15-20 mins after dinner? Could you cuddle in bed each night and read them a story? Could you make up a story each night or save this for Sunday night?

5) Bake on the weekend. Get a great cookbook (choose it together) and bake one thing each weekend from the book. Think, “Julie and Julia”, the movie with Meryl Streep. How exciting would it be to bake through a cookbook (baking book) and experiment together?

6) Make grocery shopping YOUR thing. Create a tradition that after the weekly grocery shop you all go for a hot chocolate or special drink.

7) Go to the Library. Create a special tradition around the Library. How about Friday after the school pick being your time to go hang out at the library and collect books? Or, does your library have weekend reading, rhyme or story times? Be sure that your kids choose their books first so that they have something to look at as they respectfully give you time to browse.

As you can see, all of my ideas are based around keeping things slow, simple and meaningful. You don’t have to have all the time in the world to spend with your kids, it’s just about making the time you DO have, count.

from childfun.com

Our Gymboree teacher favorites:

Birthday – March 2nd

From our Readers….
We read one of Dr. Seuss’ books emphasizing the rhyming. Then we create our own book which we call “Look Out Dr. Seuss, Our Poems are on the Loose.” In circle time I suggest several words that can be rhymed easily and the children make their own rhymes and illustrate them.

Examples from last year: The flower took a shower, the man on the floor walked out the door and my favorite, I played in the mud and got full of crud. I make a large drawing of Dr. Seuss that all the children take turns coloring and we display their drawings around it. Copies of the drawings are put together as a book for the children to take home.

Make a Dr. Seuss hat from a paper bag.
Just fold up the top of the bag and paint it red and white stripped. Add yarn around the folded part to help it stay on the childs head.

Another Seuss Hat
We took a paper plate and cut out the center. We then took strips (any size you choose) of white and red construction paper. We just used scotch tape to put the strips together. And use the center of the paper plate for the top of the hat.

Reading
For our Dr. Suess theme, we celebrate a different book each day, and combine activities from that particular book. Cat in the Hat: For snack, we bake a cake or cupcakes, have fun decorating them, and then eat our cake with a rake! It’s fun to use pretend rakes that we will later use for outdoor play (new, of course).

The Foot Book: Activities

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Toe Painting
The kids always love this one! We all take off our socks and shoes, and draw faces on each other’s toes!! It’s interesting to see the different emotions the children choose for each toe. We then take turns either playing along with the book, or making up our own rhymes!
Feet Family
I send home constuction paper ahead of time, and ask that each member of the family trace their bare foot. Most of the children even include pets, which is fun. We then cut them out, and decorate them for each member. It can be their favorite color, or even be a collage of that person’s favorite things. Then we glue them onto the same paper for our foot family!
Follow the Feet
At group time, we have fun placing feet patterns on the floor and following the patterns. We also play musical feet (like musical chairs only on the foot patterns).

 
One Fish, Two Fish: Activities

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Fish Snack
For snack, we either have tuna fish on crackers, or just Goldfish brand snacks. Although, we have made blue jello in clear plastic cups with gummy fish too!
Fish Art
For art, we paint blue tinted corn syrup onto fish bowl shaped construction paper, and glue paper fish and plants. It’s messy, but the results are beautiful. After the syrup has set for about two hours, I cover them with plastic wrap to cut down on stickiness.
Fish Shapes
We also use fish shapes to cut patterns through for puzzles, and then attach paper clips, and “fish” for them, using a magnet fishing pole and a pool, trying to catch the match to our fish!

 
The Cat in the Hat: Activities

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Balance it
We read cat in the hat book – balanced the book then a tea cup and a few other small items on our heads like the cat. Kids really loved this (they are only 3)
Cat in the Hat Hats
We also made Cat in the Hat hats out of paper plate (cut out middle and use as the rim of the hat)and contruction paper (white paper with cut out red stripes) We did this activity on a rainy day.

Cat in the Hat Relay
We make hats using black construction paper, and tails using old black pantyhose, and then I give each child a paper plate and a paper cup on top. Each child then carries the plate and cup with one hand to a specific point and back, and then places their plate on top of the next person in line’s plate, and they carry two, and so on. The children love to practice balancing, and even figure out how they can switch places, so that the older children carry more, so they can make it through the whole line! Pretty smart!

 
Green Eggs and Ham: Activities

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Breakfast
Before breakfast read Green Eggs and Ham; then show the children you only add food coloring to the food and then prepare the food. Talk about how the food tastes. Is it any different because of the coloring?
Musical Hats
After reading “Cat in the hat” you can play musical hats. This is a quieter version of musical chairs. The kids sit in a circle and while the music plays they have to put the stocking cap on and pull it over their ears and then take it of again and pass it to the child next to them. Who ever has the hat when the music stops gets to start and stop the music for the next round. This way all the kids are involved and nobody has to sit out. The kids also like the way their hair stands up after they pull of the hats!!!

Various Dr. Seuss Ideas
Our early childhood special education group have local celebrities come and read one or two of their favorite stories to the children in our classes. This could be the mayor, police chief, librarian, basketball team star, etc. Some of the classes have a birthday cake, have someone dress-up as the Cat in the Hat and have a birthday party.
Have children bring in their favorite Dr. Seuss books and read them throughout the day.
Dr. Seuss look-a-like day. Have children dress up as The Cat in the Hat or other characters from the books.
Many color day ( I can’t rember the exact name of the book) My son’s pre-school class last year made green eggs, as in the “Green Eggs and Ham” book. The teachers colored white eggs with food coloring and put them in a basket prior to class. After reading the story, they used an electric skillet in the classroom to make fried eggs for snack. Or you could make scrambled eggs adding green food coloring too – the eggs were a big hit.
Our preschool class celebrated Dr. Suess’s birthday last year by having a pajama party and inviting parents and community memebers in to read to us. It was a blast. The children and teachers wore their pjs to school. We had big comfy pillows all over the place. Children and adults were seen all over the room just enjoying books together!!!

Ever wonder why some days your kids just seem to test you, rebel against you or resist everything you ask of them? That happened to me a couple of days ago and I want to share with you how I resolved this issue.

My family has been on holidays for the past two weeks. Due to a variety of life circumstances, my hubby and I were in need of a huge break from regular life. So, the fact that we had grandparents around, ready and willing to look after our kids so that we could sleep in and generally do what we wanted without the kids, felt like a blessing. The problem? We forgot one of the most basic rules of good parenting.

Let me step back a bit before I go into that. You see, when I say that my hubby and I were sleeping in and doing what we wanted I also must add that personally, I just wanted to be by myself. This may sound harsh because anyone who knows me knows that I adore my kiddies and I love spending time with them. However, the freedom of reading what I wanted and relegating all responsibility to my parents was kind of a nice break for a few days. For example, while we were out for a family walk I was holding my son’s hand yet my back started hurting a bit because my son was walking slower than me which made my back twist every time I took a step. So, I let his hand go and said, “Go hold daddy’s hand, my back hurts.” After a day of me unconsciously pushing him away I began to see some undesirable results.

That night, everything my husband and I asked him to do he resisted. He even used a snarky tone and said, “No, I won’t do that!” which is COMPLETELY out of character for him. What usually worked with him was not working and the resistance grew more and more as the night progressed. In fact, the evening ended with me putting the story book down at night and saying, “No story tonight. You’ve really disappointed me” and him crying.

Although this is difficult to share, as it is so unlike me (and him) I felt it important to share because this sometimes happens with the parents I coach. Everything is going great and then BOOM! Negative behaviour or resistance appears and they think their luck has run out and now this stage or age is going to be the difficult one. Until… I coach them on this important point.

Children’s main desire is to feel loved, and there are four ways that they feel loved.

They are:

1) Focused attention
2) Physical Contact
3) Eye Contact
4) Discipline

During those couple of days, I had basically removed all focused attention, physically let go of his hand, and didn’t give much eye contact except to discipline him. Are you beginning to solve that problem I asked earlier? Wow! You must be a parenting coach! No, you see? Parenting isn’t rocket science. It’s just about knowing a few specific things, being reflective and then taking action.

After my husband and I reflected on my son’s behaviour, we realized that WE needed to step up and change a few things. So, the next morning my hubby got up when our son did and connected with him. Not in a major way, just asked him questions and showed interest in what he was talking about. Then I woke up, came over to him, looked him right in the eye to say, “Good Morning, Sweetie” while I rubbed his hair (there’s that physical contact!) and then proceeded to interact naturally with him and the rest of our family. Later that morning, we told him we were going to go to our friend’s house so we all had to get ready. The day before he would have refused, but today he was willing.

After we got dressed we walked to the car and I asked him, “Can I hold your hand?” His response? “Of course you can, Mommy!” While we walked in silence he then snuggled into me, kissed my hand, and said, “Mmm… cozy!”

Our son was amazing and polite the rest of the day and that evening I left his room the way we usually do. Then, the child who is usually too shy/reserved to go up and kiss people came out of his room and to each of us (grandma and grandpa included) asked if we would like a kiss! For him to do this on his own was shocking as it’s out of his comfort zone for sure.

Some parents might say, that’s it? That’s really ALL you did and his behaviour turned around? Yes. It really doesn’t take that much for kids to feel loved and WANT to intrinsically behave, be polite and be happy. They will show you they aren’t getting what they need from you by acting out. There is ALWAYS a reason.

So, the next time you notice your kids acting abnormally different or worse, take some time to reflect and see if your children are truly feeling loved using the 4 criteria above then watch the way things can just “magically” change.

From NJ Family

BY TODD PATKIN

Overall, Americans are exhausted—and it isn’t surprising. Society tells us we should perform to a certain standard, look a certain way, weigh a certain number, make a certain amount of money, and more. Too bad that “perfect” lifestyle is impossible to achieve. Nobody can do it all, all the time. So when you inevitably take on too much and allow one of the plates you’re juggling to drop, you end up disappointed, tired, and miserable. Case in point: How are your New Year’s resolutions faring? Chances are, they’ve fallen by the wayside, and you feel like a failure.

The problem is that you set yourself up for disappointment by having unrealistic and unsustainable expectations. So here are 12 things you should resolve to stop doing now if you want 2012 to be your greatest year yet:

1. Give up on relationships that aren’t working.

Whether it’s a coworker who hands out backhanded compliments or a “frenemy” who always tries to one-up your accomplishments, there are people in your life who drain your energy and harsh your mellow. No matter how much you may want to make these relationships work, forcing yourself to spend time with negative people won’t do you any favors.

2. Stop being so darn nice.

Perhaps you’re one of those people who always blurts out what’s on your mind. If so, skip this item. However, it’s more likely you swallow barbed comments or constructive criticism in favor of a diplomatic response. You might even allow yourself to be taken advantage of occasionally to please another person. But it’s time to stop. Dishonest politeness doesn’t develop authentic relationships.

3. Stop working so hard.

No matter how good your intentions are, overloading on work will cause your relationships, mindset, and health to suffer.

4. Lower the bar.

Whether the issue is your appearance, your house, your family, or your job, you want to achieve as much perfection as possible. And you probably focus on what you do wrong and rarely celebrate what you do right. This year, realize you’re human, thus fallible, so it’s inevitable that you’ll be less than perfect or mess up now and then.

5. Ignore the Joneses.

We constantly compare ourselves to our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even people on reality TV. But “happy” for you won’t look the same as it does for anyone else—and that’s okay! Focus on your own feelings and fulfillment. Don’t use another person’s life as a measuring stick to determine how good your own is.

6. Don’t focus on your spouse to the point where you forget to take responsibility for yourself.

Yes, conventional relationship wisdom tells you to focus on your spouse and to put his or her needs first. To a point, that advice is accurate: As a partner in life and love, you should be your spouse’s biggest supporter and coach. Just don’t let tunnel vision blind you to your own needs and responsibilities.

7. Stop giving so much.

If you don’t, you’ll eventually run dry. Many people in our lives want our help, time, advice, etc. Especially if you care for them, you’ll want to be accommodating. (Or perhaps you just have a hard time saying no.) For whatever reason, it can be too easy to keep giving to the point where there’s nothing left for you

8. Stop pushing your kids so hard.

As parents, we care about our kids, and want them to have the best possible futures. But you don’t need to become a so-called “Tiger Parent.” Too much pressure to perform can cause children of any age to burn out and make self-destructive decisions. In fact, some kids are experiencing symptoms ranging from stomachaches to severe depression due to the daily stress they encounter at school and at home.

9. Forget quality time with your kids, and focus on quantity.

It’s easy to use the words “quality time with my kids” as a free pass to focus on other aspects of your life 95 percent of the time. In other words, we think we can make up for working 70-hour weeks by going to Disney World, or catch up on the week’s events by going out for ice cream. But life is found in the everyday moments, not the big blowout trips. And kids are perceptive; they can tell if they always take second place in your life.

10. Cancel your gym membership.

I’m not saying give up exercising; if you’re a gym lover, continue going. But newbies should start with something sustainable, like taking a 20-minute walk around your neighborhood every other day. Exercise will make you feel more relaxed, stronger, and more capable of handling life’s challenges. It will improve your sleep, and it’s a natural anti-depressant that will help your attitude.

11. Stop obsessing over your health.

If you fret over every health threat you hear on the news or see on the Internet, you’ll be afraid to leave your house without a hazmat suit on. Just eat right, go to the doctor, and fit in as much exercise and relaxation as you can. If you don’t, the worry and stress will be what kills you.

12. Trash your goals, except for this one: be happier.

Like striving for perfection, being too goal-oriented can harm more than it helps. When you’re always focused on the next big thing, you’re perpetually anxious, don’t live in the present, and can’t enjoy the blessings you already have. Plus, taking a step back from “the plan” can bring clarity. You may find the direction you’ve been headed isn’t what you want after all.

Todd Patkin is the author of 
Finding Happiness: One Man’s Quest to Beat Depression and Anxiety and—Finally—Let the Sunshine In (StepWise Press, 2011), available at bookstores and online.

WOW—-WAY TO GO—-YOU’RE SPECIAL—-
OUTSTANDING—-EXCELLENT—-GREAT—-GOOD—-NEAT—-
WELL DONE—-REMARKABLE—-I KNEW YOU COULD DO
IT—-I’M PROUD OF YOU—-FANTASTIC—-SUPERSTAR—-NICE
WORK—-LOOKING GOOD—-YOU’RE ON TO IT—-
BEAUTIFUL—-NOW YOU’RE FLYING—-YOU’RE CATCHING
ON—-NOW YOU’VE GOT IT—-YOU’RE INCREDIBLE—-
BRAVO—-YOU’RE FANTASTIC—-HURRAY FOR YOU—-
YOU’RE ON TARGET—-YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY—-HOW
NICE—-HOW SMART—-GOOD JOB—-THAT’S INCREDIBLE—-
HOT DOG—-DYNAMITE—-YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL—-YOU’RE
UNIQUE—-NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW—-GOOD FOR
YOU—-I LIKE YOU—-YOU’RE A WINNER—-REMARKABLE
JOB—-BEAUTIFUL WORK—-SPECTACULAR—-YOU’RE
SPECTACULAR—-YOU’RE DARLING—-YOU’RE PRECIOUS—-
GREAT DISCOVERY—-YOU’VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET—-
YOU FIGURED IT OUT—-FANTASTIC JOB—-HIP, HIP,
HURRAY—-BINGO—-MAGNIFICENT—-MARVELOUS—-
TERRIFIC—-YOU’RE IMPORTANT—-PHENOMENAL—-YOU’RE
SENSATIONAL—-SUPER WORK—-CREATIVE JOB—-SUPER
JOB—-FANTASTIC JOB—-EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE—-
YOU’RE A REAL TROOPER—-YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE—-YOU
ARE EXCITING—-YOU LEARNED IT RIGHT—-WHAT AN
IMAGINATION—-WHAT A GOOD LISTENER—-YOU ARE
EXCITING—-YOU ARE FUN—-YOU’RE GROWING UP—-YOU
TRIED HARD—-YOU CARE—-BEAUTIFUL SHARING—-
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE—-YOU’RE A GOOD
FRIEND—-I TRUST YOU —YOU’RE IMPORTANT—-YOU MEAN
A LOT TO ME—-YOU MAKE ME HAPPY—-YOU BELONG—-
YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND—-YOU MAKE ME LAUGH—-YOU
BRIGHTEN MY DAY—-I RESPECT YOU—-YOU MEAN THE
WORLD TO ME—-THAT’S CORRECT—-YOU’RE A JOY—-
YOU’RE A TREASURE—-YOU’RE WONDERFUL—-YOU’RE
PERFECT—-AWESOME—-A+JOB—-YOU’RE A-OK MY
BUDDY—-YOU MADE MY DAY—-THAT’S THE BEST—-A BIG
HUG—-A BIG KISS—-SAY I LOVE YOU—-AND… A SMILE IS
WORTH 1000 WORDS!

by Erin Kurt

A new year is about to unfold. Are you going to be in the driver’s seat as to how it unfolds? Or are you going to be a passenger in the backseat, just going along for the ride? We’ve all felt the way the latter feels. I remember when I would feel like I was a hamster running on a hamster wheel, just trying to keep one foot in front of the other. I’m not sure why I always use animals to describe how I feel, but I also remember describing myself as running around like a “chicken with it’s head cut off”. Basically, the essence of what I was feeling inside when I used to describe myself was a feeling of being out of control and just surviving. Is this TRULY the way to live life? Especially with children?

You see, when we live life like this everything seems complicated and becomes difficult. When we’re frazzled, our children seem to act up. Coincidence? Not really. When our house is cluttered and untidy, do our kids whine that they’re bored or are they hyperactive? Most often, yes. If we are always rushing from one lesson to the next, do we have a lot of extra patience for our kids? Nope. In the modern world we live in, it is very easy to let life lead us leading IT. However, imagine if you were able to actually CHOOSE how your daily life played out?

Imagine waking up before the kids and drinking a cup of warm water with lemon while you set an intention for your day.

Imagine having your kids wake up happy and get dressed quickly and easily.

Imagine having a place to put your things and your kid’s things so that you never had to be stressed and wonder where something is.

Imagine having regular routines or rituals that your family participated in each and every day or week that made you bond closely?

Life can be designed, but it takes spending some time and thought, and sometimes getting support, to make it how you would like. I encourage you to spend some time on New Year’s Day or the day after and write down three things you would like to have more of in your life this year. I’d also suggest you come up with two or three things that are not serving you and let them go – whether they be something in your schedule, your home, or your personal life such as a “friend” or an emotion.

The last part of this exercise would be to write out how you can acquire the things you want in your life. Do you need support, to hire someone, to schedule in something, to ask for help, or create a routine?

If you need a place to start with this whole exercise, here is a quick and easy activity for you. Doing this will help you see where you need to focus and then you can narrow it down even further if need be.

Read these statements and answer “yes”, “no” or “sometimes”.

1. My home feels like a cozy, calm space for me and my family, free of excess.
2. My schedule allows me to accomplish what I want.
3. I have all the time I need to replenish my energy.
4. My kids have routines that allow them to accomplish what they need to everyday.
5. I feel balanced and fulfilled, most of the time.
6. I feel like I easily provide nutritious meals for my family on a regular basis.
7. I have organizing systems in place that fully support my day-to-day life.
8. I set a good example for my children when it comes to how to live a balanced and healthy life.
9. My kids listen to me when I ask them to do something or stop doing something.

If you have much bigger dreams for your home, family, schedule, and life than where you’re at today and you finally want to be able to describe yourself as a stress-free parent, then do the exercise described above, and if need be, seek out the support you need to make your dreams a reality! Here’s to a fulfilling, meaningful and “in the driver’s seat” kind of year!