Entertrainment Junction

We roadtripped to Cincinnati today. We decided to meet an aunt at Entertrainment Junction. I had no idea what to expect since it was my aunt's idea to check it out. First, the cost was pretty high so look for coupons before you go.

Second, it's located very close to Ikea so make it a whole day affair and get some shopping done while the kids play in the Ikea playland (check out height restrictions before you go).
After buying our tickets, we went in to find one of the biggest train displays in the world. It was thousands of square feet of train displays, towns, villages, etc. There is a playground that provided at least 30 minutes of entertainment for my trio.

In the Summer there is also an outdoor train that you can ride.

The best part of Entertrainment Junction was the FUNHOUSE!!! This place was sweet! I can't really put into words what it was like but my 6 year olds and 3 year old LOVED LOVED LOVED the Funhouse. It may be possible to buy a ticket just for the Funhouse. If so, it's well worth it.

The FunHouse consists of a mirror-walled maize, a chain link maize, a claustrophobia hall, and a crazy bridge that I can't begin to describe (but it's awesome). My kids were in hysterics throughout the whole FunHouse and insisted on doing it 3 times before we finally decided to head to Ikea.

If you can find discounts on Entertrainment Junction, I recommend it as a fun family day roadtrip!

And the winners are...

Jenn Murray and Jenn Maron!

Congratulations on winning a Baby Signs DVD! Please email us (columbusmultiples@gmail.com) your address information for shipping.

Stay tuned... there are two more great giveaways coming up in the next few weeks!

Libraries - A great place for free programs and activities!

Libraries are great learning places for children of all ages. Creating the love of reading, that excitement and thrill of getting new books to look at and read, is undeniably priceless to children. Teaching children how to look for books on the computer catalogs and in the aisles, is exciting even for us. As is their first library card!

However, the library is so much more than a place to just get books, movies and CDs. The other absolutely wonderful thing about libraries are all the fun programs they offer children of all ages. Better yet, these program are FREE!

Here is just a sampling of some of the programs you will find at your local library, both during the day/evening and weekdays/weekends:

• Storytimes for children six months to six years old, that incorporate age appropriate stories, songs, finger play and dancing. Some libraries even have pajama storytime at night and potty training themed storytimes!
  
  
• Music programs that feature songs, finger plays and dancing for children ages two to five.
  
  
• Ready to read programs for children five and under that feature easy, interactive crafts that are based on the six early literacy skills and will actually help your child get ready to read.
  
  
• Reading program with a yoga twist for children three to eight that incorporate games, singing, listening and acting out of stories using different modified yoga poses.
  
  
• Career exploring programs for grades kindergarten through third grade where they explore popular careers through stories, songs and activities.
  
  
• Adventure reading groups for children in kindergarten through third grade where they learn about the nature through stories, songs and activities.
  
  
• Puppet shows put on by the library staff for all ages.
  
  
• Family movie nights where you can bring your blankets, pillows and snacks to enjoy a movie on a big screen.
  
  
• Hand's on science programs for children ages six to eleven where they get to explore and experiment.
  
  
• Tween theatre programs where they work on sketches to perform at different library events.
  
  
• Tween writing and illustrating programs where they learn about writing contests, where to get published and also just be inspired.
  
  
• Writing programs for teens where they can share their love of stories (reading them, writing them and/or illustrating them), get some tips and make new friends. Some libraries have writing contests for short stories and poetry, as well as open mic nights where they can share their works.
  
  
• There are even programs for tweens and their Pokemon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh decks and Battle Brawlers. They all meet to play games and have fun.

These are just some of the free programs your local libraries offer children of all ages. There are also a whole host of great programs for adults too! Log onto your library's website and search the events calendar to see what cool programs are offered.

So, when you are looking for fun activities to do with your kids that don't cost a penny, always remember the great offerings your local library has to offer.


What library programs have you taken your children to that they have loved? Which programs do you recommend? Share your library program experiences and advice!

Scratch-and-sniff art project

Here's a fun art project for for children of all ages.

From Wondertime Magazine on-line.

To turn the classic still life into scratch-and-sniff art, I replaced watercolors with Kool-Aid, told my kindergarten class it was a secret solution, and let them loose. I felt like Willy Wonka as I watched the kids press their noses to their artwork and yell, "The oranges really smell like oranges!" — Jessica Burkett

1. Cover work area with newspaper.


2. Heap the fruit into the bowl, letting some overflow onto the table (the more fruit there is to paint, the better).


3. Use markers to draw an outline on the watercolor paper of the still life you've just created, but don't color anything in with the markers.


4. In separate cups, use separate paintbrushes to mix each packet of unsweetened Kool-Aid with 2 tablespoons of water. Arrange the cups in a row and place the corresponding Kool-Aid packets in front of the cups to identify each flavor.


5. Paint each fruit you've drawn with the appropriate Kool-Aid "paint." (Note: Grape Kool-Aid looks black when painted on, but it dries to a deep purple color.) Dry about 20 minutes. If some globs of paint take longer to dry, blot the excess with a tissue.


6. When dry, scratch a painted fruit lightly with your fingernail and sniff. And don't worry if the kids taste the "fruit"; it's so sour they'll probably only do it once.

Does anyone have any other really fun art projects? Or resources for art project ideas? Please share.

Our first blog giveaway!!!

*** This giveaway is now over***

In a previous post, I commented on how I felt that baby signs really helped my children communicate without frustration, as well as learn to talk. One resource I used was from Baby Signs®, the original sign language program for babies.

We are very excited to announce that Kathy from www.babysignlanguageshop.com would like to give away two Baby Signs DVDs. Two lucky club winners will win via our blog: the Mealtime DVD that teaches these signs: eat, drink, more, cereal, milk, bib and all done AND the My Pets DVD that teaches these signs: cat, dog, bird, bunny, turtle and fish.

Kathy is an independent Baby Signs Consultant and a twin herself! She lives in New Hampshire with her two teenage children, Michael (19) and Megan (16). She teaches baby sign language classes and has a NEW website where she sells baby sign products for anyone who wants to learn how to teach baby sign language to their baby. Kathy enjoys teaching her classes, but wanted to have a website where parents could buy products online. Being a single mom, she realizes how busy moms can be and that sometimes it is just easier to shop online and have the products delivered to your door!

If you are looking for Baby Signs products, be sure to stop by her site as she is offering free shipping through April 1, 2010.

To enter to win a DVD:

• Please comment below with what content you would like to see on our Columbus Multiple Moms Blog.
  

For additional entries – that’s right you have TWO MORE chances to win - do the following: (please create a separate comment for each of the three entry options)

• Become a follower of the Columbus Multiples Mom blog OR sign up for email notification (of blog posts) via feedburner (both are in the left margin). Once you have done this, comment below stating which you did. If you are already following us or subscribing through emails, that counts too. Comment below letting us know.
  
• Visit Kathy’s Baby Signs website and then comment below telling us what items interest you the most.

Winners will be selected on Friday March 12, 2010 at 9pm by random selection, using Random.org. Be sure to check the blog on Friday March 12th at 9pm to see if you won.

If an email address is not included in your goggle account profile, you will need to contact us within three days or we will have to select another winner. See giveaway policies for more information.

If you are viewing this on Facebook, come to the blog to enter to win.

The good enough mother

At times, we all struggle with parenting. We wonder how we are doing as a parent or maybe even judge our own perceived performance - good mommy moment/bad mommy moment. And then there's that ever present mommy guilt lingering in the corners of our mind. Below is an article discussing just that and pointing out that good mothers aren't perfect mothers. Probably something a lot of us just need to be reminded of every once in a while.

The Good Enough Mother

By Elaine Heffner, CSW, Ed.D., pubished on pbs.org

Amy, the mother of a four-year-old boy, was upset. She had just had the final conference of the year with her son's nursery school teacher. She heard some really good things about her son; she heard that he is very bright, makes friends easily and is very well liked. But the teacher also told her that sometimes he gets silly and babyish. Sometimes when she works individually with the children, he refuses to work with her. So Amy worried about whether there was something wrong with her son and wondered what she might have done to create these "problems."
Why do mothers tend to think that everything is their fault?

As mothers, we want everything to be perfect for our children. More than that, we imagine we can make it so. Sometimes there are things we don't like about ourselves or our lives and blame our upbringing. We want to fix what we think went wrong with us and do it right for our children. If only we could be perfect mothers, we could create the perfect life for our children and they in turn would be perfect. But since children are not perfect, we think there must be something wrong with us – that we must be at fault.

Besides, everyone acts as if a mother is responsible for everything her child does. People glare at you in the supermarket if your child acts up – as if you don't know how to manage him. They make comments on the bus if your child is unruly. If your daughter protests loudly when you leave to go out in the evening the babysitter or your mother might think, "She never does that with me."

As if that isn't enough, there are so many theories about how children should be raised in order for them to become emotionally well-adjusted, smart, successful and happy. And mothers are the ones on the hot seat. Now that so much has been learned about brain development, mothers feel responsible for that too! Child development research from its beginnings has, too often, assigned mom the role of primary influence, responsibility – and blame!

The message mothers take from all of this is that there is a right way to do things, and if you do it the wrong way you will damage your child. Any problem must mean you are doing something wrong, and so it is your fault. To be a good mother, it seems as though you have to be perfect and never make any mistakes.

The trouble with this idea is that even if you were a perfect mother (if there ever were such a person), that's not what would be best for your child. Your child has to grow up to live in the real world, and the real world isn't perfect. A child can't expect always to have people around her who understand her or cater to her every wish. Children have to learn to share, take turns, wait for what they want and realize that other people have needs and moods, too. Having to learn this can be frustrating, so children act up in various ways to show their displeasure. They show their feelings by behaving in ways that adults don't always like, and sometimes lead mothers to believe that they have done something wrong to cause that behavior.

But what about Amy and the teacher's report? Was Amy responsible for her son's behavior? Well, only if you think it was her fault for having a second child (which, by the way, she did feel guilty about). Actually, her son's babyish behavior was his way of saying that he wanted some baby treatment — like being carried or drinking from a baby bottle – and didn't want to be considered a "big boy." When Amy realized that his behavior was saying something about him, rather than about her, she was able to find many ways to help him appreciate being four instead of still being a baby.

So being a good mother does not mean being a perfect mother. A good enough mother is good enough.

A good enough mother:

• loves her child but not all of his behavior.
• isn't always available to her child whenever he wants her.
• can't possibly prevent all her child's frustrations and moods.
• has needs of her own which may conflict with those of her child.
• loses it sometimes.
• is human and makes mistakes.
• learns from her mistakes.
• uses her own best judgment.

There are no perfect mothers and no perfect children. If we accept our own limitations, we are better able to accept those of our children and of life itself. In that way we become good enough mothers. And good enough mothers are the real mothers.

A fun St. Patrick's Day healthy snack

Here's a really neat idea for a St. Patrick's Day (or any day) rainbow fruit platter that is not only fun to make, but also healthy!

From the March 2010 issue of Family Fun Magazine:

Anyone else have great snack ideas for all of the preschool/elementary classroom parties?