Karen Alley, The Daily Post. As web editor, Karen blogs every day about news and events that are going on either in our area or on a national realm. Bringing together hot topics with local ties is what keeps her perspective on the news interesting.
Renee, Teen-dom Tales, provides a look into the life of a mom of a teen, a stage of life that brings with it a whole new realm of parenting challenges.
Stephanie, Mamma Said, writes witty and insightful posts chronicling the development of her two young boys, ages 3 and 1. As a Greensboro resident, they're out and about at locales around the Triad quite often, and she also brings in the working mom perspective at times, with her part time job.
Lisa, The Single Mom's Soliloquy, adds a different spin on parenting as she writes about the issues, challenges and joys of raising a daughter as a single mom. Her look at life in the new world order of blended families and split families is refreshing and sometimes controversial.
Heather Maggs, of The Time Out Corner, presents a humorous blog on the roller coaster life of a stay-at-home mom of a toddler.
Myra Wright, familiar to you as our editor, also blogs inPiedmont Ponderings. It's a great outlet for her creative sense of humor, and she brings some great perspective to life in King as the mother of three kids.
Does the news make you feel old? Listening to stories about housing prices at record lows, layoffs continuing and making sure I watch the president when he's on TV makes me feel like I'm turning into how I remember my parents, not the young hip mom I imagine myself to be. Apparently I'm not the only one, news reports show that box office sales are setting records, and the top-selling movies are comedies and family fare. What's the deal? We're all looking for an escape from this depressing news, an outlet where we can laugh and feel young again.
So with a cold rainy weekend upon us, gather up the family and head out to a movie. We've got links to reviews of the new ones below. But there are plenty of not-so-new releases playing all around the Triad. Haven't seen the oscar-nominated films yet? There's still time to check out Slumdog Millionaire and Benjamin Button on the big screen before they leave our area for good.
Family fare that's still playing includes Coraline and Hotel for Dogs. Or make it a really economical escape and head to the $2.50 theater on High Point Rd., where quite a few good ones are still playing, including Bolt and Yes Man.
Find more movie times and listings at Yahoo! Movies, just type in your zip code for what's playing near you.
Reading, writing, arithmatic ... and recess. New research shows that getting some down time is important to kids' academic progress, and thank goodness researchers are finding ways to prove it. Kids who had 15 minutes or more down time a day showed better behavior than peers that didn't. Which seems to make punishing bad behavior by taking away recess even worse!
Kids in NC schools should be getting at least 30 min. of PE a day in elementary school, 45 in middle school. But of course, that's not always easy, with weather and EOGs. But as parents, be sure to ask and stay on top of what activities your kids are doing at school. And maybe let them run around outside a bit before hunkering down over homework after school.
For some ideas to get those kids moving, check out these websites:
GamesKidsPlay.net, for outdoor games and jump rope rhymes, Rainy Day Activities, and Indoor Winter Exercises for those days when you just can't bear to go outside.
Last Chance for Arthur's World Contest!
Today's the last day to get your coloring contest entry to the Children's Museum to qualify to win tickets to a special event with Arthur. Click here to download your form, and check out our calendar to see all the cool events going on with the Arthur's World Exhibit.
Happy Fat Tuesday! If you're in Louisiana you have Mardi Gras, in Brazil it's Carnival, and in the UK they celebrate Shrove Tuesday. Lucky for us, we're not in any of those places, so we can celebrate with a little of all the traditions!
The tradition for eating pancakes on Fat Tuesday came from the idea that you are cleaning out the cupboard of the ingredients you're supposed to give up during the season of Lent. Whether or not you're strict about your Lent practices, we can all have some fun today eating pancakes with our kids. There are plenty of opportunities around town to enjoy pancakes and even festivals with others, or just stay at home and whip up some of your own.
IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day by offering a free short stack to all customers from 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
A lot of churches in the area will celebrate with pancake suppers tonight. Here are a few:
If you want to try at home, my favorite recipe comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, their tried and true Buttermilk Pancakes. You don't need to use buttermilk, they come out fine with regular old 2% milk. If you're cooking for a family of 4, double the recipe.
And check out this article from the Chicago Tribune for some great tips on making the perfect pancake.
Is your kid getting enough sleep? When a new baby comes along, all we talk about is how long they're sleeping and how many naps they're getting. All of that soon ends as they start to sleep through the night, and by the time they get to school-aged, we seem to take it for granted that they're getting enough sleep. But a recent survey of teachers shows that 10% of kids are falling asleep at school, one of the signs of sleep deprivation.
It turns out sleep issues aren't just for babies. The National Sleep Foundation's Sleep in America poll found that 25-40% of kids have some sort of sleep problem, whether it's wetting the bed, needing a parent in bed to fall asleep or watching tv at night until they fall asleep.
Even when kids reach school age, they still need 9-12 hours of sleep per night. Click here for a few tips to help you get your kids sleeping on their own, and reward you with a better night's sleep as well.
Stimulus packages, snow days and even president's day news stories have seemed to overshadow this year's celebration of Black History Month. But the month isn't over yet, and there are plenty of ways to get out with your kids and have fun while learning a litte history. It's especially easy here in the Triad, where Greensboro was home to the sit-in movement of the 60s. Start with the comprehensive overview put together by Fox8. Then go out and celebrate at the Children's Black History Month celebration on Saturday. You can also take part in the Black History Month film festival at the Forsyth County Library.
Don't have time to get out to these events? Celebrate at home. The Biography Network has a site loaded with cool stuff, from interactive games to biographies and timelines. And Time for Kids also has a cool page with some activities and history.
