A Pumpkin Parable

My kids brought treat bags home from church Wednesday. Inside was a die cut paper pumpkin with a pumpkin parable on it. I know it's last minute, but I thought some of you might want to make these for tonight's trick-or-treaters.

A Pumpkin Parable

Sometimes I feel like I'm a pumpkin. Please don't think it's odd.
I'm growing in a pumpkin patch that's planted there by God.

God picks me from the pumpkin patch and washes off the dirt;
Scoops out the seeds of sin and hate and anger, greed and hurt.

And then, to show how much I'm loved, God marks me with a sign
And opens up my eyes and mouth: all part of God's design.

Then filled with love God sets me out for everyone to see,
So all the pumpkins in the patch can see God's light through me.

You are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14

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Christian Pumpkin Carvings

Cuddlebug brought this home from preschool today so I thought I'd share this for Halloween.



You'll need:
orange pumpkin with poem on 11x14 paper
two yellow stars for eyes
yellow cross for nose
yellow fish for mouth
glue


Here's the poem:

Christian Pumpkin Carvings

I am a Jack O Lantern
My light will shine so bright
For I am a Christian pumpkin
My symbols tell what's right

My nose is like the cross
On which the Savior died,
To set us free from sin
We need no longer hide.

My mouth is like a fish
The whole wide world to show,
That Christians live in this house
And love their Savior so!

The story starts at Christmas
My eyes are like the star,
That shone on Baby Jesus
And wise men saw from afar.

My color is orange
Just like the bright sun,
That rose on Easter Day
Along with God's own Son.

And so on Halloween
Let's set our pumpkins out,
And tell the trick or treaters
What God's love is all about!

~Author unknown

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Free Song Download: Rockstar

Charity has a new children's song to download. This month, it's Rockstar.

This month's song, Rockstar, is a rallying cry to dance your dance, sing your song, shine your light, stay grounded and keep loving all along the way. Grab your kids, pick up a hairbrush or your air guitar, and call upon the music within you. You Know What To Do: SING, DANCE, LOVE, ROCK, SHINE.

Cuddlebug's favorite Charity & the JAMband song is still Peanut Butter and Jam. You can listen on the main page of Charity's website.

Click here to download the song and lyrics for free. Charity also has nine other songs you can get for free! Enjoy! :)

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Avery School & Office Supply Giveaway

We're celebrating Back to School with a fun giveaway from Avery. This giveaway includes great stuff like Hi-Liters, labels, GlueStics, binders, dividers, sheet protectors, Marks-a-Lot permanent markers, and t-shirt transfers. The gift basket has a retail value of over $50!


Avery recently partnered with Box Tops for Education. Now, when you purchase Avery school supplies for the new academic year you also receive Box Tops coupons to clip and return to your child’s school to be redeemed for cash. Each school then uses the cash at their discretion to purchase new supplies, fund programs, or buy much-needed equipment, computers, etc.

I know you’d like to win this great prize package from Avery. As usual, I have several ways for you to earn entries. Of course, the more times you enter, the higher your odds of winning. You are not required to do any or all of these, but you can earn an entry for each one completed. Here are your options:

1) Leave a comment with something other than “enter me”. Tell me about the school supplies you like or give a tip about saving money or having fun with kids.

2) Tweet about this giveaway on twitter. If possible, include @thriftymommy in your tweet. Be sure to leave your twitter name or status url in the comment box. You can earn 3 tweet entries per day.

3) Follow @thriftymommy on twitter.

4) Blog about this giveaway or mention it on some sort of forum. Leave a direct url so that I can easily find the info for your entry.

5) Give this post a thumbs up on Stumble Upon, Digg It, add a link on Facebook, or some other way of promoting the giveaway.

6) Add Little Fun; Little Learning to your blogroll.

You can earn entries for each of these things that you do. Please leave a separate comment for each one. It just makes it easier for tallying entries and choosing a winner. Please leave an email address on your Blogger profile or in the comments so that I can contact the winner.

This contest ends Sunday, October 11, 2009 and is open to those with a US mailing address. Winners will be contacted via email and will have 72 hours to respond.

Good luck everyone!

Sorry for the weird colored image. I tried to upload it several times. Not sure what happened.

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Tips for Coping with Separation

When I was teaching preschool, I soon learned that some children have a hard time with the separation from their parents. Some kids act like they could care less. They wave and are ready to be on their own. For other children, it may take a few weeks for them to feel secure in their new environment. Here are some tips to help out with the transition.

• Let your child help with the morning routine. Dressing, packing lunch, or choosing something special to bring to school might help your child feel more in control of the process of leaving the house and saying goodbye.


• Plan your goodbye routines together. Decide how you will say goodbye at school and what you will do when you get home.


• Remain calm and confident. Your child will quickly notice if you feel uneasy.


• Think of ways to reinforce the link between home and school. Encourage your child to make things at home to contribute to the classroom. This could be art work for teachers or friends, special foods for snacks, props you find or make at home, or books to share.


• Decide on a special toy or object that your child can bring to school. This can be a family photograph, a favorite stuffed animal, a toy, or something that belongs to you, such as a scarf of handkerchief.


• Connect and communicate with your child's teacher when you say goodbye. This will help your child to feel secure and know that you will be back.


• Make goodbyes short and sweet. The longer you linger, the worse it becomes. Walk your child to class (or drop off), give a quick kiss and hug, say "Have a great day. I'll be back at XX time to get you." Then leave. Try to keep this routine the same at least for the first few weeks until the child is settled.


• Don't allow yourself to be manipulated. Some may be surprised or even offended at this tip, but I have witnessed a lot of parents being manipulated over the years. Some children think that if they scream long enough and loud enough then you will come to pick them up. If you give in to their screams, they'll only continue to do this. Eventually, you have to let them go, have confidence in their teachers, and give your children the independence that they need.


• Focus on the positive. Be excited when you pick up your child. Ask them what cool and exciting things happened that day. When I was teaching, I sang a few songs with my students that helped to focus on the positives of school. You might try, We Had a Happy Day and I Like to Go to School.

You might also like some of the tips shared at Boston Mamas.

Do you have any tips to add to this list?

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Free Family Event at Michaels

This Saturday Michaels is having a free family Knack event. Use stickers and paints to decorate a metal tin to store pencils and pens.

Ages 5-12 are welcome to the event which will take place from 10 am to 1 pm. While supplies last.

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The Importance of Sesame Street

While Sesame Street may seem to be a relic of the past and a show that most adults watched as children, most parents do not realize the positive effect which the show may have on their children. Sesame Street is full of a slew of early educational lessons, from counting to recognizing the shapes of letters. The show is still on air today and it has also become easy to purchase the original episodes from decades ago which serve the same purpose as episodes now do. The ability of the show to keep going after 40 years in existence as well as countless Emmy awards is a testament to the change it has made onto many young children over the years.

Television has been revolutionized since the early days of Sesame Street and there are now countless children’s shows available daily on many different stations. However, there has been a noticeable downturn in the amount of educational children’s shows as most appear to exist merely to entertain the child when parents are busy around the house. Sesame Street has still risen to the challenge and presents itself as the saving grace of the TV world by retaining its slot every day and still teaching many lessons to its viewers. There are not many shows that have been able to teach children how to count or read in ways that can even begin to rival the methods that Sesame Street uses. There are additionally many timeless episodes which never grow old and can continue to be used on today’s children much as they were intended for kids of the 1970s. It seems that Sesame Street will never truly grow old.

Eight million viewers still tune into Sesame Street every week, and many studies have indicated that the children who watch the show regularly have increased signs of literacy and numerical skills than those kids who do not watch it. While the show has been updated to include lessons that are more applicable in modern society, such as focusing on music, health, bilingual learning, and healthy eating, the same original lessons are still taught in every episode. There are still many preschool shows that aim to teach children the importance of learning and reading, but none are as solidified in American culture as Sesame Street is.

This post was contributed by Sarah Russel, who writes about the best online college degree. She welcomes your feedback at SarahRussel1234 at gmail.com

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Instilling Honor and Respect in Our Children

What is up with all of the sassy kids these days? I have encountered numerous kids lately, even little ones as young as four and five years old, that are rolling their eyes at their parents, smarting off, and using disrespectful tones. What's worse is that the parents aren't addressing the issue.

I know that all kids have issues, but it is our job to train them and to mold them. We are the ones that are to teach them right from wrong. There will many influences in their lives. How will they be able to discern which ones to follow if we don't guide them and teach them?

I believe it was Dr. Phil who so wisely said that we are raising adults. We are not raising children. What kind of adults are we raising?

There are times when planned ignoring is an acceptable form of behavior management but this is to be used when a child is trying to get on your nerves and to push your buttons. It is ok then to act like the behavior is not bothering you. This is not what I'm seeing from parents. I'm not seeing intentional ignoring from parents, I'm seeing people that don't want to address the issues and this is a concern for me.

Honor and respect are still admirable virtues. They are character traits that should be taught now, even while your child is very young. Unfortunately, some people have not consistently taught these things to their children while they were little ones and now they are really having issues from their preteens. I know that preteen and teen years are difficult, but some of what I'm hearing about is just going way too far. The parents have no control and seem to have no clue how to deal with it. I believe that if they would have handled these issues sooner in life, they would not have magnified so greatly now.

It is my belief that we should begin teaching our children to love, honor, and respect others around them, especially adults. This should begin in the early stages of life. Disrespectul words and gestures should be addressed immediately.

What are your feelings on this matter?

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

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Be Fire Smart

Be Fire Smart is a great site for teachers, educators, and children. On the site you will find information on planning fire escape routes, preventing fires, and home safety.

There are also fun things for the kids.

• Kids can dress Firefighter Frank to fight fires. While they are playing dress the firefighter, Frank tells them what each item is for and reminds them not to be afraid of firefighters.
• Download and print out the Be Fire Smart coloring book.
• Play Junior burning questions quiz.

If you're a teacher, be sure to bookmark this site for you upcoming fall lessons on fire prevention.

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Free Children's Music Download

Charity & the JAMband is giving away a free download of an entire album, Rock Your Socks Off. Hurry! This offer ends at 10 am PST. For more details, visit my post at Thrifty Mommy.

Even if you miss this limited offer, you can still get some free downloads. The post also tells about other free songs that you can get.

Gotta go. I'm taking the kids to a free movie! More on that later. Have a great day!

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