I just received the following e-mail on a subject that I believe is very important to our children so I'm including it here. Of course, it doesn't have to be Take a Child Outside Week to spend time with kids and nature together.

Celebrate Take a Child Outside Week September 24th - 30thThis week the Children & Nature Network will join more than 90 organizations in celebrating "Take A Child Outside Week," an international program initiated by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and held in cooperation with partner organizations across the U.S. and Canada. Visit the Take A Child Outside Web site for resources and information on how your organization can get involved.

Excite Children about Learning to Read!

Interesting Ways to Read to Your Child:
● Read, memorize and sing Nursery Rhymes.
● Read Fairy Tales. Children identify with the main characters who often overcome great difficulties. This also helps to develop both their imagination and their problem-solving skills.
● Read books that make you laugh together. This builds relationships and a sense of security.
● Read tongue twisters (Like Dr. Seuss’, O Say Can You Say). Yes! It is entirely permissible to roll on the floor laughing while doing this.
● Read stories that your child enjoys, over and over and over again. Then let them read them to you, over and over and over again.
● Let your child read to you, beginning with picture books where there are no words. Have them tell their own story based on the pictures in the book.
● Sound out words as a child begins to read.
(Yes, I know that some educators are promoting simply memorizing words based on recognition, but my personal experience says that phonics works and gives them a system to figure a word out when it's one they haven't seen before.)
● Attend library storybook and reading events.
● Read together instead of watching TV.

An Easy Way to Make Your Own Pizza
When everyone in the family has different favorites, we've found that letting each child make a section of pizza with their favorite toppings is not only fun, but tastes good and gives a child a sense of accomplishment. (It's also less expensive than ordering out and takes very little time to do.)

We start with a ready-made pizza crust, but if there is time, you can also make your own or use frozen bread dough that has been defrosted and shape it into a pizza crust. Spread pizza sauce on top and add your choice of herbs. Oregano, basil and garlic salt or powder are basic, but you can also use mixed Italian herbs. Cover that with grated cheese. (A bag of grated cheese is easiest and grating it can be fun for an older child who likes to cook.) Then each child gets their own section and adds whatever toppings appeal to them. Bake, slice, eat and enjoy!

Turn a beloved T-shirt into a huggable pillow
Recently, one of my granddaughters was dismayed because a nightshirt/T-shirt of mine that she loved to wear when she stayed at grandma's house had reached the point where there were too many holes worn in it to be useful anymore. I was ready to toss it into the rag bag when she pleaded to save "at least the cute bear on the front".

As it turned out, the bear on the front and areas around it did not have any holes, so we cut out a square of fabric that included the bear and also a matching square from the back of the shirt. We turned the picture to the inside and pinned the two pieces of fabric together. My granddaughter, who is 10, used the sewing machine (while I watched carefully) to sew three sides of the squares together. Then we turned it right-side out. She stuffed it with polyester filling and we pinned the final side closed. With a needle and thread, my granddaughter used a simple overhand stitch to sew the last side closed. In a matter of about 20 minutes, we had a precious teddy bear pillow.

Think it, Say it, Do it.
Perhaps one of the best gifts we can give our children is to help them see themselves as capable. Sometimes this happens from what we say, "You can do it!", "I have confidence in you." and "I'm sure you can handle that." Often it occurs because we provide our children with opportunities to try new things, to use tools, to experience situations under our watchful eye where they can test their abilities.

Spend some time asking a child what they might like to do, if there is some skill they would like to learn, some fear that they wish they didn't have. Talk about it. Give them positive reinforcement. Then come up with a simple plan to help them achieve what they have talked about. It doesn't have to be something grand. Little things accomplished make great strides in self-reliance and self-esteem.

Let a child use a key to open a door, use a sharp potato peeler to help prepare dinner, mix up something with an electric mixer or make wood smooth with a power sander. Of course, everything is done with you nearby; but let them stretch and grow and become confident! They can do it and so can you.

Make a Jumping Spider Toy

We've had kids hide under tables, behind the couch and other places, lying in wait with a spider poised to jump. What fun! Take four black pipe cleaners and twist them in the center to make 8 legs. Glue them to the bottom of a black pom pom and then shape the pipe cleaners so that they look like spider's legs. Sew a piece of string through the pom pom and then run the string through a drinking straw. Tie the string to a small piece of pipe cleaner on the other side of the straw so that it cannot pull back through the straw. Add two jiggle eyes and hold them in place with glue. Dress the spider up with a bow. To make the spider jump, place it on any surface and then pull the small pipe cleaner on the end of the straw hard and fast so that the string quickly pulls the spider up to the opposite end of the straw. Giggles allowed!