Studio 5 Today! 1pm MST

Hey Utah Friends, be sure you tune in to Studio 5 on KSL today at 1pm MST. I will be chatting with Brooke about what to do when we disagree with our spouse on parenting decisions.

Great tips to make parenting easier for you and your spouse.

See you at 1.

p.s. If you miss it, I will post the video on FamilyVolley as soon as it is available.

Thanks for watching!

Back To School Time Capsule (With Printable)

Here from Studio 5, looking for the Printable? Just scroll down and you will run right into it!

Today is our children's first day of the new school year. We have had a great summer, although way to short, and the kids are ready for school to start. I am glad they are so excited. 

This is a big year for the kids, but also for us as parents. Our son will be starting 7th grade. Yikes! Junior High School? Were those years really good for anyone? On top of that, he will be attending junior high at the local high school. Not part time, but full time, just like if he was in 10th grade. I am nervous for what he will be exposed to. High school is a very big place for a barely twelve year old. Fingers crossed we have done our part to prepare him.Our 9 year old daughter is starting 4th grade. She is in a French emersion program and spends half the day speaking English and the other half of the day speaking French. No English allowed. She has loved it up to this point and am guessing, that although I took a lot of French in high school, she has the potential to pass me up this year. 

Our 6 year old is going to be in 1st grade. That means she is starting the French program also and will be in school all day. I don't know what I am going to do without her around during the day.

I am going to miss them. A lot. 

With all the changes, and the fact that I feel like I can't keep up with how fast our kids are growing up, we decided a few years ago to start documenting all the fun changes that take place each school year. The Back to School Time Capsules will help you keep track of your children's growth, without taking a lot of time or resources. And your kids will love it. Don't worry if school has already started. There is plenty of time and your kids will still be very willing.

The idea is to document the small things about your child that will change over the next school year. Things like height, weight, likes and dislikes, even handwriting. 

You don't need much.

A container

Rope or string or ribbon

Paper

Pens/Pencils

Camera

First...decide what you want each child to keep their capsule in. Mason jar, #10 Can, She Box, anything will work. 

HEIGHT

Have your child stand up against a wall and lightly mark how tall they are. THEN...take your rope/string/ribbon and stretch it the length of your measurement. Cut the string to the right height length, and put it in your time capsule. They will love getting it out at the end of the school year and seeing how tall they have grown. 

WEIGHT

Write down how much your child weights. If you don't know, don't worry, skip this one.

LIKES/DISLIKES

On a piece of paper, have your child write down the following... 

favorite color

favorite meal

favorite fruit

favorite vegetable

favorite activity

least favorite food

favorite TV show

favorite movie

favorite book

favorite subject in school

favorite friend

favorite snack

favorite shirt/pants/shoes

favorite toy

You get the point. Add your own to the list. 

Here is a Printable you can use for your own Back To School Time Capsules. Simply click on the picture, download, and print out one copy for each of your kids. 

GOALS

Have your child write down 3 goals they have for this school year. At the end of the year you can see if they accomplished those goals. 

HANDWRITING

Have your child write their name. For even more fun. Have them write it on a piece of paper/chalkboard/whiteboard and then take of picture of them holding the piece of paper up. This way you will have a picture of them and see what their writing was like. It will be fun to see how their writing has changed at the end of the school year.

TRACE HANDS/FEET

Trace your children's hands. Include the tracing in the capsule. Your kids will love to see how their hands have grown. We like to include feet also. 

PICTURE

If you took a picture of your child holding up their name, then you can use that as your picture. If not, you probably took a picture the first day of school. Add a picture to the time capsule and you are set. If you are not really great at getting pictures from your camera/phone to the print shop, you can always wait until the school pictures come home and add one of those to the time capsule. 

Once you have everything filled out and gathered, put it in your container of choice and seal it up. Bury them in the backyard, put them on a high shelf, under the bed, anywhere. Just tuck them away until the end of school, or the beginning of the next school year. 

It will be so fun to have a special BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY next year when we open them up and see how the kids have grown and changed. And then start the tradition all over again for the new school year. 

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

We have decided that we are going to do this every year until they graduate from high school. Each new school year, as we go through last years contents to see the kids growth and development, I take the contents of the capsules and put them in a regular old legal size envelope. I hole punch the envelopes and put them into a three ring binder for storage. Each child has their own binder, and that is all we have to store until they leave for college or get married and want to take their time capsules with them. What a great way to quickly and simply document all the growth and development that is happening. 

Simple, fun, and memorable. It doesn't get better than that. 

How do you keep your memories?

How do you ring in the new school year?

Anyone have kids in an emersion program? What language are they learning?

 

Are you an Overly Protective Parent?

Do you constantly monitor your kids every move. Is the day filled with warnings and cautions, "be careful" and "don't touch that"?

Naturally, we worry about our children and don't want anything bad to happen to them. But... being overprotective is not the best route to take. In fact, it actually does more harm than good. When we overprotect our kids we keep them from learning the key skills they need to handle the challenges they will face in life and keep them from becoming self sufficient adults. 

This week I had a chance to talk "Overprotective Parenting" on Studio 5 with Brooke Walker. 

Want to know if you are an overprotective parent? 

Want to know how to stop overprotecting your kids?

Take a few minutes and watch the segment. I share the key to knowing if you are overprotective and some great tips for not being too overprotective. It's a good reminder for all of us. 

"Sparkle On"- Where I Race a Host on Local TV to Eat a Marshmallow

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Glaceau fruitwater®

Over the last few years I feel like I have grown stronger than every before. I feel I have been tested and tried and much has been required. I have had need for strength I didn't know I had. And still I have tried to "sparkle on."

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to work with fruitwater®. Their campaign message is to "sparkle on." To share times and situations where you have been faced with unexpected challenges, funny situations, when life happens, and you shine on, sparkle on, and keep going.

Well today, even though it makes me look silly, I had the opportunity to sparkle on. I had two segments on our local TV show, Studio 5. The first segment was two really fun games for families. Unexpectedly, the host asked me to play along with the second game. Not what I was expecting at all. I wanted so badly to say "no" but knew that I had to say "yes." I am not in the habit of putting myself in public situations where I embarrass myself. You can see for yourself what happened.

I asked my husband after the segment if I made a fool of myself. He said "no, it was great." I tried to believe him, but worried. I re-watched the segment, and you know what? It felt good to let my guard down and be myself. It felt good to be a little goofy and roll with the unexpected. It wasn't half bad

How exciting that there is a company who believes in letting our guard down and being strong when things get uncomfortable, or difficult. I think the challenges over the last few years made today easier. The experiences have given me courage and a sense of humor about myself and life.

Glaceau fruitwater® is a great tasting, naturally flavored sparkling water beverage that contains no juice. They are available in flavors such as black raspberry, orange mango, strawberry kiwi and watermelon punch. They are delicious and perfect for a middle of the day pick me up. Not to mention, I love the shape of the bottles. 

As important as fruitwater® great flavors, is their message. We all have what it takes to sparkle through unexpected challenges, brushing off our shoulders in sparkling style.

What is your drink of choice?
So, did I make a fool of myself? It's okay, you can be honest. :)
When have you had to be strong and "sparkle on"?

Glaceau fruitwater® is a great tasting, naturally flavored sparkling water beverage that contains no juice.

Now that you’ve read about my “sparkling truth”, it’s time to share yours! A sparkling truth is a moment when you sparkle through unexpected challenges, brushing yourself off in a bubbly style. How do you sparkle on when life throws you a curve ball? Leave a comment on this post or jump in the conversation on social media by tagging your amplification with the hashtag, #sparklingtruth.

Visit http://fruitwater.com for more information and to help you discover your favorite sparkling truths.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Glaceau fruitwater®.

Teaching your kids the "Rules of Friendship"-A Video

Last week I headed to Salt Lake to talk about the "Rules of Friendship" on Studio 5. Studio 5 is a local daily lifestyle show. It is always so fun to contribute.

Are your kids having friend trouble? Do they know what it means to be a good friend? Do you know what to do when a friendship goes bad for your child?

Instead of reading Family Volley today, watch it. :) Here's the video from the show. We even talk about "best friends", does your child really need one?

Have your kids had any trouble with friends?

When our Children Lie - What Should We Do?

A few weeks ago I spent the morning at Studio 5. It is a local daytime television show, and it is always fun to contribute. Brooke, Darren and I spent a few minutes talking about kids and lying. Why they lie, and what to do.

Do your kids ever lie? Watch the video for some great pointers on how to deal with it.
If you want more in-depth information, read this post on Kids and Lying.



Remember it is really normal for kids to try lying. The key is to put a stop to it so it doesn't become a habit. (Keep in mind, it might be our fault, not theirs. Wink wink.)

Do you ever fib around your kids?

What's the craziest lie you have heard from your children?

TV Debut-Thanksgiving Traditions-Why I Have Been MIA

I feel like I have been Missing in Action.

Why? Well, on Monday I had a fun opportunity to be on Studio 5, here in Utah. I shared some Thanksgiving Traditions that encourage gratitude. It was a blast, but, there was a lot of preparation. Hence being MIA. Any spare time was spent prepping and planning.

Not bad for my first shot at live TV. Although there were a few things I didn't get to say, but that is how TV works. You role with it.

Give it a watch. Tell me what you think. Tis the season of Gratitude and the video will give you some great ideas just in time for your Thanksgiving Dinner. Especially the "Gratitude Rolls".

p.s. Watch the Studio 5 video and you can see the headband trick in action. The video is working again, with no charges. I wrapped it very tight, tighter than usual, but still loved the way it turned out. Here is how it looked last time I took pictures for you.