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Archives for 2020

Archives for 2020

Gardening with Your Kids: Some Cool Projects

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It’s the perfect time to teach kids about how plants grow. The benefits of gardening with kids is not merely that it’s a bonding activity, but it’s also exciting and educational for them to learn about plants and watch their plants grow. If you have a garden, great; if you don’t, no worries. There are plenty of fun things you can grow inside. Here are a few gardening experiments to try with your kids:

Beans in CD cases

Recycle a clear CD jewel case to grow beans and teach kids about the parts of the plant. With the empty case hinge side up, add some potting soil, filling about one-third of the case. “Plant” a bean concave side down (like the letter “n”) on top of the soil and let the kids water with a dropper by adding drops of water into the hole at the top of the CD case. Stand the “planter” upright in a sunny window and kids will be able to clearly see the roots reaching down into the soil as the plant grows out of the bean.

Flower bulbs

Paper whites and daffodils are favorite early spring plants, and growing flowers from bulbs is a great science experiment. Use any see-through container as a vessel, from plastic cup to a clear glass or vase. Add rocks or marbles to the bottom of your container and place the bulb on top, root side down. Fill with just enough water to cover the bottom of the bulb. Observe the bulb as it grows roots and eventually a flower! Bonus lesson: Cut open an extra bulb so that kids can see the inside of this plant powerhouse.

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Colored Carnations or Celery

Fill a vase or glass with water and tint the water with food color. Place a white carnation or celery stalk inside and watch the plant become colorful as it “drinks” the tinted water. This is a great, short experiment to show how plants take in water.

Root Vegetables

Ever wonder how root veggies form under the ground? You can see for yourself– and show the kids– by planting root vegetables in a clear container. Clear Mason jars are perfect for this, but a clear vase or other container works just as well. First, fill the bottom of your container with pebbles, marbles or gravel to allow for drainage. Then, add potting soil. Plant any root vegetable seeds, several per jar. Try carrots, onions, radishes or turnips. Keep the soil moist and enjoy watching the root form. Best of all, when the vegetable is done growing, you can eat it!

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Grow a Carrot Top

This is a fun way to see a plant grow, but it will not produce an edible carrot. You can use an end of a carrot from your veggie scraps, or buy a whole carrot with the green fronds still attached for this experiment. Cut off the carrot near the plant end, leaving an inch or two of root. (Remember, the root is the edible part of the carrot, so you’ll want to cut your carrot near the wide end, leaving the part where the green leaves attach for growing.) Place several cotton balls on a plate or shallow dish and add water until the cotton is moist. Place the carrot top on the wet cotton, orange side down. Help the kids check and add water as needed. The green plant will sprout within a few days.

Sunflowers

Sunflower seeds sprout and grow quickly, making this the perfect flower for impatient children. These seeds can be started just about anywhere, even in a Styrofoam coffee cup. Kids love seeing the plant push its way out of the soil, wearing the seed husk like a hat! Transplant your plant to a flowerpot after sprouting to observe the flower as it forms.

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Grass basket

Grass is another seed that grows quickly. Make a living basket by lining a basket in plastic and filling with potting soil. Scatter grass seed on top and lightly mist with water daily. The kids will love using a spray bottle! This makes a perfect spring table centerpiece filled with green, living grass!

Try any of these inexpensive garden experiments for a fun project. Growing plants is a great way to sneak some learning—and a little sunshine—into your daily routine.

By Tiffany Doerr Guerzon, freelance writer and mother of three.

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Youth Sports & Coronavirus: When and What Can Kids Play?

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Updated Aug. 26: In a briefing on Monday, Aug. 24, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that lower-risk youth sports—like tennis, soccer, cross country, field hockey, and swimming—may practice and play beginning Sept. 21 as long as they follow Department of Health-issued guidance. No travel practice or play will be permitted outside of the school’s region or contiguous regions/ counties until Oct. 19.  Higher risk sports with full-physical contact—like tackle football, wrestling, rugby, and ice hockey—can continue to practice but are not authorized to play.

How will youth sports be different?

When youth sports do start up—whether it’s at an interscholastic level or smaller, private leagues—they will likely look different. Team members will have to social distance, wear masks, and modify certain plays. After all, even the Major Leagues have called for radical new safety protocols, where every player must be temperature checked and an estimated 10,000 COVID-19 tests will be conducted every week.

The youth sports industry itself will also be changed. Many parents won’t be comfortable allowing their child to be on a team. Plus, with the ongoing recession, many families may not be able to afford league fees, uniforms, and other fees associated with youth sports. “There is not going to be that kind of discretionary income out there,” Dave Brown, owner of Basketball Stars of New York, says. The recession may also cause 20-40% of youth sports clubs to close, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The New York City Parks Department says it will not be issuing permits for youth sports leagues due to safety concerns, according to ABC7NY. Many families are dissatisfied with this decision and are teaming up with coaches and politicians to protest the decision so their children will have an outdoor place to participate in group sports. Permit advocates are saying that kids are playing all over the state just a few miles away, and that its unfair to city kids to hinder them from playing too. City Councilman Brad Lander says that the city should remember that these youth sports leagues are non-profits and small businesses.

NYC Parks issued the following statement in response:

“Our fields remain open for first-come, first-serve, socially-distanced play. We will reassess our ability to issue permits later in the fall.”

How to Play Youth Sports Safely

When it’s time for your kid to resume their position on the team, there are precautions to take. The CDC recently released youth sports guidelines on what teams and leagues can do to protect kids, which includes keeping six feet apart from others, wearing a mask when around other people, disinfecting equipment, and washing hands frequently.

While it may be a relief for some of the 20 million kids who play organized youth sports every year not to have to attend practices, many young athletes will be devastated by the loss. In that case, according to Patrick Mularoni, M.D., medical director of the Pediatric Sports Medicine program at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, parents should encourage their kid to continue training— with their family members or at a safe distance from peers. The exercise and routine will help them stay active and motivated, and it can help kids avoid the depression that befalls injured athletes when they have to give up playing.

Finally, this period may be a blessing in disguise—an opportunity to try something new try something new and take a break from an over-scheduled life. Maybe instead of lacrosse practice, they will go on more bike rides or learn to rollerblade. Maybe kids can join their parents for runs or walks. At best, your kid who was once accustomed to back to back practices after school everyday will be able to join the family for dinner more often.

Shana Liebman is the features editor of NYMP. She’s a writer and editor who has worked for magazines including New York Magazine, Salon, and Travel & Leisure—and she is the mom of two energetic little boys.

Wanna read more stuff like this? Get our newsletters packed with ideas, events, and information for parents in Staten Island.

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This Is How to Make Your Own Slime at Home

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It’s wet, it’s slippery, it’s squishy, it’s oh-so-ooey-gooey. The kids love it — and we’re not complaining! Making slime is an easy and fun activity that requires zero screen time and tons of creativity. It’s basically a science experiment that provides endless fun. Ok, maybe not endless – but long enough to fill the gaps between declarations of boredom on bad-weather days indoors.

When my kids starting bugging me to make slime, I was originally hesitant to whip up a batch at home. I’m hardly the Pinterest parent. Visions of glue on the ceiling and food coloring stains on my kitchen table danced in my head. So I ditched the messy home science project and took the easy route, snagging a store-bought container. Big mistake.

I don’t know what kind of chemical-laden toy factory produced such an icky, horrid substance designed for child’s play, but that greasy goop was tossed in the trash with record-breaking speed. So since I had 86’d their store slime, I ended up doing the homemade slime thing after all. And it was a success!

Half the fun of slime time is the cool process of making it. Although you’re simply tossing a few basic ingredients into a bowl and mixing away, you’re actually creating a real-life chemical reaction. It’s interesting, and makes for a great learning experience for kids. I could get into it now (and sound super smart, throwing around fancy words like “non-Newtonian” and “viscosity”) but I only have so much room on this page. So just google “slime science” and read until it makes enough sense to mold into a lesson for your kids.

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I found the slime was also very simple to make, with hardly any mess at all. My kids are 6 and 9, so they were able to keep most of their mixtures inside the bowl. Obviously younger children will need help mixing and adding ingredients, and your likelihood of a mess increases with the little ones. The whole process took less than five minutes, my kids got a HUGE kick out of it, and played with their slime for a good part of the afternoon.

We’ll probably be whipping up a batch of slime around here pretty frequently to stave off any indoor boredom blues. Below is the very simple recipe I used for our first time, followed by some tips for more adventurous concoctions you can try once you’ve mastered the basic technique.

You will need:
½ tablespoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of contact lens solution (must be a brand containing boric acid)
4-ounce bottle of Elmer’s white school glue
Your choice of food coloring

Directions

  1. Pour the entire contents of a 4oz of Elmer’s school glue into a large bowl.
  2. Add ½ tablespoon of baking soda and mix.
  3. After mixing, add a few drops of your choice of food coloring.
  4. Add 1 tablespoon of contact lens solution.
  5. Mix until slime forms and it begins to get harder to mix.
  6. Take the slime out and begin kneading with both of your hands.
  7. Store in plastic container.

Tips

  • For less sticky slime, add an additional ¼ tablespoon contact lens solution.
  • Add glitter when you drop in the food coloring for sparkly slime. You could also use glitter glue instead of white glue.
  • Buy your glue in bulk to make huge batches of slime.
  • For extra fluffy slime, add 1 ½ cups of shaving cream (per 4-ounces of glue). You will need to increase the amount of contact lens solution by 1-2 tablespoons (add slowly).

Disclaimer
Adult supervision is required when making slime. Contact lens solution contains boric acid and may cause diarrhea if consumed. Make sure hands are washed after playing with slime and never allow your child to put any slime in his or her mouth. Keep contact lens solution and any products containing boric acid out of reach of children.

By Jeannine Cintron, a Staten Island mom of two, who is becoming more of a “Pinterest Parent” than she cares to admit.

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Six Flags Great Adventure Announces HALLOWFEST Coming This Fall

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Six Flags Great Adventure’s newest event, HALLOWFEST, will feature daytime and nighttime Halloween-themed fun, thrills, and chills from Sept. 18 through Nov. 1. “Thrills by Day” will feature family-friendly Halloween activities and “Chills by Night” will include rides on monster coasters in the dark and haunting Halloween theming throughout the park. The park will operate 2-10pm Saturdays and Sundays with reservations to ensure limited capacity admission. The company’s comprehensive safety protocols will be in effect for the entirety of the event.

From 2-6pm, families and younger thrill-seekers can experience HALLOWFEST “Thrills by Day,” including:

  • Elaborate fall landscaping with pumpkin displays, colorful mums, cornstalks, hay bales, gourds, and festive inflatables
  • A trick-or-treat trail with kid-friendly Halloween monsters and individually packaged candies and treats
  • A kid-centric hay bale maze that moves in one direction
  • Fun rides for all ages
  • Halloween-themed treats like gooey caramel apples and funnel cakes made with Snickers

Beginning at 6pm, “Chills by Night” will feature haunted attractions like:

  • Creepy fog, eerie lighting, and sinister music setting the scene for nighttime scares and chills
  • Three haunted trains, four themed zones, and street entertainment
  • Six Flags’ signature collection of world-class roller coaters in total darkness
  • Halloween gear like themed masks, witch headbands, light-up devil horns, and scary apparel available for purchase

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“Our annual Fright Fest celebration is one of the most anticipated Halloween events of the season. Given the current environment, we are taking special precautions this year and offering our guests a version that is still scary, provides lots of thrilling rides and Halloween fun, and most importantly, is safe for our guests and team members,” said Six Flags president and CEO Mike Spanos in a press release. “We will operate HALLOWFEST the same way we have operated our parks all summer, with daily temperature checks and face masks required for guests and team members prior to entry, social distancing, and enhanced sanitation measures.”

Six Flags worked in partnership with its epidemiologist consultants to create a safe and fun Halloween experience that exceeds federal, state, and local safety guidelines. Park attendance will be carefully monitored to avoid overcrowding and all visitors will be required to make a reservation to attend HALLOWFEST.

  • All team members (including scare-actors) and guests 2 years and older will be required to wear masks covering the nose and mouth while in the parks
  • No indoor mazes, haunted houses, or indoor shows will be operated at this time; Some haunted trails and scare zones will be operated outdoors with social distancing strictly enforced
  • A limited number of nighttime scare-actors will remain at least six feet away from guests and one another
  • Guests viewing outdoor entertainment will be separated by at least six feet
  • Props, rides, restraints, handrails, and dining and restroom facilities will be cleaned and sanitized regularly
  • Multiple alcohol-based hand sanitizer stations will be located throughout the parks for guest and team member usage

HALLOWFEST reservations will be available online for members and season pass holders beginning Sept. 3 at 12pm and for daily ticket holders beginning Sept. 4 at 12pm. For more information about Six Flags’ safety guidelines and reservations, visit the Six Flags Great Adventure website.

Until HALLOWFEST, Six Flags Great Adventure is open on a reservation-only basis and The Wild Safari-Drive-Thru Adventure is operating daily through Sept. 27, and then weekends and select days through Thanksgiving.

Wanna read more stuff like this? Get our newsletters packed with ideas, events, and information for parents in Staten Island.

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7 Tips for Reclaiming Your Identity Post Childbirth

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While in college, Michele Kus walked out of a jazz band audition, vowing never to play music publicly again. Burnout had pushed her over the edge. Twenty years later, after seven years as a full-time mom and the birth of her third child, she was exhausted from parenting and in need of a territory to call her own. Unexpectedly, she found herself being drawn into playing keyboard at her church. This time music became a lifeline.

“The music is fully mine. It is me being fully me. It is not something I do for my children or for my husband; in fact, they must make sacrifices for me to do it,” Kus explains.

At the beginning when we are establishing a family, we adopt our new roles wholeheartedly, even calling each other “Mommy” and “Daddy.” But as the kids grow and we never hear our given name, it can be discouraging. Limiting our identity to one role has the potential to build resentment. And it can diminish our ability to be our best as a parent. Want to be a better, more fulfilled mom? Try one or more of these seven ideas for reclaiming yourself as a whole person:

1. Establish a ‘no kids zone’ in your house

They may follow you everywhere (including the bathroom), but that does not mean you don’t deserve a space of your own. Even a chair or nook designated off-limits to everyone but you can provide a respite when the troops are restless.

2.Spend time around people who don’t know your children.

 
It’s natural for the majority of our associates during the child-rearing years to be those who play a role in our children’s lives: parents of playmates, fellow PTA members, neighborhood moms. However, this limits us to being identified as somebody’s mom. When you engage with others minus the kids, you have the chance to express another side of yourself. This can be as simple as going to the gym or a Pilates class once a week.

3. Accomplish a personal goal.

We often have the sense that the world drops off at our doorstep; that we have to put everything on hold for the sake of our children. But the truth is, our kids can appreciate us more when they see us making time for ourselves too. And fulfilling one goal can lead to other opportunities.

For Kus, engaging in music again has spawned new aspirations: making an album, learning how to DJ, writing soundtracks. “It has opened a whole new world for me,” she says. “I feel like I have come back to life, and my husband and kids have seen the change in me.”

4. Have a ‘big people dinner’ with just your spouse.

Feed the kids a child-friendly meal of chicken nuggets or mac ‘n cheese. Then focus your energy on creating a more sophisticated meal for the adults in the house. Pull out the china and light some candles. Once the kids are all tucked in bed for the night, enjoy a peaceful, uninterrupted meal. One caveat? Try not to discuss the kids over dinner. Instead Kus suggests, “Talk about what gives you energy your dreams, your desires.”

5. Find a job.

 Consider looking for work as your children reach school age. Even a few hours each week can make a difference in your attitude toward yourself.

Kathleen Wolf, a mother of two, started as a substitute teacher before going back to teaching full-time. The results for her have been positive. “I feel more confident and that my kids are not my whole world,” she explains. “I have a purpose again.”

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6. Make a date with yourself.

 Arrange for someone to take child duty (spouse, grandparent, friend), then escape for a day doing what you like best reading, napping, shopping. Not sure what to do? Pick a day and jump in the car to see where it takes you. You may be surprised.

7. Get physical

. Engage in a sport or activity you enjoyed as a youth. Whether through drawing, playing tennis, or playing piano, using your body to do something once very familiar can be emotionally satisfying. Unlike our memory of information, muscle memory (or what scientists call “procedural memory”) sticks much longer-term. The result is that we can connect with our identity prior to motherhood through actions we learned long ago.

As many women have found, motherhood can be an all-consuming profession. But it does not have to claim our personal identity too. Given a bit of attention and intention, we can be ourselves and Mommy. . . and we should. As Kus says, “No one can be you. No one carries the unique gifts, skills, passion and heart that you do.”

6 Signs You Need a Break From Being Mommy:

  • You’re not sure what you’d want to do, given time alone.
  • You can’t remember the last time you had the house to yourself.
  • You’re surprised to hear your given name.
  • You could practically live out of your car with all of the food, clothing, and gadgets in there.
  • You don’t close the bathroom door any more because why bother?
  • You still carry a diaper bag, even though your kids have been potty trained for years.

By Lara Krupicka, a parenting journalist, mother of three and author of Bucket List Living For Moms: Become a More

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When Is the Third Trimester and What Is Nesting?

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The third trimester, which usually begins around week 28, can be a joyful, relaxing time as you prepare for your newborn’s arrival.

Right around the end of your second trimester and somewhere in the beginning of your third trimester – something magical happens in a woman’s pregnancy. This something magical is called ‘nesting.’ This is simply a term that means you are preparing for baby and therefore, wanting to clean everything in sight to get ready for your tiny, precious bundle of cuteness.

For some women, this period of nesting is a relaxing and comforting time for them as they organize and control what goes where. For others, it can be a bit stressful depending on other factors in your life such as…an outgrown home where there is not enough storage and space to put things in the place that you want them to be put.

So what do you do when you are in your nesting stage and are feeling overwhelmed with where to begin? Many women ask this question and unless you are pregnant yourself or have been pregnant – this very distinct stage in a woman’s pregnancy may cause more stress than relaxation.

Try these seven tips and ideas to get you started on your way to creating a calm, organized and nesting-approved home that results in a place where the entire family wants to gather. No matter the size of your living quarters or the question of where to begin – this list will give you the nudge you need to get things going.

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  • 1.  Make a list. Lists are great because they are visual. Do it the old fashioned way with a pen and paper. Take a seat and write down everything on your mind from organizing your shoes to washing all of the baby’s new clothes. Having something tangible to read from will help you stay focused.
  • 2.  Be realistic. You may think that repainting your master bathroom three months before you deliver is a great idea. But hang on. Nesting is a time of organizing and settling in. Save the painting for your husband or paint your soon-to-be baby a one-of-a-kind masterpiece made by yours truly if you really have the itch to paint.
  • 3. Take your time. Revisit your list of things to be done and do them one at a time. Trying to tackle everything at once will leave you feeling overwhelmed and defeated before you have even tackled that first item. Give yourself grace when it comes to tidying things up and take it slow.
  • 4. Enjoy nesting. Nesting is one of the many fun times during a woman’s pregnancy. It says, ‘The end is near,’ and this, this, and this needs to be done before the baby is born. Nesting allows for some sort of control over the pregnancy and signals to the brain that ‘Yes, I am ready for this baby to come.’ Bottom line: it feels good to be prepared.
  • 5. Include the kids. If you have other children this is a great time to let them help you with organizing the home. Kids love to help; especially when it comes to the arrival of their younger sibling. Something as simple as putting the baby’s bows in a bin to vacuuming the nursery can make all the difference to your children when they want to help out.
  • 6. Reflect. After one thing is done, take a break and eat a snack. Take time to reflect on where you are in your pregnancy. Enjoy the moment. Relish in the fact that your other children get a smile out of helping. Embrace the idea of waiting until after naptime to tackle the dishes. Take time to be in the moment.
  • 7. Save something for your husband. Just because you think you can get everything done by yourself, doesn’t mean leaving a thing or two for your husband to do is a bad idea. This serves two purposes, 1.) You can direct your attention to another task and, 2.) Your husband will feel needed and appreciated when he sees how happy you are now that the curtains are hung in the baby’s room. It’s a win-win situation.

Nesting happens. It is part of a woman’s pregnancy that many look forward to. Take this list of ideas and get started on your own list of ‘to do’s.’ If the baby decides to come early, you will be comforted knowing that everything is in its place before the arrival. If you go past your due date, well, now you just have more time to nest.

By Meagan Ruffing, a freelance parenting writer, who is pregnant with her third child and is currently enjoying the nesting stage.

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