August Activities

For the summer months we will be only having one big activity a month, with the rest of the weeks at scheduled parks. Anyone is welcome to show up- those of you with playground aged children, as well as those without who just want to get outside and visit!

August 6: Playground across from church 10:30

August 13: Playground across from church 10:30

August 20: Park Lake (meet at church at 10:30 for carpooling)

August 27: Sheridan Park at 10:30 (Sheridan Rd and Columbia Blvd)

May 23rd: Supporting "Parents As Teachers" (PAT)

For the Moms:
Sister Palmer lead an information session about the free community service program "Parents As Teachers" (PAT). PAT is an amazing program which supports parents with children aged 0-5 with everything from information and education about early childhood development, monthly in-home visits from a trained parent-educator, free parenting courses, parenting resources, parent-child groups, community links, etc!

Some quick information about PAT:

PAT's Vision:
"All children will learn, grow, and develop to realize their full potential."

PAT's Core Values:
- Parent's are their children's first and most influential teachers.
- The early years of a child's life are critical for optimal development and provide the foundation for success in school in life.
- Established and emerging research should be the foundation of parent education and family support curricula, training materials, and services.
- All young children and their families deserve the same opportunities to succeed regardless of any demographic, geographic, or economic considerations.
- An understanding and appreciation of the history and traditions of diverse cultures is essential in serving families.

PAT's Goals:
- Increase parent knowledge of early childhood development and improve parenting practices.
- Provide early detection of developmental delay and health issues.
- Prevent abuse and neglect.
- Increase children's school readiness and school success.

To find out more information about PAT, please visit their national website at www.parentsasteachers.org and their local website at www.southregionpat.ca.

Unfortunately, after supporting so many families with young children in Southern Alberta, PAT now needs our support! It recently received a huge funding cut of 52% from it's main funder, the Child and Family Services Authority (provincial government) thus crippling it's ability to provide much needed services to families in Southern Alberta.

If you would like to help, contact Abby for a letter-writing package to our local MLA, Greg Weadick, or send an email expressing your concern to: lethbridge.west@assembly.ab.ca

Thanks!


For the Tots:

The kids enjoyed the opportunity to play together, and eat a yummy snack brought by Sister Poetteker!

April 9th: Infant Massage

For the Moms:

Sister Roberts lead the moms in an infant massage session, passing on the techniques and information which she had learned recently by taking an infant massage class offered by Parents As Teachers.

For anyone interested in taking an infant massage course (Free - 5 weeks), Parents As Teachers will be offering the class again starting April 28th. Call 403-320-5983 to register!



For the Tots:

While the infants enjoyed the massages, the bigger kids had a great time dying and decorating Easter eggs, and participating in an Easter egg hunt outside!

April 2nd: Music and Early Childhood Development

For the Moms:

Sister Rommeril shared with us important information about the benefits of using music to enhance our children's development.

For the Tots:

Sister Rommeril lead the moms and tots in a few interactive songs and activities. The kids had a great time singing, dancing, and moving to music!

March 19: Staying Physically Active as a Mom

It is hard to find the time to exercise as a Mom, so we discussed some at-home options.


-Paramilitary Workout: 20 sec work, 10 sec rest. As many pushups you can do in 20 seconds, then rest 10 seconds. Do this 4 times. Repeat with situps, chin ups, squats. (every other day)

-Free Weights: Use 12-20lbs weights to do bicep curls, tricep extension, lawnmowers, flys, scarecrows, shoulder raises, shoulder press, shoulder extension, bombers, butterflys (if you have a bench), weighted squats, weighted lunges, weighted calf raises

-“Baby” Exercises: Hold your baby while you do squats, lunges, stairs. Lift your baby over your head, then down to knees and up again numerous times to work out your arms

-Core Exercises: (Repeat each 25 times) V-outs, scissors, bicycles, reverse bicycles, crunching frogs, cross leg/v leg sit-ups, toe extensions, hip rockers, oblique v-ups, sit/v-up, leg climbers, mason twists, superman

-Cardio: Go for a walk with your kids, go running with your kids in the stroller, pull the kids in a wagon, play running games in the backyard or a field with your kids, take the kids swimming, skipping, hiking with baby in a backpack



The kids had fun running around, playing with each other, and all the toys. They had a snack of pretzels and carrot sticks, and played with home-made gack.

March 5: Visiting Day

For those of us who braved the cold, we had the day to visit with each other.

The kids played games with the parachute again and had a snack of "Ants on the Log".

This month we will be doing the following activities:
March 12: Positive Influence of Music on Children lesson and activity with our kids
March 19: Keeping Physically Active while being a Mom
March 26: Nature Walk (depending on the weather)

Feb 19th: "Addressing Intimacy in Marriage"

For the Moms:

The most commonly stated problems couples deal with in marriage are #1: troubles related to finances and #2: troubles with their sexual relationship. This week we discussed how to manage and find more fulfillment in this aspect of our marital relationship.

Jen lead the discussion, and provided us with lots of helpful information on this sometimes sensitive subject from a book entitled, "And They Were Not Ashamed" which can be picked up at the church book store.


For the Tots:


The kids enjoyed a snack of pretzels, cheese and apple slices after which they had a blast playing parachute games - their favourite of which was "Shark Attack!"

Feb 12th: Valentine's Party

Our Valentine's celebration this year was lots of fun! The kids had a blast dancing and running around amongst a flurry of pink and red balloons! When they slowed down for a moment or two, they were caught making hearts out of red, pink, and white play-dough:


decorating cookies:


making Valentine's cards:


and playing a game or two. Sister Skelton brought a great over-sized tic-tac-toe game, and both the young and older children enjoyed playing "Hot Hot Heart" (our Valentine's version of Hot Potato):


We paused of course to partake in a multitude of fabulous Valentine's treats including sugar cookies from Sister Baker and Sister Wolsey, chips, heart-shaped Jello-Jigglers, and cream soda!


But what the kids couldn't seem to get enough of was the dancing! Thanks everybody for your contributions!

"Child-Proofing Your Marriage"

For the Moms:

Studies conducted on general levels of marital satisfaction during certain life-stages show that often marital satisfaction declines when children enter into a relationship, continue to decline until it’s lowest point (typically during children's adolescence), and then finally increases after children leave the home.

WHY?:

- Decrease in time, energy, and attention available to spouse (becomes even less with each additional child)
- Added stress (role fulfilment (nurturer/provider), expectations & demands of parenthood, less sleep, financial burdens, etc)
- Problems that existed in the marriage beforehand - often become exacerbated after the arrival of children.

Often couples who date for a short period of time, and have children right away after marriage can be more vulnerable to these problems


WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

- Be aware, and be prepared! (Knowing that things will get tougher once kids enter the picture and will likely continue to get tougher as children age can help you and your spouse to prepare)
- Studies also indicate that the level of satisfaction during the early years of a couple’s marriage (first 5) help to determine the long-term satisfaction of that marriage (It's never too soon to really focus and work on our relationships with our spouses!)

1) LOVE YOUR SPOUSE MORE THAN YOUR CHILDREN:

What we mean by that is a warning not to pour and invest so much into your relationship with your children that you forget all about your husband! Remember that we are wives first and foremost and mothers 2nd. Your husband was with you before your children appeared, and you want to have a rich and fulfilling relationship with him after your children leave!

2) LEARN HOW YOUR SPOUSE FEELS LOVED (and then apply that knowledge):


“The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman discusses the concept that different people feel and express love predominately in five different ways: Quality Time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

You can avoid alot of pain, confusion, and frustration in your marriage by learning your "love language" as well as your spouse's and then applying that knowledge. Particularly once kids come into the picture you have less time and energy to devote to making your spouse feel loved - so make sure that what you do counts!


3) GUARD YOUR MARRIAGE AGAINST EMOTIONAL DISCONNECT:


We discussed the book, “The Truth About Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do To Prevent It” by M. Gary Neuman, which states that 1 in 3 men will cheat on their wives, not because of sexual desire, or physical attraction to “the other woman,” but mostly because of how that other woman makes them feel in contrast to how their wife makes them feel (emotional disconnection, specifically a sense of feeling under appreciated, and a lack of thoughtful gestures). Even if the specific temptation of adultery never comes into play - emotional disconnection is dangerous to any marriage.

Suggestions:

1) Work to make your husband feel appreciated and admired. Make him feel good about himself. Build him up and make him feel valued. Remember to say "thank-you" for working to provide for your family and follow-up with thoughtful gestures that show him that you support what he does for your family.

2) Make your husband feel like he’s “winning” in the things that he does for you and your kids. Be very careful about how you might be criticising your husband - do not make him feel like he “can’t win” with you. (Ex: you want more help around the house from your husband, so he attempts to make dinner but ends up burning it. Don't criticize his efforts, instead show your gratitude for his attempt to help you.)

3) Show interest in your husband’s work, hobbies, interests, opinions, etc even if they are reeeeeeally different from your own. If his hobby and interest is something really distasteful to you (ex: 1 sister mentioned her husband's interest in guns and her total aversion to them), do the best you can in the very least to at least not be disparaging, negative, and judgemental.

4) Acknowledge problems in your relationship without making accusations. Think specifically about the words you choose when talking with your husband, and how they will lead him to feel (ex: “I think we’re having trouble with ________” instead of “You aren’t doing ___________). Remember that making an accusation (even if it is not malicious in intention) will almost instantly put your spouse on the defensive, make them less receptive to what your actually trying to tell them, and will often be reciprocated with an accusation directed towards yourself that can spiral into a nasty argument.

5) Stay positive. Focus on the efforts your spouse has made rather than the result. The more positive reinforcement he receives for his efforts the more likely he is to repeat them, or to try harder (making it all the better for you!).


4) WORK ON ACHIEVING BETTER COMMUNICATION:

- AVOID THE DANGER OF ASSUMPTION: Discuss things like family goals (ie: being a stay-at-home mom, education, work, etc), division of labour at home, family budgets, family values, child-rearing issues, etc. Never just assume that you know how your spouse feels or thinks about something no matter how familiar with each other you become. The truth may surprise you, and your spouse will feel more included, important, and appreciated by being consulted.
- Respect one another’s feelings and opinions (even if you don’t agree with them)
- try to empathise with your spouse (put yourself in his shoes and try to understand how he’s feeling and where he’s coming from)
- Be self-aware: know what you need and what you can give
- THINK before you SPEAK. Be more proactive and less reactive (see “how to fight fairly”)
- if you have to, formally arrange an appropriate time to talk about things (especially sensitive matters). Don't unload on you husband the second he comes home from work!
- Pray - individually and together everyday
- Improve your listening skills (see “becoming a better listener”)

5) SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP:

- if you are struggling with something that you just can’t seem to get past on your own - know that there is no shame in consulting with your bishop, or bringing in a professional neutral 3rd party.
- don’t wait until things reach a crisis point (by then it may be too late). Too many couples lament after it's too late that "if they'd only known then what they know now" they would have done things differently.
- most couples who have sought professional help for struggles they've had (especially early on) say it’s the best thing that they’ve ever done for their marriage.


For the Tots:


The kids had a great time as always playing and chasing each other about! They enjoyed a marvelous snack of apple slices and mini-muffins brought by Sister Poetecker, and enjoyed experimenting and playing with home-made Gak!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try at home:

Mix Solution A:

1.5 cups warm water
2 cups standard white craft glue
food colouring

Mix Solution B:

1 1/3 cups warm water
2 tsp Borax laundry detergent

Pour Solution A into Solution B - DO NOT MIX! Lift coloured mass out of bowl and knead on hard surface until liquid is absorbed and it's no longer sticky.

February:

We're going to be switching things up a bit to try and better accommodate everyone's needs beginning this month by alternating weeks with visiting time and group discussion topics (Thank-you for filling out our survey to let us know what you want!). Group discussion topics will be more open and less-formal than in the past, but will still be directed by a discussion leader who will be responsible for looking into the topic information a bit and keeping everyone on track! Please let either Abby or Sarah know if there is a topic that is of particular interest to you that you would like to lead a discussion on!

Seeing as February is the month that's all about LOVE, we have chosen discussion topics that focus on strengthening our marriages:

February 5th: Discussion Topic: "Child-Proofing Your Marriage" lead by Abby
February 12th: Valentine's Party (Please let Abby or Sarah know if you would like to bring a treat, or prepare a game, activity or craft for the kids)
February 19th: Discussion Topic: "Addressing Intimacy in Marriage" lead by Jen
February 26th: Trip to the Pool!

As always, please also let Abby or Sarah know if you'd ever like to bring a snack, or prepare a craft, game, or activity for the kids!

Thanks!

January Potluck

We finished off the month with a "soup and sandwich" potluck at Abby's house! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for the sledding part of the party, but the food was amazing and the kids had a great time chasing each other around and playing while the moms chatted!

January 22nd: "Helping Kids to Eat Nutritiously"

For the Moms:


Today we got together and discussed different tips and tricks to help our kids eat more nutritiously. Jen Lead the discussion and provided everybody with some great information on the subject. Perhaps most helpful was a booklet produced by the Government Alberta entitled "Healthy Eating and Active Living for Your 1 to 5 Year Old" (available at the public health office). This booklet contains everything from nutritional needs and appropriate portion sizes for children 1-5, as well as tips and information changing behaviour trends in regards to eating and common childhood feeding issues and solutions.

Some common problems discussed by our group:

1) If your Child Refuses to Eat Meat:

Suggestions:

- cut into small pieces and serve in soups, stews, tomato sauce, or meatloaf.
- serve with ketchup for dipping
- Offer other protein rich foods such as: eggs, fish, cheese, peanut butter, soy products, beans or lentils
- Increase iron intake with dark leafy vegetables, fortified breads and cereals, or dried fruit such as raisins
- remember that the over-all amount of protein your child needs each day is relatively small

2) If Your Child Refuses to Eat Vegetables:

Suggestions:

- keep a variety of ready to serve, brightly coloured veggies on hand and serve at snack time when child is hungry
- Puree veggies and add then to soups, sauces, or other foods
- Involve children in choosing vegetables at the grocery store, or in growing a vegetable garden

3) If Your Child Refuses to Try New Foods:

Suggestions:

- Continue to offer new foods by placing small amounts on their plate.
- Encourage them to try a small bite, or taste
- Let your child help to prepare the new food
- Avoid forcing them to eat it (this can reduce rather than increase acceptance)

4) If Your Child Refuses to Eat:

Suggestions:

- Respect your child's awareness of their own body
- serve smaller amounts of food
- Ensure snacks are served well before mealtimes
- Do not cater to their desires (ie: avoid becoming a short-order cook)
- Know that a skipped meal every once in awhile is nothing to be concerned about so long as your child is growing normally

5) If Your Child Takes Too Long to Eat:

Suggestions:

- Be patient! Plan plenty of time for meals
- Allow your child to explore, touch, and taste their food
- After a reasonable amount of time (20-30 mins) remove their plate without a fuss

6) If Your Child Wants the Same Food Everyday:

Suggestions:

- As long as it's nutritious, don't worry about it!
- Continue to offer other healthy choices at meals
- Kids will typically move on to something else if you DON'T make a big deal about it

7) If Your Child Does Not Drink Milk:

Suggestions:

- offer small servings but don't force it
- Know that other dairy products such as yogurt and cheese have the calcium they need, but not the Vitamin D
- use milk instead of water in cream soups, with pureed vegetables, in puddings, and hot cereal.

If your child drinks too much milk:

- Limit intake. Aim for 2-3 cups per day.
- Do not serve milk in a bottle - rather serve it in a cup at mealtimes


General Tips That Can Go Along Way:

- Be a good example yourself. Your children will be watching and be interested in what YOU are eating. They may even want to try something you are eating.

- Talk often with your children about healthy and unhealthy food choices. Explain why it is important to eat healthy foods.

- Involve children in grocery shopping and meal preparation. When kids have the opportunity to take ownership in the process of food gathering and preparation, they are much more likely to eat it!

- If you have to, barter with them: require them to eat x number of bites before having dessert, etc. If they want a treat, request them to eat something healthy first, etc.


For the Tots:



The kids had a great time cutting out pictures of healthy foods from grocery store fliers and gluing them onto their own paper-plate.

Parenting Literature Booklist:

We have added a new feature to our website! In the left column of this page you will find a link to our recommended Book List!

Parenting literature can be soooo valuable and helpful to us as mothers, and yet it can also be totally overwhelming to know what books are any good out of the millions that are out there! On our booklist you will find recommended reading on various parenting subjects that members from our group have read and reviewed. If you would like to write a review for a parenting book you have read please follow the format used in the examples already on the booklist and email your review to Abby. Please also feel free to add your review to a book that someone else has already reviewed (the more voices about a particular book - the better!). Any questions or comments can be passed on to Abby. Thanks for your participation!

2009 Welcome Back!

For the Moms:

We had a great time chatting and visiting, catching up with returning moms after the holidays, and meeting some new moms!

For the Tots:

The kids snacked on chocolate-chip cookies and apple slices afterwhich they had a blast painting our cardboard "houses" in an array of different colours!