Summer Hobbies that kids can enjoy the most

Summertime is ideal to spend with your family! Everyone gets to spend quality as well as quantity time with the loved ones. Sunny days can be fun only if the day is carefully planned. It would be great to outline fun-filled activities that keep your children occupied in a productive way. While your kids might waste their precious time in front of television or laptop all day long, only you can break the monotony and make their summers exciting.

With a special compiled list of hobbies for summers, your children won't get bored, instead they will get creative with these fun and easy to do activities:

        Gardening can be fun: Kids can learn a lot by watching a seed grow into a vegetable, fruit and flower. Whether you already have a garden or want to make a new one, you can get your young ones involved in this activity. Let them choose the kind of produce they want to grow. Your child will be proud and responsible for the final outcome for sure.

      Reading can increase intellect: While they may desist it, but reading can actually boost the brain and make your kids more intelligent. Take them to library, let them select a book for themselves, or come up with a book reading challenge. Contrarily, a book like Summer:The Magic Blanket, by Litsa Bolontzakis which is full of illustrations and knowledge, can be fun for children.

        Create a Family journal: This is quite a unique way to let your child's creativity flow. A family journal comprising of a few questions answered by all the members will be pure delight to read in the coming years. Important dates, events, pictures, signs, hand prints and likewise can be punched into the journal, making it all the way more real and worth cherishing.

       Cleaning the house: Of course, summers can't pass by if one doesn't indulge into the cleansing routine. Take help of your kids, or better yet assign small home chores to them. To make it fun, you can either use a spin-a-wheel, secret bowl, or treasure hunt tactics. Alternatively, you can put the list of chores on fridge or magnetic board. Make sure the tasks are not dangerous so that the kids remain safe.

        DIY art using recycled material: DIY art and craft can be extremely relieving for children. This can be made more responsible if you let them create something out of recycled materials. It could be either old toys, clothes or waste papers. There are plenty of guides that explain how to use all of these stuff into something useful but at the same time get rid of extra clutter.

Let your child be curious, spontaneous and active throughout the summers using these simple hobby ideas!

Summer Days: Nature and nostalgia on crest!

When we think of summers, our mind immediately takes us back to the days spent playing in hot scorching sun, relentlessly drinking lemonade, catching butterflies and fire flies, making us nostalgic. The fact that these days have made a huge impact on us during our childhood makes it all the way more special. As parents, we also want our kids to have perfect memories to cherish.

Summertime not only is hot, but it speaks of vacations and what better time it is to spend with family. This is the period of year where you can do whole lot of different things. For starters, let us remind you of things that you used to do as kids, and what you should be doing for your children as well!

Powerhouse fun: While this season might not be perfect for adults in terms of ‘fun’, but for kids it is the right time to play till the end of the day. Fill up a splash pool for them, take them to nearby sports club or get them a bike. Let them use their energy in a good way and make sure that their safety isn’t compromised.

Outdoor activities: Since kids these days are not that enthusiastic about spending time outdoors, it is the right time for you to bond with them. Take them on a tech-free holiday, a mountain hike, or just let them explore the nearby farms. It’ll be a delight to see your children connecting with Mother Nature.

Dig a garden: It would be double fun to plant a small garden if you already have a backyard. Ask your kids to get their plastic shovels and spades to dig the ground perfectly and plant some veggies or fruits. Put your children in charge of taking care of the plot and assign them duties like watering the plants timely.

Summer cooking: Most of the people find cooking process very calming. Try to inculcate some bits and pieces to your young ones also. A yoghurt smoothie, salad made from the fresh greens (out of your own garden) and similar cooking activities can create a healthy eating habit among your brats. (Tip: Gift them books like Summer: The Magic Blanket.)

This season can be really harsh, boring and intimidating - all at one time. Make sure you ease out your children and make them love it. Interesting activities like camps, food, DIY art and craft, and recreational sports will surely divert their mind from the constant nagging about how bad the weather is. During this season create memories with your family!

Inspire your kids to read this summer!

Summertime usually is a vacation period, but that also means assignments and projects for kids. As any wise parent would do, it is essential to help the children finish it off timely and at the same time encourage them to make friends with books in their free time. This will help the,  a lot. However, encouraging them to do so isn’t easy. So let’s go through the ideas that can help you inspire your kids for summer reading.

But before you do so, make a plan  so that they don’t see the whole process as boring. Let’s see how you can do it -

·Genre Selection: Don’t push them to go for one particular genre or a subject per se. Take them out to a nearby library, let them stroll through the aisle and let them pick the print that they want to have.Once your young ones are into this habit, they can easily spend their time in a worthy activity.

· Books as Gift: Gift them something that you enjoyed to go through on your own. Sure it maybe off beat, but it’s better than talking your daughter or son into something that isn’t worth it. Books like Summer: The Magic Blanket by LitsaBolontzakis can really trigger the young ones to appreciate seasons and nature. If you’re a parent of a toddler, then you can get even get podcasts for them as well.

· Make it a Challenge: You don’t have to tempt your kids to get through these books,rather let them take it as a challenge. A simple task to go through a chapter daily or a particular number of pages can boost them to make it a habit.These pieces of writing are for all age groups, but for kids the benefits are too good to resist. These will help them feed knowledge to their brains, making them more intellectual and active.

· Role Model: If you want your children to start reading, it is important for you to set an example for them. If the kids don’t see anybody at the home with a similar habit, then expecting them to study is of no use. So be a motivating parent and inspire them to start reading this summer. Your kids will love you for introducing them to the amazing world of books!

If they are more inclined towards illustration based documents, comics or magazines then let them have those. However, reading a piece of paper is more relaxing and effective as compared to an online document or a podcast. 

Your Kids Should Know This About Spring & Summer!

Did you know that the four seasons we have are responsible for different weather conditions and hugely impact our vegetation and produce? Well you knew, but surely your kids still need to learn! Sit back and relax as in this article we will tell you all the know-hows of the most beautiful seasons, i.e. Springtime & Summer!

We all know there are 4 seasons - autumn, winter, spring and summer. Due to the variation between all these, we experience a different temperature and totally different ambiance throughout the year. Each has a different set of weather condition, fruits,  vegetation, holidays and so on. Here are some fun facts that you and your kids should know:

·      Firstly, the seasons all over the world is never the same at same time. It varies across the regions and continents.

·        Spring usually comes with a lot of rain, pouring life all over again and rejuvenating everything in the environment.

·         It is during this time that wildlife can be seen at its peak.

·         At the same time, everything blooms! Leaves on trees can be seen budding, colorful flowers can be seen blossoming and at full vibrancy. The nature seems to come alive.

·         Dandelions, lilies, primroses, azaleas, lilacs and many more are just a few plants that can be seen at its pinnacle in this time of year.

·      Many crops are planted during this period and it brings forth some of the best produce i.e. vegetables and fruits.

·    The temperature is just about right to be outdoors, a time most loved by all the humans especially kids. Teach your kids more about this season by giving them books like Spring: Trees in Bloom.

·      Summer on the other hand gets the most warmest days of the year with plenty of sunshine adding to the length of days.

·         Just like spring tide, summer is also one of the most preferred period of time to stay outdoors and be more active.

·    Summers scream vacations and getaways but for kids it also means holiday homework, assignments and projects!

These two seasons, apart from the others are more like a blessing to us humans. Make sure you involve your young ones in it. Take them outside on long hikes, perhaps a trek to mountain, a walk to the nearby farm/orchard or a stroll down the beach to bring them closer to nature. Don't forget to share these facts with your kids!

How to turn your Kids into Eco-Friendly Citizens

Getting your family members interested about environment can be both an exciting as well as tedious task. You never know how they will react to the idea of being environment-friendly and learning about it. Whether you want to educate your young one or a teenager, there has to be specific ways to approach them with the concept of environment awareness. This approach will help them take some substantial steps in order to make this world a better place.

Home is where you can initiate this education; all the family members can be a part of the drill. So here are couple of ways in which you can start offering the knowledge to your kids and make them eco-friendly!

Givethem easy home chores: From an early age, you should start involving your young ones in household work. This enhances their functionality in family and they learn how to be responsible. You can get them to separate the recyclable and non-recyclable materials so that they be disposed off properly. This is a certain way to teach them about recycling also.

Recycler: Tell them to build their own recycler, i.e. a box in which they can throw in stuff that can be recycled for future use. This could be made out of any unused carton. Rough paper, torn bits and pieces etc. can be tossed off for recycling. Paper mache is one of the brilliant ways to use the waste.

Little Gardeners: Children can be amazing gardeners and caretakers! The easiest way is to let them be out in backyard and dig a garden themselves. You can help them build either a fruit or vegetable garden, whichever is their favorite. If you don’t have enough place for a nursery, then you can gift your child a plant in pot and let them care for it. Also, give them Spring: Trees in Bloom, a book that is about nature and everything else that children need to learn.

Lessen the use of Resources: Water, electricity and all similar sources of energy, whether renewable or nonrenewable hold an important part in our survival. Therefore, telling them to switch off the lights when not in use and how to minimize the water usage will make them little nature warriors. 

Apart from the points mentioned above, you can ask your kids to be vigilant about not disposing garbage just about anywhere, make them responsible about small things such as volunteering for cleaning their rooms, maintaining the backyard, turning off the taps and other things. It is the small efforts that make the big impact, and this is how you can incline your kids towards loving nature and conserving it for future!

Make your Kids Love Spring!

Being a nature lover is a blessing in itself! The immense love and gratitude for the world we live in, can help us become more responsible and sensible. If the seeds of being thankful be sown at an early age, then it can work wonders for a blossoming future because the coming generation would be well aware with how earth has to be maintained, taken care of and, most importantly, loved!

Well, this process has been taken care of by people across the world at different levels. For example parents teach their kids about nature, environment, seasons on a personal convenience. Whereas, the same knowledge is taught in schools in an elaborate way such as camping trips, excursion to local reserve and so on. It has become downright important to impart the knowledge about environment to our children and help make this world a better place.

How to make your kids love Spring?

As seasons change, it should be important for you to get your child enlightened about it. Here are some of the fundamental tips you can get your kid to love and appreciate the most fabulous season of all - Spring!

·Build them a Tree House: It will be fun for your children to spend some time in their own tree house with friends, where they can form their secret club and do activities such as bird watching.

·Get them Garden Supplies: It is such an enjoyable activity to build a garden on own, and kids will love it as long as you make the whole activity exciting. Buy them some garden supplies such as tools, gloves and let them be the gardeners.

·Gift them Educational Material: It’s always interesting for young ones to go through illustration based educational books where they can learn from the images alone. Books like Spring: Trees in Bloom educate the children in a different way and similar ones should be a part of their learning.

·Take them on Seasonal Trips: Be it local hiking trip, or some place far from your city; it is always good to take the family out on seasonal getaway. Going out, getting back to nature, appreciating the natural wonders will surely make an impact on their lives!

·Let them be Artists: Another great way to ensure that your child understands the outdoors is to let them recreate it on a canvas. Give them a chance to draw, paint and be artists describing their surroundings.

It is not just Spring, but all other seasons that one should learn to enjoy and be thankful for. With every season, comes different fruits of nature that are so worthy and deserve our love and attention! 

3 Springtime Fun Activities For Your Kids

Springtime is one of the best seasons to enjoy with your kids after the long and dark winter days. The days are sunny, bright and just beautiful to spend outdoors. This time of the year is best to go outside, explore nature at its best and teach your young ones about the environment. It’s important that you take liberty to help your children to take a fresh spin on nature, connect with it and expand the knowledge.

So don’t wait up, leave all your gadgets behind, get ready to soak up some sun and enjoy this fabulous time as we have made a list of 3 springtime activities that will be fun for your kids to do.

Spring Vegetable Garden

Helping your child dig up a garden in the backyard is one of the basic things you can do. For starters, you can teach them how to prepare the garden bed, what kinds of vegetables can be grown in this season, how to sow the seeds, and how to water them each day. Taking care of the nursery would become an everyday activity that will help them learn about vegetation and plants.

Tip: Gift them Season’s book such as Spring:Trees in Bloom; this will help to educate them. Alternately you can help them learn about germination process of beans.

Assign them Home Chores

It’s always fun to let your children take up some responsibility by giving them easy-to-do home chores. For example, you can ask them to help you with car washing, or teach them how to clean windows. Car cleaning is more enjoyable as they will love getting wet during this task. A little cleaning and mopping doesn’t really hurt, and by the end of the day you will appreciate your young one for a task done well.

Tip: Go for easy tasks rather than hefty one’s such as cleaning of garage because you don’t know what kinds of tools or other sharp objects you might have kept there.

Plan a Picnic

This time is perfect for planning a hearty picnic with your family and friends. An excursion to the nearby lake, or a mountain will be spot-on. You can cook some light and healthy food that is easy to make. Let your child experience the blooming of flowers, let them run after butterflies and touch dew drops on the grass!

Tip: You can always ask your child where he/she wants to go. Also, inviting your friends and other family members will make the whole event worthwhile - the more, the merrier!

So go out with your kids and be a sport in these activities!

Introduce Your Child to Cooking This Summer

The best thing you can do is introduce your child to the art of cooking at an early stage. Not many parents do that usually, and are more than afraid to even allow their kids in the kitchen due to the obvious fears. However, if you mentor and allow them to be creative and discover the wide range of flavors, then who knows they might become a child chef prodigy. 

If you have children who are above the age of 5, and you know that they are patient, smart and understand your commands, then you can let them in the kitchen. Not only this will help you out, but will also be much fun for them as cooking has always been an activity associated with the family altogether.

You can get them to do a variety of chores which aren’t risky. The least that your child can do to help you in the pantry is as follows:

·         Help you pass the jars, veggies, produce, or whatever you ask them to handover.

·         Washing, rubbing, and cleaning off the vegetables.

·         Arranging and assembling things such as plastic jars, bottles etc. in refrigerator, or racks.

·         Setting up the dinner table.

These are just basic ways you can get your child involved in the pantry works. However, when it comes to cooking, here’s how you can initiate the whole process to them:

Get Your Kids Illustrative Cook Books

While you shouldn’t be focused on turning your child into a chef, the idea is to bring them more close to the drill of food. With the help of fun cooking books that have inspiring graphics in it, you can encourage and educate your kids. These books make it easy for the children to understand how easy the cooking process can be right from the scratch till the end product. The book 4 Seasons books bycooking expert Litsa Bolontzakis, can be of great help.

Take Them to Local Farms

Another prime factor that contributes in pushing your child towards healthy eating is introduction to the produce itself. Nowadays, it is almost impossible for kids to see farms or how the vegetables are grown. Therefore, you can make it a point to take them along for a ride to local farmer’s market, or a nearby farm or an orchid. This trip itself will become an educational tour. You can show them around and explain how veggies grow.

Throw Your Child a Cooking Party

It will be a great experience for not only your kid but his/her friends as well if you throw them a DIY cooking party. You can choose from a variety of simple and easy to make (or let’s call it ‘assemble’) recipes that requires fewer ingredients, but more creativity and yes, less mess also! For inspiration, you can head over to different Pinterest accounts.

These are the easiest ways you can welcome your child in the kitchen and teach them the basics of food preparation. If you overcome your hesitation, your child will also love and enjoy the cooking session and develop an unending love for food!

Introduce Your Kids to Nature’s Most Beautiful Time, Spring!

How often have you been intrigued by the nature itself? How often have you tried to bring together your kids to the most fascinating part of our whole existence? Not really, even though thoughts might come across your mind, but it’s really just thoughts. As parents, you’re accountable for a good upbringing of your children, as well as teach them and make them acquainted with certain aspects of the world around us.

Emphasizing on providing your child an environment to learn, explore, experience, experiment and grow on their own is almost important as it is for them to learn from you as their role models. So, if you are a busy working parent, who finds it kind of tough to manage the whole drill, then the least you can do is provide your kids with the best essentials to learn from.

School, extracurricular activities and other such things are good. But for instance, you could give them enough reading or learning material which is interactive on its own, so that in your absence they can absorb as much as they can.

Books are the basic learning equipment. For younger kids, a book that has enough lessons captured in a fun way can be really overwhelming. One such book is Spring: Trees in Bloom, written by Litsa Bolontzakis, that actually helps small children explore the surroundings in the best way possible. In this book your kids will find:

·         Beautifully illustrated images to understand the Spring time.

·         Various ways to discover flora-fauna and work in accordance.

·         Get inspired by the gifts of Mother Nature.

·         Learn to use the gifts in the best way - cooking wise.

·         Fun ways to accustom oneself with being part of environs.

Most importantly, the children are just going to love and embrace it.

In this era, when everyone wants to go eco-friendly and save the environment in whatever little way they can, it becomes extremely significant to instill our little one’s with knowledge about various seasons and how they can get accustomed to it. It doesn’t need to be a rocket-science seminar for your kiddos, all it needs to be is a simple lesson that makes them understand the nature and the need to preserve it. 

Let them go through such books, take them on a hike, let them explore and understand the beauty of uncontaminated and pure environment and I’m sure they will love it all the way more. 

Chocolate and Nutella Cupcakes To Soar The Summer Heat

Looking for a flattering dessert that can help you fight the summer heat? Well, here is a mouth-watering delight, perfect to have a pleasurable dining experience.

Ingredients: To make the cupcakes, all you need is a cup of semisweet chocolate chips, 1 1.3 cups of sweet butter, 1 tbsp nutella, 5 eggs, 2/3cups icing sugar, ¾ cup flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tbsp vanilla and a little salt.

Method -

·        Take some water in a medium bowl and add chocolate, along with butter to it. Allow the ingredients to melt by stirring

·         Leave it to cool for some time before using

·         Add sugar to the eggs and beat until pale thick

·         Once the mix is ready, add nutella in chocolate-butter mixture

·         Now, you need to fold in the dry-ingredients and add chocolate mixture to them

·         Spoon the mixture to cups and bake in a 325 ⁰F preheated oven for 20 minutes

·         Let it cool and apply the icing 

How to prepare the icing?

Take 1 cup cream cheese (room temp), 2 tbsp nutella, and 1 tbsp icing sugar or superfine sugar, 1 tbsp vanilla and a little milk. Mix all these ingredients with the help of a mixer and add little milk to bring it to desired consistency. The icing is ready to be served on the cupcakes.

Isn’t that simple?

So, what’s the wait? Enjoy these icy cupcakes with your loved ones and beat the heat this summer!