With our regular Wednesday feature, Cackleberries.com has another expert article to help parents solve those tough child rearing dilemmas.  The Cackleberries How-to feature provides great parenting tips, tricks, and techniques to help you deal with any sort of situation that may arise throughout the process of parenthood.  You can view all of our expert articles on the right side of the page under the “Expert Articles” category.  If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, feel free to let us know at  info@cackleberries.com

10 Inexpensive Activities You Can Do With Your Children Today

If you’ve got children and are struggling to find things to keep then entertained, or to divert them away from their games console, TV or computer, then perhaps you’re looking for some inspiration.

Why not try some of these?

1. Why not let your children help you with the cooking? You can educate them on the importance of healthy family recipes, and eating a balanced diet. You can also let them choose some meals as well as helping you prepare them.

2. If you’re a keen gardener, then you might want to let your children help you. Why not let them plant seeds, or have their own patch of the garden so they can grow vegetables, or have some pots to grow flowers in?

3. Perhaps you’re keen on knitting, and your children have shown an interest. Why not see if they can learn how to knit, or help you decide what to knit next.

4. You’ll want your children to know just how important exercise is, so that they dramatically reduce the risk of becoming obese. Why not take your children to the park, or play football, or go for a jog. There’s also a lot to be said for throwing and catching a ball in the garden, or taking the dog for a walk.

5. Why not go for a walk in the country, or near where you live? You might discover new exciting places near you, or begin to appreciate the countryside even more.

6. A bike ride with your children can be very rewarding, and give them the skills and confidence they need to ride by themselves. By teaching them good habits, whether you’re riding on a mountain bike course, or on the road, they’ll be come responsible riders and much safer.

7. Taking your children swimming needn’t cost a fortune, and will be enjoyable for you all. Why not make it a regular thing, or book swimming lessons for your children if they can’t swim already?

8. Children love spending time with their parents, so why not play with them. You’ve probably bought them lots of toys, and they’ll really appreciate you playing with them. Alternative you could read together, or make something. There’s a lot to be said for just spending time with your children.

9. Board games might not be as fashionable as they once were, but they’re still an excellent way to keep the whole family entertained. From the classics from your youth, to the more modern games, you’ll have a great time playing board games with your children.

10. Why not ask your children if they want to invite friends round once in a while? You can let them play, and keep an eye on them, whilst they have a great time.

Now you know what sort of things you can do with your children, they don’t have to watch TV or play on their games console all the time.

Find out more Parental Advice, and Gardening Ideas and much more to keep you and your children entertained, at Candis.co.uk. If you’ve got a family, then you need Candis. Why not subscribe online today?

Article By M James, couretsy of Ezine Articles

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_James

Help, I Need Valentine Ideas For My Husband!!!

Have you found yourself worrying and stressing out over the following statement – “I need valentine ideas for my husband.” Sound familiar? If so, take a deep breath and relax. Not only are you not alone with your concerns but you have also come to the right place to find a solution. The Cackleberries Team is continuing on its ‘everything valentines’ theme by offering up a number of valentine gift ideas that you can give to that special man in your life. So without further ado, let’s get to the goods with our top 5 valentine gifts list for men.

1 – Tools

There is never a bad time to buy a new tool or other item for your husband to place in the workshop. If you’re having trouble deciding what they would want or use, you can always try to covertly find out the information or failing that, simply go with a gift card to their favourite hardware shop.

2 – Sport Tickets

Is there a local team your man follows passionately? Odds are there is some pro sports team or event in your area that they would love to go to. And yes, they better be going to the event with you.

3 – A Nice Evening Out With You

Romantic or not, a nice night on the town would be a great gift for the both of you. A nice meal at your favourite restaurant followed by dancing, a show, a stroll, or even a trip down memory lane to a pool hall; a night of fun and personal time spent with you would be a big hit.

4 – Chocolates

Don’t convince yourself that guys won’t appreciate this gift. Remember, you’re not the only one who likes to eat them and if you’re lucky, you might just be able to share in the gift yourself.

5 – A Nice Evening In With You

Despite what you may think, your significant other would love a nice night in with you. Their favourite meal, favourite drink, favourite movie or game, and a nice massage would be a very nice Valentine’s Day gift indeed. Send the kids away and spend a well deserved evening relaxing with your husband.

With these 5 sure-fire gifts, you’ll hopefully feel a lot better when you find yourself  saying “help, i need valentines ideas for my husband!!”

Happy Valentine’s Day

Kids Craft Ideas You Can Make for Free at Home

Does your child have a very short attention span? Are they predisposed to getting bored very quickly? Well, no need to worry because you are not alone. Because there is so much going on around them, children have the tendency to focus on one thing for a short period of time before moving on to something else of greater interest. The Key to holding their attention is two-fold. The first element you need is to have an activity or object that they find interesting. The second thing you need to keep your child’s attention is to have them sit down and focus on the task or activity presented to them. Now how can you go about this without spending lots of money on expensive toys and games? Well we’ve compiled a list of do-it-yourself kids craft projects that can be created with simple, everyday household items. With these fun new craft projects, you won’t need to worry about how to entertain your child without spending a lot of money.

Paper Mache - All you require for this craft project is some old newspaper cut into strips, water and flour for paste, and some cardboard or balloons to create a base shape to cover with the homemade glue. Once the paste has dried, the object you’ve created can be decorated!

Paper Dolls - You can easily locate a template online and simply print the pages out. Your child can cut, colour and decorate to their hearts content. All you’ll need is a pair of scissors and some crayons or felt pens.

Dioramas - This timeless craft project is great for any type of child. Depending on their interests, the diorama can be made to showcase pretty much anything you child wants. From a miniature hockey rink to a dollhouse, the possibilities are endless. An open box, and a random assortment of buttons, figurines, cardboard, scissors, tape, felt-pens and other trinkets should be enough to build just about anything your child wants.

Rock Painting - Simply locate a few smooth, palm-size rocks from your backyard or local park. Be sure to scrub any dirt off of them so that decorating will be easier. Following this, all you’ll require is some paint or nail polish and whatever items you desire for added effects. Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and paper strips work quite well, just be sure to let the paint dry before attaching add-ons.

Cave Painting - Much like colouring pages but with an added effect, cave painting is meant to look as though your child’s artwork is really old and unique. To do this craft, you’ll need to crumple up a paper bag then spread it flat again. Then simply colour or paint an image on the bags surface with charcoal or other earthy tones such as red and orange. The finished product will look like the work of a caveman or cave-woman!

Homemade Chia-Pets - This craft project is a great one that lasts a long time! First, you’ll need to hard-boil a couple of eggs. Once the eggs have cooled, you need to carefully cut the top of the egg off and empty the contents. If you’re really thinking, you can incorporate an easy lunch into this craft! Then, let your child decorate the egg shell with a face. When they’re done, place a cotton ball or two inside the shell, sprinkle some alfalfa seeds inside and pour some water on top. Place the egg in a holder on a windowsill and watch over the next few days as your child’s egg sprouts some crazy green hair! Not only will your child love decorating the egg but wait till you see the joy on their faces as it grows and changes over the next few days!

With kids craft ideas like these, you’ll have no need to spend your hard earned money on unnecessary toys and crafts at hobby stores. With a bit of creativity and some household items, you and your child can spend hours having fun and being entertained for on a very small budget!

Top ideas for Family Fun

After the holidays, many families are looking to reign in the spending and find some family entertainment that is not only fun but also affordable.  That is the focus of today’s article as we seek to provide you with some ideas and activities that you can enjoy with your family without spending a lot of money

The Top 5 Affordable Family Fun Activities

With all the obligations and stresses in life that parents have to deal with, you need to make sure you find time to relax and have some good wholesome entertainment with your family. However, with the costs of many events and activities increasing, entertaining the family can become quite expensive depending on what you and your family decide to do. However, even though many costs are rising, there’s no need to worry since there are still a number of fun things your family can do without breaking the bank. We’ve compiled a list of the top five fun and affordable family entertainment activities below.

1 – Home Movie Night

Just like a night out at the cinema, except with a greatly reduced price tag, in-home movie nights are a great economical way to entertain the whole family. Not only will you save money and travel time but you can also personalize the night much more by allowing family members to pick a selection of movies, making tasty individual snacks from the kitchen, and converting your TV room into the ultimate in custom comfort seating through the use of pillows, cushions, and blankets.

2 – Backyard Camping

Who didn’t enjoy camping in the backyard as a child? The feelings of excitement, adventure, and a little bit of fear that we felt as children was more than enough for many kids to grow up into avid adult campers. This experience is always a great way for children to escape reality and make believe that they are far away from home. Not only do you save money on travel costs but you can also prepare dinner at home with ingredients from the kitchen. Another benefit of this activity is that if the weather turns bad or any other problem arises, you’ll have everything at your disposal to take care of the situation.

3 – Picnic at the Park

There’s not many better ways to spend time with the family then to enjoy a nice relaxing day at the park with your family. You can bring things for entertainment such as sporting equipment, cards and board games, toys, or even musical instruments. Also, by preparing a cooler, you can pack your children’s favourite meals, snacks, and drinks for consumption throughout the day, ensuring that you’ll maximize the amount of time you can spend having quality time with your family.

4 – Day Trips

Kids will feel like they’re going on a road tip to a neat, new place far away, even if it’s just a one-hour trip to a new beach, Provincial or State Park, historical landmark, or any other place of interest. Regardless of where you live, there are many fun, new sites for you and your family to visit for next to nothing. If you can’t think of many options near your city, check out your local tourism shop or website. You’ll be amazed at just how many locations and varieties of activities exist in close proximity to your home.

5 – Educational Outings

Many cities have a variety of attractions that people can go to for good wholesome educational entertainment. Science centres, aquariums, zoos, and museums usually receive government subsidies and operate as non-profit organizations. Because of this, the costs associated with these outings are usually cheaper than most alternative activities. You can work out a schedule where once a month, a family member gets to select their preferred destination. This way, you keep the sites you visit fresh and each family member can look forward to their special day.

So you see, family entertainment doesn’t always have to be an expensive endeavour. With ideas like these, you’ll be able to have many more family fun days without the regular costs you’d expect. Cheap family entertainment is now as easy as deciding what activity to do!

Our Parenting Advice Articles will be back next Wednesday!!

As always, The Cackleberries team will be bringing you fresh new content and feature articles full of parenting advice.  Just like before, this year will be no different as Cackleberries.com will continue its successful Wednesday feature by providing more expert articles to help parents solve those tough child rearing dilemmas.  If you’re not familiar with the The Cackleberries Expert Articles feature, it provides great parenting tips, tricks, and techniques to help you deal with any sort of situation that may arise throughout the process of parenthood.  On top of that, we try to cover timely and relevant seasonal topics or trends in the world of everything moms and dads.  If you’d like to see past articles, you can view all of our expert articles on the right side of the page under the “Expert Articles/Parenting Advice” category.  We know there are subjects out there that you would like discussed so if you have a topic you’d like us to cover, feel free to let us know at  info@cackleberries.com

Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you all next Wednesday for another great parenting advice article!