Drama class at home - movie transcripts

Here's a handy site for finding transcripts of your kids' favourite movies. If you want to study the script with your kids or put on a little play at home check out www.scifiscripts.com.

Among others, the sites has the complete scripts for: Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Anastasia, Antz, Aristocats, Finding Nemo, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Iron Giant, The Jungle Book, The Last Unicorn, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Never Ending Story, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pokemon, Shrek, Sleeping Beauty and Toy Story.

Check it out and turn the living room into a stage!

Enjoy

-Stefan

Some thoughts about ADD

One in 20 grade-schoolers is taking drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder - or ADD. Now, some of these children may really need medication, but experts recommend that you examine your child's lifestyle before you medicate. Is his diet full of sugar, caffeine and processed food? Is he getting enough exercise? Is he getting too much stimulation from video games and TV?

But, more importantly, does your family life have structure? Is he getting enough attention from you? Often kids will act out to get noticed.

So, why not take a one-on-one weekend trip with him, and use that time to really observe and talk about his behavior. And talk about your relationship. For you may find that this is where the real attention deficit has been.

Here are some tips on parenting an ADD child:

1. Be consistent in rules and discipline.
   
2. Keep your own voice quiet and slow. Anger is normal. Anger can be controlled. Anger does not mean you do not love your child.
   
3. Try to keep your emotions cool by bracing for expected turmoil. Recognize and respond to any positive behavior, however small. If you search for good things, you will find them.
   
4. Avoid a ceaselessly negative approach: "Stop." "Don't." "No."
   
5. Separate behavior, which you may not like, from the child's person (e.g., "I like you. I don't like your tracking mud through the house.").
   
6. Establish a clear routine. Construct a timetable for waking, eating, play, television, study, chores and bedtime. Follow it flexibly when he disrupts it. Slowly your structure will reassure him until he develops his own.
   
7. Demonstrate new or difficult tasks, using action accompanied by short, clear, quiet explanations. Repeat the demonstration until learned, using audiovisual-sensory perceptions to reinforce the learning. The memory traces of a hyperactive child take longer to form. Be patient and repeat.
   
8. Designate a separate room or a part of a room that is his special area. Avoid brilliant colors or complex patterns in decor. Simplicity, solid colors, minimal clutter and a worktable facing a blank wall away from distractions help concentration. A hyperactive child cannot filter overstimulation.
   
9. Do one thing at a time: Give him one toy from a closed box; clear the table of everything else when coloring; turn off the radio/television when he is doing homework. Multiple stimuli prevent his concentration from focusing on his primary task.
   
10. Give him responsibility, which is essential for growth. The task should be within his capacity, although the assignment may need much supervision. Acceptance and recognition of his efforts (even when imperfect) should not be forgotten.
    
11. Read his pre-explosive warning signals. Quietly intervene to avoid explosions by distracting him or discussing the conflict calmly. Removal from the battle zone to the sanctuary of his room for a few minutes can help.
    
12. Restrict playmates to one or two at a time because he is so excitable. Your home is more suitable so you can provide structure and supervision. Explain your rules to the playmate and briefly tell the other parent your reasons.
    
13. Do not pity, tease, be frightened by or overindulge your child. He has a special condition of the nervous system that is manageable.
    
14. Know the name and dose of his medication. Give it regularly. Watch and remember the effects to report back to your physician.
    
15. Openly discuss with your physician any fears you have about the use of medications.
    
16. Lock up all medications to avoid accidental misuse.
    
17. Always supervise the taking of medication, even if it is routine over a long period of years. Responsibility remains with the parents! One day's supply at a time can be put in a regular place and checked routinely as he becomes older and more self-reliant.
    
18. Share your successful tips with his teacher. The outlined ways to help your hyperactive child are as important to him as diet and insulin are to a diabetic child.

Huddle up and ask your wife tonight: Do you think our child has ADD? Do you think it's a lifestyle or medical issue?

Posted with permission from www.allprodad.com

A dad's guide to stain removal (... yes we are serious)

If you have a toddler or an active young person then changing their clothes 3-4 times per day might seem like the norm? Well apart from putting them in dirt proof clothes you're probably also doing a lot of washing and may wonder how to get some of those damn stains out ...

Well, fear not, as usual DIYFather boldly goes where no dad has gone before ... a recent investigation into why our clothes are getting ruined and how to get rid off all sorts of nasty stains has revealed this very valuable information below. This should actually be in ALL parenting books (and yes we will put it in the 2nd edition of Call Me Dad). The stain removal tips will hopefully help you save some of the clothes for round 2 or make for a presentable item on your next clothes swap event. OK - here it goes - make sure that you treat the stains ASAP and they actually come out (I tried!!!)

Adhesive Tape

Awesome toys - boomerangs

When was the last time you threw a boomerang around? OK be honest now ... it's been too long! Being a dad is a fantastic excuse to play around with cool stuff. A boomerang is a good example of a cool toy that you can pretend to buy for your kid but really you enjoy it just the same. There are all sorts of boomerangs available these days and they literally come in all shapes and sizes. You can even get indoor boomerangs! Most of them are available for less than $10 - so hopefully pretty doable for most families (you can also make them yourself if you've got some suitable wood and tools lying about at home).

Here's some instructions and inspirations to watch with your kid - then get yourself one and go outside to try it out!

Grow a dinosaur with your kids

Someone gave our little man a dinosaur egg for Christmas. The egg is part of a "growing pet" family of toys which you can put in water and over a few days develop from egg into a normal plastic toy. The actual toy is not that great (feels like a cheap rubbery model of a dinosaur with poor features and colouring). However the process of "hatching" and checking up on progress was great. It kept our son entertained for days with huge excitement building as the egg shell cracked and the head of the dinosaur appeared. So it's a fantastic tool for building patience in your little ones :-) You can get these eggs (for all sorts of animals) for about $5 in most toy stores or online.

Enjoy!

-Stef

The Money Game

As a parent and someone who is interested in creating wealth, helping my little lady become financially savvy when she grows up is very important. I come from a wealthy family that "gave their children fish, rather than actually teaching them to fish". So I thought it was timely now to teach my 4 year old girl Pyper about money and finances. We have started getting her used to money - she picks up bits of money that is either lying around in coins or someone might give her $5 here and there for a birthday. I firmly believe that parents who introduce the concept of "saving money" to their children early will be helping them in the long run. I recently came across an article that talked about practical steps parents could do to teach financial literacy to their children.

Fussy eaters - a different strategy

Dealing with "fussy eaters" is a constant struggle for many parents. There are lots of little tricks to encourage kids to eat (or eat up). So here's another trick to add to the list - inspired by something my four-year-old said the other day. I got upset with him because he wouldn't finish his plate. To me, wasting food or throwing away food (that is perfectly good to eat) is one of the worst things you can do in this life - it's wrong on so many levels. As a result we feel strongly about educating our son that wasting food is not on.

So I told him that many children in the world have nothing to eat and die of starvation. His response: "well then we have to help them!". Yup ... and so I showed him pictures of starving children and what we are doing to help them. The result? He still didn't eat up the plate at the time but he has done so several times in the following days, weeks and months. He is now much more aware of the desperate situation of other children and why we believe it is so important to not waste food. His empathy with others who are not as lucky as we are has definitely grown. So I figured showing him starving kids was a useful "reality check" for him and it has resulted in a change of behaviour and attitude. There's lots of footage on starvation and hunger on the net if you want to do this as well. Here's one example.

Christmas baking daddy style - 10 unusual cookie cutters

In many countries Christmas is a traditional time for cooking and baking. Cooking and baking with kids is of course a top activity and so here's some inspirations to liven up the cookie cutting (see below for a super simple recipe that you can use to make cookie cutter cookies).

The ultimate geek dad present for Christmas

If you're still looking for an uber cool present for your geek son (geek hubby or geek dad) check out myrobotnation.com ... the site lets you construct your own robot, then 3d print it and ship it to you. This is one of the first "create your own toy" sites that I've seen to make fully customizable collectables. Prices for 3d printing your own robot start from $17.99 (for a 2 inch robot) all the way to $169.99 (for a 6 inch robot). Unfortunately the robots are not suitable for young children (they are similar to ceramic collectibles and break easily). Still a pretty cool gift for family members with a geeky side!

Enjoy,

Stef

Make your own Advent Calendar for Kids (2)

Now that we are well and truly in the pre Christmas season here's some more instructions on making your own Advent Calendar for kids. This one is just as simple as the "Icicle Advent Calendar".

What you need:

• a piece of cloth / fabric (you can reuse an old table cloth or similar) approx. 80cm x 30cm (25 x 9 inches)
• two wooden sticks (need to be longer than your fabric is wide)
• piece of cord
• little pieces of colourful fabric (anything will work)
• stick on numbers (1 - 25) or you can simply cut them out yourself (made out of paper or fabric)
• glue