Our friends at MakeItRuby.com have been busy putting up new activities for dads and daughters. What we like best about their material is that all ideas are aimed at encouraging dads with daughters to get into simple do-it-yourself projects for at home arts and crafts. Best of all - every project focuses on the 3 R's of reusable, renewable and re-purposed materials. The projects are also easy on dad's wallet ... you'll probably find most of the basic materials in your house anyway.

How about you give this one a go: "Sweet Puppy Keepsake"

Here's what you need: empty tissue box, puppy photos, scissors, all-purpose tacky glue, sticky letters, stickers, silk flowers

Step by step
1. Repurpose a tissue box to make this sweet puppy keepsake. Print 4 photos & glue one on each side of the box.

2. Decorate each side with words & themed stickers.

Children in the 21st century ...

Originally posted by "papa en practicas", la coctelera and translated by Raquel Roncero

In case you haven't seen the "get dad to reenact a famous movie scene" concept check out the following:

I think the concept is great but they could have really pushed it a bit further. So definitely try this at home, but whatever you do ... stay away from reenacting the Fatal Attraction scenes ... now that's just wrong!

-Stef

We recently received a media release about a new soft toy character called "Mitch" made by a company called Neon Monster. We had never heard of it ... but after reading the release I just had to write a blog post. You gotta love these guys ... they actually created a "depressed" soft toy with complex baggage (there's a whole story behind it). In the press release we find out that "Mitch is a giant misfit, rather anachronistic in his taste, and with a tendency to slide into psychotic episodes" ... up until now I had no idea about the complexities of soft toy psychology. Contrary to his character, the rather positive and forward looking aspect of Mitch is that his plush is made of 100% recycled fleece. He is eco-friendly, huggable, non-pilling and appropriate for all ages.

Dads, if you are looking for something different for your kids - give Mitch a go (14-inch Mitch for $39 at neonmonster.com).

Enjoy,

Stef

By Mark Lakewood

Do you sometimes get frustrated disciplining your child because the discipline appears to be ineffective? Do you sometimes change your discipline in search of the most effective one to use on your child? Have you come to the conclusion that no discipline is effective on your child? If you are experiencing any of these thoughts or feelings today, I would like for you to consider the following:

Have you ever wondered why so many people commit murder when they know the consequence is the death penalty or a lifetime in prison?

A while ago we made a mention of the recent film adaption of "Where the wild things are" - so one of our readers went to see it (again) with his children and wrote a review ... check it out!


By Pete Rorabaugh

"Let the Wild Rumpus Start!"
Those may be the most memorable words I have ever read aloud as a parent.

That is Max Records, who plays Max in everyone's favorite story about a boy who dreams he is a king. Last month I saw Where the Wild Things Are with my two oldest (9 and 11). I had already seen the movie once -- on opening night. I am that kind of fan of an assortment of things (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Cormac McCarthy, lots of musicians). I was really excited about the film. For once, I thought, an indie-kids movie.

What parent hasn’t dreaded report card time, especially when a child is underperforming? How do two kids, born of the same genetic material, turn out so differently when it comes to school performance and their work ethic?
When is it wrong if the “problem” child gets more attention than the one who gets his work done and maintains good grades? These are questions most households face and we are definitely in the middle of them right now.

My older son, Will, is multi-talented when it comes to music and disinterested when it comes to school. He plays several instruments and is almost a walking encyclopedia of contemporary music and even knows quite a bit about music from previous generations. He’s also multi-talented at fooling me about his school-work, even though he’s clear the truth about his grades will always surface.

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.

Amongst many 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

Beautiful short film to watch with your children (watch it first by yourself to see if you think it's suitable).

Enjoy,

Stef

If you've been looking for an excuse to take your kids to the movies - here's a good one. "Where the wild things are" is out! Based on one of the best loved books for children by Maurice Sendak - the adaption of Where the wild things are is a classic in the making! Check out the trailer and make it a grand day out with the kids ...

Enjoy

-Stefan