What to do on school vacation? Play Dates!

Playdates! Who ever came up with the word playdate is a genius!

"A play date or playdate is an arranged appointment for children to get together for a few hours to play.

Playdates have become the standard for children of many western cultures because the work schedules for busy parents, along with media warnings about leaving children unattended, prevent the kind of play that children of other generations participated in.
The intention of a playdate is to give children time to interact freely in a less structured environment than other planned activities might provide. Playdates are different from organized activities or scheduled sports, because they are not usually structured.

Playdates are becoming part of the vernacular of popular culture and form a part of children’s "down time." Most parents prefer children to use these hours to form friendships by playing with other children either one-on-one or within small groups. When children are very young, most parents stay for the playdate and use the time to form their own friendships and parental alliances." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_date)

One of my son's friends said the only thing he wanted to do on his vacation week was to have a playdate! Kids love 'em, parents love 'em, it's a win win situation.

I always remind my son to be polite, use your manners, be respectful of your friends toys, wash your hands after going to the bathroom :) and pick up after yourselves.

What do you remind your children to do before their playdate?

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow: educational games!

How do you write when you're sick?

First, I'm boiling hot. Then I shivering with chills so hard I can't peck on my keyboard. Then, I start coughing and my nose starts running. I ate some Chicken and Stars soup (don't tell Justin) now I am boiling hot again.
Any tips for me on how to be creative on a day like today?
I have spent most of the day in bed under 5 blankets. Hard to fit a pen and pad under all those covers.
I'll check in with you later and let you know how I made out!
Happy Writing!
Your sick friend "(

Great help for picture book authors

Tara Lazar Has Much to Offer...

Especially to Picture Book Authors

http://taralazar.wordpress.com/

Creator of PiBoIdMo

http://taralazar.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/picture-book-construction-know-your-layout/

I visited the site, read it, printed it out, and saved it. Next step—USE IT!

great quote

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." - Goethe

What do you dream? What do you think boldness has in it?

Muse generator

1 - Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”. Third picture no matter what ...it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.

***Use this photo compilation to write a 500 word sensory experience using dialogue only
or
***Use this photo compilation to write a 1,000 word children's story, getting your conflict from any part of the compilation
or
***Use this photo compilation as an album cover. Write an article about your band, how it came to be, your goals, your audience, etc.
or
***Just have fun with it any way it suits you!

Remember, that whatever you are searching for in the deepest part of your heart is searching for you too--.

Better Blogging

31 Days to a Building a Better Blog ebook, available here:
https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?ii=258839&c=ib&aff=127810&cl=11220.

Blog away

It's 2011! And it's February 2011.
New plans for the year:
No more Facebook games!
No more whining!
Lots of writing and submitting.
Blog at least twice a week about writing for children, parenting, and fun activities for children.
Teach a writing workshop for children: maybe at school, public library, festivals, etc.

Blog on!