The Jumpitz are all about discovering new things in the world, especially in nature. Interacting with nature is something all parents should do with their kids, teaching what things are is an exhilarating learning experience for kids.

One of our favorite parenting websites, Babble, is featuring a new Babble List of 25 nature adventures for kids.

Here are our favorites in no particular order.

1. Grow a garden. Michelle Obama is growing a White House Kitchen Garden this summer with her daughters. Try this yourself at home, either in a small plot in the yard or in planters. You can grow plants from seed in the early spring or purchase plants in late spring. Tomatoes, lettuces, herbs and sunflowers are good plants to start. You’ll learn in your first year and can expand upon your knowledge the next year. Keep a garden notebook to record your successes and challenges, as well as pictures of your farmers and crop.
2. Learn about songbirds. Place a bird feeder near a window or in the yard and watch who comes to visit. Purchase a bird guide, such as The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (a Peterson Field Guide), to help identify the birds at your feeder. If your family gets good at identifying birds, try participating in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Check online for local bird watching groups; these groups often host educational outings that are interesting for children and adults.
3. Start a nature journal. Buy a blank notebook and some colored pencils and, voila, you have a nature notebook. Pack the journal in a backpack for walks, hikes and canoe trips, and encourage your child to draw what she sees: trees, leaves, birds, pine cones, rocks — even you. Be sure to set aside 15 to 30 minutes to sit, draw and talk with your child about what she is drawing. Don’t critique drawings; simply let her draw and enjoy the experience.
4. Enjoy a campfire. Campfires represent everything wonderful about being outside — camping, friends and family, hot dogs and s’mores. Check with your local fire department about campfire regulations. If you can have a safe campfire in your backyard, invite the neighbors over to enjoy it with you. If not, plan a weekend getaway at a park or campground that allows for campfires.
5. Build a fort. Forts, tree houses and playhouses can be rustic or extravagant. There are many books today that offer wonderful and practical ideas for creating childhood getaways. Or use your imagination — and your child’s — to create your own.
6. Pack up some books and read outside. Find a special place outdoors to read — under a tree, in a hammock, on a porch or at the park. Pack your backpack with books and snacks and head out to read with your child. This takes away all the distractions of home, such as phones, all things electronic, and the constant need to clean. If you need some new books, look for nature themes at the library or bookstore. Learn more about the importance of reading aloud to your child, as well as age-appropriate books, at Read Aloud Magic.
7. Take a family camp vacation. Put away the Mickey Mouse ears and take the whole family to camp for vacation this year. Many summer camps offer weekend or week-long sessions for families to enjoy all aspects of camp together — activities, meals, cabins, campfires and roughing it. Call the traditional summer camps in your area to see if they offer family camp sessions or look online for family camps around the country.
8. Visit a state park. Look online for state parks in your area and plan a weekend getaway. Many state parks offer camping or cabin rentals, as well as outdoor fun, such as fishing, hiking, canoeing and swimming. To get the inside scoop on activities and events, call the park and speak to a ranger — most are happy to share their recommendations.
9. Find a secret hideaway. Help your child to find her own secret hideaway in the yard, woods or at a park — under a tree, behind or on top of a rock, or in a special nook at the park. This can be a hidden place for your child to read a book, play and imagine. This can even become a spiritual place of sorts, such as a prayer rock or quiet spot under a tree for quieting the mind.
10. Visit a nature center. A nature center is often a community’s best-kept secret. These outdoor education centers typically offer helpful programs about local plants and animals, and nature center naturalists are great resources for information about interesting activities in your area. Look in the phone book or online for your closest nature center and plan to spend a morning or afternoon exploring what’s there.

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Hey moms listen up! there’s a new site in town and it’ll give you the answers you need. It’s called Hunch!

Hunch helps you make decisions through a question and answer interface. The more questions you answer on Hunch, the more it knows about you and the better follow-up questions it can present to come up with the best final answer.

Let’s say you need some help making a decision for a TV show your children should watch, you would browse Hunch’s topic area and select Parenting & Kids and would get a list of questions other’s have asked.

If we select to see the results for What children’s TV show should I watch? you get a list of things other people have answered.

One of the biggest feature we liked on Hunch is the Workshop, a place where you create new questions and topics before they go live for all users.

Hunch is similar to Yahoo! Answers but the big difference is that here lots of people can contribute answers and then be voted up based on relevance.

We found Hunch quite helpful and entertaining!

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Hey Jumpiteerz! Here’s some great news, About.com’s Kids’ Movies & TV Guide Carey Bryson wrote up a great review of the Celebrate Animals! DVD .

As quoted from About.com:

Preschoolers will enjoy the bright and colorful live action episodes on The Jumpitz: Celebrate Animals DVD. The Jumpitz are a talented group of singer/dancers whose Broadway-style performances are integrated into the stories they act out in each show. The series is well-put-together, and it is unique in that it utilizes the real talent of individuals, as opposed to computer graphics, to teach and inspire kids.

The episodes on the Celebrate Animals DVD center around subjects children adore — animals and parties — and children will learn from each one. The Jumpitz’ goal to help children experience the wonder of diversity in our world comes through in the episode “McSniffley’s Birthday Celebration,” which exposes kids to fun music from other countries. In “Celebrate Animals,” The Jumpitz use music and examples to show kids that the exciting “World in Books” is both fun and very useful.

If you own the Celebrate Animals! DVD we would love it if you could write a review on About.com’s website!

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Hey Jumpiteerz! it’s that time of the year when we get to celebrate the most special person in the whole world…MOM!

Mother’s Day is only a few weeks away and we browsed the web to find some Mother’s Day gifts and crafts for kids.

Here’s what we found, enjoy!

	Craft Jr shows us how to make a Tissue Paper Flower Topiary. It’s a complete How To Manual, check it out!
	This color & cut Basket of Flowers Coloring Craft is perfect for teaching kids about flowers  and put it all together to make an adorable keepsake for Mom on Mother’s Day!
	Here’s a collection of 5 Mother’s Day Arts and Crafts to do with Toddlers from Totally Her.
	We love garden crafts, here’s a craft for Grannie and Nana for Mother’s Day
	Free Kid’s Arts & Crafts for Mother’s Day!
	Children ages 2 to 5 years are just beginning to experience the joy of giving. Try these low-cost easy-to-make ideas for Mother’s Day gifts that kids can help design.
	Jennifer of Ramblings of a Crazy Woman turns old jewel cases (CD cases) into a hanging picture frame, this makes an easy and Green Mother’s Day Gift.
	Mother’s Day Craft eBook: Blogger Edition FREE collection of Mother’s Day craft projects to decorate and give created by mom bloggers.
	Mother’s Day Hanging Plaque Show Mom that her kindness is appreciated by giving her a pretty plaque you made yourself.
	Mother’s Day Gifts Preschoolers Can Make Easy Sometimes the best Mother’s Day gifts are from the hearts and tiny hands of small children. Try making one of these three simple homemade crafts for mom this May.
	Small but engaging collection of Mother’s Day Printable Books
	Mother’s Day 2009: Craft ideas for gifts, cards and activities for kids Make Mother’s Day extra special this year by creating special gifts and homemade Mother’s Day cards!
	Mother’s Day Crafts and Gifts to Make Collection of Mother’s Day crafts, recipes and ideas that inspire kids to make their mom something special!
	Collection of 5 Crafts for kids to do for their grandmas or their moms
	Parent Dish put together a Mother’s Day Gifts, Crafts and Fun activities guide
	How to Make Fun and Easy Homemade Gifts for Mom Instead of purchasing another impersonal gift from your local department store, honor mom this Mother’s Day by crafting a one-of-a-kind keepsake that she will cherish.
	How to create a picture frame for mom gift idea video

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Last week we described how playing video games improves kids performance in school, but now according to a new study of nearly 1,200  children aged eight to 18 in the U.S says that playing video games can damage a kids social abilities.

Kids can become addicted to video games as adults are to gambling

The study by ISU Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile found nearly one in 10 of the gamers (8.5 percent) to be pathological players according to standards established for pathological gambling.

“What we mean by pathological use is that something someone is doing — in this case, playing video games — is damaging to their functioning,” Gentile said. “It’s not simply doing it a lot. It has to harm functioning in multiple ways.”

The gamers (who said they played video games at least 24 hours per week) were classified as “pathological” if they exhibited at least six of 11 symptoms: salience (the activity dominates the person’s life), euphoria or relief (the activity provides a “high” or the relief of unpleasant feelings), tolerance (over time, a greater amount of activity is needed to achieve the same “high”), withdrawal symptoms (the person experiences unpleasant physical effects or negative emotions when unable to engage in the activity), conflict (the activity leads to clashes with other people, work, obligations, or oneself), and relapse and reinstatement (the person continues the activity despite attempts to abstain from it).

Now this is not yet a call to all action for parents as some experts don’t agree that ‘video game addiction’ exists, but let’s keep our fingers crossed. More to come…

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This is one of  THE best blog posts we’ve found on the webs, Amy at Savvy Parenting put together an A-Z letter by letter guide to start building your child’s green vocabulary:

A is for Atmosphere. The air, the fragile concoction that gives us life. Kids love the idea of keeping out bad stuff that is invisible to the naked eye. Give them some basics about pollution and carbon dioxide and get out of their way.

B is for Bees and Butterflies. The key to our thriving ecosystem. Brush up on the fluttering, buzzing basics here.

C is for Compost. Whether you have your own worms or just switch to Bio-Bags for the stuff that goes in the green can, the hands-down most dramatic way to reduce your family’s garbage output is by separating out compostables. Many preschools do this, and it’s second nature to our kids there. They’ll expect home habits to follow suit.

D is for Dr. Seuss, who tells the conservation tale (like so many others) better than anyone else. Read The Lorax. Then live The Lorax.

E is for Effect on the Earth. What you consider when you do something. Keeping the big (in fact, biggest) picture in mind goes a long way toward a “green” life.

F is for Faster isn’t always Fine. Plastic bottles are speedy and convenient, and there’s also a mile-wide raft of them floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Perhaps plastic bottles can simply be a never-again for your family. Or perhaps it’s something else that works better for you — we’ve got lots of ideas for you here and all over here!

G is for Grow. Grow it, and understand. From watching the life cycle in your own butterfly pavilion to giving a pea (or potato or avocado) sprout that magic combination of soil, water and sunlight, gardening is often the a-ha moment in preschooler’s budding scientific minds.

H is for Hybrid. We had road-trip games about spotting VW Bugs (and hitting our siblings…); our kids can Prius-spot! Teach them about hybrid cars, and have them listen in wonder as a hybrid engine soundlessly pulls away from a stop — so cool!

I is for Ice cap, rapidly melting. Tell the story of polar bears and penguins and why we should care for their part of the world, as well as its effect on our part of the world.

J is for Just a little bit helps. We are especially fond of the bite-sized solutions offered at Simple Steps in the NRDC’s ‘Got a Minute/Morning/Month?’ action ideas.

K is for Keep it — instead of tossing it. Kids are great at repurposing things –and we’ve got a bunch of ideas for you here!

L is for Local. Experts posit that where your food is grown is even more important than how it is grown — or at least that maintaining local ties to growers means both less energy wasted in transit and a closer nexus between farm and kitchen, which makes it more obvious that pesticides and other toxins are unwelcome.

M is for Mindful. It sounds a bit much for little ones, but we still think it’s fair. Childhood already weaves together the carefree and the attentive, so perhaps it will be easier for them to stay mindful of being gentle with our world — without being obsessive. We love the image of the mindful little birds in this Gretchen Rubin interview of Todd Kashdan.

N is for Necessary. “Is this really necessary?” is the opening salvo of your new eco-consciousness.

O is for Organic. Especially in dairy products and in these “dirty dozen” fruits and vegetables, spend the extra money on organic products. But see “L”…

P is for Pollution. Everday solutions to lots of kinds of pollution are found here, from the endlessly resourceful Environmental Working Group.

Q is for Quick check. Another way of being mindful (see “M”) and doing only what is necessary (see “N”) and keeping things simple (see “S”). Do a quick check in your head before using, tossing, buying, etc.

R is for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The foundation of earth-friendly living. And a great Jack Johnson song!

S is for Simple. Our goal in eco-friendly parenting, as in so many things….

T is (not) for Trash. Instead of tossing it, sort it (recycling, compost, garbage) and use the right words too.  “Can you put this in the recycling for me, sweetie?” “Do you think this goes in composting or garbage?”

U is for Unplug it. Which brings us to…

V is for Vampire energy. The greatest, spookiest phrase to come out of the “green” movement so far. Perfect for preschoolers — especially your newly-deputized Light Switch Police Officer.

W is for Water, which we all need to thrive. From drinking from the tap (filtered as necessary) and not from plastic bottles, to turning off the running water while brushing your teeth, and thinking of the effects on water in rivers, lakes and oceans, the world of water is a great way to introduce little kids to a greener life.

X marks the spot where we live. Connect to the world around you, whether through a garden or a local farm or keeping track of air quality days or weather or any ol’ way you can think of.

Y is for YOU can make a big difference. And in fact, if you don’t do it, who will?  (See “D”.)

Z is for Zoos, which are often filled with endangered animals for us to learn about.  The best goal of all that learning would, of course, be to get the animals back into the wild to thrive — then, our zoos would be filled with success stories!

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Cafe Mom has an interesting discussion going on about the weird things kids eat which is hilarious! Cafe Mom members have already shared 34 stories that range from kids eating poop, umbilical cord, cat litter, half a cricket, desitin, a piece of spoon…

Read the rest of the things other kids have eaten.

Got an interesting story? We’d like to know about it.

Photo by Cheatara

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Obama Family

We want to share with you the letter President Obama’s wrote to his daughters right before he became President. Here are a few snippets:

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

On his grandmother’s teaching’s:

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

On what he wants for his daughters:

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

Read Barack’s full letter to his daughters.

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How to Amuse Toddlers – More DIY How To Projects

After finding out why toddlers don’t listen to the advice of their parents, we thought we’d look for useful ways to keep them busy.

Here then is an instructable on how to keep your toddler amused written by Steve Gerber who’s been providing private childcare for infants and toddlers for the past six years and here are a few activities he’s used to keep toddlers busy.

step 1 Playing With Water

step 2 Sandbox

step 3 Dress-up

step 4 Tape

step 5 Cooking

step 6 Animal Safari

step 7 Pretend to fix things with tools

step 8 Playdough

step 9 Cardboard Box Playhouses

step 10 Playing with coins

step 11 Books

step 12 Coloring

step 13 Climbing

step 14 Swinging

step 15 Make popcorn

step 16 Doll house

step 17 Bounce on a big ball

step 18 Refrigerator magnets

step 19 Field trips

step 20 Musical instruments

step 21 Pretend cooking

step 22 Play in a tent

step 23 Go for a walk

step 24 Last resort: Send your toddler to someone else!

So if you’re having trouble keeping your toddler amused, give some of these activities a try.

Are there other activities that didn’t make the list?

Share your ideas in the comments!

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We’ve got news for parents who feel they’re being tested by their toddlers whenever you tell them not to do something which they know is wrong.

A new study about how young children think suggests:

“The good news is what we’re saying to our kids doesn’t go in one ear and out the other, like people might have thought,” said CU-Boulder psychology Professor Yuko Munakata, who conducted the study with CU doctoral student Christopher Chatham and Michael Frank of Brown University. “It also doesn’t go in and then get put into action like it does with adults. But rather it goes in and gets stored away for later.”

Toddlers store your instructions for later use?

The researchers found that children neither plan for the future nor live completely in the present. Instead, they call up the past as they need it.

So what can parents do?

Dr. Munakata suggests:

“If you just repeat something again and again that requires your young child to prepare for something in advance, that is not likely to be effective,” Munakata said. “What would be more effective would be to somehow try to trigger this reactive function. So don’t do something that requires them to plan ahead in their mind, but rather try to highlight the conflict that they are going to face. Perhaps you could say something like ‘I know you don’t want to take your coat now, but when you’re standing in the yard shivering later, remember that you can get your coat from your bedroom.”

Read the rest of this insightful study and let us know what you think in the comments?

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