Valentine’s Day is a great time to slow down and connect with your family. You don’t need to eat at a nice restaurant and buy expensive gifts to show your love to your family. There are several inexpensive activities you can do at home to show your loved ones that you care. Below is a list of things you can do at home:)

1) Hearts on the Door: During Valentine’s Day week, write a special message on paper hearts and tape them to your child’s door each morning. You can write encouraging words or reasons why you love them. You can even do this with your spouse:)

2) Candlelight Meal: Make your kids their favorite meal or you can buy heart shape pizzas at your local grocery store. Light a candle while you eat together as a family. If real candles aren’t an option, you can use LED candles instead.

3) Act of Kindness Calendar: As a family, make a list of acts of kindness for the month of February. These acts of kindness can be simple and inexpensive. Explain why it’s important to be kind to others. You can even read a book about kindness (visit your local library). Ex: Share a toy with sibling, make neighbor a card, take a snack to a friend, help mom/dad cook/clean up kitchen, shovel snow for a neighbor, help a sibling pick up toys, etc.

4) Red and Pink Toy Scavenger Hunt: Gather red and pink toys, clothes, craft supplies and hide them throughout your house. Set a timer and tell your kids to go on a scavenger hunt to find red and pink items. Once they bring you the items, count them together. Set another timer and race to put the items back in their proper place. Have a yummy snack afterwards:)

We hope this gives you some ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day at home. Have fun!

January is a great time to reflect on your parenting skills and make new goals/changes for the upcoming year.  Think about how your kids respond when you discipline and praise them.  How can you motivate and encourage them?  How can you connect with them and get to know them better?  How often is your phone out while they are trying to play with you?  Remember our kids want to feel like they are a priority in our life not a distraction or disruption.  Listed below are a few parenting goals we made for our family.

1. Be more emotionally present when our kids are talking to us
2. Read each night as a family
3. Hug more often
4. Make more messes
5. Clean as a family
6. Play more board games
7. Spend more one on one time with each child (this is a tricky one!)
8. Cook together

There are no perfect parents.  We are all human.  We make mistakes.  Don’t look back and regret things you did or didn’t do for your kids.  Use your “oopsy” moments to guide you forward on this parenting journey.  We know you can do it!

Thanksgiving is a time where most of us stop and think about what we are thankful for.  But what if we took it a step further? What if we make a family thankful tree to hang in our house?  Gather around the table and ask your kids what they are thankful for.  They can help you trace and cut leaves out of paper.  You (or them) can write what they are thankful for on each leaf.  They can also help you color and cut out the tree trunk and branches.  Make sure each family member has a time to share what they are most thankful for.  Let your kids decorate the leaves and branches with markers, crayons, colored pencils, glitter, stickers, etc. When your family tree is complete, hang it in a special spot in your house.  We have so much to be thankful for:)

Hey there friends:)  Today we are tackling one of the most underrated topics in parenthood…..sleep.  Sleep is crucial for a healthy brain and a healthy body.  Yet so many kids and adults struggle with it.  When kids are tired they are more likely to act out.  I am sure you are all familiar with this:)  Here is a list to help your kiddos get a good nights rest.

1. Determine a bed time and stick to it!
2. Make sure your kids get enough physical exercise during the day-this includes play time (2-5 hours depending on age)
3. Dim lights and sounds if possible
4. Read or tell a story right before bed
5. Limit screen time in the evening
6. Offer a small snack and water if your child is prone to getting up during the night
7. Avoid sugary and caffeinated drinks at dinner
8. Give extra cuddles
9. Set bedtime boundaries-When is it okay for your child to get up during the night?
10. Create a routine

Hopefully this gives you a few new ideas to help your kids sleep better.  Routines take time and patience so try not to be discouraged if it doesn’t work at first.  Also, if your kids are getting up several times a night mention it to their pediatrician. Sometimes anxiety and diet can contribute to kids not sleeping well.  Happy sleeping!

Autumn is slowly arriving bringing cooler temperatures and changing leaves. What a great time to be outdoors! Below is a budget-friendly family bucket list for this fall season.

• Go on a nature hike.  Ask your kids to collect fall treasures (leaves, acorns, and whatever else they find). Make an autumn wreath with their treasures.  You can cut cardboard from a box to use as the wreath.  Have your kids glue (if they can) on their treasures.  Poke a hole at the top of their wreath and thread yarn through to tie a bow.  Display it on your front door or allow them to give it to a neighbor.
• Have a picnic at a local park.  Ask your kids to help you pack a lunch.  Bring a special blanket to sit on.  Talk about the cooler temperatures and changing leaves.
• Go to a pumpkin patch.  Price out the pumpkins beforehand and ask your kids to help you count the money they will need. Put the money in a special bag or envelope and let them pay for their pumpkin.
• Visit an apple orchard or farmer’s market.  Talk about the different types and colors of apples (Red Delicious, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith). Allow them to taste different types of apples (you can go to your local grocery store if you don’t have an orchard close by).  Borrow a book about apples from the library to learn more!
• Bake an autumn inspired treat. Things like baked apples and pumpkin bread are fairly easy to make and budget friendly.  Allow your kids to help you measure or gather ingredients.

Make time to unplug from social media and work (if you can).  Our world is so fast-paced and one of our goal’s at before5 is to inspire you to create pockets of time to slow down and connect with your kids.  We hope these ideas encourage you to spend meaningful time with your family.