Because we need a laugh!

Before 2020 leaves us...we need to share some laughs!!!

                                    

Pillow Fort Fun!!!

The Best Pillow Fort Activities

Building a pillow fort is a super fun activity that keeps your kids engaged while letting their imagination run wild. All you have to do is hunt down a few sheets, pillows and supportive furniture for you and your family to have fun for hours on end. Check out these tips and ideas from Apartment Guide to build the ultimate pillow fort where you and your kids can spend quality time and make treasured memories!

1. Have a tea party

Turn your fortress into a venue to host a lavish tea party. Dress up and make cookies and finger sandwiches to go with your fresh pot of tea. Have your kid send out these printable tea party invites to other members of your household along with matching tea and snack tags.

2. Play pretend

A fort is whatever your child wants it to be, like a secret cave in the wilderness or a pirate ship setting sail to find the lost treasure. The point is to let your kids' imaginations run wild and have fun. To help them create the ambiance they’re looking for, check out these printable fort decorations to transform their fun new space.

3. Watch a movie

Make some popcorn and break out the sweet treats and get ready for the ultimate movie night in your pillow fort! Make sure your fort is near a TV or set up a projector inside your fort to shine on a blank wall to make your very own movie theatre. Handheld tablets also work in smaller sized forts!

4. Crafting

Turn your pillow fort into the ultimate crafting station where you can let your children create pieces of art that can be displayed on the fridge. Try coloring, drawing or a crafting activity like these printable unicorn and puppy masks that can be cut out and worn using a string or wooden popsicle stick!

5. Read 

Reading is a nice and relaxing activity for your kids to do in their new little fortress. They can hide away with a good book or comic or listen to an audiobook that will transform them to a different place. 

Keep the fun going by making their fort a personal fortress that engages them in different activities that encourage creativity, imagination and leisurely fun! Whether you're cooped up indoors due to the winter weather or just looking for a fun weekend activity, pillow forts will help keep your kids entertained for hours.

Guest post by Apartment Guide in collaboration with the Twinkle Teaches Blog.

Merry Christmas!!!

 

My Christmas wish for you is that even if you are spending it alone you are not lonely. I care for all my readers even if I am wonky about posting on my blog. I wish you the best holiday season and great, magical things!

A few days ago I was wrapping presents. It took me 6 hours. Not because there were so many gifts, but because this is how I wrap…

My husband got up while I slept and wrapped probably double the amount of gifts in about thirty minutes!

Instead of seeing family, we all did gift exchanges on the porch. This year we opened gifts at midnight just because we could.

And this was my puppy Chinche’s first Christmas and first birthday! Yes, he really was a Christmas baby. He loved it all… his new stuffed animals and his special peanut butter birthday cookie.

Now my family is sleeping. And I am reflecting on the good that really did come out of this year. We got to spend more time together than we have in any other year. That means so much. 💖💖

                            

Printable Coloring Page-Stress Relief!!!

Despite the holidays being marketed as “the most wonderful time

of the year," many people still experience heightened feelings

of stress, sadness, and anxiousness during this time. These holiday

blues could be attributed to any of the following: 

• Loneliness

• End-of-year career stress

• The financial strain that can come with gift-giving

• Unrealistic holiday expectations

• Family gatherings

—not to mention, the added layer of stress that has inherently

come with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking time to clear your mind, slow down, and temporarily

remove yourself from the hustle and bustle of the holidays

can be an effective way to manage stress and feelings

of anxiousness. How, you ask? Try coloring! 

Coloring is not just for children, and studies show

that coloring can actually relax your brain.

The simple act of coloring can temporarily take the attention

of yourself or the stressors in your life and help

you feel more relaxed. Print out the stress-relief coloring

page above or gift it to a loved one this season. This is

a great activity for a quick mental health break during

the day if you feel stress coming on or to unwind in the evening.

More information can be found HERE.

Source: Everlywell in collaboration with Twinkle Teaches Blog.

 

 

Working After Baby

Should a woman work on maternity leave? There have always been 2 opposite opinions: "yes" and "no", like black and white.

 

For those who say "yes", here are some tips on how you can earn extra money on maternity leave and even have enough time for your child:

 

1) Monetize your hobby

If you have a hobby, try to make money on it. Whether it's handicrafts, cooking, painting, floristry, plant breeding - the list of hobbies is almost endless. The more original the idea and the final product, the more chances of success. It is important to find your kind of creativity not to start being annoying in a week.

 

2) Find a part-time job

If you are a sought-after specialist and, after the decree, are planning to continue your career, find a part-time job in your specialty. It will help you not to lose your skills and easier to join the process after the decree.

On the web, there are a lot of part-time jobs for stay-at-home moms.

3) Find a part-time job that does not require special skills

It can be tasks on the Internet or offline tasks. For example, on copywriting websites with part-time jobs, you can perform one-time tasks: transcribe an audio recording, leave a comment or review, follow links, analyze content.

 

4) Find a new profession

Sometimes on maternity leave, mom realizes that she does not want to return to her previous job. Then you can think about changing your profession and enroll in courses. 

Online education allows you to master a new profession at home. There are courses in different areas - programming, design, internet marketing, SMM, project management, photography, video filming, motion design.

If you decide to find an additional source of income, before searching, answer a few questions for yourself:

How much time are you willing to devote to a part-time job?

Are you ready to learn new things?

How much do you want to receive?

You can browse jobs for moms on Jooble.

It will help you to determine the preferred sphere of work and find your dream job!

 This is posted in collaboration with jooble.org on Twinkle Teaches 

                        

Pursuing Higher Education as a Parent Means Getting Creative

Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels

Guest Post by Erica Francis

Higher Education As A Parent Means Getting Creative 

Going back to school as an adult is intimidating, to say the least. But when you want to get ahead, there are few better ways to do so than by earning your degree. As the founder of the Twinkle Teaches blog, Tina Winkle knows the value of lifelong learning. Here is how to pursue your own higher education while navigating life with a family.

Find funding.

First and foremost, you should know that pursuing higher education as an adult looks a bit different from a financial standpoint than going to college fresh out of high school. Fortunately, while many scholarships and grants are earmarked for the younger crowd, there are many lending opportunities available for older students. These include grants made available to the US government and, possibly, your or your spouse’s employer.

Photo by Startup Stock

Decide on a major. 

If you don’t already know what you want to do, it’s time to sit down and take a close look at your options. Think about your prior work experience. If you are tech-savvy, for example, you may consider a degree in information technology, which can land you a career in analytics, cybersecurity, or networking. Have you worked with children before? Maybe you’re ready to earn a teaching degree. You may also consider easing into school by pursuing a certification in an area such as dental hygiene or online marketing. According to CNBC, there are more than a dozen professions that are expected to be in high demand throughout the next five years. These include everything from nursing assistant to software developer.

 

Consider online classes. 

Considering we’re in the middle of a pandemic, in-person classes may not be available. Do not let this discourage you. Keep in mind that your education is just as meaningful when you earn your degree online. Something to keep in mind here is that your internet may need an upgrade. Many online classes require that you watch streaming videos or log in to video meetings. Because time is valuable, the last thing you want is for your classroom videos to lag.

Photo by Pexels

Utilize audio textbooks.

As a parent, it’s often difficult to find the time to sit down and study. Fortunately, there are many tools available that can help you learn while you continue to handle your responsibilities at home. Audio textbooks are a great example of these. There are services available that feature more than 80,000 textbooks. When you need to clean the house, transport sleeping babies to and from the grocery store, or your kids simply want in the room, pop in your earbuds and listen away.

 

Share childcare duties.

If your children are older, you can complete your education while they are at school themselves. But, when you have the pre-kindergarten crowd at home (or your children have transitioned to virtual learning), you may have to get creative. Even if you do not take a full load, going back to school takes time and lots of it. Plan to share childcare duties with your spouse or partner or, even better, swap days with your closest friends. One day, you have their children, the next, they have yours. This will ensure a quiet house at least a few days each week. On the days you have your children, give them a notebook and some crayons and let them “go to school” with you. 

Having kids and going to school as an adult is tough. But, once you know that higher education is right for you, online classes, audio textbooks, and childcare swaps can help you get through it. Congratulations, and good luck as you begin your college-as-an-adult journey.

Photo by Pixabay

This guest post was written by Erica Francis with readyjob.org 

This is posted in collaboration with readyjob.org on Twinkle Teaches 

                        

Christmas and Coding!

 

Snow, snow much fun! We had snow start on Sunday and pick back up today on Tuesday. It is a beautiful, soft snow with large flakes. Perfect for making snow people! We made a snow alien. Since it was my dog Chinche’s first time to see snow he decided it was a tasty treat.

Today I have some Christmas door decoration/bulletin board decorating ideas for you and a *wonderful* resource for coding from AT&T! You can decorate your door or a window at home!

version 1

                      version 2                   

The door decorations are various ones I found on Facebook, so there was not original source cited after being shared several times.

    

Now onto the cool coding guide! It is a great interactive educational resource for children, the Beginner's Coding Guide. The free guide educates children on computer programming in an entertaining way that keeps kids engaged while learning. You can check it out HERE.