by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Sure, card playing with kids is awesomely fun. But did you know that it also could be good for learning and emotional health? If you haven't played cards with your kids before, you may just change that routine soon.

Kelly Herdrich recently wrote a piece entitled "I'm Raising a Card Shark" where she shared the delight of her children over a simple card game. Kelly's experience is just one of many that shows how families can bond emotionally over playing cards.

According to ParentScience.com, studies show cognitive benefits to play, which could include card playing. Kids who play often are proven to excel in academics. Frequent play also improves memory, problem-solving skills, math skills, and even language skills. This could be due to the fact that many types of play involve utilizing those skills.

Looking at card games in particular, see how many you can think of that involve using oral language skills, math, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and an emotional connection to other players.

Have you played cards with your kids lately?

_Lyn is a freelance web journalist, the Community Advocate at Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the founder of Write W.A.V.E. Media, parent company to LifeSuccessfully.com and several others. She enjoys publishing freelance writers and supports advocacy through journalism. She has been published all over the web with major media companies, as well as smaller businesses and organizations. Contact Lyn for guidance in the world of freelance writing.

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by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Learning doesn't have to be expensive. Kids can learn from the simplest of items. Many elementary learning essentials can be found at the local dollar store. You'd be surprised what you can find for a dollar. Whenever we are running low on learning materials or need to add to our collection, we hit the dollar store first.

Flash Cards
Basic elementary flash cards can often be found at the dollar store. True they aren't generally more than $5. But if you can get them for only a dollar, why spend more. Flash cards help kids remember things like shapes, colors, numbers, addition, sight words, and so much more. We often find brand name flash cards for multiple subjects and grade levels at our local dollar store.

Books
Yes, you can still find elementary-aged books for a buck. Borrow the expensive books from the library. Then head to the dollar store for the bargain books. You never know what you might find. While you can't go expecting a specific book, it's very easy to find great deals on books for the kids at the dollar store. We've scored anything from easy readers, to science textbooks, popular fairytales, children's novels, and more.

Worksheets and Workbooks
I love that we can usually find worksheets and workbooks for elementary grade levels . We like to laminate our worksheets to use over and over. But workbooks and reproducible worksheets can often be expensive. That was a dilemma until we started finding them at the local dollar store. We're a family who likes to learn. So we can never have enough of these. The dollar store has lowered our pending on this significantly.

General School Supplies
Pens, pencils, markers, colored pencils and other basic school supplies can add up quickly. We're always able to find every supply we need for our elementary drawer at the local dollar store. We have a special learning area that we keep stocked with all the basic supplies. Elementary kids are often destructive with their supplies. They also use them up quickly, especially paper and writing/drawing mediums. But when we get them from the dollar store, it isn't taking as much of a chunk out of the budget.

There is much more that we often find at the local dollar store. It varies from week to week. But it's always a fun adventure to find out what they have next. What essential elementary learning supplies can you save on at your local dollar store?

by Summer Banks, Contributing Writer

I am not a fan of doctors, antibiotics or modern medicine for everyday ailments. There is a need for traditional medical care, in some cases, but I honestly believe parents often rush children to the doctor for a dose of quick fix medicine before they allow the human body to heal naturally. When I chose to practice alternative health care with my four children, they started healing faster and getting sick less often, but there was a speed bump in my way – the school system. Children are only allowed to miss a certain number of school days without a doctor’s note. Natural healing takes long than healing with modern medicine, so I needed to address this issue from the moment I enrolled my children in public school.

Talk with the school principal, school nurse and your child’s teacher about alternative health care. From the onset, I talked with my children’s principal, school nurse and teacher about my choice to avoid modern medicine. This is a tricky subject because many people don’t understand alternative health care, especially when it comes to children. I made sure to ask how many days missed the school system allowed before requiring a child to repeat a grade. Different states have different guidelines, so ask and note the days allowed in a health care journal.

Learn the rules of sickness and school. Too many parents take children to the doctor for medication and send their child back to school the following day. This exposes other children in the school to germs, viruses and bacteria. There are two main rules of sickness and school every parent should remember.

• Your child must be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school
• Your child must not be contagious.

If every parent keeps these two rules of alternative health care in mind, fewer children will get sick.

Contact your child’s teacher for work on the first day missed. No child wants to spend three or four days out of school only to have tons of work to make-up when they return. Contact your child’s teacher on the first day missed and ask for homework. You may have to make a trip into the school to pick-up the class work, but some teachers will simply email the worksheets so you can print them out at home.

Allowing your child to heal naturally boosts immunity for life so never feel guilty about choosing alternative health care for your child, but be prepared to face a brick wall when it comes to days missed. Communication is the best tool any parent can use to keep their child on track in school.

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

With new studies revealing that facebook can be detrimental to teens psychologically, as well as educationally, parents need to be more cautious than ever. If you thought safety from predators and cyber-bullying were your only concerns with facebook for your teens, you thought wrong.

Here are some quick tips to make facebook a healthier environment:

• Make sure your teen knows appropriate times to check facebook. Hint: During class is not one of them.
• Be sure your teen has a social life outside of facebook.
• If your teen is starting to spend more time on facebook than on other things, it's time to have a talk and possibly seek professional help.
• Find extracurricular activities your teen can enjoy that do not involve networking online.
• If your teen is accessing facebook via a smart phone and it's taking up a considerable amount of time, encourage more limitations, such as only accessing facebook via a desktop PC.

You can't necessarily tell your teen to just stop cold turkey because that may cause more damage. But setting clearer limits, making more activities available, and having a talk with your teen can go a long way.

by Patricia Cook, Contributing Writer

Here's an idea for a gift for a soon-to-be-mom: a pregnancy silhouette. Each month, trace mom's growing silhouette, and when baby's born, you'll have a month-by-month growth chart of both baby and mom.

Creating a pregnancy silhouette of mom is a unique way to chart the course of her pregnancy, and the growth of the baby. It's easy to do, and can be a great gift after baby has arrived and his or her growth is being charted in other ways.

Read entire article

Patricia writes on a variety of topics for the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and about Fort Worth parks and Tarrant County libraries for Examiner.com. A former magazine and book editor, her second novel is complete and looking for an agent and publisher.

by Lyn Lomasi, LifeSuccessfully.com Staff

Who doesn't love a good family karaoke session? But how do you know which songs to sing? My kids and I enjoy karaoke often. Here are some tips and some of the songs we feel are the best for a family karaoke night.

Choosing good family songs
Good songs for family karaoke night will run the gamut, as far as style and artist. Be sure to choose songs appropriate for the ages of all family members. It's also good to have a variety of different styles of music. This way no one is left out. Don't forget to account for both male and female vocals and remember that males can sing female solos and vice versa. Just let everyone choose whatever they like.

Family karaoke night activities
When kids are involved, it's good to mix things up and have different activities surrounding the karaoke. This keeps them interested for longer than a few minutes. One idea is “Musical Karaoke”. Play it just like “Musical Chairs” except instead of stopping and starting a radio, the person singing karaoke stops and starts at random.

Best songs for family karaoke night

“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor

“A Whole New World” from Disney's Aladdin movie

“I'll Stand by You” by Carrie Underwood

“Flying Without Wings” by Ruben Studdard

“Part of Your World” from Disney's “The Little Mermaid” movie

“Wild, Wild West” by Will Smith

“I Hope You Dance” by LeeAnn Womack

“Wild Horses” by Natasha Bedingfield

“You are Not Alone” by Michael Jackson

“Just a Girl” by No Doubt

“The Climb” by Miley Cyrus

“Something More” by Sugarland

“Hakuna Matata: from Disney's “The Lion King”

More from Lyn:

What Not to Bring on a Road Trip with Kids

How to Have a Family Nature Night

Tips for Teaching Kids Holiday Song Lyrics

As a mother of voracious readers, I've learned several things on the way. Great ways to increase your child's love for books can come from both simple and unexpected places.

Continue reading this article>>>

by Lyn Lomasi, LifeSuccessfully.com Staff

Are your kids bored out of their minds? Just need something free to pass the time? Maybe you're broke but still want to have fun. Either way, these five free ways to have fun with kids are sure to entertain.

Sing Silly Songs Together
Yeah, yeah I know this may sound old-fashioned. But try it. It's great for laughter and helps bring families closer together. This is especially good after a really long day. A family karaoke night is always fun as well. If it's near a holiday, try these tips for teaching kids holiday lyrics.

Play Tag In the Rain
If it's raining outside, no need to stay inside unless there is severe weather. Play a free, fun game of tag in the rain with the kids. It adds a fun element and also teaches kids to appreciate the beauty of mother nature. Click here for more outdoor rainy day fun with kids.

Explore the Neighborhood
Do you know what your neighborhood looks like? The full details - not from a car window. Take a stroll around and explore things with the kids. You might be surprised at the nature and landmarks you can discover without being contained by four doors. If you live in or near Englewood area, click here for free things to do around the city.

Weed Out and Donate
This may seem an odd thing to put on a list of fun things to do. But kids really enjoy knowing their unused items can help others. Go through clothing, books, toys, etc and see what can be given to the less fortunate. Keeps the kids busy and it also helps someone out.

Family Talent Show
Everyone has something special they can do. One kid might be able to sing. Another may be an artist. Maybe another is into fashion. No matter everyone's interests, they can all be combined to create a fun family talent show. You can charge admission with play money for effect.

More from Lyn:

Free Family Fun in Englewood, CO

Plain and Simple Ways to Entertain Kids

Outdoor Activities for Kids on Rainy Days

*This was originally published by Lyn Lomasi on ListMyFive.com

by Lyn Lomasi, Life Successfully Staff

"Mommy can you wash my water?" That has to be one of the funniest things any of my kids ever said to me as a toddler. She was about three. Wash water? Isn't water already clean? What's the funniest  thing your toddler ever said to you? Here are some of the funniest toddler quotes in my family.

So, what was washing the water all about? She wanted me to dump out the water and make it even colder. With four kids, and also the fact that I am a former nanny, I have heard plenty of interesting things from toddlers.

(continued below..)

Another that sticks to me is the time my then 4 year old son was sitting on a playground swing. At the time, his fear of the swing moving with him in it was still present. He knows my profession and knew I had the laptop at the park. I go to push him and he says "Don't push me, Ma! You really need to write that article!"

Then, there's the first time my oldest daughter (then a year and a half) met a horse. It was the Juneteenth parade in Denver and the policemen were there with their Clydesdales. They were welcoming petting. So, toddler in arms, I pet one horse's beautiful mane. I tried to get her to do the same. She looked at me crazy, looked the horse up and down, and looked back at me exclaiming "Uh, uh Mommy! That's a BIG doggie!"

Related Articles from Lyn:

Unexpected Ways Kids Inspire Parents

How to Prepare a Toddler for a Newcomer in the Family

Get Toddlers to Behave, Share and Play Nicely Together