Since 2003 Kathy Russell and Brenna Ritch have been teaching cooking at an elementary school in Berkeley. Lunch Love Community focuses on teaching children to prepare healthy, delicious meals and also offers evening cooking classes for families. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all schools had a lunch/cooking program like this? Brilliant!
Does your child’s school offer a cooking program? Or, a lunch program that incorporates cooking?
Connecting with your children at the end of a busy day is important. However, finding the time, when many families are so busy, can be hard. Here are some of my favorite ways that I reconnect with Eben on a daily basis. I feel that every second with him is special (he is almost 14 afterall!), maybe you can find one or two that will work for your family.1. Drive Time Equals Family Time
Anytime that Eben and I are in the car together, we turn the radio off and tune into each other. It’s amazing how much quality talk time you can get with your child in the car. Is it because they can’t get away from us? Either way – I will take it, those few minutes in the car on the way to and from school and appointments are super special to me.
2. Get Cooking Together
A great way to reconnect with your family is by cooking dinner together. Everyone can help in some way, regardless of age. And baking something together such as; organic cookies or brownies, just makes cooking together more fun!
3. Make It a Family Night, Every Night
Family night doesn’t have to mean movies and pizza. You can make every night family night by spending even small amounts of time together playing a game, doing homework or even reading together. Now, that Eben is older – I can sometimes get him to go to the gym with me too!
4. Give a Snuggle
Every night before you tuck in the little ones, snuggle in bed with them for a few minutes. It is a amazing the things that your child will tell you – if it means they get to stay up just 5 minutes longer. Even older kids will jump at the chance to extend bedtime, even if that means only to chat!
5. Take a Walk
Take a quick after dinner walk with your children. Even if it is only to the end of the street and back, taking a walk as a family is great exercise and will get your little ones chatting away. Eben and I do this on a regular basis and after about 15 minutes of walking, he starts chatting up a storm. It’s perfection!
6. Put a Note in It
When Eben was younger, I used to sneak little notes into his lunchbox. They were always simple and usually had a little doodle drawn on them. Now, that he is older, I will leave a note her and there for him and I text him once in a while just to say I care.
How do you connect with your child after a long day?
Snowshoeing is one of the best ways that a family can spend a cold winter day together outside. Compared to skiing, which can cost a family hundreds of dollars for one day, snowshoeing is a much more budget-friendly alternative, not to mention it is a lot of fun and anyone who can walk, can do it. You don’t have to be super athletic or even outdoorsy to enjoy snowshoeing and family members of all ages can enjoy the activity together. Jump over to Inhabitots to learn how to prepare for your first snowshoeing adventure with your children.
I don’t have a baby anymore, but if I did I would pick up a set of these organic rabbit rattles from Dress Me Up. Aren’t they adorable? I love the minimalist look – wouldn’t they look great on a bookshelf? 
Eben and I just finished reading Stone Fox
by John Reynolds Gardiner. It’s the story of a little boy named Willy, who’s grandfather is deathly ill, and it’s up to him to find a way to pay the tax collectors or they will lose the family farm. The only solution is for Willy to win the National Dogsled Race and pay the tax collectors with the prize money. However, there are many people who want to win the race, including Stone Fox – who has never lost a race in his lifetime.Eben reads to me every morning on the way to school and this book was a nail biter. It is very exciting and moves quickly – perfect for getting your little one sucked in immediately. This is one of those children’s books that had me cheering and crying, a must have for the family library.
As a birthday gift, Eben drew me a beautiful picture of Searchlight (Willy’s dog) and made a 3-D version of him too. It was sweet to know that the story was as important to him as it was to me. Priceless.
What is the best gift that your child has given you?