Cool things for you and your family.

Something to think about

2010-08-05T07:55:00.001-07:00

You can enjoy a glorious vacation and stay within your budget – but not both in the same summer!

Does Your Garden Need Help?

2010-08-05T07:53:00.001-07:00

How is your garden doing this year? If you are having trouble with any plants there is a website that will help you diagnose and repair them before they die.

Check out Gardeners.com

Funny Sayings from the children at JNLC

2010-08-05T07:51:00.001-07:00

Pre K
Brice asked during our morning snack “Is today, tomorrow?”
1’s & 2’s
Sawyer said, “The baby is crying.” I asked him, “What do we do?” He said, “We need a screwdriver to fix her.”
Aaron said, “Look, a frog, a frog!” as he came running over with something in his hand. When he put it down, the creature was hopping like a frog, but it was because it was an insect that Aaron had carefully pulled the wings off of!
When Sawyer couldn’t pull the zipper down on his sweatshirt he squealed, “Help! I’m stuck in here!”
Sawyer also told Miss Erin “Putting my hug on you.”
Julianna said, “I have a fuzzy nose, I need a tissue.”

Gift Cone

2009-12-18T04:56:00.001-08:00

Children can make these gift cones for party favors, or to give to their families, friends, neighbors, etc. By varying the color, decorations, stickers or contents these can be made for holidays, birthdays and many other occasions.

Materials:
8 inch square of construction paper
5x10 inch strip of tissue paper
10 inch piece of ribbon
stickers, stamps, markers, etc for decorating
individually wrapped candies, mixes, etc.
glue
scissors

Directions:
Roll the square of construction paper into a cone and glue the overlapping edges together. Trim away the excess paper to make the top of the come level. Glue the tissue paper inside the cone one inch from the top, with the remaining tissue sticking above the edge. Decorate the cone with stickers, stamps, drawings, etc. Fill the cone with candies, mixes, or other small items. Tie the top of the tissue with ribbon.

Melted Crayon Ornaments

2009-12-18T04:55:00.000-08:00

Children love to be involved in holiday reparations. These can be made to decorate your home or as gifts for family and friends.

Materials:
crayons (broken one are perfect – remove paper)
disposable muffin tin
cotton swabs
Styrofoam eggs or balls
sequins
small beads
ribbon
pins

Directions:
Place one crayon (with paper removed) in each cup of a disposable muffin tin. Place the tin on a food warming tray or in an oven set at a very low temperature until crayons melt. Use cotton swabs to apply the melted wax to Styrofoam eggs or balls. Decorate with ribbon, sequins or beads. Using a pin attach a ribbon loop to the top for hanging.

A Family Picture Calendar

2009-12-18T04:50:00.000-08:00

Grandparents love pictures of their grandchildren. Microsoft offers you 51 Calendar Templates to use in Word. Take your pick, insert your pictures, print it out, wrap it and you are done!

Word Templates
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT103589901033.aspx?av=ZWD000

Thanksgiving or Harvest Blessing Snack

2009-11-16T14:49:00.003-08:00

Teach your children the importance of sharing blessings with friends, family and neighbors. Scoop individual servings of the snack mix into small bags With ribbon attach a card to each bag with an explanation of the blessing mix (see below). Also include a message similar to, ?We?re thankful for you every season of the year.?

In a large bowl mix equal amounts of Bugles-brand corn snacks, pretzels, dried fruit and sunflower seeds. Sprinkle in some candy corn. While your children pour and stir, take time to discuss the meaning behind each ingredient?

? bugles represent a cornucopia, or a horn of plenty

? pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer

? dried fruits represent the celebration of the harvest, Thanksgiving and when the Pilgrims finally had enough food to eat

? sunflower seeds represent the potential of a bounteous harvest for the next season

? candy corn represents maize (corn). During the first year of settlement, many Pilgrims died because food was so scarce. The pilgrims were each allotted only 5 kernels of corm per day. Native Americans shared corn with them and taught them how to plant this new crop.

Funny Sayings

2009-11-16T14:49:00.001-08:00

Brice was tugging on his pants and Mrs. Lucie said, "Brice, do you want some help with your pants?" Brice said, "no, my butt's falling." (The problem was his underwear were not completely pulled off!)

Ava W. came in one morning and shared some very disturbing news with the class. She said, "I got shot!" The children and staff questioned her, (with a hand on her arm) she said, "Yeah, the doctor shot me!"
(She meant she had a flu shot)

Observant Children Part 2

2009-11-16T14:48:00.001-08:00

Erin's class (1's & 2's)

Lochlann observes: birds squawking
planes flying by
sounds of spills..."uh oh"
tall trees blowing in the breeze

Aaron observes....
planes flying by
papa's feet when he's walking upstairs

Julianna observes...
yawns..."are you tired Miss Erin?"

Seamus observes...
coughing and asks "Are you okay?"

Observant Children Part 1

2009-11-16T14:47:00.001-08:00

As the children (pre school) and I were getting ready to enjoy and fall Friday afternoon outside we stopped to notice the different colors and types and differences between our own jackets and our friends jackets. We also included other items such has hats and mittens!

Examples:
Casey has a pink and purple Dora the explorer hat and it has a rim
Devlyn has a purple knit hat
Michael has a camouflage jacket with a zipper
Chloe has a brown jacket with zipper and buttons
Ava has a bright pink hat, blue jacket and pink butterfly gloves
Brice has a black zipper jacket with a blue hat with a spider sewn on the side
Elise has a purple jacket and a pink princess hat with a bow
Vance has a brown zipper jacket and a tan vest.
We also sang a song about our shoes. We noticed what type (sneaker clog ect.) Color and any characters or interesting things about our shoes. Such as instead of laces they may have had velcro!

Here's an example of our song
"New shoes, old shoes Elise has brown flowered shoes"
"New shoes old shoes Miss Brianna has white and silver shoes"
We also got into group based on hat, shoe, jacket color.
We have some very Observant children ! They don't miss a thing !

Miss Brianna

2009-11-16T14:42:00.003-08:00

The Latest Gems from Our Children

2009-10-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

Brice

One day on the playground Pastor Rick was teasing his grandson Aaron as he rocked back and forth on the blue rocking horse. He laughingly said, “You’re a monster! You’re a monster!”

Brice stopped playing, walked over and said with indignation, “Pastor Rick, he’s not a monster, he’s a baby!!”

Chloe

One day Chloe’s dad came to pick her up. As he walked in, Chloe sneezed and Mrs. Teresa said, “God bless you.” Chloe sneezed again and he dad said, “God bless you.” She sneezed again and Mrs. Teresa asked her, “What’s going on Chloe?” Chloe replied, “I don’t know. I have the God Bless you’s”

Elise

Pastor Rick came out of the building and walked toward the playground. As Children spotted him they called out, “Pastor Rick!” When Elise looked up saw him she turned to Mrs. Teresa and said, “He’s my family.” (Pastor Rick has been stopping by and visiting with Elise’s dad Keith since she was little.)

Solar Prints

2009-10-09T11:37:00.001-07:00

Here’s a simple but fun science activity your children will enjoy

Materials:
dark blue construction paper
some leaves or other objects
transparent tape

Directions:
Have your child position some leaves (or other objects) on a sheet of construction paper, using tiny pieces of tape on the underside of the leaves (or objects) to hold them down.

Place the paper outside in strong sunlight (on the sidewalk, driveway or table). Leave the paper in the sun all day.

At the end of the day have the children carefully remove the objects. They will discover shapes on the paper. Explain that the sun shining on the paper changed the color somewhat, but the paper under the objects was not exposed to the sun, so the color stayed the same.

Take a Hike!

2009-10-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

October is a great month to introduce your family to hiking. There are beautiful views and one great plus over hiking in the Spring, no mosquitoes!

Finding new and appropriate and interesting locations can be a challenge. Here is a site to help you to find the right hike in the right location. You can find routes by town or location such as White Mountains. You can choose by distance, key word, or rating.

There is something for everyone. Besides hikes, there are walks, bike rides, commutes, bike rides, skating, kayak/canoeing, running and swimming for next year!

Mapmyhike.com

Pumpkin Cookie Recipe

2009-10-09T11:30:00.001-07:00

2 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
? teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup chocolate morsels (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter, gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin to creamed mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie drop ? cup dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet, spread into pumpkin shape, using a spoon. Add a bit more dough to form a stem. Bake 20-25 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and cool. Decorate using icing or peanut butter to affix assorted candies, raisins or nuts. Yield 19-20 cookies.

Sparkless Sparklers

2009-06-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Children can dance around with these sparklers all day and all night or you can make them to tuck into plants or table centerpieces for a little burst of color.

Materials:
Pencil
Colored tape
Chenille stems
Star garland
Glue

Directions:
• Remove the eraser from the pencil by grabbing onto the eraser and pulling it out. The eraser will not be used as part of this project (it may be discarded).
• Carefully wrap the colored tape around the pencil, making sure it is smooth the entire length of the pencil. (Electrical tape works well for this and is available in a variety of colors.)
• Cut two chenille stems in half so you have 4 pieces about 6 inches long. (Metallic chenille stems give an extra sparkle.)Cut eight pieces of star garland, each one about 6 inches long.
• Fill the eraser hole with craft glue.
• Grab hold of all of the pieces of chenille stem and garland that you cut. Hold them so one end of each piece is even.
• Carefully poke the ends of the chenille and garland into the hole.
• Once the glue is completely dry, bend the chenille stems and star garland so they look like the sparks shooting off of a real sparkler.

You can use red, white and blue colors for independence day or others colors to match your party theme.

Sidewalk Chalk

2009-06-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a project you can do with your children when the rain finally comes to an end!

Children can create masterpieces in your driveway with this home made sidewalk chalk

Materials;
Plaster of Paris
Powdered tempera paint
Toilet paper rolls, small paper cups or candy molds

Directions:
Mix together one cup of plaster of Paris with one cup of water. Add color to the mixture with powdered tempera paint. Blend well and let stand for a few minutes. Pour the mixture into the molds you have chosen. Set aside and let dry completely. (Drying can take several hours to several days depending on the size of the mold.) Once dry, remove the calk from the molds. Set it aside to dry for approximately 24 more hours.

Family Fun All Summer Long!

2009-06-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

Would you enjoy taking your children to free Movies this summer?

The Free Family Film Festival offers selected G & PG movies each week all summer long. Movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer.

Tickets for our 2009 Free Family Film Festival are exclusively available at select theatres’ box office on the day of the show.

Hooksett 8
100 TECHNOLOGY DR
Hooksett, NH 03106
603-626-7177

06/23/2009-06/24/2009
March Of The Penguins (G), Evan Almighty (PG)

06/30/2009-07/01/2009
Space Chimps (G)

07/07/2009-07/08/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G), Inkheart (PG)

07/14/2009-07/15/2009
Wallace And Gromit (G), Igor (PG)

07/21/2009-07/22/2009
Charlotte's Web (G), Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

07/28/2009-07/29/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G), Star Wars: Clone Wars (PG)

08/04/2009-08/05/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G), Kung Fu Panda (PG)

08/11/2009-08/12/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G), Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

08/18/2009-08/19/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G), Bee Movie (PG)

Win a Gift Certificate!

2009-06-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

You can win a gift certificate to a fast food restaurant of your choice by submitting a paragraph (or two) telling us why one of the TV dads listed below had the greatest influence. The winning submittal will be posted in the Cool Things Blog.

This idea came about after reading a website that had the following to say about thirteen TV dads.

“They may not be real, but these dads have wielded tremendous paternal influence over generations of American families.”

What kind of influence do you think they have had? Which TV dad influenced you the most? How? Which dad is most like your dad? If you could have one of them for a dad, which would you choose and why?

Here they are in chronological order.

Ward Cleaver
Ben Cartwright
Andy Taylor
Archie Bunker
Mike Brady
Howard Cunningham
Heathcliff Huxtable
Steven Keaton
Dan Connor
Homer Simpson
Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor
Ray Barone
Tony Soprano

Is there a TV dad not listed here that you would vote # 1? Feel free to add his name.

Send your paragraph by Tuesday, June 16 to bowchurch@juno.com.
The winning submission will be posted on Wednesday, June 17.

Solar Prints

2009-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Great Riddles

2009-05-26T13:16:00.000-07:00

1. A doctor and a boy were fishing. The boy was the doctor’s son, but the doctor was not the boy’s father. Who was the doctor?

2. A man started to town with a fox, a goose and a sack of corn. He came to a stream which he had to cross in a tiny boat. He could only take one across at a time. He could not leave the fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn. How did he get them all safely over the stream?

3. Almost everyone needs it, asks for it, gives it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?

4. A man was driving a black truck. His lights were not on. The moon was not out. A lady was crossing the street. How did the man see her?

5. How many animals did Moses take on the ark?

6. If six children and two dogs were under an umbrella, how come none of them got wet?

7. What always comes into a house through the keyhole?

8. What belongs to you, but is used more by others?

9. What gets wet when drying?

10. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?

Answers
1. His mother
2. He took the goose over first and came back. Then he took the fox across and brought the goose back. Next he took the corn over. He came back alone and took the goose .
3. Advice
4. It was a bright sunny day
5. Moses didn’t take anything on the ark. Noah did!
6. Because it wasn’t raining
7. A key
8. Your name
9. A towel
10. The letter M

Help for Your Yard Care

2009-05-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Could your yard use an overhaul? Will you be buying tools this year tom improve your yard? If so, check out this week’s recommended website – yardcare.com.

Yardcare.com will tell you how to create and maintain a beautiful lawn with the least amount of effort. Their experts tell you how to choose the right seed. They also offer helpful advice for selecting the right tools - the first time.

They will tell you the best kind of lawnmower to use to turn soil that attracts moles to soil that resists them. Take a moment to look at their ideas. It could save you time, effort and money.

Yardcare.com

Memorial Day Activities for Kids

2009-05-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

Here are two websites that will assist you in teaching your children the meaning of Memorial Day. The first site suggests simple activities that will teach children of all ages. The second site offers a greater selection of activities from which to choose.

Don’t miss the opportunity this holiday offers to teach your children to be thankful for the sacrifices of others.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2123481_teach-children-memorial-day.html

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/memorial-day/

Tell Mom, "Thanks!"

2009-05-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of websites that will help celebrating Mom be even more fun than last year!

The first site will help dads and kids express their thanks for mom in new and different ways. There are several cute card ideas there.

The second site has Mother’s Day games, sayings of mothers, Mother’s Day stories and much more!

http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/mothersday.html

http://www.creativeyouthideas.com/blog/announcements/mothers_day_ideas_3.html

Speed Search Your Photos and more!

2009-05-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wish that you had a faster way to locate just the right photo that you know is somewhere on your computer? Are you like some people who take lots of digital pictures but have trouble organizing them? Cooliris can help you.

Cooliris is simply the fastest and most enjoyable way to speed search through photos on your computer, facebook, and picasa. It will speed up your search of google images, youtube and more. They provide a list of sites that are supported.

Cooliris turns your pictures into a 3d wall of photos you can scroll through rapidly to locate just the right one. Take a moment to check it out at,

http://www.cooliris.com/product/