1.   School will be starting soon and children may or may not be anxious to be in the classroom again. Helping them see the fun side of school, focusing on friends, teachers and special events will smooth the transition from summer vacation to a return to school. It's helpful to remind children that in this situation, as with most in life, look at the possibility rather than unhappy memories, a reluctance to end a vacation, or worries about the future.

A week or so before school begins, ask your children each day to share with you one reason why they are happy that school is starting. Saying and picturing these reasons will have an effect on the child's first day of school if not the entire year. I was reading the book 'One Room Country Schools' and came across a 1947 report card. Across the top of the card was printed: "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year." -Emerson. One might even ask their children in this manner, "How will this be the best year of school for you? What will make the first day of school the best for you?" Considering the best is always a fun past time, whether the best birthday present, the best healthy treat or the best part of school.


2.   As I put the new phone book on the counter, I thought, what a great place for a favorite work of art. I rummaged through my post card collection and found my favorite Renoir painting, glued it on, and covered it with clear contact paper. Somehow this made my day, taking a plain presentation and making it beautiful. This may be a fun thing to do at your house and especially at Grandma's. Make phone book covers with your children's art. Precut two pieces of paper - the size of the phone book cover to cover - the back as well as the front. Since you will be covering the art with clear contact paper, any art medium can be used: crayon, pencil, paint, pastels, etc. Then let your children create. You may want to share some of the finished masterpieces with your phone company as a creative idea for next year's phone book.


3.   Children love discovering the special in the ordinary. The chamomile plant is one of these. It's a common plant that makes a wonderful tea. Just about every sidewalk crack or grassy road side, has chamomile growing. It's about 6 to 8 inches tall with short fern like leaves and a daisy flower head. The flower looses its petals quickly and the round yellow centers (disks) persist long afterwards. The leaves when crushed have a distinct pungent apple aroma. Ask a gardener and they will help you identify chamomile.

Now after realizing that there is this treasure wildly growing about, one can easily harvest the chamomile and make chamomile tea. Cut the stem about an inch above the ground thus allowing the root to grow again next summer. Strip the leaves and flower heads off the stem and crush them with a potato masher or similar device. If you have a clear glass pitcher to make the tea in, that's ideal, for the children can watch the pale gold color appear. Pour 1 quart of boiling water over a handful or so of flowers and leaves. Let steep till a pale gold. Add a bit of honey and a pinch of ginger. When adding the pinch of ginger, show the children how you actually pinch the ginger grains. Let them smell the ginger and discuss how gingerbread cookies are made and let them smell the gentle aroma of the tea. Now for a sip. Ahhhh. I have not met a child who does not like chamomile tea. It is a relaxing tea and is called the tea of sweet dreams in Italy. Children will enjoy all the steps of making chamomile tea.


4.   Creating frames for children's art work can be as much fun as creating the art work. One easy way to create a frame is to mat the work. Save cardboard boxes and cut the mat 3" larger than the art work. Draw a line where the picture will be, so the child knows to draw on the border, not all over the mat. Now have your child decorate the frame. Suggest a pattern for this 'border' project. Let the children experiment with creating a pattern, with dots and lines, criss crosses, or a twisting vine. Children will be surprised at how easy it is to create a flowering vine. Draw a long curving line, add circles (the flower heads), add lines from the dots (the petals), and a diamond shape can be a leaf. Now one not only has a beautiful art piece but also has a beautiful frame.


5.   Aprons are helpful for keeping clothes clean when working with children on messy projects. The children and I always agree that it's okay to make a mess, as long as one is willing to clean it up. So with the fun of clay, finger-paints, or murals, there is the fun of cleaning. And the apron keeps the mess off the clothes. Even I wear an apron. My favorite apron for children is made from flannel-backed vinyl. One can buy the vinyl by the yard at fabric or dime stores. Or watch for a clearance sale on vinyl tablecloths (this time of year, stores are clearing out their 'summer' tablecloths - the flowery ones that make great aprons.)

Cut a rectangle the width and length of your child's body. Fold in half and cut a circle out of this centerfold. Make it large enough for a head to fit through, but small enough to allow for a shoulder piece. Presto! there's an apron. A child can easily put their head through, and the apron hangs on their body the way a sandwich board sign would hang on a person. It's not necessary but you can add an 8" belt on each side that attaches to a piece of Velcro on the front of the apron. Measuring for the apron will be fun for the child, and it will be interesting way to see how much taller a child is by next year at this time. For easy storage the apron can be rolled and put in a drawer or stood up in a can or basket.


6.   September is usually the last month of garage sales, so consider the many projects one may want to work on over the winter, and collect at those sales. Collecting curtains, sheets and tablecloths are an excellent way to economically have a large supply of fabric. White tablecloths can be painted by children for the family holiday tablecloth or holiday presents. Fabric from curtains can easily become tents, capes, or theaters for children. For a puppet stage for children, let them decorate the fabric, make a simple seam across the top, and slide it through a tension curtain rod. The rod can be put between a doorway, the children can be on one side with puppets, and this becomes a puppet stage. Sheets can be cut down to make pillowcases. This is a simple sewing lesson, two straight seams and a hem. Then one can tie-dye, embroider or paint the pillow case. And if one is lucky enough to have bunk beds, it's easy to make fabric walls for the lower bunk that makes this space into a castle or log cabin. Children can paint the log or castle effects. Cut a flap for a doorway or window. Attach a fabric strap at each end, so the cloth wall can be tied to the bedpost to create the finished castle. Making this will be as much fun as playing in it.