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CharlotteMommies Blog

Keep Calm and Happy Father's Day #fathersday2013


From The Mommies here at The Mommies Network!

***** The Mommies Network is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms find support and friendship in their local community. We were founded April, 2005 and currently have 100+ communities in 33+ states with over 31,000 active members.


Social Media Saturday: Facebook Hashtags #socialmedia
Its not a rumour! So the announcement has been made that now Facebook will have clickable #hashtags. The social network wants to make it easier for users to find content already on Facebook, and functional hashtags are the first step. According to Facebook, many users already post hashtags anyway, so why not make them work. Hashtags will be both clickable and searchable, so, for example, topics like #NSALeaks or #NBAFinals will now exist.
Instagram and Twitter already use clickable hashtags and make things much easier to search and find what you are looking for or items you have in common with others maybe. 
If you are interested in increasing your social media knowledge, use those #hashtags and learn as much about how they are used that you can.

Watch for the hashtag #MommiesNetwork for information, pictures and some great posts and tweets! 




***** The Mommies Network is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms find support and friendship in their local community. We were founded April, 2005 and currently have 100+ communities in 33+ states with over 31,000 active members.


How Do You Stay Cool?
Author: Andrea from TriangleMommies.com Original Post Location and Date: trianglemommies.blogspot.com on 6/23/11

As the summer is truly upon us I'm always looking for new ways to keep cool. For me, for my child, for my family. Here are some of the ideas I've got in my back pocket for weekdays when the little ones are driving themselves (and us!) crazy in this heat!
  • Water ~ While it's lots of fun to play in a grown-up pool I know many of us may not have access to one. And there might not be an actual beach less than an hour's drive from you. But that's no reason to not fill your child's day with water!
Buy a baby pool!
Your child may not technically BE a baby anymore, but trust me on this. She's going to love splashing about in a baby pool of any size in your backyard, just because it cools her off. Get some sand toys, or bath toys and you're good to go. Plus? You can sit back in the shade and stick your feet in it. Ahh. Relief.
Get the hose out.
Get yourself any sort of attachment, whether it's a sprinkler, a sprayer or just a plain old hose and you're set for the afternoon.
Water table
They're not just for toddlers anymore!
Watering can
Pretend those weeds in your yard are a "garden" ... my daughter would spend hours watering so-called flowers if I let her. And she absolutely never stays dry when doing this. It just seems to wind up everywhere, so I've learned to be flexible. And cool.
  • Arts & Crafts ~ Sure, we do these all the time, but if you happen to have a shady spot in your backyard (or front, if that works for you) you can dredge out the mini-picnic table, bring out some waterproof paints, toss a huge canvas on there for the little ones and let them go to town. Crazy easy clean up as all you have to do is take out the hose! See previous ideas for how to continue play and stay cool after that. Next option? Stay INSIDE and bust out some new or old craft ideas to ensure you're trapped for hours in the comfort of your air conditioned home.
  • READ ~ You didn't think you'd be getting a post from me without a good book thrown into the mix, right? Your kids deserve a chance for some cooling down time, too. And what better way to avoid the heat than by hanging out indoors with some of our (and their!) favorite characters? Some of my favorite summer reads are "beach reads" but they don't make too many like that for my kid. Which is probably a good thing ... but I'm off track a bit there. So for her I stick with fun adventures, stories about animals, and even a bit on travel. Hmmn, almost sounds similar to what I enjoy for me! Whatever your or your child's reading pleasure, there's no better way to spend a part of your day.
  • Sweets ~ Yeah, I said it. Sweets. It's summer. It's hotter than heck out there and you need some ice cream. You're not going to get around sharing, so you might as well find some good stuff you can both enjoy. My daughter and I have taken to splitting an ice cream sandwich, doubling the value of the store brand box. Otherwise there are popsicles, fudgesicles, and my favorite when I'm not too lazy, homemade ice pops. That's a whole 'nother post in and of itself, but if you have some great ideas or recipes, share them, please. I tend to end up just pouring some OJ into those tupperware-like molds and hoping for the best. And while they worked really well when she was younger - we're talking 2 here, people - now they're just not AS exciting. But whether you hit the ice cream shoppe after dinner, the ice cream truck comes down your street, or you raid your own stash, there's no better or more enjoyable way to keep cool.
So good luck out there and I hope you all beat the heat!
Andrea is a SAHM who blogs about her everyday life, motherhood and more over at http://goodgirlgoneredneck.blogspot.com


Building A Better Student: Plugging The Summer Brain Drain
As kids, we loved our summer breaks. As parents and teachers, we sometimes wonder if it derails a kid?s progress in school. Often referred to as "the summer brain drain," the worry is that too much down time allows students to not only fritter away what they might have learned in the previous school year, but it also gets them out of learning mode.
If you're concerned about this, let me suggest a few things that might ease the problem and help plug the drain.
If you think about it, kids look forward to their summer break with such enthusiasm not simply because it means no school, but because it also means lots of fun activities. Well, why not think about all of the ways you can weave learning opportunities into those activities?

Examples: If you're taking your kids out to a baseball game, talk to them about the way a player's batting average is determined. Even if they only keep track of a player's average for that one game, it becomes a fun math project for them. If a guy gets one hit in four at-bats, they'll suddenly understand where the .250 average comes from. (For your own help, one hit divided by four at-bats.)

If you take them to the aquarium, why not have them research the history of sharks. Why sharks? Well, besides the fact that they're fascinating animals, their history dates back literally tens of millions of years, and it provides a great opportunity for young people to learn about how some species die out, while others evolve and mutate into the familiar creatures we see today.

Kids love going to the movies. I know a parent who did something fun after taking her son to see one of his favorite superheroes in a summer action flick. She challenged him to go home afterwards and create his own comic book, featuring that superhero. It allowed him to come up with his own unique story (you KNOW I love that!), and it also challenged him artistically. He ended up breaking out the colored pencils and creating an eight-page masterpiece, completely illustrated. He felt like a total rockstar afterwards.


Going on a long road trip? Why not use the time in the car to investigate the geography along the way, or invite the kids to plot different courses on a map, complete with details on distance and ETA. Today?s innovative new tech tools can make it fun.

And, of course, there are so many more that you can come up with. Just because the kids might be out of class for a long break, it doesn't mean that their brains have to shut down completely. The goal is to find fun activities that will embellish their experiences out of school. They'll love it, and you probably will too! 


If you have other suggestions, comments here would be appreciated by many. Thank you, and enjoy the summer!

Our Building A Better Student Guest Blogger:
Dom Testa is an author, speaker, morning radio show host, and has kept a ficus tree alive for twenty two years. He?s also the founder and president of The Big Brain Club, a non-profit foundation that helps young people embrace the idea that Smart Is Cool. More info at www.DomTesta.com

***** The Mommies Network is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms find support and friendship in their local community. We were founded April, 2005 and currently have 100+ communities in 33+ states with over 31,000 active members.


Social Media Saturday: A Social Media Cheat Sheet {infographic}
***** The Mommies Network is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping moms find support and friendship in their local community. We were founded April, 2005 and currently have 100+ communities in 33+ states with over 31,000 active members.


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