Camp Nanny

by Kellie Geres

Regarding Nannies Development Team

One of the best times I had as a nanny was the time I spent with twins in Atlanta. An amazing group of nannies in the area that summer, put together Camp N.A.N.N.Y (Neat Activities planned by Nifty Nannies for You – catchy huh!)

The organizers of Camp N.A.N.N.Y created a summer of events and outings for participants to ensure a fun summer for all! For a small fee ($10 per family) you got access to their calendar of events, a custom designed t-shirt, contact list of participating nannies and children and the opportunity to attend any or all planned events.

Read the entire article at Creative Nanny

Creative Nanny Wednesday: Letterboxing!

Letterboxing
by Tara Lindsay

I can’t wait for spring, and neither can my three young charges (ages 3, 3, and 4). We’ve been cooped up most of the winter, either trapped inside by snow too deep for their tiny legs to wade through, weather too cold for their sensitive preferences, or various vomit viruses. We’ve had theme days, playdate parties, field trips, art projects, baking projects, and lots of other indoor fun but we’re ready to be back outside every day.

And mostly, we are ready to pick up where we left off with our adventures in letterboxing . We took up letterboxing last year when I went searching for an all ages outdoor activity that would demand my charges (then 2,2, and 4) work together as a TEAM rather than as competitors. It was love at first hunt.

To read the rest of the Letterboxing article please visit
The Creative Nanny: Letterboxing!

Creative Nanny: Sea Glass Candy

Making Sea Glass Candy
by Alice Shaffer

As a child, when I visited my Grandparents in Pennsylvania, we would get a candy called "clear toys" They were clear candies in the shapes of animals and so forth.

To read more about the
Making Sea Glass Candy please visit

Creative Nanny

Creative Nanny Wednesday:Treasure Hunt for the Afikomen

For great ideas for any occasion you can't beat Family Fun Magazine.
Today on the Creative Nanny see their idea for the Afikomen Treasure Hunt with additional suggestions for clues from the Creative Nanny.

Creative Nanny Wednesday: Dr. Suess's March 2 Birthday

Celebrating Dr. Suess's Birthday:
by Glenda Propst , Regarding Nannies Development Team

March 2 would have been Dr. Suess’s 106^th birthday.

His books are timeless and much loved by children of all ages so leading up to his birthday we wanted to share with you some fun activities you can do to go along with his books

You can find them on the Creative Nanny

Creative Nanny: Olympic Fun

Olympic Fun
by Alice Shaffer

Many nannies, charges and families have been watching the Olympics since Friday February 12 with the Opening Ceremonies.

• Have you ever thought of what there are 5 rings?
• How many "areas" the Winter Olympics take place on?
• How to be on your "own" luge, bobsled and skates?

To read the rest of the Olympic Fun post please visit The Creative Nanny: Olympic Fun

A DOZEN POSES ... Just in time for Valentine's Day

A Dozen Poses!
By Kellie Geres, Regarding Nannies Development Team

Instead of a dozen roses for Valentines, which flowers only last a little while, give A DOZEN POSES which will last a lifetime!

This is one of my all-time favorite Valentine projects! I had so much fun the first year I did them - mom and both grandma’s received one from my charges!

Supplies you will need …
• 12 wooden skewers – the kind you use for kabobs, found in the grocery store
• Heart shaped paper doilies in pink, white or red or combination of colors
• Floral green Styrofoam for base of flower pot
• Clay flower pot – size medium to large
• Red paint
• White puffy paint or paint pen
• Brush
• 12 photos
• Glue
• Cardstock paper in pink, white or red or combination of colors
• Valentine scrapbook paper
• Valentine Stickers
• Confetti
• Tape or glue stick
• Scissors






First thing is to paint your pot. I like to do two coats, and the paint I use is acrylic craft paint. I found mine at Michaels. This dries really fast. When red paint is dry, then take your white puffy paint or paint pen and decorate the outside of the pot. You can also use stickers and such and put a coat of mod podge


Take your photos and make 12 small circles, squares or heart shaped photos, big enough to fit in the center of the heart doily. Use glue to adhere them to the doily.
Use tape to adhere the skewer to the back of the doily. One skewer for each heart/photo.

You can then use the cardstock paper or Valentine theme scrapbook paper to place on the back of the doily, to cover the stick and tape. This is optional.

Once you have all 12 hearts done with the photos and skewers, it’s time to prepare the foam insert for the pot.

The foam will insert into the pot but you may have to cut some of the corners off of the bottom so it goes down deep enough. Use a sharp knife (adults or older kids only) to cut four corners of the foam off and insert into the pot.

Now take each of your heart skewers and start adding them to the foam. With a scissors you will cut of the ends of some of the skewers (adult or older kids only) so that the heights vary in the pot.



Once all your skewers are inserted in the pot, take the red confetti and cover the base/foam.

Make a handmade card expressing you’ve given A DOZEN POSES to last a lifetime!






ENJOY!

Decorated Purell Bottles by Nanny Gael Ann and her very creative assistant.

Decorated Purell Bottles by Nanny Gael Ann and her very creative assistant.
These make great gifts for parents, grandparents, teachers, friends & co-workers. To get the directions for this project and more go to http://www.thecreativenanny.com/

Creative Nanny Wednesday: New uses for old CDs.

Have you ever wondered what you could do with old CDs that might be useful or creative?
Kellie from the Regarding Nannies team asked me if I could find some ideas for what to do with old CDs.
Here are a couple of mine and some links to some really great ideas. I am sure that you will find some you like.
Read them here: The Creative Nanny

A favorite Creative: Integrating Music with Painting

Creative Nanny Wednesday: Integrating Music with Painting

Today we are sharing a post from Cindy Wilkinson's blog
Jumpin with Cindy

Painting to Music for Elementary & Middle School Aged Children

There are some really cool ways of integrating painting with music for children in elementary and middle school. (These activities may also work for pre-school aged children who have had previous experience with painting projects, although you may want to simplify it some.) Since most kids this age have already mastered many of the basics of working with different types of paints, brushes, etc., you can really get down and get creative!! Here are a few of my favorite activities.
Go to The Creative Nanny to read this wonderful ideas for integrating music and painting.
You can also read more about Cindy and her music and even order her fun and imaginative CDs for kids of all ages.

A Favorite Creative Nanny: How to use Smilebox

As we are all heading towards lots of photos being taken digitally over the winter break and holidays, we are left wondering what to do with them. Revisit this awesome post on how to turn your photos into a great little album on Smilebox for those near and far from you and your charges.

How to Use Smilebox!

Have you made someone smile today?

by Nanny Gael Ann

If you have a cute digital photo or two of your charge(s) and a few minutes, you too can easily create a Smilebox® that is sure to make someone smile today!
What is a Smilebox?
Smilebox is a fun new way to keep in touch and share your charge's special moments with your employers or your charge's grandparents. In fact, anyone with email can enjoy a Smilebox. It's free, easy to use, and the results are amazing. Smilebox lets you combine your photos and video clips, to create animated scrapbooks, photobooks, slideshows, postcards and ecards then email them to anyone. There are hundreds of templates you can personalize with text and music. You can get as creative as you wish or keep it simple and just drop your photo into one of their themed designs.
I have made over 275 Smileboxes including some of my of my charge(s)as well as personal ones I send to family and friends. I find using Smilebox to be the quickest and easiest way to get photos out, so they are enjoyed by others, instead of sitting in a folder on my computer. I have created all kinds of Smileboxes. Classic childhood milestones like baby's first bath or a preschooler singing their favorite song make wonderful Smileboxes, but so do more everyday photos of playtime at the park or just happy silly faces. I have used Smilebox to send a one-of-a-kind thank you note to our local fire station after a visit there. Sometimes my Smileboxes tell a story like going apple picking or making banana bread. You can find a Smilebox design to compliment just about any sentiment or occasion from birthday celebrations, holidays, and special events to colorful scrapbook type backgrounds, recipe cards and invitations. And they add new ones weekly.
To read more about Smilebox and to see what you can do with them read the rest of the article on Creative Nanny.

Creative Nanny: Bath Salts & Bath Fizzies

Bath Salts & Bath Fizzies
by Buffi Gentry

Bath Salts/Body Scrub

What you need:

2 cups Epsom Salts or sugar (when I use sugar, I use organic cane sugar)

1 cup carrier oil (carrier oil is a light oil-grapeseed, lite olive oil, sunflower oil-you don't want to over power the scent with the smell of oil)

8 drops of essential oil (buy at holistic type market or order online)

glass jars (mason or recycle other food jars)

to read the rest of the article please visit Creative Nanny: Bath Salts & Bath Fizzies

Creative Nanny Wednesday: Turkey Puppet

Turkey Puppet by Glenda Propst (Regarding Nannies Team)

This is a turkey puppet I made with my now almost 11 year old when she was 4. Back then she went to Pre School 2 days a week but Monday was always craft day for us and even now when we get together we love to be Creative. This puppet is perfect to take an on airplane or in the car or just about anywhere and we enjoyed using it with lots of Thanksgiving finger plays and songs.

To get the directions on how to make the puppet go to http://www.thecreativenanny.com/

Creative Nanny: Cooking with Kids

Cooking with Kids
By Becky Kavanagh

As a child I loved to help my parents when they were preparing a meal or baking. There’s something so tactile and exciting about getting the ingredients ready and knowing that something tasty would reward us at the end of our labors. As we were having fun cooking we were also learning math, science, nutrition and more importantly building memories. So it was natural that as soon as I began working with children I also included at least one cooking project on a weekly basis. Here are some things to consider when cooking with children.

To read the rest of the article visit

Nannies from the Heartland blog: Cooking with Kids

Weekend Round Up

Don't forget to take advantage of the Fall Sale on Letters by Design
You can get 20% off your order with the sales code FALL09
Be sure to use the link above.

Monday Moxie We shared with you new information on the INA Nanny of Year and who can qualify.

Tuesday Tips Pat Cascio shared tips on how to get children involved with helping at home

Wednesday's Creative Nanny Mary Ann Meddish shared ideas about great gift ideas for parents or grandparents for the holidays or any time of year.

Thursday Table Talk Mary Ann Meddish encouraged all nannies to consider being nominated for Nanny of the Year.

Friday Financial Nanny Alice shared tips on how to manage bills that come due annually and quarterly.

Coming up this week on Regarding Nannies:
Kathy Webb shares tips on how to have a successful nanny share and Glenda shares some quick and fun Halloween Snack ideas.

Creative Wednesday: Fun with Contact Paper!

A Great Craft Project For Every Holiday
By Alice Shaffer

This is a fun craft for children ages 2 and up, and you can make it to fit any holiday. For Halloween you can make spooky bats & cats, and colorful pumpkins. For Christmas you can make trees or stars; for Thanksgiving a turkey or pilgrim. You can also make animals or any other object

to read the rest of the article on Fun with Contact Paper visit Creative Nanny

Creative Nanny Wednesday Coloring Pages 24

Coloring Pages 24 Website: by Glenda Propst

One of the things that amazes us about our blogging nannies journey is how many people have found our blog and contacted us. Last week, we were contacted by a web developer from Sweden. He told us about his website and we want to share it with you today.
If you have ever spent hours searching through coloring books or online sites for an image or a pattern for a project ,you will love today’s website featured on Creative Nanny Wednesday , and if you haven’t you will probably love this website anyway.
Read more about it at Creative Nanny.

Wednesday Creative Nanny: Fall Leaf Rubbings with Glenda

Sometimes the simple crafts are the ones that create magic moments.
I will never forget the first time I did a leaf rubbing. It was amazing to me. I wanted to do one in every color, every size and every shape
My charges (that I often refer to as my kids, because after 16 years I do feel they are partly mine and their parents would agree) are too grown up for these crafts now, but this time of year always brings back fond memories of Nature Walks and Fall Leaf Rubbings.
To do this art activity go to the Creative Nanny and get the directions.

Weekend Round Up

Just in case you missed a day of Regarding Nannies this week:
Monday Moxie: Nannypalooza Interview with Sue Downey
Tuesday Tips Tips for dealing with Picky eaters by Andrea Flagg
Wednesday Creative Nanny Creative Cooking with kids by the nannies of World Wide Nannies Yahoogroup.
Thursday Table Talk Resources for Child Abuse, a comprehensive list of resources from Myrna Alphonse
Financial Friday A menagerie of savings tips, and coupons from Alice.

Wednesday Creative Nanny: Cooking Fun with Kids

Yesterday Andrea Flagg discussed dealing with picky eaters so today on Creative Nanny we thought we would share some fun, healthy recipes contributed by professional nannies from the Yahoogroup World Wide Nannies
Creative Cooking Fun with Kids
Go to Creative Nanny to get the recipes.