Plan a Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

Plan an Egg-stra Special Event for Your Kids

By Shandley McMurray

What Easter celebration would be complete without an egg hunt? Whether you’re planning an indoor search for three or an outdoor event for 300, here are a few ideas to help you organize the perfect hunt this year.

After you've gathered all the information on egg hunting, please be sure to check out our great Easter printables, Easter games and activities, Easter Sunday recipes, and of course--Easter crafts.

Use different colors

Color code the eggs according to age, says Judith Manley, a mother of eight and grandmother of eleven, who remembers hunting for eggs with her children in Lewiston, New York. Get two- to four-year-olds looking for blue eggs while those four to six search for green, and so on. “That way the little ones have an equal chance at finding the eggs,” she says.

Make words

Paint a different letter on each egg, says Corinne Williams of Hammonton, New Jersey, a mother of one. Then have the kids create words with the eggs they’ve found. The kid with the most words wins a prize.

Keep a record

Always make a note of how many eggs you’ve used and where they’re hidden. There’s nothing worse than smelling a rotten egg in July or finding melted chocolate under the couch cushions!

Set boundaries

For safety, establish borders when planning an outdoor hunt, suggests Jane Brown, mother of four in Whitby, Ont.. Tell kids to stay between the house and the first maple tree, for instance, or to go no farther than the mailbox. “I forgot one year and the kids were in the woods behind the house for ages,” says Brown. “They came back very upset that they hadn’t found anything.”

Draw a map

Keep things interesting by setting up a treasure hunt for kids, says Brown. Give each child a map using picture clues for non-readers. Cut out a picture of a chair, for instance, or draw a coffee table to show them where the eggs are. Then be a bit sneaky by hiding another map at one of the clues. Use riddles for older kids and lead them to more difficult places, such as a specific novel on the book shelf.

Add a piñata

If you’re using plastic eggs, place them in a piñata once they’ve been found. Have the children take turns hitting it with a plastic bat while blindfolded. The one who finally bursts it open wins something special.

Planning a neighbourhood or church group hunt? Here are a few tips from the organizers of the Guinness World Record holder for the largest Easter egg hunt. More than 1,500 children searched for over 292,000 eggs at this hunt in Rockford Park District in Illinois.

Set a limit

Figure out your maximum number of participants before the hunt and stick to it. Hand out only that number of egg collection bags in the beginning to help keep your hunt under control. Ask a local store to donate the bags—it’s free advertising for them!

Use plastic eggs

Real eggs can crack and it’s time-consuming to cook and dye a huge batch. Instead, choose the plastic variety and ask everyone to return them at the end of the hunt so you can reuse them next year.

Supply good prizes

Every child should get a candy prize for participating. As well, have small prizes such as free ice cream cones, arcade passes or popcorn donated by local shops. For the grand prize, choose something that kids will really love, like a bike or DVD player.

Hide the prize inside

Go for random winners, rather than the children who have the most eggs. Simply place a note inside a certain number of eggs to declare the victors.

Stay safe

Think about your location carefully beforehand, and be aware of hazards such as water and traffic. An open space such as a football field is ideal. Make sure everyone knows where the boundaries of the hunt are, and if you have a large number of kids, have parents be responsible for keeping an eye on them.

The History of Easter

Find this year's date in the multifaith calendar

Semana Santa Easter festival in Seville, Spain ©

Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important Christian festival, and the one celebrated with the greatest joy.

The date of Easter changes each year, and several other Christian festivals fix their dates by reference to Easter.

Churches are filled with flowers, and there are special hymns and songs. But not all Easter customs are Christian; some, such as the Easter Bunny, are Pagan in origin.

The Easter story is at the heart of Christianity

On Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. His body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave.

The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.

On the following Sunday, some women visited the grave and found that the stone had been moved, and that the tomb was empty.

Jesus himself was seen that day, and for days afterwards by many people. His followers realised that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

	Father's Day food They say the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so show your dad a little bit of love by cooking him a hearty meal for Father's Day on Sunday 21 June.

In this article

Rachel's recipes Family-friendly meal

Something special Keeping it simple

Rachel's recipes

Irish-born celebrity cook Rachel Allen is a fan of modern homely cooking and, with a chef-husband and two sons, she knows what men like to eat!

Here's a selection of Rachel's recipes that are simple to prepare, full of flavour and certain to satisfy any father's appetite.

Family-friendly meal

This bacon and sausage stew is a satisfying all-in-one meal. It's easy enough for children to make (with a little adult assistance) and looks impressive taken to the table in its cooking pot. Serve it with a generous bowlful of creamy mashed potato or hunks of crusty bread and a fresh green salad.

For dessert, try Rachel's simple chocolate meringues. They can be made in advance, and even very young children can join in the mixing and assembling. Serve them with fresh berries, if you like.

• Bacon and sausage stew with beans
• Chocolate meringues with chocolate cream

Something special

For a more slightly more sophisticated meal, go for three impressive courses, rounded off with homemade petits fours.

Start with a light, fresh Vietnamese-style salad, followed by Rachel's Arabian spiced lamb. Tender racks of lamb, rubbed with homemade harissa and served on a bed of couscous flecked with fragrant herbs, should keep most men happy.

If your dad has a sweet-tooth, serve him a generous slice of Rachel's No-pastry pear and almond tart, with custard or good quality ice cream on the side. Substitute peaches or berries for the pears for an early taste of summer. If your dad's a savoury man, present him with a selection of two or three artisan cheeses, oat cakes, water biscuits and slices of fresh pear or quince paste, instead of the tart.

To round off your father's feast, sit him in his favourite chair and hand him a plate of Little mocha kisses and a strong dark espresso or big mug of tea.

• Vietnamese crab salad with rice noodles - this recipe serves 4 as a starter
• Arabian spiced rack of lamb with couscous
• No-pastry pear and almond tart
• Little mocha kisses

Keeping it simple

Maybe your dad's more of a meat and two veg kind of man. If that's the case, stick to what he likes. Rachel's homemade pork sausages combine some old-fashioned favourites and make a classic meal with some lightly steamed vegetables on the side.

• Homemade pork sausages with colcannon and apple sauce

Alternatively, stick to the British classics and cook him the perfect sirloin steak and chips, or serve a traditional roast with plenty of potatoes and gravy. Follow one of the video recipes below and print out the step-by-step images to make sure your meal turns out perfectly and makes your father's day.

• Sirloin steak with chunky chips - video recipe (a non-video version is available)
• Roast beef with Yorkshires - video recipe (a non-video version is available)
• Roast loin of pork with crackling and cider gravy - video recipe (a non-video version is available)
• Roast leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary - video recipe (a non-video version is available)
• Roast chicken - video recipe (a non-video version is available)
• Mashed potatoes - video recipe (a non-video version is available)

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Art School Online

Drawing is fun! Drawing is cool! You can draw by yourself! You can draw with your friends! You can make new friends (real or imaginary)! Learn how to draw cars, aliens, cartoon faces, cartoon people, horses, zebras, dolphins, sharks and lots of other pretty cool stuff... find out more at: www.drawbooks.com

Kids Crafts

All our kids crafts are quick and easy, require minimal equipment and materials, and offer satisfyingly instant results - because we know that even crafty kids like to be able see the fruits of their labour in action within minutes rather than hours! Scroll down to find our kids crafts sorted by holiday, season and activity.

To find out more visit www.activityvillage.co.uk

Cooking with children - Annabel Karmel

For grownups, spending time in the kitchen might be a chore, but for children the kitchen is a fun and exciting place. Children love to cook and relish doing things like kneading and rolling out dough or cracking eggs and mixing batters. Cooking with your child is not just a great way of bonding – it’s also educational. Children can acquire and hone skills such as counting, measuring, weighing and understanding time and fractions – all without noticing.

Children are seldom taught much about cookery at school so it’s up to parents to encourage them to experiment with cooking at home. The school holidays offer the ideal opportunity.

Learning to prepare food teaches children to be self-sufficient and better prepared for an independent life. Getting children involved in the kitchen is also a great way to motivate fussy eaters. Children will eagerly tuck into something they have prepared themselves and take great pride in watching someone else enjoy their food.

To read more about this article and view the recipes click the green 'Next' button at the top of this article.

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Brown reveals free childcare plan

By Brian Wheeler BBC News, Labour conference, Manchester

Gordon Brown visited a Sure Start centre ahead of the conference

Every two-year-old would get a free nursery place under a proposal for a major expansion of childcare over 10 years announced by Gordon Brown.

Up to 600,000 children could benefit as ministers seek to build on existing provision for three and four-year-olds.

Mr Brown announced the plan in a Sunday Telegraph interview as Labour's annual conference got under way.

It comes as an internet survey suggests Labour could be left with as few as 160 MPs at the next general election.

Aides were stressing that the extra childcare places were an aspiration rather than a firm policy commitment.

Boosting achievement

Mr Brown told The Sunday Telegraph: "I think more choice for women and for families is one of themes of the next stage of our policy reforms.

"What I want us to do is to create thousands more nursery places, not just for three and four-year-olds but also for two-year-olds.

"This is not a government that walks away but a government that's on the side of hard-working families, helping them to climb the ladder."

The plans go further than an already-announced scheme to help 20,000 low income parents with two-year-olds.

They will feature in Mr Brown's make-or-break speech to the Labour Party conference in Manchester on Tuesday, when he will promise a "new wave of social mobility - upward mobility - people being able to do better than their parents".

At present, parents get up to 15 hours of free childcare a week when their children are three and four.

Ministers believe that exposure to learning environments at an earlier age will boost achievements at primary school.

Mr Brown opened the conference on Saturday with a pledge to do "whatever it takes" to sort out Britain's financial system.

BROWNOMETER That PoliticsHome poll will not make happy bedtime reading for Mr Brown. Perhaps he could try a Harry Potter... Full conference coverage

The PM hailed the action his government has taken to help stabilise the money markets in the past week.

But he said he would now push for reforms to the global finance system.

Meanwhile three different opinion polls have suggested a mixed picture for the Labour Party. An internet survey for PoliticsHome.com questioned almost 35,000 voters from 238 marginal seats, over three months up to the eve of the conference. The results project a landslide victory for Conservative leader David Cameron at the next general election.

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The survey's findings are that the number of Labour MPs could be reduced to 160, lower than after the 1983 election. Eight cabinet ministers will lose their seat, the projections based on the survey suggests.

And a ComRes survey of 1,014 adults for the Independent on Sunday suggested Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's offer to cut taxes had boosted his party at the expense of the Conservatives. The survey showed the Lib Dems closing the gap on both their rivals - up to 21%, with Labour on 27% and the Tories on 39%.

Meanwhile a YouGov survey of 1,200 Labour members for the Sunday Times suggested 53% thought Mr Brown was "indecisive and dithering" and just 34% thought he had an exciting vision for the future.

Downturn takes toll on child care providers

by Linda Angelo | The Flint Journal

Sunday March 22, 2009, 5:54 AM

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Day care providers are feeling the wrath of the nation's recession as parents lose their jobs or work reduced hours.

Some child care homes and centers have been forced to shut down, and others are operating with higher vacancy rates and less staff.

"Parents are looking for less costly child care options, so they are choosing their friends, family and neighbors," said Mary Ann Ketels, executive director of 4C Child Care Unlimited in Flint.

Recession hits day care industry

A National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies survey found:

• 45 percent of its providers experienced a decline in child care services offered at homes between the first and last half of 2008.

• 27 percent of its providers experienced declines in the number of child care centers in their communities.

• In the last six months of 2008, 65 percent reported an increase in vacancy rates at child care centers and 76 reported an increase in family child care homes.

• Requests for part-time care increased 41 percent.

In 2008, nearly 130 child care facilities closed in Genesee County, according to the state Department of Human Services.

It's a problem that isn't isolated to the Flint area or Michigan.

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies conducted a survey and found that 45 percent of its providers experienced a decline in child care services provided at homes between the first and last half of 2008.

Child care centers, meanwhile, experienced a 27 percent decline.

Parents can no longer afford the high price of child care after they lose their jobs, cut back hours or have to take lower-paying jobs.

In Genesee County, parents pay an average of $128.33 per week for child care, data show.

Nancy Kramer, owner of Teddy Bear Child Care in Davison Township, said she hasn't gotten many calls lately from parents looking for child care.

"I would average two years ago six calls a week, where now I'm averaging two calls a month," said Kramer, who has been in business since 1982.

"Now I'm averaging more calls per week from people looking for work than looking for child care."

Kramer is licensed to operate a group child care home, which can take up to 12 children. But over the past two years, her enrollment dropped to the point where she could no longer pay an employee and began operating as a family child care home, which can accept up to six children.

The number of family child care homes in Genesee County dropped from 168 in 2007 to 148 in 2008 while group homes declined from 176 to 151, Ketels said.

Of those still operating, many have seen a shift from parents needing full-time child care to part-time care as parents work fewer hours.

That mirrors the national association's survey, which reported a 41 percent increase in requests for part-time care.

Mary Simmington, owner of Little Rascals Child Care Center in Flint, said her center now provides greater flexibility to meet those part-time needs.

"I see a lot of families struggling to make their payments," she said.

The national survey also indicated that 41 percent of its providers said centers were laying off staff.

Simmington said she hasn't had to lay off employees, but they are working fewer hours and one position was not filled after an employee left. Little Rascals, which has operated for 21 years, has experienced about a 25 percent drop in enrollment.

Some child care providers worry about the ramifications of parents pulling their children out of a structured setting to stay with friends, families or relatives.

"We're a preschool, so they miss out on all preschool activities, computer work and a structured environment," said Marcy Beam, program director at Doodle Bugs in Burton. "We run almost what it's like in a kindergarten facility.

"When you are with 20 other students in a class, it's different than when you are home by yourself."

Not all child care providers, though, are experiencing hardships.

Karen Crist of Little Pals in Flint Township said she is licensed for 12 and is full.

"I have a lot of parents who are laid off, but I've kept my rates low," she said.

"I love what I do. I think everybody in the community needs to step up and lower rates. ... They need to work with a little less of a wage and make concessions so everyone can get through this."

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Children who are cared for by friends and relatives while their parents work can suffer "significant ill-effects" to their development, a new report s

Researchers at Bristol University also found that children whose mothers go back to full-time work before they are 18 months old are slower at developing basic learning skills.

However, the cost of childcare can be too much for some parents - summertime play schemes cost as much as £135 a week.

Furthermore, there is only one childcare place for every five children under the age of eight, according to the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

Baby P: 36% of investigations into serious child abuse are 'inadequate'

One in three investigations into serious child abuse has been branded inadequate by inspectors, triggering fresh concerns that authorities are not learning from tragedies such as the death of Baby P.

By Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 10:49PM GMT 17 Mar 2009

Tim Loughton, the Shadow Children's Minister, said: 'It is a tragedy that serious case reviews are made necessary by child deaths but it is a double tragedy if the subsequent inquiries are not up to scratch' Photo: Geoff Pugh

When a child dies or is suspected of suffering serious injury through abuse or neglect, serious case reviews must be carried out by Local Safeguarding Children Boards, whose members include council officers, health workers and police.

The reports are not published in full, but are intended to help child protection agencies work together better and prevent further abuse.

Related Articles

• Baby P: Ed Balls admits new child protection law would not have saved his life

• Baby P: Vulnerable children not protected, says Ofsted

• Baby P: Now the co-author of the Serious Case Review calls for it to be published

• Baby P: Six social workers still on full pay despite 'devastating' report

• Lord Laming report to criticise child protection

But an evaluation of 64 serious case reviews published by Ofsted, the education and children's services watchdog, shows that 23 (36 per cent) were inadequate.

A further 25 of the reviews evaluated between December and February were judged adequate and just 16 were considered good.

This is a slight improvement on the serious case reviews analysed between September and November last year, of which almost half (21 out of 51) were branded inadequate.

However critics said too many mistakes are still being made, and called for the reports to be released publicly.

Tim Loughton, the Shadow Children's Minister, said: "It is a tragedy that serious case reviews are made necessary by child deaths but it is a double tragedy if the subsequent inquiries are not up to scratch.

"A major way forward to improve the standard of these serious case reviews must be to publish their findings in full, subject to suitable redaction and anonymisation.

"This will help everyone to learn the lessons of mistakes, will restore public confidence in the protection process and will ensure that no material facts are swept under the carpet."

The serious case reviews judged inadequate by Ofsted include the one carried out into the death of Baby P, the 17-month-old boy who suffered horrific abuse at home even though he was on Haringey Council's at-risk register.

Leaked extracts from the report showed that officials delayed meetings about his welfare and failed to pass on information.

However the review, which was overseen by Sharon Shoesmith, Haringey's director of children's services who has now been sacked, was still rejected and a new one is now being carried out.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "Ofsted's latest figures show that the overall quality of serious case reviews is improving, with the proportion of SCRs evaluated as 'good' increasing from 16 per cent (between September and November 2008) to 25 per cent (between December 2008 and February 2009)."

Learning from Denmark's child care?

On the eve of the Baby P report, More4 News travels to Denmark to find out what we can learn from their childcare system.

Tomorrow will see the publication of yet another report into the failings of the care system for vulnerable children, when Lord Laming gives his recommendations following the death of Baby P.

That case saw social workers criticised for failing to take the child into care. But social workers are often criticised when they do intervene - not least because the experience of children within the care system is often far from ideal.

But does it have to be like that? Nina Teggarty has been looking at a country with a significantly better record than Britain.

Alex Thomson speaks to Labour MP Barry Sheerman, who's the chairman of the select committee on children, schools and families.

'When redundancy hit our family'

By Paul Burnell BBC News

On a wet Monday last month, 350 workers from the iconic firm of Wedgwood in North Staffordshire lost their jobs.

Mark and Debra Evans have found job hunting hard

Calling the area the Potteries suddenly became a sick joke for workers as whole families were devastated.

Until Stoke-on-Trent's black Monday, Mark Evans was a Wedgwood polisher who had been with the company for 11 years.

His wife Debra was a china selector and their 21-year-old son worked in the multi-print shop.

All three, who live in the old pottery town of Hanley, were made redundant. Mark and Debra had accepted voluntary redundancy a few weeks earlier and were hoping for a few more weeks' work, but the company's collapse stopped this and meant they lost the financial packages they were promised

"People that had been there 20 to 30 years were just finished there and then," Debra told BBC Radio 4's Seven Days.

"It's like something on the bottom of your shoe that's been scraped off. That's how I think a lot of people feel."

Find Out More Listen to Seven Days, Radio 4 Thursday 26 February 2009 2000 GMT. Or catch up at Radio 4's Listen Again site

Mark explained how staff heard they had lost their jobs.

"They made us stand in a line in the rain. I had to go into the canteen," he said.

"The administrator stood up and said 'unfortunately all in this room are being made redundant effective from now', so it was a big shock."

The shock was brought home when Mark and Debra next visited the factory to collect belongings such as a toaster and kettle and to register for statutory redundancy pay.

Escorted by security staff on and off the premises, there was hardly chance to say goodbye to friends and colleagues.

Minimum wage

Ever since then they have been job hunting

In the first two days Mark visited 10 employment agencies.

"You go into these places, you ask 'have you got any manufacturing jobs or industrial' and it is 'No, no, come back in a week's time we might have something then'," he said.

"There is office work, but when you've never done it and you don't know how to use a computer it's no good. There is a lot of cleaning jobs, but they only want you for 10 hours a week.

Debra registered immediately with two agencies, "working in hospitals, care homes, that sort of things".

"It's just national minimum wage, but something is better than nothing," she said, as they faced the imminent prospect of no money coming into the house.

There's a hell of a lot of people redundant, Wedgwood, JCB, Woolworth's. We're all in the same situation. There's nothing really out there." Debra Evans

"You've got to live from day to day," said Debra.

Added Mark: "I think it's going to be a long hard slog.

Within days Debra got some temping work as a cleaner at the market.

Mark got a job valeting cars at night in a showroom in Crewe, but had to give it up.

"It was just too far to travel, it was 30 miles there and back," said Debra. "It's only temporary, it was pointless."

Job hunt

At that time, life was a round of job centres and agencies for the family.

"Whatever brings the money in, we've got to take it," said Debra.

"In the meantime it's sign on and hope that the people we pay our mortgage to, and others we owe money to, have patience," added Mark.

But Debra was not optimistic.

"There's a hell of a lot of people redundant. Wedgwood, JCB, Woolworth's, we're all in the same situation. There's nothing really out there."

The family members are all still looking for full time work.

Childcare team 'seriously weak'

Doncaster mayor Martin Winter says he will not seek re-election The government has ordered a takeover of Doncaster children's services after the deaths of seven children through abuse or neglect over five years. A new senior childcare management team is to be put in place after a review found provision was "seriously weak". As a result of the findings, Doncaster Council's elected mayor Martin Winter said he would not seek re-election. Children's Secretary Ed Balls said he was "particularly concerned" about the level of help for children in the town. The local authority has yet to provide a response to the government plans. In January Mr Balls commissioned an independent review of children's services which found "urgent improvement" was needed. Because it's happened on my watch as the mayor, many councillors have been using it as an opportunity to damage me personally Mayor Martin Winter Action pledged over child safety Mr Balls told the House of Commons that action would be swift and that Doncaster Council had been told of the decision. He said: "The Children's Minister has today written to the council giving them a formal direction to immediately appoint Mr Tony Elson to chair an independent improvement board which will report directly to ministers. "[It will] require the council to submit an improvement plan to be approved by the new board and require the council to co-operate with my department to bring in a new senior management team to take over the leadership and management on Doncaster Children's Services as soon as is practicable." Mr Winter said he had taken the decision not to seek re-election to "take the heat out" of the situation. He said: "Because it's happened on my watch as the mayor, many councillors have been using it as an opportunity to damage me personally, to damage the mayoralty before the election in June. "I therefore feel it's important to take politics out of this situation so that we are able to concentrate on the job in hand, and that's making Doncaster safer for children. "So, I've decided to announce today that I will not be seeking re-election as the Mayor of Doncaster in June of this year."

Baby death nursery company fined

Georgia choked at the Just Learning Nursery in Cambridgeshire

A Cambridgeshire nursery where a baby choked to death has been fined £67,000 plus £78,000 costs after admitting breaching health and safety laws.

Just Learning, in Cambourne, admitted at Cambridge Crown Court one breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Georgia Hollick died in April 2006 when she was 10 months old.

Just Learning, which no longer runs the nursery said it had since "put its house in order" and said it was "very sorry" for the distress caused.

Environmental health officers at South Cambridgeshire District Council brought the case to court.

A council spokeswoman said the fine "properly reflected the seriousness of the offences".

Environmental health officials said Just Learning had not implemented a proper system to assess risks and failed to assess risks sufficiently.

The allegations arose out of investigations which followed Georgia's death.

A spokesman for Just Learning Ltd, of High Street, West Malling, Kent, said prosecutors had not alleged that Georgia's death was caused by any "deficiency" in procedures.

"The company is very sorry for the distress caused to the family of Georgia," he said.

"This has deeply affected all of us."

Numbers of childcare providers plummet as recession hits

By Catherine Gaunt, Nursery World, 19 March 2009

The number of nurseries, childminders and out-of-school clubs has dropped dramatically since last summer, official figures reveal, with early years organisations blaming the recession for driving providers out of business. Read more...

http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/login/892222/

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Family Calendar Tips for Busy Parents

As a single parent, you're constantly juggling many balls at once. There's the kids' schedules to manage, your work schedule, a social life, and even regular home maintenance tasks to manage. Here are some tips for helping you use your main family calendar to get and stay organized.

1. Keep One Master Family Calendar

You'll need one large family calendar where you can keep everyone's schedule. Look for something that gives you a lot of space for writing appointments and details, and place the calendar in an area where you will see it regularly. For example, I keep mine right on my refrigerator, and I check it every morning just to be sure there's not an upcoming event that I've forgotten.

2. In Addition, Keep a Small Day Planner With You at All Times

This is your own personal calendar. Choose something that's small enough to carry with you, but not so small that it's a chore to read your own writing. Alternatively, you could use a PDA or electronic organizer for this purpose.

3. Regularly Add Important Dates to Each Calendar

As soon as you receive the annual school calendar, add the kids' half-days and days off to your master family calendar and your personal day planner. Also, when you receive kids' party invitations, add the dates to your calendars right away. Simply getting into the habit of adding items to your calendars regularly will help you gain control of your family's schedule.

4. Use Your Day Planner to Maintain Details

Your day planner is a perfect place to record directions, addresses, and phone numbers. Basically, any detail you might need at a later day can be kept in your day planner. For example, when you're adding the date for your neighbor's son's birthday party, you can include the location and phone number in your day planner, and toss the invitation.

5. Use Pencil

This is a simple recommendation, but it allows you to easily make changes to your calendar. The ability to keep it current and readable increases the chance that you'll really use your family calendar regularly to keep your life's activities organized.

6. Color Code Your Entries

Using different colors on your family calendar can help you to see at a glance which child has a dentist appointment next week, and whose parent-teacher conference is on Thursday. In addition, if your children regularly spend certain days or evenings with their other parent, choose a specific color to highlight those days. This will make it easy for you to know at a glance which days they have scheduled visitations.

7. Check Your Calendar Every Morning and Every Evening

Get into the habit of checking your calendar regularly. For example, plan to check it every morning when you get up, and again in the evening before you go to bed. This will help you avoid the trap of writing something important on the calendar, but forgetting to refer to it.

8. Teach the Kids to Check the Master Family Calendar

As the kids get older, you'll want them to be in the habit of checking the family calendar, too. This will help prevent scheduling conflicts and help the entire family participate in the task of planning your schedules.

9. If You Can't Find a Calendar That Works for You, Print Your Own

In addition to saving money, you can add important details to the template before the calendar is printed, such as monthly home projects, holidays, and birthdays. These actually make great family gifts, as well.

More: Free Printable Calendar Pages

10. Create Day Planner Pages That Work for You

You can also print your own weekly day planner pages. This can be especially helpful if you have frequently repeating events, like karate or ballet classes that repeat each week. Make sure you print several copies at once, though, so you'll have planner sheets for at least one month.

Child Custody Options :: Understanding the Different Types of Child Custody

When considering child custody options, it's crucial that parents understand the terminology used by legal experts. In particular, it's important to understand the distinction between legal custody and physical custody.

Legal Custody
Legal custody refers to the legal authority to make major decisions on behalf of the child. Examples of major decisions include: where the child will go to school, the type of education, the form of religious upbringing, and non-emergency medical decisions.

• Sole Legal Custody
  The parent who has sole legal custody is the only person who has the legal authority to make major decisions on behalf of the child. These include decisions regarding education, religion, and health care
  
  
• Joint Legal Custody
  Joint legal custody means that both parents have the legal authority to make major decisions for the child. It should be noted that parents can potentially share "joint legal custody" without having "joint physical custody."

Physical Custody
Physical custody refers where the child/ren live the majority of the time.

• Sole Physical Custody
  With this type of child custody, the child physically resides at one location. In most cases, the non-custodial parent is awarded generous visitation rights, including sleepovers.
  
  
• Joint Physical Custody
  This form of child custody is also called "Shared Custody," "Shared Parenting," or "Dual Residence." In this situation, the child/ren live with one parent for part of the week (or part of the year), and live with the other parent during the remaining time. The division of time spent at each location is approximately equal.
  
  
• Bird's Nest Custody
  This is when the children live in one central location, and the parents rotate in and out of the children's home on a regular schedule. For example, mom may reside at the children's home Monday evening through Thursday, and Dad may reside there from Thursday evening through Monday morning.

Fostering Independence in Preschoolers

This is a great time to capitalize on your child's budding independence. To do this, you can:

• Allow your child to pick out her own outfits and dress herself.


• Follow your child's lead as to when you should begin potty-training. Learning to do it all on his own is a big step!


• Be patient when your child changes into outfit-after-outfit. This is an expression of her independence.


• Use the same clean-up routines that your child's preschool uses so that your child learns to be responsible for his toys. For example, there might be a special song that they sing during clean up.


• Provide lots of learning opportunities throughout the day.


• Teach your child how to introduce himself to new friends.

Helping Your Children Develop the Skills They Need

As a single parent, you may feel that you'd like to "do it all" for your kids, but it isn't always possible. Instead of feeling guilty about this, consider focusing on the opportunity that exists for your children to develop a healthy sense of independence, as well as the essential skills they will need to succeed in life.

After all, even babies need to develop some limited self-soothing skills. Whether you're parenting a newborn or a teenager, use the links below to find out what you can do to help your child develop a healthy sense of independence at any age.

Is Your Child Ready to Spend the Night Away From Home?

It's spring break for my kids this week, and we're doing the good ol' "staycation" bit rather than going anywhere. That means that my school-aged children are clamoring to have friends spend the night, and vice versa. That's all good as long as as I am not awakened in the middle of the night with a crying guest, or worse, my own kid who gets homesick. So, how do you know when your child is ready to spend the night away from home successfully? Conduct a "readiness" check beforehand, and everyone will thank you!

Summer Fun Experiences to Grow By

Summer can present some planning challenges for working parents of young children. Swim lessons, special camps, amusement parks, and special field trips can require planning, transportation, work schedule flexibility, and affordability. But, there are plenty of solutions for some summer fun.

Check out these places for affordable and fun summer activity options.

1. Your child's daycare has summer fun in the works.
Most daycare facilities undergo an exciting transformation in the summer months from their established program. Many facilities have kid-crazed warm-weather activities to keep children enrolled in their program, and by the numbers of happy kids participating in summer fun, it works! Daycares typically package weekly sessions involving field trips; swimming, water parks or splash days; art and music enrichment offerings; sports outings; and more activities that just shout summer fun. And, transportation to these activities is generally provided as part of the summer fun weekly fee.

To name a few care centers, the national La Petite Academy entices youngsters with weekly themes like "Camp Kids Rule" and "Fun Shine Express." Camp rules tout hot activities, a splashin' good time, food, and friends. The Children's Courtyard promises a summer fun adventure touting "chillin' discoveries." See what your area programs offer, and most likely you and your kids won't be disappointed in the summer fun options.

2. Check out your area community center for summer fun.
Many communities have taken advantage of recreation centers and parks to offer reasonable child care during the summer and weeks when children are out of school. Sometimes a city promotes summer fun child-care camps as a community service for its residents and charges only enough to cover expenses and salary. A possible advantage to using recreation center care is if a parent only needs a few weeks covered and wants certain summer fun days or activities for kids. Many centers structure the fees on a week-by-week option, which allows for summer fun planning flexibility. Parents shouldn't delay, however, in signing up. Since spaces are limited, slots often fill up.

3. Consider utilizing college students on break for some summer fun for your kids.
Students home for the summer from college are often hungry for a job and at the same time are optimum resources for summer fun for your kids. Sometimes, parents already know the individual from previous years, and perhaps he or she has babysat for you previously. For parents seeking summer fun times or select times only solution, this arrangement works much like babysitting, although parents will typically set a daily fee. With some planning and structure, this set-up can serve as a mini-summer fun camp for your kids.

4. Explore your child's school.
Confused? Don't be. Some school districts are now starting to take advantage of their facilities that have not been used traditionally in summer months and offer summer fun camps of their own. The advantages are that the tuition fees often provide much-needed revenue for the school district and the staff is typically comprised of teachers and assistants already employed by the school. In fact, the summer camp leader could very well be your child's own teacher.

5. Start a neighborhood co-op.
Round up parents of similar-aged children in your neighborhood and start a summer fun program for your kids. Parents could alternate care and plan and carry out a fun outing for all participants for assigned days. There typically is no money that changes hands; the pay-off is that everyone equally takes turns and plans an enjoyable and safe day. Meeting and agreeing to a calendar of activities and events is advised.

Cadbury Rewards Children

Cadbury are donating 300,000 Cadbury Eggheads as rewards for children who take part in the 248 Trails nationwide. With Cadbury also providing some properties with complimentary face painting and play areas, it’s great value for money.

Cadbury are delighted to be supporting the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland’s Easter Egg Trails for a second year running helping to maintain the Trusts’ countryside sites and preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

To join in the fun go to the following address:

www.eastereggtrail.com

Who is St.Patrick?

There are many myths and legends (The Shamrock, Snakes, and Irelands Conversion to Christianity) about our beloved saint. Happy St Patrick's Day !!!

Saint Patrick apostle of Ireland. Fifth century Ireland is a lost world, virtually closed to both historians and archaeologists, and what little is known about life and work of Patrick comes from his own writings in Latin, now accepted as authentic, and from brief references in annuals written about two centuries later. In his Confessions, an apologia written in his old age rough Latin, Patrick says that he was a native of Roman Britain, the son of Calpurnius, a deacon who lived in the village of Bannaven Taberniae. Scholars disagree as to its location, ascribing it variously to Cumberland, the Severn valley and the island of Anglesey. He was captured by Irish raiders at the age of sixteen, and sold into bondage to tend sheep and swine on the slopes of Slemish mountain in Antrim for a chief named Milchu. His thoughts turned to God, and he spent many hours in solitary prayer.

After six years he escaped, and made his way home. He relates how in a vision he saw a man who came from Ireland with letters, and how he heard the voices of the Irish imploring him to return. He does not say where he studied for the Church, but tradition makes him a disciple of St. Germanus of Auxerre, and he may also have spent some time at Tours and at the monastic island settlement on Lerins off the coast of Provence. According to the Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitane, a contemporary source. Pope Celestine sent one Palladius in the year 421 to the Irish believing in Christ, to be their bishop. This fragment of evidence suggests that there were Christians in Ireland at that time in numbers sufficient to warrant the appointment of a bishop. According to tradition, Palladius' mission had little success, and he was forced to leave within a few months, dying in Scotland about 431. The uncertainty surrounding the date of Saint Patrick's arrival has occasioned the theory of two Patrick's, whose careers were confused by later chronicles, but this remains merely theory. It seems reasonably certain that St. Patrick's mission spanned some thirty years, in the latter half of the fifth century, that it was very successful, and that Ireland, unlike any other country in Western Europe, was converted to Christianity without the shedding of martyrs' blood. In his own words, the saint 'baptized thousands, ordained clerics everywhere and rejoiced to see the flock of the Lord in Ireland growing splendidly.' It is probable that most of his missionary was carried out in the Northern half of the country. The date and place of his death are uncertain; tradition says that he died at Saul, near Downpatrick, Co. Down, on 17 March, the day now celebrated as the national festival.

The legends which accumulated around the saints life go far beyond the meager details related above, which include all that is known about him with any certainty. This story of his explaining the mystery of the Holy Trinity by showing a three-leaved shamrock to the King at Tara; the lighting of the Paschal fire on the hill of Slane; the destruction of the idol, Crom Créuach; the banishing of snakes from Ireland - these are all apocryphal accretions of later dates. So also is the identification of Saul as the site of his first church.. Croagh Patrick, where he said to have kept his Lenten fast and now a place of Pilgrimage, has been claimed, with Slemish, as the scene of his captivity as a boy. His original Celtic name is said to have been Succat, Patricius being his Latin designation.

Other writings attributed to St. Patrick are his Epistle to Cortices accepted as authentic, and a fine hymn in Irish, the Breastplate of St. Patrick. The Epistle, written in Latin, beseeches Coroticus, a British chief, to free some Irish Christians whom he had taken captive. Whatever about the lack of knowledge of life in Ireland in the fifth century, the author of Confessions and the Epistle emerges as a real personality; the vividness of his narrative and the undoubted success of his mission account for the central place he came to occupy in Irish tradition, and the hold he exercised over the imagination of the chronicles and storytellers of later centuries.

St Patrick's Day treat for Simpsons fans

The Simpsons are on their way to Dublin for a St Patrick's Day special

Fans of The Simpsons are in for a special St Patrick's Day treat on Tuesday when an episode of the hit cartoon series will be premiered on this side of the Atlantic.

It will be shown on Sky1 ahead of its broadcast on US network Fox for the first time in the show's 20-year history.

The episode, called In the Name of the Grandfather, will show the cartoon family travelling to Ireland and visiting famous landmarks including the Guinness brewery, with Homer and his father eventually buying a pub.

It has been reported that the landlord of the pub will be played by Belfast-born actor Kenneth Branagh.

Also said to be making an appearance - as buskers on Grafton Street in Dublin - are Oscar winners Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who appeared in the surprise hit Irish film Once.

The Simpsons' executive producers, Al Jean and James L Brooks, and Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart and other characters, will travel to Ireland for an exclusive screening of the episode.

"Homer and Grandpa get drunk," said Al Jean.

"They buy the bar and then they find, as it turns out, in Ireland, pubs aren't so popular anymore because you can't smoke in them. So they're really up a creek."

Irish characters have regularly featured in The Simpsons.

A whole episode was devoted to U2, but the most controversial was an episode set on St Patrick's Day when celebrations in Springfield turned nasty as an Irish parade encountered an Orange march.

Q&A: Choosing a Child Trust Fund

Children take control of the investments at 16

The Child Trust Fund, a government-savings scheme which gives parents £250 vouchers to invest on their children's behalf, is open for business on 6 April.

Many parents - who are entrusted with investing the funds until their children reach 16 - may be struggling to know where they should invest.

Here is a guide to the scheme and what to look out for.

What's it all about?

The Child Trust Fund is a government-savings initiative, aimed at encouraging children to save and to help them get a "better start in life".

The money cannot be accessed until the child reaches 18, although at the age of 16, the child will take over the responsibility for managing the account themselves.

HOW MUCH WILL YOUR CHILD RECEIVE?* 01/09/2002 to 05/04/2003: £277 06/04/2003 to 05/04/2004: £268 06/04/2004 to 05/04/2005: £256 06/04/2005 onwards: £250 *Parents of families on low incomes receive an additional £250

Every child born in the UK on or after 1 September 2002 will get at least £250 as a starting voucher.

Families on low incomes should receive an additional £250.

Children born between 1 September 2002 and 5 April 2005 will get slightly more to take into account the fact that Child Trust Fund accounts are only available from April 2005.

The government will also top up accounts on the child's seventh birthday. Plans for another payment when children turn eleven are currently being discussed.

Can I invest more?

Yes. Every fund may also be topped up by families or friends, up to a maximum limit of £1,200 a year.

There will be no income tax or capital gains tax to pay on the account.

What do I do with my voucher?

Two million vouchers have been issued since mid-January to parents of children born after 1 September 2002.

This will be followed each month by the issue of 60,000 vouchers, one for each new-born baby.

Parents can't spend the money or pay it into an ordinary savings or investment account. It must be invested by parents into a Child Trust Fund, run by an authorised Child Trust Fund provider.

Parents' right to choose a provider expires one year after the voucher has been issued. At that point the Inland Revenue will pick a fund.

Parents who haven't received a voucher should contact the Child Trust Fund helpline (details on right). All parents have to do to get a voucher is claim Child Benefit.

But there are so many providers, how do I choose?

The Child Trust Fund is a very simple savings concept, but choosing the most suitable home for your voucher may prove taxing for many parents.

WHAT IS A FRIENDLY SOCIETY? They have no shareholders and are owned and managed by their members They have a long tradition, growing in popularity during the nineteenth century. People invested in these societies to protect themselves and their families from hardship in the absence of the welfare state Friendly societies now provide financial products, notably pensions, healthcare, insurance and banking and some specialist tax-free products

This is because there are a lot of options.

There are more than 70 different providers and distributors, including banks, friendly societies and fund managers.

Providers range from the Ancient Order of Foresters Friendly Society and the Police Assurance Society to bigger High Street names, such as Halifax and Nationwide.

Parents should have received provider details in their information packs. Alternatively, a full list of providers can be found on the government's Child Trust Fund website.

What's the difference between a savings, stakeholder and share account?

There are three different types of account to choose from: savings, stakeholder and shares.

The simplest and safest option is to deposit your voucher into a straightforward cash deposit savings account.

STAKEHOLDER: KEY FEATURES Penalty-free transfers between accounts and Child Trust Fund providers (except for stamp duty and dealing expenses) Minimum subscriptions of £10 'Lifestyling' An annual management charge capped at 1.5% of the fund's value

The investment performance of the account will depend on interest rates, currently between 4% and 6%.

Some providers offer extra "bonus" interest when additional money is paid into deposit accounts.

Details of cash Child Trust Funds can be found on the Moneyfacts website (see link on right).

Secondly, there are "stakeholder" accounts, which invest in a pool or fund made up of a variety of company shares.

As a share-based investment, this is more risky than a cash account, because returns are not guaranteed.

However, stakeholder Child Trust Funds should be "lifestyled". This means the account should be invested in less risky investments, such as bonds and cash, once the child reaches 13.

This is designed to protect the investment from any sudden downturns in the stock market as the fund nears maturity.

The main feature of a stakeholder account, however, is its low annual management charges. Legally, these must be no more than 1.5% a year - the equivalent of £1.50 on every £100 invested.

Once the account has been set up, the provider must also be prepared to accept minimum top-ups of £10 a time.

Thirdly, there is a "shares" option. As the name suggests, it is also a share-based investment.

Unlike stakeholder Child Trust Funds, its charges are not capped.

These accounts are generally aimed at more experienced investors who are looking for a wide investment choice or people who are prepared to take more risk.

For example, a "self-select" Child Trust Fund may allow parents to invest in individual shares, but also in international equities.

Which type of account is likely to provide the biggest profit over 18 years?

Past performance is no guide to the future. Performance of a fund will depend on a wide variety of factors, many of which cannot be easily predicted.

Stocks and shares traditionally outperform cash deposits over the longer term.

The best option for the less sophisticated investor is to go for a basic cash-based account or a stakeholder account Julian Crooks, a financial planner

However, evidence so far suggests many parents are shunning the stock market and investing their vouchers into deposit accounts.

Julian Crooks, a financial planner at the Financial Planning Service, says novice investors should perhaps stick with cash deposit or stakeholder accounts.

"The best option for the less-sophisticated investor is to go for a basic cash-based account or a stakeholder account, such as an index tracker with lifestyling," said Mr Crooks.

"The self-select funds are really for more experienced investors, who have probably got an existing investment portfolio and they are conversant with more risks."

Can the money be swapped into a different account?

Before parents panic, they should remember that they can change their minds.

Child Trust Fund providers cannot charge for transferring an account.

But if the fund is a stakeholder account or one that invests in shares, the provider may deduct costs - stamp duty and dealing charges - in selling any stocks and shares that form part or all of the account.

The government advises investors to check with the provider about charges before they sign up and before they transfer an account.

How would other relations access the account to add money?

Family and friends can contribute up to £1,200 a year to a Child Trust Fund.

They will need to get the account details from the parents in order to do so.

If a child has a stakeholder account, family and friends can pay into it by cash, cheque, standing order and direct debit.

For non-stakeholder accounts, it's up to the financial providers who manage the account to choose how they accept payments.

The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

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AID Training & Operations Ltd are committed to delivering high quality First Aid training and offer a consultative approach to your training needs.

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Childcare fees 'continue to rise'

Paying for early years care can be a costly affair

Many parents in Britain are paying in excess of £8,000 a year for a full-time nursery place, a survey suggests.

The Daycare Trust found the yearly cost of a typical nursery place for a child under two was £8,684 in England, £8,216 in Scotland and £7,592 in Wales.

The trust said for England this was a 5% increase on the previous 12 months, compared with a 3.1% inflation rate.

Ministers said the survey findings were misleading and did not take into account the available financial help.

It comes as the government has published a review of childcare in England, in an attempt to make the system more flexible and affordable and to ensure standards remained high.

Tax credits

The Daycare Trust figures are based on a survey of 136 Family Information Services (FIS) in England, Scotland and Wales, based on 50 hours a week in a nursery over 52-weeks.

The findings indicate the highest childcare costs were in London and the South East, where typical costs ranged from £173 to £226 a week.

In the most expensive case, parents were paying £400 a week, the equivalent of £20,800 a year.

Yet again the cost of nursery places has increased above inflation Emma Knights, Daycare Trust Parents coping with childcare

In total, 69% of FISs said parents had reported a lack of childcare in their area over the past year and 59% of FISs reported insufficient childcare in their area for over 12s.

Also, 56% reported insufficient childcare for disabled children and children with special education needs.

The government disputed the validity of the findings.

In a letter to the Daycare Trust, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said the survey was based on parents requiring 50 hours of childcare all year round for under-fives, which was "more than most parents take up or want".

She said the survey did not acknowledge the tax credit system for working parents or childcare vouchers offered through employers.

The early years grants, available for children in the term after their third birthday, was also ignored, she said.

'Big drain'

Daycare Trust joint chief executive Emma Knights said: "Yet again the cost of nursery places has increased above inflation, making pre-school education a big drain on family budgets at a time of financial uncertainty.

At three, children receive 2.5 hours of free daily childcare (term-time only)

"It is crucial that parents claim all the help they are entitled to, and that the government increase the free childcare entitlement to include all two-years-olds.

"The current review of tax credits should increase the maximum proportion of childcare costs the poorest parents can claim from 80% to 100%."

Shadow families minister Maria Miller said: "The government must do more to make sure more families who are eligible for childcare support through the tax credit system actually receive it.

"At the moment, the system is overly complicated and that means only one in four families who are eligible are actually claiming the credit."

A-levels

The government's "Next steps for early learning and childcare" strategy for England includes plans to make it a legal requirement from 2015 for all childcare professionals to be qualified to A-level or an equivalent standard.

Ministers have also committed to piloting a "Teach First"-style programme to attract the best graduates into the sector.

The Teach First scheme recruits top graduates to teach for at least two years in challenging schools.

The strategy will offer free early learning and childcare places for 15% of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds in England.

It also outlines plans for a childcare comparison website, which will give information on staff ratios and qualifications, as well as prices.

And more after-school club providers will be encouraged to join the Ofsted childcare register, so that parents can access financial help via tax credits.

Ms Hughes said: "The quality and confidence of the workforce is of the utmost importance for early years providers.

"Early learning and childcare professionals need to have the same level of professionalism as teachers."