The Animals Are Getting Ready For Winter!

People usually spend the winter in a home with some sort of heat; they put on extra layers of clothing and heavy coats for added warmth when they go outside. When the need for food grips them, they go to the grocery store. But what about the wild animals that live around us?

The biggest problem for most animals in the winter is finding enough food. Wild animals cope with the changes in weather and availability of food in one of three ways: adjusting, hibernating or migrating. Most land-bound animals are forced to remain and stay somewhat active during the winter. They must adjust to our changing weather. Many make changes in their behavior or bodies. Cold-blooded animals (i.e., insects, reptiles, amphibians, and fish) must hibernate if they live in environments where the temperature and therefore their own body temperature drops below freezing. Box turtles burrow into the soil or mulch piles. Reptiles like lizards and snakes seek protective cover under rocks, leaf litter and mulch piles. Many others hoard food stores to get them through the winter. Squirrels and mice stash their food in tree cavities, under leaf litter, or in holes in the ground. Still other animals, such as voles, have communal food storage areas underground.

Most animals prepare for winter by changing their bodies - accumulating body fat is the most crucial, a vital insulator for warmth and source of energy. Many of these animals, like deer, squirrels, and raccoons, spend the fall feasting on energy- and fat- rich acorns and other nuts that help them put on an insulating layer of fat beneath their skin. Their sparse summer coat is gradually replaced by a warmer one made up of a dense layer of under fur and a thick surface layer that helps to trap body heat. These species, as well the rabbit, otter, muskrat, fox, and bobcat, remain active throughout the winter, foraging or hunting daily. For other species, such as opossums and skunks, winter activity is temperature dependent. During extremely cold periods they spend their time in their nests or dens, curled up in a semi sleep dormant state.

Hibernation is the practice among certain animals of spending part of the cold season in a more or less dormant state, apparently as protection from cold when their normal body temperature cannot be maintained and food is scarce. This deep sleep allows them to conserve energy and survive the winter with little or no food. Hibernation is caused by a chemical trigger released by the brain when the animal experiences extremes of temperature, lack of food, or decreased amounts of daylight. Most hibernators prepare in some way for the winter. Some store food in their burrows or dens, to eat when they awaken for short periods. Many eat extra food in the fall while it is plentiful, and store it as body fat to be used later for energy.

Hibernators have two kinds of fat: regular white fat and a special brown fat. The brown fat forms patches near the animal's brain, heart, and lungs. The fat sends a burst of energy to warm these organs first when it is time for the animal to wake up. Hibernating animals are able to store enough food in their bodies to carry them over until food is once again obtainable. They do not grow during hibernation. Their bodily activities are reduced to a minimum; in fact they may have only one or two heartbeats every minute. This energy-efficient dormant stage enables the hibernating animal to have periods of inactivity that last for weeks or even months. True hibernators go into such a deep sleep that they are difficult to wake and may even appear dead. Their body temperature drops, and their breathing and heart rate drop significantly. For example, the groundhog, or woodchuck, is one of our true hibernators. It spends most of the summer in fields and in tunnels it has dug below. During winter, the groundhog finds it way to the deepest recesses of those tunnels where it will hibernate. A hibernating groundhog's heart rate slows from 80 beats to 4 beats per minute, and its body temperature drops from 98F to as low as 38F. If its temperature falls too low, it will awaken slightly and shiver to warm up a bit.

If an animal lives in an area where the winter is mild, it may hibernate only briefly, or not at all. However, even when the winter is severe, hibernators may wake up for short periods every few weeks to use their "toilet rooms" and eat if food is available. Animals such as raccoons, skunks, and some chipmunks are light sleepers and are easily awakened. They may sleep during the most severe weather and wake to roam and forage for food in milder weather.

Our largest hibernator is the bear. Bears are unique because, unlike other hibernators, they do not eat, drink, or excrete at all while hibernating, which can be as long as six months. Although the quarters are cramped, female bears give birth and nurse their cubs during hibernation. Other true hibernators include the jumping mouse, little brown bat, the eastern chipmunk, and some species of ground squirrels.

This week, let's have some fun learning about how animals live in the winter.
Crafts, coloring pages, stories - we could even make a feeding station to help out the animals that live nearby.

If your family has some ideas we can use to learn about animals in winter, please leave a comment and I'll be sure to say Thank You!

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

"Mommeee...Grammy's talking weird again! She's callin me 'ye thankful'!"

The Kinder Arts newsletter just arrived and I was immediately drawn to the number of projects designed to help our family count its blessings.

Susan Futch has directions for Blessing Boxes made from milk cartons to show what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. (I don't see why any small box wouldn't work just as well)

Karen Rowley shares a fun and educational Thankful Turkey.

Amanda Formaro walks us through the steps of making a Handprint Thanksgiving Tree.

And, if you're feeling really thankful - and ambitious! there are two Thanksgiving Quilts to choose from -
one from Yamilka J. Sena
and another designed by Mindy Shupak.

So Come, Ye thankfuls -
Let's get busy!

Start Now - A List Of Ten Guides To A Stress Free Thanksgiving Holiday (honest)

Now that Halloween is done and the sugar high has worn off, I plan to take spend some time both myself and with Maya focusing on the importance of family. It was while I was cruising around the 'net looking for ideas for a family theme that I found this -
A list of ten different ways to approach Thanksgiving - the Biggie of family holidays. I like this list because it lets you choose from elaborate, lengthy preparations, slap-dash on the table meals and all dinners in between with each one leading to a fine family feast. Just follow the links.
( Thanks, Allrecipes.com !)

A Stress-Free Thanksgiving
BY: Allrecipes Staff
Ten tips for an easier holiday.

Do-ahead Thanksgiving
BY: Pam Anderson
The holiday is really about catching up with family and friends.

Last-Minute Thanksgiving
BY: Mackenzie Schieck
Get ideas and recipes for putting together a fantastic Thanksgiving the day before.

Last-Minute Thanksgiving Timeline
BY: Mackenzie Schieck
You won't get behind prepping your last-minute thanksgiving with this handy to-do list.

Make-Aheads
BY: Allrecipes Staff
Use this guide to prepare parts of your Thanksgiving meal several days in advance.

Thanksgiving Menus for Beginners to Experts
BY: Frances Crouter
Whether this is your first time preparing Thanksgiving dinner or your fiftieth, we've got a menu for you.

Thanksgiving on the Go
BY: Allrecipes Staff
Traveling with food? Get helpful planning tips for making the trip as easy as possible.

Thanksgiving Planner: The Four Week Plan
BY: Vanessa Greaves
There's no way Thanksgiving is going to take you by surprise this year--use this guide for Turkey Day success.

Thanksgiving Planner: The One-Week Plan
BY: Vanessa Greaves
Maybe you meant to get started planning earlier, but using this to-do list as a guide, one week is all you'll need to pull together an amazing Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving Planner: The Two-Week Plan
BY: Vanessa Greaves
Thanksgiving is just two weeks away, but you still have plenty of time to put together a beautiful turkey day--get tips and recipes!

Free November Calendar And Famous November Birthdays To Celebrate With Your Children!

Your Free November Calendar is available at Miss Mary's wonderful site -
Miss Mary.com. Click Here to download your calendar and for the opportunity to sign up for Miss Mary's free newsletter - Miss Mary's Gazette.

Here's a list of famous folks born in the month of November. Why not have a bit of educational (shhh...) fun with your children researching and celebrating the people and their birthdays?

November 1, 1871 - Stephen Crane
11/2/1755 Marie Antoinette
11/3/33 Michael Dukakis
11/4/16 Walter Cronkite
11/5/11 Roy Rogers
11/6/1854 John Philip Sousa
11/7/1867 Madame Curie
11/8/00 Margaret Mitchell
11/9/34 Carl Sagan
11/10/1483 Martin Luther
11/12/1840 Auguste Rodin
11/13/1850 Robert Louis Stevenson
11/14/1765 Robert Fulton
11/15/1887 Georgia O'Keefe
11/16/52 Shigeru Miyamoto
11/17/44 Tom Seaver
11/18/23 Alan Shepard, Jr.
11/19/1831 James Garfield
11/20/08 Alistair Cooke
11/21/66 Troy Aikman
11/22/1744 Abigail Adams
11/23/1888 Harpo Marx
11/24/1853 Bat Masterson
11/25/81 Barbara and Jenna Bush
11/26/22 Charles Schulz
11/27/17/Buffalo Bob Smith
11/28/43 Randy Newman
11/29/1898 C.S. Lewis
11/30/1835 Mark Twain

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Halloween To One And All!

Family Alternatives To Halloween

There are a variety of reasons why some families might choose to not participate in a traditional Halloween. This doesn’t mean you have to turn out your lights and sit with your children behind closed doors trying to ignore the trick or treaters.
Your children won’t like that.

Why not start a new family tradition for October 31st? You could have a family meeting and make your plans for your special evening. Choose some fun and creative things to do – maybe a board game marathon? Give everyone in the family a special responsibility – each of you can do something to plan, prepare and for your evening. Family times are too rare. Bake some cookies and make some popcorn. Have some family fun.!

One family goes Mystery Bowling as one alternative to Halloween. The bowling alley can be quite empty on Halloween. You can create your own game of Mystery Bowling. The family mentioned on the website,www.christianitytoday.com, has bowled some frames backward, some frames with a bowler's weak hand (left for a right handed bowler and vice versa), and some frames tiptoeing to throw the ball while holding the ball above their heads like Fred Flintstone. You might require that each bowler only have to knock down three or four pins in frame one, but six in frame two, and at least eight in frame three. Any bowler who does not meet the requirement could have to wear something silly in the following frame—a dunce hat, a big curly green wig. A bowler who does meet his scoring requirement could earn a piece of candy or a bag of chips.

As another alternative to Halloween, you might create your own family film festival—making your own movie. You might make a science fiction movie, a western, or whatever you can dream up. Motorcycle helmets could be astronaut equipment, or the equipment of space aliens. If you want to make a pretend western, you could dress up your dog or cat like a horse. Give every member of the family a part and offer advice and assistance. If you have your own camcorder and can actually see your movie when you are done, the activity could be even more fun. If you don't have one, you can maybe borrow one from a friend or your library. You might even want to show the movie to friends and relatives.

Design a “Noah’s Ark Party.” Every creature in the animal kingdom is available as a potential costume. You can purchase inexpensive fleece material in the color of the animal for the costume. Use fabric paint to add details. Instead of a mask, use face paint to draw a mouth, eyebrows, and other animal features.

If you do want to let your children go out to trick or treat on Halloween, there are still things you can do to make the holiday different and more in keeping with your family’s values. Have your children dress in acceptable costumes, like characters from history, sailors, cowboys, ballerinas, princesses, doctors, and firefighters. Accompany your children and go only to the houses of friends and neighbors. You could also find out what churches in the area are having harvest parties and take your children there instead.

Plan a progressive Halloween party in the safety of some of your friends’ homes. Arrange for children to eat a meal at the first home, play games at the next, and eat dessert at the last stop. Everyone joins in the work and expense.

Other fun alternatives to Halloween might be to take your children on a hayride, bob for apples, or even consider a nature hike with your family. First, choose a local park or trail that your family would enjoy exploring. Then, embark on a scavenger hunt for the most beautiful leaf, the smoothest rock, the most interesting stick, the perfect pine cone, or any other desirable treasures you might think of. Bring a paper bag or cloth sack for each family member to put his collectibles in. If you have a digital or instant camera, you can photograph things that can't be taken home with you, such as the prettiest view or the ugliest bug. If you have more time to spare, pack a picnic to take with you on the walk or bring along a species guide for birds or plants to help identify your findings. When you return home, have everyone share their entries for each category and vote on the winners. You'll be amazed at what each person has found. It might even be fun to display the winners for a period of time as a reminder of your hike.

Whatever your family’s beliefs, customs or traditions – Fun is still Fun and there is more than enough fun for everyone!

Starting To Panic? Here Are A Dozen (Or More) Simple Last Minute Costume Ideas

If you are looking for a fast and simple costume for trick-or-treating or for a Halloween party, go over to About.com and visit Sheri Osborne at Family Crafts! She has several last minute costume ideas you can make with items you have laying around your house. She's included a variety of costume ideas, along with a quick listing of the main supplies needed to make that costume. Click on each costume title to find directions for making that costume.
You'll find ideas like a Basket Full of Laundry costume, a Biker Costume, Autumn Leaves and a whole lot more!

A Dangling Spider And Grinning Jack -o-Lantern From HighlightsKids.com

A couple of fun decorations to work on over the weekend from Highlights Kids.

Dangling Spider
Give your family and friends a fright with a spider made from felt and a film canister. Directions Here

Grinning Jack-o'-Lantern
You'll be grinning when making a jack-o'-lantern from a balloon, glue, and yarn.
Directions Here.

For some extra fun - how about this Monster Puppet?

This silly monster is easy to make with a shoebox, construction paper and some imagination. Directions Here.

Thursday Thirteen - Thirteen Halloween Treats That Aren't Candy!

I'm not anti-candy for children, it's just that

1. it's not good for their teeth (or their tummies)
2. they will already be getting too much candy at their other Trick or Treat visits
3. it's not a very imaginative treat.

Here's my Thursday Thirteen for this week -

Thirteen Alternatives To Halloween Candy Treats

1. shiny, new pennies - three for good luck.
You can go to the bank and ask them for two or three rolls of new pennies.

Visit your local dollar store for a bonanza of inexpensive treats -

2. temporary tattoos
3. stickers
4. glow sticks
5. pencils, pencil toppers
6. party favors of all kinds
7. sidewalk chalk
8. snack crackers
9. juice boxes
10. toy insects - spiders, flies, snakes
(yes, I know snakes are not insects. Technically, neither are spiders. Don't email me.)
11. whistles
12. microwave popcorn
13. a new toothbrush

Check Out The Halloween Ideas From Woman's Day Magazine!

This month's newsletter from Woman's Day Magazine is packed with Halloween Fun for kids and grandkids.
They have

7 Super-Easy 1-Hour Costumes
Last-minute disguises for kids, including a pirate, a hunchback and more!

15 Print-and-Color Halloween Masks
From butterflies to pandas to pirates, hit Trick-or-Treat Street with an easy-to-make DIY mask.

and
20 Halloween Crafts
Toast the ghosts of the season with these spooktacular decorations.


There's plenty here to keep you and the kids busy right up to Halloween night!

Friday - Rain, Glitter And Ghosts

A rainy day - a great day to work on some Halloween projects. We painted and glittered a tiny pumpkin, then decided to make handprint and foot print ghosts. Very Spooky! And fun. And easy.
I painted the bottom of Maya's foot white and she painted the bottom of Grammy's foot white. We both stepped onto a piece of black paper, then did the same with the palms of our hands.
I was prepared with a container of wet wipes to remove the paint from our hands and feet on the spot - paint footprints would be Most Unfortunate on the carpet.
We waited for the paint to dry, added eyes with a black sharpie marker and painted all over the place with silver glitter glue.
Splendidly Spooktacular!

The Halloween Page

The Halloween Pages are up and running on my website - COPD and So Much More.
You'll find a page of Great Halloween Links; pictures of Jack-o'-Lanterns and Dogs in their Halloween garb will entertain the children, grandparents might be interested in our trip to the Voodoo Temple in New Orleans. You'll find other articles on the Halloween pages too and while you're on the site, drop by the Grandparent Pages to see what you may have missed on your last visit there.
After you stop by for a visit, please email me or leave a comment and let me know. I'd love to hear from you.

Halloween And More At Thrifty Fun.com

I found a great new site this morning - Thrifty Fun! I stumbled onto their Halloween Page with it's Frugal Costume Ideas, lots of crafts, and even some ideas for Halloween Alternatives for families who don't celebrate Halloween.
From there I discovered that the site is really a community - a site where regular folks can share their knowledge and ideas.
There are also free newsletters to sign up for - if you're like me, your email box is already bursting with all the great newsletters out there - but there is always room for a few more!

Make It From Scratch - Autumn

Check out the 35th edition of the Make It From Scratch blog carnival at Nini Makes.
Lots of great recipes, a really cute scarecrow template (Grammy and Maya will be working on that this afternoon!), a tinker bell costume - a long list of fun ideas. Of course, Maya's pumpkin is there too!

A Story In Pictures - Maya Carves Her Halloween Pumpkin

Maya's third Halloween, Maya's third Halloween pumpkin - this is the first Halloween that Maya has been able to carve "my byself". (okay - Grammy did help a little, but it is the first year Maya has been able to use the pumpkin carving tool )
Maya's Pumpkin...








This post is my (and Maya's) entry to this week's Make It From Scratch blog carnival.
The full carnival will be posted on Tuesday, October 16 at Nini Makes. Be sure to stop by and read all of the entries - there are always some great ideas being shared.

Ten Weeks of Fun Fall Activities to Enjoy With Your Kids

Here's a great offer from Jennifer Wolf, Your Guide to Single Parents at About.com.

She has added a new (free!) E-course to her site called "Ten Weeks of Fun Fall Activities."

You can either sign up to receive a different fall activity in your E-mail each week, or read through the list of suggestions online. The idea is to plan one weekly outing or activity with your kids throughout the fall season.

Related: Free, Printable Pumpkin Carving Templates

Columbus Day Weekend

Grandmother Wren is taking an extended weekend break and heading for the ocean - Hooray!
I won't be here again until next Wednesday - Miss Maya has promised to take very good care of Sir William the Beagle and Annie, our guinea pig while I'm away.
To keep everyone busy here's a link to DLTK'S Columbus Day Crafts For Kids.

Have a great weekend!
See you next week!

October Fun From HighlightsKids.com

The October Newsletter from HighlightsKids.com was in my email box this morning and it's a good one!
Here are a few samples :
They have two Fall games - Build A Scarecrow and John's Leafy Puzzler. Hidden Pictures with a Fall theme - Acorn Collectors and Pumpkin Pickers , a Halloween craft - Ghost House for Halloween Treats and this month's story player - Monster Me.
Follow the links for some real October fun from HighlightsKids.com

Halloween Decor!

Maya and I pulled out all of our fall decorations yesterday and began decking our halls for Halloween.
I have a page of our decorations from last year Here
Once again, It's Autumn At Our House!

October First And A Free Calendar!

October is the beginning of that Magical Season that closes each year.
Celebrate by going over to Miss Mary's and getting your free October calendar!