Dreidel is the name of both the small spinning top used to play this game and of the game itself. Follow these directions to make your own dreidel, then read on for some fun dreidel games. Small, square milk or juice carton Plain paper Tape Piece of 1/4-inch dowel or unsharpened pencil Pen or marker Directions

This creative activity will allow your child to celebrate a season with her own artwork. Age: Preschool through elementaryTime: 30 minutes or more Type of activity: Arts and Crafts One large, round margarine container (empty)Construction paper (at least two colors)ScissorsElmer’s glueStaplerEaster egg grassJelly beans, chocolate eggs, or other Easter candy Place the basket on your dinner table where everyone will be able to see it!

What Is Eczema? In general, eczema (also called atopic dermatitis) is caused by problems with the skin barrier. If the barrier is weak or damaged, it becomes dry and itchy. These leads to further damage and increased sensitivity, itching, dryness, and inflammation. Sometimes people with eczema do not have enough filaggrin, a protein that helps skin create the barrier that protects the body from the environment. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), eczema often runs in families....

Published in Nature Metabolism, the study involved 150 pregnant and postpartum women who wore activity trackers during pregnancy and afterward. Those who had more steps per day showed higher level of a compound known as 3SL, or oligosaccharide 3-sialyllactose, found exclusively in breast milk. The compound has been shown to confer health advantages even later in life. To confirm that the level of 3SL was from breast milk and not an inherited trait, researchers also gave baby mice born from sedentary mothers milk produced by mice that were active through pregnancy....

Recent studies have found that increased crawling experience may even help keep your baby safe, furthering the positive benefits crawling has on a baby’s independence. Researchers at the University of Otago investigated the correlation between crawling and risk perception and found that more experienced crawlers are less likely to fall into open water. What the Research Tells Us One of the studies, published in Infancy, looked at the effect of locomotor experience—otherwise known as the experience of different movement methods—on infants’ avoidance of sudden drop-offs....

Effort: Some sewing required Materials: Leotard Tights Ballet skirt/tutu Ballet shoes Mesh or lacy material Wire or 2 coat hangers (for wings) Small piece of cardboard – 5" x 10" Scissors Heavy-duty tape and/or glue Wand (make your own wand, or buy one at any costume/party store) Glue and glitter (or glitter glue) Needle and thread Body glitter Instructions: Make wings by bending 2 pieces of wire or 2 coat hangers into wing shapes....

Discussing family history at Thanksgiving can also be a wonderful way to foster intergenerational discussion and to provide your family with a creative and fun way to pass the holiday time together. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to start family tree research for several reasons. With the winter holidays approaching, this will hopefully enable you to have extra quality time with the different sides of your family to delve into old stories, memories, and family names....

Since the 1960s, all 50 states have adopted a gender-neutral “best-interest standard” for determining custody. Yet some people argue that the biases of the tender years doctrine persist, since only one in six custodial parents in America are fathers. Similarly, people used to think that most men weren’t interested in active parenting. Many fathers want to actively be involved in their children’s lives—they want to help them learn survival and life skills, encourage them, build their self-esteem, teach them responsibility, and help them be a team player....

There are six distinct areas of the brain. Each of those areas controls different body functions that can be affected or disabled as the result of a head injury. This list looks at each of the different parts of the brain in detail and outlines the function of each—which can be affected if that part is accidentally damaged. It will help you understand what’s going on if a head injury occurs....

Directions Fill the bathtub or sink with water. Set all the objects nearby within your child’s reach. The object of this activity is to see which objects float and which ones don’t. Some may float for a while and then sink. Some small objects may sink immediately, while some large objects stay floating. Make a guessing game out of it. Before putting the item in the sink, guess if it will sink or float....

What compels students to learn and achieve good grades? Some elementary schools are now capitalizing on that early childhood way of learning by eliminating grades. Called non-graded schools or classrooms, this theory begins with the premise that children naturally want to learn. The traditional system – lecture, memorize, test, grade – frequently takes away the joy of learning. Students become externally motivated, coveting rewards like grades and prizes, rather than learning because of a genuine interest....

Egg Cartons Here are some crafts that use old egg cartons, either paper or Styrofoam (I like paper best, but either kind will do): Creatures and critters: Using one or more sections from an egg carton and some pipe cleaners, you can make a whole zoo. If you paint the sections black and suspend them from strings, these make great spiders for Halloween. Add cotton balls dyed yellow to a painted yellow carton section to make an adorable Easter chick....

The 1880 census was Soundexed only for households having children under the age of 10. (These children were the first to become eligible for old-age benefits in 1935.) This does not mean that other households were not enumerated. It does mean that if your ancestor was not in a household with children under the age of 10, he or she will not be on the Soundex indexes, but will be in the census itself....

Alcoholics Anonymous A very effective treatment for alcoholism is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Two alcohol-dependent men founded it in 1935: a stockbroker and a surgeon. There are meetings all over the United States and all over the world; these meetings happen every day, and in bigger cities, many times a day. All types of people attend AA meetings, including physicians, lawyers, teachers, bank tellers, janitors, the independently wealthy, and the unemployed. There is an oath of confidentiality that members take seriously....

Effort: Quick and easy – no sewing required Materials: Yellow felt Brown felt Green leotard Green tights Brown face paint Fake leaves (buy these, or make your own with green felt) Hot glue gun and glue sticks Big circle of cardboard Green spray for hair Scissors Instructions: Cut a hole in a cardboard for your child’s face. Line the inner edge with brown felt, so that it shows on both sides....