Winter craft ideas for Kids: How to Make Snow for Pretend Sensory Play in Ice Age and Christmas Village

Make Fake Snow with Wax Paper

This winter craft idea for kids focuses on how to make snow for your Ice Age Dinosaurs. In this DIY, you'll use wax paper. Enjoy!

Ice Age creative play with Dinosaurs, Diego, and
wax paper snow activity for kids.

We've shared many sensory activities for kids, but this winter one is the cat's meow! So, I've been saving a a bag of snow since my Grandmother passed away.  I inherited it with a few pieces of her snow village.  A few years ago, I used store bought snow for my village, as I wasn't ready to use hers or risk losing it around the cats and little ones. This year, I pulled it out and dumped it around my village.  It was as remarkable as I remembered. Enjoy!

 Winter Preschool Activity

And then, it wasn't... 

The cat kept climbing in it spreading it all over the floor. During the holidays, I brushed it under the table to clean up later. Later came, I began carefully picking up the pieces preparing to place them in a baggie for next year, when somehow the glistening bits of fake snow appeared more familiar than I'd ever known. This wasn't fake snow at all.  It was tiny pieces of shredded wax paper!  I made a collage with snowy scenes around my house so you can see how natural it looks.

Make Fake Snow out of Wax Paper.

Ice Age Dinosaurs, Sensory Snow Play.

Grandma's fake wax paper snow village versus real snow
covered pine trees in the landscape.

Sneaky Grandma, surprising me from the grave. I hadn't realized she was so creative. One year, on my parents twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, she volunteered to get SILVER vases for the table centerpieces.  She brought them just before the guests arrived, and I was astonished to see plastic glasses of some sort wrapped in aluminium foil. Not her crafty-ist moment. It felt a little tacky for what I had planned, but certainly creative. 

And now, the snow.

What an easy project for your snow globes, snowman in a jar, I -spy Christmas ornaments, or just for an ordinary day of creative play with plastic animals or Legos.  We decided to play Ice Age with ours.  I'll save Grandmas, just thinking how she took the time to craft it makes me smile.

So, grab your wax paper.  Do not cut it. Tear it into tiny shreds and store in a Ziploc bag for your kiddos. So easy, so fun and perfect for SENSORY PLAY!  Thanks, Grandma!

What will you pretend?


Recommended Reading:

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs (National Geographic Little Kids First Big Books)*

Dinosaurs! by Gail Gibbons*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations

Curriculum Recommendations for Online Homeschooling

Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been doing it for years, you're probably on the hunt for new, exciting, and engaging curriculum ideas. We get bored with the daily grind and change it up from year to year or even season to season. Here's a list of mostly free online homeschool curriculum recommendations that we've used and enjoyed. We've tried MANY other options, but these are our favorites.

This post contains affiliate links.

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.

Brainpop Jr. is my favorite program for younger elementary and preschool. The videos are fun to watch, and the kids always looked forward to using Brainpop Jr. for Homeschooling. 

Brainpop has a an online homeschool for middle school and high school, but we often found topics we wanted only on Brainpop Jr. The upper grade version is nice for supplementing classroom curriculum. If you use the paid version, you have access to more functions and all lessons.

MobyMax is a great online homeschool app to find out where your kids are in their homeschool learning experience. They can take placement tests in all subjects and then the program finds learning gaps and helps kids focus and build on the areas where they may be struggling. The content isn't as fun and engaging as Brainpop. It is a more definitive tool for classroom use, helping teachers to keep all students on track. MobyMax can be used as a supplement or as full homeschool curriculum up to eighth grade.

Khan Academy is (or should be) a household name for homeschoolers. In the beginning, Khan Academy targeted older students and even offered SAT prep. Now, they also offer more curriculum for elementary school. It keeps track of their lessons and lets you know when students are struggling or when they are ready to move to the next level.

The kids prefer Khan Academy math to any other online homeschool math program, but homeschool mom always liked to supplement with free Brainpop math videos to make sure the kids understood the talking points. Khan Academy can get monotonous for day to day homeschooling. Sal does a great job, but it can get a little boring after awhile. We also supplement our Khan Academy math with Life of Fred textbooks. These books are easy to read and tell a fun story while sneaking in practical math lessons.

Now, there are new instructors and new curriculum on KA. My daughter enjoys studying high school and college level psychology and art history through Khan Academy.

My son does well with virtual homeschool. So, for online high school homeschooling, we are sticking with Connections Academy. In Indiana, it is a free online public school. Connections Academy offers group gatherings and field trips. He gets through the assignments quickly (though, I'm told many homeschoolers struggle to get their lessons done on time) so we supplement with weekly enrichment including museum homeschool programs and educational YouTube videos like John and Hank Green's Crash Course in American History.

Sometimes, when he's struggling on a particular topic, (for high school all text books are online) we find a compatible Life of Fred homeschooling book to fll in any gaps. It's nice to have a good, old book that you can hold in your hand and flip through the pages. He enjoys reading them outside while enjoying his hammock.

Sure, Connections Academy has teachers and attendance to keep, but when it's all done, he'll have official transcripts for college. 

I prefer Connections High School to their Elementary program. The elementary program seemed a little too intense. Especially, when you want the freedom of homeschooling. They're still working out the bugs and it gets better every year, in the past, we had to have weekly check ups with the elementary teachers. For high school, signing in and doing your work suffices. As it should...

In 2017, this homeschool mom broke her leg. That made planning homeschool curriculum and doing enrichment activities difficult. So, my daughter was pretty much on her own. She did great with MobyMax (so I could keep up with her learning) and supplementing with YouTube videos of her choosing. But, homeschool mom felt like maybe she was failing her daughter by not being as involved. So, this fall, we are trying something new! Acellus. I stumbled upon Acellus last year when I was laid up in bed. Many other homeschoolers told me it was expensive, but I was sure I found a free or nearly free version. 

But whenever, I looked it up, I found the paid online homeschool version, which seems to be set up like Connections academy, but with a private school fee. That's not for us! I gave up for a while, and recently tried again. It seems they also have a homeschool app which is found on a separate website, PowerHomeschool. The homeschool app differs from the online homeschool version, because the videos are canned - meaning they are pre-recorded 

That's just what we wanted! We like working at our own pace. These videos are similar to videos my daughter finds on YouTube, but these organized by grade level. We'll choose math, science, language arts, foreign language, and music this year. At the time of this posting, the app is $9.99 per month, basically the same as the paid homeschool version of Brainpop. We're looking forward to starting her in the homeschool middle school program this fall. 

The PowerHomemschool website describe the homeschool curriculum like this: "Students proceed through the course in a step-by-step fashion watching a video lesson and then completing assessment problems. Students receive reviews and unit, mid-term, and final exams as they proceed through the course. Learning gaps are assessed and filled as students move through the course concept by concept."

Seems like a fair option to give it a test drive before you jump into their online school curriculum. 

We'll also supplement with Life of Fred fractions and beginning algebra. One thing I've missed the last few years, is doing hands-on science experiments. After previewing the Acellus app's science curriculum, I was excited to try it. With a Google search for online homeschool curriculum, the app is hard to find. They have moved it to a new website with a different name. Find it here: PowerHomeschool

Bottom line, don't break the bank to homeschool. We have SO many books, every year, I'd go out and buy new books. We never got through most of them. Find a free online homeschool curriculum, that works for you and stick with it. Then, supplement with fun enrichment activities and family outings.

We also involve the kids in day to day household concerns. We talk about finances, debt, and even recently including them in every step of the home buying process. That included going to a lender, saving for a down payment, creative ways to find extra money like garage sales, selling off items no longer needed, the highs and lows of Craigslist and eBay, getting a water and septic test at the state level, watching our credit scores, budgeting for groceries, finding ways to cut costs to save for the new house, and even going to a county courthouse to pick up documents needed to close. So many lessons here. At the courthouse, we all had to go through the security, empty our pockets, etc. The next steps, include renovating the new house. 

Family struggles and life lessons are often kept from kids. In my opinion, this tends to give the kids an unrealistic view of what it is like to be a grown up. They can't wait to get out of the house and start their own life, but reality gets in the way of their happiness. Keeping kids life lessons and keeping them in the know, helps them better prepare for the future. Isn't that what homeschooling is all about?

So, what do you think of this list of free online homeschool curriculum recommendations? Do you have something you really love? Tell us about it in the comments or find Kids Creative Chaos on Instagram and chat with us there!

Recommended:

Science Homeschool Projects

Summer Camp Curriculum

Circle Time  Activities Handbook 

Pin it!

Thanksgiving Activities: Turkey Game and Craft for Children

Family Friendly Games for Thanksgiving

You've heard of Reindeer Games, so why not, Turkey games? This is an easy, fun activity for Thanksgiving get togethers. 

Family friendly crafts and games for Thanksgiving day party feasts.

Mayhem loved playing this turkey game.

Here are a few ideas to brighten up your Thanksgiving Family Feast:

• While you're preparing Thanksgiving Dinner, have your kids make turkeys out of paper plates and construction paper.

• They can create it anyway they choose or follow these instructions:

Cut two - 3" slits 2" apart in the bottom of the plate.

Lift and fold this flap out and fold it into a triangle or tent shape.

This is the turkey's head.

Turkey tutorial.

Add googly eyes or draw your own. 

Don't forget to draw his gobbler :-)

 
Cut feathers from colored construction paper.  Using a glue stick connect them to the top of your plate, or draw them directly onto the plate with brightly colored markers. You can go all out and use real feathers from a craft store too, it's all good. Or trace your foot onto paper for extra fun and a SENSORY ELEMENT. Now poke a 1/4'" hole in the center of your turkey (the plate).  Get yarn, kite string, Christmas ribbon, etc... remember, it's all good. 

My kids tried it with a shoe string. Cut the string about 6' in length. (Shorter or Longer depending on your spatial restrictions.)  Thread the string thru the hole and knot it in the back of the plate. 

Do this twice - that's two turkeys... 

Set up two chairs and tie one turkey to each chair. Stretch the string taut and lie it flat on the ground with the turkey opposite the chair. This is the starting line, divide into two teams and start the turkey races with kids standing at the opposite end of the chairs.

"Ready, Set, Fly!"

On the signal kids begin gobbling and lifting the string in the air trying to get the turkeys to fly to the chairs. (You are essentially shaking the plate down the string.) If your turkeys refuse to "fly" have the kids race by pulling their turkeys down the line as fast as they can while someone else holds the opposite end taut.

Last kid to reach the chair is a Turkey!

The latter methods works best with smaller children.

HAVE FUN and remember, it is what it is, so make it fun and don't fret.

Post variations and; pictures of your turkeys in action.

We got this idea from an old 1970's  party book that used bats.  You can change anything to fit the theme. 

Recommended Reading:

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks (Reading Railroad)

Fun Thanksgiving Activities for Kids! 25 Fun & Educational Thanksgiving Activities for the Whole Family (Activity Books for Kids)

Holiday Games for Parties

April Calendar of Special Days and Holidays for Curriculum Planning

2017 April Holidays and Special Days are the Best for Planning your Classroom or Homeschool Curriculum

April, 2017! It's Spring in the states. We look forward to Spring Activities outdoors and bringing flowers indoors. Easter generally occurs in April, but sometimes March. When is Easter? The first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Say what? Easter is tricky, it can occur March 22 - April 25. Check here for dates.

We've found some fun, unique, April Holidays that will keep your curriculum exciting and new. Enjoy!

2017 Calendar of April Holidays and Special Days.

2017 April Holidays and Special Days Printable Calendar

1 April Fool’s Day Play

Play April Fool's Jokes for Kids on your Family!
Make a Fake Cake to fool your friend for a birthday party.

8 Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

Want to know how to draw a picture of a bird?

9 Name Yourself Day

Choose the name you always wanted and tell all of your friends to refer to you as your favorite name. Just call me Yoda.

11 National Cheese Fondue Day

What can you dip in Cheese? Do you have a special recipe for fondue? We'd love for you to leave a link in the comments.

12 National Grilled Cheese Day

Grilled Cheese Day? Make some Grilled Cheese for the Kids or maybe Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly.

14 Look Up at the Sky Day

A Day where you go outside and look up at the sky and enjoy it.

15 Rubber Eraser Day

Rubber Eraser Day? Do you have a cool eraser? I remember having a teddy bear eraser in all the colors of the rainbow.

16 Day of the Mushroom

Celebrate Mushrooms! Make a mushroom craft in honor of Alice in Wonderland, yeah, a Toadstool is a mushroom.

Easter Sunday (March 25 - April 22)

Christians believe this is the day Jesus rose from the dead. Everyone else can enjoy the pagan celebration with the Easter Bunny, Coloring Eggs and Decorating Eggs, and having an Easter egg hunt! How to make an Easter basket from a milk jug.

22 National Jelly Bean Day

Looking for things to do with Jelly Beans? Hop around our blog, we've got lots of edible art.

24 National Pig in Blanket Day

Hotdogs in croissants, sausage in a pancake? Celebrate with a cute pig craft for kids! Make a clay pig.

27 National Pretzel Day

Hooray! It is National Pretzel Day! We've got lots of way to learn how to make pretzels at home. Heart Pretzels are fun to make. Things to do with pretzels.

Recommended Reading:

Peanut Butter And Jellyfishes Book for Kids

Books for April Fool's Day

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Veterans Day Craft Ideas for Kids

When is Veterans Day?

          We get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase from an affiliate link.

Veterans Day is November 11. Looking for activities and crafts for Veterans Day? These Veterans Day Patriotic craft ideas for kids are easy to make, especially when you make traceables for preschool and elementary students. Veterans, (Yes) Veterans', (If you must) Veteran's (No.)

 

Have you heard of the Hug a Hero Project? Every town needs to start one! The non-profit organization raises money to help local heroes in need. Do you know a Veteran? How can you help?

A simple way to help, is to remember your local heroes on Veterans Day. Visit a Veterans Hospital or a local retirement community and share a hug! We made these cards to share with our local Veterans. You can also make a bunch of cards and hand them out at a Veterans Day Parade or celebration.

Make a Veterans Day Hug a Hero Card Craft Activity Middle School Elementary Preschool Homeschool.

To Make a Votive Candle to Light for a fallen Soldier, visit the local Dollar Store. Get some votive cups in patriotic colors, battery powered votives, and glitter glue. Use the glue to paint a flag onto the votive cup. We just drew some silver lines and a blue square to represent the United State's Flag. Easy Peasy! 

You can make several votives to give as gifts to families of fallen soldiers. Whatever you do to celebrate, be sure to remember our heroes on Veterans Day.

Recommended:

Patriotic Crafts and Games

Veterans Day Books for Kids

Patriotic Activities for Independence Day

8 Party Planning Tips to Make your Next Kids' Birthday Celebration Stress Free

8 Tips and Tricks on Planning Parties for Kids

Nadia of Teach Me Mommy blog shares some tips and tricks to help you plan a stress free birthday party for kids. Enjoy!

Party Planning- it could get you all excited or just stressed out! I will share a few Tips and Tricks on how to plan a party: stress free (or almost)! I am no expert, but have done a few parties myself and found I just love it!

Stress Free Party Planning Tips.

Here are some things to think about:

1. Start early: the earlier you start planning, the more time you have to get everything together and you don't have to rush. (This year it was my baby boy's first party, and because his birthday is in the beginning of January, I, sort of, forgot about it! Realizing the 1st of January, it is January! Next year I will plan his party in November, that way, in spite of the Holidays and Christmas rush, this mom will be more prepared!)

2. Choose a theme. Older kids will probably tell you what theme they want for their parties, but for the younger ones, you have to choose something. For a 1st birthday, you can go with anything you'd like, but from the 2nd birthday, think what interests does your child have. I chose a Story Book Party Theme for my girls 2nd birthday, because at that stage(and still) she loved books and storytelling. Her 3rd birthday party was a Zoo theme, she just loves the zoo and the animals.

3) Invites: Get the invites out early,but not too early so people will forget about it! 2/3 weeks before the RSVP date (this date should be no closer than 1 week until the party,so you can plan accordingly). Evites are so much easier to send these days, and you could still print one for yourself as a keepsake.

4) Keep the weather in mind: For us,my daughter was a winter baby,so we rather plan everything inside. My son was a summer baby,but it is also raining season. I plan everything for outside, but have a back up plan inside. You don't want to have to jump around when the rain starts with an audience; )

5) Delegate: this is very important (note to self)! You can't do everything well yourself,sometimes you need help! If help is offered, take it. The trick here is: Make an example of how you want something done,that way it will still be just the way you imagined.

6) Activities: think of activities for all ages. Make it interesting for the kids,this helps that they will not cling to their parents when dropped off, or if the parents stay,they can too enjoy the party. I like to plan the activities so it will fit into the overall theme, for example: with the Zoo theme the kids made masks of zoo animals.

7) Eats: it is up to you whether you want to go with a sweets only party,or want to include food too. A good cue is the time of the party: if it falls on lunch/supper time, you will need to offer some kind of filling snack. Do keep in mind the age of the kids attending too. If it is a party where the parents stay,you could have finger food for them,and drinks. But this is up to you. Leave all the "fresh" preparations for the day of the party, but try and do all other preparations that can be done a day or two beforehand, in advance. This will avoid a rush on the party day.

8) Party Favours: this is totally optional. Again, I like to include favours that fit with the overall theme. These need not be expensive, you can give something small or homemade, it is the idea that counts. I always send the extra sweets home with them too, that way you won't have too many temptations left over;)

I hope you find these few tips helpful and that the next party you plan will be less stressful!

Recommended Reading:

Birthday Party Tips*

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Book*







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Homeschooling During the Coronavirus?

School Closure Home Learning

Have you unexpectedly been tossed into the throes of homeschooling since the Corona virus pandemic? If you've suddenly had to to become the school teacher, cafeteria lady, and janitor during these school closures, you're well aware that home learning is more difficult than it looks. So, how do you do homeschooling during the coronavirus pandemic? As seasoned homeschoolers, we're here to help. Below is a list of our favorite homeschool resources and some articles specifically addressing these troubled times and how to help your kids cope. What a life lesson this is, right?

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

For more on our personal journey scroll to the end.

Worried how school closure and remote learning will affect your child? Love them, support them, build them up, and they'll be fine. Think homeschoolers are weird? Maybe, depends on your perspective, but we're more normal than you think. We only had 7 months of brick and mortar school, but our previously homeschooled kids made the best of their first year of brick and mortar school. They miss school so much. When this is all over your kids will look forward to going to school too! I've added a photo album for our long time readers and fans. Enjoy!

I love this post! We have a similar experience.
Keep scrolling to see our homeschoolers' success in public school!

Tips for Home Learning and Coping during School Closures and Covid19 

• How to Homeschool Your Kids After a School Closure

• Help Children Cope with Changes due to Covid19

• Learning at Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

• How to Make your Home into a Workable School

• Independent Learning Strategies During the Coronavirus Outbreak

• How to Talk to your Kids about Covid19

• More resources for parents, students, and teachers

These are scary times, so here's a Coronavirus meme to lighten the mood.

Educational Resources for Homeschooling during the Coronavirus

• Many of our older homeschool resources that target elementary students are listed in the homeschool tab on this site: Homeschool Learning Lessons for Elementary Age You can also do a search on our site for specific types of lessons like, grammar, math, and science.

• BrainPop has the most fun videos; I love them as much as my kids do. BrainPopJr. is great for the younger set. They are a paid service, but offer a free movie of the week and other free lessons.

• Life of Fred is our favorite home learning curriculum. We checked the books out at the library, that's probably not an option during these coronavirus times. You can get the Life of Fred books online at Amazon and on the Life of Fred website (Get the dolls!)

• Mobymax has free options for remote learning and homeschoolers. The great thing about this website is they find and fix learning gaps. Kids can take assessments to see where they fall and then do educational activities based on their grade level in different subjects. It's a great way to see if your child has been falling through the cracks in public school.

• TeachersPayTeachers and TeacherSherpa both offer great resources free and paid. The lesson plans are created by teachers for teachers, but homeschoolers and remote learners are welcome to download them too! Check out our store on TPT, it has some fun educational skits to do with the kids, we even have a play about the Easter Bunny!

Here's a FREE SCIENCE LESSON RESOURCE on COVID19

• Khan Academy is not for the faint of heart. If you're all in to the homeschooling thing, give it a try. We used it for several years. It's a free learning resource originally targeted toward middle schoolers and high schoolers, but now offers lessons for elementary too. It feels a lot more like "real school" than some of the other online options and keeps track of your progress and grade level.

• Why not give this difficult time a fun spin? Our Summer Camp Handbook is edutainment at its best! Enjoy science experiments, PE Activities, and more disguised as fun! 

• We also love CrashCourse with John and Hank Green. (Yes, that John Green!) You'll even find some of their lessons on Khan Academy. These are super fun, especially for older students.

Best Homeschool Blogs

Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Hip Homeschool Moms

The Relaxed Homeschooler

Life of a Homeschool Mom

I Can Teach My Child

The Educator's Spin on it

Raising Lifelong Learners

First day of public school 2019.

We hope these resources help ease your mind and put you on the right track for remote home learning during the Coronavirus pandemic situation. Remember, homeschooling isn't easy and not all parents nor all kids are cut out for it. 

Bowling allows for socialization and physical activity. During the quarantine,
bowl with your game console or set up milk jugs to knock down with a basketball.

Do the best you can. Don't overdo it! If you take it too seriously, your kids won't enjoy it and neither will you. Make learning fun, make it light, and focus on those skills that are best learned at home: writing letters, sending emails, tying shoes, telling time, how to follow a recipe, chores (consider doing laundry a PE activity,) working on cars, putting together puzzles, dice games, Minecraft Uno or any Uno game, and anything that brings your family closer together.

Dress up day.

Note: This past year, my kids decided to go back to public school. My 15 year-old was placed as a high learning junior taking all senior and college level courses, my 13 year-old is a well-rounded, straight A, school loving eighth grader. 

In previous years, we spent a maximum of 2 hours a day on book learning. The rest  of our day was focused on healthy outdoor activities, field trips to museums, special events at the library, and a local homeschool group for "socialization." Turns out, it was more than enough. 

Take it easy, don't stress out, and remember that YOU CAN DO IT!

Made the grade, first semester honor roll.

Never played football in his life. Made the team!

Loving the school band.

My son was looking forward to performing in the high school play, finishing building a home for Habitat for Humanity, trying out different sports and clubs, and now, that will have to wait until next year. My daughter was on an academic team, loving art club, playing in the school band, and appreciating school for its many wonderful opportunities. I took great pride and joy watching them try new things. My heart aches for their loss and for the loss of those long time public school seniors who are missing out on their last school dance, possibly graduation, and all the joys of being a high school senior. If nothing else, this experience will teach us not to take life for granted. 

Never forget, no matter how stressful it gets, getting to stay home with your kids is a gift.

Good Luck, go hug your kids!