fab ideas for new year’s, organization and winter family fun

Happy New Year, my friends!

Let’s do what we can to get 2013 started in a fun, organized, and fresh way by checking out what the experts are doing–and you know those experts are other parents and teachers out there, right?

I’ve been all about Pinterest lately, and I invite you to join me.

Though it may be intimidating at first, it’s easy and fun once you get the hang of it. And you’ll find a boatload of cool ideas over there.

Pinterest is essentially a virtual pinboard–you can ‘pin’ your favorite ideas and photos with the click of a button. It’s super for storing ideas, finding ideas, and sharing ideas.

A quick shout out to some of my fave Pinterest pals landed all of these cool ideas for ringing in New Year’s, organizing home and family, and celebrating winter with activities and crafts for kids.

Check out the boards, follow them, and let’s make 2013 a year to remember!

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Fab Ideas for New Year’s, Organization, & Winter Family Fun:

Here are some great boards for New Year’s Ideas:

• New Year’s Eve, by Red Ted Art
• new year’s, by me
• Kids’ New Year’s Activities, by Deb of Living Montessori Now
• New Year’s For Kids, by Mama Smiles, Joyful Parenting

 

Let’s start the New Year organized! Check out these amazing boards:

• Organization, by MaryLea Harris of Pink and Green Mama
• Organization & Preparation, by Deb of Living Montessori Now
• clever home organization ideas, by Carolyn Wilhelm of Wise Owl Factory

 

Some more amazing organization boards:

• Playroom, by Allie McDonald of No Time For Flashcards
• Get Organized, by Jean Van’t Hul of the Artful Parent
• Keeping House, by MaryLea Harris of Pink and Green Mama

 

Take a look at these fab boards filled with wintertime activities and ideas:

• Wonderful Winter, by Growing a Jeweled Rose
• Winter, by Carrots are Orange
• Winter Fun, by Jacquie of KC Edventures with Kids
• Snow People (song), or Snowy Owl (song), by Debbie Clement

 

More winter-pinterest board awesomeness: 

• Winter Projects to Make and Do, by The Educators’ Spin on It
• Kids’ Winter Activities, by Deb @ Living Montessori Now
• Winter Activities and Crafts, by Mama Smiles

And if the winter pinterest boards aren’t enough, check out these boards for any time of the year, cool kid-fun:

• Fun for School Aged Kids, by Allie of No Time for Flashcards
• cool & creative indoor fun, a collaborative board started by me but filled with tons of people much cooler than I
• neat-o, fun NEW things for us to try, both by me with the help of some friends

Remember, though it’s important for families to enjoy time together, doing fun activities and cool things together, down time is an absolute must. And I admit that I often fall into the Pinterest trap of getting caught up in all of these crafts, printables, ideas, and games, thinking that 100% of our family time must be spent engaged in absolutely awesome, incredible, and memorable activities.  But it doesn’t.

I do have to remind myself that especially with school-aged kids, down-time–totally unstructured, free-bird, open play time–is a necessity.

The Joys of Doing Nothing, by Margery D. Rosen, really spoke to me.   It’s true: Leading a frenetic life is not inevitable or enviable. And parenting is not a competitive sport.

But most importantly, to me, was the part about being a role model:

You are your child’s best teacher. If she sees that you value unstructured time, she will, too. “The world is a rich learning environment, without all the frills,” says Hirsh-Pasek. Carve out time to turn off your cell phone, stop checking your e-mail, and just hang out, without lamenting that you “should” be doing something instead of “wasting time.”

I love it.  Let’s go.

 

Please leave the url below for your favorite boards–ringing in the New Year, organizing house and family, or wintertime activities. I’d love to find more awesome boards to follow!

I plan to do a round-up of the best boards for unstructured, free play, down-time, and free play spaces in January. Please leave the url of those boards, and I’ll add them to the post!

 

fyi: This blog post is part of an incentivized online influencer network for Mom’s Homeroom. Mom’s Homeroom is brought to you by Frosted Mini-Wheats.