Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Wondering how you'll entertain all those relatives? Need ways to avoid hot button topics? Or maybe you're just looking to infuse a little levity into the big Thanksgiving production.The holidays can be rough—you're busy in the kitchen getting the turkey ready, the kids are running around and the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street uncles have started before dinner has even begun. Have no fear. Here are some playful activities that will lower everyone's blood pressure and may just make this the best Thanksgiving yet.Thankful TreeHere is an idea I borrowed …

At times this town seems like an experiment in contradiction. There's inside the Beltway Catonsville and outside the Beltway Catonsville, Route 40 Catonsville and everything else. There's private school Catonsville and public school Catonsville. And then there's black Catonsville and white Catonsville. For goodness sake, there is even an Opie's Catonsville and a Tastee Zone Catonsville. At times, some of the lines drawn are charming—like the Opie's vs Tastee Zone one or the ones in which individual neighborhoods battle for best float in the parade. But other times they're not. Not even a …

My kids like to cook. Usually their version of cooking looks like this: On Saturday mornings they run into the kitchen and watch me make waffles. While I'd like to think it's a function of them wanting to spend time with me or wanting to know how food is made, I know the truth, they're jockeying for position. Recently though, the kids graduated to actually making food. This development is good for a couple reasons. First, we've all heard stories about first graders not being able to recognize fruits and veggies. Getting them in the kitchen can help them avoid embarrassement by pop quizzing …

Think of an apple. What comes to mind? For me, it’s images of the Macy Day Parade, cozy sweaters, school, and crisp autumn days. For others it may rival a list similar to Bubba’s in Forrest Gump, just  replace shrimp with apples: apple pie, apple turnovers, applesauce, apple cake, apple pancakes, apple cider, baked apples... I think you get my point. Apples are as American as, well, apples. This fall, embrace the season of apples with a family field trip to an apple orchard. The kids will learn about where food really comes from, and you can weave in some great cooking lessons. And let's not …

Someone once called me the woman of 1,000 ideas. Actually, wait, no one's ever called me that. Once my husband commented on how many half-completed projects I had around the house. I think he said something like, "Why are there all these half-finished projects all over the house?" Naturally, what I heard was, "Wow, you have a lot of really great ideas! Someone should pay you to write a book. Then we can quit our jobs and travel the world." But alas, even self-proclaimed totally amazing idea generators such as myself—who haven't yet been asked to write a book, total oversight if you ask me—…

There's a fact I need to face. Summer is steadily drawing to a close. Each August, the realization of just how fleeting the summer season is shocks me. Fireflies go to wherever fireflies head, the wafting smell of backyard barbeques grows more and more faint, and there's an overwhelming urge to buy things in plaids as a new school year approaches. In fact, next Wednesday on Patch we start gearing up for the new school year with Moms Talk.Before all that happens however, I thought I'd offer a few ideas for making the magic of summer last—through memories. Below are five easy DIY ways to hold …

When I was a kid, I went through a reporter phase. I created a family newspaper. Yes, I had big dreams.  While the truth is it was the thought of using my reporting platform as a springboard into a anchorwoman position, which, naturally I would then use to jettison to total world domination a la Oprah, I like to tell people. It's that I'm just a naturally curious person.  This curiosity extends to my parenting.  You see, I'm always asking my kids questions. I'm sure in years to come, they'll find it ridiculously annoying. But for now, they seem to enjoy it. Or at least that's what I tell …

Living in Catonsville has certain advantages. There are of course the schools, great neighborhoods, friendly people. But I think one of its greatest selling points, or at least the one many of us non-natives originally settle here for is, its convenience. For instance, being able to buy a swimsuit and rent a tuxedo all in one shop? Pretty darn convenient. Even more convenient than that? Our location. The other day I decided to seize a convenient opportunity to plan a little family field trip. The kids had been squabbling like crazy and I felt a little direction was in order. As you might have…

Summertime is here and if you're like me, you're looking for some fun, free activities for the kids. Well, I'm here to help. For this week's Play Date, I thought we'd try an experiment—a group play date. Yes, that's right, we can all play along.This weekend, I have a challenge for you. It's a photo scavenger hunt for you and the family that gets everyone out and enjoying downtown Catonsville. So break out those smart phones or digital cameras and see if you can find the 18 items listed below along Frederick Road. Then upload the photos here and we'll see who was able to find all the items. To…

My son is the money maker in our family. He finds money wherever he goes. Now, I can't claim it's all luck. That kid searches for money. He dives to the floor under every checkout stand looking for loose change, keeps his eyes peeled on walks just in case a penny or quarter twinkles in the sunlight and before he gets into the car, he checks the floor and under his seat. My husband and I joke he's a born capitalist. So it should come as no surprise that he wanted to have a neighborhood lemonade stand. We've hosted hot cocoa stands in the past to raise money for charity, so he's had some …

AAA estimates 34.9 million Americans will hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend. That is a ton of spilled sippy cups, backseat squabbles, kids yelling, "Are we there yet?," and stressed out parents. Before you break out the TV and handheld video games, here is some gadget-free entertainment that will not only keep the kids occupied, but also actively engage them. What Animal Am I? In this variation of 20 questions, one person starts by choosing an animal but does not reveal it to anyone. Then they say, “I’m an animal. What animal am I?” Everyone then takes turns asking a yes or no question…

The other night, I told the kids I had a special treat for them—we were going to walk to El Nayar for dinner. “Yay!” they yelled. I am really very lucky they are so easily pleased. I grabbed my purse, the kids put on their shoes and we headed out to Frederick Road for the trek. There’s something rather magical about walking. You share a connection with the things around you. You have more time to notice things. A car acts as a bubble, insulating you from the outside world. When you walk, you become part of the landscape, part of the neighborhood, part of the community. You aren’t just passing…

The average person watches 1,825 hours of television a year. Put another way, it’s the equivalent of 75 straight days, 24 hours a day. That’s over two months spent doing nothing other than watching television. Add to that a 2007 survey conducted by Harris Interactive, which revealed nearly a quarter of 8 t0 18-year-olds felt “addicted” to video games. All in all, time spent with screens (television and gaming) is associated with childhood obesity, sleep disturbances and attention span issues. Now enter the Screen-Free Week campaign. This year, I was tasked with heading up our PTA Screen Free …

When my husband and I were newly married, we were big fans of a young chef out of England named Jamie Oliver. He had a show called "The Naked Chef." Once a week, my husband and I would make a date to watch this cooking series. Ah, the days before TiVo, when you actually had to commit to watching a show. That was before Jamie Oliver became a household name. Anyway, what's my point here? Oh! Yes, my point. The point is that one of the things I liked about Jamie Oliver was that he provided a list of essential pantry items. For fairly little investment, one could stock a pantry that would produce…

It's a world of possiblities. Today, I'm bringing you an activity that exercises kids' problem solving skills while letting their imagination run wild: A DIY play mat! One of my favorite things about this activity is that it has options. I love options, don't you? You can either give kids free reign with designing their play mat or set them up with a challenge. It's also a two-parter, much like the Make Your Own Flag activity last week. First kids make the mat, then they play with it. And here's the best part—we're re-purposing materials; the crayons and markers from last week and a large …

What’s this? Spring weather you say? Why yes! Let’s get outside and play. A friend of mine in the UK has an amazing children's magazine called Anorak. It's bright, imaginative, and oh so fun. Currently, they're putting together their spring issue and I submitted a contribution for their "Make and Play" section. So I thought I’d share this great play idea with you today.The kids and I had so much fun with this project over the weekend. They spent a good hour decorating and making the flags, and then marched around the neighborhood waving them around. You can find the fabric markers, crayons …

Play is the answer to how anything new comes about. -Jean PiagetHi there. My name is Jen Cooper and I want your kids to play more.I am what you may call a play advocate. It's a strange title really, as if it's necessary to tell kids to play more. And yet, there is a great deal of data to suggest that, well, kids have lost not only the opportunity, but the ability to just go play.Did you know that 40 percent of our country's children don't have recess anymore?  For the past 50 years, children's creativity scores have been declining. Since the late 70s there's been a 25 percent decline in …