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Hi, I’m Sharlene!

A mother of 5 boys, grandmother of 12, and author of Good Music Brighter Children. I started the blog, “good parenting brighter children” to share my 40+ years of experience swimming in the delightful (and sometimes shark infested) waters of parenthood. It’s been quite the experience and one I want to share.

Hopefully, you find this blog helpful and inspiring as you travel your own unique parenthood journey.

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7 Amazing Ways to Celebrate Victorian Tea Parties with Family

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🧡MAKE A FALL TREE 💛Are you looking for a fu

🧡MAKE A FALL TREE 💛Are you looking for a fun “close to Thanksgiving” activity for your kids & grandkids? One that includes appreciating the gorgeous colors of Fall? 🧡After the craziness of Halloween, we took a walk with our grandkids out in nature to pick Fall leaves. 💛It’s simple. Draw a tree on a piece of cardboard, poke holes in the branches, and give a cardboard tree to each child. Go out in nature; find leaves and stick them into the holes in their trees. 🧡Easy & fun! End result is great!

🧡MAKE A FALL TREE 💛Are you looking for a fu

🧡MAKE A FALL TREE 💛Are you looking for a fun “close to Thanksgiving” activity for your kids & grandkids? One that includes appreciating the gorgeous colors of Fall? 🧡After the craziness of Halloween, we took a walk with our grandkids out in nature to pick Fall leaves. 💛It’s simple. Draw a tree on a piece of cardboard, poke holes in the branches, and give a cardboard tree to each child. Go out in nature; find leaves and stick them into the holes in their trees. 🧡Easy & fun! End result is great!

❤JUST ADD CHOCOLATE! 🖤Yes, we just finished

❤JUST ADD CHOCOLATE! 🖤Yes, we just finished a major candy/chocolate holiday. However, if you’re looking for a super fun activity to do with your children or grandkids—I know just the place! Look in the area where you live and see if there is a place where your kids/grandkids can make their very own chocolate concoctions… ❤Two months ago, I found, “Just Add Chocolate”—a place where kids can make ½ pound or more of chocolate using 3 different kinds of chocolate (milk, dark, white), candy molds and a zillion different things (candies, cookies, twinkies, etc.,) to dip chocolate in. The grandkids “fed” some of their items onto a roller that doused their cookies, twinkies, pretzels, etc., and even bacon in chocolate. 🖤They also made chocolate suckers, chocolates with different kinds of fillings, and chocolates filled with candy Legos, rocks, and more. ❤Each one of the grandkids made ½ pound of chocolate to take home. 🖤Why this place? Well—my son Brandon and his family went as characters from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” for Halloween, and ALL of my grandkids have read the book—so it seemed the perfect place to celebrate CHOCOLATE (my favorite food group)! ❤Chocolate—helping to create warm family memories!

🖤🧡DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN! 💜Here are a few p

🖤🧡DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN! 💜Here are a few pictures my kids sent me of their kids’ costumes and pumpkins they carved. 🧡Pic #1: Trevor’s 2024 Pumpkin—all of his pumpkins have a Japanese theme. This one is “Wisteria Gardens” 🧡Pic #2: My favorite pumpkins Trevor has carved over the last 4 years 💜Pic #3: Brandon’s family went as characters from, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Brandon went as Grandpa Joe (complete with wig, mustache, eyebrows), Melissa as Violet Beauregarde who turns into a blueberry, and their son as Willy Wonka and their daughter as Oompa Loompa—who works in the Wonka candy factory. 🧡Pic #4: Their daughter as Oompa Loompa—and a picture of her taken just a few weeks ago at Disneyland as a princess. I thought for sure she would want to go as a princess—but she LOVED her Oompa Loompa costume! ❤Once again, my other talented DIL—Jenna Habermeyer made these amazing costumes! 🖤PS: I’m still waiting on my other kids to send me pics of their kids’ costumes…

🧡🖤HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 💜We ended our, “Th

🧡🖤HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 💜We ended our, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Halloween party with all the grandkids receiving a container with pics of Jack on the front and filled with –homemade chocolate chip cookies (what else?) and some spooky chocolates—all wrapped up with a Halloween bow. 🧡🖤Halloween 2024—it’s in the bag (Hallelujah!)

🧡HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS ON A FENCE 🖤This was a

🧡HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS ON A FENCE 🖤This was a fun craft we did—Halloween pumpkins on a fence. I had the grands use different art techniques for each piece—the fence and the three pumpkins 🧡I downloaded free templates of a fence and different pumpkins online. 🖤The grandkids used bubble-wrap to paint the fence. 🧡They used stick-on jewels for another pumpkin. 🖤White buttons were glued on another pumpkin 🧡And their favorite—spin art for the last pumpkin. Last, everything was glued in place! 🧡🖤For fun—try it—you still have a few hours left before the BIG DAY!

🧡A YEARLY HALLOWEEN TRADITION—PAINTING PUMPKI

🧡A YEARLY HALLOWEEN TRADITION—PAINTING PUMPKINS! 🖤Every year we go to a Pumpkin Patch; buy WHITE pumpkins and take them home for the grandkids to decorate with paint and glitter. 💜We go through about 12 bottles of glitter—as you can see. (I’ll be cleaning up glitter until next year at this time. I have no idea how glitter gets everywhere—and I mean everywhere). 🧡But, it’s loads of fun and hopefully a Halloween tradition the grandkids will pass to the next generation.

🧡A YEARLY HALLOWEEN TRADITION: DECORATING HALLO

🧡A YEARLY HALLOWEEN TRADITION: DECORATING HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES 🖤Are there Halloween traditions that you do every year with your kids & grandkids to celebrate the holiday? 🧡We have several. One is decorating cupcakes. These were not as fancy as the past—but the grandkids had a great time— covering them with goop. 🖤I always tell the grandkids the cupcakes are made from a mix hence they are filled with crappy ingredients and NOT to eat them. But, someone always does…(love how kids listen). He got a major headache because he ate all four of his...at once… 🧡So, I’ll be making cupcakes from scratch for Halloween 2025. 🖤Interesting & fun memories in the making!

💜DRIP PAINTING HALLOWEEN SKELETONS 🖤This wa

💜DRIP PAINTING HALLOWEEN SKELETONS 🖤This was the easiest activity ever! And one of the most favorite! 💜Purchase some small white ceramic skeletons from Michaels (20$ for a package of 12) and neon paints from IKEA. 🖤Then they just drip the paints over the skeleton heads. 💜The kids got creative and made different interesting designs. One, decided to paint over hers several times—creating an eerie looking skeleton. 🖤Loved how these turned out!

🖤🧡HALLOWEEN SCAVENGER HUNT FOR OUR HALLOWEEN

🖤🧡HALLOWEEN SCAVENGER HUNT FOR OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY 🧡Normally, I create (in poetry form) a scavenger hunt for every party we have. However, this year I was busy preparing a dozen other games for The Nightmare Before Christmas, so I found this ready-made scavenger hunt at HomeGoods (love that place!). 🖤I had the Halloween pictures hiding in different places throughout the house. The grandkids had to find them and mark them off on their paper. 🧡🖤Prizes for the winners!

🖤DRAWING PICTURES OF JACK & SALLY TO CELEBRATE

🖤DRAWING PICTURES OF JACK & SALLY TO CELEBRATE THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS! 💜To celebrate another aspect of our Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween party, the grandkids drew pictures of Jack & Sally. 🖤Have you ever gone to @artprojectsforkids website? She is amazing and offers step-by-step directions for your kids/grandkids to create wonderful artwork! 💜I went to her website and downloaded the directions for creating pictures of Jack and Sally. 🖤Each child chose a character to draw (step-by-step directions) and black or white paper. 💜A fun way to express your child’s/grandchild’s creativity!

🖤PUTTING TOGETHER HALLOWEEN PUZZLES AT OUR HALL

🖤PUTTING TOGETHER HALLOWEEN PUZZLES AT OUR HALLOWEEN PARTY! 💜As part of our Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween Party, we divided into teams for a little competitive fun! 🧡I purchased two different Halloween puzzles. Each team captain chose a puzzle, and their team of five raced to complete it FIRST! 🖤I purchased the puzzles on Amazon. Each puzzle had only 100 pieces. 💜Have you ever assembled puzzles as part of a family party or get-together? What was your experience? 🧡I think you’ll agree that the simple things in life can be the most fun!

🧡NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS DECOUPAGE PUMPKINS

🧡NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS DECOUPAGE PUMPKINS 🖤This was a super fun craft we did at our Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween Party 2024 💜Take wooden pumpkins (Dollar Store) and paint a layer of Mod Podge over the entire pumpkin. Next, take Nightmare Before Christmas napkins and peel off all the layers except the main layer. Cut out pieces from the napkins and press them down on the pumpkin (painted with Mod Podge). Last, decoupage another layer over the printed napkin to secure it in place. 🧡Let dry. All the grandkids LOVED making these!

🖤NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS FAMILY HALLOWEEN PA

🖤NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS FAMILY HALLOWEEN PARTY 2024 💜I’ve been MIA for 2 weeks—babysitting grandkids while the parents vacationed. But, back to share our Halloween parties and activities of the past month… 🖤This year our family Halloween 2024 party theme was, “A Nightmare Before Christmas”—Thank You, Tim Burton! 💜Here is a short video of the room setup and some of the foods we prepared. There were 16 people—10 grandkids and 6 adults. 🖤I purchased some of the decorations on Amazon, Oriental Trading, HomeGoods, and the Dollar Store—and some were resurrected from our Halloween stash. The biggest hits were the wall murals and Nightmare Before Christmas tree ornaments (Amazon)! 💜Do you theme your Halloween Parties? What have been your celebrations?

🖤HALLOWEEN TABLE FIT FOR ITSY-BITSY GOBLINS! 🧡I love decorating for different holidays! It adds to the enjoyment and fun! 🖤So, here is our decorated Halloween table—BEFORE we all sat down and created food chaos at our Family Halloween Party! 🧡I purchased the Halloween plates and cloth napkins at HomeGoods. The glass cups with skeleton hands from the Dollar Store and mini-tin cups to hold Halloween candy favors. 🖤Our centerpiece included Halloween lights lined with the dot pumpkins the grandkids made a few weeks ago. 🧡Halloween Memories 2023!

💜WOOD HALLOWEEN FIGURES 🖤Purchase wooden Ha

💜WOOD HALLOWEEN FIGURES 🖤Purchase wooden Halloween figures—ghosts, witches' hats, pumpkins, and black cats (Dollar Store). Paint them with tempera paints; let them dry and decorate them with Halloween washi tape. 🧡Fun Festive Halloween Activity! And a super easy setup!

🖤PASTA SKELETONS 💜Grab some black paper, di

🖤PASTA SKELETONS 💜Grab some black paper, different kinds of pasta, glue, and fluorescent markers, and make these cute Halloween skeletons! 🖤@artprojectsforkids posted these cute skeletons glued on popsicle sticks which was more of a monochromatic approach. 💜We wanted color so we changed them up a bit and used black paper and fluorescent dauber markers—the result being bright skeletons that glowed in the dark! 🖤Have you made pasta skeletons before?

🖤BOBBING FOR APPLES 🧡Did you bob-for-apples

🖤BOBBING FOR APPLES 🧡Did you bob-for-apples as a kid? I did! And I loved it—water in my face and all! 🖤So, we added this fun game to our Halloween festivities. It took a couple of minutes for the kids to get the hang of what they were doing—and to aim for grabbing the apple stem with their teeth. 🧡The youngest grandkids (2 & 3-years-old) eventually gave up and just grabbed an apple with their hands. 🖤What’s been your experience bobbing for apples?

🖤FINGERNAIL POLISH DIPPED PUMPKINS –DO THIS A

🖤FINGERNAIL POLISH DIPPED PUMPKINS –DO THIS AT YOUR NEXT HALLOWEEN PARTY! 💜A few years ago, we dipped small Styrofoam pumpkins into fingernail polish to make pumpkin bouquets. 🧡This year we used LARGE Styrofoam pumpkins that we dipped into fingernail polish! 🖤The result was truly spectacular! 💜I found these pumpkins at the Dollar Store and stuck a skewer at the top so the grandkids had something to hold onto when they dipped their pumpkin. 🧡Do this outside—grab a tub and fill it with warm water. Next, pour different colors of Halloween nail polish into the water. Stir the colors gently. Then dip your pumpkin ½ way up in the water and watch it “grab” the nail polish colors! 🖤To dry—poke your skewered pumpkin in the lawn for about 30 minutes. 💜FYI: we went through 12 bottles of nail polish. Each pumpkin “grabbed” all the polish in the tub so we had to replenish nail polish after each pumpkin dip. 🧡These turned out so colorful—and the “hit” of our Halloween party!

🖤💜MORE SPOOKY HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES 🧡Decora

🖤💜MORE SPOOKY HALLOWEEN CUPCAKES 🧡Decorating Halloween cupcakes has become a tradition in our home. And Halloween is the best holiday for making colorful and spooky cupcakes. 💜Whip up some cupcakes. Make loads of colorful frosting and add some Halloween doo-dads. 🖤Now, take a bite!

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