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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.

the latest from the Blog

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7 Amazing Ways to Celebrate Victorian Tea Parties with Family

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💜🩷💜Happy Valentine’s Day!

💜🩷💜Happy Valentine’s Day!

💜Here is a quick rundown of our Valentine’s p

💜Here is a quick rundown of our Valentine’s party: *Valentine Decorations
*Valentine’s Day Bingo
*Flying Paper Airplanes
*Valentine Monster Craft!
*Valentine’s Day Pinata 🩷💜How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day?

❤CRAFTS FOR VALENTINES: A LOVE BUG TOILET-PAPER

❤CRAFTS FOR VALENTINES: A LOVE BUG TOILET-PAPER ROLL VALENTINE 🩷I purchased this simple craft at Oriental Trading. These "love bugs" are made from a toilet paper roll and stickers. The great thing is they will teach your kids/grandkids how to read and follow the directions on the paper provided. ❤It's a great way to teach the importance of following directions and sequencing, and the result is super cute!

💜WATERCOLOR HEARTS USING A HOT-GLUE GUN 🩷Th

💜WATERCOLOR HEARTS USING A HOT-GLUE GUN 🩷This activity involved using watercolor paper, hot glue, and liquid watercolors. 💙I had the grandkids draw different hearts on a sheet of watercolor paper. Using a hot glue gun, I outlined their hearts. The thing about hot glue—it dries quickly! 💜Taking liquid watercolors, they painted their hearts all different colors. 🩷End result—super colorful hearts to celebrate the holiday!

💜MORE VALENTINE PARTY ACTIVITIES 🩷HEARTS M

💜MORE VALENTINE PARTY ACTIVITIES
🩷HEARTS MADE FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS ❤Last year we had a big Valentine’s Party. This year, our Valentine’s Party is a bit late—the day after Valentine’s. Here are some of the activities we did last year:
💜First—Valentines made from recycled materials. 🩷Supply your kids with hearts of different sizes in different colors, newsprints, etc., and let them layer them according to size—largest to smallest. Then, trim with red, purple, white, pink, and red buttons and mount on colored paper! These can become Valentine’s Day cards for their parents, too. ❤What kinds of craft hearts are you making this year to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

💜BOOKS ABOUT DESSERTS, SUGAR, CHOCOLATE & MORE!

💜BOOKS ABOUT DESSERTS, SUGAR, CHOCOLATE & MORE! 🩷There are so many fun books about sugar and sweets to read to your kids/grandkids. Here is a partial list. All of Amy Rosenthal’s books teach values while cooking & baking desserts! *The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling
*Scoop the Ice Cream Truck by Patricia Keeler
*Milk to Ice Cream by Lisa Herrington
*Ice Cream Soup by Ann Ingalls
*This Book is Not Good for You by Pseudonymous Bosch
*One Smart Cookie by Amy Rosenthal
*Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Rosenthal
*Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love by Amy Rosenthal
*If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff
*Kawaii Sweet World Cookbook by Rachel Fong 💜Kawaii Sweet World Cookbook is a darling Japanese style cookbook that includes 75 different desserts and treats. Kawaii is a Japanese word that means “cute” and everything in this cookbook is cute! Plus she lists kitchen tools needed for little hands and definitions of different dessert ingredients. 🩷Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/dessert-activities/ and for IG the link is in the bio

💜FROSTING SUGAR COOKIES—FUN ACTIVITY IN THE K $💜FROSTING SUGAR COOKIES—FUN ACTIVITY IN THE KITCHEN WITH GRANDKIDS! 🩷Okay—we’ve made dozens of sugar cookies in the past—and I’m sure you have, too. 💜My sugar cookie recipe is on the post (link in bio) and I only use butter—no shortening. 🩷Since we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day—we used dessert cookie cutters—ice cream cones, cupcakes, popsicles, candy, cakes, and hearts. 💜Have your kids/grandkids help measure, sift, crack eggs and pour ingredients—great for teaching fractions and kitchen skills. 🩷Then have them roll the dough out (which increases proprioception skills), punch the cookie cutters into the dough, put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake! When cool—decorate with frosting and other jimmies (that you will be vacuuming up the next 10 years off the crannies of the floor! 💜PS: these are not perfectly decorated cookies—we let the grandkids experience and have fun—that’s how learning happens. 🩷Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/dessert-activities/ and on IG the link is in the bio$

🩷KITCHEN, SCIENCE & MATH—MAKING HOMEMADE ICE

🩷KITCHEN, SCIENCE & MATH—MAKING HOMEMADE ICE CREAM—BEST DESSERT EVER! ❤I’ve posted pics of us making this amazing strawberry ice cream before. Just 3 ingredients and you’re in hog-heaven eating strawberry ice cream! 🩷However, don’t just make homemade ice cream—educate your kids/grandkids on the science behind ice cream. Such as—when mixing all the ingredients, it’s a liquid because the molecules are spread out. When you cool the mixture with ice, it becomes cold and the molecules pack tightly together forming solid ice cream. Adding salt to the ice lowers the temperature even more which makes the ice cream solidify faster! ❤Kids like to learn—take the time to explain the details! 🩷The best ice cream for Valentine’s Day! ❤More on the post: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/dessert-activities/ and on IG the link is in the bio

❤PRINTMAKING ICE CREAM CONES 💜Have you ever

❤PRINTMAKING ICE CREAM CONES 💜Have you ever used painted bubble wrap to create interesting textures on paper? This time, we painted bubble wrap cut into circles and made colorful and festive ice cream cones! ❤The cones are made from corrugated cardboard and we dotted the final creations with buttons, bows, and glitter! 💛Yummy enough to eat…almost… 💜Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/dessert-activities/

❤PAPER WEAVING & PAPER MANIPULATIONS—MAKING FU

❤PAPER WEAVING & PAPER MANIPULATIONS—MAKING FUN DESSERTS 💜It’s the Valentine’s season and a couple of years ago, to celebrate Valentine’s a little differently, we focused on making all kinds of paper desserts—with a few real desserts thrown in the mix! 🩷First—we made paper mats and paper desserts. The grandkids wove paper strips into mats and then we crunched, bunched, folded, curled, and squished paper to make paper candy, popsicle sticks, and cupcakes. ❤They took all the paper shapes and glued them onto the desserts creating an interesting collage. 💜The result? An opportunity to see just how colorful and fun it is to create paper desserts and build fine motor coordination and sequencing skills! 🩷Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/dessert-activities/ and on IG the link is in the bio

💜HERE ARE SOME GREAT VALENTINE BOOKS FOR KIDS &

💜HERE ARE SOME GREAT VALENTINE BOOKS FOR KIDS & GRANDKIDS! 🩷Check out these super fun & exciting books to read to your kids/grandkids to celebrate Valentine’s Day! *There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose by Lucille Colandro
*Pete the Cat Valentine’s Day is Cool by James Dean
*The Invisible String by Patrice Karst
*Love from the Crayons by Drew Daywalt
*The Love Letter by Anika Denise
*Harvey the Heart Had Too Many Farts by Jane Bexley
*A Little Spot of Love by Diane Alber 💜🩷Details here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/activities-for-valentines-day/

❤RED & WHITE 7-LAYERED JELL-O IN HEART DESIGNS

❤RED & WHITE 7-LAYERED JELL-O IN HEART DESIGNS 🩷We’re back in the kitchen! This time—making layered Jell-O hearts to celebrate Valentine’s Day. ❤Okay—this recipe is a bit time-consuming. It takes about 90 minutes of concentrated time. You end up with 9 red & white layers which your kids/grandkids will love to peel away layer by layer. 🩷It involves using hot water so adult supervision is required ❤It’s finger Jell-O meaning your kids/grandkids can pick it up and eat it—no need for a spoon! 🩷For Valentine’s, we did red & white layers. ❤I’ve been making this dessert in different colors (depending on the holiday) since 1979. My kids loved making them—and now the grandkids! 🩷Get the recipe & details here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/activities-for-valentines-day/ and for IG the link is in the bio

💙PICASSO HANDPRINTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY 🩷

💙PICASSO HANDPRINTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY 🩷Picasso is known as the “Father of Modern Art,” so to celebrate his “rose” and “blue” periods and Valentine’s Day—the grandkids made these cards for their parents. 💙All you need is each child/grandchild’s handprint and their parents’ handprints. Give your kids/grandkids markers, dot markers, and oil pastels to decorate all their handprints. 🩷This was a mixed-media project because they also painted a piece of canvas Valentine's colors to mount their handprints on. 💙Last, they wrote notes and drew pictures for their parents and we put them all into big heart-decorated envelopes. 🩷To make it more meaningful—introduce your kids/grandkids to Picasso; show them samples of his amazing art—and how their art compares! 💙Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/activities-for-valentines-day/ and on IG the link is in the bio

💜NEWSPRINT HEARTS & COOKIE-CUTTER PAINTS 🩷D

💜NEWSPRINT HEARTS & COOKIE-CUTTER PAINTS 🩷Don’t you love activities that use newsprint? They always turn out so interesting & unique! 💜Copy off newsprint on colored cardstock—red, pink, purple, white—Valentine colors! 🩷Next, draw and cut out a bunch of different-sized hearts; arrange and glue them on a black piece of poster paper. Using tempera paints and cookie cutters (hearts, circles, etc.), stamp paint over your hearts. 💜Final result—colorful, bright & super fun! 🩷Get the details here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/activities-for-valentines-day/ and on IG the link is in the bio

💙VALENTINE’S DAY WINTER NATURE ORNAMENTS 🩷This week—more Valentine’s Day Activities from the past! 💙Combine Valentine’s Day with nature—for a fun & beautiful experience! 🩷Use a square tin (Martha Stewart) and supply your kids/grandkids with natural things—cranberries, winter fruits such as oranges and grapefruit, branches from pine trees; add some felt Valentines, sequins, and string. Have them arrange all these things in each tin pocket. 💙Pour water over everything, freeze, pop out of the tin, and hang your Valentine’s Day ornaments on a favorite tree in your yard. Make it your Valentine’s Day tree! 🩷These turned out beautiful! When the grandkids hung them on our lilac tree, it was snowing, and the next day, icicles were hanging from the ornaments! 💙Simple & stunning! 🩷Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/activities-for-valentines-day/ and for IG the link is in the bio

💜VALENTINE’S DAY YARN HEARTS ❤This is an e

💜VALENTINE’S DAY YARN HEARTS ❤This is an easy project for little hands. Use spin art to paint your hearts, then wrap them with yarn in the colors of Valentine’s to celebrate! 🩷Supplies, directions & more here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/valentines-day-activities-for-kids/ and for IG the link is in the bio

💜DRINKING STRAW HEARTS 🩷At Christmas, we us

💜DRINKING STRAW HEARTS 🩷At Christmas, we used drinking straws to create ornaments—this time we’re using Valentine’s drinking straws to create colorful hearts! 💜This can be a mathematical project—depending on how you do it.
For the older 2 grandkids (8 & 9)—I gave them a ruler and had them figure out the length of each straw (22 in all for the project). They cut each straw to fit and numbered them 🩷For the little ones (ages 3,4,5), I cut the straws; numbered them and they glued them on. 💜Either way—this project requires fine motor coordination and patience! 🩷Result: fanciful fun hearts! 💜Supplies, directions & more here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/valentines-day-activities-for-kids/

🩷OREO TRUFFLES—THE BEST CHOCOLATE TREAT FOR V

🩷OREO TRUFFLES—THE BEST CHOCOLATE TREAT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY 💜Chocolate and Valentine’s Day are synonymous!
Chocolate is not just considered an aphrodisiac; it also affects serotonin and dopamine levels in our systems, helping us feel happier and calmer! 🩷It’s Valentine’s season, so bring on the chocolate! 💜With the grandkids, we made chocolate truffles. This is a super easy recipe—only 3 ingredients and simple enough for the littlest of hands. 🩷We make these truffles every year to celebrate Valentine’s Day! 💜PS: you can coat them in white or dark chocolate—either way, they taste amazing! 🩷Get the recipe and details here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/valentines-day-activities-for-kids/ and on IG the link is in the bio

💜SPIN YOUR HEART OUT VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS 🩷Have you ever tried painting using a salad spinner? Spin art is fun, easy, and minimally messy. And kids and grandkids LOVE doing this! 💜You need hearts cut out from different colors of poster board; acrylic paints—and a strong arm!
Put the heart inside the salad spinner. Squirt paint dots on the hearts (in Valentine's colors), and then spin, spin, spin! The colors will shoot everywhere, creating a unique design on the heart. 🩷Take the hearts and make a Valentine Garden card—glue Valentine drinking straws for the stem and glue on a piece of cardstock. 💜Last, have your kids/grandkids write a note to their parents; attach it to the back with a ribbon & you’re done! 🩷Result—a beautiful handmade Valentine for parents, grandparents, or friends! 💜Details & more here: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/valentines-day-activities-for-kids/

💜HANDPRINT HEART TREES 🩷The creative possib

💜HANDPRINT HEART TREES 🩷The creative possibilities are endless when it comes to a child’s handprint! ❤This time—it’s all about Valentine’s trees. 💜Their handprint is the tree trunk—and the Valentine stickers are “leaves.” 🩷Trace your kids/grandkids’ hands on a piece of colored cardstock of their choice. Cut it out; paste it on a 12x12” cardstock (Valentine colors). ❤Next is the fun part—stick on lots of Valentine stickers—they make the perfect leaves that are “blowing in the wind.” 💜This project—SUITABLE FOR FRAMING! 🩷Details: https://goodparentingbrighterchildren.com/valentines-day-activities-for-kids/

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