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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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Teaching Fiber Arts to Kids—Learn How to Dye, Spin & Weave Like Your Ancestors

7 Amazing Ways to Celebrate Victorian Tea Parties with Family

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❤💚A Christmas Favorite: “The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg

❤Christmas Traditions! 💚At Christmastime, we

❤Christmas Traditions! 💚At Christmastime, we celebrate 45 different traditions—some borrowed from our ancestors and some from friends. ❤This is one—books and chocolate! 💚What are your family’s favorite Christmas traditions?

❤GRINCH DECORATIONS FOR 2024 💚The video (whi

❤GRINCH DECORATIONS FOR 2024 💚The video (which my husband made) shows some of our Grinch decorations. Here are some of the changes I made from last year’s decorations: ❤#1: Tablecloth—(Target). It’s white with diagonal red stripes and scalloped edges in green. 💚#2: Grinch Trees (Hobby Lobby). I tried purchasing a Grinch tree last year that would fit the center of the table—they were either too big, too scrawny, or too expensive. I got this Grinch tree in October—60% off at Hobby Lobby & easy to store. ❤#3: Favors: (Costco) Little Grinch tins filled with packages of hot cocoa. Big hit! 💚#4: Black Reindeer: (Walmart) Black seems to be the new “red” for Christmas this year so I got 4 black metal reindeer with LED lights for the center of the table. ❤#5: Grinch socks (HomeGoods). Everyone got Grinch socks. 💚Everything else—plates, cups, napkins, aprons, wooden Grinch decorations, little trees, lights, banners, etc., were the same as last year. ❤What I forgot—the balloons. I had them but with everything going on, I forgot to get helium in them.
💚Suggestion—if you want to have a Grinch party with your kids/grandkids next year—I’d look for things early. Grinch stuff goes fast. And, think about storage.

💚GRINCH GAMES—BOUNCY PADDLE BALL, BINGO & COL

💚GRINCH GAMES—BOUNCY PADDLE BALL, BINGO & COLORING COOKIES ❤When I was a kid we loved those wooden paddles with a small rubber ball attached to it that you tried to hit the ball with the paddle. Remember those? The grandkids loved them! Pretty decent hand/eye coordination (I’m still working on my hand/eye coordination). 💚We also played 2 repeat games from last year—Grinch Bingo with Grinch Candy Kisses for prizes and they colored sugar cookies with edible pens. The sugar cookies come in a Grinch theme—but they needed to be ordered and I ran out of time. Next year…

❤DRAWING A GRINCH FACE AT OUR GRINCH PARTY. 💚Part of the NEW activities for our Grinch party was to draw a Grinch face. I downloaded the step-by-step instructions from @artprojectsforkids. (I love her site—just recently purchased her mini-mural packet for Christmas) ❤I encouraged the kids to be creative and use colors different from what everyone expects the Grinch to look like. 💚This is what we ended up with—colorful unique Grinches! ❤If you want your kids/grandkids to learn sequencing as they draw, I highly suggest the @artprojectsforkids website—her stuff is fabulous!

💚ANNUAL GRINCH PARTY 2024—IT’S A WRAP! ❤Our annual Grinch party with our grandkids was this past weekend—so much fun!
I changed things from last year that I wasn’t too crazy about—and added new things that were a BIG HIT! 💚A party isn’t a party unless there are games! This was a new Grinch game—GRINCH PUNCH GAME! Many thanks to @playpartyplan for the idea! I changed some things for the young ages of our grandkids to make it more applicable. ❤Build a Christmas tree from lime green plastic cups (12 oz or 14 oz). Hot glue them on a foam-core board (Dollar Store) and fill them to the brim with lots of fun toys, candy, quarters (a big hit), etc. I found Grinch socks, suckers, sensory toys, Disney figures, toys to attach to their backpacks, and more. I also stuck in Hostess cupcakes—because I’ve told them the story of my love for these treats since I was a little girl—a great way to bring in traditions/loves from the past! 💚I had a total of 30 cups—on two trees. ❤After putting everything into the cups, cover them with lime green tissue paper (Amazon) and then I put Grinch stickers on them (Etsy). I made 2 trees since there were 8 grandkids. We started from the youngest to the oldest and each child “punched” the cup of their choice and claimed its’ contents. I had Grinch bags but they were too small to hold all the “loot” so we switched to lunch bags. 💚The grandkids LOVED it! ❤It’s been crazy busy around here—I hosted Thanksgiving. A week later, the Grinch Party and this coming weekend, I’m hosting our family Christmas party. I’m planning to have a breakdown on Dec. 15! Actually, I’m planning on eating chocolate for 24 hours—guilt-free!

💚PLAY GRINCH BINGO & ADVENT CALENDARS FROM GERM

💚PLAY GRINCH BINGO & ADVENT CALENDARS FROM GERMANY ❤Again—got this Grinch Bingo at Oriental Trading. I found Grinch Hershey’s kisses (Walmart) for prizes. 💚Kids (and adults) seem to love Bingo—no matter where it’s played. ❤And yes, everyone eventually WON! 💚Also, when we were in Germany last October, we went to an amazing chocolate shop loaded with goodies. They had these unique chocolate advent calendars—so we bought one for each family. The chocolate in Europe is not as sweet—and tastes a whole lot better since they don’t use genetically modified sugar

💚GRINCH STOCKINGS TO COLOR ❤These Grinch sto

💚GRINCH STOCKINGS TO COLOR ❤These Grinch stockings came from Oriental Trading. They have a large selection of Grinch paraphernalia at Oriental Trading so check them out if you’re having a Grinch party. 💚You need permanent markers and it’s a good idea to do this project first so your kids/grandkids can put all the things they make during the day into the stockings. ❤Easy and fun!

💚MAKING GRINCH SUGAR COOKIES ❤Okay—Mark ma

💚MAKING GRINCH SUGAR COOKIES ❤Okay—Mark made samples of how to make Grinch sugar cookies—but the grandkids insisted on doing their “own thing.” So, they decorated them with lots of frosting and goop. 💚It’s always fun to watch my grandkids cook, bake, and decorate cookies, etc., in the kitchen. I think it’s one of their favorite places, plus they love eating the “fruits of their labors!” ❤You may recognize the Grinch on the trees and maybe not…either way—everyone had a blast and ended up with an enormous sugar high…

💚MAKING GRINCH TREES WITH YARN 💚I downloade

💚MAKING GRINCH TREES WITH YARN 💚I downloaded a free tree template online and we made cardboard trees. The grandkids wound with 2 different colors of green yarn around the trees and decorated them with Grinch ornaments and pompoms. I purchased the Grinch ornaments and tree toppers on Etsy. 💚I thought they turned out great—what are your thoughts?

💚YEARLY GRINCH CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION WITH OUR G

💚YEARLY GRINCH CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION WITH OUR GRANDKIDS! ❤Last year we started a new tradition with our grandkids—a Grinch Christmas Celebration! During the week, I’ll give you some ideas on what we did and you may want to make it a tradition with your kids/grandkids, too. These are ideas we did last year. This year’s Grinch party is this weekend—I’ll post the changes next week. 💚First—create the mood with lots of decorations:
❤I purchased melamine Grinch plates, cups, and napkins at HomeGoods—they are super cute and you can use them over and over again! And I used lime green and red 12x12” paper for the placemats. 💚We also had Grinch banners to hang on the wall, Grinch cardboard decorations that I put into Styrofoam for table decorations, and Grinch helium balloons (Oriental Trading). Grinch lights for the table (Hobby Lobby), and Grinch blocks (Walmart). I also wrapped empty boxes in Grinch wrapping paper (Walmart) to use as decorations for the table. ❤The best part?!? Grinch Aprons for all the kids and a Grinch sweatshirt that lit up for Grandpa! 💚Lots of fun to celebrate Mr. Grinch!

🧡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.

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