Backyard Chickens

Black Australorp

I cannot say this is a favorite of mine… Yet, let’s hope this fall or next year sometime when they are giving me eggs I’ll be able to say it’s a favorite but right now I am a little nervous if you want to know the truth as to what to think. This post is actually one where I am asking for HELP, tomorrow we are getting 15 baby chicks, a mixture of Buff Orpington’s and Black Australorp’s. I have been to 2 backyard chicken classes and we have a book (and thank goodness we are venturing in on this with some friends) but I would love any and all comments, suggestions, advice, tips, tricks to raising chickens. I would LOVE for you chicken experts out there to let me know all YOUR favorites about raising chicks and chickens.buff orphington

 

Teaching Kids the Value of Hard Work

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Here’s a quick run down if you don’t want to read the details since I tend to be wordy sometimes:)

  1. Give your kids tasks that take awhile to complete.  Decide what is appropriate for their age but give them jobs to do that take time and aren’t easy to complete (I give some suggestions in the post); this helps them to learn that some things are hard and they have to stick with it for a good chunk of time to get it completed. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment when they are done and helps them realize they can do hard things.  This will help them in so many aspects of their life.
  2. If its helpful, use a job chart (I included some links here, here and here, or you can make your own).
  3. Keeping kids busy while doing productive things (working) really helps encourage good behavior.  This is totally in my opinion (I am not an expert), but I see it happen with all my kids so there must be at least some truth to it.
  4. Give them verbal praise and acknowledge their work; this means so much to kids when what they accomplish meets their parents approval.  Positive praise means so much to kids too.
  5. Reward your kids after a period of time if they do a good job completing the tasks (this helps keep them motivated).
  6. When you can, work alongside your kids.  This means so much to them and teaches them you are willing to do hard things too. It sets a great example to them and you are their role model.
  7. Giving your kids jobs to complete within a family gives them a sense of belonging and purpose to why they are working hard.
  8. Play hard with your kids too (I’ll post more about this another day) but it is so important to play hard with your kids too.

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Plastic Canning Jar Lids

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I love these babies; such a great addition to the canning jar. I store a lot of things in my fridge in canning Jars (homemade jam, homemade yogurt, yeast, homemade chocolate sauce, etc.) so when my friend Mel introduced these to me they were instantly a favorite. I make my own yogurt (which is another post for another day, it’s a huge favorite at this house) and these help make the process so much easier, plus you are never dealing with rust or flaky things falling off the old metal ones that have been used 1,000 times. You can get the regular sized lids and the wide mouth lids on Amazon. The regular sized are a good price on Amazon but the wide mouthed are a bit more pricey right now. I can usually get either kind for just over $3 for an 8 pack at Target, so I would check there too. Wal-Mart might be a good option too but I haven’t gotten them there before. Once you try these you will be in LOVE!  So worth the $3.

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* You can’t can with these lids; they are plastic and they will melt, but they are perfect for using when storing things in canning jars.