Here'a an idea - String of Stars Make a decorative string of stars to celebrate President's Day, Veteran's Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, or any patriotic US holiday. Make it as long as you want - you can decorate an entire room with this patriotic (and simple) craft. SUPPLIES NEEDED: Construction paper (red, white and blue) (or you could use foam stars) Scissors String or yarn (red, white or blue) A stapler, tape, or glue Cut out red, white and blue stars and decorate them if you like. Fold over one tip of the star. (Or punch holes if using craft foam) Staple, tape, or glue the star to a length of string. Make many stars and attach them to the string. Leave some extra string at the edges for hanging. These could be used to decorate a dining room or other shared area at the nursing home. I think it's great that you are taking the kids to visit - it's good for the kids and the residents!

Check out The Crafty Crow. Just google that name and it should be the first site to pull up. TONS of wonderful, easy kids crafts.

So happy for you judithn...took me back to when my kids were in college in our city, but living on campus. Sounds like a great conversation, and something she needed to hear, and you were able to do it in such a way that she really listened, and matured enough to apologize. You obviously have a great daughter, there, and now you have practice for when your son leaves home...heh heh!! We Moms have to support one another...our kids are in their early 40's, so a lot of this type of thing is behind us, but there are always things to work out. We do have very thoughtful children now...they just weren't so much at your daughter's age!!

OK, sounds like a traffic pattern room. Make a list of all the things you want the kids to do in there. Will they really keep their backpacks there or is it too far from their coats and shoe storage? I like the idea of the cubbies you see in PB and Company Store, but I think you can just use inexpensive shelving and baskets you can buy locally. Paint the shelves bright colors. Make fun labels for the baskets with the computer. What about a table for the center of the room if you want it to be a homework space? My kids like to do puzzles and models and we have tables in their bedrooms so they can leave a project up. A fun rug underneath with the roads all over is a favorite here. In our other house, I knew the carpet would be the pits after awhile in our playroom, so I got lots of colors of PERMANENT markers and we drew the neighborhood right on the rug. I used the local stores for the signs. I personally thought it was really cute. I'm a fan of laundry baskets for toy storage. I built a long shelf which was the depth of the baskets and we just slid the under the shelf. Then we had the top of the shelf for item which didn't fit well in the baskets. I'd tuck a comfortable chair or rocker into the corners, with baskets for magazines or quick toy storage. You might consider putting a swing up in one of the doorways. We had a beam and I put in they type of hooks used for porch swings and then hung a regular swingset swing there. It got a real workout. Don't forget to ask on the home decorating forum. They always have lots of ideas for use of space in rooms and working with doorways in inconvenient doorways. Just don't feel like you have to spend a ton of money. They kids won't care and the catalogs will just give you ideas. Gloria