INPUT ARTICLE: Article: A routine can help your child develop their awareness of time. In addition to structuring their time, reinforce their understanding by telling them when and where activities happen.  For example, tell your preschooler, “You go to school on Mondays and Wednesdays,” “It’s 2:00 p.m. so it’s time for a nap,” or “at 7:30 p.m. we brush our teeth, at 7:45 p.m we read a story, and at 8:00 p.m. we go to bed.” Once you’ve established a schedule, begin asking them which activities come next. Ask, “We just brushed our teeth, so what comes next?” or “Today is Monday. What happens on Mondays?” When you begin teaching your child to count and tell time, introduce them to duration. Explain what a minute is and count with them to 60. Try playing with a kitchen timer or stopwatch to help them learn lengths of time, such as 5, 15, and 30 minutes.  Have them use the timer to keep track of how long activities last. Build on their understanding of duration by asking, “How long is your favorite TV show?” or “How long did it take to brush your teeth?” Introducing them to duration will help them accurately estimate how long a task will take later in life. Teach your younger child about logical sequences, such as, “We put on our socks before our shoes,” “We wash our hands before we eat,” or “We cook food before we eat it.” From there, help them learn about priorities and responsibilities by telling them, “We have to put away our toys before we go out.”  Understanding sequence is the foundation of setting priorities. Reinforce the lesson by asking, “What do we have to do before we go to the park?” or “What do we do before we put on our shoes?” If you have an older child, remind them about setting priorities by telling them, “When you finish your homework, you can play video games for 30 minutes,” or “If you clean your room, you can go out with your friends.” Use words and images to help your child visualize tasks such as brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and putting away their toys. Try making weekly charts with boxes for check marks or stickers next to each task. Check the box or add a sticker for each day they accomplish a task. Charts help introduce children to deadlines and duties. If you’d like, offer a small reward at the end of the week if every box has a check mark or sticker.

SUMMARY: Stick to a predictable routine. Ask questions related to keeping track of time. Teach them about choosing which tasks go first. Create charts to help your kids manage their tasks.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Take any size piece of paper and fold it in half to make your card. Of course, you can make the card as big or small as you want and fold it to open sideways or flip up. Decorate the front and inside of your card however you wish. Add bows or glitter to make it original. When you decorate the inside, plan how many flowers you want, how large you want them, and where you want them. Once you’ve decorated your card, open it and use a pen to mark with an X where you plan to place your pop up flowers. This will give you a final number of how many you need to make. Once you mark the spots, put your card in a safe place so that you can make your flowers. Using colorful paper, outline as many flowers as you had X’s on your card. You can make them all the same kind and color or you can vary them. Try cutting out two flowers and gluing them together. Rather than gluing them directly on top of one another, twist one so that the petals from the bottom are seen in between the petals of the other.  The size of your flowers and the length of your springs depends on how much wobble you want the flowers to have. Larger flowers will be heavier and flop around more, while smaller flowers will stay in place easier. Make sure you aren't obstructing your text with overly large flowers. The easiest flower to draw will have four to five petals and you can easily draw one by placing a small circular item on your paper (a penny is a good starting point). Next, simply trace a bubbled outline around the circle to make your flower. Now that you have all of your flowers cut out, you can decorate them. Use glitter, markers, or chalk to add fun to the future pop up flowers for your card. To make them 3D, you can fold the petals to give them some structure. Simply crease the petals down the middle so that the petals stand up. There are 2 methods for this. For one, cut strips of construction paper three inches long and the width of your flowers. Cut as many strips as you have flowers. Take a strip and fold ½” up. Keep this fold and make a second fold by going the opposite way. This will create a Z shape, with one strip longer than the other. Repeat this back and forth fold all the way up your strip of paper. Notice that it creates a spring. Alternately, you can cut strips an inch or two longer, and fold them like an accordion. This will really make your flowers pop. If you’ve added glitter, glue, or anything else to your card that needs time to adhere, wait for it to dry before you add your flowers. This way you can move your card freely to place your flowers where you want. Rubber cement will hold your springs the best, but standard glue will work as well. Place a drop of adhesive on your X and place the bottom fold of your spring on it. Hold it in place for a few seconds. Repeat with all of your X’s and springs. Now that you’ve glued your springs to your card, place a drop of adhesive to the top flap of a spring. Using both hands, place one of your flowers on this spring. Pinch the top flap of your spring and your flower together to ensure it sticks. Once the springs and flowers have dried, carefully close your card. When you do so, it will squish the flowers to the card. When it is opened again, the flowers will pop up.

SUMMARY: Start with your card. Mark the spot for your flowers. Cut out your flowers. Add extras to your flowers. Make the pop up springs. Wait for your card to dry. Glue the springs to your card. Glue your flowers on. Carefully close your card.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Your face is generally the first thing people notice. A fading facial tan will be immediately noticeable, so use self-tanner to fix up any fading. Purchase a self-tanner designed for your face and apply it regularly to keep your tan noticeable. Go for gradual tanners, as these tend to look more natural. A little bronzer on your face can also help your tan last longer. Apply the bronzer on areas where the sun naturally hits your face, such as the forehead, temples, nose, and cheekbones. This will highlight your natural tan, preventing the product from looking fake. Apply enough bronzer to give your skin a natural glow. Too much bronzer can be overwhelming and make your tan look fake. You want to recreate your natural tan rather than replace it altogether. Unless you have access to the sun all the time, your tan will eventually start to fade. As your tan fades, patch it up with spray-on tan. If your tan starts to lighten or darken, spray some fake tan on patchy areas to even things out. Over-the-counter pills that are designed to protect skin, such as Phytobronz Skin Protect, may help you maintain a tan. Such pills help replenish oils in your skin that are lost during the tanning process. If you're concerned about maintaining your tan, try taking some medication. However, some over-the-counter pills are not FDA regulated. Always check with your doctor before taking any new medications.

SUMMARY:
Use self-tanner on your face. Wear bronzer. Patch up your tan with spray-on tan. Use pills.