April 25, 2013

Free Download: Spring Time Activity Book from Melissa and Doug

Download the Melissa and Doug Springtime Fun Mini Mag!

Melissa and Doug Mini Mag

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links however, the opinions expressed are 100% my own)

Are you excited that spring has finally arrived? We are! So we are thrilled that Melissa and Doug gathered some great springtime fun activities with their friends from Highlights to help us  enjoy this “sometimes-rainy, sometimes-sunny” season!

By downloading the Mini Mag, you’ll get:

  1. Six original puzzles, crafts, and activities to celebrate spring.
  2. Innovative ways to explore the great outdoors – while teaching some sensory lessons along the way!
  3. Quick and easy crafts you can make with materials you likely already have around the house!
  4. An activity sheet you can print and bring along with you while on-the-go!
 Download your Springtime Fun Mini Mag today!
The link takes you to a form.  Fill out the form and your free e-book will be sent to your email address.

Get even more fun and savings when you Join The Melissa & Doug Email List and GET 10% Off Your Order At MelissaAndDoug.com! Click Here!


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February 15, 2013

Wreck It Ralph Books for .99 and free Wreck It Ralph printables

wreck it ralph free printables

Disney Wreck It Ralph Book - 4 Books, $0.99 Each

Get started with 4 Disney books for just $.99 each, plus a free Disney activity book
• Build a library of Disney classics & Pixar hits
• High-quality, hard cover editions
• Receive 3 new books each month
• Convenience of home delivery for less than $5 per book
• Control your membership online
- Adjust your shipping interval
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• No purchase commitment
• Risk free – Cancel anytime
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• A+ BBB Rating

Note: This offer is a monthly book club. Customers will automatically be charged and sent additional books each month. To manage your account, call 1-800-353-3140 or login to your account online: https://www.earlymoments.com/Login/

We have several Wreck It Ralph free printables available including: Continue Reading …

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December 15, 2011

Top games, books & gifts for tweens

Are you looking for gifts for kids ages eight and up? It’s adios to Diego and Dora. These tweens have new skills, longer attention spans and they are ready for some new games, toys and books to challenge and entertain them and our list is totally “unplugged.”

Qwirkle wins for best family game.

Qwirkle comes with 108 wooden tiles wearing colorful shapes to match up. It’s like cards and dominoes rolled into one and on steroids. It’s a four-time toy award winner and the best selling game of all time for Mindware.

Why I like it:
Ages seven and up can be successful. It’s easy to make some kind of match but with some added strategy players can really challenge themselves and rake up the points.
In our house, parents and kids a like vote for Qwirkle for family game night.

Why kids like it:
It’s super easy to set up and the rules are easy to learn so everyone can start play right away.

Science Kits from Educational Explorer give kids a taste explosion.

These fun science kits from Educational Explorer Continue Reading …

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September 23, 2011

5 teacher tips for spelling homework help

Sometimes spelling homework practice and spelling tests can lead to s-t-r-e-s-s. Try these tips for spelling word s-u-c-c-e-s-s.

1. Use drive time as spelling practice time.

Make it a habit that when you get in the car before the music, the books on tape, the iPods or DS games get turned on, that the family will run through the spelling word list for the week. Kids love it when you let them call out the words to you first. That makes it more of a game than a chore.

2. Make family game night a spelling night.

Games like Scrabble, Scrabble Jr. or Banagrams are a fun way to build spelling skills. Know matter how you keep score, give kids an extra point for using a spelling word in the game. Banagrams is our new favorite.  It’s fast and fun and kids can use this weeks spelling words.

3. Play old-fashioned Hang Man with spelling words.

Get out a pencil and paper and play hang man using spelling words. Your student will get practice whether they are the presenter or the player. This game helps kids notice how many letters are in the word and the letter order. Waiting for dinner? Everybody wins when spelling practice is fun.

4. Visit SpellingCity.com to practice and play on-line.

Sure there are upgrades for a fee but there’s plenty of FREE great spelling word practice using your child’s weekly word list or known challenging words. Kids can play games with their words and take practice tests too.

5. Especially for younger kids, use hands on activities as often as possible.

Even successful methods for spelling homework help can lose their z-e-a-l after a few weeks. Try these 10 ways to make spelling word practice less b-o-r-i-n-g.

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August 29, 2011

Teaching even & odd: 15 Math Games & Activities for Home

A strong foundation in basic math skills and concepts is such a plus for young students.  Try these fun and easy games and activities you can do in and around the house to reinforce math skill in 15 Games & Activities for teaching even & odd. 

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August 13, 2011

Family fun brain games

For many of the preschool years we’ve played Rhyming Round Robin in which one player offers a word and everyone follows with a rhyming word until we’ve exhausted our list or can’t stop laughing. We’ve also played many rounds of the Alphabet Soup where we listed items in alphabetical order. As our children have gotten a little older and we’ve expanded our road trips, we needed some new brain games for the car or for unplugged family time.

Last Letter, First Letter game is fun for kids seven and up.

The idea behind last letter, first letter is that each player adds a word that begins with the last letter of the previous word.

Here’s an example of how our last round went with players from age 7 to 53.

We started with apple and went to extraordinary, yellow, work, kangaroo, octopus, school, love, ear, radical and on and on.

While it reinforces phonics skills, this game also helps build vocabulary. “What does “lurk” mean,” our seven year old asked.

It also helps build spelling skills. Young kids will quickly notice how many words end in silent e.

These are great games to get ready for back to school!

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August 7, 2011

How to Throw a Race Car Birthday Party

Vroom! Vroom! Zoom! Zoom! Youngsters just love cars, racing and anything that is in motion full speed ahead. Racecars are a popular birthday party theme. Whether your little one is into the Cars movie, starring Lightening McQueen, NASCAR, Speed Racer or just Match Box cars in general, you can use these tips and ideas to get on track and pull off a fun and easy Race Car themed birthday party.

Race Car Birthday Party Invitations:

My son is into Lightening McQueen, Speed Racer, NASCAR and Match Box cars so we went for a general racecar theme birthday party. We announced our party with invitations with classic checkered board flag black and white and asked our guest to “race on over to celebrate” with us as a clue to the theme of our party. We embellished our invitations with racing theme stickers that he could add on himself and choose personally for each guest. Creating a themed invitation helps give guests a clue as to what the birthday boy or girl is really into and it clearly helped some guests choose their gifts from Cars bubble bath to remote control cars.

Race Car Birthday Party Games & Activities:

This experienced Mom likes to keeps games and activities simple. I usually opt for one easy and short organized activity and another activity that is set up like a learning center where kids can choose to come and go.

Game: Red Light, Green Light with Steering Wheels

We saved the cardboard circles from frozen pizzas for a while and turned them into steering wheels. Here’s how: Continue Reading …

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July 23, 2011

Tangled Birthday Party Ideas

When Rapunzel wants to talk to her “mother” about her birthday, her mother replies that she just had one last year. “That’s the thing about birthdays. They’re kind of an annual thing,” says Rapunzel in Disney’s “Tangled.” If your daughter is having a birthday, again, a party based on the fun Disney movie “Tangled” may be just the ticket. Since the movie is all about Rapunzel’s birthday, a Tangled birthday party can be “locks” of fun.

Grass crafts are super cute decorations but require a little bit of planning ahead.

It’s a beautiful thing when Rapunzel’s feet hit the green grass after being locked away in the tower for all of her life.

Grass craft materials:
-Shallow containers
-Soil
-Grass seed
-Water and sun

Directions:
Find inexpensive or recycled shallow containers that will make a mini yard of green grass for Rapunzel. Fill with soil and grass seed and nourish with sun and water for adorable table decorations for your “Tangled” birthday party.

Can you “find” the party games in the movie “Tangled?”

Rapunzel and her friend Pascal love to play hide and seek. Hide and seek is classic children’s game and it’s the perfect birthday party game because it’s free, easy and fun.

Pretty party favors can really “extend” the birthday party fun.

Since “Tangled” is all about long locks of Rapunzel what could be more fun than giving your guests inexpensive hair extensions to clip on for the party. Get those digital cameras ready.

Need more party favor ideas? You can’t go wrong with crowns, or make your own crown kits, for little princesses. Older princess might enjoy the keepsake treasure boxes like the one Rapunzel kept paints in.

Mural, mural on the wall, what does Rapunzel like to do most of all?

Rapunzel loves to paint. She’s passed the time in the tower painting murals. Mural painting is “big” fun at a birthday and makes a cool keepsake for the party girl and a great background for party pictures.

Mural craft materials:
Paints
Brushes
Large paper or roll of freezer paper
Tape to hang mural
Baby wipes

Directions:
Hang your mural and let party guests paint two at a time. Be sure to have them sign their name and best wishes for the birthday girl. Want less mess? Watercolor paints are a great option.

A Tangled birthday party cake should “tower” over yesterday’s cake.

Unless you really want a cake that is a “big hairy deal,” a tower cake, complete with green vines and pretty flowers, can make a birthday girl’s dreams come true.

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July 22, 2011

Free Math Activities for Kids: Count and Collect

Need an easy way to help teach young kids counting skills? Fun math activities are one of the methods I use with my kids as a mom and homeschool teacher. Count and Collect is just one of the many games I’ve invented to help teach my kids how to count, add, and subtract faster. The great thing about this game is that even if they don’t know the facts, they can learn while doing it incorrectly.

Continue reading Free Math Activities for Kids: Count and Collect

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July 21, 2011

Ice Cream Party Games

Whether it’s for a back to school party, birthday party or just a fun ice cream social, these Ice Cream Party Games are refreshing fun.

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