Pumpkin Carving – Stencils Are Your Friend

With Halloween right around the corner, we’ve already started pulling out our decorations and working on crafts here at the house and now we’re talking about what we’re going to do with our pumpkin carving. Last year, my daughter and I picked out two or three pumpkins and had ourselves a regular good time with pumpkin carving. I’m not the greatest artist, but we picked out some really good stencils that we could press onto the face of the pumpkin after we cleaned out the guts and then followed the stencil lines carefully to make a ghost with eyes and … Continue reading

Wacky and Wild Science Experiments

Get your child interested in science by doing these wacky and wild science experiments with your child. They will be amazed as a balloon blows up by itself or color magically spreads. Be sure to explain how the magic happens after you are all done, because it isn’t really magic, just amazing science at work. Blow Up A Balloon Everyone knows that you can blow up a balloon by blowing into it. By how can you blow up a balloon using baking soda and vinegar? Watch and be amazed. You will need: Balloon (6-8 inches) Baking soda Vinegar Funnel or … Continue reading

Putting the Fun Back into FUNdraising

It’s fall, school is back in and it’s time to start the fundraising efforts that PTA’s launch every year in an effort to raise funds for the school. When I was a kid, I didn’t pay much attention to the fundraising efforts beyond what prizes could be won. My daughter was thinking in a somewhat similar vein when she brought home her fund raising package on Friday. But I thought about it over the weekend and last night, she and I sat down to discuss the FUNdraising that needed to be done and why it needed to be. I asked … Continue reading

Unplug for the Weekend

Do you ever feel like banging your head against the wall when your child tells you they are bored? After all, they have a dozen different toys, a television, multiple movies and plenty of things to do that should keep them busy as well as entertained. So how can they be bored? Children Equate Isolation with Boredom As a species, we are incredibly social. It’s unusual to find us all sitting off in our own corners of the house doing our various activities away from our family and the sounds you hear are more likely to be that of a … Continue reading

Sunday Suggestions: Fun With Learning

My daughter started reading recently; she’s grasping the basics slowly but surely. In the meanwhile, as part of her kindergarten homework, she has to do sight words. Her sight words are as simple as I, can, like, am, and more of the same. It’s important to make learning fun for our kids. So for those of you who enjoy playing games with your children, here are a few suggestions for pen and paper games that just need the two of you and some light to play. Hangman We played our first round of this on Friday. It’s hard to remember … Continue reading

Fun With Poetry

Poetry can be a lot of fun to write and read. Try some of these types of poems with your family. Then listen in amazement as your children surprise you with their creativity. Limerick Limericks are fun to write, but can be more difficult. They are usually humorous. The trick to writing a limerick is getting the pattern right so that the limerick flows in the familiar singsong way. All limericks have five lines. The last word of lines one, two, and five rhymes. The last words of lines three and four rhyme. The pattern of stressed (S) and unstressed … Continue reading

Engage In Pretend Play

Pretend play is valuable for children and adults benefit from entering a child’s imaginary world as well. When your child engages in pretend play they often mimic the adult world. They learn to understand responsibility. They try on different roles and explore a variety of careers. Children often mimic the adult world that they experience. You will see yourself in your child as they play. Once I caught my two-year-old daughter putting her doll in time out. Then she picked up the doll, gave it a hug, and said, “I still love you.” As children immerse themselves in pretend play … Continue reading

K’Nex: Fun For the Entire Family

Move over Lego here come K’Nex. Lego has been around for years and they have many fun sets that you can build with. In fact my son has numerous Lego sets that build different vehicles. The biggest problem is that there are only instructions on how to build one or two different types of vehicles with each set. If you lose some pieces you can’t make the vehicle anymore, a big problem with little kids. You are also more limited because Lego blocks require that you build on top of each other. That is why K’Nex are so great. With … Continue reading

Family Fun Tips: Keeping Your Little One Still

There’s a number of reasons to keep your little ones still for a period of time whether it is to get their faces painted, their haircut or for a photograph. The great thing about kids is that the moment you tell them to sit still, they begin to fidget like crazy no matter whether they want their faces painted or their picture taken. So here are some suggestions and ideas that I used on my own kiddo to keep her busy when I needed her to sit still: Tell them a story, children love a good story and if you … Continue reading

Family Fun Tips: Face Painting Safety

Face painting is a blast whether you are doing it as part of a birthday party, a visit to a renaissance faire or learning how to do it yourself for Halloween, costume parties and more. So with Halloween not that far away, let’s talk about some safety tips to keep in mind when it comes to face painting your kids, your self or both. You Need to Use the RIGHT Paints – Just because paint is non-toxic does not mean it is safe to use on your body parts. Be sure to invest in a brand of paint that is … Continue reading