Super Summer Sanity Savers for Parents

“Moooooooom! I’m bored!” Sound familiar? Now that we’re halfway through summer, days of no school and unlimited unstructured time may be taking a toll on the entire family. If you are looking for simple ways to keep your kids from compromising your sanity on hot summer days, then consider the following fun projects: OUTDOOR KITCHEN Go through your kitchen drawers and place extra utensils in a bucket. Then, take the utensils outside, fill up a kiddie pool, and let your kids paint the house, driveway, or their bikes with your pastry brushes (or old paintbrushes) and squirt each other with … Continue reading →

Unleash the Sleuth in You at 5MinuteMystery.com

If you’re a mystery buff or the type who loves playing Clue, have I got a neat new site for you: 5MinuteMystery.com. It’s a place where you can solve a new mystery every day, earn points, and compete against other people in the process. Even better, the content on this site is family-friendly so everyone from little Billy to Aunt Zelda can enjoy solving the mysteries together –or against each other, which makes it even more fun. Getting Started 5MinuteMystery.com is a pay-to-play site, so when you sign up you also have to fork over $19.95. However, that’s for a … Continue reading →

3 Fun Classic Games Turned Into Water Games

Most kids love to play games. There are dozens of classic games that have been around for years if not centuries. Wouldn’t it be fun if you could figure out a way to add some water to these classic games to make a perfect and fun way to beat the heat? Here are a few classic games, now with a twist of added water. Duck, Duck, Splash This is the water rendition of “Duck, Duck, Goose”. My children have been playing this since they were old enough to enjoy the original. You will need a large car washing sponge (available … Continue reading →

Fun Educational Games for the Whole Family

There are certainly many classic family games that are loads of fun no matter the age. Games like Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Hi Ho Cherry O, Clue, Life and Monopoly are extremely popular in plenty of households. But have you gotten to know some of the new family entertainment out there? Apples to Apples This is probably one of our favorite games. It is a game of comparison and can be played by kids of all ages now that they have a junior version. It’s so much fun to play, and yet they are still learning plenty about adjectives and … Continue reading →

3 Fun Water Games to Keep Kids Wet and Cool

Are you looking for some fun water activities for your kids? In the hot summer months, water is almost a necessity. Many families have a pool, but it isn’t required to have a great time and continue to beat the heat. Here are a few activities for having fun with water that don’t require the use of a pool. Water Balloon Toss This can be a fun game for kids of all ages. When dealing with extremely young children, tossing the water balloon at a box or board is a better alternative than having them throw it at someone. In … Continue reading →

4 Fun Backyard Games for the Whole Family

Even with school back in session for some, the summer hasn’t exactly wound down just yet. The weather is still beautiful and the cooler weather that is just around the corner will allow families to spend plenty of time outdoors enjoying mother nature. Interested in finding some fun games for your backyard that include the whole family? Washers This fantastic game has become huge this summer. In backyards everywhere, you will find both store-bought and home made version of this fun game for all ages. If you aren’t sure how to play, there is an entire website devoted to the … Continue reading →

Animal Rummy Cards

I fell for the eeBoo Animal Rummy cards as soon as I saw them. The cards are a bit bigger than average so they are easier for small hands to hold. They are also laminated , and nice and thick so that they will hold up to those small hands. What is really so great though, are the illustrations on the cards. They are done by book illustrator Melissa Sweet. You can see of the books she has illustrated here. The pictures on the cards are of fish, giraffes, raccoons, foxes, lions, cats, birds, bats, dragonflies, elephants, and bears. All … Continue reading →

Singing in the Car – All-American Car-I-Oke

Even though this activity bombed for my own family, I still think it’s a very fun idea. We got All-American Car-i-oke for a long trip. I had visions of us all singing along happily as we cruised down the highway. The idea behind this kit is just that, it provides everything you need for family sing-alongs. The book comes with a 21 track CD, three lyric books for the “backseat singers”. The main book has really interesting information about the songs, how they came to written and recorded, and the history of the singers. There’s even a harmonica lesson, and … Continue reading →

Penny Football

Summer travels often bring some unexpected down time. Penny football is a good game to fill up some moments. Since this is a casual lunchroom developed game, there are several versions of rules. All you need to play are three pennies, two players, and a table. A smallish table works best. You can still play on a large table, but you may want to state boundaries so that the coins don’t get to far off track. Flip one of the coins to see who goes first. The winner of the coin toss places the three coins in a triangular formation … Continue reading →

Whistling with a Blade of Grass

This activity comes with a warning. Teaching the kids how to whistle through a piece of grass is a fun thing to do, and it will thrill them. But a little of this whistling goes a long way. The sound gets annoying pretty quick. The first thing you need to do is to find a blade of grass. The blade should be flat, not round, and several inches in length. Wider grass makes a lower sound, thinner grass makes a higher pitched sound and is a little harder to work with. Pick blades that aren’t torn and that don’t have … Continue reading →