Making Your Own Games

I was decluttering today and came across this homonyms matching game I made when I was teaching. Here's what I did:

• took a worksheet with homonyms on them
• blew up the pictures on the copier
• colored and cut out the pictures
• to make them sturdier I glued the pictures to construction paper
• laminated them

This was so easy. You could do this with numbers, sight words, animals, etc. It's easy to make your own games. Don't forget to store these in a clear plastic baggie and to label the baggie.

I hope this tip helps inspired you. Have fun!

We Have a Winner!

We have a winner for the Bloggy Giveaways. Congratulations to Leigh of Don't Panic. She has won a copy of Cooking Light Complete Cookbook.

I hope you all will take a look at this awesome cookbook. It has over 1,200 recipes and 600 photos. This cookbook is a great tool to get you on the road to making delicious healthier meals for your family.

Kid Craft: Dirt Cake in a Flower Pot

Spring is finally here and I'm sure you're looking for fun spring-type activities to do with the kids. For an edible and simple project, try this dirt cake idea from ". . . And Miles to Go Before We Sleep . . ."

This yummy recipe uses Oreo cookies, butter, cream cheese, instant pudding, milk, and Cool Whip. And hooray, it doesn't require any use of the stove!

Find the easy recipe at ". . . And Miles to Go Before We Sleep . . . ".

Win a New Cooking Light Cookbook

Yay! The Bloggy Giveaways Carnival is in full swing this week! I hope you're playing along because it's great fun.

I’m excited to let you know that I’m giving away a new copy of Cooking Light Complete Cookbook: A Fresh New Way to Cook. This cookbook weighs a whopping 4 lbs and boasts 1,200+ recipes and 600+ photos. The recipes come in a hardbound binder, which easily wipes clean. The recipes are hole punched and organized neatly inside. The book even comes with an interactive DVD! For the environmentalist cook, there is information about seasonal produce and reducing your carbon footprint.

Check out my review of this cookbook which includes a few recipes and photos.

The Cooking Light Cookbook is valued at $34.95.

To enter this contest, all you need to do is leave a comment at this post between now and Friday, April 25th. The winner will be contacted via email, so please be sure you leave a way for me to contact you or you can check back next week to see who the winner is. Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is open to US and Canadian addresses only.

Please check out my other giveaways at Thrifty Mommy and A Healthy Balance.

Good luck!

April Showers Art Activity

This umbrella was simply made by cutting an umbrella from construction paper and then allowing the children to golf ball paint the umbrella.

This was made a few years ago, but I'm sure we picked purple for the umbrella because purple was our color of the month.

I think this umbrella looks a bit funny because it's handle is so short. One of the other teachers cut them out so that they would fit onto one piece of construction paper. You could make a smaller umbrella with a longer handle.

Other options:

Paint white raindrops with blue paint or blue rain drops with white paint.

This golf ball painting idea can be used for many seasons. You can paint pumpkins for fall, ornaments for Christmas, heart for Valentine's Day, etc.

Let children sort of stamp the paper using paint and cookie cutters, rather than golf ball painting.

Use marbles instead of golf balls.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Having Fun

Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center

I had two 40% off coupons for Michael's this week, so I decided to go out there and find something for the kids. I was pleased to find this Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center. It was $14.99, but I got it for about $9 with my coupon.

Unlike most dry erase activities, this one actually erases! I was so excited that I did not have to use water and a paper towel to clean the slippery little sheets. The sheets fit inside a plastic board type box. The kids put the sheets inside the box and then write on the clear plastic part. The eraser wipes the marker right off with little effort.

This activity board will provide hours of entertainment and learning for my kids. It will make a great addition to the things we carry into church for their quiet entertainment.

The Crayola website also has some free printables that you can use inside the dry erase board.

Have fun!

Fun-Filled Friday: Nick Jr Printables

Wow! Check this out! Nick Jr. has hundreds of printables on their site. Today we printed off some Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! sheets for the kids. Here are the links that I found today. Have a great weekend!

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! (16)

The Backyardigans (48)

Blue's Clues (60)

Dora the Explorer (160)

Go, Diego, Go! (35)

Max & Ruby (15)

Ni Hao, Kai-lan (10)

Wonder Pets! (18)

Yo Gabba Gabba (21)

Franklin (6)

Little Bear (6)

Jack's Big Music Show (3)

Little Bill (13)

Lazy Town (28)

Oswald (2)

Miss Spider (17)

Pinky Dinky Doo (3)

Bingo Dauber Coloring Printables

Kids enjoy playing with stampers. Here are some links I found today using bingo daubers. If you want to try something different, then try using pom poms or stickers. Have fun!

Seasons:

• Fall


• Winter


• Spring


• Summer

Holidays:

• Halloween


• Thanksgiving


• Christmas


• Valentine's Day - includes angel, heart, flower, and butterfly


• St. Patrick's Day


• Easter


• 4th of July


• Remembrance Day

Animals:

• Bats


• Bears


• Cats


• Frogs


• Penguins


• Sharks


• Snakes


• Spiders

Other:

• Bible