Activity Village

Just found another great site, Activity Village. Activity Village has coloring pages, home school resources, educational resources, kids crafts, puzzles, printables, Sudoku for kids, recipes, and so much more. There are over 3000 pages of activities to help you keep your kids busy.

One of the things I found at Activity Village is their printable handwriting and story paper. I have to tell you, story paper isn't easy to find. You'll probably have to go to a teacher store to get it and then do you really want to pay their prices? It's probably easier and cheaper to just print out the few pages you'll need.

Hope you enjoy this site!

Little Amadeus for Kids

Little Amadeus by Wunderkind is an animated series that entertains, educates, inspires children, and encourages them to make their own music. The series is geared toward children ages 4 to 8.

Just looking at the Little Amadeus website was a wow moment for me. It's proof that there really are some great resources on the internet.

The creators of Little Amadeus have obviously done their research and come up with ideas to teach classical music to children. Right now, my kids are watching the episode, "Solo for Amadeus". If I click on the parent and teacher section of the Little Amadeus website, I'll find lesson plans for the episode. This lesson plan includes objectives, information on the episode, a list of needed materials, background activities, various activities to try, extension activities, and more! If you're musically inclined, you can download the sheet music of your favorite compositions.

My children really enjoy playing games on the computer. The Little Amadeus website has a large selection of games and activites to play based upon the tv series. And just when I thought I was done . . . I just found another great section. If you'll look at their resources, it teaches about different musical instruments, how to compose music, and also has printable coloring pages.

Little Amadeus products can be found at Target stores and online. Check the Little Amadeus website for tv times in your area.

Make Your Own Crayons

It doesn't take long to collect a bunch of old, broken crayons. Instead of tossing them, consider saving them to make new crayons. If you put them into molds, you can make neat little gifts for your kids friends. Such a cute idea for Valentine's Day, Christmas, or party favors.


How-to recycle those crayon stubs into a swell homemade gift - More DIY How To Projects

Free Song of the Month from Charity & the JAMband

The Charity & the JAMband song of the month is available for free on their website. This month's free song download is "The Song in Your Heart".

While at the Charity & the JAMband website, take a few minutes to listen to their music or watch some videos. It's fun music!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 40th Anniversary Pop-Up Book

Amanda from Oh Amanda shows us the new The Very Hungry Caterpillar pop-up book. Looks like fun. Don't forget, I have fun activities to go along with this book. Also, Mrs. Jones has a cute song. These ideas are perfect for spring, which is just around the corner. Have fun! :)

FamilyFun Digital for Free

Get FamilyFun Digital for free! Read, print, and search the newest issue of FamilyFun. You can also view archives of past issues and clip and share your favorite pages for later. Each issue is filled with crafts, recipes, and loads of fun activities. Hooray!

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

Today is Lincoln's birthday. Here is an idea to help celebrate.

Thanks to my friend Karen for the picture.

Clifford Valentine's Special

Valentine's Day is Clifford's favorite holiday and he is celebrating with a one hour special. "Love at First Bark" airs February 13 on PBS Kids. Check your local listings.

Find Kid Sites with KidRex

Don't waste hours looking through websites trying to find the ones that are kid-friendly. Today I came across a search engine just for kids called KidRex. While no filter is 100% accurate, this is a great place to start.

I typed in "alligators" and up came several sites to help kids learn about alligators. There were pictures, facts, videos, information, lessons, and so much more.

Of course, this site is great for teachers and homeschoolers. If you're looking for a site on a particular topic, just type it in, and you won't have to surf through all the other junk.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Thoughtful Thursday

“Children are the living message we send to a time we will not see.”
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Pasta Crafts from Parents TV

If you're going crazy from all of these cold days inside, try keeping your kids busy with these pasta crafts. They're so creative and cute!

Next time I go to the store I'll have to pick up some varieties of pasta.

Hot Chocolate Mug Cakes

I got my new Family Fun magazine in the mail yesterday and thought these Hot Chocolate Mug Cakes would make a sweet treat. Just bake your favorite chocolate cake batter in individual mugs for a warming winter dessert. They're easy to make too.

image from Family Fun