Jan
29
Free Valentine’s Day Coloring Pages
January 29, 2008 | 2 Comments
I can’t believe it’s almost February! January has just flown by, and Valentine’s Day is only 16 days away. Here are some fun coloring sheets to get you in the mood for Valentine’s Day .
And click here for a list of more fun coloring sheets!
Jan
26
Free Hot Wheels Activities
January 26, 2008 | 1 Comment
The official Hot Wheels website has loads of free fun. Be sure and visit:
Games - the best part of the site, filled with ‘tons of supercharged games’ like 3D Horsepower Hazard, Micro Madnetics Turbo Tester, and Mystery Maze Mayhem.
Cars - gaze and drool over all the cars, the 2007 New Models,Treasure Hunt Vehicles, the new Code Cars, and lots more.
Downloads - free Hot Wheels themed wallpapers, screensavers, and more.
Jan
24
Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
January 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
I’ve never known a kid (or an adult for that matter) who didn’t like cupcakes, and Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to make and eat them! Here’s a fantastic recipe for Valentine’s Day cupcakes from FamilyFun that uses Fruit by the Foot to decorate the cakes as roses.
What you need:
- 12 mini cupcakes
- White icing
- Scissors
- 6 rolls of Fruit by the Foot fruit leather in Cherry Rage or strawberry flavor
- 1 roll of Fruit by the Foot fruit leather in Color by the Foot flavor
Instructions:
- Frost 12 mini cupcakes with white icing.
- To make a rose, unroll a piece of the cherry or strawberry fruit leather and divide it in half along the wavy perforated middle line. Take one of the halves and roll up about 5 inches to form the flower’s center. Set the rolled strip wavy side up in the middle of a cupcake, as shown, and continue to loosely wrap the remaining fruit leather around the center at a slight angle until the flower is completed.
- Repeat this process for the remaining flowers. (You should be able to get 2 mini roses out of each roll of fruit leather.)
- Cut leaf shapes from the wavy edge of the Color by the Foot strip as shown, then tuck the leaves under the roses.
More cupcake ideas:
Valentine’s Day Cupcake Cards
Jan
17
Free Dinosaur Fun
January 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Check out these fun dinosaur activities from Printables 4 Kids. Make your way through the maze to find the dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Maze, color the scene with the Coloring Page, and try your skills in the Dinosaur Word Search.
Jan
15
Free Veggie Tales Activities
January 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
VeggieTales newest movie The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie just came out on Friday. The movie website has oodles of fun activities to enjoy. Meet the Veggies and view video clips of them, learn to Talk Like A Pirate, play games like Jump Ship! and Me (Artichoke) Hearties. And there’s also plenty of great printables; coloring pages, door hangers, stickers, and more!
Jan
12
Free Playdough Recipes
January 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment
When I was a kid I loved making Playdough with my mom and sister. I enjoyed mixing the food coloring in and seeing it streaked through the dough, making it was just as much fun as playing with it! Here are some great recipes for making it yourself.
Basic Nonedible Playdough
- 1 cup flour
- 2 T cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 T cooking oil
- 1 cup water
- food coloring
Mix the flour, cream of tarter, and salt in a pan. Mix the food coloring with water, and add with oil to dry mixture. Cook over medium heat until thick. A package of Kool-Aid or any other powdered unsweetened drink mix can be substituted for the food coloring and will make the Playdough smell good.
Edible Peanut Butter Playdough
- 1 jar (18 oz.) peanut butter
- 6 t honey
- non fat dry milk to make desired consistency
Mix all together. You can decorate it with raisins or chocolate chips. If you don’t have dry milk you can use milk and flour.
For more Playdough fun, check out this link to create-kids-crafts.com for a recipe for an Erupting Playdough Volcano.
Jan
10
Free Willy Wonka Fun
January 10, 2008 | 1 Comment
I came across a great website today and just had to share it. Wonka.com is absolutely filled with lots of fantastic games like Fun Dip Knid Knocker, Space Rescue, Inventonator, Chocolate Pipe Madness (who wouldn’t want to play a game with a name like that?), Great Nerds Chase, and more.
Jan
7
Cardboard Tube Crafts
January 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I have quite a few empty wrapping paper tubes leftover from all those Christmas gifts, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. If you have any around the house try making some of these great crafts instead of just throwing the tubes out. The first two are pretty simple, and the second two are a bit more complicated.
Jan
3
Free Tips for Writing Thank You Notes
January 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Now that the holidays are over and gifts have been given and received, its time to write the thank you notes. This task is nearly universally dreaded by kids, but is important not only because it’s good etiquette but it also teaches appreciation for others’ time and effort. Starting kids young will make thank you note writing a good habit that will be helpful their entire lives. So here are a few tips to making note writing easier, and even fun!
Make it a family affair - when all the kids and even the parents write their notes at the same time it seems less of a chore.
Kids of all ages can write thank you notes; very young children can dictate notes to a parent and draw a picture next to the note. Or draw around the child’s hand, and let them color it in.You could even save children’s artwork during the year and write a thank you note on the back. Fill-in-the-blank cards are good idea for children just learning to write.
Make it fun - turn thank you notes into art work using stickers, paint, and markers. Adding a photo is another way to make it enjoyable and personal.
Encourage thank you note writing by giving young kids a small reward for each note. A great motivator for getting the note done is making it a requirement before enjoying the gift; “You can’t play with the toy until the thank you note is written”.
Sending an email is another option, but only if the recipient spends a lot of time on the computer. Don’t send an email thank you note to someone who checks their email sporadically.
Be consistent - if writing a thank you note is enforced for all gifts with no exceptions, the task will become an automatic response, instead of a dreaded duty.









