Archives for category: home school
National Library Week is April 14-20, 2013!
During NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK and throughout April, libraries of all types host special events to highlight the unique role libraries play in people’s lives. Today’s libraries can help you and your family discover a new and exciting world through collections, digital resources and more. Whether you come for homework or job searches, help with citizenship issues or finances, adult education classes or to find the best books for young readers, libraries are a great place to spend quality time and connect with loved ones and friends.
For more information about National Library Week please visit:
Remember to SPRING AHEAD!
Are you familiar with the expression “ask him what time it is and he’ll tell you how to build the clock?” We’ll mention no names here, Dave.
Tick tock you really can build your own clock. Here is an educational clock project for the entire family.
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 10th, we need to set our clocks ahead one hour marking the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) at 2A.M.
You can also use this as an ideal opportunity for teaching time.
The ability to tell time is a significant milestone in a child’s educational development and does not have to be a difficult nor frustrating experience. Choosing the right educational time teaching tools can lessen the stress. Fun time teaching toys can also help motivate little ones learning how to tell time.
“Block around the clock! “Here is a nice clock for 3 year olds or older combining both shape sorting and time learning.
It really is a good time all around to learn something new.
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Tempus Fugit, hurry up and make a clock cupcake.
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An old favorite is making your own paper plate clock.
Your family roots rooted? Fascinating family faces potted for an early spring.
Anyone know whose kids these are? Oh, yes, the neighbor kids.
Even if your thumb isn’t green, go ahead, give this project a try. It doesn’t look too difficult.
All you need to do is, gather up the perfect plants, a basic pot, family face photos and a transparent plastic pot. For the source, and more photos, check out good.kz.
If you’re too young to remember Mom and the bangs thing, we all colored the Thanksgiving turkey, right?
Last week I, Michelle a Marketing Coordinator here at Totally Kids, took home a Spot-It! card game. I thought that the game was really fun and an excellent family game, sleepover game and a great TV substitute. Depending on who is playing the game, it can be as competitive or as relaxed as you want.
How it’s Played:
Each player starts out with one Spot-It! Card and the rest of the stack in the center of the playing space. The idea behind playing the game is to match an item from your card to an item that is on the center stack of cards. Once you match an item, you call the item out loud and take the center card and place it on top of your current card. The card you took, then, becomes your new card. The object of the game is to obtain the most amount of cards once the center stack has run out.
I love the game because it is always a challenge for all ages. It is very difficult to adjust your brain to train your eye to look for a certain shape or size because between all the cards, the shapes and sizes of the items continue to shift. With the circle-shaped cards, there is no rest or expectation for your eye and memory.
By the time we got to the third and fourth round, we had developed quick reflexes and a strong competitive edge. If you really like card games that involve speed and challenge your brain, this game is perfect for you, your family and friends. It is a game to entertain kids and adults, none of which will get bored playing.
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Judging from the above photo, looks like Amber, our customer care manager and Michelle were all about fun and games at work today. Stop in any day and challenge them to a game of spot it! Watch out though, they have been practicing.
Happy World Smile Day 2012!
World Smile Day was created by Harvey Ball of Worcester, Massachusetts, who, in 1963, designed the original smiley face logo.
He thought that we all should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts throughout the world, regardless of politics, geography and religion.
World Smile Day® is the first Friday in October each year, people all around the planet perform acts of kindness and help others smile.
Here is a healthy treat from family go that’s sure to put a “smile” on anyone’s face. Even the youngest kiddos can help create these; an excellent cook together.
This week’s Recipe for Fun: False Teeth aka Apple Smiles.
Ingredients
- smooth peanut butter
- 1 red apple, cored and sliced into eighths
- squeeze of lemon juice
- miniature marshmallows
Directions
- Spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice (squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple if not serving immediately).
- Place four miniature marshmallows on one apple slice and then lay another apple slice, peanut butter side down, on top.
Look at this DIY Halloween Garland idea featured on Forty-Two Roads. We are handing this one over to Erin, our Halloween decorator. Let’s see what see will do with it?
Templates for the cut outs can be found at Paper Crave.
These Spooky Spider Deviled Eggs were a huge hit last year. You might want to try making them with the kiddos for a fun together cooking time.
Deviled Eggs, always for Halloween, but this year we’re laying (out) special spider eggs to creep out some friends.
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon (3 oz.)
- 8 hard-cooked large eggs
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
1. In an 8- to 10-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, cook bacon, turning slices as needed, until browned on both sides and crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. When cool enough to handle, crumble bacon.
2. Cut each egg in half lengthwise; gently scoop out yolks and place in a bowl. Mash yolks with a fork, then stir in mayonnaise, green onions, mustard, and crumbled bacon until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon yolk mixture into the hollow of each egg-white half. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 4 hours.
Summer officially turns to fall today, September 22, with the arrival of the autumnal equinox, marking the time of year when day and night are of equal length.
As the days start getting shorter and the nights longer we head deeper into autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, building toward the longest night of the year on December 21 which is the the winter solstice.
The Light Up Solar System shown above is a helpful aid in teaching about our solar system.
A sweet way to learn about our solar system could be with these Planet Pops now available from Vintage Confections in the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The backs of these lollipops are black flecked with silver edible glitter that simulate stars.
Once in a Blue Moon – that’s tomorrow night.
We refer to the second full moon in a calendar month as a “blue moon.” Technically a blue moon occurs when there is a fourth full moon in a season. Modern folklore now makes it acceptable to call the second full moon in a month a “blue moon.”
The full moon occurs once every 29.5 days. This essentially means that there is one full moon every month. However, as we know, every month but February has at least 30 days in it, which presents the potential for two full moons in a month.
August 2012 – is one of these unique months, which will have two full moons. There was a full moon August 2nd, and there will be another another full moon tomorrow night, August 31st.
Moon in My Room, pictured above, is a classic tool for teaching the moon phases. It is authentically detailed, hangs on your wall and shines moonlight just like the real moon. Twelve different phase settings let you match what the real moon looks like outside tonight!
Once in a Blue Moon try surprising your family with homemade Moon Pies. Tidy Mom has a beautiful pictorial and her chocolatey delicious recipe, hop on over and learn how to create them. For any of you not willing or able to whip up homemade Moon Pies, the boxed variety may be the way to go.
