Who had one of these, oh children of the eighties? Monday’s Memories! Even if you can not attribute your spelling success to the Speak and Spell, we know that it helped ET phone home.
Archives for category: travel
We plan on doing this for the 4th of July since the ice is barely off the Minnesota lakes for Memorial Day 2013. For those of you in warmer climates, you may be able to kick off summer fun sooner than we can.
It is so very simple, just hot glue foam letters, numbers or shapes on the bottom of flip flops. Think of the fun – leave your mark in the sand. Hint: remember that the prints will be a mirror image, so arrange the letters backward.
This week, while meeting with kid’s stores in Volos, Greece, we learned that it is a big baby town.
Chances are good that if you are a special baby in Volos you will spend your early days in a canopied crib.
In the sea of cribs adorned with canopies, they are not just reserved for baby girls.
So sweet, white on white for the beginning life of a Greek.
Team Totally has potty talk tales that we could share, right? Notice the little pumpkin!
There were so many swings in this baby store, some of them spilled outside.
Strollers inside and more outside.
This one is for our sales manager, Annette! Of everything that I have seen so far, I wanted to pluck up these signs that were EVERYWHERE and bring some back to Totally Kids.
In most American restaurants ash trays are a thing of the past, but here in Greece, they are found on every table inside and outside. Plus…they get lots of use. As for the pitcher of water, we were stunned watching our waiter fill it.
All of our plentiful crystal clear drinking water comes down the mountain and runs continually from stone fountains like this one that filled our pitcher. Silly Americans, we thought that the ancient public stone fountains were just decorative.
Today we celebrate First Walk in Space Day.
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov, of the former Soviet Union, was born May 30, 1934 in Listvyanka, Kemerovo Oblast. He is a retired Russian cosmonaut and Air Force General who, on March 18, 1965, became the first human to step out of a spacecraft and walk in space.
While talking about space today, we thought what a perfect day to make and play with some moon sand.
Try this recipe for moon sand, it is amazing moldable, holdable, squishable, squashable, sand that never dries out!
For anybody needing a Jr. Astronaut Helmet, you will find the latest and greatest ones right here.
Holiday travel is right around the corner. Just in case you’re traveling with small children, look what we have for you! The foot powered Skootcase looking much like the iconic Italian scooter wouldn’t you say? Available in pink or blue and ride ready for airports or a spin around Grandma’s house. There is plenty of room inside to store your child’s favorite things.
Plus, it features a sturdy tow strap that makes it convenient to throw over your shoulder when your child gets tired. It is approved for carry-on luggage plus boasts a full steering column and can hold up to 110 pounds.
Check out these tips for traveling with kids and beating backseat boredom. The love story video is sure to put a smile on your face.
Yesteryear’s pint size suitcase has been up-cycled to a hanging vanity.
Schools out, now what do you do to keep your kids from falling into the frightening world of boredom? Lisa, from Little Bird School of Stitchcraft can show you how to cast a spell on your kids (fingers) this summer. She has a super trick for keeping little hands entertained while learning an age old craft at the same time.
Thanks Lisa for sharing your Finger Knitting post with us.
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Finger knitting is a really good way of getting children interested in wool crafts, and it is very easy to learn. It also helps to improve a child’s dexterity and ability to concentrate. No extra implements are required, just fingers, the best tools in the world! I often carry balls of yarn in my bag to pass the time in the doctors surgery or similar.
Finger knitting produces a long thin strip of stocking stitch and there are many things you can do with these strips. In this tutorial, which is suitable for children, I will show you how to finger knit. You can use any weight of yarn for finger knitting but for this tutorial I used chunky which produces a nice stocking stitch.
To cast on, begin with the palm of your hand facing you with the tail end of the yarn between your thumb and index finger. Weave the yarn over your index finger and behind the middle finger then over the ring finger. Wrap the yarn around your smallest finger and weave back to your index finger:
Weave the yarn around the index finger again and continue in the same manner but above the first rows of stitches returning to your index finger again:
Try to keep the stitches fairly loose otherwise it will be difficult for you to make the following moves.
The first row, begins with the little finger, lift the bottom row of wrapped yarn up and over the tip of your finger (see below). Ensure that you keep the top row of wrapped yarn on your finger as you go.
Continue the process of lifting the bottom row of stitches over the top row of stitches along your hand until you get back to your index finger:
For all subsequent rows, weave the yarn around the fingers again ending with the index finger. It should look like the image below:
Beginning with the little finger, lift the bottom row of yarn over the tips of your fingers. Continue weaving and lifting the yarn over the fingers. As you continue the process you will see a long strip of stocking stitch appearing behind you hand:
To cast off, do not weave the work around your fingers instead, lift the stitch off the little finger and pass it across to your ring finger:
Then lift the bottom stitch over the top stitch on your ring finger. Continue to pass the stitches across and over until you get to the index finger with one stitch remaining.
Cut the yarn, lift the stitch off the index finger and pass the end of your yarn through the stitch and pull to secure the end:
Finger knitting is very addictive and children love it for its simplicity and ease. I have loads of strips of finger knitting laying around the house and there are lots of things that you can do with them.
For more crafty ideas, be sure to visit Lisa’s blog Little Bird School of Stitchcraft.
Thanks again for sharing Lisa!
Before we had kids, my husband and I would eat out all the time and enjoyed our time together discovering new foods and restaurants. Now that we have two little boys, eating out isn’t so easy or enjoyable. We are now mostly limited to kid-friendly dining and even at the most kid-friendly restaurants, we are susceptible to melt downs, whining, crying, and restlessness among other things. So I made a list of restaurant table games to play while waiting for your meal, or even during meal time when the kids are done eating but the adults aren’t. These fun little games can be played using items found at your table and have really helped us keep the kids busy and calm while dining out.
1. Origami Fortune Tellers. I used to make these all the time when I was younger and they were always a camp favorite. If you don’t know how to make one of these, HERE is a step by step tutorial. All you need is the kids menu and crayons. Colors go on the outside, numbers in the center, and a fortune on each of the 4 inside flaps. Here is how to play: First your child chooses a color. If it’s red, then spell out R-E-D while moving the fortune together and apart with your fingers 3 times. Then choose a number from the center. Again, count while moving the fortune teller. Then pick another number and whichever number they choose, lift up the flat and that is their fortune. Here are some fortune ideas: “You will have good luck today” or “You will go to a party soon.” Or they could be a direction like “Give someone at the table a hug” or “Make a silly face.”
2. Sugar Packet and Penny Trick. This is a restaurant table version of the old cups and balls magic trick. Take three of the same color sugar packet and a penny or small coin. Show you child which packet the coin is under and then quickly mix them up while they are watching. See if they can follow which sugar packet the penny is under and when you are done mixing, ask them where the penny is.
3. Guess Which Hand. Hide a sugar packet/piece of a napkin/coin (or other small table object) in one of your hands. Make a fist with both hands and have your child guess which hand the object is in. My son likes to play this game on us! He (not so) discreetly hides something in one hand and then we get to guess. Of course I like to humor him and pick the wrong hand 
)
4. Straw and Sugar Packet Tic Tac Toe. Here is a fun way to play Tic Tac Toe. Ask your server for a couple extra straws and use them to make the game board. Use sets of two different color sugar packets as the markers for each team or player. Three in a row wins!
5. Straw Wrapper Worms. When you are unwrapping your straws, scrunch the paper up. Lay it on the table and drip a drop of water on it. Watch it wiggle and grow! See our Straw Wrapper Worm video:
6. I Spy. Choose an object at the table or within view of your table and using the phrase “I spy with my little eye, something ___” Provide a descriptive word about what you see and let your child guess what it is. Then let him/her pick something and you try to guess!
7. Dot Game. This is also called Capture the Squares. The object of the game is to connect dots to get as many squares as possible. Start by drawing a grid of dots and take turns connecting two dots at a time with a vertical or horizontal line. When a person is able to finish a square, put your initial in it. When all dots become squares, count the initialed boxes and whoever has the most wins!
8. ABC Spy. Using the kids menu, or in this case we used the fry basket liner, ask your child to find an “A” and so on. Each time they find the letter, they can circle it. This seems too simple, but believe me, this kept my 3-year-old occupied for a good chunk of time and he really liked searching for each letter I called out.
9. Disappearing Objects. Arrange a group of objects together in the middle of the table. Tell your child to look closely at all the objects on the table then tell him to close his eyes. Take an object away and see if your child can tell you which object is missing.
10. Table Football. There are actual rules to this game (that we don’t follow). We just like to make a paper football and enjoy flicking it around. To make the ball: Start by folding a piece of paper in half longways and fold the corner down into a triangle. Continue to fold down, making triangles until you get to the end of the paper. Tuck whatever excess paper is left on the end into the “pocket” on the top of the ball. The object of the game is the flick the football across the table and if it is hanging over the edge when it comes to a rest, you get a touchdown. We like to hold our hands up into a field goal and try and flick between the posts (aka fingers and thumbs).
Thank you Sarah from Repeat Crafter Me for sharing these entertaining ideas.
Do you read the warning labels on product packages? Look what Shauna discovered yesterday! If you purchase one of our fun rocketship tents for your children WARNING: do not allow them to shelter in it during a thunder storm!
The thunder storm warning is definitely for “spacey” parents wouldn’t you say?
Blast off for some good pretend fun in this futuristic rocketship, but WARNING: do not take shelter in it during a thunder storm.
Ralph, you do not have to send Alice to the moon to have this incredibly fun Moon Sand.
Did you know how easy it is to make Moon Sand, (the sand that you can mold) at home? Even with this recipe it is amazing moldable, holdable, squishable, squashable, sand that never dries out!
Now that you know there’s not need for a trip to the moon or the store, here is the recipe for DIY Moon Sand:
- 6 cups of play sand (really fine sand) found at Home Depot or Lowes
- 3 cups of cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups of cold water
- Mix the water and cornstarch together thoroughly, this will take a few minutes to get it nice and smooth.
- Gradually mix in the sand, one cup at a time. You’ll need to really work it in with your fingers. Little fingers especially like assisting with this task.
- Play with it!
- Once mixed, store it in an airtight container.
- When you next play with it, you may need to revive it with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Just sprinkle it over and work it in.
Play sand comes in different colors, so buy different colored bags if you wish.
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If it’s really a trip to the moon that you were looking forward to, here is the rocketship to get you there!
Blast off and have fun!
