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Car Bingo (6/29/10)
We just got back from our family vacation. We
had a six hour car drive each way and I knew the kids would spend most
of that time watching dvd's. I decided to make car bingo for them
to play just in case they got board with the movies. I was
surprised but the kids loved playing it. I played with my seven
year old daughter while my 4 year old son helped us look for the items.
It was fun and got them looking out the window at the scenery we drove
by. I was so glad they got to see some of our drive instead of
staring at the tv screen the whole time. I laminated the cards and
we used dry erase markers to mark the squares. Here are the cards we
used:
Car Bingo
Play Mats (5/24/10)
I found these cute little ocean figurines and space
figurines at the craft store Michaels. They had many different
themes such as birds and horses, but I thought my boys would like these
the best. For the photo they are on, I searched for themed
wallpaper on the internet and then printed them off. I found a
scene for each side, put them back to back to make them two sided, and
laminated them. My boys got them for Easter and loved them.
They are nice because they don't take up a lot of space so you can take
them with you places such as out to eat etc. I have seen a lot of
cute figurines such as packs of plastic bugs and green army guys at the
dollar store that would be fun too. They make fun and inexpensive
gifts for children.
Wii Mats (1/10/10)
My kids got a wii for Christmas. They love it
and it gets them moving. As they play, they start moving closer
and closer to the tv. I was afraid they were going to put the
remote right through the screen. So, I put down these carpet
squares and told them to stay on their mats. Hopefully it will
keep our kids and our tv from getting hurt!
Growth Chart (12/18/09)
I saw a growth chart recently online that I loved.
I have been meaning to make one for my kids for a few years but never
knew how I wanted to do it. This was the perfect solution.
Amy at
www.amyscreativevinyl.com made me the vinyl for the growth chart
like the one I saw online. I LOVE IT!!! I got an 8"x8' board
at Lowes and had them cut it to 7'. I just found out that Lowes
will cut your boards for you! Then I painted it an off white color
and sanded the edges lightly. Then I applied the vinyl and it's
ready to mark my kids heights on it. When I grew up we marked our
heights on the back of a door. When we moved we had to leave it
behind. Having the growth chart on the board is great because it
looks cute enough to leave out as a decoration, or if you want to put it
out of sight it will easily fit into a closet, and it's can go with you
if you move!
Multipurpose Toys (12/05/09)
These are the best children's toys ever! I
bought them on sale several years ago. While bathing my daughter
one day I became very frustrated with all the bath toys she was playing
with. They all had small holes that trapped water inside and every
time she squeezed them, black gunk squirted out! I got the set of
beach toys out and they have remained in our bathtub ever since.
There are buckets, shovels, cars, and boats etc. included in the set.
They love them. Last winter I had another bright idea. My
kids wanted to play out in the snow but I didn't want to join them in
the cold. So, I grabbed the beach/bath toys and set them out on
the deck in the snow. They loved scooping up snow and molding it
into shapes. I laid a towel down for them to sit on so they stayed
dry. We have also taken these toys to the beach and they loved
them there too. We've had them five years and all three kids play
with them daily. I've also put them through the washer and the
dishwasher several times to clean them with no problems. So, the
next time you need children's toys that are inexpensive, hold up great,
and are multipurpose- go buy a sturdy set of beach toys.
Racetrack (11/23/09)
We have two sons who spend the majority of their days
rolling, ramping, and racing their many cars all over the house.
We found the perfect racetrack for them. It is a piece of vinyl
soffit found at any home improvement store in the siding section for
about $12. It has three lanes and bends slightly to give the
perfect incline. It's 12" wide and 12' long and can be placed
anywhere. My boys have had it on our outside front steps, our
stairs inside, and leaned up against our couch. They have had so
much fun sending their cars down the track and watching them race down.
The best part is that it is thin so can be stored anywhere, it's very
inexpensive, and it keeps the boys busy for hours!
Puppet
Theatre (04/14/08)
For Christmas I made my kids a puppet theatre. I
saw several very expensive versions in catalogs and decided to make one
myself. I bought inexpensive fabric and sewed it together like a
curtain. You do not have to be good at sewing to make this.
Believe me because I am not a good sewer! All you need to do is
sew a straight line. Fold the fabric over at the top and sew two
straight lines where a curtain rod can fit through. Fold the
bottom up and sew a straight line for the hem. Use an adjustable
spring curtain rod and it will fit in any doorway.
Waitress
Kit (03/11/08)
For my daughter's birthday this year I made her a
waitress kit. It was very inexpensive and she loves it! Most
of the items in the kit we already had at home. All I had to do
was buy a few items at the dollar store and make her menus which cost
less than $5! I gathered the apron and fake food that we already
had. I made her a menu with words and pictures of the food in the
kit. I put the pictures on so her little brother can play too.
I also put prices for each food item so she can learn about money.
I made a smaller version of the menu that she can use to take our order
on. I laminated them both and gave her a dry erase marker to use
on the order card. I purchased fake money from the dollar store
and the tote that the kit is kept in. The lid of the tote doubles
as the serving tray.
Here's a copy of the menu and order pad. They
are both two sided.
Waitress
Kit
TV Tickets (08/28/07)
My daughter loves to watch tv. I had to find a
way to limit the amount she watches so I came up with my tv tickets.
Each day she gets three blue tickets that are good for one show each
that day only. Or, she could use all three tickets for one movie
that day. If she's been good during the week she'll get a green
ticket she can use to stay up later on Friday nights and watch a few
shows. Sundays we don't watch tv but if she's been good at church
and the rest of the day, she'll get up to three red tickets she can use
any time during the week. If she misbehaves, she loses her
tickets. I'm hoping this will help her behave better and limit her
tv exposure. We know when she's out of tickets, the tv goes off
for the rest of the day. One ticket is good for one show or three
tickets for one movie. You could use any number of tickets you
want per day. I thought 1 1/2 hours of tv was plenty.
Here's a copy of my TV Tickets you can download.
TV Tickets
Library Book Bag (06/07)
My daughter loves to go to the library. I
purchased an inexpensive tote bag and used iron on transfer paper to
add the photo and the words, "Ella's Library Books." She loves
having her own bag to carry to the library and fill with books.
At home, she keeps the books in her bag which keeps us from
searching the house for the lost library books. I also limit
her to 6 books she can check out at a time. I do this so we
always know she has 6 books and they are kept in the library bag.
Chore Chart (06/07)
This is the chore chart I made for my daughter.
Each day she has five things she needs to do. The chores are
hanging down on the ribbons. Once completed she moves them up
on the square. If all five chores are completed that day she
gets to move a star up for the day. At the end of the week she
gets an allowance based on the number of stars received that week.
Here is a copy of my chore chart you can download.
Chore
Chart
Money Bank (06/07)
I purchased an empty paint can at the hardware
store and covered it with paper. Then I used foam core that I
cut and glued to dived the inside of the can into three sections.
I labeled the outside of the can with three sections and cut slots
to drop the money through the top plastic lid. The three
sections we use are tithing, savings, and fun money. Now, when
my daughter gets her allowance we help her divide her money between
the three sections. She's learning to pay her tithing, save
money for the future, and to live within her means (fun money)!
Baby Book (07/07)
When I got pregnant I started looking through baby
books. I saw that my book wasn't completely filled in and
neither were my sibling's books. I decided I wanted to be
organized and keep my children's baby books filled in. I made
a template for my book in Microsoft Word and I fill it out in my own
handwriting. I think my children will like to see someday what
my handwriting looks like. I started with pregnancy sheets to
keep track of each month of pregnancy. Then when they were
born I started filling out their baby book pages. I keep it
updated monthly until they are two years old then I switch to every
six months. It keeps track of things they have accomplished,
or silly things they've done or said. It has a page for things
that I hope I never forget about them as well as monthly notes about
things they are learning and doing and their likes and dislikes.
I really treasure these books and I keep all the filled out pages in
page protectors in their own notebooks.
Here is a copy of my pregnancy and baby book pages
you can download.
Pregnancy Worksheets
Baby Book Worksheets
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