3 Reasons to love the Junior Ranger program (she: Allison)
|

3 Reasons to love the Junior Ranger program (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Family travel doesn’t get any better than in the national parks. National parks are the best places to see our nation’s most spectacular scenery and best cultural destinations. National parks offer activities for all ages. National parks are also an incredible bargain. Admission to most parks is $25 per vehicle (or less) for seven days.

The U.S. National Parks are also the home of the Junior Ranger Program, which has been a lot of fun for our family. My children have collected Junior Ranger badges from a dozen national parks, national monuments and national historic sites in several states. We have also found a few state parks that offer their own junior ranger programs.

Favorite Things Party for Kids! (she: Veronica)

Favorite Things Party for Kids! (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

If you have kids like mine, they are fresh out of school and already BORED. So, we thought it would be fun to throw a “Favorite Things” party…for KIDS! If you’ve never heard of a Favorite Things party, you are missing out!! They are my FAVORITE parties. Typically they are thrown for adults, but I thought it would be fun to do for kids. If you love it, maybe you’ll be brave enough to throw one for you and YOUR friends. I’m going to share the basic instructions for a “Favorite Things” party and you can adjust it for adults or kids.

What is a Favorite Things Party? In a nutshell, you and your guests bring some of their favorite things, you exchange gifts in a fun way, and everyone goes home with some new favorite things. YIPPEEE!

‘Happy Birthday, dear family…’ ~ Celebrating Your Anniversary With The Kids!
| |

‘Happy Birthday, dear family…’ ~ Celebrating Your Anniversary With The Kids!

ByMariel

Dan and I just celebrated our 13 year anniversary, on June 2nd. Yay!!! It happened to fall on a Sunday, the day we go to church, don’t shop, eat out, etc. So, we celebrated on Friday. It was super fun. We decided to get an overnight babsitter and do a little stay-cation in Ogden, just 10 minutes from our house. We found a great hotel, walked the historic streets, saw a flick, and ate way too much food. I loved it!

Anyway, so since we ended up being home on our actual anniversary, I started to think about how it’s sorta-like our family’s birthday…so, why not celebrate with the kids?? It was a last minute decision, so I didn’t have all the fixins I would have liked, but it still ended up being a wonderful night with the fam.

Educational BINGO ~ The Kids BEG to Play!
| |

Educational BINGO ~ The Kids BEG to Play!

ByMariel

I know school is almost over for most of you, and although I intended this activity to be for homeschool, I can see us playing it all year long. It’s nothing fancy, just BINGO…awesome BINGO. I’ve always got my eye out for really great educational products for kids, and while browsing the daily Zulily deals, I saw these really neat BINGO sets for half off. They’re from Lucy Hammett Games and each set is based around a certain theme, like: birds, weather, wildflowers, oceans, body, butterfly, art, and soooo many more! You play it like you would any other BINGO game, but the kids are actually learning with these. Yay! Not only can they learn from the pictures alone, but on the back of each card is a little description/facts about what is on front.

The first time we played, we used jelly beans as the markers. Mistake. Nobody could keep them on the board and out of their mouths!

The Humble Chair ~ Building Kid’s Self-Esteem (she: Veronica)
|

The Humble Chair ~ Building Kid’s Self-Esteem (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Recently, we’ve had some kids struggle with a few different things. They haven’t been major things, but to THEM, they have felt HUGE. I’ve watched as these struggles have worn away at their self worth. I started looking at each of my children and realized that there are many things that tend to whittle away at their feelings of worth and value. So, I decided it was time to do “The Humble Chair”.

WHAT is the “Humble Chair”?

It’s a simple activity that allows you to focus on building someone up.

Children & The Comparing Syndrome ~ “I Can…” Can (she: Brooke)

Children & The Comparing Syndrome ~ “I Can…” Can (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Right now the big issue I’m dealing with at our house is the comparing/competition syndrome. I have twins, and it’s probably something I’ll constantly be dealing with with these two boys. They are best buddies, and get along amazingly well, but there are those moments. All you mothers out there know these moments. Moments when one of your twins (or any child) scores three goals at Saturday’s soccer game, and the other scores none. Moments when one twin notices the letter (reading level) on the back of brother’s home reading book is higher than his. Moments when one twin gets invited to play at a friend’s house and the other doesn’t. Moments when the younger (not quite 5) cousin from out of state comes to visit and can read chapter books when your kindergarten twins can’t. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the idea.

A few months ago I was at my parents’ house and ran across a little book that had simple ideas for nurturing your child’s self esteem. There was an idea in the book I loved. It was called the “I Can…” Can. It’s as easy as it’s name suggests.

Builders & Bulldozers ~ A Fun Outdoors Game for the Family! (she: Brooke)
| |

Builders & Bulldozers ~ A Fun Outdoors Game for the Family! (she: Brooke)

ByMariel

My twins have been on spring break this past week, and the weather has been so nice! We’ve been outside a lot these past few days. I love when the weather turns warmer, and you can spend time outside in your backyard playing games (like Builders & Bulldozers), a great outdoors game for the family!…

Creative Games to Motivate Kids to Clean (& My Easter Pictures!)
|

Creative Games to Motivate Kids to Clean (& My Easter Pictures!)

ByMariel

This is the current state of my playroom… … times that by five, and you’ll have the whole picture.  Wanna see the girl’s bedroom??  No, you don’t.  I promise.  It doesn’t matter how much my girls clean up, how many motivating lectures I give, how much they get in trouble, how great the reward is…the…