I received an interesting email today that I thought you might also enjoy. It came from Arm & Hammer, as in Arm & Hammer baking soda.
Here’s the little blip about Arm & Hammer Recess that you’ll see on their website:
“Looking for clever ways to engage kids AND teach them something new? (Bonus points for low effort, low cost, and fun!) Discover a whole world of Baking Soda-inspired crafts, experiments, and recipes to try with your family. Great for after school, rainy days, or weekends, each activity is kid-friendly and the perfect inspo to get little creators thinking in fun new ways.”
Their website looks like it has a TON of fun things to do so if you’d like to check it out, here’s the website address:
I made a stop at our local Dollar Tree store and, of course, I had to check out the kids items. 😉 That’s what grandmas do, right? I want to share 3 fun things with you that I saw.
#1.) Dominoes. Double Six dominoes, 28 pieces.
These will be great for helping kids learn to match numbers and colors or just for playing the game of Dominoes.
And yes, they will stand up so you can build lines that will fall down with a push on a single domino. 🙂
#2.). Sparkle by Number Unicorn Kits
You just peel and stick on little “gems” to make the picture sparkle!
I know a little girl or two that would think this is fun to do and so pretty! (And maybe some BIG girls too!) 😉
There were 2 different unicorn pictures at our local Dollar Tree store.
#3.). Barbie pets. They had a kitten and a bunny that would be fun to add to a Barbie doll play set.
I always have fun when I wander the aisles of our local Dollar Tree store! I hope you can find some fun goodies for yourself and for your favorite kids! 🥰
Hello there! Yep, it’s Tuesday so here we go again! Would you like to serve a fruit salad for part of a meal but it’s a big hassle because nobody likes the same fruit and you can’t remember who likes what?! Yea…been there, done that, right? So here’s one solution. Fix the fruit and then have a taste test. Once everyone knows what kind of fruit they like (and don’t like) each person can put their favorites into their individual bowl.
Here are some of the fruit I used but of course, use the fruit you and your family will eat.
#1.) Strawberries
#2.) White Seedless Grapes
#3.) Blueberries
#4.) Mandarin Oranges or small orange pieces
#5.) Red Seedless Grapes
#6.) Bananas
After all fruits have been tested by tasting, each person can add the fruit they like to their bowl.
Stir in a little yogurt or sour cream and ENJOY!
I love fruit salad, especially during the summer when it’s hot outside. It’s cool and refreshing. I hope this taste test will make fruit salads go over more smoothly at your house! 😃
And just like that, we’ve started a new school year! Wow, where did summer go? Here’s a simple project that can keep your kids’ spirits upbeat as they hit the books once again.
All you need is a pack of regular pencils and a fine point permanent marker. Simply write an encouraging message on each pencil. If there is more than one child in the family, also include their name. When your child uses their pencil, they will see your encouragement and they will remember you made this pencil especially for them. 🥰
Here are some closer views so you can see what I wrote on these pencils for our grandkids.
Of course, feel free to write whatever message you like. Let’s get our kids started off on the right foot this school year! 🙂
Sorry for the lateness of this post! I’m having computer problems so I’m going to try this post from my phone. Here goes! 😉
Do you find it hard to keep kids motivated when you are homeschooling or they are doing distance learning at home? Sometimes it helps to take a short break now and then. I’d like to share an idea with you today that might make even a short break more refreshing and fun! All you need is a sheet of paper and a pen.
Make the piece of paper into small squares by folding and tearing or by using a pair of scissors to cut it. I made mine into 16 pieces.
Now write funny little activities on each piece of paper. I’ll show you what I wrote in just a second…
The ages of your children will help you decide what kind of activities to write down. The goofier the better! The idea is to get them up and moving and smiling. 😃 Here are the activities I wrote on my pieces of paper:
After you finish writing on all your pieces of paper, fold them in half and then in half again so nobody can read what they say.
Find a container or bowl to place them in.
You decide when it’s time for a break from studying or working. Maybe it’s after 2 pages of Math or after reading a chapter in a book. When it’s break time, allow your child to reach inside and pull out a piece of paper. Then they read it or have it read to them and they do the activity. It makes for a nice break from sitting for long periods of time. Hopefully after doing their activity, the kids are awake and ready to tackle the next subject. I hope you’ll give it a try! 😃
I saw a recipe today on the Shopkick app that sounded interesting, so I wanted to share it with you. I haven’t tried it yet because I don’t have all of the ingredients on hand, but I think I will try it soon. As you can see from the title, the recipe is for making Chocolate Hummus. If your kids will go for it, it could be a great healthy snack! The following pictures are from the Shopkick app:
I’d love to hear from you if you try it and what you think of it! 🙂
If you have no idea what the Shopkick app is, it’s an app that lets you do little tasks like watching a short video or scanning a product UPC in the store and you earn points towards free gift cards. If you would care to sign up, you and I will both earn points. Use the code SALE895789 or download at https://get.shopkick.com/96Rn/dcc98d83.
Yep, it’s Tuesday once again and that means it’s time for Taste Testing Tuesday! Today is also Trail Mix Day so we are combining the two and taste testing trail mix. 🙂
So what is trail mix? Trail mix is simply nuts, seeds, dried fruit and maybe some chocolate mixed together for a snack. People like to pack trail mix to eat when they go hiking or on a trail. 😉 Of course, it’s great for anytime, including school lunches or after school snacks. So let’s talk about what goes into trail mix…
sOne main ingredient is the nuts or seeds. These are just some that I had on hand but you can use any type of nuts or seeds you like. We have cashews, pecan and pistachios.
Next comes the dried fruit…raisins, cranberries, dried strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc. If its a dried fruit, it can go into trail mix. Another popular dried fruit that is often used is dried bananas.
You can also add some chocolate, but be careful where you will be taking your trail mix if you do. If you will be somewhere the temperature is hot, your chocolate will melt and make a mess. Add in your favorite candy, crackers, yogurt covered raisins, etc. The sky’s the limit here! 🙂
So how do you taste test trail mix? Grab some small cups and lay out all of the available ingredients and let each person taste each thing and decide if they want to add it to their own individual cup of trail mix.
Put what you like in your cup…
…then place one hand over the top of the cup (so the pieces won’t fly out!) and shake your cup. This helps to mix the pieces together.
Then enjoy eating your trail mix right from your cup or pour it out onto a small plate or napkin.
Remember, it’s ok if everyone’s trail mix is different from another’s. Each person can make theirs to suit their own taste and favorite things. Maybe you’d like to make some for your next camping or hiking trip! Ziploc bags will also work great for each person to make their own trail mix. 🙂 Enjoy!!
We are still finding Monarch butterfly eggs and caterpillars! I thought I would show you some more of these teeny tiny guys and how they like to keep me on my toes by sneaking off while I’m cleaning their “hotels” (or the little containers they are currently living in). Take a look at just how tiny the caterpillars are when they first hatch. See the dime? Look how small they are in comparison to a dime! Can you find 3 caterpillars in this picture?
Here’s one of them a little closer up. Compare it to the print on the newspaper. Wow!
It’s not surprising that I have trouble keeping track of them, is it? They also like to hide on the underside of a milkweed leaf.
Can you spy the caterpillar hiding inside the rolled up leaf?
I write down how many caterpillars are inside each “hotel” so I can make sure I find all of them. And I have to unroll every little piece of milkweed leaf to find them. This picture is after the leaf was unrolled.
This picture just looks like a dried up, rolled up leaf right? Should I just throw it away?
NO! Look who was hiding inside!! 🙂
Ok, now THIS guy was feeling VERY adventurous for a baby that is less than a day old!! He crawled out of his “hotel” even when the lid was on! Can you find him? He looks like a little line on the top of the lid. Oh my!
Now this caterpillar was one that I found outside when he was already this big. He was just sitting on a leaf, not moving while I got a new “hotel” ready for him. Until I walked away for a couple of seconds to get something I needed. And then he tried to make a run for it!! Haha! Don’t worry…when I offered him a milkweed leaf to crawl onto he was quite happy to come back. 😉 He thought the leaf tasted very yummy!
One more picture for today…this caterpillar was quite a fast crawler and he also made a break for it when I stepped away for a few seconds. He went happily back inside with the fresh milkweed leaves. Maybe he was just checking to see if any of the other “hotels” looked better than his? 😉
Did you enjoy reading about some of my caterpillars adventures? You might think raising caterpillars till they become butterflies would be rather boring, but it’s really not! I think they are rather funny and I love talking to them (“Hey, you! Get back here!”) and feeding them and watching them grow. 🙂
When I stopped at our local Joann Fabric store this week, they were offering a free small pack of the Crayola Colors of the World crayons. My pack had 4 crayons in it.
I don’t have any way of knowing if all the Joann Fabric stores have these, but it might be worth checking your local store to find out. Here are the colors that were in my pack: black, sepia, tan and peach.
The Kids Niche 