Great learning idea!

Seth hasn't got tired of this yet, and we made it a few weeks ago. He is reading a little faster, and I think its because of practicing his sight words.
I just got a white poster board and made a parking lot. It took me like 5 minutes, not very time consuming. In each parking stall, I wrote a sight word.
To "play" he gets 3 or 4 cars. One of us will tell him a word and he parks a car on the word. There is more room to grow too.... another week and I think we will be adding the 1st grade sight words!!

Praise the Positive!

My kids sometimes are a little naughty ;). Here is a way to visually show them when they are good. Praise the positive and maybe more positive behavior will come!
I just printed a page with "Caught you being Good" on the top and each of my children's names down the page. I framed it. I put it on the piano where they see it multiple times a day.
Now, everytime I see them doing something good, I put a mark by their name with a dry erase marker. I don't erase when they are bad... because again... I'm trying to praise the positive! Once they have 15 marks by their name, they get a prize such as going out for ice cream with mom or dad.
Examples of being good? Playing with each other without fighting, doing their chores without me asking, stopping their own arguments without me, etc...

I love you because.....

I made these for my kids. They need to hear how and why I love them. This makes it easy to tell them how and why!
First I bought frames, then I decorated them with stickers and buttons I had in my scrapbook stuff. I printed a paper that says "I Love You Because...." and inserted it into each frame.
Now hang it on a wall where your child will see it often. (My kids each have one in their bedrooms!) With a dry erase marker, write on the frame a reason you love them. Update it often!! My kids remind me to change it if it's been a few days, and also have begged dad to write something as well. They love it!!
*TIP* use a frame with glass, because the marker doesn't come off of plastic as easily!

Tepee Treats

We made these in my daughters 5th grade class party. They turned out really cute, and the kids enjoyed it!! I got this recipe from familyfun.com

Tepee Treats
*sugar cones
*powdered sugar
*unsalted butter
*vanilla extract
*cake decorating icing
*decorative candies
*toothpicks

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer set at low speed, mix 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 C. of softened, unsalted butter, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract until smooth and spreadable. Stir in a bit of milk, if needed.
Frost the sugar cones and place them in the freezer for a few minutes until the icing hardens.
Now use tubes of icing to draw patterns and images and glue on candies. For lodgepoles, insert toothpicks into tip of each cone.

Foamerators!!

This was alot of fun for the kids! They make cool foam snakes. You will need: scissors, empty Plastic water or soda bottle(choose thick ones, the thinner ones won't work!), an old towel, rubber band, water and dish soap.

Use scissors to cut the bottom off of the bottle. Cover the open end with a circular piece of towel that's a few inches wider than the bottle. Secure the towel with a rubber band and dampen it with water, then dip it into a shallow bowl of dish soap. Blow through the mouth of the bottle to create snakes of tiny bubbles.

Fishing in the kitchen??

My kids did this with Grandma last weekend while she was babysitting.... It was a hit... we had it for snack time today at home!!

Items Needed:
plate
Nutella (or peanut butter)
Pretzel sticks
Goldfish crackers (we used chocolate, vanilla, and graham flavored)

Spread the fish across the plate. Dab a little Nutella on the side. To fish, use your pretzel stick as your rod, dip it in the nutella and catch your fish and eat it. Be careful, sometimes those fish like to get away!

Job Chart with more than 1 purpose!

This may be hard to believe, but my kids haven't even noticed that this is a "job chart". We had a Family Home Evening lesson on using our time wisely and I had made us each one of these charts, we are going for 1 week and seeing who can get the most points. Winner gets to choose a family activity for next week! You can do it for a week, or for an activity like a scavenger hunt.
This chart not only gets them to do their jobs, homework, piano practice and exercise, but it also gives them ideas to do instead of watching TV or playing on the computer.
You can change this to include things you'd like done at your house, or change the points as needed in your home. There is no way they can do every item, every day... So, they have to CHOOSE the way they spend their time. They get more points the better they choose! Sneaky? yes, a little... but so far this week.... The TV has not been on (unless Dad's watching!), there have been moments when I see kids doing jumping jacks, drawing pictures and more. And, they keep giving me ideas to add on for next week! It has also been good for me! I have got some unfinished projects done, and made the time for more worthwhile things!

To make your chart:
*Make a table chart with 2 columns, and as many rows as you want (remember to put more than they have time to do!) I have 27 and will add a few more next week.
*Fill in the first column with the item to do and points that it's worth.
*Leave the second column blank to fill in with points as they are earned. As we are doing it for a week, we are doing Tally marks and will add it up at the end of the week.
*Start Earning Points! Of course,Most Kids learn by example and so by seeing Mom and Dad writing in a journal, instead of playing a game on facebook, they will want to try harder to get points.

Some ideas of what we have on our charts with points:
Vacuum a room (20 points)
Do 25 push ups (10 points)
Practice Piano for 20 minutes (50 points)
Write in your journal (30 points)
Clean your Room (20 points)
Read 30 verses of scripture (30 points)
Memorize a scripture or Article of Faith (50 points)
Draw a picture for someone in the family (10 points)
Watch TV for 1 hour (10 points)
Do a service for a loved one or neighbor (50 points)
Homework finished before dinner (20 points)
Do a job from job jar (30 points)
Take a bath or shower (30 points)
Play a game with a sibling (40 points)
Read a book for 20 minutes (50 points)

Magic Sleeping Potion

We make this every year on Christmas Eve. Also, this makes a great easy gift to give to kids friends.

Assemble in a small bag:
1 pouch of hot chocolate mix
1 "magic" chocolate bell
1 sm. candy cane or peppermint stick
several mini marshmallows in a snack sized bag.

Attach this poem:

Magic Sleeping Potion

It's Christmas Eve time for bed
but not an eye will close
Too much excitement in the air
to even let you doze.

So mkae this "magic potion"
to help you fall asleep
Then Santa and his helpers
can down your chimney creep.

Pour the cocoa in a mug
and with hot water mix
then drop in the magic bell
and stir with a candy stick

Add a few marshmallows and
sip it slowly down.
Crawl into bed and snuggle in
the magic sleep will come around.

Thanksgiving Chain

About 10 days before Thanksgiving we got a cute box and cut some construction paper into strips. We then had a little "lesson" on being thankful and how blessed we are. We then wrote on the strips of paper things that we are grateful for and put them in the box. Throughout the week we would write things down as we thought of more. Then a few days before Thanksgiving we took them out of the box and read them as we made a chain. We strung this chain across our family room and will wrap it around our Christmas Tree to remind us to continue to be thankful!

This is the Place Park

So, this was a new one for all of us. We really enjoyed it! Right across from the Hogle Zoo is This is the Place park. WOW! So much to do, so much to see.
The entrace fee was $9 for adults and $7 for kids over 4. But it was SO worth it. With your admission you get a wrist band that has 3 boxes. When you do an activity they will cross off a box, so the kids had to choose activities wisely.... Plus, I gave them each one of my boxes... so they each did 4! Some activities don't take a box, so we still had lots to do.
Besides touring the old cabins and houses, Learning about different trades like tinsmithing, leather tanning, and cabinetry, we did many things.
There were crafts in some of the cabins, one cabin we learned about the pioneer children... what their chores were, what games they played, etc.
We also rode the train around, there is a petting zoo, panning for gold, a playground, Native american village, Ice cream and snow cone shop, old fashioned candy and toy store, pony rides, and so much more. We were there till close(5 p.m.) and still didn't have time to do it all. My kids all want to go again soon. Me too!! Next time though, we will take lots of water.... it was HOT!!

Hike to Stewart Falls

My kids, My friend Marci, and I all hiked to Stewart Falls yesterday. The kids did really well. It is about 4 miles round trip, so I was worried we wouldn't make it all the way. But they were troopers. They couldn't wait to tell Dad all about the awesome waterfall! They even said we should do it again with Dad!!
If you have never been.... You can get there through American Fork or Provo canyon. If you go through AF, then just follow the signs for the Alpine loop, if you go through Provo canyon turn towards Sundance. Look for the Aspen Grove parking lot and there is the trail. Beautiful scenery, Awesome waterfall, and plenty of bonding time! The mist from the waterfall was refreshing and the kids had fun playing in the water before heading back. Fun day!!