Easter Fun 2016

Easter is always a special time around our house. The bunny leaves colorful baskets with yummy chocolates and awesome toys! He hides over 400 eggs, spread out across our 4 wooded acres. The kids get fantastic loot, but they have to work for it! It's a great morning for everyone as our family creates sweet new memories!

This year, I think, was extra special because Ribby is at the perfect age where everything is magical and she can figure out on her own how to navigate finding goodies. Watching her toddle through the yard, down the trails, over the bridge, and under the trees to find eggs was so adorable! 

Easter Slug!

Easter Slug!

Easter Frog!

That Day You Realize...

Of all the millions of miles we've logged, and all the really awesome places we've seen with our own eyes, I can't believe I'd never realized how magical our own backyard was the whole time...

For my birthday, my daughter cleared a path through part of our yard. We set up a table and chairs, and even celebrated Ogie's NERFday party down in our new special spot.

But, today, the kids took me farther along the path, and I discovered we actually have small caves, boulder gardens, and a gorgeous rock wall that runs half the length of the backyard itself.

These are the same kinds of things we've traveled great distances to enjoy, but who knew we had such beautiful formations of our own all along!

Surely there is an important life lesson to be learned!

This photo doesn't do it justice, but this is SOOO awesome!

 

Today's Math Lesson: BINGO Money

Today's Math Lesson:

BINGO Money by Frank Schaffer

You can never go wrong with Bingo as a fun learning tool! We've had this particular game since Bear was a wee one. Granted, I started teaching Bear her basic skills pretty early compared to the others, but that's okay. I'm a firm believer that you let kids move at their own pace for learning. If you've got a one year old ready to play Bingo, then play with them. If your kid isn't ready for counting until much later, then let them take their time.

That's the great thing about games like Bingo. They teach kids fluency in concepts without even having to try. The best form of learning is just to sit down with a skill, even in the form of a game, and just relax and enjoy it.

These Frank Schaffer games are just simple cardboard pieces and cutouts, but if you take care of them and keep them stored properly, they will last. This game here is 15 years old, going on its 4th kid, and most of it still looks brand new. 

And it must work well, because, trust me, my kids know how to spend money! 

Today's Bingo Champ!

(excuse the paint splatters on the table)

Find BINGO Money by Frank Schaffer on Amazon!

Ribby Cakes Getting All Decked Out for Valentine's Day!

Bibby has been decorating Ribby's Bakery!

It's hard not to get excited about a holiday about LOVE!

Flexible Flyer Snow Screamer

We're having tons of winter fun here with our new Flexible Flyer Snow Screamer!

I've read a few less-than-desirable reviews, so I will update later if we have any problems with it; but so far we've had 4 kids using it for 5 days now, and it's been an absolute blast so far!

My kids don't normally enjoy spending too much time in the snow. They might go out for a few minutes, build a snowman, and then come back in looking for some hot cocoa. But since we've bought this, they wake up every morning begging to go outside and sled. And then I have to drag them back in before they freeze off random body parts.

Essentially, this is a glorified boogie board at 47 inches long, by 22 inches wide, with two sets of handles and a slick bottom. I've always considered our yard pretty sloped, but nothing else we had was really giving  the kids any distance. With the Snow Screamer, they can literally make it from the top of the yard, all the way to the bottom. It's not super super fast, but it gives them a great deal of distance, figuring our degree of slope.

At 12 and 8, Bibby and Ogie ride together with no problems. Ribby can sandwich in the middle for a ride with her siblings. That works just fine, too. I'm not sure what the maximum recommended weight is, but together my 3 kiddos are clocking in at about 215 pounds.

I do agree with some of the reviews I read that the stock photo makes it look like there is a molded seat on the board. That isn't the case. It's just part of the screen printed design and NOT three dimensional in any way.

We don't live in an area that usually sees a great deal of deep snow, so I'm no expert on snow toys; but the Snow Screamer is a GREAT choice for our kids in the midst of this crazy weather!

If your kids are catching a case of cabin fever, head on over to Amazon and check out the Snow Screamer today!


Snow Screamer on Amazon