Back To School Tips & Traditions

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Plan a "School Year's Eve" celebration or a "Twas the Night Before School" party.

Take Photos! Some families take their pictures in the same spot in their yard every year – as the children grow, so do the trees and plants in the background.

In keeping with a German tradition, fill a Schultuete for the first day of school.


Back to School Breakfast

Plan a visit from the "Back to School Fairy" who leaves school supplies inside your child's bag along with a special treat.

As always, Tip Junkie has compiled a fantastic list of back to school projects and traditions.

Make School Year Resoultions.
A Purse Full of Cheerios has a great compilation of Back to School tips and suggestions.

Conduct a Back to School interview. Each year on the first day of school ask you child the same series of questions. It is fun to look back and see which answers remain the same and which will change.
~What subject are you most excited to learn about?
~What is your favorite part of the school day?
~Who are you most looking forward to seeing?
~What do you want to be when you are grown?

Stock up on the "Back to School Supplies for Mom"

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Saturday Spotlight: Mrs. P's Be a Famous Writer Contest

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We just found out about this exciting opportunity for all the writers you have at home, and we think it would be a fun contest for your child to enter! See the details below:

http://www.mrsp.com/, the critically acclaimed, free kids’ entertainment site, announced today that from September 1 through October 15, MrsP.com is seeking great stories written by children 4 to 13 years old for its first “Be A Famous Writer Contest.”

Four already-famous writers will be selecting the Grand Prize winners: Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist and author of dozens of bestselling books of fiction and non-fiction; Craig Ferguson, host of the CBS Late Late Show and author of the acclaimed novel, Between the Bridge and the River; Andre Bormanis, writer and producer of the popular fantasy series, Legend of the Seeker and author of Star Trek: Science Logs; and Diana Leszczynski, author of the novel, Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose, recently selected as a Smithsonian Notable Children’s Book and currently being developed as a motion picture.

Children are invited to submit their stories in one of two categories: 4 to 8 years old and 9 to 13 years old. Grand Prize winners will have their stories produced as videos with Mrs. P reading them aloud from her Magic Library. Original illustrations by professional artists will help bring the stories to life. The videos will be posted for a limited time on http://www.mrsp.com/ for viewers all over the world to watch. In addition, each winner will receive an actual bound copy of the story and illustrations.

Powell’s Books (http://www.powells.com/), the largest independent bookseller in the world, is the official sponsor of the writing contest. Gift certificates to purchase books will be provided to all the winners. For a complete list of rules, and to submit an entry online to the “Mrs. P’s Be a Famous Writer Contest,” parents and kids can go to http://www.mrsp.com/

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Experimenting with Water

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Happy Friday!
Wishing you have oceans of fun with all these water experiements.

Make a sunset in a bottle
Objective: Kids will learn about liquid density in a hands-on way.
Materials: Jars, food coloring, water, cooking oil, rubbing alcohol, beads, glitter and action figures (optional) and hot glue gun (optional).

Create a Tornado Tube with the instructions from Kristi at Orange Juice.


Here is a fun science experiment from The Attached Mama involving cornstarch and water.
The science behind the experiment is described here.



The kids at Growing Up Our Style experimented with color while painting with ice cubes.

Adventures with Kids tested the properties of water while making a Special Soup.

Delightful Learning played with many different objects to determine whether they would float or sink. Sharon from Teaching Tiny Tots shares the step by step instructions for an experiement on How a Plant Absorbs Water.
One Busy Mama submitted her experiement, Will It Float?
Put together a homemade lava lamp with frozen water.
You freeze rainbow ice cubes (with foodcoloring). Then you just drop the ice cubes into a big jar of oil, as they float and melt it’s a beautiful color show and looks like a rainbow.

Ten Kids and A Dog submitted her link to 3 easy to implement experiements using water.


Joann and her children also had great experiements for their lesson on floating.


Absorption Experiment

Learning Objective: exploring properties of water; actively engages in hands-on science activities

Materials: ice cube tray, medicine dropper, cup of water, small piece of wood, facial tissue, tissue paper, writing paper, paper towel, Unifix cube (or anything plastic), cotton ball, small rock, sponge, aluminum foil, any other materials which will/will not absorb water.

Procedure: Have the child squeeze a few drops of water into each section of the ice cube tray using the medicine dropper. Provide them with a variety of materials for the experiment, some that will absorb water and some that will not. Hand the child one of the items and ask him/her to predict whether it will absorb water or not. The child will place the item in one of the sections of the ice cube tray to see which items absorb water and which do not.

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Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards Review and Giveaway PLUS Picnic Table Talk: Encouraging Others

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Hello Picnic Table Talk participants!

Today we are talking about ways we can encourage our children, family, and friends for our collaborative Picnic Table talk and we wanted to share a way to encourage children that we discovered for our contribution.

Please scroll down to the bottom of this post for today's sharing blog hop linky.

Congratulations to comment #6 Annette! You're our winner of the Daily Affirmation Cards!

Back when we first started thinking about doing a Prize Picnic promotion for the summer one of the first businesses we came across was today's sponsor, The Daily Whisper. We immediately liked her colorful, whimsical, and positive affirmation cards. We liked how they helped kids begin to have positive self talk and believe in themselves. We thought they were a great tool to teach something that can be difficult to teach in a concrete method.

One of the most powerful tools we can teach our children is how to be positive in the face of adversary and tribulations. One way is to help them have an overall sunny outlook on life. If they believe strongly in themselves they will have an important tool to help them persevere through tough times. But how do we teach that? Is it enough to give them lots of praise and support or are there directed ways to instill this in our child? That's where the Daily Whisper's Affirmation Cards come into play.

Barbara the artist behind the cards sent us the following thoughts on her product and why she thinks they are so important and ways you can use them with your children.

How powerful are our thoughts?
Do you speak to yourself in a positive and loving way?
Are your beliefs holding you back or moving you forward?

Daily Whisper Affirmation cards are designed to help us talk to ourselves in a positive way. Did you know our subconscious mind says “yes” to whatever you tell it? If we say “I AM Smart” or I AM Stupid”, each will become a belief, if we say it often enough.

To break the pattern of negative self talk, read the simple statements on the Daily Whisper Affirmation cards many times throughout the day. The positive statements on the card will override your old negative beliefs and allow you to enjoy a more positive and happy future.

Children are all different. Some are born with high self-esteem while others are born with low self-esteem. It is believed that a person has to earn their self-esteem on their own. In other words, as parents we can’t penetrate this belief with our love and praise. Our children have to find a way to change their self belief by themselves. Their self talk or Daily Whisper needs to be altered. But how, as parents can we help our children with this life changing re-programming?We can help in many ways. We can find something for our child to do that they excel in. Maybe that is swimming, tennis, soccer, baseball, artwork, sewing or many other activities that bring a smile to their face and a feeling of importance to their minds.

Another way is to give them tools to help re-direct their secret dialog. Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards for Children were designed to encourage children to talk to themselves in a positive way. Did you know our subconscious mind says “yes” to whatever we tell it? If we say “I AM Smart” or I AM Stupid”, each will become a belief, if we say it often enough.

The Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards can be used in many ways. They can be read daily by choosing one card that fits the mood of the day. If your child had a conflict with a bully at school the affirmation card that states “I am not afraid of bullies” may be the perfect answer. If the child feels lonely in a large family maybe the perfect choice is “I AM an important part of my family”.
A young child who is not able to read may enjoy the pictures and ask siblings or parents to read the statements. This is a wonderful learning tool because it will teach the child to talk nicely and it may be a good reminder for the person reading the card as well!

As parents we need to stay proactive in our children’s lives. Whether you have a child with low or high self-esteem, the Daily Whisper Affirmation Cards for Children are a wonderful tool to teach our children to speak kindly to themselves in their Daily Whisper.

Jump Start a Brighter Outlook on Life!

Looking for ways encourage your child and way to help him or her develop positive self talk? Visit the Daily Whisper and purchase a set of Affirmation Cards for Children, at only $8 a pack they are a wonderful way to help get your child develop a positive outlook on life! Barbara has several other fun and unique products and pieces of art that will make your smile so look around while you're there!

Barbara's Affirmation Cards are printed on thick card stock and feature her own original illustrations, you can view the cards included in the pictures above. They are laminated for durability and the corners have been rounded so there are no sharp edges. Your child can carry these around with them and look at it throughout the day many times and it will hold up to repeated handling.

Their business card size means that they can be discretely carried around and easily brought to school in a pocket. Your child can refer to an Affirmation Card and get a little pep "talk" from mom or dad by looking at it throughout the day and begin positive self talk at the same time.

My three year old has taken to carrying the cards around in her purse, she calls them her credit cards and asks us to read them to her throughout the day during play. I like how she's "purchasing" positive feedback from me. I can't stress enough how much the lamination really helps keep the cards looking beautiful and has helped the cards withstood frequent use from a toddler. Her personal favorites are the reading dog "I enjoy reading" and the smiling flower "I AM loved and very lovable" cards. After I read the flower one to her, she always says, "Yes I am," and gives me a big hug. I have to say sometimes the affirmation cards have also been reminder to me too to think positively about myself too!

Giveaway: {now closed}

The Daily Whisper is giving a set of Daily Affirmation Cards to one of our readers!

To Enter:

Visit the Daily Whisper at Etsy or on her personal artist site and tell us which product she carries you like most, were most inspired by, or give us a suggestion for product for her to add to her line. Do this and then any extra entries.

This giveaway has been extended and is open to all of our readers worldwide. Please continue to enter! Good luck!

Additional Entries: {please leave an additional comment for each method}

Visit the Daily Whisper Blog, leave her a comment on any post but make it meaningful and give her some feedback. Leave us a link to the post you comment on.

Follow the Daily Whisper Blog, please note it is not on Blogger so you will need to go into your Dashboard and hand enter it into your list of blogs that you follow.

Leave us a suggestion for a new affirmation for the Daily Whisper add to the package to encourage kids at home, school, or extra curricular activities.

Tell us how you encourage your children or family members {or} tell us how someone has encouraged you.

Participants in this week's Picnic Table Talk, see linky below will get an extra entry for sharing a positive strategy or story with us.

Weekly Picnic Table Talk Link Up

Please add a link to a post on your blog that shares how you encourage others. We'd love to get new ideas on how you support your children, students, family, friends, co-workers, and just about anyone else who needs encouragement. You can also share how someone has encouraged you too.

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Tea Party Activities

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August is a great month for a little tea party.
Although, they are enjoyable any month if you ask our 3 year old girly girls!

Set up a Royal Backyard Tea Party . You may want to serve a rose petal & apple pie!
Adventures of a Flake has a weekly Tea Time Thursday feature on her blog.

Beth and her daughter know all about tea parties. They submitted the following three ideas:
Check out the fancy tea PARTY!

Here is a Fancy Nancy tea party hosted by a local book store. This would make an exciting playdate event as well.

Perhaps you'd like to make your own fancy felt foods for tea time.


Basia lists the key ingredients for a toddler time tea party.

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SIRJJ Review & Giveaway

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This summer I've been lovin' my little "green" baby. Everything he experiences is new and seems to bring a smile to his face!


A Few of My Personal Favorite "Green" Baby Summer Memories:
~Enjoying nature walks
~Strolling through the farmer's market for fresh from the farm fruits and veggies
~Making some of our own baby food
~Digging holes in the sand
~Reading a few "green" board books
~Stowing all of our on the go necessities in our quirky, cute Envirosax
~Splashing in the waves
~Cloth diaper bottom, which I rarely bother to cover with clothes because it's cute and colorful as is!
~Discovering many different textures with crawls through grass, mulch, sand, mud, dirt, and gravel
~Visiting several of our state parks

All the while staying lathered up with SIRJJ Organics - Green Baby Lotion SPF30.


I really love the way this product feels. It smells truly natural and has small flecks of organic material that rub into our skin as we rub on the sunscreen.

This particular moisturizing lotion with SPF is 100% gluten free. It contains zinc oxide, titanium dioxide for blocking the sun's harmful rays, cold pressed oils, and organic green tea power. It is also 100% chemical free -I appreciate that when I'm putting it on my babe's sweet skin.



The Green Baby line includes wonderful products for healing baby eczema and diaper rash. It also includes a healing Shea ointment, cleanser, and all the time lotion. I would confidently use any of the pieces of this product line on all three of my kids, currently ages 0-5.



The Green Baby products are just one line in the extensive collection of SIRJJ, "Surge," products. SIRJJ Organics also offers skin care solutions for adult acne, eczema, rosacea, anti-aging and sun protection for both men and women. I am actually looking forward to giving their new AcaiBerry Line a try in my own daily skin routines. In addition to being all natural, there are no added fillers, thickeners, or carcinogens in these products.

In their words, "Fillers have no place in nutrition."

Sarah, Johnson, from SIRJJ, is a busy mother herself. She has 4 children: Samual, Isaac, Rachel, and James. She has spent years collaborating with skin care professionals to develop a full line of products to safely address the all types of skin. She believes in the nutritional aspect of skin care for herself, her family, and her customers.

SIRJJ products are available for you to purchase at their online shop. For the duration of this giveaway, they have offered our readers a 50% discount on Green Baby Lotion SPF 30 from now until September 1 using the code KATIEM50 at check out.
In addition you will save 30% on ANY order made in the next 7 days using the code KATIEM30.

Win a Fabulous Collection of SIRJJ products!

Collection includes:
Acai Berry SPF10 Day Cream 1.0oz -- Retail $18.00
Acai Berry Rehydration Cream 1.0oz -- Retail $18.00
Green Baby Healing Shea Ointment 1.0oz -- Retail $18.00
Green Baby Shea & Aloe Lotion 4.5oz -- Retail $15.00
Total Prize Value: $69.00

To Enter:
Visit SIRJJ and take a look at their products, come back and tell us which skin solution line would be the best fit for you and your family.

Entries: (Please leave a separate comment for each additional method)
Follow ABC publicly
Take a look at the SIRJJ blog and leave a comment there.
Switch your Summer Prize Picnic button back to the ABC & 123 Theme Button for fall.
Send a submission and/or suggestion for our fall posting schedule.
Post about this giveaway linking to this post and our sponsor, leave us a link to your post

Good Luck! This giveaway is open from now until August 31 @ 10 PM EST for US residents.

Disclaimer: We reviewed the Green Baby lotion from SIRJJ free of charge for the purpose of writing this article and hosting the giveaway on our blog. However, it is important to note that my opinions are genuine and no effort was made by the company to influence this authentic review.

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The Color Brown

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Make a Brown Bark Boat, as seen on The Magic Onions.
Water paint all things brown that can be found in your backyard.

Read about Mr. Brown in 2 classic Dr seuss books:
~Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can you?
~Hop on Pop (Mr brown makes an appearance upside down)

Read Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle. Then create a Brown Bear Storyboard!

Check out The Home Teacher's brown day.

Follow the link to see a Brown Bear lapbook Susana made.
Put together a Brown Yarn Spider.

Snack on nuts, pretzels, pudding, or graham crackers.

The Preschool Express has a great list of Brown Games to play.

More Brown Ideas:
Bake some chocolatey goodness...Brownies?!?!
Collect brown leaves
Make gingerbread
Play in the dirt
Finger paint with chocolate pudding
Build with brown Lincoln logs
Do brown tree bark rubbings

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Summer Prize Picnic Update

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What a fantastic summer full of sharing great ideas! Thank you so much for all the fantastic submissions, your encouraging comments, and your participation in our Summer Prize Picnic.

We are both gearing up to send kiddos off to preschool and kindergarten for the first time. It is exciting to look forward to all that they will experience as they begin their schooling. It is likely that you are also gearing up for a full fall or teaching and learning. From the sounds of it, many of you are ahead of Michigan in that your kids are already back into routine. However, the Summer Prize Picnic will be wrapping up in the next two weeks, so we wanted to give you an idea of what is to come.

We will be featuring two more fantastic summer sponsors on August 25th & September 1st. We will be encouraging you to earn extra entries in the next two giveaways by switching your Summer Prize Picnic buttons back to the original ABC & 123 button.There will also be two more Picnic Table Talk Topics.

To help you plan ahead for those the topics will be:

August 27th - Encouraging Others

~What to you do to encourage your children

~your students

~your friends

~your parents

~people you volunteer with

September 3rd - Summer Wrap Up

~Give us a wrap up of your summer highlights

~your favorite trip

~things you learned during Summer 2009

The Picnic Table Talks have become a favorite day of the week for many of our readers, as they are able to connect with new blogs and friends. We will continue bi-weekly linkies throughout the fall season. Look forward to Show and Tell Saturday beginning on September 13th!

For the fall we have several more special sponsors and great giveaways to share with you. We will weave these in to our posting schedule as they fit with the subject areas. The plan is that we will also return to our school year schedule featuring specific academic areas in weekly features. If you are not familiar with the schedule you will want to check out our Posting Schedule.

Thanks again for participating in the Summer Prize Picnic '09!

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Letter J Activities

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Make a creation out of Jell-O, like this watermelon from Mama Jenn.

Put together Susana's Super Jet!

Cassie made Jellyfish & Jam to teach the letter J.

Jolathe submitted a post all about the letter J, which included this adorable Jack in a Box.

Sandra from Celebrate Every Day submitted an idea for a J is for Jungle mural.

The Home Teacher suggest some J fun:
~hold a family jazz festival where you listen to jazz music and dance around!
~make a family jeopardy game where you have to answer questions about each other
~play jenga
~go on a jungle safari to your local library and check out books about jungle animals

Brandy from Adventures of a Flake has a whole series of Letter J posts that feature great activities like musical jars, painting a jungle scene, recreating the classic rhyme Jack be Nimble, and counting out jellybeans.

Michelle at Delightful Learning sent us their Java Dough, "A silky smooth dough that smells like fresh-brewed coffee. We experimented with the recipe from Kid Concoctions and came up with a fun dough with an interesting feel and smells good!"
We mixed:
3/4 cup fresh brewed strong coffee
2 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup salt
then added flour to desired consistency

Make sure you stop by her post to see the jelly fish and the jam they made too!
Grab a Jump rope and jump for J!
Tell a Joke!
Just have fun!

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Carolina Pad Giveaway Winner

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Congratulations to the winner of the earth friendly and fun box full of stylish school supplies from the Sasquatch product line (valued at $35) from Carolina Pad!

Shelby, Patrick and Kids said...
27
I am now a fan on Facebook! :)

My sincere apologies for failing to post this on Friday as promised!

Thanks again to Carolina Pad for partnering with us to share these great back to school products with all of you!

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Picnic Table Talk: Healthy Snacks

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Quick, Easy, No-Fuss Snacks for Moms & Kids:

Animal Crackers
Apple sauce & cottage cheese
Apple wedges with peanut butter,
yogurt, or fruit dip
Carrot sticks with peanut butter
Celery with peanut butter & raisins
Cereal
Cheese cubes
Cheese quesadillas
Chips & salsa
Cinnamon toast
Cottage cheese with canned fruit
(pineapple, apricots, peaches, etc.)
Crackers with cheese or peanut butter
Fresh Fruit
Goldfish Crackers
Graham Crackers
Granola
Grapes
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Homemade popsicles
Mixed fruit snack cups
Muffins
Oatmeal with toppings (raisins, berries,
milk & honey, granola)
Peanut butter & jelly
Peanut butter on banana bread
Pear slices dipped in yogurt
Popcorn
Pretzels
Raisins/ other Dried fruit
Snack Mix
Sandwiches
String Cheese
Sunflower seeds
Veggies with veggie dip
Yogurt & granola
100% Juice Boxes

For this week's Picnic Table Talk we'll be talking snacks.
~What easy snacks do you pack for your family?
~What nutritious snacks do your children most enjoy?
~Do you have any creative tricks for encouraging healthy snacking in your home?
~What do you use to pack your snacks in?
~Does your child's school have specific requirements for healthy snacks?

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Eebee's Adventure's Review and Giveaway

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We know that many of you have been waiting for this review and giveaway since our Saturday Spotlight on eebees adventures last month. Now we'd like to share with you a little bit about their great line of DVDs, winners of 15 national parenting awards.Recently my daughter and I had an opportunity to watch all three DVDS and from a professional early childhood teacher's aspect I found them to be an excellent resource. I often had parents asking me what they should be doing with their children. They wanted ideas and direction. I'd give them handouts with descriptions and ideas but you know that saying a picture is worth a thousand words? These videos illustrated perfectly many of the concepts and ideas I was trying to communicate with my parents. With a full classroom it was hard to model for each and every family how to interact with their children in order to get the most language and teachable moments out of them. If I was currently teaching, I would definitely refer them to these eebee's adventure's DVDs.

Basically, each 75 minute video is set up to make you feel like you're watching a play group. There's a "teacher" or "parent" who you watch playing with eebee the puppet. You also see real kids playing and doing too. Together, they show parents exactly how they can turn everyday play and exploration into learning opportunities for their children. I thought it did an excellent job modeling how to engage your child and get them involved with you. It gives parents ideas on how to encourage active learning by doing. A short description of each DVD from eebee's adventures follows:In this series of adventures, EXPLORING REAL STUFF, eebee and playmates explore a range of materials and everyday objects with the simple and enticing goal of finding out what these things are like. “What do things feel like?” “What sounds do they make?” “How do they move?” “Are they heavy or light?” “What can I do to them?” These are just a few of the questions eebee and friends actively take on.

Brimming with Ideas sets the adventure among tubs of cereal and grains, adding bowls, scoops, and funnels to enrich the possibilities.

In Out of the Box, a paper mountain and a cardboard box encourage infant “science,” “math,” and creative explorations.

And different balls, tubes, ramps, blocks and even a tissue box lead eebee and babies to discoveries about rolling, slipping and sliding in On a Roll.
The many teachable, unplanned and unscripted learning moments that fill a baby’s day are the inspiration for ALL IN A DAY’S PLAY. No matter how ordinary the materials or the situation might seem, for a baby, the possibilities are anything but.

Laundry List, an adventure set in and around a laundry basket, features eebee in a world of colors, textures, and language explorations. From peek-a-boo to talking socks, from baby basketball to laundry basket sailboat, the list of ideas to explore can get long (and short, soft, stretchy, and even see-through.)

Just You & Me, a collection of mini-adventures, designed for a baby, grown-up and only the most basic materials, demonstrate that babies learn in the simplest situations: figuring out what will happen in game of “elevator” or “airplane;” hearing the same story read different ways; or playing silly games that reinforce social, emotional and cognitive skills.

Cups, bowls, pots, pans, and spoons are the central props eebee and babies rely on in Little Objects, Big Ideas. Putting things in and taking them out and hearing the sounds they make as they drop, move or meet one another, lead to musical exploration and some new ideas about containers and “the contained.”
Reflecting the day to day challenges and discoveries that define a toddler’s world, FIGURING THINGS OUT showcases what can happen when a child’s newfound motor skills support her natural curiosity and interest in making things work and achieving goals.

Turning a light on and off, tracking a flashlight’s beam, and exploring the magic of playing with shadows are the focus of The Light Bulb Goes On adventure.

In Blocks and Tackling Ideas, creating (and crashing!) towers, laying rows, stacking cups and fitting different pieces together lead to a range physical, cognitive, social and creative skill building activities.

And in On the Go, a mountain of pillows, and a room full of obstacles to get over, under, around and through set the scene for an adventure that celebrates the ups and downs, ins and outs of getting where and what you want.

Each video includes bonus features with helpful parenting information: Play by Play Guides with expert commentary on every adventure, a developmental perspective, a mini music and movement adventure called eebee's beat, and song selections. I think these DVDs provide a good substitute for the content found in many parenting books; it might be better delivered and more accessible for many busy parents through these videos. You see what to do and then do it right away with your child. I think many parents are unsure as to what they can do with a baby, these DVDs give concrete and specific ideas and are supported by a lot of research. Want to see for yourself? Purchase and try one of their DVD's from their website.

Win It!
Get a set of all 3 eebee's adventure's on DVD, a $48.45 retail value!

Enter:
Go over to eebee's adventures and visit their parent info section. Take a look at the idea section, tell us which one would be your child's favorite and why.

Additional Entries: {leave an additional comment for each additional method}

• Follow eebee's adventures on Twitter @eebeebaby for two extra entries, just be sure to leave an extra comment for each one. ex.: following on Twitter extra entry 1 and following on Twitter extra entry 2
• Tweet about the giveaway and leave us a link to your tweet. You may do this once daily for an extra entry.
• Be a follower of ABC & 123
• Post our button on your blog, let us know the name of your blog so we can find it.
• Post about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this post and eebee's adventures
• Tell us something about eebee's philosophy or if you agree with it or not and why.
• Reader's who've left a comment on our Saturday Spotlight dated before this post, posted will receive an extra entry. We will add them at a random time during the open period for this giveaway.

Good Luck! Giveaway open now until September 2nd midnight EST to US and Canadian residents.

Disclaimer: Thank you to eebee's adventures for providing the review and giveaway materials. This review relates my experiences with the DVDs and opinions; these were not influenced by the sponsor. Your experience with them may differ.

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Outer Space and Constellation Activities

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Make Magic Moon Paint with this suggestion from Live, Learn, Love.



Mind Games found a very creative use for an old appliance box. They put together a fabulous indoor planetarium.
Teaching Two teaches you how to create wax paper moon pictures.
Meninheira shared a great unit full of ideas with us. They are listed below. Her blog is not written in English, but her great pictures usually speak for themselves. She also mentioned that you may use the Google translator to translate the Galician language into English. Enjoy!
~Space Lapbook
~Embroidery Constellations
~Moon Designs with Microwave Paint
~A Space Mural
~Pringles Space Rockets


Observe the sky with a Sky Map found on Bright Hub.

Play Scholastic's Online Outer Space Math Hunt.

Education.com has an article of outer space activities to do at home.

Make a dry ice Comet with the instructions from ProTeacher.

Simple to make and stellar to look at - make a Star Garland with the tips from Frugal Family Fun.



Crayola shares a Constellations in Outer Space art project.


How Stuff Works has an article titled The Incredible Universe filled with activities for learning about stars and space.

Create foil constellations with the instructions from Hands On Crafts for Kids.

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