As Halloween approaches I wanted to give you a fun song to sing with your kids.  I know a lot of us are planning parties at the school, at church, or at home.  There are tons of games and craft ideas out there, but the songs are limited.  A few years ago, my husband and I came up with this fun Halloween song set to the tune of “Popcorn Popping” from the LDS Childrens Songbook.  It is a perfect Halloween song to use with preschool kids on up through elementary school aged kids.  We have used it many times in a pinch to entertain little ones.  Enjoy!

The lyrics in printed form are this:

I looked out the window and what did I see?
Two beady eyes staring back at me.
Halloween has brought me such a nice surprise,
Ghosts and goblins right before my eyes.
I can come to your house to Trick or Treat,
And get some candy that’s good to eat.
If you want to scare me,
Then you will have to be,
A ghost or a goblin hiding behind a tree.
Boo!

Family game night is a favorite at our house.  We love to play all kinds of games.  Whether it’s bowling, billiards, ping pong, obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, card games, or board games; we will play it! We often get new games for Christmas so we have a fun activity to do with each other while we are home that day.  We like to find an excuse to just play with our kids.  Usually we play board games on Sunday afternoons, but we also play them a lot when we are vacationing or camping.  They also help pass the time on long weekends or rainy days.  I love games, but I usually deal with babies while daddy plays with the kids.  It is a good bonding opportunity for all of them.  I wanted to give a list of fun games my family enjoys and your family might enjoy as well. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. I wanted to give you and your family a few unique ideas that you might not think of often.  Again, I am making a link to these games on Amazon for your convenience.  If you use my links it will help to keep my account active with Amazon so that I can continue to link things in my blog posts.  I may also make a very small fee, but I am not trying to sell you anything.

1.  Scavanger Hunt.  My kids and husband love to play the game where you take a picture of a small detail in your house and the kids have to find that object or area of the house.  It’s really fun.  We also do little treasure hunts with clues when we want to give them something exciting.  They love it.
2. Hide and Go Seek.  We love to play all variations of this game.  Sometimes everyone hides and the dog finds you.  Sometimes we face time our phones together and someone goes and hides using only what you see on the phone as your clue to find the hider.  Another great variation on this game we call Hide and Go Clean Up. Essentially while the person is counting they have to clean up ten items and then still hide, so it has to be done quickly. My kids prefer to clean this way and I get a mess cleaned up while they play a favorite game. Win Win.
3. Face Painting.  We love to pull out the face paints for parties and Halloween, but it’s also fun to do on a regular old day.  We recently did face paints while we were watching conference.  It was a quiet, fun activity for the kids.  It also beats standing in lines at different carnivals and events.  There are a lot of tutorials and pictures online to help you get creative.                             

4.  Obstacle Courses.  

5.  Bop It.  You would not believe the fun we can have with this game. It can be played individually or as a small or big group. All ages can play. The kids like playing this with their friends and cousins as well.

6.  Elf Storyteller Grab n Gab game by Hallmark.  This has seriously been fun for all ages and alone, in small, or big groups.  I don’t think it is as expensive through Hallmark, but it’s been years since we got it, so I don’t know if they still make it.  The game asks you questions (like name something sweet), which you answer.  Then it takes all of your answers and makes a quirky story inserting your voice (made to sound like an elf) at different places in the story.  It’s hilarious.

7.  Settlers: Cities and Knights of Catan.  This is a really fun strategy game that works best with kids eight and older.

8. Ticket to Ride. This game is also a strategy game for slightly older kids. It teaches geography while you play too which is an added bonus.

9. Play Nine. This game is fun for all ages and easy to get the hang of. We love taking it with us to family reunions. I think kids 5 and up can understand how to play this game fairly easily.

10. Farkle. This is a dice game that is really easy for the kids to understand. It also helps with math skills which is the added bonus.

11. Spoons. This game is played with a regular deck of cards and spoons in the middle of the table. There is one less spoon than players. You pass out four cards to each player, then the dealer passes one card around the circle at a time. The players decide whether to keep the card passed to them or not discarding a card every time they receive a card (so they always keep four) to the next player in the circle. As soon as one player gets four of kind they grab a spoon. The other players that see this grab a spoon too. The last person won’t get a spoon and they are out. It is fun for all ages.

12.  Pictionary and Charades.  Everyone loves these classic games and you don’t need an official game board to play.  It is not too hard to come up with a list of things to put in your game.  The kids always love this one.

13. Hilarium.  We love this game as a great ice breaker for any party or a way to get a quick laugh with your family.  Basically everyone does charades simultaneously.  Each action has a match and player has four cards that they begin acting out looking for someone that is acting out the same thing.  It’s really fun for the whole family.

14. Pie Face. Now this is not my favorite game of all time but my preteens love playing this one, especially with their friends. And the bonus is it’s tasty.

15. Badmitton/Volleyball. This game is fairly cheap to buy and really fun to play. It is light weight and can be set up on even tiny pieces of grass. There are also fun games like water balloon volleyball that can be played with the net. It is a game I like having on hand.

16. One Night Ultimate Werewolf. This game is a little scary for littles but an absolute favorite of the bigger kids and adults. It also works well as a teenage date night.

Of course there are all kinds of games that we all love to play. Some classics that come to mind are Monopoly, Phase Ten, CandyLand, and Scrabble. I was hoping to help you find a few things that help you reach outside the box a little bit. I would love your comments about other games your family loves. I need a few new ideas myself.

As Christmas is looming in the near future I have begun to think about Christmas presents for my family.  It is hard to buy more stuff every year.  When you have a lot of children, you tend to have a lot of toys.  There isn’t a whole lot of room to store the toys either.  My kids have so many toys they forget what they have.  Every year I pull them all out to dejunk and organize them.  It is one of their favorite days of the year because they rediscover everything and play all day.  Of course, they don’t like to say good-bye to broken toys or the chosen toys to go to charity.  But they quickly forget about what is missing when the toys all get put back away.   Then it’s time to add more toys to our ever growing collection each December.  I really love the idea of the gift of time instead of the gift of things.  We try to find gift ideas that give us memories to do together.  But, I’m a little old fashioned and still like to see their faces light up when they open a present.  I still like to have the magic of Santa Clause and receiving a gift from the jolly old man.  So, as in all things there is a balance, and I still need to come up with a few things to purchase them.  I have serious months of thinking time and creative brain power to figure out how to get my kids engaged with new purchases.  I don’t like to buy the latest electronic gadgets because my kids lose serious brain power if they spend too much time with them.  I don’t like to replace motorized toys for toys that help them move their bodies (like an electric scooter vs a plain old scooter).  I don’t like cheap plastic or tiny toys that my toddlers can choke on either.  I imagine this is a problem with moms everywhere.  But what are some good quality toys that last a long time and get used frequently?  I know every child is different in their tastes and abilities.  Since I have a lot of different personalities to choose from, I thought I would compile a list of our favorite toys so far.  These are not just fad toys that kids want because of commercials.  These are toys my kids all love and play with constantly.  Some of the items are more expensive and we usually gave them to all the kids as a group gift if that was the case.  Most of them give them lots of imaginative play hours and they play with each other because they fit  many ages.  It is a growing list, but these classic toys won’t steer you wrong.  Trust me.  I do receive a few cents if you use my link to purchase anything, but I’m not trying to make money.  I use affiliate links to simplify your life.  It would help me a lot if you could use these links just to keep my affiliate account active with Amazon.  I am not trying to sell you anything.

1. Magnet Tiles – My kids old and young enjoy building with these.  I like them even better than building blocks.  Their spatial reasoning skills are also greatly improving.

2. Plasma Car – There are knock off products on this brand that still work great.  However, I love the original plasma car.  If any parts break, you can contact the company with your product number and they will send replacement parts.  These are rated for up to 200 lbs and for ages 1-99.  My toddlers love them, my big kids love them, and I think they are quite fun as well.  If you get more than one for racing, it’s even more fun.

3. Child’s sofa bed – Our kids use these all the time to play school and house.  They also like to watch TV on them.  They come in really handy for sleepovers at Grandma’s or in hotel rooms for our toddlers.  Visiting toddlers like to use these to have a place to sleep next to their parents.

4. Fort kit – The amount of imaginative play my husband and kids use this for is endless.  They love it and all of their friends, young and old, like to build things with this.  Every kid and kid at heart likes a fort.

5. Karaoke Machine – My kids love to sing their favorite songs.  I used to think it was a pain to get the music for these machines, but now I have found that YouTube  has karaoke music for almost anything your kids want to sing.  If you just want to get a speaker and mic that works too.  But the karaoke machine is a nice bundled package.

6. Head Microphones – We got our oldest daughter her own head microphones last Christmas and it has been a favorite of everyone.  Everyone likes to pretend they are a rock star and you really feel like one with these.  They can hook up to the speaker I mentioned above.

7. Roller shoes – We tried traditional Heely shoes, which my kids loved, but they grew out of them too fast.  This option is the same idea but can grow with you which I love.  The kids just strap them onto their feet.  It’s fun.

8. SnoCone Maker – Hot summer days are more fun with snow cones.  Don’t forget to get some syrups and special cups and straws to make the experience even more fun.  It’s also a great way to jazz up that lemonade stand and make a little money.

9. Easy-Bake Oven – The Girl’s Scout Oven is very similar and just as good, so get whichever one you love.  I fought this one for a long time because I wasn’t excited about the tiny treats.  I even bought a little toaster oven to cook in instead, but my kids didn’t like how hot it got.  They all want to bake, all the time.  This makes that possible for them and they have had a lot of fun with it.

10. Rainbow Loom – This creative art helps kids start learning how to weave with a loom in a fun new way.  Even my older son likes to try to make animals and other things with this.  There are great tutorials on YouTube.

11. Melt Beads – My toddlers can’t get enough of creating with these.  The parts are little so they need to be kept out of reach of tiny kids, but they are so little they won’t choke on them either.  It is great for their fine motor skills too.

12. Globe or Atlas – My kids are very curious about our world and have questions all the time about where things are.  I love having a globe to reference.

13. Whittling Kit – Camping and trips to the cabin got so much more fun with these whittling knives.  I also got a little book as a guide but my son doesn’t really use it.  I think google is a resource he likes better.  They love to carve soap and sticks they find in the back yard.  It uses a lot of creative time and I love that.

14. Camping Gear – Sleeping bags, camping chairs – Part of playing house is playing at sleeping outdoors.  We also do take these things camping with us sometimes, but mostly they are used indoors as the kids set up different worlds that need seating and sleeping arrangements.

15. Puppet Theater with Puppets – My kids love to perform for us all the time.  Whether it is a show with the microphones or a story they have created with puppets, these toys have led to a lot of great story creating in my house.

16. Kitchen Set and dishes – I can’t say this toy benefits the older kids much, but every child under the age of 7 loves to play with this at our house.  It is perfect for playing house too!

17. Hopper Ball – This toy is perfect for getting out their wiggles in a safe way.  It also makes fun for racing if you have more than one, and can double as an exercise ball for you.

18. Doctor Kit – My kids love to pretend to fix me up.  Everyone needs this classic toy!

19. Hammock – This has been our absolute favorite camping toy and back yard toy.  The kids not only relax in it but swing in it too.  You will probably need more than one!

20. Trampoline – Every kid loves to jump on the bed and the couch.  It drives me crazy.  I love being able to say, “You don’t need to jump on the couch, we have a trampoline for that.”

21. Dress Ups – The absolute best dress ups that are affordable with a huge variety comes from the Little Adventures company.  I love everything I have gotten from them.  We own all the princess dresses and super hero costumes.  We also have a full nativity set for the kids to act out the nativity at Christmas time.  We love it.

https://littleadventures.com/

22. Gel Pens/Adult Coloring Books – If my kids ever complain about being bored, I tell them to get out the gel pens and coloring book.  It is an automatic stop to boredom.  We use it everywhere: camping, family reunions, quiet time at home, and with friends.  It is fun for all ages.

23. Remote Control Cars and Quadcopters – These classic toys are a must have around here.  My son loves his quadcopter and loves watching the recordings after the flight.  We haven’t tested it outdoors yet, but so far we have had fun with these.

24. Video Camera – Kids like to make movies.  They spend a lot of time reading stories, watching stories, and making up stories.  They don’t have phones to just record stuff on them.  This is a fun solution for them to finally get themselves on screen.

25. Knitting kit – My kids love making their own beanies and are perfecting their skills so they can make hats for others.  It makes a perfect gift and the time spent is good creative energy.  The loom is really easy to use and the finished product is impressive.

I hope this gave you some ideas for your Christmas coming up!  I would love comments on some of your favorite toys for my readers and I to add to our collections.

I grew up with parents that taught me to be a very responsible and dependable person.  I’ll always be grateful for that.  I hardly ever took a sick day and I even walked through two feet of snow to school because we couldn’t get out of our driveway.  True story.  That snowy day of course was a joke at school because most people couldn’t get out of their driveways and there were only about 1/4 of the student body there.  My mother and I laugh about it now.  But it has taken years of me getting some perspective to see that even though some things like school are absolutely important, it isn’t the reason for our whole existence.  There must definitely be a balance.

Fast forward a few years.  I didn’t have kids yet, but I had a friend with several children.  We were visiting one day and she said that she hadn’t gotten anything done that day because her kids were home from school.  I asked her if they were sick or something.  She said, “Oh no, we just haven’t seen much of each other lately so I let them stay home with me.”  Wow.  That was different than what I was used to.

Fast forward a few more years to after I had my first couple of children.  I was signed up at a local gym and took the kids to the day care there.  Normally drop off was fairly simple.  I was only gone for less than an hour after all.  I knew from being a preschool teacher for several years that when kids are having a hard time with drop off that it was better for the parent to just give a kiss and leave, rather than linger.  The kids escalated less without the parent there.  One day, my two year old was not happy about the drop off.  I knew in my head that I should just leave him, and the teachers there were prepared to take him with his tears.  However, a sweet spirit whispered to me that today was different.  For whatever reason, my child needed me more that day than my workout needed me.  Against my previous notions I decided to cancel my visit to the day care gym that day and just take the kids home and spend some time together.  I continued to go to the gym after that and the tears never happened again.  I’m glad I decided to take that day off.

Fast forward a few more years to 2017.  I now have four kids in school.  The kids really enjoy school for the most part and are rarely sick.  So far, they get almost perfect attendance unless we take a day early for a vacation or someone is puking.  One of my younger kids has always had a harder time going to school because she is such a mommy’s girl, but we have had a lot of success overcoming some of her fears.  She is in first grade this year.  Toward the beginning of the year she had a little “accident” at school.  I promptly went over to the school with a change of clothes.  She was fine, but feeling a little clingy.  She wanted to just go home rather than stay at school the rest of the day.  I had a problem.  I knew that I needed to be firm with her going to school because of some issues we have had in the past with convincing her to get out of the car and walk into the school.  I had two schools of thought warring within my head.  Make her tough it out.  Give her some TLC.  What to do?

And this is where a new tradition was born.   Once again, with some help from inspiration from above I realized that I could be tough and give her some TLC.  I told her that every kid deserves one slough day a year; a day they can take off even if they aren’t sick or have an appointment.  They need a day for when they are feeling sad or just need a break.  She could take her day then or save it for later in the year just in case.  What did she want to do?  Of course, like most impatient first graders she wanted to use it that day.  But I knew that if something like this came up again that I could kindly remind her that she already used her personal day and she had to wait until second grade for another.  It was her choice and not me being uncaring.  She had a great day that day playing with her younger siblings, eating lunch with mom, and watching a little extra tv.

So, to be fair, this new tradition was now opened to all of the children starting now until the end of our schooling days.  We all love it that much.  The other kids were given the chance to be more careful at choosing their personal day.  The picture above is me taking one of my oldest to the Beauty and the Beast movie the day it came out during school.  It was just the two of us.  It was a treasured date with her.  Another day during the year, my second grader seemed especially stressed as the kids left for school.  I had a feeling as I was dropping off my preschooler a little later that morning that she needed her personal day that day.  I don’t really know why, but I listened and went straight back to the school to check her out.  She and I had a great day together.

I love the balance this provides for me with both of my schools of thinking.  On the one hand, the kids learn to be responsible and go to school with no excuses.  On the other hand, offering one day a year gives them a chance to feel loved and respected when life is just plain rough.  Justice versus mercy.  Not a new concept.  It’s a beautiful thing.

How can you find this balance in  your life with your family?  Comment below and give us some of your fabulous ideas.

I’ve heard many people complain that St. Patrick’s day is a ridiculous holiday to celebrate and they hate that people like me make a big deal about it.  Well, here are some reasons you should celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

1. Culture:  I know not every one of us has ancestors from Ireland and so it seems a bit ridiculous to celebrate something Irish.  Some of us aren’t part of religions that have saints or celebrate them.  However, our country was founded by people that came from all over, including Ireland and they were part of religions that celebrated St. Patrick.  So many Americans don’t feel like they have anything cultural that identifies them.  I think that is because we are too busy to have traditions and celebrations even though there are many already in place.  It is good for my kids to have things to look forward to and break the monotony and business of daily life.
2. Imagination:  My kids are visited by leprechauns every St. Patrick’s day.  If they haven’t been up to too much trouble, they leave little treats and tokens for them.  Often the treat is something green to wear like stickers, or earrings, or tshirts.  They love looking forward to little people coming to visit them and leave them treats.  It really helps them develop their imaginations so they can dream bigger and better about what is possible in this world we live in.  It’s part of the magic of childhood.  Even when they grow a little older and know that I assist the little green men to give them treats, they still look forward to the celebration.
3. Fun:  Leprechauns can be a bit mischievous.  They might turn the milk green or leave footprints on the toilet seat.  They also like to avoid those pesky traps the kids set up for them.  What better way to play with your children than to be a part of their fun.
4. Food:  There are lots of traditional foods from Ireland like corn beef and cabbage.  Of course, my kids won’t eat that.  But it can still be fun to have green eggs or green pancakes just to mix things up a bit.  Memories are created when we get our taste buds involved!

If you are feeling like it is just too much work to do something extravagant for one more holiday, still celebrate but simplify.  What better way to create magic with your family than through traditions and celebrations.  Teach your kids that they are a part of a great country built on the backs of great men and women from long ago.  Teach them that they are the great men and women of our future.

Do you love the pirate ship in this picture?  My kids sure did.

We had a day off of school a couple of weeks ago and I asked my kids what they wanted to do with their time off.  Of course, they always want to do expensive things like going to the movie theaters at ten bucks a head…um, no.  We save up to go to a few movies a year but there is no way we can afford to go every weekend or day off.  That is seriously like dropping $100 every single time.  We also have a new baby and some outings are just not possible while my husband is at work, like swimming.  My kids love to swim, but only three of them can swim without help.  I love puddle jumpers for this reason, but that is for another post.  I only have two hands and four non swimmers and a new baby just isn’t going to happen.  It’s also winter here so outdoor activities, like the park, are out. Then the kids want to play with one of the best inventions ever, which we bought a few years ago as a family Christmas gift.

Score!!  I love when Christmas gifts become so useful and beloved.  So many of them are played with for one day and never thought of again.   Having so many kids and all of their toys and gifts can become a real challenge when you are looking for yet another gift for another Christmas.  Well, look no further.  This gift may be a bit on the pricey side on a budget, but when the whole family can play with it, the cost looks way less.  It’s also cheaper than electronics and way more engaging.  Even the hubby loves getting involved in this creative play.

It’s called Fort Magic, and it really does create magic.  It has over 100 pieces of pvc pipe to build amazing life-size structures.  There are plenty of connectors to build lots of different types of forts. It also comes with these cool material connectors to attach sheets and blankets to the fort.  Remember the days of stacking books on blankets across chairs to create forts?  This is way better.

Its so fun to experiment with all kinds of creations.  I have seen five year olds build some pretty incredible forts all by themselves.  Of course, when the hubby gets involved, you get some pretty fun things for imaginative play.  We have loved using it for decorations and activities at birthday parties.  Check out this palace we built for a genie themed birthday party.  It seriously took less than fifteen minutes to build and was such a fun addition.

We used plastic tablecloths to cover it with.  It was heaven for the partygoers.  It even had three different rooms.  We filled it with balloons and they had fun with those too.  When you calculate out how many times this has helped us save money on other things, like buying decorations for parties or one trip to the movie theaters, it really doesn’t seem that pricey at all.

My kids have also had fun setting up indoor camping and having sleepovers in it.  We made one big enough to fit a whole mattress in it, and they had one comfy night.  We also can make them roomy enough to stand up in so it can become a real playhouse.  If you are thinking of getting one of those tent or teepee playhouses, this will give you a lot more creative play in the building of something unique first and then in the play afterward.

Seriously, you need this to make your next staycation a hit!  Its cheaper than one night in a hotel room and gives you years and years of activities to look forward to.

Tricking the kids is fun.

April Fools is the only time of year to play major pranks on our kids.  We let them try to fool us too.  We just have one rule; it has to be funny, not mean.  We don’t want anyone crying about a cruel joke.  So there is no cutting hair, or poisoning food, or dumping ice cold water in their bed (seriously ruining a mattress would make any mom cry).  I think you catch my drift.
Over the years we have done some really fun pranks.  I cooled the jello in plastic clear cups so the kids thought they were getting fun juice with dinner, but it didn’t come out.  I’ve covered their door in wrapping paper.  I’ve stuffed toilet paper in their shoes.  I’ve opened their chip bag for their school lunch and replaced the chips with carrots then sealed the bag.  I’ve put funny pictures under the toilet lid.  I’ve even made brown-e’s out of construction paper instead of the baked deliciousness.  But this prank has by far been the best one to date.  My kids still talk about it.

First we prepare.

The night before, after the kids were asleep, we set all the clocks forward an hour and even found an excuse to get any smart devices or watches away from the kids.  The next morning we started our morning routine, just like any other day.  I even had a mini prank for them so they thought I didn’t have anything else up my sleeve (I stuffed their shoes with toilet paper).   We woke them up a little bit late (which was actually an hour early).   Then we rushed them, stressing about how late they would be to school.

Daddy takes them to school, so he told the kids they were going to play a prank on me.  They all got in his car, then came back in the house with a story about how the car wouldn’t start and I had to take them all to school and then daddy to work.  This was all part of the plan to get us all in the same car without the kids being suspicious.  They weren’t even a little bit suspicious.  They were giggling like this was the perfect prank on me.

The delivery.

Well that is when the theatrics came into play.  I acted really angry and put out that I had to find my shoes and get the baby ready to go, which was only going to make them more late to school.  We all loaded into my car and headed for school.  I was acting so stressed that a few of the kids started getting a little upset and worried about being late.  Well right as we were pulling up in front of the school, we drove right on past.  My son started to cry thinking he would be so late to school now.

Memory made.

At this point we yelled April Fools and continued on down the road to McDonalds for a fun family breakfast before school.  We had plenty of time to get back to school on time after that.  The kids loved their breakfast out and claimed it was their best day ever.  I’m not sure how we will top this, but I’ll let you know if I come up with something.  But for now, play this prank on your kids and let me know how it goes!