Fall printables from Nick Jr

I don't know about your children, but mine do enjoy watching some of the shows on Nick Jr. I have found two great printable packs from Nick Jr. that I am sure my oldest will enjoy. The first is the Autumn Activity Pack. It is full of fun, with lots of engaging activities. The second one if the Fall Coloring Pack. With this pack of printables children can release their inner artist. Both are good way to keep the little ones busy while you try to get dinner ready or maybe just have five minutes to yourself!

Be positive with your children

Click the photo to get yours!

When our youngest was born 7 months ago, our oldest, who is 6 years old, did NOT take it well... AT ALL. He was jealous, refused to go near him and just flat out resented him. It drove me nuts because the baby had nothing but smiles for his brother. But what was I to do?

I was looking for some way to use positive reinforcement with our oldest son and then I came across a blog called Erica Bohrer's First Grade. There, I found these wonderful cards you can print out! Every time our son did something even remotely nice for his brother, like grab me a diaper, I gave him a card.

I also used the cards for other nice things too. I honestly don't think as parents we acknowledge our children doing positive things enough. After a while my son started ASKING me to catch him doing nice things! Why not catch your kids..... it will make everyone smile!

Fun with Fairies, a little childhood magic

A Fairy Hosue

Childhood should be a magical time of life. When imaginations blossom and anything is possible. So few kids today have that magic in their lives. Even my oldest is beginning to get jaded and ask question. So today I asked him if he thought fairies were real. I was answered with a simple but firm "NO." How sad is it that at just six, he didn't even think maybe.

 

Something had to be done and fast! If the possibility of fairy existence is in question, you know Santa is next! So I quickly grabbed a bag and we head out for a walk in our yard. I told him to put nature things in the bag like flowers and berries. He asked why, but I just told him to wait and see.

 

When we returned to the house I told him we were going to invite fairies to live at our house. We would make a nature potion, build a house and sprinkle the house with the potion and watch! So we made up our potion, collected items and built a house, made a big ceremony out of sprinkling it and he spent the rest of the day checking for fairies! This morning they did not exist, but tonight, maybe, just maybe, they might.......

"Fairy Potion"

What You’ll Need:

• Glass jar
• Water
• Food coloring
• Flower petals and other items from nature

Gather your items from nature to put in the fairy potion.  After you’ve gathered your nature items for your potion, you’ll then add water and food coloring to your jar. Next add the nature items to the jars. You could mix them up with a "magic stick," but my son being a boy decided to shake it up.


 "Fairy House"

 

For our house we gathered sticks and bark and used a tree's root area to build. Let your child do this on their own as there is no wrong or right way to build one. I did however tell my son, no glue or nails, that the fairies would notice and be on to us. After my son finished his house he covered it with grass to make it look even more natural.

 

You can also make a mythical creature playset with this idea and let your little one's imagination go wild.

 

 

Umi Off to School Coloring Pack

Fall is here and school is upon us. Parents cheer, children, well, let's just say they may not be as happy about it is we are! Build some back to school excitement with this coloring pack from Nick Jr.

Unplug and go outside

I am sure we all have heard that kids today spend way to much time plugged in and not enough time playing outside. I honestly hate our television. If I would let him (which I will not) my oldest would sit for ours watching mind numbing cartoons. But as I said, I don't let him. I make him go out and enjoy the day, hunt bugs, and dig in the dirt. And when he really doesn't want to, I set an example by going out with him, even if I have other things I need to do

If your child is like most, they just want to sit. So what can a parent do. Well I have one friend who literally send her kids out and then LOCKS the door so they have to stay outside. While it makes me laugh, I can't see doing that to my son. The last thing I need is the neighbors calling to tell me my sound is in the yard "watering" the tree.

I saw this image posted online, and for the life of me I can't remember where, but I clicked on it and read it. It had some very interesting information..... go on, click on it and read it..... I'll wait.....

I know, your sitting there going, yup, those darn children need to get outside, but how do I get them outside. I may not have the best answer to how to get your kids outside but I do have a fun one from the Children and Nature Initiative by Nation Environmental Education Foundation. Write them an Rx like a doctor would with these handy script forms.

 

 

Be creative with this...tell them they have to go find 5 ants and write what they were doing, spot three different species of birds and draw pictures of them, or collect 5 types of leaves and ID them. If you have a pool, tell them to do laps. Do they have a bike? Tell them to ride around the block so many times. You never know, they might just enjoy what you prescribed!

 

If you need a few more ideas, check out our post of outdoor activities for people who don't like camping.

 

 



Shark coloring pages

Sharks, sharks, everywhere!!!!  Print off some of these great coloring pages for shark week! This site offers lots of choices. Just right click on the picture with your mouse and choose print picture and your done! Happy coloring!!!

Dora Gymnastics Coloring Pack

Does your little ones love Dora? Then check out this FREE coloring pack! Dora and her friends go on a gymnastic adventure. Make sure you print off this 5 page coloring pack today.

The Olympic opening ceremony is tonight!

Who is excited? I am soooo excited. This will be the first year our son (6) will "get" the whole Olympic "thing." We have been making Olympic themed crafts and he keeps asking how many more days till Friday. Well it's FRIDAY!!!! And we here at MAD have a few more fun Olympic ideas to share with you to make the opening ceremony that much more exciting!

The opening ceremony can get a bit boring after awhile for smaller children so why not give them this super cool Olympic Bingo from Thirty Handmade Days. And while you watch you will need refreshment of course. So why not whip up some of these popcorn torches and ring cookies!

These torches are so easy to make! Simply roll up a paper plate and wrap tin foil around it. Next line the inside with red tissue paper and fill with popcorn. Our Fun Tester has already eaten a torch full today and can't wait to refill it to watch the Olympics.






Now on to our next event, Olympic rings made from cookies. We just bought a package of round cookies, mixed up food color and frosting and there you have it, yummy Olympic rings! Now before you call foul, I know the first ring in the top row is black, BUT food color does not mix to make black and I was not about to run to the store to buy a small expensive tube of black frosting. Yes, I am cheap and thankfully the Fun Tester didn't mind a little improvising.

I don't know who is more excited about it getting to 7:30pm, the Fun Tester or me! All I know is we are going to have a great time together!

Argh! Need to keep your pirates busy?

Summer be upon us and the wee ones may be planning a mutiny! What be we to do? Keep em busy with these here pirate activities!

Make your own pirate ships!


 We used a plastic plant tray (the kind you put under your pot to catch water) as our form for our pirate ship. Using tape we placed a bendy straw near the middle. After adding water we paced our ship in the freezer over night. The next morning we cut a triangle for the sail and put a skull and crossbones on it. After punching two holes in the sail, it was ready to go on the straw mast. Now to launch our pirate ship in the pool... Success! She floated!!!!

While your ships be freezing we have even more pirate ideas for ye! Why not go on a nature Pirate treasure hunt or ye can color a sturdy Pirate Ship!

Mickey and Friends Fouth of July Flag

Check out this super cute flag from Disney! They are so easy to make. Just print of the flag and follow the included directions. You will need a "small wooden dowel" for this craft but who wants to go to the hardware store for a dowel? Just use something of similar size like a a twig from your backyard even!

Brave

I so can't wait for this to hit our local mom and pop theater! We love our mom and pop because of the great prices, so we have to wait a little longer to see things. Brave looks like a winner. It is set in the highlands of 10th centery Scotland. The princess, Merida, defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in her kingdom. A girly girl she is not and that is what I love about this storyline. I think it is great to have an action movie with the girl as the hero! Check out the trailer .......

Here are some tie in activities you can print and do before going to the movie. The kit includes recipies, mazes, playsets and more. Have a Brave party before you go to get your little ones excited!

Summertime coloring printables

Do you have a Dora fan? Or maybe a child that just loves to color? Check out this 5 page printable, Dora Summertime Coloring Pack. Give them something to do so you can take a mini break!

Get Crack-a-lackin!

They're BACK! That's right folk, Alex, Marty, Gloria, and Melman are still trying to get back to the Big Apple and this time they find themselves in Europe. All the reviews point to another great movie.



You can check out all the fun on DreamWorks Madagascar 3 website. Here you will find videos, downloads, games and more.

And if you really want to have a crack-a-lackin good time, check out this party pack we here at MAD had the opportunity to use to party down via Crowdtap. This thing is jam packed with activities including a zebra cake recipe, face painting ideas, masks, games and more. So party Madagascar style! We would love to see photos and hear about your version of a Madagascar 3 party!

Mythical creatures

Check out these super cute printables from Disney's Family Fun! Your kids can make their very own Mythical Character Playset! Who doesn't love unicorns, fairies and gnomes!?!?

Camping (outdoor) BINGO

Check out this totally awesome game of BINGO from the NWF! Even if you don't like camping (I know some of you hate bugs) you can still have a fun time with these on a nature walk! So warm up your printer and make a set for your family. Now, turn off that TV this summer and get outside for some good old fashion unplugged fun!

Learn all about the states (coloring pages)

I just want to say thank you to Crayola for their new website. I found these awesome state coloring pages full of information about each state. I can guarantee, the MAD house will be doing all of them this summer. I love fun things that are educational!

Dino coloring page

Who likes dinos? We do! Enjoy this printable coloring page.

Cinco de Mayo is tomarrow!!! (5-5-12) Let's Party!!

The holiday of Cinco De Mayo (the 5^th of May) is NOT Mexico’s Independent day. It celebrates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army in The Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is mostly celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla and in the United States. What was once a celebration spontaneously created by Mexicans and Latinos living in California at the time as a show of support for defending freedom and democracy during the Civil War has turned into a day of celebrating Hispanic tradition. So now you know what Cinco De Mayo is, right?

So how do you celebrate Cinco De Mayo? Well around the MAD household we do it full force just like anything else!! We have decorations we got at Dollar Tree to make the place festive. You could serve up some chips and salsa. Or if your feeling feisty, you could make Polvorones a.k.a Mexican sugar cookies.

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 300 F.
In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar and cinnamon.
Cream butter with a beater.
Add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the butter while still beating until it is all incorporated.
Use a teaspoon to spoon out small pieces of dough and shape into a cookie.
Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 25 minutes.
Optional: sprinkle warm cookies with sugar and cinnamon
Makes 24 cookies

How about playing a fun game of Pin the tail on he donkey??? Click here to find the donkey. And here are the printable tails! Maybe coloring a picture is more your speed. Why not try this one.

Maybe your super crafty like we are. Well do I have some fun craft for you to try.........

Make your own tacos and tostadas.
They suggest using foam but we just used paper.

What about a make your own paper lunch bag maracas!!

A paper bag Pinata!!!

FREE Princess Activity Kit

Target is having a National Princess Week with lots of deals on all sorts of things for your little girl. They also have a link for a FREE Princess Activity Kit. It is filled with all sorts of wonderful princess stuff, like a make your own crown, paper dolls, games, party ideas and much, much more! So get printing people.....

Mickey Easter printable

Need something for the little ones to do before the big egg hunt this weekend? Why not try this printable from Disney featuring Mickey!