Just for Fun Archives - Page 3 of 6

The Little Rabbit Sensory Bin … or Tray

Jan242013

January 24, 2013 by Jolanthe 3 Comments

Initially I had grand plans for a super cute sensory bin to go along with the book The Little Rabbit by Judy Dunn. A few things had been put aside to put in the tub, but when I asked for Kaleb’s help the first day of our unit, he decided that less was more and had just as much fun playing with it.

Inside our sensory tub/tray:

Schleich rabbit hutch
Schleich white rabbit
Schleich girl with rabbit figure
Schleich brown rabbit
Construction paper: green and tan
tub or shallow tray/lid

Instead of using a tub for this, we used a shallow lid. Kaleb decided that instead of Easter grass he wanted to use green construction paper for the grass, so we put that on the tray.

In the story, the rabbit hutch has hay, so I cut the tan construction paper into thin strips and then Kaleb had fun snipping off small pieces to put inside the hutch {great fine motor work for him, since he typically doesn’t like using scissors}.

We added the figures to our tray and this has been the ‘go to’ toy all week for not only Kaleb, but the other kids as well. Tiny little latches, hidden doors – so much fun.

Less has definitely been more this week.

Don’t miss The Little Rabbit Printable Pack to go along with the story!

Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

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Filed Under: Before Five in a Row, Just for Fun, Kindergarten 3 Comments

One of My Favorite Christmas Gifts Ever

Dec292012

December 29, 2012 by Jolanthe 7 Comments

This year I mentioned that we were focusing as a family to give more to others. As part of that, we asked the kids to be creative, not worry about what to buy us, but have fun CREATING something for us. Laurianna worked so very hard on her gift for me and it made me laugh and cry – all in a good way – but it is officially one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever.

{Well, aside from the necklace that Zachary made for Laurianna using ribbon and pencil grips…}

The First Chrismtas book-1

Laurianna wrote me a book called The Very First Christmas {A Camel’s Story} and illustrated it as well. Aside from the sweet story that follows a camel as he travels with the Magi to see baby Jesus, she even took the time to create a back cover for the book. After she finished the story, Laurianna read it to her siblings and then included their ‘testimonials’ on the back.

The First Chrismtas book-1-2

A delightful children’s story about the journey of the Magi.

~ LRE publishing co.

It’s adorable and should be published.      ~ McKenna

AWESOME!!! AMAZING!!!     ~ Zachary

I don’t know! Okay!?     ~ Kaleb

Kaleb’s comment cracks me up, because it is such a ‘typical’ saying from him…and I can just hear the conversation between the two of them:

L: What did you think about the book? What was your favorite part?

K: I don’t know! Okay!?

Just a sweet gift that makes me smile and one of those that we’ll be keeping around for years to come! Did you have a favorite gift this year – one that you will be remembering for years to come?

Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

Maestro Classics ~ introduce great music and classics stories to children with this classical music series. Don’t miss their newly released Carnival of Animals that you will want to check out!

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Filed Under: Just for Fun 7 Comments

The Difference a ‘P’ Can Make

Nov272012

November 27, 2012 by Jolanthe 17 Comments

During grammar time today, McKenna was working on her independent work and I stopped over to see how she was doing. It’s ALWAYS important to make sure that you are copying things exactly as you see them {ahem}. It can change entirely the way a sentence reads.

Letter P Mishap

One letter {added or missing} can make all the difference in the meaning of a sentence.

Apologia Educational Ministries ~ producing resources to help homeschool families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

Grapevine Studies ~ effective, easy-to-teach Bible curriculum to disciple students ages five to adult.

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Filed Under: Just for Fun 17 Comments

Chocolate Fix ~ Logic Game for Children

Sep202012

September 20, 2012 by Jolanthe Leave a Comment

Before you think I have our kids dripping with chocolate or rolling all over the back yard in it, I’m talking about a game by the name of Chocolate Fix by Think Fun. Sadly, just looking at it makes me crave a truffle, but there are no calories {or mess} to be had playing this game.

The Game of Chocolate Fix

A friend introduced us to this game a few months ago and it has become a favorite with our girls {and maybe a certain mother who loves logic games}. Chocolate Fix comes with nine colorful chocolate pieces – 3 colors that are in the shape of a circle, triangle and square.

There are 40 logic and deduction puzzles to solve that increase in difficulty. Each level has various clues and hints to help place a few of the chocolate pieces, but you need to use your brain to figure out the rest of the placement of the other pieces.

And it is rather addicting {in a non-caloric way, thank goodness}.

Our girls have had so much fun playing it, that there have been moments they have both wanted to play at the same time. We’ve competed against each other to see who can complete a challenge first. Even I’m enjoying the game and stretching my brain a bit from time to time!

We loved it enough that we also purchased the Chocolate Fix app {iPad or iPhone} as well. It also includes hints and the chocolate is a yummy strawberry pink.

The Chocolate Fix game is one that can be played again and again. We purchased our game from Amazon and would definitely recommend it to you all. We’re having a lot of fun playing some new logic games this year and hope to share more with you soon!

What are some of your favorite games that are fun to play – but also include a heap of learning?

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Filed Under: Game Time, Just for Fun Tagged With: Family Games Leave a Comment

Can a Chicken Have Twins? ~ Impromptu Science

Sep42012

September 4, 2012 by Jolanthe 6 Comments

You know what I love about homeschooling? In our day we have the flexibility to answer those crazy questions that come up.

Like when you crack one of your eggs for breakfast and realize that there is a double yoke inside.

Double Yolk-1

Over the last week or so we’ve had 3 eggs with double yokes come from our hens. After the second one, Zachary was watching me cook them and asked, “Can chickens have twins?”

To be completely honest, the thought had never even crossed my mind. We quickly Googled it, found a video on YouTube that answered the question, and had ourselves an impromptu science lesson over breakfast.

In the last few weeks here are a few fun things we’ve ‘explored’ just around our house…

An interesting caterpillar. It turned out to be an Imperial Moth caterpillar and we created a habitat for it. A few hours later, it buried itself under the dirt and went into its pupa stage. Now we’re waiting {and may be for months!!} to see what will emerge.

Praying Mantis-1

Praying mantis fun….we caught one in our front bushes and then fed it an unsuspecting grasshopper. See? {warning – a bug will lose a life in this video}

Homeschooling allows us these moments – I LOVE that we can detour off our plans at any point during our day and enjoy hands-on learning together.

Today, leave a comment and share a memorable impromptu learning moments that has happened in your home!

Maestro Classics ~ introduce great music and classics stories to children with this classical music series.

Livin’ with Pizzaz! ~ A child’s health begins at home! Register for a six session online eWorkshop for parents of kids 3 to 12.

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Filed Under: Just for Fun 6 Comments

Fun with Farkle ~ Family Game Idea

Jul252012

July 25, 2012 by Jolanthe 17 Comments

Some of you may think that I just made a rude sound. The kids are certainly getting a few giggles out of it. My question is, how have we not heard of the game Farkle before?

Have you heard of it??

When camping this past weekend, another family pulled out their Farkle game and our kids magically disappeared. Occasionally we would hear groans and shouts of “Farkle!” coming from their direction, but they had so.much.fun.

The next day we had to run to the store and do you know what the first thing was we put into our shopping cart? Two containers of Farkle. One for the house and one to add to our camping stash.

Six simple dice. One cup to shake them all up and spill them out. Hours of fun adding points, figuring out game strategy, and one momma who isn’t going to point out the fact that they are all getting in a little math practice in between the shouts of “Farkle!”

Don’t tell them, ok?