Fun April Fools Day Prank!

Since it's April 1st, I wanted to pull a fun prank on my family today.  My kids did a great job pranking me so I thought about what to do all day.  Inspiration finally hit a couple of hours before dinner.  I decided to make muffin tin meat loafs look like cupcakes.  For the frosting, I made mashed potatoes and dyed them blue.  It was a fun surprise.   My husband thought it was pretty awesome.  The kids thought it was funny but they were a little disappointed that we were not having real cupcakes.   They were really happy to find out that I also made real (not a prank) chocolate chip muffins for dessert .  They had to eat their cupcake before they could get a muffin though. :)

Free Homeschool Book on Kindle

I just noticed a free book on Kindle today.  It's called "How To Teach Your Child".  I have not personally read this book so I can't give a review or recommendation but you can't beat free!   I hope someone finds this helpful!  
How To Teach Your Child

Snow Cups!

Most kids love snow cones and Italian Ice treats in the summer.   For an easy winter treat give snow cups a try!   I scooped some fresh, clean snow off the deck and poured some cranberry juice over the top.    My kids thought it was the perfect afternoon treat.  They enjoyed eating their flavored snow cups outside where it would not melt.

Outside Snow Art!

Do you have snow where you live? We have snow and plenty of it. We had a snow storm a few days ago which gave us a snow day on Friday and plenty of snow for the weekend. I filled some plastic spray bottles (I bought new bottles from a dollar store) with water and food coloring. I gave the kids some rules such as no spraying people, clothing or anything other than the snow and the trees. Then I let them loose in the yard to go make some snow art! I helped them build a snow fort earlier in the day so that made for some extra special fun. They even painted a snow chair in the fort. My kids and several neighbor friends joined in the outdoor snow art fun and it kept them all busy for a long time! Easy art with no mess / clean-up and everyone was happy.

Valentine BINGO

Whether you're planning a classroom party, a small party at home or just want to have fun with your kids, BINGO is lots of fun.  The great thing about BINGO is that you can customize your cards to reflect the theme / holiday you are focusing on.  For Valentine's Day I like to replace the word BINGO at the top of the cards and write HEART instead.  For markers, I like to use conversation hearts.   I usually just make my own BINGO cards but I also found some printable cards over at DLTK.  If you don't want to make your own, this is a great and easy option.  They even offer customized cards.  You can print them in color or black and white (and color them yourself).  You can also choose from picture cards or cards with words, colors or ABC's.  Have fun!   DLTK's BINGO cards.

Valentine Marshmallow Treat Pops!

I was looking for an easy Valentine's Day treat for my kids to help make when I found these!  So cute and easy!  I'm sure they will be a hit.  Marshmallow Treat Pops.

Veterans Day

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of our US Veterans!  I appreciate your service...past and present.  My dad was an Army Veteran.  Tomorrow (Veterans Day) would have been my mom & dad's 45th wedding anniversary so it was always an extra special day for our family!    Be sure to say thank you and show appreciation to the Veterans in your life.  My kids made cards for the residents of the local Veterans home.

I also wanted to share a website.  It's geared more for school age kids but parents / teacher's of younger children still might gain something useful from it.   VA Kids

Also, this is a really simple but sweet flag that your child could make and hand deliver to a Veteran that you know.   Veterans Day Flag Note.