Friday, March 31, 2017

Best Games for Young Kids

Sometimes I feel like I get busy cooking, doing chores, blogging just the normal daily tasks I always seem so consumed by and the kids are playing their own thing that I just want to pause and have some quality family time. That's why I love playing board games with my kids who are three and five.

favorite board games for young kids


Here are some of our favourite games:

favorite board games for young childrenSpuzzle  - This is by far my 3 year olds favourite game. I get requests to play it about 8 times a day. It's very simple: you just choose a card and pick a puzzle piece that matches, and whoever completes their 5 (4 piece) puzzle first pieces wins. I always lose as there is a 'take a piece from someone else's puzzle' card and they can only take one of my pieces to prevent any fighting or crying.






board games for 4 year oldsSorry - Sorry is a classic and still super popular as it fun and simple. "Players bump, jump, and slide pawns around the game track. The first player to get their pawns safely back on the home island wins" There is the classic version or tons of different versions like Moana.







board games for 3 year oldsMouse Trap -  Mouse trap is also a very popular game at our house! Although after we play once or twice the kids decide they need to trap moms mouse over ana over again; so I seem to reset it often lol. "Classic Mousetrap game lets you try to trap your opponents' mice in the wacky trap. Contraptions connect together to make a trap for any mouse in the cheesy trap space."                 
           
board games for 4 year olds




Pixar Uno Card Game (in tin) - There are
different version of the classic Uno game - which I find help younger children learn how to match colours and numbers.



board games for families





Hungry Hungry Hippos.  This is the next game we are purchasing.  "Classic Hungry Hippos game has 4 hippo heads and bodies plus 20 marbles for them to chomp"





board games for families with kids


Candy Land - I am sure you have all had the chance to play Candy Land at some point in your life. If not, here's your chance.


board games for families with children

Don't Break the Ice (Frozen Edition)  Players tap out ice blocks one by one. To win, Anna and Olaf must stay on top.


board games for families with young children





I was telling a friend that my son Dylan keeps making me play Spuzzle and he said he played Game of Life Junior with his kids 3 and 8 and it was actually a lot of fun And even though it rated for 5+ it wasn't difficult to understand. You just have to collect 10 stars throughout the game.



Disney Junior Super Stretchy game - basically a take on the classic Twister game. Other players flip over cards and call out characters, colors and shapes.







And another one of our favourite games at home is Bingo. I created a few different themes, so you can just print them out if you would like. My daughter decided the winner needs a prize so this has now turned into one of her favourite games, lol

free printable games for kids

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Smurfs: The Lost Village Invitations

I loved the last Smurfs movie - it was so cute! I love Neil Patrick Harris. So in anticipation of the upcoming Smurfs movie I decided to create some free birthday invitations.

Smurfs The Lost Village Invitations


I had a bit of trouble finding the background images so may create more in the future.

Lost Village Invitations


Free Smurfs Invitations


Free printable Smurfs invitations


Smurfs Lost Village Invitations
And I saved them two to a page in drop box, for ease of printing.

And you can find everything you need for a Smurfs: The Lost Village Birthday Party here

smurfs the lost village birthday party

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Free Printable Bingo

My kids love bingo it's fun and it easy for young kids as they simply have to match the pictures so I have created a variety of different themes. It's a great activity for a Sunday afternoon or birthday parties.

free printable bingo cards

Just click on the links below the cards to be taken to the original post so you can print them. And you can use whatever you want to mark them - cheerios, scraps of paper, bingo dabbers, crayons...

cars 3 party printables

Cars 3 - McQueen, Mater & Friends



Jake Bingo


Lego Batman Bingo


free printable Moana bingo


free printable pets bingo


pokemon bingo

Sophia the First bingo

baby shower bingo

free trolls bingo

free zootopia bingo


If you would like a different theme of Bingo please leave a comment and I will get to it as soon as possible. They are fairly time consuming to make so I do ask that you share them and pin them in Return. ;)


Friday, March 24, 2017

Correcting Behaviour with Sticker Charts

Having children is a joy but it can also be difficult at times (well more often than not)- sometimes I feel like a professional moderator between my 3 and 5 year old. And sometimes I just feel at a complete loss of what to do during a full blown temper tantrum where everything in a five foot radius is being hurled at the wall (or me) with the speed closer to a professional pitcher than a 3 year old.

behavior sticker charts


Having a discussion with another mom at work about the daily struggles; she said she had implemented a sticker chart at home and when her son earned x amount of stickers he achieved a special weekend activity like going to the arcade or the movies.

And when I was exhausted one night (okay that's every night) with both kids crying that they didn't want to go to bed - I decided to try that sticker chart she had mentioned.

I drew a rudimentary chart with their names and the two tasks we struggle with the most; going to sleep by themselves - in their own bed and going to school in the morning without crying.

So I showed them the chart and explained it to them. If they get 7 stickers they get their choice of activity and if they get 14 stickers: a perfect week they get a large toy on top of the activity. I tried to set it up that they would get something even if we have some failures along the way.

My daughter decided she needed Shopkins stickers and Dylan needed Paw Patrol stickers, and we seem to have 3208 stickers in our house anyways so I was fine with that.

And with that my daughter started going to bed without a fuss! When she would start to get upset I would gently remind her of the sticker chart she would calm down immediately . I would make a big production of marking them off the next morning or when we got home from daycare/school without incident.

A few tips for success:

Choose a few behaviours that you want to concentrate on - you can slowly add more behaviours or tasks as you approve on the initial ones, and slowly faze other ones out.

Try to have the same tasks for each sibling if possible, this may not be feasible if their is a large age gap between siblings. My one child has a difficult time going to bed on their own and my other had a hard time ging to school without crying so I put both behaviours under each childs name so they can each earn atleast one sticker fairly easily.

Tell them the prizes at the beginning of the week, it doesn't have to be expensive but something that the child wants. You can give them a choice between a few options to keep it on budget.

Put the chart somewhere prominent - ours is on the front of our fridge. And give them the sticker when they earn it. If they go to bed without a fuss I will give them a sticker first thing in the morning.

I created a few sticker charts as I couldn't quite find any to meet my needs.

trolls sticker charts

Minions sticker charts



And I would also love to hear any of your own personal experiences which make sticker charts a success or what works (or doesn't work!)  

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Moana food ideas

Here are ten Moana food ideas that would be perfect for you Moana themed party

Moana food ideas


Make your own Moana cupcakes with this recipe from Disney Family

Moana cupcakes

Get the recipe from Take Time for Style for these delicious Moana inspired white chocolate Oreos 

Moana party food

Get the recipe for these ute Moana jello treats from the Jersey Momma

Moana treats

Get the recipe to make these Heart of Te Fiti cookies from Paging SuperMom

Moana cookies

Pau Polka Dot Cupcake recipe from The Healthy Mouse

Moana food ideas



Moana Coconut Cereal Treats from a Night Owl Blog

Moana treats

Get the recipe for this Moana fruit punch from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 

Moana punch


Get a Moana ispired healthy fruit dip recipe from Thrifty Jinxy

Moana birthday food

Make an easy Moana swirl cake from A Frugal chick

Moana birthday cake

Moana Colado Freak Shake from a Night Owl Blog

Moana drinks

And here is Everything you Need for a Moana birthday party




Sunday, March 19, 2017

Boss Baby Thank You Cards

Boss Baby is out in theaters and it is definitely on my list. It looks hilarious.

Free printable boss baby thank you cards


Boss Baby Thank You Cards

boss baby party


boss baby printables

"Thanks" I love how sarcastic this one looks...

boss baby party printables

Thank You!  Not really sure what this facial expression portrays...

I saved them to an 8 by 11 sheet of paper and you can print them and fold them in half and put a personal note in the inside. 

boss baby birthday ideas
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