Baby Guess---It's a .....!

Last week I shared how we keep track of our Family Night fun with this little project for our "jobs."   We recently found out what the gender of our baby is.  But to make it more fun for everyone, I made this {little} worksheet for us to do during Family Night.  

    I wanted a way to preserve all the things the kids were saying about the new baby's name, size, and gender.  So I made this worksheet so that everyone could record their guesses.  

Baby Guess Night

  Feel free to use it with your own family too.  I kept it simple since I was out of colored ink ;)   We can monitor who's right with their guesses all the way up to the baby's birthday with {this little project} and everyone had so much fun.     I can tell now that it will be fun to look back on these.  I think they will definitely make it into this new {little} one's baby book! And, for the record.....It's a Boy!! Jay couldn't be happier.  After 2 sisters, he's ready for a brother :)  

Heart-Healthy Learning Games

We've been indoors a LOT this winter.  And that means we have needed a few {little projects} to channel some energy!
So today I'm sharing some Valentine's games have helped us hone some learning skills as well as give us some healthy exercise for our hearts--perfect for a month focused on the heart!

I try to get more than one use out of each game because it's more fun, and so it can be used with more than one age.  Some are variations on the same game too. Hopefully you can find one that's a good fit for you below :)
{this little project} was easy to make because all the pieces on the floor are just white paper plates with red paper hearts glued to them (elmer's).  Then just write the letters on them with a black marker.These are the letters you need to play:V A L E N T I N E, and then H R O.  With those letters you can spell: love, heart, valentine.
Letter Walk: This game is fun to do with music playing.  Music always is good for inspiring movement!  Each person stands on a letter and then moves to from one letter to another letter (walking, skipping, dancing, jumping) until the music stops.  Then each person tells: the letter they are on, and/or what sound it makes, and/or names something that starts with that letter.  This is a great game for preschoolers.  There aren't winners or losers-everyone likes getting a new letter to think about and getting there quick when the music stops.

This Spell-a-Heart game takes the last game to the next level.  This time you tell the group what word you are going to spell.  When the music stops you say the word and ask what letter the word starts with, or give the sound the next letter in the word makes.  Ask the kids who is on that letter.  

The lucky child gets to bring the letter up to help make the word.  Continue until the word is spelled.
The next game is a Spelling Obstacle Course.  Give them the plates (2 teams if there are many kids) and see if they can help you make an obstacle course with a word.  For instance, for the word "love" you would space the letters out on the floor, and when you get to the L you do 4 push-ups to "lower" yourself to the ground, then go to the O and "open" and close your hands doing jumping jacks 7 times, V could be balance on one foot while holding a "vollyball", etc... A timer checks to see how fast they can do it.
When you are done, give each team all the letters and see how many words they can form out of the plates so their hearts can take a rest :)

Have fun keeping those minds and bodies active!

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A Story in a Bag

Have you ever wanted to climb inside your child's head and watch their imagination go and remember what that was like as a child?  
{This Little Project} has that kind of fun!
This is our Story Bag:

Want to play?
Each person takes a few items from the Story Bag.  
Then you take turns telling a story that uses those all your items.  
Of course, you could also take turns telling different parts of the same story and you have to add your item into the story. 
 {This Little Project} would also be great for a long car ride.
I picked up some shaped wooden pieces at the craft store, but we've also thrown in lego pieces, toy cars, dolls, etc.  You can put all kinds of things in the bag to make the Story Bag fit all kinds of ages.
Should I mention all the great language skills and thinking skills that this game strengthens...
{This Little Project} will make your imagination go wild!  And bonus: your child will tell you what is happening in hers.  Very fun and it turns out different every time!

Thanksgiving Kid's Game

I'm getting some games and crafts together got a kid's Thanksgiving party this week and made this game board. It is just a variation on one of our VERY FAVORITE games: "Don't Eat Pete."

We love this game because any age can enjoy it. Even little Kay has it totally down.

The images are from the internet-they aren't mine so just use them for home use :) Just click on the image to see it full size and then print. You will want to print it on heavy paper, laminate it, or use a page protector.

How to play "Don't Eat Tom Turkey"
Cover each of the turkeys with a small snack or treat (cereal, trail mix, m&ms, etc.)
One person in the group goes out of the room.
One of the Turkeys on the game board is chosen by the group to be "the Tom Turkey."
The person comes back in the room and chooses a snack and eats it from off of each turkey. When they get to "the Tom Turkey" that was chosen by the group, everyone else yells, "Don't eat Tom Turkey!!"
That person's turn is over and a new person goes out of the room to repeat the game.
You can play as many rounds as you like, or print off multiple boards if you have a big group.

This would be a great game to play to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving day. Since they each take turns, no one will get to full of snacks :)