Homeschooling

PLANES: Kids Printables and Airplane Activities

August 4, 2013 by Rachel 2 Comments

Have you and your kids reserved tickets to see Disney’s latest movie, Planes?

Coming from the super successful Cars franchise, this movie is destined to be a new favorite among Disney fans. And in anticipation of the movie’s August 9th release, Disney has created activities that the whole family can enjoy!

Create your own Racing Plane and compete in the Racer Game. Choose a paper plane template from six different Plane characters (complete with individual folding directions – which can always be a bit tricky!), then head outside for a family competition.

For those that love to color, choose one of the Coloring Pages that highlight four of the main characters from the movie.

Check out Disney’s schedule of international Air Show Times. If you have never been to an air show before, you must go! It is exhilarating to have the fast jets whiz over your head. Plus, most air shows display retired military aircraft and allow you to walk through them. If you are not near one of the shows listed, do not fret! It is by no means an exhaustive list. Spend a few minutes doing a little internet research for air shows in or near your area.

When your family goes to the Air Show, don’t forget Disney’s Planes Air Show Checklist! Search the runways for planes that are used in the military, planes that have one or more propellers, or planes that are made by the pilot himself. You even have a space to draw your favorite plane of the day and track all the different plane maneuvers you witness in the skies overhead.

Do you have fond memories of attending air shows as a child – or as an adult? Please share!

Monsters University: Printables, Activities for Kids, and Recipes

July 29, 2013 by Rachel 4 Comments

Have you seen the new Monsters University, yet?

Disney has put together some fantastic family activities for their new movie that you and your kids are going to love! Including your favorite Monsters Inc. characters, Sulley and Mike, these creative games, coloring pages and recipes will leave you wishing you could attend Monsters University!

Printables & Activities

In addition to the activities above, you and your kids can also Test Your Memory with MU flashcards and Design Your Own School Crest. And if you thought you had seen every variation of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey”, think again. Have you ever pinned a badge on a “scare pig”? No worries, you can now with Archie on the Loose!

Recipes

After spending the morning in Monsters University activities, dish up some Cilantro Corn on the Claw and Mike’s Melonade. Then, once nourished and hydrated, arm yourself with a bit of construction paper, glue, a few paints and a nice round, Mike-like watermelon to create your very own Mike Wazowski! Click here for the super simple, yet completely life-like, Make a Melon Mike instructions. Also included in the MU recipe line-up are Roaring Ribs and Scare School Steak.

These activities are so much fun, I hope you enjoy them!

Which activities are you and your family going to do together? I would love to see photos of your creations!

BabbaBox: Fun Science Projects (and beyond) for Kids

July 19, 2013 by Sandra 12 Comments

My kids enjoyed the science projects in the BabbaBox that I received to review.

I’m not the craftiest or most creative mom on-the-block.

I want to be. I’ve tried to be. But I’m not. My Pinterest boards are a reflection of that.

I don’t pin many kid’s crafts or science projects unless they look ~~ridiculously~~ fairly easy to manage. Oh, and with five children, being creative and planning a homemade project needs to be well-thought out in advance or else there will be chaos and probably a few tears shed…by me…not the kids.

Kidding. The kids totally start crying, too. 😉

Fun Science Projects for Kids
In order to create awesome crafts and science projects with my kids, I rely on a solution like the BabbaBox. I’ve talked about how we’ve used the BabbaBox in the past, and if you’re not familiar with what a BabbaBox is, here’s a simple explanation:

BabbaBox is a theme-based box delivered to your door that allows you to enjoy a little convenience and inspiration! You receive fantastic monthly activities with all the materials you need to create fun projects and memories with your children.

Kitchen Science BabbaBox Projects
We had the opportunity to take on four fun science projects found in the Kitchen Science BabbaBox, and I was surprised by how easy all of the projects were. We started by making a homemade bouncy ball that actually works!

David, my four-year-old, loved this project.

The ingredients that we needed to create the bouncy ball were included in the BabbaBox kit. I like that I didn’t have to run to the store to get anything else for this project.

Here’s what the Bouncy Ball looked like before the ingredients all came together:

Here’s a picture of our finished Bouncy Ball:

Magic Mud
This was probably my favorite project — Magic Mud. This stuff is SO cool!

Isaac created the magic mud, and we were able to save it and use it beyond one day, which was nice. When you think of magic mud, think of quicksand. It’s like that. I know we’ll be making this again!

Lava Lamp
Breanna made a homemade lava lamp.

She was happy with how her homemade science project turned out, and we had fun tilting it back and forth afterwards. I remember having a lava lamp as a kid, and it was fun to be able to make one on our own and get a better understanding of how it works.

Here’s a close up shot of our homemade lava lamp:

Volcano
Isaac was extremely excited to take part in one of the best science projects in the world — the homemade volcano. This is a must-do project with kids. It’s so easy and fun!

The BabbaBox instructions recommended having a toy dinosaur near the volcano for greater effect. This is optional, but it wasn’t for us. 🙂

Here’s our volcano erupting:

The dinosaur did not escape the molten lava. Poor thing!

This kids had a blast with the science projects we completed using the materials and instructions given in the BabbaBox.

And I’m looking forward to making the final recipe with them for the “World’s Best Play Dough.” It sounds pretty great!

Fun at-home Science Experiments (and a Giveaway!)

July 9, 2013 by Sandra 18 Comments

Sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Even though school is out, learning should still be in, right?

I say, “Absolutely!”

Learning should be going all on the time, especially during the summer months when most kids are not in school. But the difference between learning during the school year and learning during the summer months is that we can make things a lot more fun and relaxed when it’s hot outside.

Summer Brain Games
One way that we’ve kept the learning going in our home (*cough* besides making the kids do SOME school since we homeschool) is with the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s Summer Brain Games.

Summer Brain Games is a fun and free online science program that helps keep kids learning during the summer and prevents “summer brain drain.” You simply sign up for the program on the website, and then receive an email where you can download your FREE Summer Brain Games kit.

DIY Science Experiments
Each week’s online kit will feature an experiment or science challenge that can easily be performed at home with your kids. If you have teens, they can probably manage these experiments on their own.

My kids had a blast with the Balloon Racer that we made by following the instructions in the Summer Brain Games kit. It’s made out of simple materials you can find at home, and I honestly can not describe in words how much fun we had with this project.

The best part was the seeing the look on their faces each time the balloon’s air was released and it raced across the string hung across the dining room, flinging our LEGO mini-figure wildly in the air. Just thinking about the fun we had makes me smile.

Homemade Tetrahedral Kite
Besides the balloon racer, we made a homemade tetrahedral kite. And it turned out awesome!

Making the kite was more challenging than the balloon racer, but what an experience this was. The kids were proud of their accomplishment when it was finished, and we’re waiting for a windy day to take it out and fly! We’ve been dealing with rain and humidity lately, but I’m sure we’ll be able to better try it out later this week or the next.

To get the instructions on how to make the balloon racer and the tetrahedral kite, all you need to do is sign up for the Summer Brain Games program on the museum’s website.

Here’s what our homemade kite looked like:

Two pieces of advice, if you try out the Summer Brain Games program:

Read over the kit and make sure you have all the materials you need before starting an experiment. I had to make a trip to the store to grab a few small items.
Be patient, let your kids take charge (as much as possible depending upon their age), and have FUN!

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

ONE very excited reader will win a FAMILY FOUR PACK of tickets to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry! This four pack is valued at $76, and the tickets are valid until the end of 2013.

If you are not living in the Chicagoland area but will be visiting before the end of the year, be sure to enter! 🙂

How to enter the giveaway

Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. I’ve included options for extra entries, too!

This giveaway will run from now until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (JULY 9TH). The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winner will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winner an email notifying them that they’ve won, and the winner must respond within 48hrs. of the giveaway’s end, otherwise I will have to draw a new winner.

Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is offering a fun and free online science program called Summer Brain Games. The eight-week program lasts from June 17, 2013-August 12, 2013 and features a weekly experiment or science challenge that can easily be performed at home with kids of all ages.

Visit msichicago.org/summerbrain now to register for Summer Brain Games and download your free Summer Brain Games kit. As an added bonus, registering automatically gets you a pass to come to the Museum for free this summer.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

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