Rush Hour Jr: A fun Workout for young Minds!

If you're a parent, you know there are times where need something to keep your kids quietly occupied. For me, it's often when I need to make a phone call or help my oldest out with her schoolwork. It can be easy rely on technology. Coloring books and simple crafts sometimes work for our preschooler but it depends on the day. Thankfully I now have a new way to keep her busy and learning...and it requires no screens or electricity!

Recently Thinkfun sent us the kids version of the Traffic Jam Logic Game Rush Hour® to see what we thought of it.

Just like the classic version Rush Hour Jr. you need to shift 3D cars and trucks around on 'streets' in the correct sequence in order to help your ice cream truck escape the gridlock.

It's easier said than done!

Included in the game are 40 challenge cards, 15 vehicles, and the grid. 

To begin the player selects a card at the level of play they are working at (there are four levels from beginner to expert). 

The card will show how the vehicles need to be initially arranged on the grid. From here the player can begin sliding the vehicles forward or backwards to try and get the ice cream our of the traffic jam.  If you get stuck you can always refer to the solution on the other side of the card.

Both kids really enjoyed this game. To begin with I played it with our 4 year old as she had a little trouble setting up the board. As far as the game play, she really took off with it. It held her attention and was content to sit quietly and figure it out several cards at a time.

When our 8 year old managed to get a turn she thought it was 'pretty cool'. This is definitely not just a preschool game. The upper level cards are challenging for her and I think this Jr version of game will be fine for both of them for a good while. As for Grown-ups it gave my brain a good workout too. I would seriously look into adding the adult version to our board game collection as a family christmas gift too this year! I especially liked that is sturdy and the vehicles chunky enough for little hands to hold. The size of the base makes it extremely portable. A little cloth bag is included to carry the fun with you to pull out at restaurants or at the Doctor's waiting room.

You can find  Rush Hour Jr. at  Thinkfun's Online store! It would make a great gift for birthdays and other special occasions. Grandparents and Aunts might like to get one to keep at their place for when the little ones visit too! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Nutcracker Ballet Unit Study (Make your own from more that 60 free web resources)

In a few weeks, the girls will be auditioning for their parts in their ballet school's Christmas production of 'The Nutcracker.' Miss K, especially, has been excitedly reading and learning all about the characters and their dances. It seemed like great great opportunity to add a Nutcracker Ballet unit study! 

Below you will find all the links to the free web resources we will be using. I have listed them by subject rather than by the order we will be using them. Including nine study guides from different Ballet Companies all over North America might seem a bit over the top but they are all different.  Be sure to check out each guide as they all have unique suggestions for activities, puzzles and games. Each guide also outlines the theatre, cast and crew for their performance. Some of the photographs of the dancers and theatre alone are worth pouring over with your kids! We hope you have as much fun as we will studying the Nutcracker! 

History 

Timeline history of the Nutcracker Ballet and some great photos -Ballet Minnesota

The History of the Nutcracker (the tool/ornament) at Magicofnutcrackers.com

Study Guides


San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF Printable

National Canadian Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide PDF Printable

Inland Pacific Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide- PDF Printable

Milwaukee Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide- PDF Printable

Boston Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF Printable

Lancaster Performing Arts Center -PDF Printable 

Houston Ballet Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF Printable

Reif's Performing Arts Center Nutcracker Study Guide -PDF Printable

East Alabama Community Ballet Nutcracker Curriculum Guide -PDF


Language Arts Nutcracker activities

5 Nutcracker Language arts based activities from the Union City Youth Ballet

Nutcracker themed Handwriting Practice Pages from TwistyNoodle.com

The Nutcracker Reading Comprehension Worksheet from ESLprintables

Drama, Theater and Dance activities

Exploring international dance styles, design a ballet and pantomime 

A short play based on the Nutcracker Story from coreknowledge.org

The Dance of the Flute activity lesson plan from Lesson Planet

Comparing Smooth and Sharp movements of Dance from Lesson Planet

Analyzing two Dances from the Nutcracker and creating a Dance Map from Lesson Planet

Watch Elmo and Jamie Foxx sing a 'The Nutcracker Mash' -You Tube: Sesame St 

Math Based NutcrackerActivities

2 Math activities for Pre K - 1 from the Union City Youth Ballet

Compare Nutcrackers with a Venn Diagram printable from Teach123

Symmetrical Nutcracker Activity from A Faithful Attempt


Science Based Nutcracker Activities

4 different areas of science to explore from Union City Ballet 

Learn about Clarks's Nutcracker bird at Allaboutbirds.org

Hands on activity to explore different kinds of bird beaks from Utah Education Network

Hands on activity to explore Levers in everyday use (incl. worksheets) from ingridscience.org

Hands on Activity exploring the basic Dance element of Force from Lesson Planet 

A video about how snow is formed from crystals  

Make your own crystal snow flake -an experiment from Science Kids New Zealand

Social Studies & History Activities 


Ideas about studying the history of Ballet and the Country of Russia (the origin of the story)

Timeline history of the Nutcracker Ballet and some great photos -Ballet Minnesota

The History of the Nutcracker (the tool/ornament) at Magicofnutcrackers.com

How Nutcrackers are handmade in Germany (video)-YouTube

Music 


Learning about Tchaikovsky

Active Listening to different dances in the Nutcracker -From Elementary Music Methods

Play along music for Dance of the Sugar Plum fairy from Teaching Music

Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra -An interactive online book/game from the Carnegie Hall site

Hey Kids, Meet Tchaikovsky at Making Music Fun

A great collection of Musical instrument worksheets can be found at Enchanted Learning

Free 60 Pg Musical Lapbook Printable  from 123Homeschoolf4me.com

Music Coloring Pages from Coloring.ws

Bay Area Little Symphony Coloring Book

Active listening and Discussion worksheet for 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' at Lesson Planet

Listen & watch how Bike Parts were used to play the Nutcracker Suite at creativedigitalmusic.com

Art and Crafts

Oil Pastel on Black Paper Nutcracker Lesson from Art Projects for Kids

Printable Nutcracker Character Puppets to Make from Printables 4 Kids

Nutcracker Paperbag Puppet Printable from Jim Gamble Puppets

Make Nutcracker & Clara puppets with this printable from Lesson Planet

Recipe for Sparkly Sugar Plums from the Cupcakeproject.com

Recipe for Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes from the Cupcake Project

Instructions to Build your own Lego Nutcracker from Lego my Mamma

Ballet

Ballet Lap n Note from Homeschool share: 

Topics Incl.: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, history of ballet, creative writing, positions, tutu 

Preschool Nutcracker Ideas and Activities

Christmas Theme: The Nutcracker Pre K Printables from PreschoolMom.com

Lesson Plan and crafts for The Nutcracker Ballet from funlessonplans.com

Nutcracker Cut & Paste Activity from Makinglearingfun.com

Nutcracker Montessori 3 Part Card Printables from Laura's Place

Nutcracker Number Match Game Printable from Prekinders

Ballerina Preschool Printable Pack from 1+1+1=1

Nutcracker Coloring Pages from Supercoloring.com

2 Math activities for Pre K - 1 from the Union City Youth Ballet

Free Clipart and images to add to your project

Free Music Themed Black and White GIFs at ClipArt etc

Free Dance Themed B & W GIFs at ClipArt etc

Free Theatre Themed B & W GIFS at Clipart etc

Color Nutcracker image at Phillip Martin Clipart

Male Ballet Dancer Image at Phillip Martin Clipart

Openclipart.com has a lot of ballet themed images

Candy and Gingerbread Clipart at Mycutegraphics.com

Free iOS Apps

Nutcraker -Ballet School Stores iOS

Tchaikovsky. The Rhythm Game iOS

Christmas Stories: Nutcracker Puzzle Game iOS

Tissue 'Painted' Wind Sock craft

Wind Socks are a great way for kids to 'see' the wind. During spring the kids flew their kites a lot. This craft lets us remember all the fun every time we catch sight of the wind sock hanging on the balcony.

Our Wind sock is made from a repurposed items and good ol' school glue! If you want to make your own I have outlined how we did it below:

Materials to gather together:

White School Glue

Old Mixing bowl

Large Paint brush

Empty oatmeal container

Patterned Napkins 

Ribbons

String or yarn

In the bowl, mix 1 part glue and water 

Unfold napkins and separate it's layers they have a plain white liner (you just need the patterned side)

Drape the napkin over the container and begin painting glue onto the surface.  Continue covering the napkin with glue until it is completely soaked. Repeat with more napkins until the container is completely covered.

 Depending on the colors and patterns on the napkins you may need to add a second layer to make sure the print on the oatmeal container doesn't show.

When the glue is completely dry use a sharp needle or compass to make some holes in the base -which is going to be the top of the wind sock ;-). This will be where you can thread the yarn or string you will hang it up by.

We used attached fabric wired ribbons to the open end of the container but regular ribbon, metallic ribbon, yarn or strips of fabric would look great too!

Thanks for taking a look at our project, I hope you get a chance to make your own!

Using Music From Pacha's Pajamas to inspire Young Artists

Recently we reviewed the new double kids album Pachas pajamas: A Story Written By Nature. Our 3 year old, Mini Piwi, especially loves to dance to it in the car (not an easy thing to do). Our eight year old, Miss K seems especially inspired by the art that was featured in the book Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature by Aaron Ableman.

All Pacha's Pajamas images are sourced from here

One afternoon this week she gathered up a load of art supplies and headed to her room. A little later she presented me with her version of what our Siamese cat, Perry, would look like if he attended the Music festival that Pacha and all of nature put on. Miss K is still working on what Perry would sing at the Festival.

Today we all sat done to work on creating a parrot that symbolized hope for the rainforest. Well that was the original plan. Mini Piwi announced she wanted to make her own.

The kids used  Learn to Draw Pets to sketch a picture of a Macaw.  If teaching art scares you like it does me, I would definitely recommend this as an easy(and cheap) way to introduce sketching to kids. As you can see even Mini Piwi was able to follow the step by step instructions

The pencil lines were traced with dark oil pastel and they set about adding color and patterns.

Image source

We recently learnt about the Koru symbol used in New Zealand Maori carving. It is based on the shape of a fern frond and represents regeneration and hope for the future. Miss K loves the smudging effect of oil pastels so that’s how the background was filled.

Mini Piwi also added Korus and lots of colors. She named her parrot Sparky. Both Pictures have definitely brightened up the kitchen Art Museum (aka the Fridge).

Don't forget to enter our Giveaway to win one of Ten copies of the brand new Double Album.

Pumpkin Science activities for Kids roundup

The Perfectly Pumpkin contest hosted by  B-inspired Mamas, Preschool Powol Packets and Gift of Curiosity and us!
There were so many amazing pumpkin themed activities, recipes and crafts! It must have been a tough decision for our guest judges to pick a winner for their categories.

The Science nerd fan in me was drawn to these fun science themed Pumpkin activies that were entered.

Life with Moore Babies played with states of matter and created some very cute decorations with their Melted Crayon Pumpkins.
They also showed us how they demonstrated the pumpkin lifecycle by growing pumpkins in a pumpkin!

Little Bins for Little hands made a Pumpkin-cano which may just be the coolest baking soda and vinegar experiment I have ever seen!

A lil Scientist at Stir the wonder had a great time with an exploration of Pumpkin guts.

The Preschool toolbox shared a couple of great Pumpkin life cycle printables and the fun they had working with them.

Frogs and Snails and Puppy dogs tails made up a mixture of Pumpkin spice scented 'Clean Mud'!

These were just a small sample of the amazing entries the contest had! Thanks to everyone who entered! To see the winners head over to the announcement at B -inspired Mama.

Preschool Puddles:Easy to make Water cycle model

Mini Piwi had fun learning about the water cycle in a fun and colorful way. A Toddler or Preschooler may not know about Precipitation and Evaporation just yet but, they do know all about puddles!

This week we got some rain and lots of big puddles to splash in. Mini Piwi was disappointed that the puddles weren't there by the next morning. I used this game/activity to explain where the puddles had gone.

1. I explained that we were pretending that the pile of colored mini pompoms represent a puddle on the ground. The cotton balls are a cloud in the sky.

2. The sun shines on the puddle. We used Mini Piwi's sun puppet, but we could have used a ball or balloon.

3. The heat of the sun 'picks up' the drops of water in the Puddle and it is 'added' to the cloud.

4. Mini Piwi added all the pompoms to the cloud until it was big and puffy.

5. When the cloud got full it rained and all the raindrops fall to the ground again. The pompoms fall off the cotton balls when you roughly shake the whole thing.

Mini Piwi did this over and over and thought it was hilarious when it 'rained'.  All the giggling bought Big sis over to the table and she got 'rained on' too.

We’re joining in with these bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network to bring you ideas for Spring and Easter – pop along and see what fun activities they are sharing with you today. We also invite you to come and share your own ideas if you are blogger please link up your Spring and Easter posts below and join us celebrating Spring and Easter.

The Magic of Play, Rainy Day Mum, hands on : as we grow, Putti's World, Blog Me Mom, Scribble Doodle and Draw, 3 Dinosaurs, Buggy and Buddy, Royal Baloo, Kitchen Counter Chronicle, Nurture Store, The Usual Mayhem, Making Boys Men, Two Daloo, Reading Confetti, Creative Play House, Fantastic Fun and Learning, Here Come the Girls, Blue Bear Wood, Zing Zing Tree, Mummy Mummy Mum, Red Ted Art, Life at the Zoo, My Little 3 and Me, Imprints from Tricia, Smiling Like Sunshine, Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails, Creative Connection for Kids, 52 Brand New, Inspiration Laboratories, Kid World Citizen, JDaniel 4s Mom, Inspired by Familia, Kids Creative Chaos, All Done Monkey, ArtChoo, Something 2 Offer, Child Central Station, KC Edventures, Momma's Fun World, Sun Hats and Wellie Boots, Discovering the world through my son's eyes, Little Artists