Search Results for: blog making checkers

Making Camping Fun for Kids

Confession time: I’ve never camped with my own child. To those who know me well, this is no major revelation given that I’ve only roughed it a grand total of four times in my entire life, and all of those trips took place while I was swinging single. What can I say? I’m not a big camper. Still, I don’t want to deprive my child of the opportunity to commune with nature, so this summer I’ve decided to pitch a tent with my preschooler (and others). The only problem: all my camping experiences came while I was in college when … Continue reading →

Making Checkers

As mentioned previously, one simple way to make checkers for a checkerboard blanket or checkerboard rug is to cut circles from felt or glue felt to plastic lids from coffee cans. Whichever style you choose, you will need twelve of each color. Here are some other ideas: Fabric Checkers You can use plastic lids for this project or simply cut circles from heavy cardboard (a sturdy box works great). Glue some batting to the circles and cover them with the fabric of your choice. You can use leftover fleece from the original black and red pattern, or fabric that coordinates … Continue reading →

Handling Criticism at Work

I am a sensitive person. In fact, when I was a child, I was so sensitive that it was difficult for me to handle criticism of any kind. Whenever a teacher corrected me in school, I burst into tears. Fortunately as I grew older, I learned how to handle constructive criticism. That’s a good thing, because the ability to effectively handle criticism is an essential skill that every professional needs. This week, I received an email from one of my clients. I have been working with this client for over a year now and we have developed a great business … Continue reading →

Cooperative Game: Count Your Chickens

Peaceable Kingdom’s mission is to make good, do good, and be good. What does that mean? Here are the standards by which Peaceable Kingdom operates: (taken from their website) *we create fresh, fun, award-winning products that educate, inspire, and tickle funny bones *we donate frequently to charitable organizations that support the well-being of children *we are committed to working only with socially-conscious manufacturers *we use sustainable and eco-friendly materials like FSC and recycled papers, soy-based inks, and corn-based plastics whenever we can *we maintain integrity in all business relationships *we have fun while we work! I’d say that all qualifies … Continue reading →

Kid-friendly Evening Activities

Perhaps you come home from a long day at work, and after taking the children to sports and dance class and other activities, and making dinner and checking homework, all you want to do is put your feet up on the couch and fall asleep in front of the television. A single parent’s day can be a long one and many of us have a hard time really making good use of the time we have with our children in the evenings. While the days of sitting around the radio like The Waltons might be long-passed, there are kid-friendly evening … Continue reading →

Sidewalk Chalk Games

Break out the sidewalk chalk and think big! With a yard stick, or a board to use for a straight edge, your kids can use the chalk to draw a giant checkerboard or chess game on the driveway or patio. As a plus, it takes a while to color in all those squares! And it’s a good lesson in measuring and parallel lines. For checkers you can use different colors of paper plates. For chess pieces, you could draw pictures on the plates, or even use stuffed animals. I’m thinking the kids could even be markers themselves and play a … Continue reading →

Sick Day Survival Games

We haven’t been having much fun at my house this month. Instead, we’ve had one sick child after another. I’m always glad when they are feeling well enough to get restless. Here are some things we do on recovery days when they are feeling better, but still not up to par. I have a small dry erase board that is also a magnetic board. We have the low odor type of dry erase markers. The kids can draw, or if I have time we can play tic-tac-toe or dots. The magnetic part is fun, too. We have some architectural magnets, … Continue reading →

Including Play in Your Curriculum

In Let There be Play I talked about children learning through play. No matter what the age or interests, the love to play. I talked about finding a curriculum that will allow them to play and have fun while learning. Here are some other ideas to include play and fun in your learning experience. 1. Read, read, read, and read some more. Jonathan knows how to read, but if you ask him, he’ll tell you he doesn’t. His self esteem when it comes to reading is still pretty low, though we are working on it on a daily basis. Does … Continue reading →

Bottle Cap Magnets

Our refrigerator is just about covered with bottle caps. The boys and I had great fun making these bottle cap magnets over the last few days. You will need: Metal bottle caps (from soda or beer, or buy plain ones from the craft store) Magnet sheets (the ones that have an adhesive on one side make this extra easy) Glaze (Mod-Podge or Diamond Glaze or what we used – Krylon Clear Glaze) Tacky Glue Pictures, Paper, or Drawings Cut out small circles from magazines, postcards, photos, or plain paper. If the kids want to they can make their own drawings … Continue reading →

Make New Games With Old Business Cards

I’m a big believer in letting kids invent and make up their own games. Not only does it foster creativity and encourage problem solving and thinking skills but it takes twice as long! They have to create the game before they play it. Instead of throwing away old business cards, let your kids play with them. Or buy a pack or two of index cards if you don’t have old business cards cluttering up a drawer. The kids can make their own trading cards by drawing or pasting magazine pictures on them. They can make their own card game. If … Continue reading →