Goldfish Snack Math Sheets

All moms seek moments to connect with their kids. Sometimes it feels like there isn't enough time in the day between all the to-dos and the must-get-dones. Over the years I have learned that moments to connect with my kids do not have to be over planned or extravagant.

Moments to connect can be found in to-dos and the must-get-dones.

I found learning time can be a fun opportunity to connect with my boys. Sometimes homework and learning time is no fun because it can cause stress, boredom, and frustration. I decided why not fix that and make it a fun moment to connect.

I made these Snack Math Sheets. Then I gathered a few of the kids favorite flavors of one of their favorite snacks: Goldfish® crackers.

We used the Cheddar whole grain Goldfish crackers to do some Snackity Snack Snack Addition.

The color Goldfish crackers were perfect for working on classification and sorting.

This little man had so much fun making up his own addition problems, solving them, and of course eating a few.

For my slightly older boys I made up a number bingo sheet. I busted out the Goldfish grahams.

Nothing is more fun than getting a bingo. Well except eating the bingo.

Right now there is a Goldfish Tales campaign going on where you can share your favorite Goldfish cracker moment. You just need to go and visit GoldfishSmiles.com to find out more about their latest tale, details regarding the promotion, submissions, and a behind-the-scenes video of the making of their tale. To enter the Goldfish Tales entrants are asked to share a photo and story for a chance to win a case of product each month and an awesome trip to the U.S. location of the winner's choice, so that you can create more Goldfish Tales and of course more memories for your family.

In case you want to use a learning moment for your Goldfish Tale, I am providing these Snack Math Sheets for you to use with your own kiddos.

get Addition and Sorting Sheet HERE

get BINGO Sheet HERE

We had so much fun with this learning activity. It was fun to take a must-do and turn it into a moment to connect with my kids. I loved it because they were learning and having fun. They loved it because they were learning (even though they may not admit to it) and eating Goldfish crackers, one of their favorite snacks.

How do you like to connect with your kids? Little moments seem to be great times to connect. Tell me in a comment how you connect with your kids and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 VISA Gift Card!
Entry Instructions:
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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
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4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. 
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 4/1/14 – 5/31/15
Be sure to visit the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Superhero Story Stones

Welcome to A Pinteresting Wednesday!

Oh wait, it is Thursday. Well I am going to share these Superhero Story Stones with you today for A Pinteresting Wednesday anyway. So let's just pretend for right now that it is still Wednesday and that I blog more than just couple times a month. I have been a little lame lately...well not lame, but just attending to other things.

I truly meant to get this all posted and wittily delivered yesterday. But well, I wanted to finish my book. So I did. Hehehe.

So now my book is finished. So blogging seems like a good idea.

These Superhero Story Stones make me giddy. I had the idea for these story stones on Pinterest. I pinned it to my For the Kiddos board. (The specific ones I pinned are no longer available, in fact I can't even find what store they came from). Little attended a birthday party recently and the birthday boy liked to be creative and liked to read.

I thought recreating the story stones from my Pinterest board would be a perfect present. I decided to make them even more perfect for a little boy by giving them a superhero theme. That is how these Superhero Story Stones were born.

 Making your own set of Story Stones is easy.

All you need is:

a pack of river rocks
craft paint
fabric and cording to make a little bag (or a little bag already made)

I painted little pictures on the rocks that would coordinate with making up a superhero story. I am not gonna even hide the fact that this was my most favorite part of this project. Could you die over that itty bitty rock Hulk? He is my favorite.

Once I had painted various superhero themed pictures onto the rocks, I whipped up a very simple drawstring bag. I used yellow duck cloth for the outside and a superhero print for the inside.

I drew a red cord through as a drawstring. I also hand painted the tell a story word bubble onto the outside.

Since our birthday boy liked to read, I also threw in a super hero book to complete the present. My boys are now requesting their own story stones.

These Superhero Story Stones were such an easy fun gift to make. They are also so easy to fit any theme. Man the possibilities are endless--princess, animals, cars, farm, ocean, robots, Frozen...I could go on and on.

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

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Build A Snowman Activity (Printable)

Yesterday I gave a little teaser of our Build a Snowman Activity on Instagram (follow along @larissa_anotherday).

When it is cold outside and there are some crazy Littles who have a pretty severe case of cabin fever, a fun indoor activity is just what the doctor ordered.

So I put together a fun Build a Snowman Activity printable that my boys could cut out and glue together.

Download Build a Snowman

I printed off the pages on cardstock.

Then the boys cut everything out.

Little required some help on the smaller pieces...aka the twig arms.

I made the face so that the individual eye and mouth dots didn't need to be separately cut out. I made them in a square that fits right onto the head circle.

Cut out the face square. Glue it onto the circle , and then glue on the nose.

I used larger pieces of craft paper for the backdrop of the snowman. They glued all the separate pieces on to that.

All three of my older boys were able to do the activity. Building their snowmen took up a good chunk of after school unrest time. Plus now I have three pretty awesome works of art to hang up on my Santa's Art Gallery wall.

I hope you enjoy and that you have fun with this Build a Snowman Activity Printable.

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

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Indoor Picnics, Childhood Memories, and Winnie the Pooh

One of our family's very favorite things to do is to have an indoor picnic.

We lay out a big old blanket, gather our plates, and serve up dinner right there on the family room floor. We have been doing this on occasion since Oldest was small. Sometimes it is a special event, like movie night or a birthday. Other times it is a random Tuesday and I am too tired to set the table.

Whatever the reason, our boys really enjoy dinner served indoor picnic style.

I feel and hope that this will be a happy childhood memory for them. I also kind of hope that their future wives don't hate me when they suddenly spread out a blanket and want to have a picnic indoors with the inevitability of having to vacuum right after.

Recently, thanks to Disney, I was able to create another special childhood memory with my children while sharing one of my childhood memories. Together as a little family we sat down at our indoor picnic to watch the 30th anniversary edition of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

My Little Men had never seen the original version of Winnie the Pooh. I was kind of shocked when I realized that. Especially since I can remember so vividly watching it throughout my childhood.

We decided it was only fitting to invite my Little Mens' closest stuffed animal friends to watch the movie along with us and that the movie viewing be done via indoor picnic.

 

 

Everyone was mesmerized by the movie.

They were so captivated, in fact, that the food seemed to be forgotten. If you knew my boys, you would realize what a huge deal that is.

 

Even Bean was enthralled.

I sat there and watched them watch. I sang along, "I'm just a little black rain cloud, hovering under the honey tree. I'm just a little black rain cloud, pay no attention to little me..."

I was reminded as I watched the movie of just how touching a portrayal the movie is of childhood friendship. As an adult I could visibly recognize the childhood joy and innocence found in that movie. Plus it made me remember being that young...

...yes I can remember being young...

I remember watching and wanting to live in a tree. I remember feeling a little scared and timid like Piglet. I remember being a little frightened of the big storm, just like Pooh. I even remember wanting Rabbit to call Tigger back and tell him he can bounce. After all, isn't that what Tigger's do best?

I even remember one of my very good childhood friends (who is still a good friend today) watching with me and I can still hear her voice repeating, "Tut. Tut. Looks like rain."

This movie is so much about imagination and friendship. Both so important in childhood.

I feel I was lucky to have both in my childhood.

Good friends. Hours of using our imaginations. Grand adventures never-ending.

There were doll houses made and constructed on the piano. We choreographed and executed our very own music videos.

In elementary school, there was a small group of us (all girls) that pretended to be a bunch of grumpy old men, old man names included. We would walk around the playground all hunched over with pretend canes grumbling in a way we imagined old men should sound like.

I miss the days of unabashed imaginative play, but I feel fortunate that many of the friends I had during those carefree days of childhood I can still call friends.

Luckily now I am a momma and I have young kids who remind me daily what it is to imagine. I see them play superhero, ninja, spy, inventors, and Star Wars. They build forts. They throw parties for their stuffed animals.

I get to watch the evolution of teeny tiny friendships.

Of the human variety.

And of the furry variety.

My childhood may now be a set of memories, but now I get to witness my own children create their own memories. Helping them make their own memories might just be better than reflecting on my own.

 

For the first time The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh is being made available as a Blu-ray Combo Pack and HD Digitial on August 27th.  To learn more you can visit their website or Facebook page.

 

Now, to enter for a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card and a Winnie The Pooh Blu-ray Combo Pack, share with us the importance of friendship, imagination and adventure in your child's life...

 

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

"b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the 

following unique term in your tweet message: ""#SweepstakesEntry""; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post"

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 8/1/2013 - 9/3/2013

Be sure to visit the Winnie The Pooh brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Kid Airplane Wings: Tutorial

I made these super fun airplane wings for my Little Men a few weeks ago. They went along with the Disney Plane's Sweepstakes, which is still going on friends! Head on over and leave a comment to enter to win a Fandango $100 Gift Card.

They have been so excited for Planes to come to theaters. I thought it would be fun to make something for them to celebrate the movie...

...maybe I should let them wear them to the theater. I am sure the other people would really appreciate tiny arm airplanes flying around the theater.

This was a super easy, done in a day, kind of project. The wings can be made with just a handful of supplies, a lot that you might just have on hand.

By the end of the day you will have happy little fliers zooming around your house.

Or zooming around the park.
 

Or if you are brave, maybe even a movie theater.

 Here is how you can make your own set of Kid Airplane Wings-

What you need-

tri-fold display board (one board will make 2 sets)
painters tape
spray paint
duct tape

Cut the sides off, that will be one set of wings. Then cut the middle piece exactly in half, that will be another set of wings.

Working with the non white side, measure you kiddos arm span (from the armpit to the tip of the fingers) and add 3 inches. Make the mark in the middle of the short distance.

Draw an oval shape from one side to the other going through the mid point you just marked.

Cut out with an exacto knife. Then use this wing as the pattern for your other wings. Repeat the cutting process for each wing.

Flip the board over and now work with the white side.

Using painters tape, mark off stripes in any pattern you like. The tape will be where the white stripes show up.

You can go from side to side. You can make little stripes. You can make a big stripe by overlapping the painters tape. You can go from the tip of the wing running down the middle. Basically have fun making the stripey wing of your dreams.

Now is the fun part. Spray paint. Who doesn't love spray paint???

I chose classic colors that were perfect for airplane wings. I sprayed each set a different color. Apply the first coat pretty lightly. Then go back with heavy coats until they have the coverage you like. The coverage might depend on the color. 

The red paint went on gloriously and covered completely with two coats. The green paint took several more to get the coverage I wanted.

I used duct tape for the arm bands.

For 1 wing, here is what you will need:

4- 12" strips
4- 8" strips
4- 5"strips

For the upper arm band, you will use the 12" strips. Lay two sticky side up. Then place two sticky side down onto the strips already laying on the table.

For the lower arm band do the same thing with the 8" strips.

Place the upper arm bands about 5-6 inches from the top, making sure it is in the middle. You will want to tape them on with 2 of the 5" strips. Make sure to tape them on in an arch big enough for your child's arms to go through.

Then have them put it on and measure where to put the lower arm band.

Stick the lower arm band on with the 2 other 5 inch strips.

Repeat for all of the wings.

Really secure the arm bands well. The rougher they play, the more tape you might need securing them on.

Now all you have to do is slip them on and let them fly around until they request to land.

This is a super easy project and is an unbelievable fun thing to break up a Summer afternoon.

Just another reminder--

Don't forget to enter the Disney's Reach Your Dreams and Have Courage

Sweepstake for a chance to win a $100 Fandango gift card.