Active Play

My kids love to exercise. After the last couple babies were born, I used a postnatal tae bo video to help lose some of the extra weight. Each time, I'd have little sidekicks exercising right along with me. They ask even now if we can pull the video out and all exercise together. Imagine 3 little kids and me standing in a tiny living room trying to bend and kick and punch. Zac, the 3-year-old, jumps randomly around the room; Alyssa, the 5-year-old, mimics everything I do and practically stands on top of me; and Jake, the 7-year-old, thinks he's a martial arts expert; all while I attempt to follow the video and avoid punching one of my children in the head. Yeah, we don't pull out the dvd all that often. 

So, when I told them about Dr. Craft's Active Play books and explained that Active Play! Fun Physical Activities for Young Children was their very own exercise book, they were excited! Needless to say, this has been one very fun review.

This spiral-bound book is filled with 52 activities and is meant to get toddlers and preschoolers physically active while having fun. Not only are these activities good for exercising, they're also good for strengthening gross motor skills; recognizing objects, shapes, letters, colors, and numbers; teaching spatial relationships, following directions; and pretend play. The book is written primarily for childcare providers, but can easily be used at home by parents.

There are plenty ideas for both indoor and outdoor use. Some require a little setup and others can be played immediately. Most of the equipment is regular household things that you probably already own: balls, baskets, paper plates, hula hoops, nylons, socks, etc. There is also a chart at the beginning of the book that lists all the activities and the skills they develop. 

Since the book was written with young children in mind, I had to be a little creative to get Jake interested in some of the activities. Even though he's only 7, there are times he thinks he's 17. For the game Alligator Pit, you place flattened pool noodles on the floor and carry objects across the balance beam while avoiding the "alligators." It just so happened that we had found a  buried treasure! We had to carry it across the bridge over the alligator pit to reach our get-away plane on the other side. But if that wasn't bad enough, we had to hurry because the natives were chasing us to steal the treasure. We were halfway done when Zac slipped off the bridge and almost fell into the alligator infested waters! Thankfully, Alyssa grabbed him just in time and she and Jake pulled him to safety. We got the treasure all in the plane only to discover that it wouldn't start. We then had to drag the box containing the goods all over, trying to find someplace to hide. We encountered many hardships along the way, but eventually got the treasure home!      

  

 

The kids ask every day if it's time to play our exercise game. With games like Clean out the Backyard, Hoop Limbo, Lug-A-Jug, and Sock Tails, it's easy to keep that excitement. I love that the book is simple to use, the equipment is easy to find, and my children are physically active. But the thing I love the most? Listening to my kids laugh as they're playing.  They truly have fun and enjoy the activities. That makes for happy kids and a happy momma.

Now, you think they'll let me exercise on my own???

The Active Play! book costs $39 and includes a dvd that features some of the activities. There is also a section that list activities for infants 6-15 months and a section for school-aged children. You can download sample pages on their site.

If you'd like to learn more, you can read more reviews of Dr. Craft's Active Play book from the Schoolhouse Review Crew. 

Activity Bags

One of the biggest questions I had when I started homeschooling my oldest child 2 years ago was "How am I going to keep the other kids busy?" My kids are by my side almost constantly all day long. To think that my littles were going to play quietly by themselves the entire time would be silly. Alyssa (4 yrs) has always enjoyed doing school. She will sit and fill out worksheets and coloring pages for an hour. Zac (2 yrs) though? He might color 1 page and be done in 2.79 seconds. I started to search the internet for activities that would be fun, education, and keep him busy. I even started compiling a bunch of busy bag activities before we went on vacation this past summer. 

When I was given the opportunity to review Activity Bags, I was thrilled! This was exactly what I needed. Each e-book comes filled with self-guided activities that can be kept in a gallon-size zipper bag.  All the books were created by 2 homeschooling moms. The books include all the instructions, supply lists, and printable pages you need for each activity. They are designed to be used in a swap and contain all the necessary info to help you in that process. I personally have been wanting to participate in an activity bag swap for a long time. The concept is very simple - get X number of people with kids, each person makes X number of bags of the same activity, and everyone swaps bags. So, if you have a group of twenty people, in the end, you'll have 20 different activities. It's an easy and inexpensive way to quickly increase your number of independent activities for your little one.

There are currently 8 books with more in the works. We received the Preschool Bundle which consists of 2 books. Each book has 33-34 activities that prepare children ages 3-6 for kindergarten. They work on skills for counting, letters, colors, fine-motor, and more. The cost is very economical at only about $1 a bag and many of the supplies can be found around the house. Each e-book costs $15 individually or the set can be purchased for $27.

I first tried doing these activities with Alyssa and Zac while Jake (6 yrs) was doing other work. The only problem was that they were having so much fun that he wanted to play, too! From then on, we all did the activities together. Most of them worked just fine for all three ages. Some were a little too simple for Jake, and others were a bit too difficult for Zac. Every one was perfect for Alyssa though. During one activity from Book 1, I was explaining that a collage could be pictures placed all in one big pile instead of straight and organized. I told them that it's a different way to organize. Jake replied, "It doesn't sound organized to me. It sounds like messy." That's my boy!

 

We were also blessed to receive the Science Bundle containing 3 books. Again, each book cost $15 individually, $27 for two, or $39 for all three. Each one comes with 25 different simple science experiments that your child can see, touch, manipulate, modify, investigate, and solve. Each book focuses on different branches of science. Book 1 includes experiments in biology, general science, and nature. Book 2 has experiments dealing with chemistry, the human body, and general science. Book 3 is filled with all chemistry experiments.They are all geared towards kids in K-8th grades. Again, they can be used in a swap or simply at home by yourself.

As you may know, my kids love science and conducting experiments. I plan experiments for every Thursday, but the kids are always performing their own throughout the week. These books have made it so easy for me to have an experiment ready to go on Thursdays or just any time they're in a scientific mood. The lists are simple to gather, the instructions are easy to understand, and the activities are fun and engaging. Some of them include Secret Messages, Green Copper, and Floating Egg. The books also include log sheets, notes, and observation questions. With a total of 75 experiments, I won't have to do any research to find experiments for a while.

We have loved using these books! There are also books for Reading Games in a Bag, Math Games in a Bag, and Travel Activities in a Binder. They are even currently creating 3 Craft Kits in a Bag. I personally am very excited to buy more books. They are very thorough and offer many activities that are great for the kids. I definitely plan to host a swap in the future. If you're local and would like to participate, let me know.

If you'd like to get a feel for the activities and all they offer, you can fill out a brief survey and get some samples for FREE!  Trust me, your kids will thank you.

If you're interested in some of the other books offered or if you'd like to see more reviews of the preschool and science books, head over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. 

* Disclaimer - I was given these e-books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Antioch Grand Prix

The past few weeks have included many nights with me secluded out on the porch doing more woodworking. I wasn't finishing the dollhouse, nor was I making any more beds. I was carving pinewood derby cars, three of them. It was supposed to be four, one for me, but I ran out of time. I thought about doing a step-by-step of the process, but they took enough time as it was. I couldn't imagine how much longer they would have taken. I'll tell you what I did. I just won't be able to show you.

When I asked Jake what kind of car he wanted he told me, "A race car that the hood opens." Really? Do you understand how this race works? Opening hoods don't matter, you're not going to do anything to the engine. It won't have an engine! After some talking we determined that winning a race was more important to him than the car looking cool. So we looked at other low profile cars for ideas. We decided on a design and cut the shape. I didn't start carving right away because I was more concerned with how much work I had to put into Alyssa's, so I started hers first. When Jake saw it take form, he decided looking cool was much more important. A completely new idea, and a new block of wood later; we were on our way. I decided on the Camaro aspect, he chose the black with green flames and the red number six.

Alyssa's design was easy to come up with, "I want a pink My Little Pony car!" "Pony Car!" A Mustang! Idea, easy; following through, not so much. I decided on basing it off the 2013 model on Ford's website and Alyssa decided on Pinky Pie being the art work.

When I asked Zac what kind of car he wanted,"I want blue one!" So the design was up to me. I chose to try and win a race with this one. While still trying to keep it stylish, I removed as much wood as possible. Once I finished the cutting, sanding, and priming I let Zac do the painting.

Zac's car did not require any extra wood but the other two did so that they would look real.

I used the standard block of wood you are given with the kit but added a piece of wood 1 1/2" wide and 1/2" inch thick (actual measure) to the car. Before I could glue it to the block I had to cut openings for the wheels.

I measured the distance from each end to the axle cut and mark it on the side pieces. I used a 1 1/4 inch spade drill bit to drill the openings. About one-third of the bit goes over the edge of the board, so clamp it down and go slow. Or drill just enough to get the line to follow the edge and cut it out with the scroll saw. I did some of each. Once the holes are done glue them right to the block with wood glue using clamps to hold it over night.

With the added wood the block would not fit under my scroll saw so I had to use a band saw. I simply cut out the basic shape with the saw and used a Dremel to do all the carving. Most of the work was done with a sanding bit, but a lot of excessive removal as well as much of the detail was done with a variety of high-speed cutters. Use what tools you have, but be PATIENT! Speed leads to mistakes. Trust me! When I was little my dad would cut the basic shape and I would do the rest with a pocket knife. It just takes longer.

I did just about all the priming and painting with sprays. The tail lights and some touch ups were done with acrylics. Use fine sand paper before you paint if you want a fine finish when you're done. A lot of people at the race thought our cars were plastic because of the finish. I also added a coat of clear to make them really shine. Word to the wise though, don't draw any designs with a Sharpie if you're gonna use clear coat. It makes the marker run.

The races went completely backwards of what I expected. I lost one of the polished axles that I prepped so I had to use a spare axle that was too tight of a fit for the wheels so Zac's car didn't go anywhere. Jake's car with it's blunt nose won second for speed and Alyssa's won third. I had assumed that their cars would not do well on the track due to how much wood was on them. But it turns out it comes down to what you do with your axles. Polish your axles, it pays off. But depending on the age, as long as they end up with a car to play with they're happy.

I already mentioned that Jake won second and Alyssa third for speed. But Alyssa also won first for design. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the pony to mustang reference.

Have you made any pinewwod cars? What creative designs did you come up with? Any cool paint jobs out there? Any success tips to share? Make a car and have fun!