Hot Mulled Apple Cider Day with kids!

We are having a very damp and rainy day here in the northeast and what a perfect day for Mulled Cider Day to fall on.  This is such a comfort drink that makes everyone feel good as it helps to counter a damp day like today.  This is so easy for the kids to make.  One of the activities that we love to do on rainy days like today is to take a walk in the rain which we will be doing today.  Coming home to such a comforting smell that will permeate the air from the warm cider and excitement that the kids feel to drink some during the Fall months is wonderful. 

There are so many version of this drink for children or adults only.  Fun and Facts is adding something new!  We are now personally our recipes and saving them in Printable recipe formats for you to share and download!  Click HERE for a Free 4x6 copy of our favor Hot Mulled Apple Cider Recipe of our favorite version.  You can download this and print out or save online in your own recipe box.

Go Green with kids!

Go Green Idea - While researching on the internet we came across an advertisement for the adorable ReSnackit's!  For those of you who haven't seen or heard of these you can learn more by clicking HERE to go to their site.   We have a few of them that we use all the time.  This saves us money and cuts down on the sandwhich trash!

Chocolate Milk Day!

Today is Chocolate Milk Day!  Chocolate milk was first produced in 1828 by Coenraad Johannes Van Houtan in Amsterdam, though the taste back then was of very poor quality. Today, chocolate milk is a favorite beverage for people of all ages to drink.

Click HERE to print out this coloring page below from About.com

Johnny Appleseed Day with kids!

Johnny Appleseed Day honors one of America's great legends. Johnny Appleseed was a real person. John Chapman was among the American settlers who were captivated by the movement west across the continent. As Johnny Appleseed travelled west, he planted apple trees along the way, and sold trees to settlers. With every apple tree that was planted, the legend grew.

A Little About the Legend:

Free Admission Museum Day with kids!

Sorry to post this so late in the game!  We were able to get free admission tickets to the Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Click HERE to visit the Smithsonian site for more

 

 Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian Media in which participating museums across the country open their doors for free to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket.

The Museum Day Ticket provides free admission to one person, plus a guest. • One ticket per household • A ticket will gain entry in only one museum and only participating museums • Only an official Museum Day ticket is eligible for free entry. Official tickets can be found here on the Museum Day website.

Read more: http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/#ixzz10RzSgX9V

 

 

The Autumnal Equinox: First Day Of Fall 2010‎

The length of day and night are at an exact equal today. From now until the winter solstice around December 21st or 22nd the days will be shorter and shorter and the nights longer and longer.

This definitely marks the beginning of fall as now our days will be shorter, nighttime will be coming sooner and cooler weather will be heading our way.  This is Kristen's favorite time of year!

This illustration, which shows an example of the September equinox, is not to scale.

For a more detailed explaination for the September Equinox click HERE to visit Time and Date website.

National Rock Collecting Day with kids

This is a day that is definitely something close to our hearts. We love to collect rocks wherever we go whether it’s the meteor crater in Arizona, the beaches of the Bay of Fundy or even in our back yards. We love rocks! We love the feel, texture, weight, and look about them. We even love to play with rocks. During a recent trip to Bar Harbor, we created a rock sculpture on a beach.

We have found no official information about the origins of this day but I think this is a fabulous day to observe. Collecting rocks is a fun and fabulous activity that everyone can enjoy. Of course the kids also picked up rocks from all over the country. It’s common for me to find such treasures in their pockets when the laundry is being done.

Today is a good day to take a hike or a walk somewhere and collect a few rocks. We always incorporate rocks into the crafts we make throughout the year. We have decoupage on rocks, painted owls, birds, spiders and ghosts on rocks. This year we want the kids to paint me some rock pumpkins. We have glued rocks onto paper to make frames and pictures. We have looked them up to find out which rocks we have found and what category we can put them in. We are armatures but we sure have a lot of fun when it comes to our rock collecting.

Here are a few crafty ideas we found that you can do with the rocks you collect today.

Alphabet Rocks

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/alphabetactivities/ss/Alphabet_Rocks_Craft.htm

Pet Rocks

http://crafts.kaboose.com/pet-rocks.html

Math Game (we are going to try this with Lauren)

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/stoneandrock/a/Math_Rocks.htm

This is a fun craft that takes a few days but will really be enjoyed by the kids, basically you make a faux rock with a hidden treasure inside of it.

http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/miscstpatricks/a/bltrstone.htm

Hemp Rock Necklace (this is a good one for boys)

http://familycrafts.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=familycrafts&cdn=parenting&tm=40&gps=52_2042_779_431&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.makingfriends.com/rocknecklace.htm

Since Halloween will be here before you know it, here are the painted rocks we made for last Halloween:

 

Celebrating Grandparents Day

32nd National Grandparents Day

What a great day to celebrate. This holiday began in the United States in 1978 and is always on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

This Holiday is often one that can be overlooked but I urge everyone to tell their grandparents that the love them today and that they are not forgotten and are appreciated.

The official flower for this day is the Forget Me Not which signifies true love, hope, remembrance, and memories.

The official song for this day is “a Song for Grandma and Grandpa, lyrics are below:

The National Grandparents Day Song

A Song for Grandma and Grandpa

Chorus:

Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love you

I love all those little things that you say and do

A walk through the park, a trip to the zoo

Oh Grandma, Grandpa I love you

Verse One:

Going to a ball game, fishing on the lake

Eating Grandma's cookies, boy they sure taste great

Going to the circus when it comes to town

Eating cotton candy and laughing at the clowns

Chorus:

Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love you

I love all those little things that you say and do

A hug and a kiss, a ride home from school

Oh Grandma, Grandpa I love you

Verse Two:

Spending time together, talking on the phone

Happy birthday presents, chocolate ice cream cones

Photographs and memories, picnics and parades

Saying that you love me in so many ways

Chorus:

Oh Grandma, Grandpa, you know that I love you

I love all those little things that you say and do

The stories you tell, things I never knew

Oh Grandma, Grandpa I love you

Words and Music by Johnny Prill

Johnny Prill Music, BMI

© 1982, © 2004

http://www.nationalgrandparentsday.com/SongClip.html

To raise awareness for Grandparents day there is a contest, check out this site: http://www.nationalgrandparentsday.com/Contest.html

Happy Labor Day!

Here a few Kids Crafts from "Kidscraftzone.com"

Labor Day Cookies:

Let others know you appreciate their hard work with a Labor Day Cookie. These cookies are fun and easy to make and are perfect for showing your appreciation

Supplies Needed:
Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough- Sugar Cookie Flavor
Icing
Edible Writing Icing

#1: Prepare the sugar cookies according to the directions on the tube
#2: When you bring them out of the oven immediately place the popsicle stick into the cookie. Allow to cool with the popsicle stick inside.
#3: Once the cookies are cool, it’s time to decorate! Get creative using candies and writing icing. Give your child different colors of vanilla icing to use (add food coloring to the icing)
#4: Write “thank you”,” job well done”, or “ thanks” on the cookies using edible writing icing.
#5: Give your cookie to someone special to let them know how much they are appreciated.

Labor Day Kids Craft
Show your appreciation this Labor Day by offering someone a helping hand. Not only will others appreciate the gesture but they will cherish this wonderful handprint kids craft

Supplies Needed:
Construction Paper
Scissors
Marker or Crayon

#1: Trace your child’s hand on a piece of paper
#2: Use scissors to cut out the handprint
#3: Decorate one side of the handprint
#4: On the other side of the hand write something such as:

Here is a helping hand in case you ever need it.

I appreciate your helping hand


Thank you for your helping hand

Labor Day Collage
Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? Make an occupation college using pictures that represent the job you want to do

Supplies Needed:
Piece of Construction Paper
Scissors
Glue
Old Magazine or newspapers

#1: Decide what you want to be when you grow up and then think about all the images that are associated with that job. Such as: If you wanted to be a veterinarian the images to look for would be animals, pet bowls, pet food, bandages, medicine. Police Officer the images would be a police car, handcuffs, badge, lights, police uniform.
#2: Cut out all the images from a magazine.
#3: Glue the images to the piece of construction paper
#4: Allow your Labor Day Collage to dry.

Labor Day Puppets
What better way to show your appreciation this Labor Day then with a puppet show performance. Discover a free, fun and easy way to make puppets for your Labor Day puppet show

Supplies Needed:
Brown Paper Bags
Googly Eyes
Markers or Crayons
Pink Pom Pom

#1: Pick a job that you would like to make your Labor Day Puppet look like. Such as a police officer, veterinarian, computer repair man, construction worker, etc.
#2:Open the flap portion of the lunch bag and draw a mouth. This will be the mouth of your Labor Day Puppet and should be placed under the flap. Allow to dry before continuing.
#3: Glue the two googly eyes on the middle top of the flap portion of the brown lunch bag
#4: Glue the pink pom pom below the eyes on the flap portion of the brown lunch bag. This will be your Labor Day Puppets nose.
#5: Draw an outfit for your Labor Day Puppet on the lower portion of the bag
#6: Your Labor Day Puppet is ready to perform in their first puppet show!

Labor Day Game
You and your family will have a blast playing this Labor Day Game. All you need to get started is a few items from around your house and you are set for hours of fun and excitement

Supplies Needed:
Paper
Pencil or Pen
Bowl
Scissors

#1: On a sheet of paper write down different jobs that people have. Such as, police officer, veterinarian, firefighter, pastor, grocery clerk, etc
#2: Cut out the different jobs and place them in a bowl
#3: Pick one piece of paper from the bowl. Without the other person seeing what you picked draw a picture of the job you picked out. Keep drawing clues until your partner guesses the image
#4: Take turns picking out jobs and drawing them.

Back to School Party

TABLESETTING:

o Black Table Cloth

o Rectangle Wood painted in Green Chalkboard paint for Placemats

o Black Paper Plates

o Fabric Apples

o Large Pencils with the kids names written on them, Mini Composition Books and misc school items

o Black Fabric to cover the mirror and wall and then we wrote "Welcome Back to School" in white chalk

FOOD:

o Apple juice boxes

o Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches in brown sandwich bags with sticker labels

o Ants on a log

o Sliced Apples

ACTIVITY:

These activities are creative and fun and geared towards enjoying school.

Wooden Chalk Board Placemats - The first activity is great fun. We have taken a plain piece of wood bought at our local hardware store. We then sanded the sides so that the kids would not get splinters. With green chalkboard paint we had the children paint their own chalkboard. After this dried we supplied the kids with decorations and glue and let them create their own special boarder for their very own chalkboard. These chalkboards will be displayed in the school room and the children can write notes and the current date on them every day.

Bucket List - The second activity for the day was to gear the children into thinking about the year in the long term. We all compiled a list, similar to a “bucket list” but for the year. We will be using this list to reward the children as the year progresses. We neatly wrote out the final list on a large piece of paper and this will be displayed in the schoolroom so that we can track and mark off what we do and add to it if we come up with more.




Music:
We have a bunch of "School" related songs to listen to, including School House Rock songs

The kids REALLY enjoyed their Back to School Party and stated that they wish every school day was like this, lol.

Wendy wrote notes to the kids and placed each one in their own brown bag lunch.