Check This Out!

I love it when a blog friend posts links to great ideas they find!  It Feels Like Chaos shared this link to a well done Easter activity that I thought might appeal to many of you! 

Easter Egg Scriptures:  This post from Leigh Anne takes an idea my kids’ Sunday School teachers did years ago and makes it super easy to create and use in your own family’s Easter activities!  It’s a list of 12 things from around the house, each paired with a scripture that (when read in sequence) walks you through the Easter story.  She even has a pdf of the scriptures you can just print out, cut into strips, and use in the eggs!  Thanks ladies—for doing the work, and for sharing the link. ;)

I put my set together in about 10 minutes! :)

Have a wonderful afternoon, friends!

Junior High: The Often Neglected Age Group

During the last  year, our community has suffered through several heartbreaking tragedies involving junior high students. 

One little girl committed suicide early last year. 

In March, a boy brought a gun to the middle school and shot a classmate .  I will never forget that terrifying moment when my oldest son called from the chaos just seconds after the shots were fired. 

Then, around the start of this school year, another young girl committed suicide. 

***

Across the country, this age group faces increasingly difficult situations both at school and at home.  Yet, many students are left to navigate the hurtles without the guidance of a caring adult.  Feeling alone, some make desperate choices with tragic results.

As a parent and as teacher, I know you can’t always tell which kids are hurting.  They become masters at hiding their feelings.  So in our community, parents, teachers and youth workers have been searching for ways to make connections with as many students as possible. 

A week and a half ago, our church coordinated a community event we called IConnect.  We held it at the local YMCA and prayed God would help as many students as possible to connect with caring adults.  Adults who could make a difference in their lives. 

As we planned for the event, God moved in the hearts of local business owners to provide much of what we needed.  Through generous donations, we were able to provide a meal for all, Christ-centered entertainment, and lots of fun and door prizes!

Skateboarding is popular among kids in town.  So, we invited a group of Christian teens from Chicago to kick off the event with a demonstration. They were extraordinary!  Just so you know, this jump was successful!  Lol! 

After the demo, a few of these teens shared their testimonies with the crowd.

A whole bunch of young people heard that Jesus loves them for the very first time.

After the demo, leaders mingled with and guided kids through a variety of activities and stations. 

Here is a picture I took of some leaders right before the event started.  That’s my oldest son about to catch the football.  He’s an eighth grader this year.

That sixty-foot inflatable obstacle coarse they are standing around?  That was provided in part by the huge heart and generosity of my friend who rents them out.  The kids LOVED it!

Another highlight was our goobligoop station.  Goobligoop is what we call a water and cornstarch mixture which takes on properties no one can resist checking out!  Mix it in about equal parts to make a thick syrup-y consistency.  Then try punching it.  Your fist can’t penetrate it.  But take a scoop with your hand and try to hold it and it runs through your fingers!  Keep a handful moving, and you can toss it to a friend.  Take too long to throw it, and it will drip onto your feet!  They had a blast with this!

After an evening packed with games and fun, we finished the night with a 40 foot long ice cream sundae trough!

By every account, the event was a success!  No one was hurt.  All had a great time.  And the connections that were formed that evening are beginning to bear fruit!  Praise God! 

Reach out to the junior high kids you know.  Listen, laugh and play a game with them.  Your involvement could save a life!

One Of Our Favorite Games

How can you go wrong with a card game all about an auto race when you are trying to entertain boys indoors out of the heat? 

Mille Bornes (translated “thousand milestones”) was one of my favorite games growing up.  It’s an imaginary cross-country race through France where you race your opponent to lay down 1000 miles in cards. 

The best part is being able to sabotage your opponents by playing a flat tire, out of gas, accident or stop light on their hand! 

You should see my boys high-five each other when one of them puts me out of commission.  It’s not right.  Seriously not right.

Yesterday, they kept me to a measly 50 miles the whole stink’n time.  Lol!  You really have to have a sense of humor.  :)

The game we have is extra special because it is one of the original games published in 1961.  It belonged to my mom’s parents and has my grandfather’s shaky handwriting on the box.He wrote notes on nearly everything he owned about who gave it to them, when, and for what.  My mom’s sister gave them this game as a Christmas present in 1967.

It’s fun to look at the old score sheets on which they recorded notes from the last game they played.  I love imagining them playing this game before I was even born! 

You can still buy the game today.  I did a quick search on Amazon and saw several versions listed.* If you have never played it, it’s a lot of fun.  It only takes about ten minutes to learn and can provide hours of family fun!

I whole-heartedly recommend it!

*I’m not an Amazon affiliate or anything.  I just thought I’d include a link to this fun game.  You might be able to find a better deal elsewhere.

Hippity Hop

I went outback to take some more flower pictures with my new camera and was immediately distracted by the yard action.

The boys found the old Hippity Hop ball hanging in the garage.  

Do you remember the Hippity Hop Ball?  For those of you who don’t, it was a heavy rubber ball with a handle on the top.  You sat on the ball, hung on to the handle, and bounced all over creation on it.

The boys were in the thick of developing creative games for its use. 

 

The first was the “see how long you can hold on while I drag you around the yard” game.

And, then there was Red Light Green Light…where “the light”  beat the fastest player with the Hippity Hop ball. 

Only, being the mean mom that I am, I added the rule that they couldn’t beat heads. 

Next, they tried to use it in a game of dodge ball. 

For something like 15 seconds. 

Before I spoiled the fun again. 

Finally, someone decided to hop on it.  Or maybe I should say leap.  Did you ever notice that boys do everything in extremes?  

As a little girl, I had a dark red one.  I would hop up and down our sidewalks endlessly.  Someone in our neighborhood had a horsy head one (I think it was blue).  And someone else had a Hippity Hop ball with a handle shaped like a “T”.  I forget now.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has fond memories of Hippity Hops! 

Or  wonders how we never ended up with head injuries from them!  Lol!  But you know?  I don’t ever remember any of us falling off.

I just envision all the possibilities as a mom (of boys) now!  Lol!  (Notice, he’s hopping on the grass!) 

The Upper and Lower Case Alphabet Puzzle by Melissa and Doug

Wouldn’t it be great to find a puzzle that stands up to abuse, and engages the thinking caps of our little ones?  (Wouldn’t it be nice, too, if it kept them busy long enough for us to write a post or use the bathroom?)

One letter puzzle we are having tons of fun with is the wooden Doug and Melissa Upper and Lower Case Alphabet puzzle. 

It’s definitely sturdy, and it’s great for learning both the upper case and lower case letters.

What’s more, is it can double as a manipulative.  My son likes to take the letters out and make short words.  Like “Mom” and “Dad” and “Cat”, and “Fwrbiqetyp”, etc. Lol!  You could even trace around them.  

The pictures under the letters are colorful and fun.  Most, are easy to identify with the common letter sound.  Though it does use the Xylophone for X (something I wish wasn’t so often used in alphabet pictures).  And the upper case W picture was kind of hard to figure out.  We are saying wagon.  Is that right??  Am I missing something?

Anyway, what can be better than having your little ones learn their letters and sounds…without them even knowing they’re learning?! 

Happy sigh…

Join the fun over at The Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday!

WAY Cool Glow Stick Application

For my son’s birthday camp out, all the kids got multiple glow sticks/necklaces, and bracelets (all from multi-packs from the Dollar Tree, I might add). 

The next thing I knew, my oldest son had woven them through his bike spokes, looped them around his handlebars and threaded his pedals.  The effect was STUNNINGLY COOL!!!!!!!!

They named his bike The Cyclops, and the rest of the boys were quick to outfit their bikes.  It was hysterically fun to watch the floating and spinning streaks of light as they whirled around in the dark.  And no, no one even hit a tree!  Lol!

Cheap and totally awesome fun works for me!!! 

Check out lots more great tips at Works for Me Wednesday, and find other fun pictures at Wordless Wednesday!

Summer Fun Boredom Busters Works For Me Wednesdays

With three boys, the fastest way to send an exciting thrill up the spine of my children is to spot a critter.  This horrid creature began spinning a web on our kitchen window as we finished up dinner tonight.  Great entertainment, eh?And these little guys, which appear by the thousands in our yard, are a favorite early summer catch.  They are little tree frogs, the kind that will jump and stick to your arm as you try to catch them.  I kid you not. What boy can resist filling his own container?? (or tossing them at his mother!)  These little bug containers from Walmart need to be emptied daily around here!Or, how about having a wet and sloppy game of Sponge Ball Dodge Ball? The pool sponge balls work well!  You can get bunches from the Dollar Tree or Walmart.Of course we also love the Library.  Besides encouraging the kids to dive into their own books, we enjoy listening to audio books together.  The Chronicles of Narnia by Focus on the Family are VERY well done.  And we recently picked up the first book of A Series Of Unfortunate Events which were recommended by our librarian.  We can’t wait to start it!

We love bike-riding, and making fun signs to post around our circular driveway.  You know, STOP, RIGHT TURN ONLY, RR CROSSING, and SPEED BUMP AHEAD.  Last year, we made our own gas pump out of an overturned Lego tub and a piece of old hose. 

We are lucky enough to have super nice neighbors who invite us to swim in their pool.  But visiting the community pool, or throwing the Slip and Slide down is a close second. On especially hot days, we like to make our own snow cones!  I’ve posted my favorite syrup recipe here.   If you are interested, Walmart sells several different snow cone machines.  Snow cones are a BIG hit for all the neighborhood kids!!  Does anything say summer bliss more than this?  I LOVE this picture!Of course, there’s having a hose war washing a car, which I posted about recently.

But for rainy days, Lego contests rock!  The boys like to see who can build the slickest speeder, baddest Bionicle, coolest car, or most radical racer.  It helps that we have tubs and tubs of Lego's!

And when they are really making me climb the wall, I grab a ball of any size and make up a game!!

Don’t forget to check out all the other summer fun ideas over at Works For Me Wednesday hosted by We Are That Family!

My Youth is Calling… Long Distance!

My four-year-old has recently become a game-o-holic. 

Out of the depths of the closet, he has resurrected my childhood game of Cat’s Eye.

It was one of my FAVORITE games as a little girl.  I’ve never been able to part with it--even after all these years, not to mention a cross country move.

It’s big and clunky, makes a lot of noise, and takes up tons of room on the shelf.  But, it’s a keeper.

Do you remember it?  Please don’t tell me it was before your time.  I’m feeling old enough just trying to get comfortable on the floor to play it!

Growing up, my mom did tons of babysitting to make ends meet.  So we always had a houseful of kids, and shelves full of games and puzzles.  

The competition in Cat’s Eye is fierce.  Lol!  That’s why I love it!  The object is to be the first to fill your tray with the right colored marbles from the dispenser, add the black cat’s eye marble, and yell Cat’s Eye!

(Now you know what I’m doing between writing lofty posts.)

After a quick Google search this morning, the only place I can find Cat’s Eye is on EBay.  Can you believe it?  With all the old games getting a new lease on life, I can’t believe this one isn’t still being made in some form!

Guess I’ll just have to hold on to it for  my grandkids in, say, 30 years or so.  :)

What are some of your favorite childhood games???  I’d love to know what you saved that your kids are now playing with!

        

Check out these fun Friday Memes for more fun!

"Trunk or Treat"

What is a Trunk or Treat? For us, it is a family oriented and fun church sponsored event with outreach potential to tons of kids. Families of the children in our youth group are encouraged to decorate the back of their cars/trunks with a fun theme. We are asking that people steer away from dark, spooky and scary stuff and register their car theme as soon as possible. That evening, part of the parking lot will be roped off so the "decorated cars" can be set up.

We are planning a short devotional, group games, and renting an inflatable bouncer/slide thingy to add to the fun. During the last half hour, the kids will get to walk around and visit all the trunk sites and collect treats being passed out. The kids will have a great time, and the adults probably will, too! The elementary schools in our area have agreed to let us pass out half sheet announcement/invitations to the students, so we're expecting a large turnout.

"Trunk or Treat" was a new idea to me this year, so I've begun to look around for ideas for my trunk.

The First Church of the Nazarene in Harrisonburg, Virginia had an awesome index of pictures showing some ways their families decorated their cars at their church. I love pictures. I'm a very visual kind of person. Some others ideas I've heard of include:

• Bible Story or Character, such as Noah's ark: Decorate your trunk like an ark (don't ask me how, LOL! I'm just sharing the idea) and make huge animal cut outs for the kids to stand behind and put their faces through.


• Pirate Ship: Dress like (nice) pirates and provide the treats out of a treasure chest. Hmmm.


• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Enter into the fantasy land of lollipop trees, ever-lasting gobstoppers, and a chocolate river. This one sounds yummy...


• Beach Party


• Disney Movie or Character


• Favorite Sport, Team, or School


• Children's Story Book theme
  

Now, in case you are wondering, I haven't decided on a theme for our trunk, yet. But I need to soon. Time is flying by. I'd love to hear any ideas you have!

I'm going to share a link to this on my post for Works For Me Wednesday . I know, I know, it is a supposed to be a Kitchen Organization Edition there. But I'm sure there are other families out there looking for Halloween alternatives, and this seems timely. Even if there isn't enough time to get one together at your church, you might want to see if any churches in your area are hosting one.

Colonial School Experience

Last night we took our children's youth group on a field trip back in time. The site was a restored and completely furnished one room school house built in 1854. In the front yard stood the pump, in the rear, the outhouse, and to the right stood a gnarly old maple that surely witnessed the children of generations at play.

Upon entering the small building, you immediately felt the hands of the clock roll back. A small potbellied stove sat front and center, with a large teacher's desk to the left. Original desks made neat rows with tiny ones in the front, then ones a little larger, and then the very largest in the back--a testament to the fact that all the children learned together. Small holes on the top of each desk marked the places where ink wells, long gone, had sat ready for eager hands. On a table in the front, sat neat stacks of yellowed paged primers with a language that was almost foreign to read. The room smelled of old books and chalk dust, and the wooden floors were worn smooth by years and years of traffic.

Our children were encouraged to dress in knickers and long dresses, and bonnets and suspenders. The effect was incredible. Being a teacher myself, I could just imagine the scene of so many years ago. It stirred in my heart a longing for the simple schooling and Godly values of years gone by. I would have loved being a teacher back then, though in so many ways the job would have been more difficult. How would I have managed all the different levels and abilities of the town's children? What creative things would I have been able to employ to teach effectively? And then there were the incredibly strict rules governing the teacher herself. I would have lost my job, had I married. I know, I'm getting distracted. But its so easy to daydream about how things were and could have been if I were the one in the aged pictures on the wall.

But, back to our evening. The children were called to line up with the ringing of the ancient handheld bell. They filed in and took their seats, the little ones, two to a seat in the front, and the big ones taking the seats to the rear. The "teacher" opened in prayer and then led them in the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I stood outside the doors and just listened to the sweet voices inside. It was as if I were standing outside on a day long ago.

There were recitals of poetry, and songs of praise before the children were dismissed for a few outdoor games. We played sack races, and drop the hankie, and the children got first hand experience with how difficult it was to play in long dresses! What a hoot! My boys, by the way, were the only two boys in attendance among the twenty something girls.

Refreshments consisted of water from the well served in small canning jars, and apples from a bushel basket. My boys spent most of their time doing what boys for generations had done during recess--attempting to climb that maple!

We ended our evening with a devotional and discussion of times long past. It was a wonderful experience for the kids, one that made them really stop and consider how much things have changed--some for the better, and some for the worse.

Tips for Great Game Times

Game times can be much more than play time. Thoughtfully planned and executed activities can build and foster sportsmanship and respect in a way that free time can rarely match. I've put together a list of things that I find helpful in making game times fun, purposeful, and memorable.

First of all, tailor the game to your event. If it is a "get to know you" type of event, you are going to want to provide activities that give opportunities to exchange personal information. If you are trying to build teamwork, pick team builder activities, and stay away from competitive games. If it is to expel energy before a quiet time, tag games are wonderful. You get the picture.

Be prepared. Have all your equipment and setup requirements in place BEFORE the kids get there. Running around at the last minute gathering supplies may take you away from greeting the kids as they arrive and setting the tone for the event. It may also invite chaos if kids arrive without immediate directions and are left in limbo for too long. Last minute frazzle happens to all of us, but it is something to strive to prevent.

Get their attention. Develop your own system for bringing the group together and getting them quiet. One thing that works for me in transitions is clapping a pattern. I start out clapping a loud pattern and kids, in turn, clap it back. I do a series of them and usually by the third set, I have all their attention. Its fun and effective, and beats yelling "Hey everybody!"

Give clear directions. Outline the game or activity clearly. State the rules, and expect them be followed. Ask for questions and do a quick demonstration if you think it would be beneficial.

Keep things on track. There will always be a few kids that press the limits, or don't follow the rules. My advice is to deal with inappropriate activity immediately. Ignoring it seldom stops it, and you will allow others to get distracted, too. For a large group game, a few reminders given at close proximity to the offender may be all you need to give. But don't be afraid to make a repeat offender sit out for a time, or to stop the game immediately if need be to review the guidelines or prevent injury. Remember, group games are for group fun and when one child is allowed to run amuck, the whole group suffers.

Play. One sure way to add fun and excitement to any activity is to participate yourself. Jump in, and invite other parents or adults to join in too! Kids love to see parents and leaders get involved. Some of my most memorable game times are the ones where our leaders or teachers played with us, not just watched from a bench. It also fosters respect, and models good sportsmanship. I could go on, but you get the picture. Play!

Stop the game while they are still having fun. The camp director where I had my first counseling position said this again and again and it has been great advice. If you stop the game while they are still having a fun, they will always want to play it again. Wait until they grow tired of it, and they won't want to do it again.

These are just a few tips. What advice do you have when it comes to games? Please share your ideas in the comments!

Protect the Chair

Fun for medium to large groups.

Equipment needed: 1 chair, a ball

Have the group form a circle around the chair. Explain that the object of the game is to hit the chair with the ball. Then choose one of the group to protect the chair. He goes into the middle and tries to deflect the ball however he can, putting himself between the ball and the chair. They cannot move the chair, but if you want to make it even harder, you can make it that they can't touch it either. If someone hits the chair with the ball, he gets to go in and protect it next.

This could be a possible lead in for a devotional on Sacrifice. What was the role of the person in the middle? The person in the middle had to take the hits to protect the chair, in other words, he had to sacrifice himself for the chair. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross for us.

Soap Melt

Great for smaller groups of kids, like at birthday parties, or as a side game at picnics.

Equipment needed: Several large buckets of water (one for each team) and 1 bar of soap for each bucket

Members of each team take turns rubbing the bar of soap in the water. Squishing is not allowed. The first team to melt their soap bar wins. If a team breaks their soap bar, they are disqualified. This takes a little longer than you might expect, so you may wish to give them a certain amount of time and then pick the winner by who has the smallest bar. Have towels on hand for the kids to wipe their slippery hands on after their turns.

After this game, my boys' hands were cleaner than they have ever been!!

Frozen Shirt

Equipment needed: One frozen shirt for each team

A few days before your event, estimate how many teams you will have and pick out a T-Shirt or other shirt in an appropriate size--bigger is better. Soak the shirts in water, then put them in the freezer. At game time, the first team to get the shirt on one of their players wins!

Broom Hockey

Equipment needed: Cones (or something to mare out two goals), small ball, at least two brooms.
This game can be played with small to medium size groups. Split the kids into 2 different groups. Use cones, chairs, or anything handy to mark goals for each team. Line up each team from tallest to shortest along opposite sidelines and assign numbers to each member in a similar way. If the teams are uneven, assign two numbers to one player on the team having less. Use a small ball like a tennis ball (a larger ball can be used as well) for the puck, and a broom for a hockey stick. To begin play, the referee calls out a number and the corresponding player from each team runs to the middle, picks up their broom and attempts to score a goal. You could use more brooms if you would like to call more than one set of numbers at a time. Once someone scores a goal, the brooms and ball are returned to the middle and the next set of players is called. Emphasize the importance of hitting the ball and not your opponents legs!! Applying foam pipe insulation to the lower part of the handle might be a good idea.

Inner Tube Dodge Ball

Equipment Needed: 1-3 inner tubes

To Play:

Mark out two parallel lines about 20 feet apart. Everyone gets in the middle between the two lines. Two people, one on each of the lines, begin rolling the inner tube(s) back and forth to one another, through the middle area. As each person is hit by an inner tube, they simply join either line and help roll the tube(s)! The faster the tubes are rolled, the more fun! You can start out with one tube, and add to the number as the number of people on the lines increase. It makes it harder to dodge for those inside the lines! Last one (two, or three, etc.) still in the middle is the winner!

Frugal Tip: Check your local tire dealer for used inner tubes and tell them what you plan to do with them. We stopped by the one in town and they were happy to fix up three for us at no cost. Just scrub them well, and if the stem sticks out too much, take some duck tape and wrap around it to hold it flat.

Link Tag

Tons of fun. I used this in camp settings often and the kids loved it after they got the hang of it. I'm planning to use it for the kids at Church on Sunday night.

Equipment needed: None.

To Play: The entire group splits into pairs in wide open space. Each pair links/hooks arms. One pair is chosen to become the chaser and the "chase-ee." Student #1 chases Student #2. Student #1 weaves around the pairs and can hook onto any one person in another pair. The person on the other side of that pair (Student #3) then has to unhook arms and run. He is now the one being chased by Student #2. If #2 tags #3, #3 becomes "it" and #2 runs and tries to link up. The game continues until you choose to stop!

At any point, you can yell "Switch!" and the taggER becomes the taggEE. This gives slower kids or kids who have been running for a while a chance to link up and catch their breath! Hook-On Tag is a great time-filler and it releases a lot of energy!