Educate Kids Can Be Fun By Playing With Them

By Anyer Long

No parents want their kids to be weaker or less active then their peers. Every child should develop his own talent. However, it is a mistake to count on school discipline alone to mold your kids. Good characters are growing from the combinations of school discipline and parenting.

Due to the daily working load, many parents find weary or losing patience in educating kids. And persistent preaching is generally considered not effective and tedious both by parents and children. An effective and easy way is introducing the element of playing into familial parenting.

Playing, the nature of kids and should not be deprived form a kid's childhood. Also, knowledge and skills are faster learned in the process of playing. For parents, playing with their children is a pleasure, most people enjoy it, which serves a rest to their heart and soul.

Outdoor activities like go camping on weekends, go fishing, holding a private football match within families and friends, or simply go park. Such occasions all are the perfect opportunities to teach kids abilities, discipline and skills. In a camping, kids knows better about the speaking "no free lunch", every thing come from efforts. In a competing match, kids should be taught the spirit of team working, in order to win. Fly your imaginations, and every thing can do outdoor.

The best indoor play with kids are assembly 3D puzzles, which are made of high quality plywood and are suitable for people of all ages. Children like playing puzzles, especially the color and shape-riching 3D puzzles. It's quite a challenge for them without help though. Playing with them to build the puzzle and when it is accomplished, confidence and self proud are formed within them.

Puzzles also enhance the accordance of their hands and minds. The brain uses both sides (right and left) when it sees and thinks. This helps children to better unconsciously take in the content of shapes and colors contained in the puzzles, resulting in improved thinking and reacting ability. Unlike usual puzzle, a 3D puzzle helps kids better understand the space and shape, which will give them an upper hand in dealing with geometry.

Parents will get better results if they mix in telling some stories as well for the kids. Each puzzle should be specially chosen in themes that have either special history or legend. Depicting the stories while teaching them how to build the puzzle, which will make the interesting activity more pleasant. And you may find your kids gaining interests in history or other aspects after that. That is it, to help your kids build a wide interests and hobbies, which will explore the maximum potentials out of them.

Educate kids should be put in the first place of parents' life. Try to playing with them, however, make the process happy and easy. Happy parenting.

Anyer is proud of being farther of two children. Also he wants to help other parents enjoy parenting more by 3D puzzles

Visit http://www.sourcingmap.com for more toy resources.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anyer_Long

An Apple a Day - Fun Apple Activities

By Jolanda Garcia

Fall is just around the corner and what better way to mark the season than with a month of apple-related activities? It’s the time of year for freshly-baked apple pies, apple festivals, and Johnny Appleseed’s birthday! Take a trip to a farmer’s market or to an orchard to pick your own apples. Have a party to celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday. Serve apple pie and apple juice and plant apple seeds in his honor. These activities will also partner up well with your fall, farm, or harvest themes.

Apple Tidbits
Relate these interesting facts about apples to children to pique their interest and get them excited about apples...:

• Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, yellows.
• 2500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States and 7500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world.
• The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
  Apples are a member of the rose family.
• The most nutritious part of the apple is the skin.

Make Your Own Applesauce
Applesauce is easy to make. Five pounds of apples makes about 2 quarts of applesauce. Peel, core and slice apples into quarters. Put slices in a pot and partially cover with water. Boil apples until they are soft. Let children use a potato masher to mash the apples to make applesauce. Add sugar and cinnamon to taste.

Dried Apple Rings
First, peel, core, and cut apples into chip-sized circles. Then, dip the circles in fresh lemon juice. Use a wire cutter to cut a clean, white-coated clothes hanger. Next, decorate the hanger with some apples made out of craft paper and add the apple rings. (Don’t let the apple slices touch each other.) Finally, hang the apples in a dry, airy spot and let them dry for one to two weeks.
Tip: Rotate the apples every day.

Apple Tasting
Next time you go to the grocery store with your child, point out all the different kinds of apples. Tell your child their names. Buy a few different kinds, and when you get home, let your child try them. Ask your child how each one tastes, how each one is different, and which one is his or her favorite. To add to the fun, purchase or make different things that are made from apples, such as applesauce, dried apples, apple pie, apple butter, and apple cider. Let children sample the treats.

Apple Toss Set out a laundry basket or a bushel basket and red bean bags or small red balls. Use masking tape to tape a line on the floor. Place the basket a couple of feet away from the line. Have child stand behind the line and try to toss the balls or bags (apples) into the basket.

Plant Apple Seeds
Talk or read a story about Johnny Appleseed and how he planted apple seeds. Provide children with small paper drinking cups, apple seeds, potting soil or dirt, and water. Have children first fill their cups with soil. Then, have them place finger in the soil to make a small hole. Next, have them drop in a seed. Dampen the soil with a small amount of water. Place cups in a well-lighted area and water occasionally.

Apple Relay
To play, you need one apple for each team. On the word "go," a team member places an apple on the back or hand of the first player. The first player races to the end of the course and back without letting the apple fall off her back or hand. If the apple falls off, that player has to stop where she is and put it back on. Once the apple is back in place, she keeps going from where it fell off. When the player gets back to her team, she puts the apple on the back or hand of the next person in line. The first team to finish wins.

Apple Smile
Cut an unpeeled red apple into wedges. The wedges should look like a smile. Spread one side of an apple wedge with peanut butter. Add three or four miniature marshmallow “teeth” along the edge. Spread another apple wedge with peanut butter. Place it on top of the marshmallows for a big, toothy grin.

Visit www.KidsSoup.com to find a bushel full of other terrific apple-related ideas.
Jolanda Garcia is a former teacher and educational content designer. Her goal is to provide parents and teachers with quality resources to promote their children's development and creativity. Visit her websites at: Preschool activities and crafts, and www.eartwiggles.comfor resources and activities to promote healthy eating habits in young children.

Having Fun at a Baby Shower

By C. Dunn

Planning to have baby shower? Try out these baby shower games!

How Big is Your Belly?
Have guests slice off a piece of string to the length they think the pregnant woman's belly is in circumference. The mom-to-be then wraps every string around her belly, one at a time, to see which piece is the closest. Whichever guest has the closest measurement is given a prize.

Guess the Baby
Have guests bring baby pictures of themselves in advance. Every guest must match the baby picture with the other guests. Whoever guesses the most right, receives a prize.

'My Water Broke!'
Buy some plastic babies and freeze them in ice cube trays. Place one in all of the guests' drinks. The first person whose baby breaks out of the ice and floats to the top, receives a prize. The winner has to yell, 'My water broke!'

Do not Say 'Cute'
Attach numerous small safety pins to one large safety pin. Ask the guests to attach the large safety pin to their shirt and tell them the forbidden word, i.e. 'cute' or 'baby' or anything else you might like. When a guest hears another guest say the prohibited word, they get to take one of that guest's safety pins. Whoever has the most safety pins by the end of the shower wins a prize.
Cute is a good forbidden word if the mom-to-be will be opening presents at the shower.

Messy Diapers
Get a few candy bars and melt each one into a disposable diaper. Use a variety of candy bars that are less common to jazz it up. Label each diaper with a number and ask the guests to guess which candy bar is in the diaper. They can use their senses to guess the kind of candy- possibly even taste. Whoever gets the most diapers correct, wins a prize. Don't forget a camera!

Footprint and Handprint Advice
Cut out footprints and have guests write down advice or helpful hints on them. Place them in a scrapbook for the mother-to-be.

Stork Bingo
Take blank bingo cards and hand them out to each guest. Guests will fill in the bingo card by guessing what the mother-to-be is going to receive as a gift. While she opens her gifts, guests scratch off the item from their card. Whoever gets a bingo first, wins.
Word Scramble

Scramble up a list of baby related words. The guest who unscrambles all the words, receives a prize. .

Nursery Rhyme Lines
Write down one line from a nursery rhyme. Ask all the guests to guess which nursery rhyme the line is from. The person who gets the most right wins a prize.

Baby Food Mix-Up
Remove the labels from a bunch of different jars of baby food and re-label the jars. Ask the guests to guess the type of baby food by looking at the jar without opening it. A prize is given to the guest who guesses the most correctly.

Note: Use of this article requires links to be intact.

As a father of eight, Chris Dunn enjoys writing articles for the Baby Shower Games section of his childbirth website.

X Games Parties Bring Extreme Fun to Kids Birthdays

By Gail Leino

Extreme sports are a popular twist to conventional team sports like basketball, baseball and football; celebrate your favorite trickster by throwing them an X Games Party!

The first step in throwing an X Games party is to decide whether or not to focus on one event or celebrate the entire category of X Games. Does the child prefer skateboarding to doing bike tricks? If so, use one event as the theme, and use the remaining games as a backdrop to support your theme.

One great spot for an X Games party is to hold it outside at a local park. If bikes or skateboards are your child’s forte then invite the other children and their parents to come to the park and to bring their boards and bikes. This way the kids can show off their latest tricks for everyone present. Plus if the party is outside there can be other activities such as games and playground equipment to keep those who are not interested in X Games occupied.

Party ware for X Games can be purchased pre-printed and is found all over the Internet and at local party stores. If the party’s budget doesn’t call for spending money on party ware, just use any colored plates and cups. A cake can easily be made at home and be decorated with bikes, skateboards and motocross figurines.

Anyway you slice it X Games parties are very popular and are enjoyed by kids of all ages. Consider using these tips for your next gathering.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for X-Games party supplies and fun party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including X Games Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties.
Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.