Fun and Games

Scouring the internet for some fun and free websites to assist you in teaching your preschool-age child their numbers, animals, letters and colors? Here are my top five favorite websites (so far!) for preschool educational activities. All of these websites are kid-friendly and safe for young eyes.

Want your kids to spend more time outside? Try these scavanger hunt ideas.

With Christmas right around the corner, many of us are looking for good last-minute gifts for family and friends.  And what better gift is there than one that also benefits children that are in need?  Which brings us to the Soft Toy collection from IKEA.  They have partnered with UNICEF and Save the Children and will donate approximately $1.47 for each toy sold.

My First Oreck is an adorable toy vacuum that keep kids entertained in a practical and engaging way. It is recommended for ages three and up, and both my two and three year old boys love it. The vacuum makes real vacuum sounds, has a clear dust container with swirling colored foam bead, LED lights under the base and a real on and off switch. The My First Oreck is 29 inches tall with an adjustable handle ans also comes with chore flash cards.

Building snow art is fun for parents as well as kids. Here are some great ideas for winter activities, from crafting snow sculptures to using snow paint!

The Junior Chef Bake Set in a Box is a great present for the little assistant cooks in a family. Made by Schylling Toys, the miniature baking kit is designed to be used for real cooking in a real kitchen (with a parent's help, of course). My daughters loved it!

Money is often tight in big families. Instead of getting everyone in the family one or two individual gifts, consider a Christmas raffle or bingo night. Make Christmas more about spending time together than about spending time opening gifts and make it more memorable.

Tailten Games of West Cork, Ireland offers Tara: Ireland's Royal Board Game as a beautiful new board game for two that tests the players’ battle strategies while creating artistic patterns of Celtic knots.

Many years ago, when my kids were very young, our extended family began drawing names for Christmas gift purchases for the following year. Aunts, uncles, cousins and everyone in between tossed their names into a hat the day after Christmas to draw names for the following year.