Roll a Turkey

Pin It My first grader's class earned a pizza party last week.  His teacher contacted me about possibly turning the celebration into a Thanksgiving feast with their big buddies and asked if I had any ideas.  I saw a cute game on Pinterest called "Roll a Turkey".  However, it looked to be geared more towards kindergarten or preschool so I thought it would be fun to adapt it to first grade.  This is what I came up with:

So how do you play?  It's as easy as pie.  You simply need 2 dice, a copy of "Roll a Turkey" for each player or team, and pencils.  Then roll the dice, add the values and draw all the parts needed to be the first to draw your turkey.  Pin It

My Little Pony Party

Pin It Having all boys, our birthday party themes have consisted of pirates, knights, army men, Jedi Padawan, and the like.  So when my best friend asked if I'd help plan and throw a My Little Pony birthday party for her daughter's 6th birthday, I jumped at the chance.  So with the help of sweet, little Coral, here is what we came up with for food, games, and activities that all centered around her favorite TV show. 

To start the party off, the girls (and a few boys) bedazzled their own unicorn horns (aka party hats) and beaded one of a kind necklaces under tents in Rarity's Fashion Design Center.

With accessories in hand, they were then off to Rainbow Dash's Hoof Decorating Parlor where most chose a rainbow of all five colors.

Finally, they played a balloon pop game to determine what color tutu they would show case at the Grand Galloping Gala.  So that the girls wouldn't fight over which color tutu they would get, I put numbers in each of the balloons.  One-by-one, they popped the balloons and received a tutu filled bag with the matching number.

The  night before the party, I decided it wouldn't do to have the girls using a pin or dart to pop the balloons. I envisioned them using a beautiful, feathered wand; so as soon as I woke up I made a Balloon Popper Wand.  I believe it is the first of it's kind.  I am selling them in my Etsy store if you would like one for your next party.

But back to the party.  We came up with snacks named after the main characters.  There were Applejack Slices, Fluttershy's Bunny Treats, Rainbow Dash Fish Crackers, Rarity's Pop-ular Corn, and Pinkie Pie Lemonade.

After an afternoon of dancing at the Grand Galloping Gala, the kids were invited to take home a bag of Pinkie Pie's Sweet Treats.  Hmmm... I wonder which pony is Coral's favorite?

Disclaimers:  This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  I have decided to use them as an affiliate site because I trust them and find they can deliver on many of my shopping needs.   

Pin It

Stay for a Spell

Pin It I loved, loved, loved making this display and the absolute best part is that the whole project cost less than $20 (which my husband loved)!  My favorite piece is the witch hat on the pedestal.  The hat itself is from a past Halloween costume and the pedestal is a thrift store find that I spray painted gray.  Oh and the jeweled ornament on it... part of a dollar store children's costume jewelry piece plus a little glitter and glue.

I want to still do something with the wreath that I made using an old pair of my husband's slacks, a wire coat hanger, and a great tutorial over at Beautiful Nest.  I can't decide though weather to simply add a ribbon or print out a cute witchy saying.  So ribbon?  Or one of these sayings laid across the wreath?

• Stay for a spell
• Come in for a spell
• Hang around for a spell
• Please park all brooms at the door
• Sit for a spell and have some brew

 Feel free to chime in as I'm mulling this over.

Pin It

The Witch Is In

Pin It
A witch is taking over this Halloween.  Or at least her spirit is channeling through me, lending to a witchy theme in our home this year.  This last week, I've been spray painting everything black and getting ready to make a witch's book shelf with spell books and potions bottles.  I also made this 8x10 Black Hat Society printable that I designed to share as a freebie on this first day of October.

I based it off a super cute print at Martha Made Me Do It.  Her print was black and orange and I wanted purple accents.  So I decided to make my own version using a beautiful, free vintage background by MGB-Stock. . Click HERE or on the image for the free Black Hat Society file.

Pin It

Motivating Kids the Ninja Warrior Way

Pin It This last summer, we were training ninjas in our home.  Or at least we were fostering good character and working on developing positive habits and attitudes the ninja warrior way.  What does that mean?  Well, since ninjas are pretty popular in our house right now, I devised a game that uses ninjas and a video game-like level up system that made it fun to help with chores, read, treat their siblings nicely, and so much more.  The boys earned points and stars for character development in five areas.  As they earned a set number of points and stars, they earned privileges and prizes.

The game was a huge success!  They were eagerly doing all sorts of things that they normally complain about.  As their friends came over for play dates, I was asked to explain the game and print out game cards for each of their boys.  So upon the urging of several family members and friends, I am sharing it with anyone looking for a fun way to motivate children to help around the house, complete their homework, and ultimately reward them for good character development.  The full concept is available in The Ninja Warrior Way: Fostering Positive Habits, Thoughts, And Behaviors in Young Children, a Kindle book, complete with a blank game card that can be printed online, an illustrated story to introduce the concept, and the instructions.

If you prefer jumping straight into the game, you can have a customized game card made which comes with instructions on how to play the game.  It is available in my new Etsy store, Chocolate On Toast. Pin It