Snowtastic Winter Party, Snow Games and Sports Printables

Raise your hand if you've had it with winter. I know I have!Here's a winter blues buster: throw a snowtastic party. Celebrate the closing of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and extend the fun with your own game variations. Here are safe, easy snow activities requiring no fancy equipment. I've included literature-based activities, lesson plans and crafts.  Extend Winter Olympics: Easy Snow Games and Sports 

Cheap Summer Family Fun: DIY Slip and Slide

Having raised four kids in a single-wide mobile home, I know about living simply. I redefine frugalista, tightwad mama. Are you in need of cheap summer family fun? Here's an idea that kids of all ages can enjoy: DIY Slip and Slide. It's made from recycled stuff, too! Very green. You get double bang from this toy--it's a bathtub, too. So when kids are done playing, no need fight the battle of the bath! Here's how:  Cheap Summer Family Fun: DIY Slip and Slide

Free Health Games, Printable Food Journals, Exercise Trackers

I don't know about you, but I find tracking my weight, counting calories and monitoring exercise boring. And I'm an adult. I feel sorry for kids trying to lose weight or improve fitness levels. But we're seeing the terrible toll that juvenile obesity is wreaking on our youth. Improved health, nutrition and exercise are crucial. What if we could address these health concerns in a fun, non-threatening way? How about about making them into games? Games make everything more fun (and less onerous!) Here are links for free online health activities written at kid level. They offer free printable food journals, online fitness trackers and nutrition planning tools. Websites are kid-friendly with games, quizzes, interactive activities and graphic cartoon novels. Geared for elementary to high school age kids, these programs teach self-sufficiency and basic life skills related to health.  read on