DIY Educational Games from Recycled Materials for Earth Day

Want to encourage cooperative learning among students? Want to develop hands-on games and teaching materials? Need fast, easy, cheap homeschool materials? Need active learning games to help students learn content? Want to use recycled materials to make teaching tools? Whew, that's a long order. But no worries--I've got you covered. Here are homemade game ideas using recycled materials--perfect for Earth Day! DIY Educational Games: Easy and Cheap to Make from Recycled Materials

Free Printable Easter Egg Dyeing Patterns and Safe Homemade Dye Recipes

Waited till the last minute to buy Easter egg dyeing kits for the kids? Now the store is out and you have to pull a rabbit out of a hat (pun intended) and come up with your own egg decorations. Never fear--super DIY mom is here with tips on homemade Easter egg decorations using recycled and on-hand materials. I've included free printable Easter egg patterns, too. And best of all, homemade is cheaper and safer than store-bought egg coloring kits! Cheap, Homemade, Safe Easter Egg Dyeing, Recycled Decorations

Free Printable Story Starters, Picture Cue Writing Games and Prompts for Preschool NaPoWriMo

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S. Teachers, why not celebrate in school by hosting creative writer workshops with students? Parents, you can do with kids at home or make activities part of a homeschool lessons. Here are free printable preschool story starters, writing games and picture cue writing prompts to get the ideas flowing. Free Printable Preschool Story Starters, Picture Cue Writing Prompts

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 

Homemade Story Dice for Writing Prompts Games

Here's a creative writing game I designed with students. Story Prompts dice. It's a mashup of Magnetic Poetry and a Chicken Soup for the Soul Game. Make 6 paper cubes (basic box pattern). Draw a cross of six equal sized squares, four long and one on each side, second down. Fold four long into a box. Fold in the two side flaps as top and bottom. Tape. Here's a printable template if you need it.  Homemade Story Dice to Encourage Outside the Box Thinking

Parents, Don't Like Adult, PG-13 Ads? Keep Kids on Kids-Only Sites

I'm reading gripes about "adult" ads on Bubblews. Well, let me ask you this. Do you like getting paid? Because sharing ad revenue is how Bubblews does it. Google and other search providers partner with advertisers and place ads on our articles. Bubblews is paid when readers click. Then we get a cut.

Google doesn't allow porn. But it's a little foggy what constitutes porn. I got my Adsense ads pulled on a blog because I used the word "testicle" in a health article. But Google does partner with PG-13 to R sites. What constitutes PG-13 or R is also little nebulous. Usually it includes adult-themed video games like "Evony", dating sites, maybe or sexual enhancement ads.   Why Hate Bubblews Adult Ads? This is Not a Kid Site and Ads Pay Our Earnings

Harry the Dirty Dog Game, Craft, Snack, Printables

Are your kids going winter stir-crazy? Too cold to play outside long. Snow too deep for little one. Well, you need a craft afternoon. I learned as a teacher/homeschool mom to make lesson plans hands-on. So my craft parties include an interactive story and snack and lots of free printable book-based activities.
One of my husband's favorite children's literature characters is Harry the Dog, created by Gene Zion and drawn by Margaret Bloy Graham. My mom described a yarn bush she made for the birds and it reminded me of Harry. Here are activities based on "No Roses for Harry."   No Roses for Harry Recycled Yarn Craft, Snack, Printables