Kids’ Activities

Give Your Child a SmartStart With Schwinn

WordPress database error: [Table './quadium_wrdp27/wp_postmeta' is marked as crashed and should be repaired]
SELECT post_id, meta_key, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE post_id IN (12959,12958,12953) ORDER BY meta_id ASC

This post is sponsored by Lunchbox but all opinions are my own.

I can still remember – vividly – the day I first learned to ride my bike without training wheels. I must have ridden up and down our driveway 20 times! And two years ago I got to encounter that magical moment in our oldest son’s life. It took some time, but once he’d figured it out he was so proud.

Now our middle son, C, is 7, and he has been wanting to learn to ride his bike without training wheels for months. He’s nervous, though, and has been putting it off. We’ve been trying to think of everything we can do to make learning to ride a bike as easy of a process as possible – and that’s where the Schwinn SmartStart bikes come in. Here’s why I love SmartStart bikes for new riders:

16” wheel size – classic learn to ride size.
Easier to learn to ride-better balance
Safer because less wobble
Light-weight for stability
The seat is shaped and sized to fit a child
When a SmartStart seat is raised to fit a growing child, the distance from the seat to the handle bars increases. This increases the reach distance and will allow the bike to grow with them
The grips are smaller for smaller hands
The geometry matches the pedal width to a child’s hip width
Like all Schwinn bikes, SmartStart bikes have a limited lifetime warranty for as long as you own the bike

We went to Toys R Us to pick up the bike:

C was super excited to try out his new bike. We got the Schwinn Burnout 16 Inch bike and he thought the colors were, and I quote, “awesome!”

Sofia the First Cookies

I mentioned earlier this month that we’ve started something new in our house – we’re scheduling dates with each of our kids using this chart. We rotate months so that Brian and I each get one-on-one time with the kids, and we also get time together as a family doing a specific activity.

For January I had a date with J, Brian had a date with C, and E got to pick a family activity for us to all do together. She chose – very specifically, I might add – that we would all make Sofia the First cookies. We don’t own Sofia the First cookie cutters, so we had to get creative. I also wanted to keep things simple, because this has been a busy month for us and I just didn’t have the energy to do anything too time-intensive.

Right off the bat I knew we’d need to make these cookies purple. Sofia’s dress is purple, and E is all about purple right now. We found a great sugar cookie recipe on allrecipes.com and followed it pretty directly, only modifying it to add a bit of purple food coloring.

Next, we had to figure out how to make these cookies look Sofia the First-ish. We don’t own princess-themed cookie cutters, but guess what kind of cookie cutters work perfectly for a Sofia theme? Easter cookie cutters! Our set included a rabbit face and profile (who doesn’t love Clover the rabbit on Sofia, right? You’ve got to include him! Blue Ribbon Bunny was a favorite episode of E’s for several weeks), a butterfly (these have been present in many Sofia episodes, specifically Princess Butterfly) and two different flowers (Sofia and friends spend lots of time in the garden – we mentioned Vivian’s enchanted garden at her new castle, seen in All the Sprite Moves and E agreed flowers were perfect to include.

Family Fun Night with Denny’s and DreamWorks… + Giveaway!

This partnered post is brought to you as part of my Denny’s Ambassadorship. All opinions are honest and are my own.

We love family nights. We typically have ours on a Friday or Saturday night, and ending the week spending quality time together is just the best. It’s a time to unwind and talk about our week, and it’s a great time to reconnect after a busy five days.

I’ve got a fun plan for our upcoming family night, and I thought I’d share it with y’all in case you’d like to do this, too. It’s simple, inexpensive, and fun for the whole family – can’t really beat that.

Get Summer Camp-Ready with Mabel’s Labels

Note: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mabel’s Labels. I received a voucher to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Summer’s so close we can taste it – just a few days left this week and the kids are free, ready for a summer of fun. Our two boys will be attending a day camp where they’ll get to do themed activities and go on a field trip each and every week.

With all the different activities the boys will be doing, we’ll need to send various items with them – sunscreen, different shoes to change into, a swimsuit, a beach towel, and more. The point is, of course, that there are all sorts of small-ish items they’ll be taking with them that could easily be lost.

Mabel’s Labels provides the perfect must-have summer camp accessory by way of its limited-edition camp label pack, filled with all the labels you’ll need to keep your kids’ items clearly marked – and totally up your chances of getting things back at the end of the day or week.

Gymboree Partners with Kiwi Crate & KaBOOM! to Make Sure All Kids Get Active Play!

Note: I received a promotional item to facilitate this post. All opinions are honest and my own.

With summer right around the corner I wanted to get some new clothes for the kids, so my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and I headed off to Gymboree. I noticed a display of bright & cheery play clothes from Gymboree’s new Hop N’ Roll line, and found a ton of great items for E, our two-year-old. You can check out all the Hop N’ Roll clothes online, or find them in your local Gymboree.

When we went to check out, I saw a sign promoting Gymboree’s partnership with KaBOOM!, with a focus on giving kids the playspaces they need. I’m a firm believer that kids need play time for many different reasons developmentally and socially, so I absolutely love this!

All the way through May 31, Gymboree will be supporting KaBOOM! with a series of programs and activities – including donating a percentage of proceeds from the Hop N’ Roll line and creating an exclusive arts & crafts box with Kiwi Crate – with the goal of raising enough money to build a place to play for 10,000 deserving kids in 2015. We tried out this special edition mini Kiwi Crate, and you’ll just have to see what craft we got to do, and how much fun the kids had:

Take Your Kids on a Fun Journey into History with Jurassic Quest

Note: We received tickets to this event to facilitate our review. All opinions are honest and our own.

When the weekend arrives, it’s easy to fall into a rut with your activities – but every now and then it’s nice to change things up! If you’re looking for something unique and fun to do with your kids, keep an eye out for when Jurassic Quest will be heading your way. We recently had the opportunity to attend, and it was a great departure from our typical weekend activities! We went with some friends and it was a great outing for us all.

Oriental Trading Makes Class Parties Easy & Fun!

Note: We received items from Oriental Trading to facilitate our post. We were not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and my own.

We love Oriental Trading. It’s my go-to for party favors and decor when the kids’ birthdays roll around, but it’s also great for class parties, too. I love how affordable their items are, which makes it easy to purchase in bulk for 22 kids in a class.

This year I’m room mom for both my boys’ classes, and coordinating their Christmas parties was a part of my duties. I sent out notes to all the parents for contributing snacks and drinks, but all I had to do to cover the crafts, plates, and napkins was make a quick visit to OrientalTrading.com. The hardest part was deciding between all the craft options – they have a ton!

I ended up choosing a snowman craft and a button wreath craft. The kids loved it, and I heard parents complimenting them, too.

One tip: a lot of crafts require glue, which can be messy and take time to dry. I went to the local craft store and purchased a roll of glue dots, which made it really quick and easy to complete the projects. Aren’t they so cute? We have ours hanging on our tree!

For the plates and napkins, I went classic with Santa & Rudolph; can’t really go wrong with that! They made for a cheery & festive atmosphere at the party.

No matter what kind of party you’re planning for, Oriental Trading provides a wide variety of options to choose from. It makes purchasing party supplies an affordable and easy experience! For the next class parties I’ll be making a visit to Oriental Trading again, for sure.

Strider Bikes are the Perfect First Bike for Your Little One!

Note: We received a Strider bike to facilitate this review. I was not compensated monetarily for this post; all opinions are honest and are our own.

We have a 5- and 7-year-old that love riding their bikes, and they have a little sister who’s two and thinks she needs to do everything her big brothers do. Because of this, Brian and I have been thinking about getting E her own first bike for quite a while now.

With both of the boys, they had a hand-me-down little bike with training wheels, but Brian and I have wanted – for years, literally – to get a balance bike for the kids to try. With E being at the age she is, a Strider balance bike is the perfect fit.

But even though the bike will be for E, we plan to let our five-year-old use it too so he can gain a sense of balance and confidence to learn to ride his other bike without training wheels. That’s right – our five year old can use the bike that we’re giving to our two year old.

Since we’re planning to surprise E with her Strider bike for Christmas (it is a pretty perfect holiday gift idea… what child wouldn’t want to wake up to a great bike on Christmas morning?) I had our 7-year-old help me with photos. You can see that he’s at a quite comfortable height even for how tall he is, and this is with the shorter of the two provided seat bars:

And although J probably wouldn’t go with pink, E will be thrilled with the vibrant pop of color – Striders are available in seven different colors, though, so you can find one perfect for your child. Here are a few other things we love about Strider bikes:

Unique, frame-integrated footrests are properly positioned directly below the saddle for natural bike balance. This position also fosters the advanced ability to stand while gliding.

EVA polymer (industrial foam) tires are super light and durable yet offer a smooth ride. Best of all, they never need air and will never go flat.

As I mentioned before, the seat height is incredibly easy to adjust. The durable, all-weather mini-saddle is designed specifically for beginning riders and their tiny hips. The Sport model, which we received, also includes a padded XL saddle and long seatpost to fit kids over 3 years and allows seat height adjustments up to 48cm (19”). The bike is high quality, which makes me feel good since I know it will get a lot of wear over the years.

I love the story behind Strider bikes, too. Ryan McFarland created the first Strider bike after seeing his young son struggle with propelling the weight of a standard bike. I have a lot of respect for products created by parents for kids, because parents understand best what kids really need.

We can’t wait to give E her Strider bike, and if you’d love to give your little one a first bike, head over to check out the options here. Strider also offers larger bikes for older kids, and even a bike for teens and adults learning to ride (ideal for special needs riders, as well).

Skylanders Trap Team Game Review: A Whole New Level of Fun!

Note: We received a copy of the Skylanders Trap Team game to review. We were not compensated monetarily and all opinions in this post are honest and our own.

What you see in the photo above is the faces of two very excited little boys.

I have been hearing about Trap Team for months, so I was really thrilled when I got the chance to review the game. I didn’t tell them it was coming, and just surprised them when it arrived. I heard “best mom ever!” many times that day after school, especially since they got to play it on a school night.

For those of you not familiar with Skylanders in general (I’m sure there are maybe 3 of you), it includes a portal that hooks up to the system and allows kids to bring characters into the game by placing figurines on the portal.

The Trap Team game takes the fun even further by introducing traps, which allow kids to “trap” bad guys and play with them later in the game as good guys.

Starter Pack we received retails for $74.99 and includes:

• Traptanium Portal™ – Place the Skylanders on the NEW Traptanium Portal ™ and bring the Skylanders to life
• Trap Master Skylanders – Trap Master Skylanders are the ultimate trappers with powerful Traptanium™ weapons
• All New Skylanders – The Skylanders each have their own unique abilities and powers
• Traps – Defeat and capture villains in the Traps and then use the villains on the side of good
• Character Collector Poster – Build the ultimate Trap Team – Over 60 Skylanders to collect and 40+ villains to capture
• Sticker Sheets with Secret Codes – Enjoy stickers of your favorite Skylanders. Place the names and codes on the Character Collect Poster to track your collection. The secret codes can be used in the Skylanders Lost Islands ™and Skylanders Collection Vault ™Apps.
• Trading Cards – Learn more about each Skylander’s powers and abilities

The Trap Team figures are on the left, the portal is the large round center item, and the traps are the blue and green pieces on the right.

Here’s the game packaging – our five year old actually hugged the case!

The Trap Team poster – I can’t tell you how much time our kids spent talking about all of the characters on this!

Tray to house your traps. The boys, of course, decided we need to fill the tray entirely.

This portal glows when plugged in, and even has a speaker to hear the trapped characters talking!

As you can see in the photo above, the characters sit on the portal; if you notice the little hexagonal hole in the portal, that’s where you put your trap when you’re playing with that.

The boys had so much fun playing with this, and our two-year-old even enjoyed sitting and watching!

We’re really pleased with this game. The boys have hours of fun on it, and there’s a lot of room for expansion with the various characters and traps. The game is available on tons of platforms, so you should be able to find it for one you own – it’s available for the XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, PS3, PS4, WiiU, 2DS and 3DS, and the Kindle Fire, too. The starter pack, like I mentioned above, retails for around $70-$75 depending on which platform you purchase it for. That’s a little pricier than a standard Wii U game, but it comes with all the extras of the portal, characters, traps, and poster, so I feel like it’s a good value for your money.

I know our boys will each be getting a Skylanders character and trap in their stockings this year (character pricing starts at about $9.99, and traps are typically just $5.99), and if you’re looking for a great gift to put under the tree, you won’t go wrong with Skylanders Trap Team. If our kids’ reactions are any indication, you’ll be parent of the year when they open it up!

Tiggly Shapes & Apps – Educational Fun for Your Littlest Ones

Note: I received a set of Tiggly shapes and a gift card to facilitate my review. All opinions in this post are honest and entirely those of myself and my family.

Our boys, who are 5 & 7, love to play games on our iPad. And of course Brian and I like to get our fair share of game-playing in, too. But baby E, who’s almost 2, has been left out of all the iPad fun – until now, thanks to Tiggly shapes & apps.

Tiggly creates hands-on educational tools that work together with free Tiggly apps on the iPad to create an exciting learning experience that combines physical play and digital fun.

When we first pulled out the Shapes and our iPad, E just sat and held the shapes while she watched the animation of the app, but then she quickly realized she could interact with the app using the shapes and she had a blast playing.

Then our boys came in to see what she was doing, and they started playing along with her. It’s nice to have something all three kids can enjoy together.

About Tiggly Shapes:

Tiggly Shapes incudes a set of four easy-to-grip colorful shapes that are inspired by the classic wooden block. They’re easy for little hands to grip – E loved holding them, and she liked the bright colors, too.

Little ones place Tiggly Shapes on the iPad to make Tiggly apps come alive. Each Shape is specially designed to be safe for kids and iPad screens.

Tiggly Shapes helps little ones learn about shapes and fundamental geometry concepts, improve their language skills, and develop their motor skills, spatial thinking, and creativity – all while having fun!

Each set of Tiggly Shapes also includes a felt carrying pouch for easy storage and fun on the go.

Tiggly Shapes is great for toddlers age 18 months to 4 years old (I can attest to the fact that our 5 & 7 year old thought the apps were fun, too!).

Tiggly Shapes is compatible with all generations of the iPad and iPad mini.

Tiggly Shapes has a retail value of $29.95 and can be purchased online at tiggly.com.

Tiggly Shapes includes three free TIggly apps designed by education experts and approved by parents. With their bright colors and fun games, little ones will have hours of fun while learning with Tiggly apps.

About Tiggly Apps:

Tiggly Stamp: Kids explore the seasons while creating their own scenes and stories. Parents and children can use the camera and voice recorder to save the fun tales they dream up.

Tiggly Safari: Children use Tiggly Shapes to create friendly animals from the jungle, farm, and sea.

Tiggly Draw: Time to use your imagination! Kids use their iPad as their canvas and Tiggly Shapes as their tools to craft their own works of art.

Stay connected:

Be sure to visit http://tiggly.com for the latest on Tiggly and to find tips and advice for parents on the Tiggly blog.
Friend Tiggly on Facebook at Facebook.com/Tiggly and follow Tiggly on Twitter @TigglyKids
Don’t forget, you can buy Tiggly online at Amazon.com!

Six Flags Pokemon Trainer Challenge

Note: I received Pokemon toys to thank me for my post. I was not compensated monetarily for the post, and all opinions are honest and are my own.

My boys LOVE Pokemon. Their favorite activity this summer has been taking Pokemon cards to day care and trading them with their friends.

Did you know Six Flags loves Pokemon, too?

Join Six Flags on Sunday, August 10 at 3 p.m. at participating Six Flags parks (Chicago, NJ, Dallas, Atlanta and LA) for the Pokémon Trainer Challenge and a chance to win FOUR Six Flags season passes PLUS a Pokémon toy prize pack!

Guests can visit the Pokémon Trainer Station tent* inside the park beginning at 11 a.m. for contest info and to sign up. You can also practice your trainer skills, check out some of the hottest new Pokémon toys and take your photo with Ash!

At 2:45 p.m., 10 lucky guests** will be selected from the eligible contest entry forms to take the Pokémon Trainer Challenge for the chance to win four 2015 season passes to Six Flags, and over $250 worth of Pokémon toys!

Pokémon Trainer Challenge – Contest Details

Date:	Sunday, August 10, 2014
Location:	Next to the Pokémon Tent inside participating Six Flags parks

Schedule:	11:00 a.m.	Pokémon Trainer Station tent opens
	2:45 p.m.	Contestant selection
	3:00 p.m.	Pokémon Trainer Challenge begins!

For more information on the Pokémon toys, check out www.tomycollections.com(link is external)

*Tent locations vary by park. Additional details will be available inside the park on the event date.

**The contest is open to guests age 8 to 13 at the park on August 10. All guests must submit a contest entry form by 2:30 pm to be eligible for participation. Entry forms and contest rules are available at guest relations and at the Pokémon tent inside the park on August 10.

Entrant selection begins promptly at 2:45 p.m. and all guests must be present at the designated Pokémon tent at this time to for a chance to participate. The contest will take place at 3 p.m.

Participating Six Flags parks include:

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Over Texas

Six Flags Great America

Six Flags Over Georgia

Six Flags Great Adventure

One prize will be awarded at each participating park. Click here for Official Rules.

Skylanders Premium Toy Line Eon’s Elite to Come this Fall!

My boys, who are 5 & nearly 7, love Skylanders. I mean, love Skylanders. All I’ve been hearing about for the past several weeks is how they can’t wait for Skylanders Trap Team to come out, and now I know I’ll be hearing a lot about Eon’s Elite, too.

Yesterday at San Diego Comic-Con plans were announced to bring “Eon’s Elite,” a new set of premium toys, to Skylanders fans worldwide this fall. The limited edition Eon’s Elite will introduce eight must-have collectible versions of fan-favorite Skylanders characters, beginning with Spyro and Chop Chop.

The heroes in the “Eon’s Elite” roster hail from the original Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and have been carefully selected by Master Eon for displaying undaunted courage and commitment to defending all of Skylands. Eon’s Elite features a never-before-seen decoration with a distinct, metallic finish and a golden base that sets them apart from other Skylanders toys. Each of these special edition toys will be offered in premium foil packaging and also features a display case with a 3D lenticular background. Additionally, when played in-game, Eon’s Elite will be up to three times as powerful over other characters, which represents the biggest in-game boosts ever incorporated into a Skylanders toy to date.

“Eon’s Elite represents the most iconic characters from the original Skylanders game that started it all,” said Josh Taub, senior vice president of product marketing at Activision Publishing. “These eight toys are not only premium quality but also honor the characters’ strength, courage and commitment. We’re excited to extend our fans’ collections with this new line.”

Eon’s Elite characters will be available in limited quantities at GameStop and EB Games stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand, and select retailers in Europe this fall while supplies last.

And in case you’re not familiar with Trap Team, here’s a little about the upcoming game that will be launching in October (seriously, my boys can. not. wait.):

Launching in October, Skylanders Trap Team brings a ground-breaking innovation to the Skylanders franchise by reversing the magic of its signature Toys-To-Life play pattern to let kids bring life-to-toys for the first time. With Skylanders Trap Team, Portal Masters seek out and defeat the most wanted villains in all of Skylands, pulling them out of the game and into living rooms by capturing them in magical Traps. Players can then send villains back into the game where they play as them to fight for good. The game will include the Traptanium Portal, a new ring of magical energy that enables kids to not only bring their Skylanders to life, but also magically capture villains using the new Traps. Once they’ve defeated the villains, kids will be able to place a Trap into the new portal to capture them. They will also be able to hear the villains inside the Traps, an innovation that truly brings life to toys. Skylanders Trap Team will be available on Xbox 360 and Xbox One video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo’s Wii system, Nintendo’s Wii U system, and a completely unique adventure available on the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system.

Older Posts

Pokémon Trainer Challenge – Contest Details

Frugal Novice on Instagram