5 quick ways to keep the kids entertained

Just a quick note to say, over on MOC I have a free PDF today with 5 printable scavenger hunts, lots of fun! Pop over and grab your copy...

boredom busters for the 2012 Olympics

I usually share what we have been doing after the fact but since the Olympics kick off tomorrow I thought you might want to join in the fun. I made up a PDF so that you can make up your own family Olympics. This afternoon we will decide which 'events' will take place in ours. Hoopla is definitely on the list but I'm not sure what else yet. 

So, print out the sheet, you might want to print out a few copies, write in the events, they can be as serious or as silly as you like, we will probably be leaning towards the silly side, then pop them on the fridge or up on the wall. When you have one of those 'I'm bored' moments, pick an event and go for it. 

When you plan your events make sure you include ones that even the littlest kids can win.

As you know the actual Olympics will be running over the course of a few weeks, you can do the same with your family Olympics. Record who has won what and either award medals as you do the events or have an award and closing ceremony at the end of the holidays.

Need some event ideas?... hoopla, thumb sumo, tidily-winks, skipping, hula-hoop, ping-pong, egg and spoon, ball toss, long jump, sprints, balancing a pencil on your nose, juggling, standing on one foot....

Family Olympics by Jojoebi

What fun events will you be doing? Share in the comments section below and if you have friends that you think would like to join the fun please share this post!

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adorable little printable....

First off I want to say a great big THANK YOU to everyone who filled in my questionnaire, it has really helped me see what I was missing and raised some great topics to tackle plus reassured me that I was on the right track with most of it.

I'm taking a business course at the moment, I'm the second week in, there is a tonne of homework which I'm really enjoying but it doesn't leave much time for anything else! Today I will be working on the new website and working through the next step in this weeks module and I will also be doing some tinkering over here again (I hope not too many people noticed that I crashed the whole blog last week!)

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to give you a little thank you for your help, so I rustled up a printable for you. It can be used in two ways - I love multi-functional things, don't you? So, you can fold it to make a mini colouring book - handy to keep in your bag with a pack of mini crayons for those 'I'm bored moments'

OR

You can colour them in then cut them out to make little play characters. There are instructions for both in the PDF below. (If need to click through to the blog to print it)

Little Animal Friends

If you like it, please share it with your friends, especially those on social media, your twitter followers and Facebook pals and if you come up with a different way to use the file, let me know!

Jubilee bunting.... free printable

This weekend marks the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. I remember the silver jubilee year, well, I remember my mom dressing me up as Britannia and sticking stuff to my riding hat (sorry I don't have a picture). I am sure if I was back in the UK I would be gung-ho about organising a street party but I am not, so we will hang some bunting up instead and I will maybe do something special at the weekend, we will see how the rest of the week goes... considering I spent almost 8 hours trying to fix my blog yesterday I am hoping the rest of the week runs more smoothly!

So, yesterday we made some bunting, the file is at the bottom of the post. There are two union jacks (yeah, I know they are actually called union flags but who calls them that?) per page and I put small dots of blue or red in the sections that have to be coloured to make it easier for the kids to colour them in.

We decided that every flag had to be different, so we got out the ink, pencils, crayons, tissue paper, wash tape, wax pastels, pens... and used a different medium or technique on each flag. Doing this worked for two reasons, first it would soon have got boring colouring in each flag the same and secondly it we could compare the flags when they were done and talk about which we liked the most/least and why.

All you need to do is colour in the flag, cut it out, leave the top attached. Fold over the top and attach to some string, hang it up and.....taa-daa!

I found a load of jubilee printables at the Activity Village and the official jubilee website has lots of info if you are planning on studying it with your kids. If you are celebrating the jubilee in some way, let me know what you are doing!
Union Jack Bunting Jojoebi Designs

What do I need?

Since Ebi-kun started school, we have had to be super organized so that he takes the right things on the right day. To help him (and me if we are going to be honest) I made up some printable check sheets. There are 5 different version in the pack, so you can simply print out the one(s) that suit your families needs. So far, these have been working well for us, when he gets in from school he packs his bag read for the next day and on Sunday evening he can get his Monday set ready by himself.

If you would like a set, you can download them here.