Pool Noodle Games & Crafts for Kids!

You and your kids will have so much fun with these pool noodle activities! A pool noodle is a tube of polyethylene foam, sometimes with a hollow center. The noodles are commonly used during swimming for play and exercise but have many more uses. The foam is soft, yet strong-featured and makes a great tool for creative game play out of the water. Foam noodles do not cause damage to people or gym floors, are super cheap and can be cut apart to make game accessories.

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Fun Things To Do with Kids on Hot Summer Days!

Those hot, muggy summer days are here again – especially here in New York. What to do with the kids? Here are some fun, simple activities to keep the kids happy and the TV off while staying cool this summer!

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Outdoor Kids Birthday Party Game Ideas

My sister Betsy is having my nephew Wade’s 5th birthday party this Saturday! I am really excited and traveling back from New York to California and will be able to attend. She is planning on having the party at nearby park with all of Wade’s friends from school and cousins. I was trying to brainstorm some fun and relatively inexpensive ideas for his birthday to entertain the kids. Here are some ideas and tips for your kiddo’s party too!

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Worms and Fun Facts for Kids

My nieces love going into Central Park in New York City or out in the yard in the Hamptons and digging for worms. Not exactly my cup ‘o tea digging for worms, BUT its very entertaining for the kids and can be educational too! With summer here and in need of afternoon activities, why not dig for worms with your kids? Here are some fun facts: 

• A worm has no eyes, legs or arms.
• There are 2700 different types of earthworms in the world.
• There can be up to 1 MILLION earthworms in just 1 acre of land.
• 22 foot long earthworm was found in South Africa.
• Worms help plants by mixing the soil. So gardeners love them because they are ‘free’ help!
• Even without eyes, a worm can still sense light and will move away from it.
• Earthworms come to the surface when it rains because they need oxygen to breathe, and they would drown if they stayed in the soil.
• Regular earthworms can live 15 years.
• Although native to Europe, earthworms are found throughout North America and western Asia. They do not live in deserts or regions where there is permafrost or permanent snow and ice.
• They are often called night crawlers because they are often seen feeding above ground at night. Said to be shy of the light, they burrow during the day and stay close to the surface, but they can dig down in the soil as deep as 6.5 feet (2 meters).
• The worm’s first segment contains its mouth. As they burrow, they consume soil, extracting nutrients from decomposing organic matter like leaves and roots. Earthworms are vital to soil health and to plants growing in it because they transport nutrients and minerals from below to the surface via their waste.
• As they move through the soil, their tunnels aerate the ground. An earthworm can eat up to one third its body weight in a day. That would be equal to a 75-pound (34.1-kilogram) youngster eating 25 pounds (11.4 kilograms) of food in one day!
• Earthworms are a source of food for numerous animals, like birds, rats, and toads, and are frequently used in composting and as bait in commercial and recreational fishing. Their numbers are strong throughout their range—they’re even considered agricultural pests in some areas—and they have no special status.
• Earthworms are invertebrates—they don’t have an internal skeleton made of bone.
• There isn’t a fossil record of earthworms because they are soft-bodied invertebrates.
• Most earthworms will live for about six years in the wild.
• Many people believe that if a worm is cut in half, the two pieces will grow into full-size worms. This is not true.

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Learning How to Share

The time finally arrived! My three-year old son has learned how to share. This is a picture of him sharing cars with a friend in his Mommy & Me class. I remember last year when he and two other boys would eye the same car/truck/train, look at each other, then dive for the toy as they each tried to yank it from each others’ grasps. Oh, boy! That was a nightmare because all the mommies had to deal with the crying, the fighting and giving our sons “The Talk” about sharing. It’s a good thing we mothers are all on the same page regarding this, and know that we need to teach our children how to play together.

A year later, I stand in the classroom with pride (and with my camera) as I listen to my son say, “Do you want this car?” and proceed to play nicely with his friend. He’s growing up!

Paulo is wearing the rabbitmoon “discover” striped zip hoody. For this comfy cotton layering piece and more mix and match stylish kid’s clothing go to www.rabbitmoon-usa.com.

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How much exercise do kids need?

Ten percent of 2- to 5-year-olds and 20 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds qualify as obese, according to 2008 data on U.S. children from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Being aware of exercise guidelines for children can help you provide your child with the proper amount of physical activity to maintain a healthy weight, thereby preventing excess weight and multiple other potential health problems.

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Beach Weather Already?

Paulo (wearing the Le Top "Under the Sea" pull over hoodie shirt with a red crab appliqué) and Miranda playing on the beach.

It’s only March here in the Bay Area but the weather has been so warm and sunny (with a few rainy days in between) that we’ve actually been hitting the beach since January! Last week we went to Pacific Grove. My husband was at a 3-day seminar and since he was staying at a swanky hotel, we decided to “join” him and enjoy the amenities that fancy lodging offers, such as a salt water pool and hot tub, breakfast buffets, and free freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm!

While Daddy was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a dimly-lit conference room, we were outdoors absorbing sun rays along the coast at the Asilomar State Beach. It was sunny but a little chilly and I wasn’t sure how long we would last at the beach. But as soon as we laid our blanket on the sand and the kids dumped out all their sand toys, the chill in the air seemed to dissipate. My kids were ready to go jump in the ocean! (But we didn’t. That water is FREEZING!)

After a couple hours, we packed it up and drove back to the hotel where we spent the afternoon swimming in the pool, then in the hot tub, then in the pool, then the hot tub (you get the picture), until Daddy came to retrieve us for dinner. What a fun day! Daddy should go to more conferences at ritzy hotels.

Paulo is wearing the Le Top "Under the Sea" lined swim trunks.

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St. Patrick’s Day Games for Kids

Saint Patti’s Day is BIG in New York! Teachers love to play games with their kids at school, people fill the streets in strange green costumes and everything and anything is colored green. Why not add the fun to your school hometown, play with kids in the neighborhood or even just your own family at home! Read below for 3 fun games that are no cost or little cost at all!

Pin The Shamrock on the Leprechaun

Supplies:

Big picture of a Leprechaun
A green shamrock, for each child, with adhesive on back and their name on the front
Blindfold

How To Play:
Blindfold the player, spin ’em around and let them try to stick the shamrock where it’s supposed to go. Give a prize for the player that gets the closest.

Irish Hot Potato

Supplies:

Potato
Celtic or Irish Jig Music

How To Play:

Sit the children in a circle. Hand one child the potato. Explain to the children that when the music begins they will pass the potato to the person on their right. When the music stops whoever’s holding the potato scoots out of the circle and playing resumes.

This game also provides a great opportunity to discuss agriculture in Ireland. Perhaps they could pass while you talk and when you stop (every once in awhile) the person holding the potato has to recap what you said.

Gold, Gold, Who’s got the Gold

Supplies:

A large gold coin (or create our pot of gold craft).

How To Play:

A child is chosen to be the Leprechaun and hides her eyes as a gold coin is given to a child to hide in his lap or behind his back. The Leprechaun then has three chances to guess which child has their gold coin. (All children hide their hands in their laps/behind their backs like they have it.)

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Le Top Darling of the Day: Marion

Today’s Darling, precious Marion (20 months-old), looks like she’s ready to get into some mischief. In this photos she was enjoying a day playing at the beach and wondering just how far she would be allowed to go in.

Congratulations are in order to Marion for being our Le Top Darling of the Day!

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Le Top Darling of the Day: Benjamin

This little outdoorsman, Benjamin (22 months-old), is today’s Darling. He jumps at the chance to go on walks scouting for deer, birds, and other wild creatures. Playing with Play-Doh, and watching Oswald and Toy Story 3 (it has to be 3!) are some other things this handsome boy loves. Thanks mom for sharing his photo. Congrats to Benjamin on being crowned the Le Top Darling of the Day!

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