Finding that “something special” this time of year doesn’t always have to be challenging. Sure, my girls ask for the typical things from Santa, which is everything they see on commercials and have to have. Their favorites are the unexpected gift- the one they didn’t see on tv, the one they didn’t ask for. Just recently my oldest daughter got her hands on the How Does Your Body Work? Experiment kit from Lakeshore Learning and her exact response was “I always wanted this!” The funny thing- she never asked for it and as far as I know has not seen a commercial for this kit. Immediately she wanted to start working on some experiments. We were limited, as some needed a day or two to perform, or needed more items to complete the experiment- so we moved forward with one. This kit includes almost all of what you need to complete the experiment and the rest of the items are common household products. This is everything included in the set:
Since the “It’s Snot What You Think!” set came with everything we needed, and my girls love a good mess, we knew it was a great place to start. This time of year many people have the sniffles and this was a great way to show why we keep our boogies in our nose or in a tissue – so we don’t spread germs. The glitter in the simulated mucous showed how easy it is to transmit germs from one person to the other.
Once we were done with our first experiment, we set up our petri dishes for the next day’s experiment which is Fungal Jungle. The petri dishes needed a day in the fridge to set.
Building sets are a must have in any household with children. Blocks provide hours of fun, entertainment, and teach creativity, problem solving, and fine motor skills. Castle Blocks are out of the ordinary, but perfect in our princess household. My girls love these blocks and play with them just about every day. They build castles for their dolls and create story lines to go along with it.
For a few years now I’ve been collecting my oldest daughter’s school and artwork. In the earlier grades it was just about every single piece of paper she came home with, but now it’s the bigger pieces of paper that contain her artwork that I keep. There was never a folder big enough until I found the Keepsake Portfolio from Lakeshore. This is a must have for every child in the household. You can organize it by grade, date, or any other method that works for you. It has a space-saving accordion style opening, and a sturdy handle.
My 3 year old blew my mind when we started playing with Alphabet Picture Blocks from Lakeshore. In just 4 months she’s learned so much in school, including her letters. As we took each block out she announce the name of the letter. I was so impressed I asked her what words start with that letter and she was able to tell me the names of the picture on each side of the cube. It was definitely a proud mommy moment for me, and has turned into her favorite game. Shhh, don’t tell her- but she’s learning the whole time we are playing!
