An Easy Game to Keep Kids Entertained

As I write this, we’re getting to the part of summer that I think is hardest for kids and parents alike. It’s too hot to want to be outside, you’ve probably already had your big vacation or trips to various places you like to go during the summer, but school is still a ways off.

It’s easy to succumb to the lure of watching lots of movies or spending even more time on devices, but it’s great to try to get a little more family fun in while you can.

Enter the doughnut game.

This is a low-prep, quick and easy game that you can play with kids of just about any age and even adults will find it fun.

It’s sort of like a lower stakes version of Jenga, and just showing you a picture will basically tell you all you need to know about how this game goes, but go ahead and click over to the original at Playtivities to learn all the details of how they play it.

I love the idea that once you have your doughnut you can play this just about anywhere and at any time. When my daughter was younger I always had a bag of colored pencils in my purse (since she loved to draw and color but they don’t melt like crayons do). If you have that you can just tuck a doughnut into the same bag and you’ll be ready to play when you need to wait at a restaurant or any time the dreaded phrase “I’m bored” comes up.

Get all the details on how to prep and play the doughnut game over at Playtivities.

And if you are still hitting the road and need some more activities when you travel, check out this collection of road trip printables.

[Photo: Playtivities]

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

Not all of us live where there is a lot of snow in the winter (or even where it is winter as I write this, but it can still be fun to learn about snow, what it is and why it falls, so let’s get into it!

First, let’s talk snowflake science with The Homeschool Scientist. They have a free prinatble snowflake science less that’s more than 60 pages long and good for multiple grade levels. The blog post linked here includes some fun snow facts, information about how snowflakes form and why they are both six-sided and (probably) all different.

Expressive Monkey has a great post about how snowflakes are formed and why they have six arms, and also shows some of the pictures taken by W. A. Bentley in the 1920s (more on him below).

You can also grab a free snow facts worksheet with space for kids to draw their own unique snowflakes from Education.com. Simple Living Creative Learning also has a paid snow study resource set that includes things like different types of snowflakes, the snow cycle, symmetry drawing with snowflakes, tips for snow safety, snow-related vocabulary and more.

Homeschool Superfreak has another great page for learning about snowflakes, which includes information about Snowflake Bentley, a great book to read (and person to learn about). It includes lesson plan ideas and links to activities.

Speaking of activities, if you happen to have snow around you can make snow ice cream or maple candy, paint on snow or with snow, or do some snow science experiments. If you get a ton of snow you could maybe even build an igloo or snow structure.

If you don’t get snow you can learn about how animals keep warm in the snow and cold temperatures with this experiment from I Can Teach My Child. Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls can help you learn why big paws (or snowshoes) make it easier to walk in the snow. Or make a snowstorm in a jar like this one from MomBrite.

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