Fun and Educational Games

Steffie and I bought a new game at the thrift store last week for $1 and we decided to finally give it a try... it's called Cariboo by Cranium.... and she absolutely loved it! It's very educational so I love it too. It helps lil ones learn their letters, numbers, colors and shapes... she already knows hers but some reinforcement is always good. It has two levels... one for beginners that covers A-D, 1-4, colors and shapes... and an advanced level which covers A-Z, 1-10, and colors. The object of the game is to find the treasure balls (brightly colored rubber bouncy balls)... the players take turns drawing a card and opening one of the treasure hunt doors that has a trait corresponding to the card (a letter, number, color or shape) you then drop the ball into the "tide pool"... when the tide pool is full the treasure chest opens and the game is over.
Her first Cranium game was Sounds of the Seashore which we also bought at a thrift store over a year ago. She still loves to play this one as well. It also has a beginner and an advanced level. In this game you put the magic seashell to your ear and listen for a sound... then you have to match the sound to the object or animal that makes the sound... these are all sounds you hear on the seashore. It's a really fun first matching game.
She has one other Cranium game... which we also bought at a thrift store.... it's called Hallabaloo. It's kind of like Twister meets Simon Says.... you have lots of mats with different shapes and colors and pictures on them... you spread them across the floor and then listen for your orders. You might have to stand on a color.... put your nose on a shape.... jump to a picture etc..... lot's of active fun! This game would be great for a party or sleepover to get that energy out.

These are great educational games... so if your lil one loves to play games like mine you might want to give them a try. Educational games are also great for homeschoolers.... kids learn so much faster when they're having fun! We were lucky enough to find these in our favorite thrift store... but you can find them here at Are You Game along with many other fun and educational games for kids of all ages.


A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

I Won A Galileoscope!!! Thank You Bob!!!

Oh Wow! I'm so excited that I won an awesome Galileoscope from Bob over at Black Holes and Astrostuff. Last month his daughter got married and he decided to celebrate the occasion by giving away 3 of these wonderful scopes. This was not a sponsored giveway... this was a very sweet, unique and generous way of celebrating a beautiful family event. I am so honored to be one of the recipients of this wonderful gift.

Our family will put this to great use for years to come. My son Jordan will be excited about this.... he used to love to go outside with his telescope and gaze into the night sky... and take photos of the moon. He used his Christmas money one year to buy a huge telescope that he used for this. I'm remembering the freezing cold winter nights when he dragged me outside with him to stand out there and freeze my fingers and toes off to look at stars and planets. And even though I about froze to death we had a great time... it was wonderful quality time and great memories for us to share. His telescope is broken now so he will be excited to have a scope again. He took some great pics through his old one so I'm sure he'll do the same with this one as well. Here are two of his pics... he took them by holding the camera up to the eye piece of the telescope... isn't that amazing that a kid did this??!! He was about 14 or 15 at the time.










It will also be put to great use as lil Steffie gets older... since we'll be homeschooling her I'm sure we'll spend many hours exploring the night sky as she begins her Astronomy and Astrology lessons... of course that's years down the road... in the mean time she can enjoy just looking for fun :)

Thank you so much Bob... for this wonderful gift! My family will put it to great use... your generosity is very much appreciated!!!

A LilEnchanted,
~LaShan~

Teach Your Child Science With Harry Potter Kits!

With the newest Harry Potter movie just recently coming out in theaters also comes a fresh wave of the Harry Potter craze. If you and/or your child are fans these Harry Potter Activity Kits are a great way to learn some science lessons. They are a great way to get your kids interested in learning and can be used at home.... in a classroom.... or even in a camp. If you are a homeschooler these kits would be a very fun way for your child to do some hands-on science experiments. The Harry Potter Activity Kits have been honored by The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio and Parenting For High Potential Magazine! They are a great item for any fan or collector.

This large set comes with all 10 of the different Harry Potter Spells & Potions Activity Kits for $19.49



The following will be included in your purchase:

• Flight (Please note that this particular kit comes inside of a manufacturer returned package)
• Tracking
• Optics
• Physics
• Unpredictable Potions
• Spiders & Snakes
• Sounds of Hogwarts
• Secret Sightings
• Herbology & Other Plant Sciences
• Invisible Inks & Secret Codes

If you don't want the large set right away you can try a smaller sets as well...

Invisible Inks & Secret Codes Kit $3.49



The activities performed in this kit are: Goldenrod Paper, Mysterious Messages, Quill Pen

Kit contents: Lab Binder Pages, 2 Golden Rod (Bright Orange-Yellow) Papers, Paintbrush, 2 White Feathers, Emery Board, Wax Crayon, Watercolor Paints, Witch & Wizard-in-training Notes Poster

Herbology Spells & Potions II Activity Kit


The activities performed in this kit are: Hairy Plants, Floating Plants, A-Maze-ing

Kit contents: Lab Binder Pages, Pea Seeds, Clover Seeds, Hydroponic Floats, Measuring Scoop, 4 Wiggle Eyes, A-Maze-ing box, Witch & Wizard-in-training Notes Poster

Physics Spells & Potions Activity Kit $3.49

The activities performed in this kit are: Balance Challenge, Pendulum Power, Hopping & Popping, Bounce Back, Gravity Grab Challenge, Super Stacker Challenge

Kit contents: Lab Binder Pages, 7 Mobile Disks (with pictures of Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Hedwig, Norbert, and Scabbers), 2 Mobile Rods, 2 Plastic Poppers, 2 Super Bouncing Balls (1 small and 1 large), Lenticular Card (has another balance challenge on one side and a photo of Harry Potter playing in the Quidditch match on the other)

Optics Spells & Activity Kit $3.49


The activities performed in this kit are: Precise Periscope, Enchanted Camera, Hogwarts 3-D Glasses, Through the Lens, Astounding Illusions, Broken Wand Activity

Kit contents: Lab Binder Pages, 2 Mirrors, Periscope Pattern, Patterned Disks, 3-D Glasses, Lenticular Card (has an optical illusion on one side and a photo of Harry Potter under his invisible cloak on the other)

There are 10 smaller sets that you can purchase separately or if you can purchase the large set and get all 10 for a great price!

I can't wait until Steffie is old enough to do these kits... they sound like a lot of fun! They are recommended for ages 8 and up.

Just visit the web site Harry Potter Activity Kits to get more information and to place your order... and happy experimenting!

A Lil Enchanted,
~LaShan~

Fun and Educational Web Sites!

I found a few web sites that Moms and especially homeschoolers might be interested in... check them out and see if you and your kids might find them fun and useful.


Visit Kid Concotions to find a fun monthly science experiment. At this time you only get one each month but maybe in the future they will give access to past experiments... that is my hope for this site anyways. And it's free to join the club so go ahead and sign up!





Visit Childrens Storybooks Online offers books that your kids can read online. So if you're going on a trip and you have a laptop this is something your kids might enjoy doing to keep them entertained. Each story also has riddles and games. The kids can have fun while they learn!






A to Z Teacher Stuff is a huge source of free teaching materials. You can search based on grade level, subject and theme so you're bound to find something useful for whatever lesson your are working on. This is great for homeschoolers... but also for Moms who just want to find a fun project for your child... or who wants to give their child a lil extra tutoring on any subject.


Have Fun!

~A Lil Enchanted~