Grandpa Richard's Kids

Fall is a great time to enjoy family activities that you may not have had the opportunity to enjoy during the summer because of the oppressive heat. Now would be a great time to plan a trip to enjoy the great outdoors. Camping, hiking, backpacking, and geocaching are just a few of the activities that would be more enjoyable during the crispness of autumn.

While it’s true that you can go camping during the summer, unless you are able to travel to the mountains where it’s always cooler, it may have been too hot to enjoy the trip. One of the benefits to camping in the fall over the summer is that bugs are less likely to be a problem. You’re also less likely to come across snakes as they will be searching for dens in which to hibernate this winter. Read the rest…

As I write this post there are only 30 days until Halloween. Now, all it takes is a “Boo” and a giggle, and Halloween sky rockets to the top in a list of favourite holidays. The costumes, the spooky fun, the crafts, games, and of course the treats make this holiday perfect for throwing a party. Best of all, with a little imagination your party can be as spooky or tame as you want it to be and everyone will be guaranteed a good time.

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Autumn has officially begun. On some days here in southern Ontario you can already feel the crispness in the air. Cooler weather causes the leaves to change throughout the country. It also encourages people to plan trips to enjoy nature’s beauty. I know that most children enjoy seeing all the colours change, and for younger children, it encourages questions.

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This one is an idea for a scavenger hunt for a group of hi-tech kids.

Needed:

• up to 12 players (assuming the following hardware setup)
• 4 teams of 2 or 3 each
• a internet enabled computer for each team (4 port hubs are cheap and you could get friends to loan you laptops or easy to move desktops)
• list of research questions

Read the rest…

Scavenger hunts are a lot of fun, and there are many variations on the idea. The key to a successful scavenger hunt is to think about who the players will be and make clues and items that will appeal to them. After you decide what type of scavenger hunt you will be having, you need to spend some time coming up with a list of items to collect, or activities to complete.

Here are some fun ideas: Read the rest…

I have not heard too many adults talk about these lately. We used to have them regularly when I was young. In fact, my parents even did them at their parties. One time, a team brought back a real stop sign and a Canadian flag from a Canadian Tire store! My dad was a bit concerned about that.

In case you do not know what a scavenger hunt is, here are the basics. Read the rest…

This article by Steve Dolan is “bang on”. Whenever I take my grand-daughter Jasmine someplace that has face painting, she always runs over to get in the line-up.

Enjoy.

What is more fun for kids than face painting? If you are planning to entertain a large number of kids for a birthday party, corporate event, or church social face painting can be an easy way to keep a large number of kids content and happy (by no means an easy accomplishment!). Before shelling out your lifes savings to get a clown to come and paint the kids faces, why don’t you try your hand at face painting? Learning to paint kids faces is not as hard as you think. Indeed, with a bit of practice and some patience, you can become quite skilled at creating fantastic images that the kids at your party will love.

Picking a Great Design Read the rest…

The best of both worlds. An educational toy.

The best one that we ever bought for our son Tim was Marble Works. My wife bought it from a company that operated similarly to Avon. That toy kept Tim happy for hours and hours and except for some broken and lost pieces we still have it in the family today, about 15 years later. Mind you it is for older toddlers, closer to school age, or for ones who have a “building/construction” gene in their body.

Marble Works came with variously shaped pieces that connected together and provided a pathway for a marble to roll down. Each piece made the marble do different actions. The fun was the countless variations that the child could construct and then watch as a marble navigated through the structure.

Today’s guest author is Amy Nutt and she writes about what she thinks makes a great educational toy.

Every parent wants to give their child a head start when it comes to their early development, and there are many educational toys available that can stimulate your child to grow and develop in fun and playful ways. It’s been scientifically proven that young minds need stimulation to develop thought and reflex patterns and good hand/eye co-ordination. The toys available must also entertain your child if you want basic learning skills to develop. The child won’t even realize that lessons are being taught, because it’s so much fun! Read the rest…

Now here is a toy I loved when I was a kid. It started with the standard pedal cars, and I eventually graduated to a derby car. I was never in one, but I understand that Scout Pinewood Derby racing is quite popular now. Check with your local Boy Scouts organization if there is one near you. Let’s go to the guest article by Adrian Adams.

Children love to play outside. In this day and age of technology, television, and computers, it is more important than ever to encourage your kids to play outside. One way to do so is to get them pedal cars. Pedal cars are toys that not only give children a large dose of healthy exercise, but also make it fun to play outside. Most kids are interested in doing activities that make them feel like adults, and if they have a realistic looking pedal car to play with, you can expect them to spend hours wheeling around outside. Read the rest…

It is that time of year again. Soon, your children will either graduate from elementary school, middle school, high school, or college. What a proud and exciting time this will be. Unlike the old days when tons of pictures were taken to capture every moment, today you can use scrapbooking to chronicle the life of your child up to, and including, graduation. Here are scrapbooking ideas for graduation memories to last a lifetime. Read the rest…