Have you tried the Explore Sandbox?:)

Thinking about what activities to do with the kids is not that easy.  To be honest, when we are at home, I'm tempted to just let the kids hang out in the playroom and do whatever they want.  However, I am always on the lookout for learning opportunities for the kids, especially Ben, which is why I'm so happy to find about Explore Sandbox.  Explore Sandbox is a box of arts and crafts activities that you can do with your kids.  You can purchase a box or subscribe to receiving them monthly.  

For the month of May, the theme is "keeping cool" so the activities involve ice, ice cream, and sunvisors :) Next month, the theme for the activities will be about the weather.  The instructions that come with the materials are easy to understand, with some teaching notes along with them.  They really make learning both simple and fun :) Seeing how interested Ben is with the activities in the first box makes me look forward to the future boxes even more.  As a plus, he is also excited to do the activities with Bry - another bonding activity for them, yehey!

For more information on the Explore Sandbox, go to their website   http://www.exploresandbox.com or contact   +63 917 534 6955.  It's a great gift idea, too.

PS.  I am also impressed that they asked for the kids names so they can have the box personalized.  

Arts and Crafts over the Christmas Break PLUS Ben's Birthday Giveaway!

During Ben's recent parent teacher conference, we (Ben's teachers and I) agreed that it would be a good idea to expose him to some arts and crafts activities during the break.  Thankfully, we had some opportunities to do that over the holidays.  Kudos to daddy Bry for being open to trying out some new activities with Ben.  To be perfectly honest, we're not really the artistic types but I am glad that we were able to encourage Ben to try out new experiences.  After all, arts and crafts (and cooking) with kids is not much about the end product but more for the stimulation of their senses.  Here are some snapshots:

working hard on his play-doh

arts and crafts santa at Little Gym

The finish product, smile!

Thanks Auntie Elyse for the DIY Gingerbread House Kit, here's daddy and Ben mixing the icing

Mama and Ben decorating the house panels

Tada! The finished product, hahaha! It is the effort that counts, right? Thanks to Ama, Angkong, A-tsiak and Diko for
helping out and not minding the mess we made! Thanks also to Tai-kong for letting us bring it to his house.

Now on to the fun part! It's time for another giveaway again!!!! Nothing fancy :) Just something simple to honor Ben's love for Play-Doh.  After all, it is his birthday month.  Can't believe he is turning 3 soon!  Anyway, we love Play-Doh because it's very easy to mold and doesn't dry up quickly.  It's easy to clean, too!  So for this month, we'll be giving away Play-Doh clays to a lucky reader.  Simply follow the steps below :

1. Leave a comment "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!" either on this blog entry or Facebook link

2. Share who will you play your Play-Doh with just in case you are the lucky winner

3. Leave your full name and email address so we can contact you properly

4.  Entries will be accepted until Feb 14, 2013 (since I am a romantic!, haha)

Good Luck!