I am a substitute teacher.
I am an assistant in a gifted class one day a week.
I have 3 children.
I will be home for the entire summer with said 3 children.
These are the reasons I love Instructor magazine from Scholastic.
I just ordered it for $8 (1 year subscription).
It has tons and tons of learning activities, like . . .
Math games,
Gross, slimy science,
Flash card games,
Activities for writing poetry,
and on and on and on.

You can get some of the articles on their website, or you can order it here.

Oh, yeah, and they are going to have a Summer Reading Challenge where kids read from a book list, play games and earn points.

Go Boo Your Neighbors

We have "Boo'd" our neighbors for a few years now, and this year my neighbor Boo'd me first. She made a cute little witch's broom out of lunch sacks and a stick. This is a replica, because my kids tore up the one we received before I even got to see it. It was very easy to copy, so this is also what we made for our other neighbors.

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, you make a little package of candy and a sign that says "Boo" on it. Then you print out a different sheet explaining that the recipient has been Boo'd, and that they need to put the Boo sign on their door, and in turn, Boo 2 more people. It is so much fun to load the kids up in the car and attempt to secretly leave a package on a doorstep. We ring the doorbell and run. I'm sure every single person we have Boo'd has seen us, but it is fun anyway. It's really cool to see Boo signs start to show up on different houses in the neighborhood.

Click on this link to get a Boo sign and instruction sheet if you want to have a little fun. Also, here is a little website that explains in more detail what this is. If you want to get fancy, check out Skip to My Lou. She even has a cute poem to download. It is worth looking through her entire blog, because she has great Halloween Decorations, and clever ideas like this one

We Love This Game

We love to play games with our kids. It is a fun way to spend time with them without losing our minds playing Barbie or Hotwheels. Ruckus is one of our favs. This game is fast, and can be played by a pretty wide range of ages. My youngest child is 5, and my oldest is 11, and all 3 kids (and both adults) have a great time playing. Ruckus would be a great game to add to your game room, take on vacation, or give as a gift.

Each person gets 7 cards (the cards all have pictures on them). If you get a match or more than one of the same picture, you put a pile down. Then play starts and anyone can steal another person's pile as long as they have a card with the same picture as that of the pile. If play slows down and no one can steal, the dealer gives each player another card and things pick up again. When a person has 1 card left, they throw it down (or steal a pile) and say "out." You get points for the cards in your piles and deduct points for what is left in your hand. Play continues until you reach a certain amount of points, like 50. It is fast and crazy, and a lot of fun. You can get it here.

What games do you love to play?