Thank you for a great party!

I had so much fun last week hosting my Birthday Party Bash! I hope you did too.  I’m enjoying reading all the responses to the giveaways.  I asked if you had any birthday traditions in your family. Here are a couple of responses that I thought were great ideas (check out the I Spy giveaway comments for more fun ideas):

Crickett said...

One birthday tradition we have is the birthday person gets to have the birthday pillowcase the night before and the night of their birthday. We have a boy themed birthday pillowcase and a girl themed one. :-D

Val said...

My girls always got to go out with their dad and one special friend for a "grown-up" lunch at a fancy restaurant-they still remember those special days alone with their dad. . . and the carnation dyed 'their' color that was presented at the table :)

hellocupcake said...

We wake one the birthday person up by singing to them and jumping on their bed.

Jenette said...

A special family tradition that my family has is celebrating our half birthdays. We call it our "happy day" and do things that make that person happy.

The Wille's said...

I just started a new birthday tradition in our family! As we count down the days to my sons birthday I have a countdown with little pieces of paper that tell him things I like about him such as talents or things he does that I appreciate! He is turning 3 so they are really simple but I hope to continue the tradition and they will get more elaborate with time:)

Don’t forget to check out all the giveaways and printables that were shared this week! The giveaways are open until this Friday, April 15th. I’ll have the winners announced on Monday.

Preschool Birthday Party

What a blessing it was to just be able to print, cut, and laminate birthday party printables to use with my preschool co-op class and at home with my little girls this week!

The kids worked on a balloon size sequence activity which I downloaded from Homeschool Creations’ Birthday Party Pack. There’s another balloon size sequence in the pack by Musings of Me.

Here’s my daughter working intently on taking off the back of a shape sticker to put on her birthday party hat craft.

Then we added candles to the cupcake in this counting birthday activity by Musings of Me.

We used smooth pebbles on this printable by Musings of Me. You could use Do-a-Dot markers or circle magnets too.

We used clothespins with these beginning sound cards from Homeschool Creation’s Pack, but you could laminate and use a dry-erase crayon or marker instead.

We will be using this printable from the Notebooking Fairy on Monday. It is a great page to use to gather information and present information on a famous person in history.

 

The printable pack from 2 Teaching Mommies has this cute cupcake color book.

And the birthday pack from 1+1+1=1 had this color-by-number printable that my 4yr. old enjoyed doing.

We used this file-folder game from Crafty Classroom to review what primary and secondary colors were.

We’ll be using this game from Mama Jenn on Monday to work with basic math facts. 

You can find all the links to these Birthday Party Printables and more on my party central page. Thank you to all the printable party favor creators! You made my birthday party so much fun :)

 

I Spy Another Giveaway!

I Spy is one game that I have used while teaching at school and with my own kids. It’s a great transitional activity game, or a way to get a class to regain some focus. I’ve also made I Spy bottles and read many I Spy books with kids over the years. They  never tire of playing this game!

Awhile I go, I purchased an I Spy bean bag for my little girls. I wanted a quiet activity that I could have them do in the car or take with on outings (dr. appointments, older kids’ activities etc.).  They enjoyed moving the pellets around in the bag to try to expose the various treasures. Little did they know that they were working their finger muscles too!
Well Jaime from Baby Love Blankies has graciously agreed to give one of you your own 5”x5” I Spy Bean Bag from her store! These Itsy Bitsy I Spy Bags are approx 5"X5" and are filled with over 20 fun treasures for your child to find. They are created out of Snuggly Flannel fabric, because it shows less signs of wear and tear. The bags are filled with non-toxic poly pellets  so your child will have to shift their way through the pellets to reveal the hidden treasures. This toy is not only educational but fun too and helps with fine motor coordination.


**CLOSED**
Giveaway Rules:
This giveaway is for one 5”x5” I Spy Bean bag from Baby Love Blankies (You get to pick from the many options in her store!)
Giveaway Ends Friday, April 15th
Leave one comment below per entry. Please make sure there is a way I can contact you. Winners will be picked via Random.org. and will be notified by Spell Outloud. Winners have 3 days to get back to me before another winner is chosen.
1. Mandatory: Does your family have any special birthday traditions?
Extra Entries:
1 extra entry: Follow Spell Outloud via Google, Networked BLogs, RSS etc.
1 extra entry follow Baby Love Blankies on Facebook

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Road Trip USA Curriculum Giveaway

Once again, Erica from Confessions of a Homeschooler has created another fantastic geography resource. This time kids travel across the USA and learn about the 50 states.

Within this curriculum you’ll discover the sights and sounds of all 50 states, including state symbols, U.S. Presidents, famous people, landmarks, historical events, and much more!

This printable curriculum is over 363 pages long!  There is a student text and a teacher’s manual. The curriculum is designed to cover 2 states per week and do several review lessons along the way. It is designed primarily for elementary level K-4th grade students.

I’ll be using this unit specifically with my 9yr. old but I think I’ll have all the kids join in on their level.

You can check out a sample page and read even more about this curriculum on Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I’ll be doing a review, so I don’t want to say too much yet—lol!

If you don’t want to wait, you can snag your own copy of this curriculum for $18.00.

***CLOSED***
Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is for one digital download of the Road Trip USA curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Leave one comment below per entry. Please make sure there is a way I can contact you. Winners will be picked via Random.org. and will be notified by Spell Outloud. Winners have 3 days to get back to me before another winner is chosen.

Giveaway Ends April 15th

Mandatory: If you could visit any of the 50 states, which one would it be and why.

Extra Entries:

1 extra entry if you subscribe/follow Confessions of a Homeschooler
1 extra entry if you know the capitol of Vermont.

Preschool Party Hat Craft

We had so much fun during our preschol birthday party. After playing with the birthday sensory bin, we made a party hat craft.

Supplies:

Glitter Craft Foam cut in large triangles
Craft Foam self-adhesive stickers
Education Cube

The great thing about Education Cubes is that you can customize them. I printed out the blank inserts  and then placed the foam stickers on the insert. My goal was to work on shape recognition and size discrimination. So we had two cubes with inserts that contained two sizes for each shape.

Each student was given a small handful of the shape stickers. One student would roll the cube (we had two but only rolled one at a time), and whatever shape was on the top, that was the shape the student had to place on their hat.

They were so proud of their party-hat creations!  The kids enjoyed playing this game and having a project to take home at the end.

Speaking of Education Cubes, Jenn created a custom insert just for my party! This is available only to Education Cube members. It’s only $12 to join—no yearly fee! I’m also doing a giveaway for 2 memberships, so be sure to enter. :)

And have you been keeping up with all the free printable party-favors and discount codes? Check out my Birthday Bash Party Central page for all the links and information.

Education Cubes Membership Giveaway

 My friend Jenn, came up with the concept of inserting learning printables into baby photo blocks to use as teaching tools in her homeschool. It worked so well and had so many possibilities that she opened up a new site called Education Cubes.

By joining the Education Cubes Members Only Site, you will have access to over 100 sets of insert cards for your Education Cubes, which means that the learning possibilities are endless!~ Education Cubes

 We’ve used Education Cubes for many hands-on learning games. This is our Feed the Cat game. Print out and assemble the cat (download under the Letter C). Roll the Education cube. Whatever number is on top, that is how many cupcakes you must feed the cat. This was one activity that we did during our Letter Cc week. I’ve shared a few more ways we’ve used these photo blocks in our homeschool (just click the link.)

 Education Cubes has printable inserts for all age levels and subject areas. You can also get many different ideas how to use these in your homeschool, preschool, or classroom by subscribing to the Education Cubes blog.

A membership to Education Cubes is only $12—which is a one-time fee! That’s a real deal for unlimited printables!  For my Birthday Bash, Jenn  said I can give away 2 memberships to Education Cubes!

Giveaway Rules:
 
This giveaway is for a membership to Education Cubes. (The blocks are not included)***Even if you are a member, you can still enter and Jenn will refund your membership fee**

Leave one comment below per entry. Please make sure there is a way I can contact you. Winners will be picked via Random.org. and will be notified by Spell Outloud. Winners have 3 days to get back to me before another winner is chosen.
***CLOSED***
Giveaway Ends Friday, April 15th

Mandatory: Do you use printables in your homeschool/classroom? What type do you like best? (i.e. notebooking, lapbooking, puzzles, worksheets, coloring etc.)

Extra Entries:
1 extra entry: Subscribe to Education Cubes Blog
1 extra entry: Tweet about the giveaway:  Education Cubes Membership Giveaway @SpellOutloud  http://bit.ly/dL6qFD 


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Party Favor! A Cupcake for Baby

Can you guess what Lil Pumpkin got in the mail?

Yep, a wooden teether from Little Sapling Toys! I asked in a previous Baby Play post for recommendations, and several of you mentioned Little Sapling Toys. I had been looking at their site, so once I received several more endorsements, I went ahead and ordered her one--- a cupcake to help celebrate my blog birthday!

 
She had no problem figuring out how to use this toy.

I’m so pleased with the quality of this teether. It is very smooth and easy for her to grasp.

We've handcrafted these teethers with Hard Rock Maple, a non-splintering wood. It is naturally anti-bacterial, non-allergenic, and non-toxic. All of our Little Teething Toys are sanded satin smooth with no exterior finish.

To help celebrate with me, Little Sapling Toys is giving out a party favor:

Use the coupon code: SPELL10 for 10% off any purchase in Little Sapling Toys Etsy store. Valid from April 4th- April 25th.

A “Sweet” Giveaway!

I love Beki’s shop---The Rusted Chain! I’ve ordered from her many, many times because her necklaces make such beautiful gifts! Someday I’ll splurge and get one for myself :)

To help celebrate Spell Outloud’s birthday, Beki is going to give one of you this “Life is Sweet” necklace! This is my oldest daughter’s favorite necklace. She wears it all the time.

This necklace is on my wish-list. Right now for every “Blessed” necklace that is sold, Beki will donate $10 to World Vision to help Japan. How cool is that?

And because Beki wants everyone to be a winner, she is also sharing a party favor!

Coupon Code to  The Rusted Chain:

Use SPELL15 for 15% off

 

***CLOSED***Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is for one “Life is Sweet” necklace from The Rusted Chain.

Leave one comment below per entry. Please make sure there is a way I can contact you. Winners will be picked via Random.org. and will be notified by Spell Outloud. Winners have 3 days to get back to me before another winner is chosen.

Giveaway ends on Friday, April 15th.

Mandatory: What is your favorite sweet treat? (Feel free to share a link to a recipe.)

Extra Entries:

1. Follow Spell Outloud on Facebook

2. Follow The Rusted Chain's Blog

3. Follow Spell Outloud on Twitter

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