Today I am brining you the perfect combination of back to school ice-breakers and games for those first days of school! Back to school is a crazy time and we all want to hit the ground running. There are routines and procedures to teach and we are ready to get to them the second those kids walk in the door. Building community and getting to know

{All photos enlarge when clicked on} This weekend my husband, daughter and I drove upstate to Sterling Forest in Tuxedo, New York to attend the 31st annual New York Renaissance Faire. It was the fist time we attended this humorously stylized version of the 16th century. Walking through the main gate we are greeted by "Dooley Dragon," and we realize we are to suspend all reality and enter a world of humorous fantasy and Medieval entertainment. The day begins with a welcome address at Roselawn Tournament Field by "Queen Elizabeth 1," who is attended by all her Lords and Ladies. Actors and actresses in beautiful costumes are all over the reproduction village of Sterling Shire's 65 acres, and they greet visitors with a courtesy and "Good day ma'Lady" and "Good day ma'Lord" in 16 th century English accent. Many of the outside guests arrive in costume too! In fact, there are multiple costume rental facilities in the park in case you feel out of place and want to put on a bustier and long skirt. I dared my husband to wear tights but he politely declined. We stayed in our street clothes and felt much cooler that way in the August heat, but it was amusing to see the creativity of many of the visitors. The following photos are of the exciting tournament and joust that took place at the Renaissance Faire. It was all quite exciting! Some children were knighted by the Queen before the ceremony for doing good deeds all year long, and it was precious to see how proud and excited they were! There was also a very exciting chess match between Sir Philip De Marque, the Sheriff of Nottingham against Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, on the giant live chess board! As each piece makes a move there is an ensuing conflict battle until one surrenders and the loser is eliminated. Sadly Robin Hood lost this chess match! Poor Maid Marian was devastated. I believe he was to be a rematch later in the day where she was hopefully won back by Robin Hood! A lively Maypole dance was held in the meadow, accompanied by many minstrels playing music. Round and round they danced until..... ...the entire pole of ribbons were braided to the end! Huzzah! We were told "huzzah" was the proper way to express congratulations during the day! There were rides for the children at the Renaissance Faire. There was also entertainment for the adults, from multiple skits performed on multiple stages throughout the park. The highlight was Aristophanes's' bawdy play "Lysistrata," where the female characters do some creative "withholding" to end the Peloponnesian War and secure peace. Glassblowing demonstrations were held throughout the day...... ...and there was multiple fortune telling booths..... ..... games of chance and skill to play..... ...and archery to try. A most unusual treat being sold by cart all throughout the park was pickles! Your choice to purchase a dill or a garlic pickle! Of course there were many other food options to choose from. This man, who I believe was a visitor, was sitting next to me at the group picnic tables. I found it interesting that he had to take off all of his rings, which you see in the pile next to him on the table, in order to eat. There were also many craft shops in the village which offered their wares for purchase as souvenirs. This booth sold shields for young knights, and the young man wearing the cape in the photo was trying to decide which one he liked. This shop had pretty pewter, silver and glass items for sale. Perhaps a goblet would be nice to have in which to drink the honey wine called Mead, which was the popular drink by many at the faire? There were beautiful hand carved items for sale at a wood workers shop. As you can see by the sign in this jewelry booth, "Lady Visa" and "Lord Master" were welcome forms of currency! All in all, we had a raucous good time visiting this replica Medieval village in Sterling Forest, and enjoyed the faire! I do believe Merlin the Magician put a spell on us as we left, so that someday we will have to return when our future grandson is old enough to be possibly knighted by the Queen! Until then, we bid farewell to the New York Renaissance Faire of 2008! If anyone is interested to visit the faire it will be held every Saturday and Sunday and also Labor Day Monday, until September 21, 2008.

Use Post-it Super Sticky Notes to play this awesome and easy math game.

This is the BEST paper tube Koi Fish, and one of several other Lunar New Year Animal inspired art lessons that we offer. This fun DIY craft is an original idea from ART CAMP Studio. It's a great year round project for all ages.

Check out these fun medieval crafts! Learn about the middle ages for kids with these fun crafts. These medieval crafts are great for kids of all ages. Try

Our church hosted a "Kingdom Chronicles" VBS this year so I needed to come up with some simple and inexpensive medieval decorations. Here's what I made... Poster board torches (Yield 10) 3 sheets of each red, orange, and yellow tissue paper 2 sheets of black poster board (you can get 5 cones from each sheet) staples hot glue gun 11" quarter circle made using a measuring tape and pencil like a compass sticky tack or pushpins to hand the torches with Roll your quarter circle into a cone Add one staple at the outside upper corner Take one sheet of each color tissue paper (red, orange, and yellow) Lay them on top of each other and cut into quarters Bunch the centers together and staple Hot glue the stapled tip of the tissue paper to the inside of the poster board cone Toilet paper roll chandelier (Yields 2) 1 sheet of each red, orange, and yellow tissue paper, each cut into 16 rectangles 1 sheet of black poster board 12 toilet paper tubes 4 large cardboard circles (14"-16" diameter) like the ones pictured below staples hot glue gun 1. Glue 2 circles together (for strength) 2. Makes 1/2" cuts around the bottom of every toilet paper tube 3. Open up the slits and hot glue the tubes evenly around the outer edge of your circles 4. Spray paint your chandeliers from top to bottom with black spray paint 5. Make "flame" tufts out of your tissue paper and staple them at the bottom (like the torches above) 6. Stuff tissue paper "flames" into each toilet paper tube 7. Cut poster board into 1" x 6 1/4" strips (you should be able to get at least 90 strips of paper) 8. Make 6 separate paper chains of 13-15 links each (depending on how long you want them) 9. Glue 3 paper chains to each chandelier 10. Connect your three chains together with one final link. 11. Hang your chandeliers using fishing line and ceiling hooks. Dollar store tablecloth banners 2 different color dollar store tablecloths for each banner 16"-20" piece of ribbon to tie each banner fishing line or yarn to tie the two tablecloths together at the top corners duct tape or ceiling hooks to hang the banners from the ceiling The finished product - teaching section up front, craft and coloring station at the back. Display area for our week's verses

You don't have to scare your child to educate them about snake safety. You can teach them about snakes in a calm, playful way. It's easy!

Make some Roman cakes with this easy recipe fpr kids.

If you're looking for a Purim craft, let the kids make Queen Esther puppets! It's a wonderful craft to introduce the kids to her story.

It's time to set sail for a classic crafting adventure with this easy-to-do paper boat… all aboard!

One of my son’s Christmas presents was a the set of How to Train your Dragon books written by Cressida Cowell. I must admit that I when I ordered the set I was not sure if it was going to be…

Spy Party – A Secret Agent Party and 7 missions they will never forget! Tweet Pin It

Need a happy mood booster? This no prep blindfold drawing activity is an opportunity to laugh with our kids in the midst of our crazy-busy days.

Celebrate the dark days with these easy paper luminaries that kids can help make too! Light up the dark afternoons with simple DIY lanterns.

Five engineering challenges for kids – with wooden clothespins, binder clips, and craft sticks! It’s a simple STEM activity that kids of all ages will love. Move over, expensive building sets! These simple materials were a huge hit with my boys. The first time we got them out, Owen (almost 7) spent well over an […]

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Get the world-famous elephant toothpaste formula recipe at Steve Spangler Science. Find instructions for our popular Elephant Toothpaste Experiment here!

This fun chemistry activity for kids is a colourful, bubbly, streaming reaction that reminds me of mini explosions and so I've named it Fireworks in a Jar!

Family movie night is a weekly tradition in our house, and the kids have been counting down the days till we could get our hands on the new SING movie. SING is the perfect movie

It's that time of year again, time to plan your All Saints' Day party! I love celebrating All Saints' Day with my kids! It is one of our favorite ways to live liturgically, and we

Entertain all the ghouls and ghosts in your neighborhood with these hauntingly fun and stunningly easy DIY Halloween crafts, including easy projects for kids of all ages.

Celebrate Purim with kids' face masks to download, print and easily assemble at home. Masks for King Xerxes, Queen Vashti, Haman, Mordecai, and Queen Esther.

It is easy to make a paper plate crown with kids. The cost is right also! We made this particular crown for another contribution to my AWANA Cubbies Series. This Paper Plate Crown relates to the AWANA story about King Josiah, but it would definitely be appropriate for any Bible study about kings. Of course, making...Read More

Morse code, pigpen, phonetic alphabet, tap code, substitution ciphers, American sign language: fun secret spy codes for kids

Go on a crazy camping adventure with this fill-in-the-blanks story! Your student can practice their parts of speech as they fill in the missing words.

These Olympic party games are games you can play with things at home. Great for kids or adults! And perfect for a go for the gold party!

Explore Ginger Garden's 4280 photos on Flickr!

A persuasive writing and speaking activity for kids focused on identifying propaganda while watching TV.

Exploding baggie is an explosive twist on a classic science experiment for kids. Gather a few simple supplies, head outside, and run for cover!

Need some ideas for July Activity Days? This post is packed with fun ideas that are simple for the leaders to prepare and so fun for the girls!

Hilarious Christmas party game ideas to add some fun and festivity to your holiday bash!

Over the holidays my 3 year old turned 4. Yes. A VERY busy time of year for us! I have really had to make a point of acknowledging this kid's birthday where it lands itself in the middle of the BiGGesT holiday of the year (4 days before Christmas). And although it feels hectic and crazy getting it all together, I don't want to ignore his special day. It's not his fault his parents are stupid and didn't plan ahead! This year the little man decided on a PiRAtE PaRrrtY. So we invited our friends...sent them a message in a bottle (found at Oriental Trading). Loved these because they came with the lables and sand. They also came with the invitation, but I decided to make my own...just so they'd match everything else I was doing. I even burned the edges of the paper for the full effect...it was a pain, but worth it. Can I say, there is a ridculous amount of pirate stuff out there to take advantage of. The kid did make it easy on me in that reguard. Decorations were easy to find, and I actually had a lot on hand and didn't need to go out and buy a ton of stuff. I was able to use the fabric banners from our last shindig. I found somewhere online (can't remember exactly where) where they had a table set up as you walked in the door with all sorts of pirate garb to get dressed for the occation...so I copied. Found these printable hats free online...but I can't remember where. I tried to go back and find them, but couldn't. I hate it when I do that. But I loved the girl skullies with the bows! I found the boys bandanas at Oriental Trading and just used polka dot fabric for the girls. I also made a few felt mustaches on sticks. Which, I was surprised, the girls loved just as well as the boys For the table I used a bit of burlap down the middle with shredded brown paper and coins and jewels sprinkled everywhere. The balloons tied to the chairs added a lot to the decor and the kids loved them. I also used regular old mason jars, filled them with shredded paper and stuck two Jolly Roger flags (Oriental Trading) in them. I also found the treasure map place mats and cute little treasure boxes at OT. The boxes had cute pearl candies inside. Borrowed the big PirAte ship from our toy room. I wanted a little back drop for the serving table, so I used a bunch of scrap fabric I had lying around and pinned it to a bulletin board (we had this party at the church...needed the extra room...dang winter birthdays!). I tried to billow it up so that it looked something like sails on our "ship". I strung a little rope and hung my piRate prints from them with clothes pins. I never did get a picture of the serving table all finished but we had the bucket filled with ice and had Squeeze-Its (or Deadman's Punch) to drink. I made the ship cupcakes and found the awesome sails and cupcake wrappers here. I think these were my favorite part of the party! Something about a cute cupcake. I used this yummy recipe for the chocolate frosting. Mmmm. And the favor bags and favors... The bags were just brown gift bags that I tied a little scrap fabric and burlap onto. I also tied a name tag and a wooden pirate cutout that I found at Joanns. Some of the 'TreASuRes' they found along the way. And finally...the paRrrtY. We started with a relay game where the kids lined up at opposite ends of the room. They had to race to 'walk the plank' then 'swab the deck' and push the 'cannon balls' across the deck to their teammate. We had 12 kids ages 2-5 and most of them were able to handle the game...although pushing those ballons did get a little tricky for some of them. Next we had a TreASuRe HuNt. We started with our maps and our favor bags, then set off to find our loot. My birthday guy showing me his map. Our hunt lead us around the church to different rooms where we found all sorts of treasures. I put a 'clue' (picture of each stop on their map) on each door so they would be able to find their way on thier own. Here they are dashing through the halls... The map lead them right back to where they started...at the BiG treasure box filled with pirate beach balls and ring pops. For our last game we had a TreasuRe DiG. We filled up our big tin buckets with sand (100 lbs each...don't ask me how we got them there!) and buried all kinds of jewels, coins, necklaces and rings. Then I gave each kid a card with the number of jewels, etc. they had to find in the buckets and had them dig for their buried treasure... The FavOriTe game by far. The boys loved digging in the sand, and the girls lOved the jewles! The crazy bunch having their cake and ice cream... The Captain of this ship. The Capt'n...and everyone else opening presents. And a little game of PiRate, PirAte, SkuLLy (or duck, duck, goose) 'til the mom's came to pick up thier little mates. All the mateys and their mustaches. ArrG. It was a fun one to put together, and I dare say the kids had a gOod time.

These Christmas Holiday Minute to Win It Games are guaranteed to be a hit at your holiday party. Be prepared for lots of laughs.

20 family game night ideas. A must-try for every family. Most of these games are Minute To Win it games and require no preparation. Fun to play!

Charades is such a fun & interactive game for all ages. These free printable kids charades ideas all have silly animal & action combinations.

Drawing games for kids help them practice drawing skills, get warmed up before tackling a larger project, and are extremely fun (and funny).

Every month we have a dancing day where we play fun games that get the kids moving and grooving. I got the this Dance Game out of an activity book called, Circle Time Activities. It is very simple, but I use it to teach posture, body control, balance, and concentration. Here’s how to play: Have […]

Here are our top board games that are family- and kid-friendly! We've sorted them by age appropriateness, in case you're trying to find a gift.

Check out how you can make a simple popsicle stick catapult with materials you already have at home. It's a fun STEM project that you can do with your kids indoors on a rainy day!

Wonderful summer solstice activities for children - solstice crafts, learn about the sun, host a solstice party.

Dive into the captivating world of balloon rockets. Learn the science, craft your own, and explore other rocket-inspired activities. Perfect for budding scientists!

Here is a tutorial, as well as free printable ballerina templates and snowflake patterns to create whimsical little paper ballerina snowflakes. Hang them in your room, or even on the Christmas tree!

Gather your wizarding crew and enjoy a magical game of bingo with our Harry Potter Character template. Customize the card with an array of beloved Hogwarts characters.

These 15 end of the year activities are sure to kick off summer break in style. The roundup of our favorite games, gifts and activities.