45+ Fun Activities For Over The Winter Break

Hello,

Are your kids as excited as mine are for the Winter Break from School just around the corner?

How will you keep your children happy and busy?

I put together 45+ School Break Boredom Buster Ideas & Activities. Many are low-cost and most are FREE! (For my local friends, I have included a list of local businesses at the end.)

These activities can be done in a play group setting, just as a family or with friends.

A GRATEFUL HEART ~ Send Homemade Thinking of you, Thank you or Just Because cards to friends & family.

ACTIVITY of Choice ~ Visit Pinterest and let your child pick out an activity or craft idea. Visit my Pinterest Boards.

BAKING ~ Bake and deliver treats to friends & family.

BILLIARDS ~ Go shoot some pool.

BOWLING ~ You know you love wearing those super stylish bowling shoes!

BOUNCE HOUSE ~ Let the kids burn some energy at an indoor bounce house.

CARNIVAL ~ Make an indoor carnival with games, prizes, and snacks.

CHARADES ~ Play charades or put on a comedy/talent show.

CHARITY/DONATE ~ With your children have them go through their toys, books, and games and pick out item’s to donate to a local charity.

CHUCK E CHEESE ~ Never gets old (including the germs in those places so lots of hand washing required with this one.)

COMIC BOOK ~ Create a fun comic book.

COOKING ~

• Teach your kids how to make a simple meal
• Make a meal/soup for a friend and deliver to them. Let the kids take the meal up to the door, they’ll love surprising someone with dinner.

CRAFT TIME ~ Get all the craft supplies out, gather little odds and ends from around the house (look in the junk drawer), empty tissue boxes, & paper rolls, soup cans, etc. and let them create!

ELECTRONICS ~ Give them some time to play their video games and/or computer screen time.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ~ Review & practice emergency drills and check your emergency supplies and bags.

FAMILY Videos ~ Watch old family videos together (kids LOVE watching themselves on the TV)

FAMILY WORSHIP NIGHT ~ Invite friends over for family worship. Bible character/events charades, Bible story reenactments,Bible-themedd craft, etc. (Ideas here: Family Worship Idea’s

FLOOR TIME ~ Play Legos and or Barbies with your kids!

FORT – Build a fort using blankets & furniture cushions.

GAME DAY ~ Get out the Board Games & Cards and set up game stations. Serve snacks & have fun!

JIGSAW PUZZLE ~ Work on putting a puzzle together individually & as a family.

ICE SKATING – Indoor or Outdoor Ice Skating

INDOOR GARDEN ~ Plant some fast growing seeds or bulbs.

LIBRARY – FREE! Check out some books, movies, video games and music.

MAKE A MESS ~ Make slime, flubber or dough.

MATH FACTS ~ Practice math facts using games.

MOVIE NIGHT-IN ~ Popcorn, treats, comfy pj’s and a good family movie.

MUSEUM ~ Visit local museums

MUSIC TIME ~ Turn up the music and dance!!

PAINT ~ Get the paints and canvas out or visit a local painting studio.

PAPER AIRPLANES ~ Make a variety of paper airplanes and race them.

PARKS ~ Check out one of the many Beautiful Community and Metro Parks.

PETTING FARM ~ Visit your local petting farm.

PICTURE TIME ~ Give them their own camera and let them take pictures of themselves, things around the house, or even outside. I’m always fascinated at seeing photo’s from their perspective.

POTTERY ~ Visit your local pottery studio. (Invite friends)

READ ~ Pick out a new or old favorite book to read. (Craft idea: Make bookmarks)

ROLLER SKATING ~ One of my favorites 😉

SALON ~ Go get a pedicure & manicure with the girls.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS – See Pinterest Board

SHOP/Visit the Mall

SLEDDING ~ If there is snow of course.

SLEEP OVER ~ Let the kids invite some friends for a sleep over. (Movie, Junk Food, No Bedtime, Games, etc)

SPA DAY ~ Face mask, Make-Up Application, Hair & Nails.

SWIMMING ~ Community Indoor Pool

THEATER/MOVIES ~ Ticket prices cheaper during the day.

USE YOUR IMAGINATION ~ Allow your children to use their imaginations to come up with their own idea’s of fun.

VIDEO CAMERA ~ Give the kids your video camera and let them make their own movies. They LOVE this!

WATERPARK ~ Indoor water park will you allow you to pretend it’s summer for a day.

ZOO ~ many zoo’s have winter activities.

Lot’s of idea’s to help make their winter break from school a memorable one. 🙂

LOCAL FRIENDS (Wyandotte, Michigan Area) remember to check the list Below for Local Businesses.

I would love to hear your ideas too! Feel free to comment below.

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Happy Winter School Break Days to you!

~Betty

P.S. Please visit us on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest

Local Businesses ( Downriver Michigan)

INDOOR TRAMPOLINE –

Sky Zone – Taylor

ROLLER SKATING –

SKATELAND – Woodhaven

Lincoln Park Skating Center – Lincoln Park

BOUNCE HOUSE –

Play Atlantis – Melvindale

BOWLING –

Indian Lanes – Wyandotte

Parkway Lanes – Trenton

There are several places to Bowl in the Downriver Area

CHUCK E CHEESE –

Southgate

PAINTING –

Pips Painting Pub – Wyandotte

ICE SKATING –

Yack Arena – Wyandotte

Southgate Arena

Kennedy Recreation Center – Trenton

SHOPPING MALL – 

GREAT LAKES CROSSING has a fun arcade/play area for kids. Aquarium & Rainforest Cafe

THEATER –

MJR Theatre, Southgate

Trenton Village Theater – Trenton

MUSEUMS –

The Henry Ford – Dearborn

Hands On Museum – Ann Arbor

Michigan Science Center – Detroit

Cranbrook Institute of Science – Bloomfield Hills

LIBRARY –

Bacon Memorial Library – Wyandotte

WATERPARK –

Splash Universe – Dundee

POTTERY CLASS –

Pottery Creations – Wyandotte

Clayin’ Around Pottery – Allen Park

PETTING FARM –

Taylor Petting Farm (heated barn!)– Taylor

PARKS –

Bishop Park – Wyandotte

Elizabeth Park – Trenton

Heritage Park – Taylor

and Many Beautiful Metro Parks

LAZER TAG/ARCADE

Zap Zone – Taylor

Teacher Appreciation Mexican Fiesta Luncheon

Hello,

Teacher appreciation week is over. For the final day of Teacher Appreciation week, we invited the teachers and staff to join us for a Mexican Fiesta Lunch in the library. If you want to see what we did earlier in the week visit here and here.

Somehow, there was some miscommunication and the first lunch started 40 minutes earlier than expected. Needless to say, myself and some of the other parents and a staff member scrambled to set up as fast as we could! It certainly wasn’t set up as I had envisioned. There were decorations that didn’t get displayed (Such as giant inflatable cactus) and some food that didn’t get placed in nice serving dishes. We did the best we could in a very short amount of time.

However, the teacher’s loved it!  Some even said it was their favorite week of the year. 😀

Upon entering the library, the teachers were greeted and helped to get in a festive kind of mood by hearing fun fiesta music playing.

This was the main table where our teachers ate their lunch.

We did set the tables with bowls of chips & salsa and wrapped silverware. I forgot to take a picture after it was completely set. It looked pretty cute.

The menu:  Shredded Beef, Shredded Chicken, Mexican Rice, Cheesy Corn, Refried Beans, Festive Fruit Salad, Stuffed Peppers, Taco shells, tortilla’s, chips & pico de gallo,  salsa and a ton of toppings. (4 different cheese, sour cream, spicy sour cream, green and black olives, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, white, red and green onion and guacamole).

This was part of the food table…..

Kills me to see the sour cream in their original containers. And the fresh guacamole in that bowl. BTW, the guacamole went fast!

Chips and Pico de gallo (recipe here) served in giant margarita glasses.

The local Mexican bakery was happy to donate a tray of cookies and one of the parents made these little cakes.

We had two buckets filled with drinks. One with Iced Tea and water and the other with several different kinds of soda.

It turned out to be a great lunch!

My brain is already filling up with some ideas for next year. Shhh… don’t tell my husband.

Happy future teacher appreciation weeks to you!

~Betty

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Also, if by chance you or anyone you know is in the dental field check out my Hayden Consulting blog, it’s filled with dental practice management and marketing ideas. haydenconsulting.wordpress.com

Teacher Appreciation Week – Fruit Baskets, Snack Trays & More

Teacher Appreciation Week 2015 – Day 2

Snacks for the teachers.

I delivered this tray full of snacks and a basket of candy to the teacher’s lounge.

By the next morning. most everything had been devoured. 🙂

Day 3 –

Theme: “We Couldn’t Have Picked Better Teachers!”

Gift:  Fresh fruit and flower pots.

Up close…

And the fresh fruit…

I added little signs to the baskets…

“You’re the APPLE of our eyes”

“ORANGE you glad summer is almost here?

“You’re awesome to the CORE”

“You’re all just PLUM PEAR-fect!”

“We’re BANANAS for you. You’re loved BUNCHES”

Inexpensive and fun!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to you all!

~Betty

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Teacher Appreciation Week 2015 – Superhero Breakfast

Good Morning!

To kick off Teacher Appreciation Week 2015, we started with a Superhero Teacher Breakfast.

Table set and ready to go…

Breakfast Menu:

Sausage & Egg Muffins, Pastries and Muffins, Fruit Salad, Yogurt, Energy Balls and Juice.

Yep, the juice containers wore capes 🙂

Here is a poster we made to welcome our teachers…

Super way to start the week!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to you!

~Betty

Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 – Day 5 Breakfast

Teacher Appreciation Week is over… what a great week for our teacher’s!

We kicked off the week with a Popcorn Bar and mid-week we provided a delicious Chili and Salad Bar Luncheon.

To end the week we treated our teacher’s to  breakfast and a gift.

Good Morning!

A yogurt bar with lots of toppings, including homemade granola…

Even added some bling to the spoons ;)…

Jenna made these cute little loaves of bread…

You’re simply the best juice!..

We gave each of the teachers a gift card (donated from parents). I added the gift cards to these basil plants. I covered aluminum cans with scrapbook paper and embellishments…easy and adorable!

And Nancy put together these sweet Thanks a latte cups…

We truly enjoyed making Teacher Appreciation Week  special for our deserving teachers.

Until next Teacher Appreciation Week!

~Betty

Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 Day 3 Chili and Salad Bar Lunch

We kicked off Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 with a Popcorn Station set up in the Teacher’s lounge.

For Day 3 we provided a delicious Chili & Salad Bar for lunch!

Check it out…

This sign greeted our teachers

I failed to get a picture of the Chili – we had a few different kinds. White Bean Chicken Chili, Vegetarian Chili and a Meaty Chili.  Here are the chili toppings…

And the salad bar…

After our teacher’s reached the end of the salad bar line they were very thankful they weren’t paying by the weight of their plates! Free Salad piled high!

We had dessert and drinks too…

Delicious Banana pudding cups!

Jenna also made these adorable chocolate dipped Oreo “Apples”…

We used those Oreo treats as part of the table centerpieces…

Along with these apples that I added little notes to the scrapbook paper leaves…

So much fun treating our incredible teachers to a special lunch!

To end out this special week, we are providing the teacher’s with breakfast and a gift on Friday.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week Luncheon to you!

~Betty

Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 Day 1 Popcorn Station

Teacher Appreciation Week 2014 – Day 1

Popcorn Station

We made a cute sign to go with our popcorn theme:

We provided a few different popcorn flavors and a plain popcorn that the teachers could season with their choice of several different popcorn seasonings.

And some movie theater size boxed candy and soda.

A “pop”ular start to their special week!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

~Betty

Teacher Appreciation Week -Day 3 Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Day 4 BBQ Theme Lunch

Teacher Appreciation Week Days 3 and 4

I’m combining Days 3 & 4 of Teacher Appreciation Week. To see what we did for the first 2 days click here for Day 1 and here for Day 2.

Day 3: Chocolate Covered Pretzels.

My sister made these yummy chocolate covered pretzels dipped in different delicious toppings, and I added these cute little tags that I found at Michaels.

I put them on a tray in the teachers lunch room. 

For Day #4, which was a Friday we did a BBQ Themed Lunch for all the teachers. For the lunch we set everything up in the school’s library so we would have more room.

I wrapped all the plasticware with these cute BBQ theme napkins:

We covered the tables in the school library:

Menu:

Smoked Pulled Pork:

Three Different Homemade Sauces:

Mac N Cheese – One of the mothers made two crock pots full of Mac N Cheese and it was Delicious!

Coleslaw

Broccoli Salad:

BLT Potato Salad:

Corn and Black Bean Salad:

Greek Pasta Salad:

Watermelon:

Lemonades & Iced Teas – Simply Lemonade has a new flavor: Blueberry Lemonade…simply yummy!

And Jenna, one of the mothers that worked with me on Teacher Appreciation Week made these lovely

Sunflower Cupcakes!!

I used them as centerpieces on the tables because they were just so darn cute!

Jenna also made the incredible Smoked Pulled Pork and the homemade sauces. Talk about YUM!

We gave every teacher a cute little care package that included a toothbrush (donated by a local dentist), lip balm, hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works, Tissues and some gum.

 

It was a good week that ended with a delicious BBQ lunch.

All of the teachers were so grateful for everything we did for them. For us moms, we are so very grateful for our hard working teachers!! It was a pleasure to make Teacher Appreciation Week a Special One for them!!

Happy Teacher Appreciation to you!

~Betty

Free Playgroups for Families in Downriver Michigan!

Beautiful Weather is Finally Here!

It’s so much fun spending time outdoors. My children are having a blast playing outside after school.

Have you thought about how you will keep your little ones busy this summer?

Well, Ashley Doute with the Downriver Guidance Center emailed me some great news for parents and their young children.  FREE Playgroups!!

This is what she said:

“I offer FREE playgroups to any family regardless of income or where you live, and they are offered weekly (mon-fri)  These are adult-child interaction group which means someone 18 or older must be present with the child.  This doesn’t necessarily mean mom or dad.  Grandma could bring them, aunt or uncle, neighbor, friend, babysitter, etc. and the groups last 1 1/2 hrs long. These groups are offered to you through The Guidance Center, a non-profit organization in Downriver Michigan.  

In my playgroups parents can come and have a cup of coffee and exchange parenting tips and engage in learning with their children.  For the children, we do Arts and Crafts, singing and songs, dancing with music and instruments–sometimes we’ll bring out a parachute, beach balls, streamers, or bubbles!  I set out activities to improve their cognitive abilities and improve their fine and gross motor skills.  We play games such as bingo and musical chairs.  We always do a story time and snack at the end.  A lot of people don’t know about these free groups or resources we have to offer here.  It’s an excellent way to increase socialization and cognitive skills.  These groups also help provide structure in a child’s life which becomes beneficial when they enter preschool or kindergarten.   

Additionally, my room is a lending library and children (with the adult) can rent out books, movies, literacy bags (story and activity), and borrow toys as well.  A lot of my parents now love to borrow the literacy bags 🙂  I also have resources and access to free diapers and formula if the parents need it.  It is for emergencies only and I prefer that they be attending playgroup as I have to go get the diapers and formula and bring them to my site.

My group times and days are listed below.  Starting the first week in June, our summer playgroups will also be beginning.  Siblings are more than welcome to tag along.”

Playgroup Schedule:

Monday-11:30-1 PM
Tuesdays & Wednesdays- 9:30-11:00 AM
Thursday-11:30-1 PM
Friday 10:00-11:30 AM

My contact number is 734-785-7705 x7420

Pretty cool, eh? Sounds like she works hard to ensure a great time for your children and some much needed adult interaction too.

 

Happy Playgroup Fun to you!!

 

~Betty

Teacher Appreciation Week – Day 2 Snack and Gift Certificate

Teacher Appreciation Week

Day 2 – Snacks and Gift Certificates 

For day 2, I put together a basket full of wrapped snacks.

Granola Bars, Peanuts, Cereal Bars, Fruit Ropes, Crackers, etc.

We bought a Gift Certificate for each teacher from a local Teacher’s Supply Store.

Simple and Easy but very well received.

For Day 3, my sister is making chocolate dipped pretzels.

Happy Teacher Appreciation to you!

~Betty

If you missed Day 1, we did a Tropical Luau Breakfast. Fun!