Free Chinese Lunar New Years 2017 Year of the Rooster Coloring Sheet

Lunar New Years 

Print out your 2017 Chinese Lunar New Years Coloring Sheet. Add as much RED as possible, since that is the LUCKY color during this holiday.

This year is the Year of the Rooster. How will you be celebrating? There will be Lion Dances, Parades, Fireworks, and lots of cultural activities.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè | That's how you say Happy New Year in Chinese - Mandarin 

Wishing you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Celebrating Happy New Year Count Down! Free Printables

New York City's New Year's Eve Celebration is on the bucket list of many. Print out the Time Square Ball on Card Stock. Slice the 2 dotted lines. Cut out the countdown strips on the printable below and slide the strip through as you count down HOURS or MINUTES or SECONDS.

Wishing you all a Happy & Healthy New Year!

The Heavyweights: Nintendo 3DS XL vs. Nintendo New 3DS 2016

We have enjoyed our Nintendo 3DS XL, 

Yoshi edition as our portable gaming device. 

It might lack the Amibo NFC Reader, but the screen size, 

the battery life, and convenience of

the Nintendo 3DS XL is bar-none.

This 2016 Black Friday all the major retailers were offering

Limited Edition Black or White Mario Edition 

Nintendo New 3DS for $99.99.

How do the 2 compare?

Here's my 3DS XL and the Black Mario Edition

New Nintendo 3DS offered for Black Friday 2016.  

Nintendo 3DS XL (not the new 3DS XL)

4.88 inch autostereoscopic 3D display 

and a 4.18 inch touch screen

Dimension 156 x 93 x 22mm weighing 336g

1,400mAh lithium-ion battery

Nintendo New 3DS

New Cover Plates

3.88 inch autostereoscopic 3D display 

and a 3.33 inch touch screen

Dimension 142 x 80.6 x 21.6mm weighing 253g 

1,700mAh lithium-ion battery

NO CHARGER

Built In Amibo NFC Support

C Stick For Enhanced Control

Improved Processing Power than 3DS

Some Detailed Reviews on 3DS XL new and old, 

and new 3DS:

expertreviews new 3ds vs new 3ds xl whats the difference

via IGN's Review New 3DS XL vs. 3DS XL vs. 2DS Comparison_Chart

Comparing the two, the smaller New 3DS really looks sharp, 

the size is compact, and the screen quality are sharper 

and an obvious difference to the 3DS XL. You can feel how much faster the processor is on the New 3DS. The upgrade makes the portable gaming experience 
feel smoother and faster.

Kids and people with small hands will appreciate

 the compact size. The removable face plates are 

cool to customize. The best part is if you can locate one, the Black Friday price of $99.99 is a great entry point for a sleeker portable gaming.

9 + DIY Best Lego Minecraft Birthday Party - Free Printables

Minecraft and LEGO has been the kids passion at our home. 

Starting this year, we have a SPECIFIC Birthday Theme request from our kids and it starts with:

LEGO Minecraft

There are tons of Minecraft ideas on Pinterest as well as LEGO ideas, but for a LEGO Minecraft itself, the choices are dearth.

Party Invitation

For our invite, we were inspired by Delia Creates Lego Party Delia Creates Lego Party.  You can download a blank invitation and add your customized type. It prints out 4 x 6.

LEGO Banners

We had made Name Signs at Pottery Barn Kids a few years ago. You can make your own as a 3D sign for the party or photograph each letters and print them out, see below.

Minecraft Signs

Minecraft has wooden signs that you can customize. I saw some signs that were printed and wanted to customize my own so I created these below. I also added a blank one you can customize yourself. Print out 8 1/2" x 11" signs.

TNT Mentos Diet Soda Explosion

One of our fun scientific experiments was Mentos and Diet Soda. We saw lots of parties utilizing this and wanted to incorporate it into our party. It takes 2 of these print outs to wrap a 2 Liter Soda, so print 2 copies on 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

Don't Eat Steve!

I fell in love with Delia Creates Don't Eat Pete print out. Inspired by her beautiful LEGO version, I created Don't Eat Steve LEGO Minecraft.

You will need to print out the board below on an 8 1/2" x 11" paper. 

To play you place candies like smarties, gummy bears, fruit snacks, etc. Choose 1 person to be IT. Have them leave the room, and the rest of the players get to decide which image is PETE/STEVE. The person who is IT is asked to return and picks and choose each candy until he/she chooses the candy that was designated PETE/STEVE. The person who's IT has to stop eating. The game resets and a new person gets to be IT. 

Minecraft Fortune Teller - Happy Birthday!

I also fell in love with Julianandco.com Minecraft Fortune Teller Valentines print out. Inspired by her beautiful Minecraft version, I created LEGO Minecraft Birthday Fortune Teller-complete with 3 more languages wishing your special someone a Happy Birthday. The Chinese character is pronounced - Shēng rì kuài lè.

You will need to print out the fortune teller below on an 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Cut it out and go to Julianandco link above to fold the fortune teller.

I hope this gets you jump started in Party Planning! Good Luck and Happy Planning!

FOR PERSONAL PRINTS ONLY

FREE PRINTABLES

Save The Images By Right Clicking

8 1/2" x 11"

4" x 6"

Skylanders SuperChargers for Apple iOS Requirement

 

 

What do I need to get started playing Skylanders SuperChargers for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch?

To experience the full Skylanders SuperChargers experience, all you need is the Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The Starter Pack contains:

• Skylanders SuperChargers Video Game
• Wireless Portal and Wireless Gameplay Controller
• 2 Skylanders SuperChargers – Spitfire and Super Shot Stealth Elf
• 1 Skylanders Vehicle – Hot Streak
• Collection Poster featuring the complete set of Skylanders Superchargers and their vehicles
• Compatible with: Apple TV 4th Generation, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5/5C, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPod touch 6, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2. Minimum storage required:3G

amazon

How to Buy Skateboards for Kids

View image | gettyimages.com

Kids love skateboards, but before choosing their first skateboard, take some advice from the local skateboard shop. The first rule? Avoid skateboards from Walmart, ToysRUs, Target, those skateboards, like bikes are toys and not proper gear - so no favorite characters. You can stick stickers on the skateboard if that is any consolation. The second rule was to make sure to avoid water with your board. The last rule we were imparted was to take and make sure to hold onto our skateboard. If you aren't watchful, it's easily stolen.

The easiest thing you can do, when looking for the first skateboard is to look for skateboards that are complete, which means that it comes with a 1. Deck Board 2. 2 x Trucks 3. 8 x Bearings 4. 4 Wheels 5. Hardware 6. Risers (which help pad absorb and protect the deck from the trucks) 7. Grip Tape. Skateboards sold as Completes basically means that the skateboard is sold with all the parts and depending on the shop can be ready to go and assembled, or just shipped with components for you to assemble yourself.

Most parents purchase gear, not sure if their kids will like skateboarding, so keeping it simple with a budget is a good game plan. The first part about buying a skateboard is the Deck size. You can get a mini Deck which can start at 7.0. If you can check out your local skate shop, you can have your kid step on the board to see if that works for them. From our experience, the 7.0 looked too small for our kid who wears about size 13 shoes and is about 3'10", so in our case, we were looking for a 7.37 to 7.50 Skateboard Deck. Some kids can ride larger decks, but have them test them out on a practice run, if the shop will let you.

You can also build a skateboard, but that means researching for a decent brand of skateboard decks, purchasing 2 x Trucks, 8 x bearings, 4 wheels, 1" Hardware that takes Allen or Phillips tool, a Grip Tape, and you can further add 2 x Risers.

Next, you have to think about Protection for your kids, that means Helmet, as well as Knee + Elbow Pads + Wrist Guards. One good quality brand for all that is Pro-Tec. 187 Killer Pads are also well endorsed by Pro Skateboarders. If you stop in at the local skateboard shop, take a look at what they sell, and that will give you an idea of what you want to buy. Both Pro-Tec as well as 187 Killer Pads come with a Youth or Junior pack that fits young children.

We purchased our complete skateboard at tgmskateboards.com + they got our skateboard to our kids in time for skateboarding camp. We had asked if they can assemble the board for us, which they did.  Woo-Hoo! We also got a bunch of stickers from them. Overall, we are pleased with TGM Skateboards, and will go back to them again for our future purchases.

We liked the graphics from World Industries, and went ahead with this board as our choice. Our earlier picks were not available. When we got our board, it was a solid skateboard and our kids were happy with the skateboard. 

world industries complete character stripe 7.5

The rest of the gear, helmet, pads were from the local skate shop. We got really good service and the employees were very nice, answering all of our questions.

So if your kid is interested in Skateboarding or if you want to start your kid with good gear so that he can properly learn how to skateboard, give them a solid skateboard, and let them show you what they can do.

Watch your 6!

Summer Camp Planning | What's in your Summer Camp BAG?

View image | gettyimages.com

We are just finishing up our summer camps and I must say, prepping for camp is exciting, and we get to do it all over again for fall, this school year.

Do you have morning drop offs? How do you get them in their day clothes, pack their gear, feed them breakfast, slather them with sun block, and get them to camp on time?

So what's your plan of approach? At our house, we pack the kids clothes the night before. Some camps have kids wear clothes for special theme days, so check their calendar.

If your kids go to camp with a backpack or bag, please empty them when they get home. You do not want a wet swimsuit, nor find anything smelly to forget about.

If your kids are going to sports camp, please take out their gear, clothes, socks, and such and spray Lysol so their gear doesn't breed bacteria. For my kids, I've been spraying with this Natural Spray made with 1/2 cup of witch hazel + 7 drops Peppermint + 7 drops Tea Tree Oil

Keep a checklist and go through the list as you prepare for the morning crazy rush.

In the afternoon, make sure you have ice cold drinks, snacks, and such when you pick them up.

Optional Items: Aloe, Sunglasses, Lip Balm, + First Aid are great to bring along.

One of the mother's blogging mentioned that she packs BodyArmor drinks that she gets from Target that she packs for her kids.

Body Armor She finds Gatorade to be too sugary, and BodyArmor drinks for me, taste like Honest Drinks version of a sports drink without all that sugar.

For snacks, grapes that are kept cold, bananas that are also kept cold, or crackers, are great items to pack for your kids.

Have a Happy + Safe Summer!