Make Thanksgiving Prep a Family Affair

EI Editor Posted On Nov 26, 2019 | Holiday

Thanksgiving is meant to be spent together, with loved ones, but it’s not always easy to include the littlest members of your crew in the complex to-dos of turkey day. Luckily, we’ve scoured the internet for some delicious recipes, easy decorations, and helpful chores your kids can do on their own or you can do as a family to get ready for the Thanksgiving feast! Visit our Pinterest Page, Kid-Friendly Thanksgiving Dishes for dozens of fun ideas and find a few of our favorites here:DecorationsWe LOVE this adorable turkey napkin holder from our friends at Highlights! Start saving your TP tubes now, then gather construction paper, tissue paper, scissors, and glue. Then, create this simple roll-scrunch-and-glue craft as a family a few days before turkey day. Or set the project up at the kids’ table and let the older kids supervise as the younger ones get creative! For other, family-friendly, Thanksgiving craft ideas, visit our Pinterest Page![caption id="attachment_5158" align="alignnone" width="832"]

Photo Credit: Highlights.com[/caption]Our Thanksgiving Pinterest page is packed with delicious dishes your kids can help you make but getting together to make your own butter feels especially festive! (And, given that the rolls ARE the main course for many kids, hand-made butter is even more meaningful.) Making butter is as easy as filling a mason jar with heavy whipping cream, capping it, and shaking until a ball of buttermilk separates from the cream. For complete instructions, visit our friends at Buggy and Buddy![caption id="attachment_5159" align="alignnone" width="483"]

Photo Credit: BuggyandBuddy.com[/caption]DessertsWhat kid doesn’t love baking? Involve yours in the Thanksgiving day fun by making Cocoa Krispies Treat Turkeys, recipe courtesy of HungryHappenings.com! Your kids will love melting, stirring, and shaping simple Rice Krispies rectangles and using orange slice candies, jellybeans, and candy corn to turn them into turkeys. If you prefer Reese's turkeys or Spiced Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting, visit our Pinterest page![caption id="attachment_5160" align="alignnone" width="680"]

Photo Credit: HungryHappenings.com[/caption]Setting the TableThe Emily Post Institute has some super simple tip for setting the table! Per their website, kids should “picture the word FORKS - The order, left to right, is: F for Fork, O for the Plate (the shape!), K for Knives and S for Spoons. (Okay, you have to forget the R, but you get the idea!)” Visit the site for more basic table setting tricks, including an easy way to remember where the bread plate goes, then pass what you’ve learned onto your kids and put them in charge of laying each place setting. P.S. they’ve also summarized the Top 13 Table Manners every kiddo should know, in case anyone needs a quick refresher ????[caption id="attachment_5161" align="alignnone" width="253"]

Photo Credit: EmilyPost.com[/caption]Having Some FunBe sure to leave some time to play on turkey day! Our friends at Sisters Suit Case Blog have created a hysterical Thanksgiving mad lib for kids – print them out and use them as a placemat at the kids’ table. Or perhaps an at-home Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt is more your speed? And don’t forget the Playfoam Pluffle™! Pick up tubes of yellow, orange, and red to stay with the Thanksgiving theme – it’s perfect for keeping fidgety fingers busy while the rest of the family finishes their food.[caption id="attachment_5162" align="alignnone" width="425"]

Photo Credit: Sisters Suit Case Blog[/caption]Check out our Thanksgiving-themed Pinterest page for more easy ways to involve your kids in the Thanksgiving fun! Your friends at Educational Insights are wishing you the very happiest of holidays.

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EI Editor | Posted on Nov 1, 2022

Top 10 Stocking Stuffers and Small Gift Ideas

Finding a stocking filled with small surprises is one of the most exciting parts of the holidays! To help parents make the most of these tiny treasures, Experts at Play at Educational Insights are here with 10 small gift ideas guaranteed to bring big smiles, spark lasting joy, and keep kids’ interest well into the new year.

Playfoam Pals Holiday Ornaments – Give the gift of holiday spirit with this 2-in-1 craft set! Kids decorate the ornaments with the included stickers and hang them on the tree, then sculpt the Playfoam inside into the perfect pretend play props for the Snowy Pals figurine hidden in the Playfoam! When they’re done, squish the Playfoam flat and begin again—Playfoam never dries out, so the fun never ends!

Playfoam Build-a-Snowman – Kids can squish and squash these packs of Playfoam into their very own no-melt snowmen, then accessorize them with the included hat, scarf, carrot nose, arm branches, eyes, and buttons. This set of three kits is perfect for spreading across sibling stockings, too!

Playfoam Putty 4 Pack – Stimulate sensory play all season long with Playfoam Putty! A uniquely textured putty is perfect for squishing, squashing, and sculpting, and makes a crackle sound with every squeeze! Perfect for screen-free ASMR play. Plus, all that squeezing and squashing builds fine motor skills.

Playfoam Pals Snowy Friends – Inspire hours of pretend-play fun! Each special-edition snow globe pod contains a snowy mix of Playfoam perfect for sculpting a squishy, squashy, play world, and a hidden mystery Pal to play in it! Kids will want to collect them all!

Playfoam Shape & Learn 4 Pack – Slip some learning into their stockings! This pack contains four sets of sculptable Playfoam, each with a set of shape, letter, number, or counting cards. Kids shape the Playfoam to match the object on each card, practicing critical preschool skills the creative way!

PaperCraft Doll Fashion Party – Encourage creativity with this set of four PaperCraft booklets, each featuring extra-large, stick-on (and off, and on again) dolls and fashions for endless mix and match outfits and hours of creative play. And with four sets you can spread them across other sibling’s stockings or give as small gifts to other friends and family.

GeoSafari Jr. Dino Discovery – Turn Christmas day into a prehistoric party with a real dino dig packed with surprises! Kids scoop and dig in the reusable dino dirt to find and excavate Triceratops or T-Rex bones, then assemble the bones to create a complete skeleton. Kits also include fossil molds and a volcano carry case!

GeoSafari Jr. Kidnoculars – Kids can scope out everything from Santa’s sleigh to the first buds of spring with this set of focus-free binoculars featuring 2x magnification and extra-large eyepieces! Perfect for nature walks, sky gazing, and more.

Design & Drill Robot – Tis’ the season for STEM learning and this DIY robot is the perfect introduction for preschoolers! Kids snap the pieces together, then use the included screwdriver and colorful bolts to decorate their rockin’ robot pal. When they’re done, it’s time for robot-themed pretend play

Make the most of your stocking stuffers! The right small gifts for the holidays can surprise and delight kids for months to come.

EI Editor | Posted on Jan 3, 2020

Teaching Thankfulness

Thank You Note Ideas for Kids of All Ages

Sending thank you notes is a great way to tell a gift giver that a) their gift arrived safely (particularly in today’s world of porch pirates), b) that you really like it!, and c) you’re so very grateful that they thought of you. Ideally, you’d send a note of thanks within a week of receiving a gift, so if you’re looking for projects to fill the snowy days of winter break, how about helping your kids create some cute and crafty thank yous for their holiday gifts? Read on for some easy, age-appropriate ideas for sweet thank you notes that will touch your friends and family:

Infants – What could be cuter than a hand-printed thank you note? Simply grab a non-toxic ink pad in the color of your choice, press baby’s palm to the pad, then to a sheet of blank paper, like the sample below from our friends at tots2tweens.com. Use the surrounding space to write your note of thanks and mail it off!

Photo Credit: picklebums.com

2-Year-Olds – Of course you’ll be writing these notes, too, but your child can add a colorful scribble at the bottom (or across the note as the case may be). Consider including a printed photo of your kiddo with the gift as an extra special touch.
3-Year-Olds – Many three-year-olds are beginning to draw pictures, including self-portraits like the one below from lets-explore.net. Give your sweetie a slew of colorful crayons and let them go to town. Then choose a favorite to tuck into each note that you write on their behalf.

Photo Credit: lets-explore.net/

4-Year-Olds – At four your child may be able to articulate what they like about a particular gift. Adding a few cute quotes to your note is sure to make the recipient smile, as will your child’s attempt at writing their name at the bottom. Or if your child is able to write, even the simplest note will certainly be appreciated and admired!

Photo Credit: munaluchibridal.com

5-Year-Olds – Give your Kindergartner a few verbal examples of how a note might read, e.g: Dear Grandma, I love the stuffed bear you sent me for Christmas. I sleep with it every night. Thank you for the gift, Love, Joey. Then have them dictate their own version to you so you can write it down verbatim. Again, have them write their name at the bottom.
6-Year-Olds – If your kiddo is able, have them attempt to write their own, short thank you note and decorate it with stickers or drawings. Colored pencils or markers make this exercise more fun. ????

Photo Credit: Art My Kid Made

7-Year-Olds – Depending on the clarity of your child’s writing, they may be able to address the envelope in addition to writing the note. Draw lines for each part of the address and walk them through what goes where. If that’s too tricky, let them affix the stamp and return address label.
8-Year-Olds – At eight your child may be ready to take on thank yous all on their own. Create a list of gift givers and what they gifted to your child, then parse the notes out over a few days to keep this gesture of gratitude from becoming a burden. Providing hot cocoa and music helps, too. Find more tips for big kid thank yous at thank-you-note-samples.com.