Easter Basket Ideas for Teen Boys

Signs of spring are everywhere this week. The grass is beginning to green up and tiny buds are bursting open on the trees in our neigbourhood. Kids are reappearing on the street in the light hours of the evening, on bicycles and skateboards and in front of driveway basketball nets. Matt and the boys and I are enjoying experiencing the season for the first time in this home, as there are always new surprises popping up before us: the spiky green shoots of spring bulbs in unexpected places, bunnies and chipmunks darting about the backyard, birds of all kinds flying in and out of the conservation area just behind us and stopping in our yard to visit for awhile.

Knowing that we have a busy month ahead of us (after several equally hectic ones behind us!), I've been doing some advance preparations for Easter weekend -- meal planning, treat making, and figuring out what the Easter Bunny might bring this year for the thirteen and fifteen year old boys in our house. (Our Bunny believes that even big kids still enjoy a few sweet and small surprises tucked into a basket on Easter morning!) I've noticed that many Pinterest users recently have been pinning my last year's post about Easter basket ideas for tween and teen boys, so I thought I'd share a second collection of teen-approved suggestions for this year. These small-sized, useful, and fun items are all things that my boys do or would enjoy, but of course, any of them would be great Easter basket ideas for teen girls, too!

First column

Converse key chain: Give them their favourite sneaker in miniature size, just right for holding a house or bike lock key or for attaching to a backpack. These key chains come in an assortment of colours.

Artist pens: Teens who love to draw their own comics might appreciate this set of four black artist pens of different thicknesses (extra-superfine, superfine, fine, and broad).

Fidget cube: The unique sides of this small cube offer six different ways to fidget -- flipping, clicking, spinning, and more. It's a great little gadget for teens who like something for their hands to do while their mind is focused on school work or creative projects.

Second column

The Science of Why book: Teens will find fascinating, witty answers to thirty-nine questions in this science book for all ages, including why Tyrannosaurus Rex's arms were so short and whether or not we dream in colour.

S'well insulated water bottle: Encourage your teens to stay healthily hydrated throughout the day with a practical and stylish bottle that keeps water cold for 24 hours.

Third column

Dark chocolate bunny: An Easter basket favourite, this tasty version is made from organic, fair-trade dark chocolate, and is nut-free.

Gear ties: These three inch rubber twist ties are great for helping keep teens' many gadget cords organized and tangle-free.

Dark chocolate coconut butter cups: Dark chocolate cups filled with coconut butter are a delicious treat for anyone. They come in four flavours: classic, banana cream, mint cream, and caramel + sea salt.

Fourth column

Whoosh! screen shine: A portable bottle of non-toxic screen cleaner and a cloth come in handy for keeping phone, tablet, and laptop screens smudge-free.

Nike ball pump: This pocket-sized pump is a great choice for on-the-go teens who love a good pick-up basketball game.

Fifth column

SpokeLit wheel light: Keep your bike-riding teens safe in the dark with these LED lights that attach easily to wheel spokes and increase the rider's visibility.

Herschel wallet: These nicely designed, sturdy wallets have ample space for a teen boy's essentials, and they come in a variety of appealing styles and colours.

Clip-on camera lens kit: If you have teens who are budding photographers, this set of 3-in-1 clip-on camera lenses would be a fun gift. The set comes with a fish-eye lens, a wide angle lens, and a macro lens, each of which clips easily onto a phone to capture different types of images. These lenses are compatible with a wide variety of phone types (Apple and Android).


We'll be spending most of our Easter weekend at a robotics competition (the high school team Noah and Will are part of made it to the Ontario District Championships - hooray!), but we'll be back just in time for the boys to find their Easter morning surprises. The first Easter in a new home makes for a whole new batch of extra-tricky hiding spots for the Bunny to choose from. Good luck, boys! :)

"Fancy Drinks": A Kids' New Year's Eve Cocktail

We've been enjoying a wonderful Christmas holiday here. There have been fun visits and special dinners with cousins and aunts and uncles, late mornings in pyjamas, movie nights with four of us tucked up under warm blankets in our now finished and very cozy basement, afternoons spent enjoying new books and Lego sets and games, Christmas cookies and steaming mugs of tea in the evenings. The holiday season is a gift in and of itself, I think, the way it gives us so many hours to spend in each other's company, playing and laughing and eating and resting to our hearts' content.

As 2015 nears its end, perhaps you and your family are making plans for a New Year's Eve celebration. We're making plans here, too, ones that involve more family and food and fun, so we can welcome 2016 with the same positive energy we hope to keep with us all year long. Whenever there is a celebration being talked about around here, Will requests "fancy drinks" for the kids, so they can enjoy something bubbly as well as the grown-ups. I'm not a fan of pop, even on special occasions, but I'm happy to create something fizzy and sweet from natural ingredients to fill the kids' toasting glasses. This "fancy drink", made from orange and pomegranate juices and sparkling water, is one of my boys' favourites.

You can make these fun kids' cocktails very simply by adding a few ice cubes to each glass, filling them one third of the way up with orange juice, adding a generous splash of pure pomegranate juice, then topping them up with sparkling water. A few fresh cranberries or orange slices make the drinks look extra special, and Will likes when I add a striped straw and a little paper drink umbrella to each glass, too.

Cheers to you, wherever you are -- I hope you've been enjoying a wonderful holiday, too!

Cool for Back to School: 10 Great Finds for Tween/Teen Boys

I was watching the boys playing their own version of lacrosse one afternoon last week; Noah was going up and down our street on rollerblades, with Will running alongside him as they tossed the ball back and forth to each other. They chatted and laughed together as they went along, their carefree moods indicating that there was nothing more important to them at the time than the game they were both engaged in. Seeing how much they were enjoying each other's company, as they have on so many afternoons over the past couple of months, made me wish that summer could go on forever....

But we've reached that point in August where it's clear that summer is coming to an end soon -- school and routines are waiting just around the next corner. The boys and I have started looking through what we already have in the way of school supplies, making lists of what they'll need for a new year, and doing a little shopping together here and there to make sure they're all set for September.

I remember loving back-to-school shopping when I was a kid. The aisles filled with colourful notebooks and glitter pens and scratch-and-sniff stickers held enormous appeal for me, and I still enjoy browsing the school supply shelves now. I've discovered, though, that this kind of shopping does not much appeal to my boys at all. They're satisfied choosing only a few things for themselves this time of year and then they're begging to escape the mall (which happily leaves us lots of time to still be outside enjoying the last of the summer days!)

So what are my tween- and teenaged boys interested in as far as school supplies go? Here are some of their favourite finds.

Hollister jeans: Noah has reached the stage that a friend of mine aptly refers to as "unicorn sizes". He's grown out of the largest boys' size for jeans height-wise, but he's too slim to fit into the smallest men's size. I was a little worried about what we were going to do for pants for him, until I found that Hollister sells a size 26 men's jean online. It was like finding a real live unicorn the day they arrived and we discovered they fit Noah really well (and he really likes them)!  Hollister has their jeans on sale for $27 CDN a pair right now, with free shipping if you spend $50, and items can be returned to any Hollister store if they don't work out.

Graphic tees: Tees are the staple of many boys' year-round wardrobe, and Bluenotes always has a good selection of humorous graphics that appeal to teens.  Noah is especially partial to the comical cat ones. (Did you know that "taco cat" spelled backwards is "taco cat"?) If your tween/teen is still in kids' sizes for shirts, H&M often has great graphic tees that are just right for Will.

Nike running shoes:  The one store Noah does love shopping in is the Nike outlet, where we always find good deals on quality shoes for everyday wear, phys ed class, and track practice. I'm pretty certain that by now he's tried on every pair of men's shoes in the store to weigh its merits!

PackIt lunch bags:  The boys have been using this brand of lunch bag, which comes in a few different older-boy-friendly designs, for the past several years.  They're great in that they don't require the use of a cooler pack to keep food cold throughout the day; the bag has a gel built into its walls that freezes overnight. Simply pop the folded frozen bag out of the freezer in the morning, fill it with lunch and snack foods, and go.  The PackIt bags are roomy enough to hold teenaged boy size servings of food, too.

LunchBots:  LunchBots stainless steel food containers have long been our favourites -- they're practical, reusable, and stylish looking, too. With a wide range of single and divided containers in various sizes, plus insulated ones for hot foods, it's easy to find the right combination of pieces to keep tween/teen boys well-fed throughout the school day (and the containers should last them well beyond their school years as well).

Madd Gear scooter: Will loves riding his scooter to and from school, and I'm happy to let him; I love that he's getting in some extra physical activity every morning and afternoon. This Madd Gear VX5 Team Scooter is his top pick for a set of wheels right now.

Word Lock: For boys who need to lock up bikes or other modes of transportation in the school yard, this word lock is a fun way to keep their wheels secure. They can set a four letter word of their own choosing as the combination, which may be easier for some kids to remember than a series of numbers. (Bonus: there are no keys to lose, or to find rattling around in the bottom of the washing machine with the jeans!)

Vaultz pencil box: Will really likes this Vaultz pencil box for two reasons: it's easy (it just opens and everything is there in one place), and it has a lock. Maybe this will be a better place for him to store his valuable pencil collection this year. We found the box pictured below in-store at Staples.

Bic 4-colour pens: Remember these from when we were kids? Noah is a fan of the four-in-one colour pen for its usefulness -- no need to carry a bunch of different writing tools around when you have one of these! We found a few different colour variations of the four-in-one pens at Walmart.

RuggedKey flash drive: The product description for this 16GB USB flash drive reads as follows: "Since disaster can strike at any moment, it is important to have your files on a rugged USB drive that can withstand water, extreme weather, and heavy impacts."  Apparently, the device will survive an accidental drop from a height of 100 meters, and is heat, cold, and water resistant. That sounds like just about the right amount of protection for a tween- or teenaged boy's school files!

We didn't buy any glitter pens or scratch-and-sniff stickers, but I think the boys are well-prepared supply-wise for a new school year now, anyway! 

Kids' Books and Community

If you've been to our house, or if you've been reading along here for awhile, you'll know that we installed a Little Free Library on our front lawn a couple of summers ago and have been hosting a friendly neigbourhood book exchange out of it ever since. The library has been everything I'd hoped it would be when I first got excited about starting it -- the little box gets lots of traffic in the warmer months, and I love seeing people of all ages stopping by to find something new and interesting to read. We have a few neighbourhood children who are very regular visitors, and it's still great fun to watch people who have never seen a Little Free Library before discover ours and be delighted by it. Encouraging people to "take a book, leave a book" continues to be an easy and rewarding way for our family to build community and to share the joy of reading.

Our library is getting busy again now that the weather is warmer, so I've been collecting books that I can use to restock it periodically over the summer months. The Canadian Federation of University Women hosts a giant used book sale in Waterloo every April that is a great source for inexpensive reading material, so I headed there first thing this morning to see what I could find. As I browsed through the tables and boxes of books in the children's room, I came across large stacks where the cover pages were all marked with the intials "B-B", which I instantly recognized as those of Will's kindergarten teacher. She is retired now, and it seemed she had donated much of her classroom reading collection to the sale.

I enjoyed a lovely little trip down memory lane for the next while as I flipped through the stacks. I used to regularly volunteer in Will's kindergarten classroom, and I remembered Mrs. B reading many of the books that I was finding to Will and his friends when they were small students in her care. I purchased the stories that were Will's and my favourites this morning, so they can be enjoyed by other young children in our neighbourhood who come to visit our library. These kinds of cheerful coincidences always make me smile. I hope I bump into Mrs. B again sometime so I can tell her about where some of her books ended up; I think she'd be happy to hear it.

I wanted to mention our little library again today to encourage others who might be interested in visiting ones in their community now that spring has arrived, or perhaps even in starting up a library of their own. For my Waterloo Region friends, there is a listing of the Little Free Libraries running in our area available here. You can also find out about ordering a library kit or participating in an upcoming community build on the Little Libraries of KW website, or join their Facebook group for regular updates. If you live outside of the K-W area, you can look for libraries near you on the Little Free Library World Map. For anyone who loves the idea of Little Free Libraries and wants to support the group's literacy initiatives without necessarily creating their own library, you can contribute to the Little Free Library Kickstarter campaign, running from April 22 until May 21, here.

Let's keep encouraging a love of reading in our young people, and let's continue to create vibrant, engaged communities in the neighbourhoods we call home.

Winter Boredom Busters for Tween/Teen Boys

It is darn cold outside, people.  Where we live, we're on track for having the coldest month ever recorded in the region, and the first February since 1978 that the temperature doesn't rise above the freezing mark. Schools here were even closed last Friday due to the painfully frigid air, and there have been many days this winter where the kids have had to spend their recess time indoors. What this means for a lot of families by this point in the season is a full-blown case of cabin fever, and a lot of kids with pent up energy that needs to be directed towards fun, interesting, and active endeavors.

For many tween and teenaged boys, the default activity on cold winter days is crashing on a couch and playing video games. Noah and Will are both drawn to the engaging world of Minecraft and the colourful lure of Candy Crush, for sure.  While I believe there are valuable skills they can learn from certain types of video games, we do limit the amount of time the boys spend in front of screens so that they will explore other interests and develop other parts of themselves as well.  Today I thought I'd share a collection of cool, non-video game pastimes that Noah and/or Will like to turn to when winter boredom strikes.  (Click on the coloured text to find out more about each of the items below.)

Spooner board (for the skateboarding/snowboarding/surfing enthusiast, for indoor or outdoor use):

Yomega yo yo (for mastering new tricks and impressing friends and family with their skills):  

Tenzi dice game (fast-paced, noisy fun for two to four players): 

Arduino open-source electronics (for creating interactive objects):

Magnetic dart board (all the fun of a real dart board without the sharp weaponry):

Ukulele (an accessible and highly entertaining way to play around with music):

Tabletop ping pong (for instant lively ping pong matches anywhere there is a table):

Kanoodle Genius (brain bending puzzles for those who like a challenge)

Good books (to get them thinking and laughing) :

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe

Danger is Everywhere by David O'Doherty

These entertaining pursuits keep the boys' minds and bodies moving on days when biting winter winds won't allow much time outdoors.  What are your tween and teenaged boys' favourite ways to beat winter boredom while they dream of warmer weather?

Summer Learning (Giveaway! : Books for Middle Graders)

The countdown is on -- only two more weeks left of school before the kids can delight in the fun, sunshine, and freedom that summer holidays bring. Noah and Will are certainly eager for the break from homework and classroom routines over the coming months, but their minds remain busy and curious year-round, and they both need and look forward to different kinds of learning experiences over the summer.  I've found that it's easy to help them discover new and exciting things even when school is out, simply by making good use of the resources we have at home, in our community, and in the places we travel to as a family.  These are some of our favourite summer learning activities:

Games  In addition to the physically active outside games we like to play in our yard in the warmer months, our family loves challenging each other to board, card, and puzzle games that keep our minds thinking. Anything that involves strategy, playing with words, deciphering patterns, or racing to complete a mental task combines fun and learning opportunities for all of us.  Some of our best-loved games for playing around the summer patio table include Qwirkle, Bananagrams, Q-Bitz, Rubik's Race, and Apples to Apples.  We also enjoy doing crossword and sudoku puzzles, and trying to solve riddles and logic puzzles that we find in books together.

Writing/Journalling  Summers can be full of wonderful moments that make great family memories, and encouraging kids to preserve their favourites through writing is a great way to encourage the development of the language skills they learn in school.  I often take the boys shopping to choose their own cool notebooks and pens or pencils at the beginning of the summer, and we make sure to pack them whenever we're hitting the road for a longer journey.  Journalling can take many forms for kids depending on their ages, abilities, and interests:  a combination of drawings and words (comic book style appeals to many Middle Graders), longer prose, poetry, newspaper-type reporting, etc.  Being able to write about what they love or find exciting, in whatever way they choose, can encourage even reluctant writers to practise their developing skills.

Summer Camp Programs/Educational Attractions  Our family spends a good part of our summer at home, swimming and hanging out in the yard, but we do have a week or two each summer set aside for the boys to participate in summer camp programs based on their personal interests, where they can dive into learning that they wouldn't usually have access to in a regular school setting.  Their camp experiences often spark further individual exploration at home once the scheduled program is over.  Our family also makes a point of finding fascinating attractions to visit (museum exhibits, science centres, university open houses, special community events, etc.) both locally and in the places we travel to on summer vacation, so that we all might have a chance to learn something new.

Free Play/Experimenting  I believe giving kids unstructured free time to imagine, create, and figure things out is a very valuable way to encourage learning any time of year.  Noah and Will are fortunate to have lots of this during the summer months, and I find that's when they both come up with the most innovative, intriguing projects and pastimes for themselves.  I am always finding contraptions built around the house and yard (traps, ziplines, Lego worlds, mould growing in a water-filled pencil sharpener in someone's closet as a science experiment, etc.) in the summer months, and most of them have involved much thought and trial-and-error to assemble.  (July and August are when I have to most closely guard things like the microwave and the water cooler, for fear that the boys might dismantle them to build something else with the parts!)

Reading  The world of books is one both boys love to escape to, especially during the summer months when there are many free hours and a wonderfully comfortable hammock chair to sit in under the shade of one of our backyard trees.  We visit our public library regularly, and the boys fill their book bags with whatever type of reading material interests them at the time:  non-fiction books on various topics, graphic novels and comic books, fantasy novels, humour writing, etc.)  Kids grow intellectually through the simple act of reading for pleasure (and I like to set a good example for my boys by spending some quality time reading what I love over the summer, too!)

To help families encourage learning during the break from school, Simon & Schuster Canada is running a Summer Slide Prevention Campaign, featuring education tips from teachers and librarians, book recommendations, and activity sheets for kids.  They are also offering a super prize pack of eight of their best books for 7 to 12 year olds for one lucky Pocketfuls reader to win.

To enter this giveaway:

1. You must log in in the giveaway box below.

2.  Leave me a comment here telling me about your family's favourite fun way to
     encourage summer learning

     and/or

     Head over to my Pocketfuls page on Facebook and "Like" it.

(If you do both parts of #2, you'll receive two entries for the giveaway.)

This giveaway will run from now until Monday, June 30th at 6:00pm EDT, and is open only to residents of Canada.  One winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter from all of the eligible entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, and I wish all of your families a summer filled with fun discoveries!

*****

June 30th update:  Congratulations Tracy B D!  You are the winner of the summer slide prevention book pack from Simon & Schuster Canada. :)   I'll be contacting you via email to set you up with your prize.  Thank you to all of you who entered and shared your great ideas for summer learning with me!


Disclosure:  Simon & Schuster Canada provided my boys with some great books to read for my participation in their Summer Slide Prevention Campaign.  The ideas and opinions shared here are my own.

Fun Party Food for Kids (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free)

Will turned ten yesterday, and to celebrate this big "entering the double digits" milestone, we had a fun sleepover party for him with his closest buddies at our house last weekend.  Birthdays are often a time for enjoying some favourite activities and special occasion treats, and just like most children do, Will wanted to have food at his party that he and his friends would think was "awesome".   I took the ideas Will had in mind, thought of ways I could make them that were safe for him to eat given his various food sensitivities, and put out a fun collection of eats, treats, and drinks that all of the boys at the party really enjoyed.  It makes me feel good as his mom that I was able to provide that for him and help make his special day happy.

If you're a parent looking for gluten-free, dairy-free, and/or egg-free party food ideas that are fun for kids, you may appreciate some of our recipes and ideas here.

Snacks

Will had seen several different party mix recipes on the side of the gluten-free Corn Chex box, and he thought it would make a great movie snack for him and his friends. I was not crazy about several of the ingredients and quantities in that particular recipe, so I came up with my own version of a crunchy, salty party mix.  The boys devoured it!

To make your own party mix, combine 2 cups of gluten-free Corn Chex cereal, 2 cups of Nature's Path gluten-free Whole Os cereal, one 75g package of Glutino gluten-free pretzel twists, and 1 cup of mixed raw nuts (I used almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pecans) in a large bowl.  Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and drizzle it over the mixture; sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of Herbamare over top.  Gently stir to coat the mixture with the oil and seasoning.  Spread the mixture out on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake it in a preheated 250 F oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.  (Store any leftovers in an airtight container.)

I also set out a basket of Martin's sweet and crispy apple chips for snacking, which are gluten-free and made only from dehydrated apples.

Of course, a sleepover and a movie calls for popcorn, too!  I made a big batch using the stovetop method, with coconut oil and sea salt.

Lunch/Dinner

Will attended a friend's party earlier in the year where they had "make your own subs" for dinner, and he really loved this idea for his own party as well.  I used gluten-free buns from Organic Works Bakery (their breads are so good!), purchased high quality deli-meats that we know are gluten- and dairy-free from Vincenzo's, and set out an assortment of toppings for the boys to choose from:  lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, egg-free mayo, and mustard.  The boys all had fun building their own favourite creations.

I also set out a tray of assorted raw veggies with hummus...

...and a big bowl of mixed fruit. 

Drinks

The boys had an assortment of 100% juices to choose from to quench their thirst after all of their Nerf blaster battles.  (Kiju makes a variety of great flavours that kids like, and I like that there is no added sugar.)

We also offered President's Choice sparkling 100% juices in cans.  (These are as close as I'm willing to get to buying "pop" in our house  -- the boys and I think they're a good special occasion alternative for kids who like something fizzy to drink.)  

Dessert

After the huge success of the chocolate doughnuts I made from scratch several weeks ago, Will and I decided it would be fun to have birthday doughnuts rather than a cake for his party.  I used this recipe, and just changed the topping to candy sprinkles to make the doughnuts a little more birthday-ish.

We served the doughnuts with forks and a small scoop of Vanilla Coconut Bliss (coconut milk ice cream) in the centre.

(If you'd rather bake a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free cake or cupcakes for a party, you might like this recipe, which I made yesterday to celebrate Will's actual birthday.  If you choose the cupcake version, this icing is perfect for piping on top.  (I use chopped dark chocolate instead of the chocolate chips as I find it less sweet that way, which I prefer.)

Will was really thrilled with his party and the food he shared with his buddies; it seemed everyone had a really great time.  I hope our experience will help others to see that even when kids have food sensitivities, it's still possible to come up with a fun meal, snacks, drinks, and treats that everyone can enjoy.

March Break Activities for Lego-Loving Kids

The boys and I have begun counting down in earnest to the March Break, and there has been much talk around here lately about what we might do with the ten days of wonderfully free time we'll have together beginning this Friday.  Given that I'm not expecting the unrelenting winter weather to be even remotely cooperative for us to spend lots of time outdoors, I've been thinking of ways the boys and I can have fun with some of their favourite indoor pursuits.  I can pretty much guarantee that many of Noah and Will's activities over the break will revolve around Lego in some way;  this versatile toy that encourages creativity, teaches many concepts and skills to kids of all ages, and inspires highly imaginative play has been a much-loved pastime of both boys ever since they were very small.  And because I know that many of you probably also have children who love Lego and will be looking for fun things to do next week, I thought today I'd share some exciting Lego-based activity ideas with you.

Lego Treasure Hunt

When the boys were younger, they loved the thrill of hunting for treasure of any kind that I had previously hidden for them around the house and/or yard.  You can create a Lego treasure hunt by hiding a specific number of building pieces in various places when the kids aren't watching, and then sending them off searching until they find every last one.  Once all of the pieces are collected, you can challenge your kids to build something creative using only the pieces they found.

Lego Creationary Game

We've had this Lego game for several years now, and it has provided our family with many hours of fun (even when we've made up our own rules for how to play it!)  Each player takes a turn building an object shown on one of game cards using the Lego pieces in the box, and the other players have to try and guess what it is.  If you don't have this actual game, you can easily create your own version of it using a regular die and an assortment of random Lego pieces.  Each number on the die corresponds to a category that all players decide on at the beginning of the game (food, animal, vehicle, building, etc. -- use your imagination!), and players can take turns rolling the die, and then building something that fits with the category that they roll.  For younger children who might have a hard time coming up with ideas for things to build, you can simply write the names of some easy to build objects on small slips of paper and have the children draw a word out of a hat to build for their turn. 

Lego Quest Building Challenges

I found the Lego Quest website via Pinterest a while ago and was really glad I did; now when Will is bored, he often asks me to give him a new challenge from that list that he can work on.  The site provides 51 Lego building challenges of all different kinds for kids to try, and when they've finished their own creations, they can take a look at photos of what others built for the same challenge, submitted from children around the world.  This quest is a great way to get kids thinking about using Lego in unique ways. 

Lego Mazes

I've seen many different versions of Lego mazes on Pinterest (the maze photo above came from Tonya Staab), and I think this would be a really great project for kids of all ages.  For the littlest builders, mazes can be simple ones made of Duplo that toy animals can walk through, and older kids can build more complex creations to run marbles through afterwards.  I especially loved this complicated maze built for Hexbugs to manoeuvre around in -- I have a feeling Noah and Will are going to want to build one of their own next week once they see this video from Thomas Morse:

Lego Magazine Submissions/Contests

You can sign your children up for a free subscription to Lego Club Magazine, a fun publication full of photos, comics, little games and puzzles, and information about Lego products.  If your kids build something really awesome out of Lego over the March Break, they can send a photo of it to Lego Club for a chance to be published in the Cool Creations section found in every issue. The magazine also runs building contests from time to time, which gives kids great Lego projects to work on.

Build with Chrome

We just recently discovered the very cool Build with Chrome website, which allows people to build using virtual Lego bricks and to publish their creations online alongside others.  Both Noah and Will have really enjoyed trying this site out this week -- you may want to take a look yourself! 

Lego Movies with Stop-Motion Animation

Are your children big fans of the Lego Movie?  They can also create their own stop-motion animation films using a digital camera, Frames Software, and Lego scenes, characters, and stories they develop themselves. Noah and Will have spent many hours building sets out of Lego, taking hundreds of photos in sequence and uploading them onto their computers, and editing their movies in Frames 5, adding dialogue and sound effects as well. They've become quite talented at this activity, and we've all been highly entertained watching their finished products.

Brick Works Academy

If you live in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area, your child may be interested in attending a March Break Lego Robotics Camp at Brick Works Academy.  Will attends workshops with this fantastic organization every Saturday morning and he absolutely loves it -- he has learned so much about building and programming robots using Lego Mindstorms EV3, and both he and Noah plan to attend summer camps there as well.  If you don't live near us, look around in your local community to see if a similar program is offered somewhere close to you -- your Lego/technology-minded kids are sure to enjoy it!

Lego Travel Box

Does your family have travel plans for the March Break?  Why not have your kids take some Lego to go? This great little storage box idea created by Finley & Oliver has a Lego base plate attached to the lid, and room inside for holding building pieces and minifigures.  Something like this seems fairly simple to put together, and it would be perfect for car/plane/train rides and quiet times in between planned activities.

There are many creative, fun, and positively challenging ways that kids can use Lego to learn something new over the March Break. Of course, one of the things I love most about Lego is that sometimes all you need is a big box of it and a couple of vivid imaginations, and wonderful things happen.  I'm fully expecting to have to tiptoe around another Lego zipline on our staircase and a massive Lego structure that takes up our whole family room floor next week.  You too? 

If you have any other great Lego ideas to share, I'd love to hear about them!

20+ Great Gift Ideas for Boys (2013 Edition)

During the holiday season, I love watching excited children opening up and appreciating gifts that someone has chosen for them with care and love.  I have a lot of fun each year choosing gifts for my own two boys -- it's exciting for me to try and find interesting games, books, activities, and gadgets that will delight Noah and Will and keep their busy minds and bodies happily engaged long after Christmas morning has come and gone. 

Last year in December, I published a holiday gift guide for boys, highlighting some of my guys' favourite things, in the hopes of helping others who wanted to choose a well-received gift for a special boy they knew. I thought I'd share a new list this year, filled with more of our family's favourites, and some new things that my boys are either wishing for, or that we've seen somewhere and think are really cool.  As I mentioned last year, while I say this is a list of gift ideas for boys (because I've seen the positive reactions my two have given to these items), I'm sure many girls would also very much enjoy them!

For construction fun

Nanoblocks

Build replicas of famous landmarks and objects (or kids can come up with creative designs of their own) with these teeny, tiny building blocks.

Zoob



Brightly coloured ball and rod building pieces snap together in various ways to create anything kids can imagine.

Hexbug Nano v2

The newest version of Hexbug nanos are able to defy gravity:  they climb up tubes and through loops in habitats kids build themselves.

For inventing and creating

Frames 5 software

My guys have spent hours creating scenes out of Lego, taking hundreds of pictures of them with their digital cameras, and then using this software to make entertaining animated movies out of their photos.

littleBits

littleBits kits come with various electronic modules that click together with magnets to form circuits, allowing kids to experiment creatively and bring their inventions to life.  

The World Record Paper Airplane Book

This book is full of interesting information about paper airplane flight, and includes paper and instructions for building twenty different models.

For game night

Q*bitz

For kids who love visual challenges, Q*bitz is a fun game that involves arranging cubes into a pattern that matches the picture on a card.  Each game includes three different rounds, to test speed, luck, and memory.

Settlers of Catan

This strategy game has kids building opposing settlements on a newly discovered land and trying to gain supremacy through clever trading of resources.


For listening enjoyment

Monster DNA headphones

This is Noah's top wish list item this year.  With pure sound, noise isolation, and sleek looks, he thinks these headphones will elevate his music listening experiences.

mini Bluetooth speaker

Kids can connect a mobile device (iPod, smartphone, tablet) to this device wirelessly to play their music virtually anywhere.  This speaker delivers great sound for such a small item.

For active adventures

Carpet slides

Turn carpets into skating rinks with these fun slides that strap easily onto feet.

Bilibo

Bilibo can be used for almost anything, and is a great motivator for open-ended imaginative and active play.  Small children can sit in it and rock, turn it upside down and climb over it, put it on their head as an interesting hat, wear it on their back like a turtle, put things in it, or use it for playing in water or snow. 



SKLZ pro mini hoop

This is a mini sized basketball net for indoor use, though it looks and feels just like an outdoor net.  It mounts easily over the back of a door.

For thinking and problem solving

Ball of Whacks

The colourful magnetic shapes in this ball come apart and can be rearranged in endless ways.  This is  a wonderful toy to stimulate creativity -- there is no wrong way to play with it!

Mirror Cube

The mirror cube is similar to a Rubik's cube, but the different sized blocks add a whole new twist!  Once you fiddle with the cube, it looks like this:

It's an excellent challenge for kids who enjoy solving puzzles.

For the love of reading

Seven Wonders:  The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis

Treasure Hunters by James Patterson

You'll find other titles that are great reads for boys in A bookworm's breakfast.

For artistic expression

3D drawing pad

When kids draw on this special paper with black ink and then put on the glasses, their drawings seem to pop off the page in three dimensions.

Putty Peeps

This metallic putty comes with a pair of eyes, so kids can make all sorts of fun creatures.  Will loves leaving his putty critters on my computer desk, where they slowly morph into different shapes on their own over several days while they stare at me!

For small surprises

Bug Light

Kids can take these mini LED lights with them wherever they go; the legs of these bugs will wrap around objects for hands-free lighting.

Pocket Microscope

Perfect for curious kids, this pocket-size microscope lets them examine up close whatever they find in their daily adventures.

Minecraft Creeper wallet

Give kids a place to safely hold their money with this leather wallet designed after one of their favourite characters.

Vanilla Candy Cane lip butter

This all-natural lip balm from Rocky Mountain Soap Company will help soothe and protect kids' lips from the harsh effects of cold winter air (and it smells good enough to eat!)


If you're still looking for more great gift ideas for boys, you might find something you like in our list from last year.  Or, just wrap up a little sweater that your mom knit for your boy Cabbage Patch Kid when you were a child and give it to an imaginative young fella you know -- I'm sure he'll find lots of ways to have fun with it.  ;)