Looking for a fabulous last-minute gift or something special to leave for Santa? Peppermint patties are a perfect kid-friendly treat for the Winter season. Plus, with only a few ingredients, they're surprisingly easy to make! Watch our how-to video below to see how it's done.
Image Source: Via YumSugar
Do your children know the story of Christmas? Jimmy Kimmel asked kids for their version of events and has put together a charming, if ridiculous, video from their responses.
We particularly love kids' estimates on how long ago Jesus was actually born, and their takes on the pronunciation of frankincense and myrrh.
Read the whole story (Huffington Post) >>
Image Source: Hulu via Huffington Post
If you're not already bombarded by a mailbox filled with holiday cards, it's only a matter of time before the onslaught begins. If you're looking for a fun way to change things up — or if you've decided to forgo the holiday card altogether this year — an end-of-year photo montage video is the way to go. Rather than selecting one picture to share with family and friends, you can share an entire year — all in a condensed time frame. From a 30-second curated selection of your Facebook photos to lengthier, more produced videos, check out four free services that do virtually all of the work for you in a matter of minutes. Then sit back, relax, and wait for the accolades to come your way!
How many times have you spent $1.99 on an app only to find your child doesn't want to play it more than one or two times? You no longer have to play the guessing game with apps in the iTunes app store. Read on to watch my video reviews of 11 popular educational kids apps and to find out which ones will truly keep your little learner engaged.
Suggested ages: 3 to 6
What it teaches: Pre-Reading Skills (Letters and Sounds, Phonics, Letter Writing, Reading)
Why we recommend it: We love that kids are not rewarded or driven by the app to complete one isolated activity. Montessori Letter Sounds uses self-correction and playful literacy activities that kids want to use again and again— largely because the learning is really fun!
Get it here, $2.99.* (Available as a Universal app in the iTunes App Store)
Suggested ages: 5 and up
What it teaches: Math (Operations, Counting, Fractions, Shapes, Sequencing, Measurement, Money, Telling Time)
Why we recommend it: Marble Math Junior pairs quality game design with educational play that kids come back to again and again. Kids use strategy to answer given math questions. In Marble Math Junior the questions are read aloud which is very supportive for young children. Have an older child? Marble Math is available to challenge kids 8 and up.
Get it here, $1.99.* (Available as a Universal app in the iTunes App Store)
Suggested ages: 3 and up
What it teaches: Storytelling and Creativity
Why we recommend it: Kids' art work comes to life with a thoughtful recording feature included in Draw and Tell. Kids draw using a variety of tools. When finished they hit record and share their story, animating the video as they move around the stickers they added to their artword. Coloring pages are included in the app and can be animated as well.
Get it here, $1.99.* (Available for iPad and iPhone)
Suggested ages: 3 to 4
Languages: English, Spanish
What it teaches: Langauge (Vocabulary), Social Studies (People and Place)
Why we recommend it: Stop and Go! is an engaging app for young children and their parents to use together. Language is abundant as converstations about a variety of vehicles flow between the mom and child narrators of the app. These converstations expand as you talk and explore together with your child while using Stop and Go!.
Get it here, $0.99.* (Available for iPad and iPhone)
iLearn with Boing: Savannah Adventures
Suggested ages: 3 to 6
What it teaches: Math (Operations, Counting, Number Recognition)
Why we recommend it: Savannah Adventures has three games that progress children through learning simple numbers 1 to 5 all the way to counting backwards from 20. Each game increases the difficultly as your child shows proficiency at each level. Monitor your child's learning with the personalized tracking system.
Get it here, $1.99.* (Available as a Universal app in the iTunes App Store)
Suggested ages: 3 and up
What it teaches: Creativity and Community Roles
Why we recommend it: Imaginative role play is an important part of childhood. Happi Full Throttle takes kids on adventures through the screen of the iPad with a variety of familiar vehicles used to accomplish various jobs. This is a great addition to the "things that go" play that's probably already happening in your home.
Get it here, $1.99.* (Currently available for iPad)
Suggested ages: 3 and up
What it teaches: Language (Vocabulary), Science (Investigation and Life Science)
Why we recommend it: The ABC apps by Peapod Labs are delightful for children. The app is organized so kids can search by letter, flip through the pictures like a book or skip from picture to picture from the letters on the bottom spelling each word. The images are delightful and paired with meaningful facts that kids enjoy sharing. Videos and interactivity in the app encourage kids to dig deeper and learn more about each baby animal.
Get it here, $2.99.* (Available as a Universal app in the iTunes App Store)
Suggested ages: 3 to 6
What it teaches: Language (Letters and Sounds, Word Play, Vocabulary)
Why we recommend it: Wee Alphas is an early literacy app that gives your child tons of exposure to letters, sounds and language. Each line of the story is incredibly creative. We appreciate language like: twirl, quirky, snapdragons and mighty which engage kids to ask questions and add dynamic descriptors to their language.
Get it here, $2.99.* (Available for iPad)
Suggested ages: 3 and up
What it teaches: Pre-Reading Skills (Letters and Sounds, Phonics, Sight Words, Letter Writing, Reading)
Why we recommend it: To date, Reading Raven is the most comprehensive pre-reading app in the app store. Parents have tools to customize the app to suit their child's needs. Our kid testers come back to Reading Raven often to play through the variety of levels and collect stickers for their tree house.
Get it here, $2.99 & $3.99.* (Available for iPhone and iPad)
Suggested ages: 3 and up
What it teaches: Math (Number Sense, Counting/Reasoning, Number Recognition)
Why we recommend it: The math play in Montessori Numbers is fun for both your 3-year-old and your 13-year-old. Kids can learn numbers 1 to 5 and all the way to 999. Four games in the app help kids make connections between groups of ones, tens and 100s.
Get it here, $2.99.* (Available for iPad)
Suggested ages: 3 to 5
What it teaches: Math (Counting, Number Recognition, Subitizing)
Why we recommend it: Jewel River is one of the few apps that work children through the process of subitizing (the ability to instantly recognize quantities).
Get it here, $3.99.* (Available for iPad)
*Price as of publication date
See more of Carolina's video reviews in the FREE KinderTown App, available for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
Image Source: Kindertown
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, POPSUGAR.
Looking for another way to make chicken pot pie, or trying it for the first time at an upcoming holiday dinner? In this quick video, YumSugar's Brandi Milloy shows how to make a simple yet tasty chicken pot pie from scratch. Watch as she walks you through four steps for making an easy filling and putting it all together.
Image Source: YumSugar
We love when friendships exist despite differences, so of course we can't get enough of this unlikely pair. Watch how Snowflake the puppy helps Pipsqueak, a pygmy goat, become friends with the rest of the puppy pack — then show your kids. So cute!
Image Source: Animal Planet
Looking for something fun to do with your kids for Halloween? If they can roll a ball of Play-Doh or dip their fries in ketchup, they can help you make some very festive cake pops! Watch Brandy at YumSugar explain how unexpectedly easy it is to create and decorate this adorable treat for Halloween.
This story originally appeared on YumSugar.
Image Source: yumsugar
It's always fun to learn about the favorite things of a chef, so that's why we put birthday boy Emeril Lagasse -- who turns 53 today! -- in the hot seat! We asked the chef some tough questions: pie or cake? Macaroni and cheese or potatoes au gratin? Andouille or crawfish? To find out his answers, check out the video now.
If you're concerned about all the recent comments being made against women and their health rights by some of our country's politicians — i.e. Missouri Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" remarks and Georgia Rep. Terry England's recent comparison of women to farm animals — you may want to sign the Bill of Reproductive Rights. This bill is at the heart of the Center For Reproductive Rights' Draw the Line campaign, and is meant to let Congress and the president know that "they must guarantee and protect reproductive rights as fundamental human rights and stop the attacks by politicians who want to take those rights away." A slew of celebrities have showed their support for the campaign, including famous ladies like Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Meryl Streep, Lisa Kudrow, and Kyra Sedgwick. Visit DrawtheLine.org and watch the video now to learn more about the Bill of Reproductive Rights.
A luscious cake that requires just five ingredients and that you make without even turning on the oven? This is one the kids could do all by themselves! Watch the quick video below to learn the secrets behind this festive confection...
Click on over to Yum Sugar for the recipe!
Image Source: Yum Sugar
