kids Archives - Page 52 of 127 - Have Sippy Will Travel

5 Fun Educational Vacation Destinations for Kids

May 5, 2013 by Samantha 3 Comments

Late spring and early summer are the times of year when families making preparations to take vacations together. And while it can be great to go to cities that have amusement parks or to take a cross-country road trip in an RV, when you have children that are elementary school age, it can also be a good idea to take them on a vacation that can be as educational as it is entertaining.

If you’re in the midst of planning your next trip and you’d like a few ideas on some educational vacation destinations to visit, we have five that both you and your kids will enjoy going to this year:

Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum (Seattle, Washington). If you live around the West Coast, then you might want to take a trip to a place that has become all the rage among museum lovers. The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum is great for children who are already showing signs of being a future artist or musician. There are artifacts from artists like the Beatles and Nirvana, kids are able to play instruments at the Spin Kids Station and in the Sound Lab, they can even record their own mini-CD. Plus the Science Fiction Museum that’s located on the second floor offers all kinds of interesting exhibits too.

Hyatt Regency Tamaya (Bernalillo, New Mexico). One place [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids, travel Tagged With: 5 Fun Educational Vacation Destinations for Kids, educational fun while traveling, educational travel for kids, family travel, fun family travel, have fun while learning, travel, vacation

Try a Hobo Lunch on the Train

May 3, 2013 by Samantha 7 Comments

If your family is like mine, you have at least one kid that loves the train. We do train rides at every chance, with our favorite being the Strasburg Railroad in PA. While we love the train, sometimes you want to switch it up a little or add a little something to it. The hobo lunch is perfect way to bring the authentic feel of an old-time train ride without having to hop between moving cars or robbing the passengers while on horseback. 🙂

The hobo lunch is available at the Strasburg Rail Road and includes your choice of Cheese Steak, Pulled Pork, sandwich or hot dog as your main dish. Each comes with potato chips, cookie, baked beans, and your choice of lemonade or iced tea. The real treat is the way each [Read more…]

Filed Under: kids, travel Tagged With: day out train, hobo lunch at strasburg railroad, lunch at strasburg railroad, lunch on the train, train excursions, train rides, Try a Hobo Lunch on the Train

Did You Know? Dyslexia

May 3, 2013 by Samantha 1 Comment

15% of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability
-The National Institute of Health
Dyslexia literally means ‘difficulty with words’ but the child with dyslexia is likely to have a wider range of challenges than dealing with words, and in many cases spelling is the least of their battles.

Many with dyslexia experience some or all of the following-

1. They can use the brain’s ability to alter and create perceptions (the primary ability)
2. They are highly aware of the environment
3. They are more curious than average
4. They think mainly in pictures instead of words
5. They are highly intuitive and perceptive
6. They think and perceive multi-dimensionally (using all the senses)
7. They can experience thought as reality
8. They have vivid imaginations

Dyslexic people are highly creative, intuitive, and excel at three-dimensional problem solving and hands-on learning. Our visual and holistic learning style means [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids Tagged With: Did You Know? Dyslexia, Dyslexia and kids, help for kids with Dyslexia, kids with Dyslexia, learn about Dyslexia

Child Learning Challenges: How to Address Them Early

May 3, 2013 by Samantha 2 Comments

No parents want to believe that their children are plagued by learning disabilities, but every year thousands of school-age children are diagnosed with a wide range of disorders that could impact their ability to learn at the same rate or in the same way as their classmates. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Consider that some kids are better at sports while others excel at music. The child that is good at everything is rare. So when your kids face challenges with learning, the worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and hope it will go away. This could be an academic death sentence as your children slip further and further behind in their studies. Your best bet is to address any potential learning challenges as quickly as possible in order to give your kids the best opportunity to get the specialized instruction needed to keep them remain at grade level or even excel beyond it. Here are a few ways you can face these issues head on.

What you don’t want to do is make your children feel that something is wrong with them. Instead, you must empower them to do their best by providing them with the help they need. This starts with having them diagnosed as soon as you feel that there might be more at play than individual development. [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, kids Tagged With: Child Learning Challenges: How to Address Them Early, help kids learn, help kids with learning disabilities, kids with learning disabilities, learning disabilities

Super Duper Publications Review & Giveaway

April 30, 2013 by Danielle 6 Comments

All of us I am sure love to interact with our children. We love to help them learn, as well as spend wonderful time with them. I was sent All About You, All About Me Fun Deck, TopicTalk Conversation Card Game, and MagneTalk Early Classifying all from Super Duper Publications to review.

About Super Duper Publications:

SuperDuper Publications is an online store that used to only be open to educators and therapists. It is now available to everyone. They have a wide variety of products. They range from workbooks to software, to games and even iPhone Apps. It is true that a lot of their items are geared towards school, they also make items that are perfect for parents to help get their kids involved in a fun way!

Super Duper Publications was started 27 years ago by a speech-language pathologist with just two lesson plans. They have a wonderful range of products on topics from auditory processing to phonics and many more in between.

About MagneTalk Early Classifying:

In this game, they combine real photos with magnetics.

This game helps your child improve their classifying, vocabulary, critical thinking, and fine motor skills.

The Classifying activity has 5 categories:

My Thoughts:

My daughter is only 3, so she is on the young end of this game. She thoroughly enjoyed playing this game with me. She was getting very good at it and was wanting me [Read more…]

Filed Under: education, family, gaming, giveaway, kids, review Tagged With: Super Duper Publications Review, Thoughts on Super Duper PUblications

Gotz Maxy Muffin Doll Review & Gotz Doll Giveaway

April 27, 2013 by Danielle 31 Comments

As I am sure that you are probably very well aware of by now, my daughter absolutely loves babies. She goes through stages of which one is her favorite, but one thing is for sure, and that is that she always has a baby with her. When I was given the opportunity to to try out a Gotz doll, I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

About Gotz Dolls:

Gotz is a luxury German doll maker. They are now coming back to the United States, courtesy of HABA.

In 1950, Marianne Gotz handcrafted beautiful dolls while her husband, Franz Gotz, would sell them from a wagon he pulled with his bike. Six decades later, the second generation of Gotz family members is still running the show.

There are a few features that make Gotz dolls stand above all of the other dolls out there. First, their hair can be washed, styled (even with a curling iron or blow dryer on low setting!) and brushed just like their owner’s hair! The secret to the company is that the dolls’ hair is rooted in the scalp, so they won’t snarl or kink. The other wonderful feature is that if your doll gets dirtier than a spot treatment can take care [Read more…]

Filed Under: baby, giveaway, kids, review, toys, Uncategorized Tagged With: 18" dolls, adorable dolls, can wear american girl clothes, Gotz Doll, Gotz Maxy Muffin Doll, Gotz Maxy Muffin Doll Review & Gotz Doll Giveaway, Haba Review, Thoughts on Haba Gotz Dolls

Innotab 2 Baby – A New Tablet for Your Little Ones

April 23, 2013 by Samantha 4 Comments

VTech have been innovating children’s play since 1980. Their tablet line the Innotab follows this tradition using modern technology and learning techniques to further enhance a child’s educational play.

The Innotab 2 is the most recent addition to the line. This tablet offers a lot of features of a full fledged tablet, but geared toward kids. Physically it is brightly colored and is able to take a beating. Some of its features and technical abilities include:

5” brilliant color touch screen
Protective gel skin and 2 baby-friendly styluses included
Baby Sign Language: Develop a baby’s language skills with the included sign language video which teaches 100 popular signs using the Baby Signs Program. Download and purchase more videos from VTech’s Learning Lodge Navigator
Rotatable camera for memory capture: Capture, store and view photos of baby’s family and friends
Personalization: Add a personalized voice greeting and customize the tablet with personal photos
Comes with FREE on-board activities: Receive added value with your InnoTab 2 Baby purchase including: 3 learning games designed for babies, baby’s first e-book, and 12 songs for [Read more…]

Filed Under: baby, electronics, kids Tagged With: baby safe tablet, Innotab 2 Baby - A New Tablet for Your Little Ones, kids tablet, tablet for babies, tablet for kids, V Tech tablet, Vtech tablet

5 Tips for Getting Kids to Take Yucky Tasting Medicine

April 20, 2013 by Samantha 6 Comments

We’ve all had to face the tears and tantrums that seem to go hand-in-hand with forcing kids to take foul-tasting medicines. And while most of us would rather not subject our kids to this trauma, the truth is that they have to take their medicine, like it or not, if they want to overcome whatever illness all their classmates have contracted and passed around this week. So here are just a few ways that you can make the ordeal a little easier on everyone involved.

Change the flavor. If it turns out your child is averse to certain flavors of medicine, simply ask at your local pharmacy about changing the flavor. Many pharmacies offer a laundry list of kid-friendly flavors for liquid medicines, including favorites like grape, orange, strawberry, and bubble gum, just to name a few. And if your medication is prescribed in a pill form (something of a rarity for children’s medication) simply ask if it comes in a liquid or if there is a comparable alternative that comes in liquid form.
Try a new delivery system. When your kids see you coming with the bottle and spoon they might be aware of exactly what lies ahead. So try switching things [Read more…]