Tuesday, January 29, 2008

St David's Day Puzzles for Kids

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales and by Welsh people throughout the world on 1st March. We'll will be adding quite a new ideas for St David's Day activities for kids in the next week or so, and today we have added some new St David's Day puzzles for kids for you to print out.
St David's Day puzzles

Chinese New Year Crafts and Puzzles - Lots New!

We have been busy creating some really fantastic new craft ideas for Chinese New Year, including a Chinese Lion Dance costume, a Chinese Dragon from egg boxes, a Chinese Lion puppet, a "Bowl of Oranges" collage, a Chinese firecracker, and lots more.

I've also added a new Chinese New Year word search to print out and enjoy...

Monday, January 28, 2008

Groundhog Day - printables, puzzles and jigsaws!

Groundhog Day is a US tradition originating from the German Candlemas day and brought to America by German settlers. On 2nd February, if the groundhog emerges from its winter hibernation and can see its shadow on the ground, it knows that winter will last at least another six weeks. If there is no shadow, there will be an early end to winter.

Find out more about Groundhog Day and have fun with it in your classroom or home using our new Groundhog Day activities:



Thursday, January 24, 2008

Mardi Gras Crafts for Kids

Mardi Gras is coming up soon (5th February), so you might want to think about some easy Mardi Gras crafts you can enjoy with your kids. You'll find the colors purple, green and gold in abundance on our Mardi Gras pages, and a collection of (noisy!) crafts that children of all ages will enjoy.

Pancake Day Crafts and Activities!

We've come up with some fun and original ways for you to celebrate Pancake Day (5th February) this year - and none of them involve cooking!



Check out our Pancake Day crafts, games and activities...

Monday, January 21, 2008

Australia Day Crafts Added

If you are celebrating Australia Day on Saturday, or just like the idea of trying some Australia-themed crafts with your children, have a look at our new Australia Day crafts page. You will find lots to inspire you, including a very fearsome shark and some characterful crocodiles!
Australia Day Crafts for Kids

Chinese New Year - New Chinese Zodiac Printables

I love these latest Chinese New Year printables - and I hope you do too!


Perfect for displaying in the classroom, our Chinese Zodiac Posters feature the main characteristics of each animal of the Chinese zodiac. We think they will be great for vocabulary work, discussion, and fun to look at too!
Chinese Zodiac Posters


Also new are these Chinese Zodiac bookmarks. You can print out a classroom sheet (5 of the same animal on each page) to distribute the kids in your class, where most children will have one of two different birthdays. Or you can print out the 12 different animals, over 3 pages.
Chinese Zodiac Bookmarks

More Chinese New Year printables, crafts and activities for kids

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Valentine's Day Printables - New Cards and Stationery


If you are looking for some cute Valentine's Day cards to print - either to give to the kids, or for the children to hand out at school - you will find a brand new collection on the website today.
Also added today are 5 new designs of Valentine stationery - Valentine's Day handwriting paper, lined paper and writing frames, for all your writing projects at home and school. They make lovely thank you paper too.

MLK Day Puzzles For Kids


Well, I know it is last minute, but I've just added two Martin Luther King Day puzzles to the site to keep the kids busy. There is a "how many words" puzzle for all ages, and a tricky crytogram featuring a Dr Martin Luther King Jr quote, which should keep older children guessing for a while!

Friday, January 18, 2008

MLK Day Crafts for Kids - New!

New at Activity Village, we have a collection of some really super craft ideas for MLK Day. Make a "one world" poster, a hand banner, or our multicultural puppet, and teach the children that we are all the same inside.
MLK Day Crafts

Valentine's Day Crafts For Kids - Lots New!


I have just added some super new Valentine's Day crafts from Sarah and Jack, including this gorgeous handprint heart - a lovely messy craft that will become a treasured possession and memento!
Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids
Valentine's Day at Activity Village

Friday, January 11, 2008

Chinese New Year Crafts For Kids!


Chinese New Year is coming up fast - the Year of the Rat begins on 7th February. We have a growing collection of Chinese New Year activities for kids, include some super new quick and easy craft ideas added in the last couple of days:

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Mardi Gras Activities For Kids

Mardi Gras will be celebrated on 5th February 2008 and I have added new Mardi Gras coloring pages to the site today, as well as 7 pages of mask templates so that you can have some sticky fun with your kids creating your own colorful Mardi Gras masks. We also have some Mardi Gras crafts, a jigsaw to play on your computer, and an inspiring collection of links to other Mardi Gras activities for kids on other websites.
Mardi Gras for Kids

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Winter Crafts To Keep Your Kids Busy!

I've just added three new winter craft ideas to our growing collection of winter crafts. Somehow when it is cold and dark (and even snowing) outside, there is something quite comforting about grabbing your junk collection, the glue and the paints and having a good old crafting session with the kids! In addition to all sorts of snowmen, we have been creating snowy pictures, winter collages and this gorgeous winter village scene:

Winter Crafts for Kids

Coloring Pages for Australia Day - Kangaroos, Koalas and More!


We have added to our collection of Australia-themed colouring pages in time for Australia Day on January 26th. You'll find everything from a kangaroo to a jolly swagman!
"Oh there once was a swagman camped in the billabongs
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree
And he sang as he looked at the old billy boiling
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me"

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Family Recipes - More New Chicken Recipes


Chicken Marsala
Although the "adult" version of this dish includes mushrooms and marsala wine - neither of which go down well with my kids - this is a perfect family recipe. We save the sauce for the grown-ups and give the kids "crunchy" chicken, and everybody is happy!


Sweet and Sour Chicken
"Sweet and sour" was a classic Chinese dish in the 1980s, but that was because it has always been so popular with the family market! Kids love the sweet taste (from the pineapple chunks) and it is sure to become a family favourite.


Chicken And Vegetable Noodle Soup
Everybody knows that chicken noodle soup is good for the soul - and for growing children! This version sneaks in some healthy vegetables too.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Food Ingredients To Avoid

When buying and cooking food for our families, we all want to provide the best nutrition and the safest produce we can for the price we can afford, as well as putting together tasty meals that all family members will enjoy. But these days we hear more and more about the dangers of the chemical additives which have become commonplace in our foodstuffs. What are these additives, and which ones should we be avoiding?

Family Recipes - Three New Chicken Recipes

Easy Quesadillas
These are a firm family favourite in our house - and a very useful quick meal to teach your teenagers to cook for themselves and their friends! Children of all ages enjoy putting these together, and of course you can tailor them to suit the likes and dislikes of the different members of the family.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Apple and Cheese
These stuffed chicken breasts are quick to prepare and while they are cooking in the oven you can get on with preparing the vegetables, laying the table and so on! Apple and chicken are a popular combination for children.

Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken
The smell of this chicken while roasting is absolutely wonderful! The sweet and spicy flavour appeals to kids, although you might want to cut down the pepper for really young children. Delicious served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, or just with a crunchy side salad.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

A New Tradition For an Old Year

By Sasha Graham

I love this time of year. The transition from the festivity of the holidays into the relative calm of January feels like a nice, deep breath. I enjoy putting all of the holiday photo cards we received in December into an album and I like how clean and neat the house looks after we’ve tucked the holiday decorations carefully into their boxes.

There is one thing I don’t much care for this time of year, however, and that’s New Year’s Eve. Although I’ve never really put my finger on why I don’t like New Year’s, I suppose it’s because it has always felt like a holiday infused with too many expectations and not enough substance. After all of the richness of Thanksgiving and Christmas, New Year’s seems a little empty to me.

This year, in mid-December, I sat on the couch drinking a cup of coffee while my 17-month-old son played with his trucks on the floor. “Probably not a bad idea to drink less coffee in 2007,” I thought inhaling the delicious aroma from my steaming cup. Then I grimaced, mulling over how to implement resolution #2, cutting back on caffeine, while still sticking to resolution #1, implementing an early-morning work-out regimen. Ugh. I found myself wondering, absent-mindedly, if my son would write New Year’s resolutions one day. “Oh, I hope not,” I thought to myself, “I really hope that he likes himself enough to not waste his time writing resolutions.”

Wait, WHAT?!

Do you ever find yourself having a thought that is so unexpected that it brings your brain screeching to a halt? A thought so startling that it feels almost like it came from somewhere else? Because that’s what happened to me...

Read the rest of this article here:
A New Tradition For An Old Year

Chinese New Year Coloring Pages

We have added 8 new Chinese New Year coloring pages to the site. Find them here:
Chinese New Year coloring pages

Thursday, January 3, 2008

7 Fat Loss Strategies for Busy Moms

Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your ‘mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your ‘skinny jeans' out of the closet...
7 Fat Loss Strategies for Busy Moms

MLK Day bookmarks and other printables

Martin Luther King Day is celebrated in the US on 21st January and we have some super new MLK Day printables (including bookmarks, writing frames for classroom projects, and writing paper designs) as well as an updated selection of links to some fantastic activities for your children.
MLK Day



“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Chinese New Year Printables

We have lots of new Chinese New Year printables to keep your printer busy in the Year of the Rat!


Meet Winston and Lily, our newest paper dolls. They have some gorgeous new Chinese New Year outfits, as well as some traditional Chinese New Year costumes to wear.


We also have a great new range of Chinese zodiac writing paper designs and writing frames - something for all ages and all sorts of Chinese New Year projects.
Chinese New Year writing paper