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Fun loving mom with a boat load of kids that I taxi around in moms taxi. Blogging is a family thing with my sis-in-law and other members of our families working hard behind the scene.
Here's a chance to grab a free copy of "Dora's World Adventure" PC game for your children.
All you need to do is register for updates about Nickelodeon video downloads and other Nick Jr. offers. After you register, you will receive a link in your e-mail to download this cute free game.
Remember, with freebies we post on Fun 4 The Children, if you don't want to fill up your main e-mail address with the offers we post, you can always get another free e-mail address through Gmail or Yahoo.
It's the season for gifts and here is one from Jitterbug. For a limited time, you can get free downloads of 7 original holiday songs from artists on Jitterbug.
Available songs include:
Wake Up by The Hipwaders
Trim The Tree by Brady Rymer
Make Santa Happy by Didi Pop
Fa And A La by Gustafer Yellowgold
Holidays by Princess Katie & Racer Steve
December Nights by Rock Daddy Rock
Hanukkah All Over The World by David Tobocman
You can listen to the songs online and then download the original songs to your mp3 player/iPhone/iPod, making a great addition to your children's music. Click on the Free Jitterbug Holiday Music to listen and download your songs.
NORAD is the bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. For more than 50 years, NORAD has tracked Santa’s Christmas Eve flight by using four high-tech systems – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
By having high-speed digital cameras pre-positioned at many locations around the world only on Christmas Eve they are able to capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.
Your children will enjoy seeing Santa's journey on the NORAD Tracks Santa homepage and they can also track his flight in Google Earth.
Make sure you visit the Kids' Countdown Village discover new surprises and join in on the fun!
Back for 2009 is the ever popular, ever very funny Elf Yourself. Turn your children or your whole family into dancing elves! Always a fun and popular post on Fun 4 The Children, we had a great time with this last year and this year they have added a couple new features.
Create your own video by uploading a photo of your child (or anyone you would like) to see them get transform into a dancing elf, complete with music and an optional message.
To get started, you will upload a photo of who you want to star in the video. Be advised, it's easier to use photos with closeups of the head and face. After you upload your photo you will get to adjust the head size and rotate the photo. From their, you will position the mouth in the photo.
When your finished positioning the mouth, you will have a choice to upload up to four more photos, to have all your family members dance together or proceed with your original photo.
You next decision is to choose a dance. There are five dance choices for you to choose from (Hip Hop, Singing, Disco, Classic, and Country).
That's it, you finished. You will have the option of e-mailing your video to friends and loved ones. You can also embed your videos into any websites or blogs you may publish or share them through MySpace, Facebook and other sites. They are also offering products for you to purchase from your videos and an option to download your videos for a small fee.
Parents, this free software can help your children master their spelling or vocabulary words fast.
It will help help them practice their spelling words by quizzing them on their spelling words using audio prompts. Either yourself or your child can input the words for each list making a sound recording of each word and then SpellQuizzer quizzes them on each word correcting them when they make a mistake.
System Requirements for this software: Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000, ME or 98.
The Free "SpellQuizzer" software download is available from Giveaway of the Day and is only available for for download for 24 hours (or more, if agreed by software publisher). As of this posting, the time left for this download is: 9 hours 41 minutes.
After you download the software you will Unzip the package you've downloaded, and carefully read the instructions which you can find in the readme.txt file (included with the downloads). If you don't have software to unzip the download do a Google search for CAM UnZip or ZIP Reader, both are free.
As of this posting, the below image shows the Free "SpellQuizzer" software download image but it will change when the time expires. The good news is that if you have arrived at the offer after it has expired there will be a new offer listed in the image box that you may be helpful to you or your children.
Anyone with children who are fans of Disney's The Princess & the Frog? If so, I've found five (5) free music downloads.
From the Walmart website you can grab a free download of Mama Odie's "Dig a Little Deeper".
You will have to enter the code "PRINCESSFROG". Walmart Music Downloads Are Available Only in the U.S.
Visit the Walmart website to download you free Mama Odie's "Dig a Little Deeper" from Disney's The Princess & the Frog soundtrack.
"Never Knew I Needed" Video (with Animation):
The second download is from Amplified.com (also in today's LA Times) and you can download four free songs:
Down in New Orleans
Almost There
Ma Belle Evangeline
Never Knew I Needed
For this one you have to enter the code: RK4F3TM
Rules on this one state: "Offer only valid while supplies last. Download available in U.S. only. Please ensure your browser is set to accept all cookies. Wizip, WinRAR or other decompression software required to open ZIP archives."
Another fun an easy Christmas craft to make with your children. The Disney Family Fun site always creates some wonderful crafts that your children will love.
Create your own caroling trio to spread holiday cheer. Now remember (and this goes for all crafts posted on Fun 4 The Children) the video and instructions are your beginning point to show your children how they are done. The best part is letting your children use their imaginations when it comes to the further designing of these carolers.
Create your own copy of the North Pole News with a photo of your child on the cover. Your children will love seeing themselves on the cover of the North Pole News along with a cute story about your child and Santa.
You can create a story with photo in a few easy steps:
1. Upload photo and click the "Next" button.
2. You will then enter you child's name, address and gender.
3. Next enter family or friends e-mail addresses if you would like to share with them (you can enter your own e-mail address in this area if you don't want to share).
4. Lastly, provide your name, e-mail and click "Next" to create your copy of Santa's Front Page News.
When your story is created your children will also get to see Santa's Flight Tracker that show Santa's flight to your home!
For the second straight year, I am very happy to share with you Macy’s BELIEVE campaign, which builds on the great success of last year’s holiday effort to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For those not familiar with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, they give hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. Truly a wonderful foundation for an outstanding cause!
This year, Macy’s is adding to the spirit of “Believe” with a national Santa Tour, an honorary National Believe Day, a “Yes, Virginia” animated special, and a new TV commercial featuring Queen Latifah.
Inspired by the New York Sun’s famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial from 1897 and includes letter-writing “Believe Stations” in Macy’s stores across the country. For each letter received, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1 million.
On Friday, December 11, 2009, Macy’s will celebrate the first National Believe Day to recognize and reward acts of kindness and generosity from coast to coast. Also that day, CBS will premiere a new original animated special called, “Yes, Virginia.” on Friday, December 11, at 8 p.m. ET.
While there, don't forget to enter the "Tell Us Why You Believe" contest to win a trip for four to New York City, for the Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2010. To enter just tell Macy’s WHY YOU BELIEVE.
This year they have also added a wonderful resource for schools and teachers by providing an online toolkit that allows teachers and schools to use “Believe” as a writing lesson or activity during the holiday season. The toolkit includes a Santa letter template, coloring sheet and “I Believe” bookmark cut-out and can be downloaded at Macy's BELIEVE.
Macy's Gift Card Giveaway
A big thank you to M80 on behalf of Macy’s and in the spirit of giving, I have two $25 gift card to Macy's to give away to two lucky readers of the Fun 4 The Children blog.
MAIN ENTRY:
Leave a comment telling me one item on your Christmas list. This is your first and main entry, it's a must in order to include any other bonus entries!
Extra Entries:
To receive these extra entries, you must do the MAIN entry.
Please leave a comment for each additional entry you complete (current followers and subscribers count).
1. One Extra Entry if you subscribe to Fun 4 The Children via E-mail
2. One Extra Entry if you subscribe to Fun 4 The Children via Feed Reader
3. One Extra Entry if you follow with Google Friend Connect
4. One Extra Entry if you add Fun 4 The Children to your Blogroll
5. Five Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and a link to the Macy's BELIEVE campaign.
Unlimited Extra Entries
To receive these unlimited extra entries, you must do the MAIN entry.
6. Tweet about the contest (be sure to leave the tweet link) 7. Leave a comment on another post besides this one ( leave link to comment )
This giveaway is open to residents of the United States only, 18 or older and will end at 11:59 PM EST on December 18, 2009. The winners will be selected at random and the entries verified. The winners will then have 48 hours to claim their giveaway prize. If the winner does not claim their prize within their 48 hour period, a new winner will be chosen. Prize will be provided and shipped directly by M80 Public Relations on behalf of Macy’s.
You must leave an e-mail address (or have it available in a profile) so that I can contact you if you are the winner.
Be advised, comments are moderated.
** We did not receive any incentives from M80 Public Relations or Macy's for writing this post. I big thank you to M80 Public Relations on behalf of Macy’s for generously provided the gift cards for this contest. **
WINNERS Announced:
Thank you to all that entered. I wish I had gift cards to give to all of you. Here are the two winners:
Deanna G. and JC
I've sent an e-mail to both of you and you will have 48 four hours to respond (must reply by 12:25 PM Monday 12/21/09). If I don't receive a reply, another winner (or two) will be selected.
Plenty of Christmas elves and a couple of pictures of Santa.
Click on the above link and wait for the coloring book to download in PDF format. You can then print single pages or the whole coloring book by clicking on the image of the printer in the top left corner of the coloring book.
Back for 2009 is Santa's Personalized Video Message from Disney Family.com.
We had a great time with this last year and I'm happy to see that it is available again.
With the Santa's Personalized Video Message, you get to put your child's name on Santa's nice list and then receive a personalized video message from Santa!! From past experiences I can tell you that your children will get a great thrill seeing themselves on the video.
To get started, visit Santa's Personalized Video Message on the family.com website. You will have to register or log in and then click on "Create your video now".
Next you will enter your child's first name and upload a photo of them. After your photo uploads you will then get to customize the image to fit.
Click on "Generate Video" and you personalized video will be ready.
When you finish your video you will get to share it with family and friends through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, a blog, e-mail or just copy the link and save it for future visits.
Enjoy this fun list of Santa Claus along with his sleigh, reindeer, gifts and more.
As always, feel free to share your finished work with us and if we have any artist, please feel free to e-mail your pictures to us and we will add them to Fun 4 The Children.
For those of you looking to get photos with your children and Santa, participating Walmart stores across the USA are offering a Free Photo with Santa on the following dates and times:
Moving Picture Books takes children's picture books, animates them, adds sound effects, rich narration and puts music to them to provide a fun and educational digital reading experience for children ages 0-7.
They offer 38 titles of both classic stories and new favorites and each is available in English, Spanish and English Read-Along-Text versions.
Here is one preview of I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Moving Picture Books are primarily designed to educate and inspire reading in young children. The Read-Along-Text versions of our stories have been hailed by both education professionals and parents as a great early reading tool. In addition, our books feature age-appropriate lessons that any parent can appreciate - caring, sharing, empathy, honesty, self-reliance and more!
Moving Picture Books are also intended to support busy parents in the digital age. Our digital downloads allow children to easily engage in learning wherever they are - on the school bus, at the doctor's office, the airport and waiting in line at a store to name just a few.
The truth is, we love what we do. Many of us involved in creating Moving Picture Books are parents of young children. We love the reaction we get not only from our kids, but also from the parents and kids we meet who have experienced the magic of Moving Picture Books. We hope you'll join us on this exciting journey!
I've been provided a code that you can use to get a free download. Visit the Moving Picture Books website, select your title and then enter the code BLOGHER to receive a free download. Enjoy!
Last minute Thanksgiving craft for the little ones.
In this video from expertvillage, you will learn how to create a very simple to make paper turkey.
After you finish your paper turkey following the directions in the video, feel free to get even more creative by decorating your turkey further with colored markers, paint or glitter!
On Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 11:00am - 1:00pm, participating Borders stores are hosting a Polar Express Pajama Party.
Information from Borders:
"Put on your PJs and enjoy the classic tale, activities, and crafts!
* Storytime with The Polar Express * Holiday Carols with Christmas with the Chipmunks CD * Raffle and Giveaway Items
Event details vary by store. Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by a parent or other legal guardian. Contact your local store for details."
Send Santa a letter and he'll write you back. Sure to add a big smile to your children's face when they receive their letter from Santa Claus.
To get started, all you have to do is type in your name and a secret password, answer a couple of questions and click on the toy you would like the most for Christmas. You can also enter a wish list and write a special message to Santa.
After you enter your information, it takes Santa two days to answer your letter and you can go back to Santa’s Secret Village at www.northpole.com to get your reply. MAKE SURE you have the name and password you entered to read your letter.
Create your own personalized Santa story for your children.
This one is very easy to do, enter your personal information, select your story and then you can click “Read the Story” or “Print a Personalized Story Book” to create your very own book!
Over at FaveCrafts.com you can grab yourself a wonderful free Thanksgiving Craft eBook filled with 30 craft projects for Thanksgiving.
This one is for both, us parents and for the children as there are many crafts for us big people and a wonderful section just for our little ones.
The Thanksgiving crafts for children section includes:
Easy Turkey Napkin Rings Tom the Turkey Pumpkin Turkey Table Accents Thanksgiving Indian and Pilgrim Table Toppers Thankful Pins Decorative Cartoon Turkey
I've provided two links for you to get your free Thanksgiving Crafts ebook, this one being a direct link to the downloaded ebook and the one at the top of this post is the offer on the FaveCrafts.com website. I've listed it this way because sometimes a website will change their webpages and I don't want anyone to miss out on this one.
Also, be sure to look around the FaveCrafts.com website as they have many wonderful crafts listed on their website.
With Christmas approaching quickly, I've decided to start the Christmas posts here on Fun 4 The Children a little earlier this year.
What better way to start this years Christmas post than with a free offer of Santa Letters and Christmas Certificates. In recent years, I've made post on free Santa letters, which you can still get (see "Related Christmas Post" at the bottom of this article) but I'm always pleased to add to our ever growing collection.
I ran across a wonderful blog called My Parent Magic, where you’ll find fun resources, and great information to help you keep the magic of childhood alive and well with your children. The site’s creator, Chuck Smith, had created a Christmas Super Bonus Package that he used to sell, but for various reasons, he has decided to give the Santa Letters and Christmas Certificates to anyone who subscribes to his My Parent Magic email list.
Inside this wonderful package you will get 50+ Letters From Santa and 50+ More Letters From Santa. You will also get 10 Premium Christmas Certificates.
The letters and certificates will be released on a schedule starting November 13th, November 20th, November 27th and December 4th.
As a special "Thank You" for joining the list, you will also get a link to download "101 Letters From" which contains 100+ customizable letters for your children and some other special bonuses. There are letters from the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and letters for special occasions like the first day of school.
The ship 'Mayflower' has played a very significant role in the history of Thanksgiving, because it was the historic ship that took the Pilgrims to America in 1620.
"The Mayflower was the famous ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from Southampton, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts (which would become the capital of Plymouth Colony), in 1620.[1][dead link] There were 102 passengers and a crew of 25-30."
Grab your crayons and whatever else you use to decorate your coloring pages and use your imagination as you set sail on the Mayflower!
Here's a new list of the first settlers of Plymouth Massachusetts, the Pilgrims.
Print them out and staple them all together to make your own pilgrim coloring book. You could also mix in other Thanksgiving coloring page images such as Indians and turkeys to complete your Thanksgiving coloring book.
Please be advised that when you click on any of the links below, you will be leaving the Fun 4 The Children blog. Kids, please check with your parents before looking at new websites!
Thanksgiving Day, one of my favorites. A great time for food, family and making Thanksgiving crafts with the kids.
The following video will give you and your children some wonderful ideas to create your own special Thanksgiving decorations. Ideas include centerpieces, napkin rings, a Thanksgiving place mat and table place cards.
Vampires and vampire bats are a big part of Halloween, with the most popular vampire being Count Dracula. All over the world, every year, thousands of costumes and accessories representing vampires, vampire bats and Dracula are sold around Halloween.
Listed below are a bunch of spooky Dracula coloring pages for your Halloween. Use your imagination while decorating these coloring pages, adding your own special designs. You can then make your own Halloween books with them or hand them for Halloween decorations.
If the above links are not working or are expired, please do us a favor and let us know by clicking: Contact US. We may also be able to help you get some of the free coloring books, pages and E-books that may have expired.
This Crayola Halloween Craft video show how to make spider web treat bags for your Halloween parties or trick-or-treaters.
We personally love the crayola products but you can use other materials as you choose. Add any other decorations you would like to these bags using your creative imaginations!
This is a quick and inexpensive way to make an easy homemade Halloween spider web decoration. Be sure your little ones are using safety scissors and some may need help from mom or dad.
After finishing you color them or decorate them anyway you want. You could also use different colored paper. When finished you can hang them anywhere.
Another year has come and gone so very quickly and Halloween is upon us again. Last year we posted a bunch of great websites for you to get pumpkin stencils and patterns (see below for those links).
I've come across some new pumpkin stencils and patterns for your children (with your help) to enjoy carving into their pumpkins.
Along with the old pumpkin stencils post and these new ones, your children should find something they like.
P.S. In case they don't, you can always use the Pumpkin Stencil Maker which you will find listed on the "Presidential Pumpkin Stencils and Pumpkin Stencil Maker" post.
Nick Jr. Jack-o'-lanterns pumpkin stencils - Follow the step-by-step instructions and character stencils to create a Dora, Blue, Moose, Backyardigans, Wubbzy, or Yo Gabba Gabba jack-o'-lantern.
Pumpkins: From Stencils to Carved - this one is from Better Homes and Gardens. A great way to select a pumpkin carving pattern. See a stencil outline, then go to the next slide to see the actual carved pumpkin. You do have to register to see the PDF pumpkin stencil downloads.
PumpkinGlow.com Free Pumpkin Patterns - "For those looking for something unique for Halloween this year, something different, perhaps even inspirational, uplifting, or patriotic. This site features pumpkin templates that will challenge advanced pumpkin carvers as well as simpler stencils that will entertain beginner carvers."
If the above links are not working or are expired, please do us a favor and let us know by clicking: Contact US. We may also be able to help you get some of the free coloring books, pages and E-books that may have expired.