Besides picking out that perfect pumpkin from their pumpkin patch, kids can enjoy hayrides, a petting zoo, pony rides, a hay maze, a craft fair, games and even more rides! The festival hours are Fridays from noon until dark and Saturdays from 10:00am until dark.

DeWitt Stables is located at 2211 E. Quince in Mesa, just 1/2 mile north of the 202 Red Mountain on Gilbert Rd. For more information, call (480) 717-9540 or visit their website at www.dewittstables.com

Be sure to mark your calendars with our pumpkin graphic to help remind your little ones of the upcoming holiday fun! Halloween is almost upon us!

Kids will love this great petting zoo!

Pony rides are sure to delight those little western rustlers!

Don't forget to stop by the pumpkin patch for the perfect holiday pumpkin!

PUMPKIN AND CHILI PARTY

Schnepf Farms, 24810 Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek. Phone: 480-987-3100. Website: www.schnepffarms.com

Description: Voted as one of the best family friendly experiences by Phoenix Magazine, this pumpkin patch festival offers something for everyone. Featured rides are a hay wagon, a mini roller coaster, carousels and trains. Try finding your way through a 4- or 10-acre cornfield maze. And check out the chili.

Times: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
 
Prices: $15, $10 military. $12 discount tickets available at Fry’s. Be aware that a lot of the farm activities are priced a la carte so discount tickets are definitely recommended. This is not a cheap experience but it is sure a lot of fun for the kids!

PUMPKIN PATCH

Mother Nature’s Farm, 1663 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert. Phone: 480-892-5874. Website: mothernaturesfarm.com

Description:  Families can purchase pumpkins and decorate them, plus take part in activities including an inflatable bounce house, hayrides, a straw bounce, animal feeding and Alexander’s Adventure Maze created with bales of hay.
 
Times: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily through Nov. 5.

Prices: $7, $3 adults. 

Wherever you decide to purchase your pumpkins this year though, keep your little ones age in mind when it comes time to decorating. Remember, pumpkins don’t necessarily need to be “carved”. Fingerpaints can be an especially popular way for the youngest of your crew to still enjoy the experience. Topping your childs painted creations with a little glow in the dark paint or fingernail polish, glitter glue or the like, available at most grocery stores, and you’re good to go!

Does your enjoy Mr. Potato Head? How about working on the work bench with their play hammer and pols? Well, Paper Magic Group from Creative Seasonal Solutions has some great pumpkin decorating kits available at your local Fry’s Marketplace. The Fright Lights kit allow your child to pound in some transparent colored pegs with a small wooden mallet which then light up when a light is placed inside the pumpkin! Great for ages four and up. You could also try the Pumpkin Push Ins for ages 3 and up that allow your child to decorate their pumpkin with eyes, ears, horns, teeth, mouth and nose in true Mr. Potato Head fashion!

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time making this years Halloween masterpiece!

She started with your basic set of fingerpaints, large paper and of course, her two toddlers! She let the kids go nuts outside with the various colors of fingerpaint. Along with their crazy splashing across the page, each toddler thought it fun to make their own handprints on different pieces of paper as well. Once it was dry, she noticed some really fun coloring combinations along with some interesting lines in her little ones artwork. She had some extra frames and decided to see what they looked like. Then she found the pages with the handprints on them and had one of those “lightbulb” moments! She cut out the handprints, framed the large pages and placed the handprint on top of the matted artwork. She finished it off with each childs name and date and voilá! She had a beautiful piece of memorable artwork to perch on her wall that not only looked nice, but was a great positive reminder to her and her little ones of the days fun and the creative powers of those little minds!  Thanks for sharing, Meggin!

If you or someone you know has a great craft or creative activity for young children, please submit them to us at info@mytimecalendars.com with subject line of “creative fun”.

Cheryl’s party was complete with disposable chef hats, aprons and a few kid sized cooking utensils which she used in take home gift bags for each child. The recipes were simple consisting of pizzas, green beans, carrot sticks, pigs in blankets (hot dogs rolled and baked in crescent rolls), and home made ice cream. She had her husband do a short little magic show during the baking time (he read up earlier in the week at the library!).

At the end of the party, she took a picture of her “class” and mailed each child a certificate of completion from the “Cooking School for Brilliant Kids” that had their class picture in it! What a fun idea!

As a former Pampered Chef consultant, I actually did many child birthday parties that were a huge success! Sometimes the mothers even tagged along for a brush up on some kid friendly recipes and demos! These types of parties were certainly a departure from the norm and gave each child an opportunity to participate, start good cooking habits, enjoy some great food, and take home not only fun memories but some actual cooking skills and recipes they could use at home!

Some tips for hosting this kind of party:

1) keep it simple!…easy recipes with a short list of ingredients are best. Mix and match things you can cook with things you can serve right away.

2) keep the party list small!…smaller groups definitely work better in this situation. Keep the number of attendees to 5 or 6 depending on the age and maturity of the group. This gives everyone a chance to participate and helps you maintain some order in the kitchen as well as safety.

3) have a time filler to keep kids busy while the food is cooking…in Cheryl’s case, she had her husband prepared with some “magical” interlude but you could have any number of fun party games prepared. Some oldies but goodies are “pin the hat on the chef”, musical chairs at the dinner table, and hot potato.

4) keep mess in mind…remember to prepare an area where you can have everyone gather and be able to see and participate. In Cheryl’s case, she prepared a ping pong table with a themed table cloth and had everyone gather around it.

5) always be safe!…teach the kids good hand washing and surface cleaning habits. Make sure that no child is left unattended around hot surfaces. It is best to leave the oven and stove preparation to the “master chef” (i.e. the adult!).

And probably the most important tip, cater to your childs interests and food preferences so they and their friends can have a great time making cooking memories together!

The Phoenix Zoo has welcomed two new baby zebras along with a host of other new little ones!

Visit the Phoenix Zoo! If you have never been to this locale before, then it is definitely time! And if you’ve visited enough to say, “we’ve seen it all!”, then we’ve got news for ya…you haven’t! The Phoenix Zoo has welcomed a slew of new babies into their midst. Zebras, marmosets, big horn sheep and even a couple of year old giraffes have joined the crew. Plus, their new summer hours make it a much more enjoyable experience for all. They open now at 7:00am (or 6:00am if you’re a member) and close at 2:00pm on the weekdays and 4:00pm on the weekends. Enjoy the animal encounters throughout the morning, pack a lunch for a picnic with the monkeys at monkey island, and then cool off at the refreshing waterfall, waterslide and splash pads of Yakulla Caverns before departing for a welcomed afternoon nap! Admission is $16.00 for adults (ages 13 and up) and $7.00 per child (ages 3-12).

Check out the brand new Sea Life Aquarium at Arizona Mills Mall!

Visit Arizona Mills Mall for a unique experience at their Sea LIfe Arizona Aquarium! You can enter through the mall but once inside, kids will see an underwater playground where thousands of marine animals are shown in 12 distinct habitats. You will even be able to walk through a 360-degree tunneled walkway  directly through a massive tank full of schools of tropical fish, rays and sharks as they swim above, below and all around you! There is a children’s play area, video room and educational center. You can purchase day admission tickets, flex passes, and memberships. A day pass will run you $9.50 for kids 3-12,and $17.50 for adults (these are the online prices which are slightly cheaper than buying at the door).

Think the library is just for reading? Guess again!

Think the library is just for reading? Guess again! Our Public Libraries not only have a great summer readers program for kids, but they’ve also got some fun events you might want to put into your calendars!…

• Every wednesday (except June 16th) from 10:30-11:30am, the Main Library offers Toddler Time for Ages 24 through 36 months and their parents/cargivers (siblings welcomed). 20 minutes of stories, songs and fingerplay fun especially for Toddlers! (Limited to the first 50 people)
• June 8, 1:00-2:00pm (Main Library) Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium activity…Wonders of the Water: Learn about and meet some cool aquatic and semi-aquatic animals. Also available on June 24th, same time, at the Red Mountain Branch as well as June 30th at the Dobson Ranch Branch.
• June 9, 10:30-11:30am (Dobson Ranch Branch)…Join the puppeteers for a performance of the classic fairy tale Rapunzel. And at 1:30, bring your older kids to try their hand at making their own “ball” book!
• June 10, 1:00-2:00pm (Red Mountain Branch)…kids of all ages will have a blast with the crafts and bubble blowing at this event! You can catch this event at the Main Library June 15 from 10:30-11:30am or June 16 at Dobson Ranch Branch, same time.
• June 19, 1:00-3:00pm (Red Mountain Branch)…great opportunity to get your video game addicts out of the living room and into a library! On the 3rd Saturday of each month, the Red Mountain Branch will test your skills on their Wii along with board games and fun for ages 4-18.
• June 26, 1:30-3:30pm (Main Library, Dobson Ranch Branch, and Red Mountain Branch)…In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you might not be aware of the Eclipse movie coming to theaters at the end of this month. Join the Library in celebrating this books release to theaters with Twilight trivia games for prizes (such as Harkins movie tickets, drink cups, and popcorn coupons), raffles for a book purse made from the Eclipse hardback, dress like your favorite Twilight character (JUST BECAUSE!), sink your teeth into some snacks and if you’re into preparing a little, make and wear your own Twilight-themed T-shirt to enter the “Wear Your Own Twilight T-shirt” contest to win a copy of Eclipse!
• June 28, 1:00-2:00pm (Main Library)…Express your artistic side through the art of silk screen printing. Learn the basics and create a cool t-shirt (supplies and t-shirt provided)!

Looking for some free books for your kids? Barnes and Noble can help! Sign up at any location for their readers program! Just download their Readers Passport to record your child’s progress. Once your child reads 8 books, they get to choose one for free from their local Barnes and Noble!

Well, that should hopefully get you started! Maybe we’ll see you somewhere along the way! Enjoy your kiddos while they’re at home and don’t forget to mark your planned activities on your child’s personalized calendar so they can look forward to and remember all the fun you have this month!

Buying Valentines Cards is certainly easy and sometimes affordable. If you’re little one is working on writing their name, it can be a great way to practice this skill since they will have to write their name several times over in one sitting. If this is a skill you are working on, it can help if you have fairly large valentines cards so that they will have room to write (early writers rarely have the control and coordination required to write very small). It might also help if you draw a line if one does not already exist so that your little one has a reference as they practice their name writing. Without the guidance of lines, you may find this to be a very unproductive and frustrating practice time.

But for those who have mastered their name writing and are looking for a fun alternative to the standard “card”, we suggest a “Valentine’s Mouse”. This little critter requires very little cost for a very fun outcome! The materials you will need are:

• colored paper
• red/black marker or glitter glue
• pipe cleaners
• bag of Hershey Kisses
• glue/tape

Take the colored paper, fold it in half, and begin cutting half-heart shapes along the fold (this will ensure your finished heart will be symmetrical). These small hearts will be glued to the bottom of the Hershey Kiss to form the “ears” of our mouse. Next, take a pipe cleaner and curl it around a pencil. The will be taped to the bottom of the Hershey Kiss as well and bent to resemble our mouse tail. Next, take the marker and make eyes (using a black marker) and a nose (using the red marker or red glitter glue)  for your mouse….and voila! You have your very own valentine critter to deliver!

For a fun surprise for a teacher, parent or grandparent…consider giving them a “heart attack”! This is a simple, easy and inexpensive craft that is lots of fun for the giver and truly memorable for the receiver. First cut as many hearts as possible from several different colors of paper (the more sizes and colors, the more fun!). Next, take a marker and write on each heart something you like, admire, or a special memory about the person. If you have children that are not writing, special pictures are also wonderful. Again, the more, the merrier! Take the finished hearts and tape/post them all over the person’s bathroom, bedroom, front lawn (be aware of sprinklers!), office or any other space that the person spends a lot of time in. The key to success here is to not get caught posting the hearts! When the person returns, they will be greeted with their “heart attack” of special messages from their children. This is a wonderful way for kids to learn to “count their blessings” and be truly thankful for this special someone by remembering all the things they love about them and writing them down. The best reward is the look on the person’s face when they enter the room!

Whatever crafts you decide, make sure you take the time to explain why this holiday is so important. Help your kids remember that showing someone you love and appreciate them is truly one of the best ways to not only make their day, but also make your day a little brighter!

Do you have some fun crafts that have worked well with your family or classroom? Share ‘em! Visit our Teachers Forum under classroom activities!

No more rats nests on top of my packages!

If you are like me who has somehow managed to be born with the non-bowtieing gene, then the holidays are somewhat of a struggle when you are surrounded by beautifully tied packages and offer a large oversized knot in return. But I have found two wonderful sites that have come to my rescue!

For you who appreciate the basics, check out this “how to” from Wikihow.com…http://www.wikihow.com/Tie-a-Bow

If you are looking to really impress, then SaveOnCrafts.com is where you want to go…http://www.save-on-crafts.com/howtomakebows.html

No more rats nests on top of my packages!

There's something for every age here!

For those of you looking to get your kids into the Halloween spirit, I’ve got a great place for you to check out this season…Jump and Shout Play Center! Located at 1061 N. Dobson Rd., Suite 110 in Mesa  between Bass Pro Shop and Cinemark, they will be converting their indoor bounce and play area into a “haunted” play center for us from 3:00pm to 8:00pm on October 30 and 31 (a Friday and Saturday).

If you are not familiar with Jump and Shout, then you need to get informed about this great Mesa Riverview secret! With the Mesa location of Bounce U closing down, Jump and Shout is sure to take over the area business with ease offering not only great bounce equipment for all ages but also climbing areas, large video screens and “bubble time” where huge amounts of bubbles rain down on our little bouncers!

This special 2-day Halloween event will offer the following features to our eager little goblins:

• UNLIMITED play on their indoor equipment
• Halloween arts and crafts
• costume contests
• games and dancing
• treats
• a real “slime” station!

The price is only $15.00 per child for over 5 hours of Halloween fun! Don’t miss this great safe, clean and fun Halloween party alternative. It’s great for all ages since they have an area for tots (crawlers to toddlers) as well as larger equipment for older children and even adults!

For more information: This facility also offers field trip options for classrooms, party packages, open play  and full membership options. You can contact this Jump and Shout location at 480-834-7529 and you can read more about them at their website or through my previous article entitled “Info 101: Indoor Toddler Play Zones“ which reviews this facility.

Fun Mardi Gras style masks…http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/mardigras/mmasks.htm

Great creative mask ideas…http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/maskcrafts/

Quite the variety here!…http://www.colorbookmasks.com/

The ever popular Star Wars!…http://www.starwars.com/kids/activity/crafts/f20051026/index.html