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Fabulous Fall Rhymes

Now that I have a two-year-old, I am trying to teach her some fun seasonally-related rhymes and finger plays.  Rhymes are very important and helpful in teaching language skills to young children.  Here are a few we have been doing. Do you have any to add?



Counting Apples
A fingerplay
Five red apples
Hanging on a tree    
(five fingers held up)
The juiciest apples you ever did see!

The wind came past
And gave an angry
frown     (shake head and look angry)
And one little apple came tumbling down.

Four red apples, etc.


Squirrels
Counting poem

Five little squirrels sitting in a tree.
The first one said, “What do I see?”
The second one said, “Some nuts on the ground.”
The third one said, “Those nuts I found.”
The fourth one said, “I’ll race you there.”
The Fifth one said, “All right, that’s fair.”
So they shook their tails and ran with glee.
To the nuts that lay at the foot of the tree.


I’m a Little Pumpkin
Tune: “I’m A Little Teapot”
I’m a little pumpkin,
Orange and round.
You can talk to me
I can’t make a sound.
But if you scoop me out
And put a candle in,
Carve me a face,
I can grin and grin!

Falling Leaves
Tune: “London Bridges Falling Down”

Pretty leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down.
Pretty leaves are falling down, all over town.
Some are orange and some are brown, some are brown, some are brown.
Some are orange and some are brown, watch the leaves fall down.
Some are yellow and some are red, some are red, some are red.
Some are yellow and some are red, leaves fall on my head.


Counting Apples and Squirrels are from Preschool Rainbow.
I’m a Little Pumpkin and Falling Leaves are by Jean Warren and are posted on Preschool Express.

Spooky Buddies- Halloween Safety Tips and Buddy Cards

We recently checked out the adorable movie, Spooky Buddies film by Disney.  My daughter absolutely loved seeing the puppies running around, talking and wearing costumes!!! The film was extremely cute and was not scary in the least (thank you, Disney for not giving my child nightmares)!

Spooky Buddies sent over some Halloween safety tips and buddy cards that I thought you might want to check out before heading out with your children next Monday.  Click here to download them!

Spooky Buddies DVD

I am elbow-deep in Halloween shopping, both for myself and for Ava girl and I came across this DVD, I am definitely going to pick it up for Abes-- Spooky Buddies! They have a sweet and delicious recipe for doggie biscuits, I think Abes and I will definitely make these for our two wiener dogs!!! Click here for some other fun Spooky Buddies activities. Want to score it for less? Click here to get $5 off!

Disney's Winnie the Pooh DVD + Blu-Ray

As you may remember, we were lucky enough to check out Disney's Winnie the Pooh advanced screening this summer. Ever since then, my daughter has been talking non-stop about Pooh and his friends, specifically about Tigger and how he goes, "BOINGY BOINGY BOINGY BOINGY!!!!!!"

Our favorite part of the movie was a slapstick type of sequence of events where all the characters are frightened by a monster called the "Backson".    As adults, we were able to read the note Christopher Robin mis-spelled, so we were able to laugh at the tongue-in-cheek humor that follows.  The younger crowd of viewers (those who are not yet reading) will be on the edge of their seats, waiting for the "Backson" to appear and fall into the trap Pooh's friends set for him!

She has asked repeatedly to watch it when we are settling in to watch a movie and snuggle.  As of today, she now can watch Winnie the Pooh to her heart's desire! It was officially released today on DVD + Blu-Ray!!!

We absolutely love the silly and heart-warming story about Pooh and his friends and Pooh's incredible love of honey.  The movie is filled with delightful adventure and had Ava and my husband and I giggling throughout!

The DVD and Blu-Ray each have bonus features which provide even more entertainment and fun!

Blu-Ray Features:
Exclusive bonus short “Mini-Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Balloon” – In this
charming short, Pooh comes up with a daring plan to get a hold of some honey by fooling a
group of bees.

“The Ballad of Nessie” - The animated short film included in the theatrical release is the
heartwarming tale of how Nessie found her new home in the Loch Ness.

“Winnie the Pooh and His Story Too” – A fun and informative behind-the-scenes look at
the film, designed for the whole family. Hosted by John Cleese (narrator of the film), and with
occasional help from Pooh himself, this featurette explores Winnie the Pooh‟s history from his
beginnings as a character in a book, to his continued life in the movies. The filmmakers
reveal how they worked to keep the look of the characters and settings in this movie
consistent with their first appearances on-screen in 1966. Pooh, being a bear of very little
mind, finds much of this confusing, but the Narrator and the filmmakers make it all clear to
Pooh – and you!

Deleted Scenes introduced by directors, Stephen Anderson and Don Hall – 5 deleted scenes
including “The Tummy Song,” “”Rabbit‟s Friends and Relations,” “Original Eeyore Intro,”
“Original Tigger Intro” and “Pooh Searches for a Tail”

Sing-Along with the Movie – Follow the red balloon and changing word colors to seven
song lyrics featured in the film.

Disney Song Selection – “Winnie the Pooh Theme Song,” “The Tummy Song, “A Very
Important Thing To Do,” “The Backson Song,” “It‟s Gonna Be Great,” “Everything is Honey”
and “The Winner Song Finale”


If you want to score a copy for your family, check out this coupon for $5 off!

If you have future animators at home, be sure to check out this neat activity below- learn how to draw Tigger and Pooh!!!

Stay up-to-date with all things Winnie the Pooh:
“Like” them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WinniethePooh
Follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/disneyanimation
View exciting trailers, video clips and more at www.Disney.com/WinnieThePooh

We received a sample to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

BusyFit Workout DVD

If you know me in real life then you know I am busy. Like, busy-busy. In addition to being a mom to an awesome toddler, I am a wife, doggy-mommy, kitty-mommy, special education teacher, and a photographer/business owner! Oh yeah, and I blog!
I work with a nutritionist to help stay on top of my health goals and my biggest downfall is exercise.
I just don't have time.

I recently received an email about a new workout dvd called BusyFit. BusyFit is designed to help hard-working, pressed-for-time professionals achieve optimal help without wasting time in the business world.

Business Executive Rob Basso and Personal Trainer Matthew Basso have
joined forces to develop and unveil their first fitness DVD, BusyFit
($29.99 plus tax, shipping and handling; sold on amazon.com  or
mybusyfit.com).  Designed specifically for busy business
professionals, the DVD allows participants to execute their workout in
only 25 minutes.

This focused workout allows participants to carve out the time
necessary to exercise. BusyFit is strategically designed to get
results, allowing the body to respond favorably in the shortest amount
of workout time. The BusyFit program includes a brief warm-up, basic
mobility, and 10 exercises that address both major muscle groups and
assisters.


I was really excited to check this out so I popped it in as soon as my daughter went down for her nap.  The work out was challenging and fun and was completed before I knew it!





According to BusyFit, their DVD workout will help
In 25 minutes, the BusyFit workout will help burn fat, strengthen your muscles, increase endurance, and increase core strength. 

I am excited to finally not need an excuse after all these years of feeling like I was just too busy to take care of myself!

We received a sample of the BusyFit DVD to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.

Jake and the Never Land Pirates

 

Have you heard of Jake and the Never Land Pirates? Well Jake and the Never Land Pirates is cable's #1 series among boys ages 2-5 and is on track to be Disney Channel's #1 preschool series ever. 
Rickey and I recently had the opportunity to review the Jake and the Neverland Pirates DVD. This movie is so cute! Rickey loved it! This DVD comes with 7 episodes of Jake and the Never Land Pirates! Jake and his friends Izzy (with her super cute boots); Cubby and the pirate Skully go on all sorts of adventures! They are always on the look out for Captain Hook!

 

This DVD also comes with a cd of songs from the movie! This saved me from a Rickey melt down on more than one occasion when driving Rickey home after a long day. He quickly got caught up by the catchy tunes and he loved it! The album has songs from the show including: "Hot Lava," “Aw Coconuts,” "Pirate Password,” and the arrrghhh-rated “Talk Like a Pirate.”

This DVD also comes with an eye patch so your kiddo can pretend to be a real pirate! How cute is that!

Rickey and I highly recommend this DVD for your little pirate!

 

This DVD retails for the suggested price of $19.99 in the U.S. and $24.99 in Canada, the Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Yo Ho, Mateys Away! DVD also comes packaged with a bonus 7-track CD sampler and a pirate eye patch.
 

Jake and the Never Land Pirates  series stars the voices of Colin Ford (TV’s “Supernatural”) as Jake, Madison Pettis (TV’s “Cory in the House”) as Izzy, Jonathan Morgan Heit ("Bedtime Stories") as Cubby, David Arquette ("Scream 4") as Skully the lookout parrot, Corey Burton (TV’s “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) as Captain Hook, and Jeff Bennet (TV’s “Johnny Bravo”) as Mr. Smee.

We received a sample of this DVD to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.   Thanks to our contributor Jen for her review!

Puzzles by Plasmart

I recently checked out the three different Perplexus mazes and one snap puzzle made by Plasmart, Inc.   The Perplexus mazes are 3D games where players must maneuver a small marble around challenging barriers inside a transparent sphere. Unlike traditional flat-surface mazes that are composed of one path, Perplexus houses various challenging tracks with multiple barriers and provides a three dimensional experience. On top of being entertaining, Perplexus is also an educational toy, and can help aid a child’s development. It is a great challenging toy for children and will help them to exercise their motor and dexterity skills along with improving their hand-eye coordination.

The Rookie is recommended for ages 4 and up, the Original for ages 6 and up and the Epic ages 8 and up.  The difference is the complexity and number of challenges within each maze.

The Orbo is a snap and match game reminiscent of an arubics cube.  It is made for children ages 3+ and teaches valuable matching, color, and thinking skills.

I found these toys to be a lot of fun and interesting to sit down and challenge my mind and test my own hand eye coordination.  I am 31 years old and decided I would give them a try.  I was hooked.  As I was able to get through certain hurdles within the maze I could wait to get past the next task.  I think for a 4 year old this toy might pose a challenge and might be difficult for them to do but in time they would grow to love it.  

We were provided with samples of these puzzles to help facilitate this review. All opinions are our own.