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Archives for December 2019

Gift Guide for Animal-Loving Kids

December 10, 2019 by Katherine Wolfe 30 Comments

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Our son loves animals more than he loves most things and is on a self-chosen path to be a Zoo Director when he grows up. He volunteers multiple times each week as an assistant animal-keeper at a local museum where he feeds a variety of creatures including 150 pound tortoises, teeny bats and bizarre mudskippers. So, gift-buying for him is often centered around animals and has been for as long as I can recall.

This gift guide includes a variety of ideas for a range of ages and spending points. I hope you can find something that works for your animal-loving kid!

 

ONE: Animal Inspired Legos

If your animal loving kid also happens to be a Lego lover like ours, gift giving can be pretty simple! Not only does Lego offer complete sets to create sharks, dogs and dinosaurs,  they also have books that show specific steps to create hundreds of different small animals while also teaching about habitats around the world. If your Lego-creating animal lover does not have a surplus of Legos lying around {my son never takes apart a build so we are always in need of more bricks,} you’ll want to grab a big box of classic bricks and some spare eyeballs. And, if you have a younger animal lover in your life, Lego has you covered with lots of animal-themed Duplo sets with small, medium, large and even larger price tags. I was lucky enough to score a huge tub containing twenty pounds of random Legos from a local buy/sell site. I added an animal building book and a baggie of 50 eyeballs to create the perfect big gift for Christmas morning! 

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TWO: Books About Animals

This is a category that I am downright embarrassed to mention. Being a former public school teacher who currently homeschools her only child and is married to an academic, I KNOW the truth behind the old adage, “you can never have too many books.” But, I’m not sure our son, who will have no fewer than 20 books beneath the Christmas tree would agree {and that’s in addition to the set of 12 How to Train Your Dragon books he’s getting for his birthday the week before.} All joking aside, he will be thrilled with his bounty of books, not only because he enjoys reading but because they are all about animals. Between the historical fiction series about Soldier Dogs and the silly starter set of Dog-Man comic-style books, he will be entertained on multiple levels. He will also enjoy this beautiful Animal Encyclopedia as well as the first book in a new series about a dog in middle school, Dog Diaries by James Patterson. If your animal-loving kid is more at the picture book stage, there are nearly a gazillion options! AND {as of 12/08/19} Amazon is offering an amazing deal where you get three books for the price of two. Below are just a few examples of awesome animal books for younger readers that qualify for that special deal. 

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THREE: Stuffed Animals

I’m not ashamed to say that our animal-loving kid, who will soon be a teenager, still collects stuffed animals. It kinda drives my husband nuts but I personally find it endearing that our son has a specific memory attached to every single stuffed animal he owns. Whether it’s of a special family member, favorite friend or significant event, the memory and animal is not something he wants to give up. He has animals carefully selected from at least a dozen zoos across the country and animals acquired in various national parks.  Just last night when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he launched into needing a cardinal because we had so many in our yard this summer and he didn’t want to forget their beauty. He also said he needed a lion because we had just finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia together and he loved every minute of it. {Luckily, he seemed to forget that we never found a sea lion to bring home from San Francisco last summer…so this little guy will definitely be a surprise!} The variety of animals on Amazon seems endless and can range in size from teeny stocking stuffers to giants worthy of being delivered directly by Santa on Christmas morning. Amazon haseverything from super soft baby-worthy animals to animals that proudly reflect the true physical characteristics of the species behind the inspiration. {By the way, I hate clutter and don’t allow his stuffed menagerie to leave his room. And I have every intention of making the kid take his animals when he moves out. I figure they’ll be perfect decor for his Zoo Director office!}

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FOUR: Hands-on Animal Activities

One of the gifts I am most excited about giving this year, is a book and bells combo designed to help teach your dog new tricks. Our son has a mini-Aussie that he loves to work with and I know they will both thoroughly enjoy having these tools to take their training to a new level. Something that he has sadly outgrown but that I still HIGHLY RECOMMEND for kids of nearly every age, is anything from the Backyard Safari line of toys. They have loads of options but the best items to start with include this critter shack and bug vacuum. This combo will surely get your kids excited about exploring outside! But, for days when the weather keeps your kids inside, this cool drawing book can keep them occupied. Or if you’re truly adventurous and want to bring some critters indoors, an actual ant-farm can be loads of fun! We had one years ago {for a science fair project} and the entire family enjoyed watching them dig intricate tunnels.

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FIVE: Real Animal Encounters

If I’m excited about the used Legos, surplus of books, sea lion plush and dog bells, imagine how excited I am to gift our son with some real animal encounters. And, we’re not talking cats, dogs, bugs and lizards. We’re talking penguins, sloths and camels. Obviously, these types of encounters will vary by zoo location but from a quick glance at a handful of zoos, it seems that most zoos offer some sort of behind-the-scenes animal encounters. It just takes a little research, some advanced planning  and printing up a certificate in order to gift the opportunity to swim with penguins, pet sloths and feed camels! I think I need to add these to MY LIST!

Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas! 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Gift Guide, Homeschool Gifts, stocking stuffer

How Novices and Newbs Should Watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe

December 9, 2019 by Katherine Wolfe Leave a Comment

I’m a product of an era that watched Batman “kapow” and “thwarp” his way across the TV screen. He was my first childhood hero and I even wore a cape and mask as everyday clothing for longer than I care to admit. 

So, when the Marvel Cinematic Universe {MCU} started to take hold in theaters, I really had no interest in watching the movies at all. And, as the Marvel characters began to take the shape of the toys, games and books that our son enjoyed, I reluctantly bought them but didn’t even pretend much interest beyond Spidey {because there is something endearing about his youthful innocence.}  And as our son grew old enough for my husband to take him to see Marvel movies, I dug my heels in and opted out of joining them.

Until…Endgame. Yeah, leave it to me to join the super hero crew at the very end of their journey, but for whatever reason, I agreed to go with my family to see Avengers: Endgame  at the start of last summer. And, I am so glad I did!

I’ll admit, I spent a good portion of the movie whispering to my husband, “who’s that?” and “where’d she come from?” And, “what on earth happened to Thor??!?!” {even this Batman-lovin’ girl knew that Thor was supposed to be the most handsome of the lot.} But even with all of my confusion, it didn’t take much of the three hours for the Marvel characters and the 70+ year story-line to hook me!

I had made the unfair assumption that the MCU was filled with nothing but fast-paced action and the huge egos that accompany super heroes. But watching Endgame   showed me that there is much more to the MCU! In addition to the action, there is drama, mystery and humor. The relationships among the characters are intriguing and real. They argue like normal people. They have insecurities. They struggle to show their true feelings. They hate to apologize. They envy one another’s skills. They abuse their own powers. They are human. Well, some are human. Some are aliens and some are gods. And some are mixes…but none are perfect and that makes for great cinema! 

On the way home from that movie, we vowed as a family {my 76 year old mother included} to spend the summer watching ALL of the Marvel movies and then re-watch Endgame.

But, where to begin? After just a wee bit of research, I learned that the movies had been released in some crazy, chaotic order {though I assume there was some logic behind the madness}…an order that I knew my brain could not handle {after all, I am the same girl who makes her family watch the entire slew of  Star Wars   movies before we go to see the latest…and we ALWAYS start with Episode One. Always.} So, I needed a chronological order to make sense of the twenty-three movie lineup!

I formulated the list below by piecing together input and opinions from various sites and then we watched them all.  It took longer than we anticipated but the timing was perfect because just as we were ready to watch Endgame, Disney+ launched!  Granted, if we had known Disney+ was coming, we would’ve waited to watch them all  {instead of paying Amazon $3.99 per movie for those NOT on Netflix, which was the vast majority.}

But, now’s the perfect time for YOU to watch them all! Disney+ has every movie available, except for the four that Netflix still has under contract until next year. So, if you have Disney+ and Netflix, you have quick and easy access to every single movie listed below {except Spider Man: Far From Home   that is not streaming anywhere yet but is available on DVD.}

But before you start your journey into the MCU, let me explain briefly why my order is the way it is. It’s basically in chronological order of how things occurred in the MCU. {It’s not based on release date at all.} Some of the timeline is super obvious in the films but that’s not the case for most. But, I don’t want to spoil a single moment for you so I won’t go into detail about how the timeline plays out. I’ll just suggest that while watching each movie, you listen for references to other characters and story-lines from other films. They appear in abundance in some movies and sparingly in others, but they are numerous in total. Pay attention to the inside jokes and instances of bickering, affection and teasing. I’ll admit, there is a lot to take in but when everything is all put together, it makes perfect sense even for novices and newbs!

How to Watch the MCU for Novices and Newbs

1. Captain America: The First Avenger {2011}
2. Captain Marvel {2019}
3. Iron Man {2008}
4. Iron Man 2 {2010}
5. The Incredible Hulk {2008}
6. Thor {2011}
7. The Avengers {2012}
8. Thor: The Dark World {2013}
9. Guardians of the Galaxy {2014}
10. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 {2017}
11. Iron Man 3 {2013}
12. Captain America: The Winter Soldier {2014}
13. Avengers: Age of Ultron {2015}
14. Ant-Man {2015}
15. Captain America: Civil War {2016}
16. Black Panther {2018}
17. Spider-Man: Homecoming {2017}
18. Doctor Strange {2016}
19. Thor: Ragnarok {2017}
20. Ant-Man & the Wasp {2018}
21. Avengers: Infinity War {2018}
22. Avengers: Endgame {2019}
23. Spider-Man: Far From Home {2019}

I hope you decide to venture into the wonderful world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and enjoy it as much as I have!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: avengers, marvel, marvel cinematic universe, MCU, movie reviews, movies

Handy Dandy Guide to Streaming Family Christmas Movies

December 4, 2019 by Katherine Wolfe 32 Comments

If your family is similar to ours, you look forward to snuggling up and watching CHRISTMAS MOVIES together throughout the month of December. 

But, have you noticed that as the number of streaming services has increased, it has become more and more confusing to figure out where to watch which movie?

Me too!

So, in order to best prep for the month {after all, December is always the busiest month of the year,} I spent some time searching for the best CHRISTMAS MOVIES and noting which service will be showing them this month. 

I ended up with a list of more than 70 CHRISTMAS MOVIES {with Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix and Disney+ included} and put it all together in this handy dandy guide! 

Hopefully, this guide will bless you this season. At the end of the guide below, you will also find a cute copy that you can print. Please enjoy!

 


 

AP = Amazon Prime   D+ = Disney+    HU = Hulu    NF = Netflix

Abominable Christmas

NF

A Christmas Carol

D+

A Christmas Carol {in color}

AP

A Christmas Tree Miracle

AP

A Frozen Christmas

HU

A Frozen New Year

HU

All I Want for Christmas Is You

AP

Alone for Christmas

HU

Alpha and Omega—The Big Fureeze

HU

Alpha and Omega—A Howliday Adventure

NF

Angela’s Christmas

NF

Babes in Toyland

AP

Barbie—A Perfect Christmas

HU

Barbie in a Christmas Carol

HU

Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas

D+

Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story

NF

Bigfoot

HU

Bob’s Broken Sleigh

NF

Christmas Cartoons

AP

Christmas Cartoon Extravaganza

AP

Christmas Cartoon Wonderland

AP

Christmas Chronicles

NF

Christmas Inheritance

NF

Christmas in Wonderland

AP

Christmas with the Kranks

D+

Click, Clack, Moo—Christmas at the Farm

AP

Costume Quest Christmas Special

AP

Curious George—A Very Monkey Christmas

HU

Elliot, the Littlest Reindeer

NF

Fairly Oddparents Christmas

HU

Forty-eight Christmas Wishes

NF

Frosty, the Snowman

TV

Get Santa

NF

Holiday Inn

AP

Home Alone {1, 2, 3}

D+

Home for the Holidays

NF

How the Grinch Stole Christmas {classic}

NF

How the Grinch Stole Christmas {live action}

NF

Ice Age—A Mammoth Christmas

HU

If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie

AP

Inside Lego Christmas

AP

It’s a Wonderful Life

AP

Jack Frost

AP

Kid Songs—Christmas Songs for Kids

AP

Klaus

NF

Legend of Frosty the Snowman

TV

Legend of the Christmas Witch

AP

Madagascar—Holiday Classics

NF

Marvel Super Hero Frost Fight

NF

Mickey’s Christmas Carol

D+

Mickey’s Once/Twice Upon a Christmas

D+

Miracle on 34th St {color}

AP

Muppet Christmas Carol

D+

Nightmare Before Christmas

D+

One Magic Christmas

D+

Pete the Cat—Groovy New Year

AP

Pink Fong Christmas Carols

AP

Polar Express

TV

Prancer

HU

Puppy Star Christmas

NF

Ritchie Rich’s Christmas Wish

D+

Rudolph +  Classics

AP

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

AP

Santa and Me

AP

Santa Buddies

D+

Santa Claus Presents a Children’s Christmas

AP

Santa Clause {1, 2, 3}

D+

Santa Claws

NF

Santa Pac’s Merry Berry Day

NF

Santa Paws {1, 2}

D+

Santa’s Apprentice

NF

Saving Christmas

HU

Scrooge {in color}

AP

Super Monsters Save Christmas

NF

The Borrowed Christmas

AP

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas

AP

The Christmas Dragon

AP

The Christmas Project

NF

The Christmas Star

D+

The Grinch

NF

The Least of These

AP

The Magic Snowflake

NF

The Snowman

AP

The Star

NF

The Wiggles– Go, Santa, Go

HU

Tiny Christmas

HU

Twelve Days of Christmas Eve

AP

Twelve Dog Days Till Christmas

HU

Twelve Dogs of Christmas

AP

Troll’s Holiday

NF

Ultimate Christmas Present

D+

White Christmas

NF

Handy Dandy Guide to Streaming Family Christmas Movies by The WOLFe Pack PrintableDownload

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: amazon prime, Christmas, christmas movies, disney plus, family activities, family movies, family time, hulu, movie night, netflix

Every Homeschooler Needs THIS Stuffed in Their Stocking

December 1, 2019 by Katherine Wolfe 27 Comments

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

 

Every homeschooler needs  FRIXION ERASABLE RETRACTABLE COLORED PENS stuffed in their stocking!

WHY? 

Two simple reasons…

ONE: They’re a colorful addition to your school supply arsenal.

They come in a variety of fun, VIBRANT COLORS but don’t bleed or transfer and are FULLY ERASABLE {see below.} So, you no longer need to sacrifice COLORFUL FUN for the sake of practicality! The seven pack includes what you see in the pictures above and the ten pack adds lime green, orange and a third shade of blue. 

 

TWO: They really work!

My son uses these pens exclusively. He hates the sound of pencil scratching and he makes too many mistakes to use normal pens {that don’t erase} so this is seriously all he uses.  He uses them for math problems, writing essays, science notebooking, Bible verse copywork, spelling tests….every time he needs to write something for school, he uses one of these pens. And, like most typical twelve year old boys, he makes a lot of mistakes and tends to be more than a wee bit messy with his handwriting. So, to say he erases a lot would be an understatement.  He erases ALL THE TIME and these pens REALLY WORK! They write clean and clear and they erase just as well! 

So, if you are searching for a FUN but USEFUL item to stuff in your homeschooler’s stocking, be sure to grab some  FRIXION ERASABLE RETRACTABLE COLORED PENS by Pilot! 

{WARNING: We have tried a handful of knock-off brands but nothing compares to FRIXION ERASABLE RETRACTABLE COLORED PENS by Pilot. The less expensive knock-offs run out of ink sooner, rendering the lower pointless.}

{BONUS: Pilot also makes FRIXION ERASABLE STICK PENS that aren’t retractable. They tend to be a little less expensive but we prefer not needing to keep track of caps all the time.}

{SUGGESTION: If you’re hesitating to spend decent money on writing utensils for your kids because they tend to misplace pens and pencils frequently, I don’t blame you a wee bit! I strongly suggest a CLIPBOARD WITH STORAGE. These have been a game-changer for us. My son keeps all his pens plus protractor and ruler inside with his assignment list clipped to the front. It has helped keep him much better organized!}





Filed Under: REVIEWS, SUGGESTIONS, Supplies, Tips Tagged With: Christmas, Homeschool, stocking stuffer

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