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Fun Family Games for Under 20 Bucks

August 26, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

When I was a kid, my parents loved board games. We had a lot of them. Sometimes when I was bored, I’d get one out and play against myself. (Please say I’m not the only one who did that…)

Naturally, I have a ton of board games for my kids also. But – if you haven’t noticed – board games have gotten pretty expensive! If you’re trying to find a new board game for family game night, you might have a hard time finding one that won’t break the bank.

So, I thought I’d share a list of fun family games that all cost less than 20 bucks a pop! Many of these are favorites of our kids (and some are even ones I loved as a child), so you’re sure to find a new family game night classic!

Why not turn your family game night into a tournament? You can play one game, then the winners play a different game, and so on until you crown the ultimate family game night champion!

Make your next family night even more fun with these awesome ice cream recipes for kids and these delicious cookie bar recipes you can make together!

Fun Family Games for Under 20 Bucks

This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.
1. Blokus

2. The Game of Life

3. HedBanz

4. Beat the Parents

5. Melissa and Doug Suspend Game

6. Scrabble Crossword Game

7. Operation: Classic Edition

8. Trivial Pursuit: Family Edition

9. Yahtzee

10. Pictionary

11. Pay Day Board Game

12. Stone Soup: Cooperative Game for Kids

13. Charades for Kids

14. Family Feud: Fifth Edition

15. Parcheesi: Royal Edition

16. Education Outdoors: Camp Board Game

17. Classic Checkers

18. Bugs in the Kitchen Board Game

19. Tapple: Word Fun for Everyone

20. Jenga: Classic

21. The Awkward Family Photos Movie Caption Game

22. Say Anything: Family Edition

23. Connect Four

24. Candy Land: 65th Anniversary

25. 5 Second Rule Jr.

Use these activities to make family game night extra special!

Get tons of parenting inspiration from my Parenting with Joy board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the Family Fun unit study roundup! Visit the other posts below for family fun ideas!

Our Bucket List for Fall Family Fun from Crafty Mama in ME

Fun Family Games Under $20 from Look! We’re Learning!

Family Movies and Games for Family Night from iGameMom

Nature Scavenger Hunts from Our Daily Craft

Family Fun Fall Activities from FrogMom

Apple-Themed Family Fun Night Ideas for A Fun Fall Party from Schooling a Monkey

Funny Bedtime Stories for Kids fromCraftCreateCalm

5 Tips for Afterschooling Success

March 8, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Have you heard of afterschooling? It’s growing in popularity as more parents take on teaching their kids at home, even if they go to public school. Recently I got a chance to write about it at Thinking Outside the Sandbox and it’s a great time to share the post with you guys!

This week we’re also sharing another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky! Be sure to check our favorite picks from last week’s party and read the newest posts below!

5 Tips for Afterschooling Success

Homeschooling is just not for everyone. And, as I found out last year, public school is not for everyone either. But some parents who send their kids to PS still want them to have additional learning at home, which is basically what afterschooling is.

If you’re a PS parent and you want to try afterschooling with your kids, check out my suggestions for making afterschooling a success over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox!

5 Tips for Afterschooling Success – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

Linky time!

This week we have some great links to share with you. We are very excited to bring you another great opportunity to linkup with us!

Welcome to our 73rd week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup! Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.

New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!

Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.

Laugh and Learn Linkup was created by Tina from Los Gringos Locos. We want to thank her for this opportunity and send her big hug on her new adventure.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Selena

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YouTube
Stumble Upon

Most Clicked on Link

Selena’s pick for this week…

Punch by Number Busy Bag #LaughLearnLinkup

Punch by Number Busy Bag by The Practical Mom

Note from Selena:

This is such a great idea! And I have a butterfly punch that would be perfect for my 3yo to use. smile emoticon

Sarah’s pick for this week…

Bipolar Disorder: How Can We Understand It? by Krista Pfeiffer (International Bloggers Association Member)

Note from Sarah:

As most of you know, my oldest son and I have bipolar disorder. It is a very challenging and often debilitating illness not to be taken lightly or ignored. I’m very impressed with Krista’s explanation, and encouraged by her life experience. I too hope that someday we can do away with the stigma and misunderstandings that surround bipolar disorder, and many other mental illnesses.

Haley’s pick for this week…

Awesome Laundry Hacks for People Who Hate Laundry by Medium Sized Family

Note from Haley:

I absolutely HATE laundry… with a passion…. it is only until kids are out of clothes that I force my self to do it, but that is usually a huge mistake. We have 3 kids 8 and under, so when I wait the pile is huge. I can’t wait to try some of your tips.

Your post was rocked!

To show our appreciation we have super fun badges for you!

Just go to this page. We also have a fun badge to show you linked up with us!

Thanks to everyone who submitted a post. Please check out the post above by clicking on the image. If you enjoyed these picks as much as we did, please share them also!

Have you joined our Pinterest Board yet?

Follow Tina Ernspiker’s board #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites} on Pinterest.

Now give us your best posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

How to Spring Clean Your Life

March 3, 2016 by Selena Robinson 1 Comment

Spring is nearly here, which means that spring cleaning is nearly here. I’m not a fan of housework, but I love spring cleaning. The weather is warming, the air is fresher, and it’s a great time to declutter and simplify. I’ve been decluttering my house for the past month and it’s starting to look…somewhat like a house again.

But, this year, I thought: I really need to give my whole life a good spring cleaning and that’s what I’m going to do! In this month’s edition of the Monthly Goals linkup, read how you can spring clean your life!

How to Spring Clean Your Life

I started reading the book Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life a few weeks back and it’s been a really great reminder of why it’s worth it to make your home into an actual place where humans can relax and live. (Mine had pretty much become a diner/storage unit.)

That’s when I realized that my life itself has kind of become a hoarder’s paradise too. My email inbox is super dee duper full. (Actually, all three of them are full.) My housework schedule is too hectic, since I do have four children who can help. And I’m training for a marathon, but I’ve been filling my belly with actual junk. Mostly because I’m too busy to plan a good meal.

So it’s time to simplify and declutter every part of my life, which is what I’m doing this month! If you want to spring clean your life (simplify it and remove the junk), check out my goals for March!

My Life Goals for March 2016

As I did in January and February this year, I’m setting a new list of life goals for the month of March. And, like in those previous months, I’ll be setting one for each part of my life.

Family: This month, I’ll be working on teaching my kids to cook. I’ve outsourced almost all the housework, except this. Now’s the time.
Finances: I need to develop a solid budget for our necessities and include a fixed amount for “fun” stuff. “Nickel and dime” spending really adds up if you’re not careful.
Fitness: I’ve started eating wayyyy too many carbs lately – and not the healthy ones either. Time to go back to eating clean at least once a week.
Work: This one is going to be the hardest of all. I’m actually going to attempt to empty my work email inbox. As of today, there are 1,665 messages in it. Yikes.
Home: Kids just grow like weeds, don’t they! One week, you buy them new clothes. Then you have to do it again the next month and before you know it, you have clothes they haven’t been able to wear in years! All of the kids’ clothes that don’t fit are getting out of my house THIS MONTH.

Get more home decor and maintenance ideas from my Taking Care of Home board on Pinterest!

An InLinkz Link-up

I am That Mom Who Uses TV as a Babysitter

February 29, 2016 by Selena Robinson 4 Comments

I grew up watching tons of TV every single day. Later on, I realized that this was not the healthiest way to spend a childhood, so I rigorously monitored our children’s TV use.

Tigger didn’t watch any television until she was 2 (per the AAP recommendations). Somewhere between my third and fourth pregnancy, though, I discovered something wonderful: TV is seriously awesome for kids!

So these days, I don’t hesitate to use TV as a babysitter. In fact, it actually seems to be making me a better mom! Here’s how.

Image c/o: djedzura / deposit photos

Why I Use TV as a Babysitter

There are several reasons why I don’t mind using TV as a babysitter, but I’ll just stick to three:

TV is a super educational supplement. Depending on the topic, sometimes the TV actually does a better job of teaching something than I do. The kids and I watched a six-minute video about ancient Egypt about a week ago and they remembered more from that than they did from a week-long lesson I did about it a while back. Sigh.
The kids discover new interests. Kids have a way of wanting to discuss the exact same thing every single day for eternity, so it can be tough to get them to break out and try something new. Enter TV! When the kids and I watch a good kids’ program, they always learn about something they didn’t know before and that usually leads to a brand new unit study topic they’d never have found before.
I need a break. For real, sometimes I just turn on the TV and go into emergency shut-down mode. The kids get to watch a show or two and I get some much needed quiet time.

How I Choose Good Television Programs

The key to making this work, though, is choosing excellent children’s television programs. Generally, I watch a few episodes of a new program with the kids to get a feel for it. As I watch, I consider three things:

Is it kid-friendly?
Is it educational?
Does it make the kids want to learn?

If the answer to all three is yes, then it’s a keeper.

One of my kids’ all-time favorite shows is Wild Kratts. They are seriously fanatics of that show. They get so excited as they learn about animals, plus they love Chris and Martin’s hijinks, so it’s a win-win. These are the kinds of kids’ shows that make excellent babysitters.

So, yes, I use TV as a babysitter and (with supervision) it’s doing an awesome job with my kids! How about you? Do you use TV to “babysit” your children? What are your favorite kids’ shows? Share your tips in the comments!

For more parenting tips, check out my Parenting with Joy Pinterest Board!

This post is part of the “I am That Mom…” linkup from iHomeschool Network! Click over to read about how my fellow bloggers manage motherhood!

And if your homeschooling motivation is somewhat…lacking these days, reinvigorate your mojo with this wonderful homeschooling ebook!

Homeschooling: what to do when you want to quit

Choosing a Great Tutor for Your Child

February 23, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I’m sharing a few tips to help you choose a great tutor for your child! But, it’s also time for another edition of the Laugh and Learn linky!

We had some great posts shared last week and Sarah, Haley, and I have chosen our favorites below. Stop by to share your parenting, family, and homeschooling posts and read even more great content!

Choosing a Great Tutor for Your Child

Have you ever considered getting a tutor for your child? If you’re a homeschooler, you might not even think about it. But tutors can be great, especially if they focus on subjects that aren’t your strong point. (Calculus, anyone?)

The challenge is finding a good tutor – one that really knows the subject well, teaches it clearly, and works well with your child. And that’s what I’m sharing over at Thinking Outside the Sandbox! Stop by to get my tips for choosing a great tutor for your child!

Choosing a Great Tutor for Your Child – Thinking Outside the Sandbox

Onward to this week’s linky!

This week we have some great links to share with you. We are very excited to bring you another great opportunity to linkup with us!

Welcome to our 71st week of Laugh and Learn – Home & Family Linkup! Laugh and Learn Linkup will be open by 6 am every Tuesday morning.
New: We have decided to expand our linkup to home and family categories! You are still welcome to share homeschooling or parenting posts with us. That will always be part of the #LaughLearnLinkup!

Each and every week, all of the hosts will pick one favorite post to be featured on the next week’s linkup. All of your links will be shared on three blogs.

We are also sharing the top four posts on Pinterest: #LaughLearnLinkup {Featured Favorites}. It’s added exposure for your awesome content!
Reminder: Please share this linkup! You can help us build a great family, home, parenting, and homeschool group.
Laugh and Learn Linkup was created by Tina from Los Gringos Locos. We want to thank her for this opportunity and send her big hug on her new adventure.

Your Fabulous Hosts 😉

Selena

Selena is a writer and a homeschooling mom to four kids, including three with ADHD/SPD. Selena and her husband, Jay, are committed to teaching their children at home and loving every minute of it! You can read about the family’s homeschooling experiences at Look! We’re Learning, written by Selena!
Find Selena at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
Google +
Instagram

Sarah

Sarah lives in Kentucky, USA, where she and her husband homeschool three children. Sarah writes for and about, families with special needs. She hopes to provide support and encouragement to all special needs parents in the homeschool community. Visit Sarah at Dedicated Homeschooler.
Find Sarah at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Haley

Haley hopes to encourage stay at home moms. She wants to help them learn how to make an extra income, to stretch a budget, to make crafts, and other useful information. Haley always has updates on the kids, and their funny antics. Visit Haley at Haley’s Vintage Finds & Deals.
Find Haley at her blog link above, and on the following social media networks:
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
Twitter
Google+
YouTube
Stumble Upon