TONIGHT September 29 is Hasbro Family Game Night - Get Ready to Party With Your Kids With Some Fun Ideas

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

What is your favorite game to play with your kids or your family? Don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of this post and share all your faves.

September 29, 2010 is Hasbro's annual Family Game Night and you're invited to participate.   

Hasbro has provided a great list of ideas to help you make the most of this quality time together including providing FREE printable downloadables and more from their website.

Your family can get in on the act too, by visiting the official FGN Facebook Page .  You can also follow Hasbro News and Family Game Night on Twitter for find our more about this event and Hasbro's products.

Here are some of the games manufactured by Hasbro and other companies that were featured in Family Fun on the Run Toy Chest that MommyBlogExpert and family will be playing to mark this special Family Game Night this evening

• Backseat Drawing
• Sorry! Revenge Card Game
• Think-ets Genius

What's your family's favorite board game? Please leave a comment below this blogpost to share it.

FTC Disclosure:  MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this particular post.  However, this blog did receive the Sorry! Revenge Card Game product from Hasbro (and the other products mentioned from their respective manufacturers) for previous separate product reviews on each.  See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.     

You are Invited to Submit to the 2010-2011 Crayola Children's Art Exhibit for K thru 12th Grade Students

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

Parents & Teachers: Don't forget to post a favorite recollection of crayons from your own childhood in the comment section below this post.  I look forward to walking with you down memory lane!

Crayola, the originators of the crayon that has been enjoyed by generations of creative kids, has announced their annual children's art exhibition. 

Pictured in this post below are Mini Mommy Blog Expert's (my tween daughter's) original water color eco-friendly and Mother's Day illustrations that appear exclusively on this blog. My daughter, BTW, is working on her next guest post right now.

According to Crayola, the 2010-2011 Crayola Dream-Makers Art Exhibition focuses on students' visual expression of what creativity means to them.  Three submissions will be chosen from each grade level and finalists will be honored by having their original artwork framed, donated to, and exhibited at regional and/or national office of the Department of Education.  Each Finalist will receive a plaque with a replica of the original artwork.  A select sample of submitted artwork and "Dream Statements" will also be exhibited at the 2011 NAEA Conference, (Seattle, Washington).

Artwork will be divided by grades K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. There is no maximum number of entrants per grade level. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges consisting of employees of Crayola LLC ("Sponsor") or independent judges selected by Sponsor.  The judges will review all submissions and make selections based on the following criteria: 1) Interpretation and use of the theme: "Speak up for Creativity" in the artwork 2) How the written statement describes the artwork and the interpretation of the theme 3) Visual Appeal 4) Originality 5) Age Appropriateness 6) Craftsmanship.

To participate, teachers are invited to submit their students' art work following these guidelines

• Create a “Dream Statement” to accompany each piece
  -50 words or less
  -Consider integrating words or the entire statement into artwork
• Use a variety of 2-dimensional mediums including collage
  -Encourage use of different mediums. Use creative techniques such as blowing paint,
  crosshatching, stamping or tearing.
  -See “Art techniques” on Crayola.com/educator for more ideas.
• Make pieces no larger than 16 x 20 inches
• Create individually expressive works
• Entry deadline is  December 1, 2010

More details on how to enter Crayola's Coloring Exhibition is available here and official rules may be found here.

In addition to the upcoming kids art exhibition, Crayola.com offers a variety of FREE resources for kids to get involved in art.  These include, among other things, downloadable coloring pages, art techniques, craft ideas, a section for parents, and for teachers, art lesson plans for each grade level.

Parents & Teachers:  Please post a favorite recollection of crayons from your own childhood in the comment section.  I look forward to walking with you down memory lane!

FTC Disclosure:  MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post.  See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.   

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Nature Rocks Co-Host Nationwide FREE Event - THIS Saturday, Sept. 25

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

FREE Admission to All U.S. National Wildlife Refuges and National Parks on 9/25/2010

As some of you may know,  I worked in Yellowstone National Park one summer during college.  I've always been a huge fan of National Parks, the environment, and nature in general -- writing letters to the editor about protecting natural resources that have been published several times by the Los Angeles Times.  I've also penned a number of book reviews by authors such as environmentalist Ed Begley and Anna Getty on living greener at home as well reviewed various films for family audiences that celebrate nature such as Furry Vengeance. 
Arches National Park, August 2010

by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

I am now passing that life-long love of all branches of the National Park system on to my kids and hubbie.  As a result of many family road trips, my kids and hubbie have already been to hundreds of National Parks with me, traveling to quite a few for repeat visits.  In fact, my four teens (triplets plus one more, all born within a year) are still talking about our huckleberry picking adventures in Montana and Idaho during Summer of 2009, as well as the roadtrip all six of us took in August of this year to Arches National Park in Utah.  Pictured above is a scene from that later family vacation.

Nature Rocks, which has really awesome programs, is a national initiative created to inspire and empower parents to enjoy quality time in nature with their families.  Today they just announced a new partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that will bring new online resources to parents to get their kids more involved with the great outdoors.  To promote this, these two groups are hosting Nature Rocks Days at Fish and Wildlife Refuges across the country this Saturday, September 25, 2010, National Public Lands Day.  Incidentally, it is also Take a Child Outside Week from September 24 to 30 starting this Friday.

FREE Nature Rocks Day Events
Will Be Held at Each of These Locations

• Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge – Chincoteague, VA
• Forsythe NWR – Oceanville, NJ
• Big Stone NWR/WMD – Odessa, MN
• Wallkill River NWR – Sussex ,NJ
• Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery – Warm Springs, GA
• Wheeler NWR – Decatur, AL
• Desert National Wildlife Refuge – Las Vegas, NV
• Roma Bluffs World Birding Center – Roma, TX
• San Diego NWRC Sweetwater Marsh – Chula Vista, CA
• Coleman National Fish Hatchery – Anderson, CA
• Hassayampa River Preserve – Wickenberg, AZ
• Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve – Homer, AK
• Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute – Tucson, AZ

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission is to work with the public and others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.  This is the fifth national organization to partner with Nature Rocks -- a program developed by the Children & Nature Network and ecoAmerica to inspire families to play and explore in nature for healthier, happier and smarter children.  Current partners are The Nature Conservancy, REI, the American Heart Association, the American Camp Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  To learn more about Nature Rocks and its partners, visit their official site; also follow them on Facebook and Twitter .

Nature Rocks is just one of the many eco-friendly ways parents can see nature through your child's eyes.  Look for other good to the Earth blogposts on this blog wherever you see this MommyBlogExpert Eco-Friendly Blogpost icon.

FTC Disclosure:  MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post.  See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.