Here are the latest printable games for a pirate themed birthday party from PrintableGamesAtoZ.

Ye Best Be Laughin’

Pin the Eye Patch on the Pirate

You don’t have to stress out when organizing a birthday party. So easy to prepare the games… just print out and play. Most of the work is already done for you. Give those young swashbucklers a good time.

Click my affiliate link for more Pirate themed birthday games.

(ARA) – Shorter days and colder weather not only herald the approach of the holidays, but the months when kids spend more time indoors, whether at school or home. While the rush of shopping, cooking and entertaining visitors may seem like a never-ending to-do list, the winter months can also be a magically calming and rewarding time to encourage your child’s curiosity and interest in learning.

With many families “cocooning” this holiday and avoiding holiday travel, parents and children may be in search of some fun, engaging and age-appropriate activities over the winter months and beyond.

Seasonal hands-on camps

For parents, seasonal day camps offer great solutions to help them organize their children’s holiday time off while providing their children with engaging and hands-on educational activities and themes. Kids can have a blast and busy parents get the gift of knowing that their children are continuing to learn and discover during the holiday break. KinderCare Learning Centers, for example, offer a winter science camp for both preschool and school-age children during the last two weeks of December. Among many activities, younger campers will get to be “science detectives,” solving a series of science mysteries by using touch, smell and hearing. Meanwhile, school-aged kids will be busy experimenting with colored dyes, creating everything from paper to volcanic eruptions, building balloon rockets, and more.

Look for seasonal camps that will work with your schedule and build on your child’s natural curiosity and expose them to new activities, new friends, memories and a passion for discovering the world around them from their point-of-view.

Don’t forget to play

The colder weather outdoors offers a good excuse for good old-fashioned indoor play time. Play is the natural work of children and essential to learning. Through play, children develop social skills, the ability to solve problems and the courage to express their ideas. The following are some quick tips for educational and fun family playtime:

* For infants, playing peek-a-boo will help baby recognize your voice.

* To help infants and toddlers develop fine motor skills, provide a variety of soft, easy-to-grasp toys, such as soft blocks or plush toys.

* Blow bubbles with your child and watch them have a blast as they chase and catch the bubbles  - both reinforce motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

* Toddlers and preschool children like tactile activities like digging in sand and dirt. Make a simple sandbox out of a large shallow bin. Vary the items you put in the bin for your child to explore. Some suggestions: sand, rice, packing peanuts, cornstarch (great to play with and easy to clean up when it dries) dirt or dried macaroni.

* For preschool age children, play listening games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light.

* Involve your preschooler in everyday math – How many steps to the garage? How many dollars to buy that toy?

* Play board games as a family – rolling dice, counting spaces and problem solving are all involved in this type of activity.

* Use stuffed or plastic animals and cardboard boxes to help your child create a zoo, a farm or a wildlife reserve – dramatic play builds vocabulary, social skills and creative thinking.

Winter reading: start early for a lifelong love of books

Nothing is better than snuggling up to a great book with your child. Reading to a child, as early as infancy, on a regular basis is by far the best way to encourage a budding reader. In fact, studies show that reading to an infant promotes early language acquisition and literacy development and, later on, achievement in reading comprehension and overall success in school. The winter months are a perfect time to begin a reading routine with your child that can jump-start a yearlong love of reading.

As one of the nation’s leaders in early childhood education, KinderCare educators know that one of the most effective ways to increase a child’s language comprehension and vocabulary is by actively teaching and encouraging early reading. KinderCare educators offer parents a comprehensive reading guide that incorporates tips on reading to infants, toddlers and preschoolers as well as recommended age-appropriate book titles. Some tips include:

* Help cultivate baby’s interest in books by choosing ones that capture his or her attention such as board books and pop-up books. Your child will want to see these again and again.

* While reading together, ask questions about the pictures. Children are delighted in finding objects on the page. If they’re saying “da” and pointing at the dog, say, “Yes, that’s the dog.” If the child says “ball,” follow up with, “That’s a blue ball.” You’ll be giving your child additional language for his or her verbal bank.

* Ask your child open-ended questions about the story you are reading, such as “Why do you think that happened?”

“Reading with your child will be some of the most enjoyable and rewarding times you spend together,” says Megan Riede, Senior Director of Education Programs at KinderCare Learning Centers. “That’s why we encourage families to make reading time a fun and engaging activity. Really create an experience for your child that allows him or her to imagine, explore, have fun and learn about the world around them in a language-rich environment.”

No matter the activity your children engage in this winter season, it’s important to remember to introduce them to activities that are age-appropriate and that allow them to have fun before they return to school/childcare in the new year.

Looking for last minute Halloween plans for your family?  Stop by Sony Wonder Technology Lab’s Wonderween event this Saturday (10/30) and Sunday (10/31) from 12 – 4pm.

Children will be able to enjoy:

• Halloween-themed movie screenings
• Face painting
• Bat-flyer making
• Mask making
• Raffles

Wonderween is a great, safe, fun, family-oriented event in the heart of New York City.  Best of all, it’s FREE!  Attendees are encouraged to come in costume and will leave with a bag full of treats.

Plan to arrive early, as tickets are given out on a first come, first serve basis only at the entrance to the Lab at 550 Madison Avenue at 56^th Street.

Happy Hauntings!

For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/drdtbQ

Related articles

• What to do in NYC with your family this Halloween weekend: Oct 30 – 31 (timeoutny.com)
• Top ten Halloween theme park events (gadling.com)

When we think of birthday party gifts, the first thing that comes to mind is the gifts that guests bring for the birthday boy or girl.  But it’s also nice to send the guests themselves home with a small gift.  It’s a nice way of expressing appreciation for their attendance.

If you’re playing party games, gifts could take the form of prizes.  But unless you come up with a way for every child to win something, you’ll also need some party favors to give everyone.  Here are some ideas for thoughtful gifts that won’t break the bank.

Party Favors

You can often find inexpensive party favors to use in grab bags at your local dollar store.  It’s possible that they’ll even have something that matches with your theme.  If they don’t have items that have exactly the same theme, you can almost always find some more general favors like costume jewelry, bouncy balls, or toy cars.

Some nicely packaged candy is an appreciated and inexpensive favor.  You’ll just need a large bag of candy, some small cellophane bags or tulle, and some ribbon to tie them up with.  You can also add shaped beads or other decorations if you like.

Letting kids make their own favors provides a fun party activity and a unique favor to take home.  It’s even better if you can find a project that fits well with the theme.  For example, girls at a princess party could make tiaras out of construction paper or poster board and decorate them with markers, paint, or stick-on gems.

You could also use more general items for projects.  For example, you might buy inexpensive items such as plastic visors and provide paint for the kids to personalize them with.  These types of projects are inexpensive, easy and fun.

Prizes

If the kids will be playing games for prizes, offering something a little more elaborate than the standard party favors is in order.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be more expensive, just something above and beyond what everyone is getting.

Filling a jar with jelly beans, hard candy, or some other small treat provides both a game and a prize.  Guests can write down their guesses as to how many of the items are in the jar, and the one who gets the closest can take the jar home to enjoy.  Or, if you prefer, you could provide another prize and let everyone have some of the candy from the jar.

The dollar store should also have some good items to give away as prizes.  Small stuffed animals, jump ropes, and other inexpensive but fun toys work nicely as prizes.  You could also get a few even less expensive items and put them into a gift bag or basket for a special prize.

Gifts in the form of party favors and prizes will give your child’s party guests something to remember the party by.  They also let the guests know how much their presence was appreciated.  These gifts do not have to be expensive to be appreciated.  It is, after all, the thought that counts.

Need more tips on how to plan a fun birthday party?
Grab this freebie: Mom’s Guide To Fun Easy Kids Birthday Parties