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Screen-free holiday gift ideas that inspire kids | Articles

Shopping for holiday gifts for kids? Looking for activities that don’t involve a screen? Consider toys and activities that will inspire them this holiday season and beyond. Here are four great gift ideas that will encourage kids to be creative and use their imaginations:

• Arts and crafts: Craft kits give kids all the tools they need to take a project start to finish. Whether it’s beaded jewelry, scented soaps, or sand art, when projects are completed, kids will feel accomplished and inspired to take their crafting to the next level.

• Horse play: Create magnificent braids and let kids bring their own vision of horse beauty to life with a gift like Breyer Mane Beauty Styling Heads. Bringing a love of hair play and horses together, Mane Beauty Styling Heads are realistically sculpted and decorated with long, silky, no-tangle manes. Available in three styles — Blaze (black mane),

Adventure

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November 25, 2020

A wave of evictions is on the horizon. What impact could they have on kids’ education?

There were new additions to classrooms when schools opened this fall. There were plastic shields and cloth facemasks, hand sanitizer and login instructions when learning went online. But something was missing — tens of thousands of students.

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed kids out of school for various reasons: health concerns, a parent losing a job causing the family to move, a lack of internet or devices for virtual learning. Because there is no national database, 60 Minutes compiled enrollment data from 78 of the largest school districts in the country and found nearly a quarter of a million students did not showed up when school began.

Now, social workers who have spent the last three months searching for those kids expect their job is about to get much harder. A national pause on most evictions is set to expire at the end of the year, and without those protections,

Hotel

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November 23, 2020

6 Online Classes for Kids That’ll Keep Them Entertained During Quarantine

Months into our not-so-new routine of staying at home, parents are still working overtime in between conference calls, virtual coffee meetings, and emailing just to entertain their kids. When screen time is off the table, fort building, meal prepping, and crafting are all easy ways to capture little ones’ attention. But sometimes online fun is necessary—especially when the adults have their own to-do lists.

Rather than park your tots in front of the TV, turn the day into a mini virtual field trip. These eight educational resources aren’t meant to feel like schoolwork, so your children will actually be eager to jump right in. From science experiments to yoga, bookmark these activities when you want to get their creativity flowing again.

Make Art

On Saturdays, the Art Students League of New York’s Young Artists Class, taught by Marilyn J. Friedman, is meant to develop the eye, hand, and

Vacation

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November 21, 2020

The Best Video Games Kids & Parents Will Both Want to Play

Contrary to popular belief, there are benefits for kids who play video games. We know, it’s kind of a shock, considering people have been saying video games have been rotting brains for decades. But what are the benefits? Improved coordination and problem-solving skills, to name a couple. Plus, games can even help with ADHD.

Of course, studies have also found negative effects linked to excessive levels of video-gaming, such as one that found high levels of gaming linked to poor social adjustment. In other words, it’s probably a fool’s errand to figure out, once and for all, if video games are Good or Bad. Rather, they’re just a part of life today, like TV, smartphones, and other forms of technology. While there’s reason to not give your kids unfettered access to screens, gaming can be part of a kid’s “balanced diet” of free time and play.

But, of course, parents

Adventure

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November 21, 2020

These Virtual Santa Visits Let Your Kids Visit the North Pole from Home

From The Pioneer Woman

Although some of your favorite Christmas traditions might change this year in order to keep your family safe and healthy, there are still plenty of annual activities that you can still do: Decorating the Christmas tree, watching holiday movie marathons, and baking up batches of delicious cookies are just a few of them.

But what about your kids’ annual visit to Santa to tell him about how good they’ve been this year? You might have to postpone your mall trip or visit to Santa’s village in light of the pandemic. Here’s some good news: Their visit with Father Christmas can still go on! With the help of a little bit of Christmas magic (aka technology), you can bring Old St. Nick right to your home for a personal chat with your little ones. Don’t forget to mentally take note of the Christmas toys they tell him

Vacation

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November 20, 2020

Young Professionals collecting to aid foster kids

Submitted
Published 6:09 a.m. ET Nov. 17, 2020

Young Professionals collecting to aid foster kids

FREMONT – This GivingTuesday, Sandusky County Young Professional Group (SCYPG) will inspire generosity by giving birthdays to our most vulnerable youth who are a part of Sandusky County foster and kinship care programs.

GivingTuesday will kick off the holiday season by inspiring people to give back on Dec. 1, and throughout the year.

The SCYPG joined GivingTuesday to kick-off a new program, Operation: Birthday Wish” that will launch on Jan. 1, 2021. The mission of Operation: Birthday Wish is to provide youth in foster or kinship care the opportunity to celebrate their birthday and make a birthday wish.

An entire birthday celebration is assembled, packaged and then delivered to a Sandusky County SUPER foster child. This party in a box, includes a birthday cake, candles, party plates, a birthday present and party decorations.

Currently

Adventure

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November 17, 2020

Screen-Free Holiday Gift Ideas That Inspire Kids | Gift Ideas

(StatePoint) Shopping for holiday gifts for kids? Looking for activities that don’t involve a screen? Consider toys and activities that will inspire them this holiday season and beyond. Here are four great gift ideas that will encourage kids to be creative and use their imaginations:

Adventure

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November 16, 2020

One kid’s mission to build them all out of Lego has earned fans at Germany’s top clubs

Joe Bryant, with Hertha Berlin’s mascot Herthinho, presented his Lego model of the club’s Olympiastadion to the club’s fans

With soccer matches in Germany’s Bundesliga back behind closed doors, one talented 12-year-old is still allowing us to experience the thrill of a stadium atmosphere — even if it is in miniature form.

Joe Bryant exercises his passion for German football, sparked by a chance encounter on a family vacation, by building incredibly detailed scale models of arenas out of Lego. The Ipswich Town supporter began creating imaginary stadiums as a 5-year-old and stuck with it, improving and perfecting his creations brick by brick. Little could Bryant have known that one day his replicas would become a social media sensation, attracting attention from major clubs.

– Bundesliga on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S. only)
– ESPN+ viewer’s guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more

“I loved football,

Vacation

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November 13, 2020

How to teach your kids the financial lessons that schools don’t

Jill Hitchcock is the senior executive vice president responsible for the U.S. private client group at Fisher Investments, a fee-only investment adviser.

If you’re like me, virtual learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic has made you more involved in your kids’ education this year. Teachers are doing their very best to adapt, but when my kids complain about some of the work they have to do, I find myself secretly agreeing with them!

A good financial education can make all the difference in a family’s long-term success, yet practical finance is nearly impossible to find in a school curriculum. I mean really, have you ever used the Pythagorean Theorem in real life? I haven’t. But I have done things like set a budget, calculate monthly car payments, and start saving — even when what I really wanted to do was have fun with my money.

Teaching kids about money is harder

Vacation

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November 5, 2020

The best tech toys for kids

Buy Pixel Stars Dreamhouse at Amazon – $30 Buy Pixel Stars Dreamhouse at Walmart – $30

Barbie Astrophysicist Doll

Barbie’s had a lot of jobs over the course of her 60-plus-year history, but here at Engadget it’s always going to be the more science- and tech-related editions that catch our eye. And this National Geographic co-branded doll certainly fits the bill, outfitting Barbie in a stylish nebula-pattern dress and equipping her with a large, professional-looking (though non-functional) telescope. Kids can play-act their favorite astronomical discoveries, while knowing they can look cool doing it too.

Buy Astrophysicist Barbie at Amazon – $11 Buy Astrophysicist Barbie at Walmart – $12

For kids who love cute and cuddly

Tamagotchi On – Wonder Garden

You might have fond memories of feeding and cleaning up after your original Tamagotchi, but today’s kids might find that simple gameplay a bit dated. Tamagotchi

Recreation

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November 4, 2020