As many of you may have heard from my furry friend on Facebook, our Universe has grown, changed and improved with the help of many dedicated alienes with the power to change our world with their magical clicker (odd little thing, it is). We cleaned up around the Big Blue Space Station and even got some help from locals to make sure we catch every bit of pollution lingering behind the corners.  After using some intense magnets and learning how to communicate with Flockers, we are excited to share with you a Tiny Planets Universe that is ALL about your child. Take a look!

Your child now have the ability to make anything and everything his/her own. They will be able to customize their own planet, space station and even their own furry alien (our personal favorite). On their planet, they can design everything from the roads to the scenery to the buildings. With their space station, they will be able to transform their space vehicle into their very own customized space rider. Funky chairs? Carpets? Shops? Wall decor? Why not a bit of everything! Set free your child’s creativity. Let your child explore the Universe through the lens of…a pirate, an explorer, an astronaut, a viking, a knight…and much more by customizing his/her furry alien!

It’s all about your child in your universe and ours – click here to get your child started on their space mission!

Signing out,
Halley

Greetings friends! Whenever you see someone wave their hand, what do you do? Most likely, you wave back. Many of us think the only way we can talk to others is using our voice, but that isn’t the case!

On the Planet of Nature, my dear friends Bing and Bong discover a whole other form of talking with the help of some Flocker friends. Find out what ways we communicate in this weeks episode…*stomps feet*…BODY TALK! Here’s a sneak peak:

You can share different ways YOU communicate with me, Bing, and Bong by joining the discussion — click here!

Signing out, Halley

P.S. To view the full episode, you will have to ask an adult for permission to sign up!

I was wondering the same thing!

So, I decided to track down Bing and Bong. I looked all over the Tiny Planets Universe and they were no where to be found! I started at the Planet of Stuff and one of the flockers told me she saw them flying to the Planet of Nature — so I went there. Once I got there, one of the flockers told me he spotted them flying to the Planet of Technology. When I reached the Planet of Technology they where somewhere else! Finally, I decided to ask one of the Boings to ask Bing and Bong when he saw them. When I went to ask the Boing for this favor, he laughed and said — “Didn’t you hear? The episode went missing when we cleaning out the Big Blue Space Station! Bing and Bong are out looking for it somewhere in the Universe.” That explains it!

What can you do till then? Well, that’s easy – explore the learning and play the game! We are always bringing you new stuff to enjoy — just keep and eye out. I will make sure to let you in on all the new stuff here on my blog!

Signing out, Halley

Here are some great summer activities to do with your kids:

1. Have fun with water. If you have small children, consider getting a water table. These tables provide toddlers with opportunities to play with water and toys outside of the tub. Older children may enjoy a run through a sprinkler system to cool off.
2. Sell lemonade or other cool drinks. Get your children into the entrepreneurial spirit and have fun at the same time. You can work together to build a stand and some signs. Then set up shop somewhere that you can attract some thirsty customers.
3. Volunteer your time. Volunteering is an excellent way to provide for your children a true learning experience while having fun over the summer. Research different programs that allow children to help out in the community. This could set the stage for regular volunteer work in the future.
4. Fly kites. Buy a kite at a local store, or make your own if you have the time. Find a safe area to fly kites and teach your children how to get their kites up into the air. Once children learn how to fly kites themselves, it may become one of their favorite summertime activities.
5. Make summer themed arts and crafts. Arts and crafts can bring enjoyment to your kids year round, but you can enjoy the summer season by doing crafts that are centered on the theme of summer. Make decorations or design your own t-shirts. Allow your kids to think creatively by coming up with their own ideas.
6. Go for a bike ride. If everyone has their own bikes, you can go out for a ride as a family. It’s a great way to bond and enjoy the sunshine. If your children are too young, you can take them for a wagon ride.
7. Play backyard games. Head out to the backyard or a local park to play games. You can play traditional sports or make up your own games to play. Take advantage of the season’s warm weather, enjoy each other, and get some exercise at the same time.
8. Go to the beach. Declare today a beach day! Grab your beach toys and bathing suits, and have a good time in the sun. If you don’t live by the beach, you can create your own beach day anyway. Spread towels on the ground and enjoy the sun or head to a nearby river or lake.
9. Go on a nature hike. Whether you’re walking through your neighborhood or a local beach, a nature hike can make you more aware of the beauty of your surroundings. Your children might enjoy creating a collection of things they find in nature, such as rocks and shells.

Keep your kids from getting bored this summer with one or more of these activities. Instead of staying stuck in the house watching TV or playing video games, bond as a family and create lasting memories together!

photo credit: AForestFrolic

In case you missed it, I am here to tell you about this week’s NEW Tiny Planets episode.

Drum roll please…

Check out this picture of Bing and Bong enjoying the snow during Winter Warm-ups:

Signing out, Halley

P.S. To view the full episode, you will have to ask an adult for permission to sign up!

Your favorite blogger from Tiny Planets here to share some awesome pictures from this week. Many of you may know that the Transit of Venus took place earlier. What does this mean? Well, even I had to look that one up and ask my dear friends Bing and Bong. They showed me this awesome video by our friends at NASA:

The Transit of Venus occurs when the planet of Venus passes right between the Sun and planet Earth. When all you dears living on Earth looked up at the Sun, you would have seen a black ball passing directly across the face of the Sun. Actually, you would have needed some special glasses to do that because we all know how dangerous it is to look directly at the Sun — don’t do it!

Anyway, the reason this whole thing is so exciting is because occurs in pairs 8 years apart every 243 years. So basically we will never see something like this until 2255! I hope you didn’t miss it, but incase you did, here is a picture to show you what it looked like:

Look at how Venus passed by the sun in 2004 and then a few days ago in 2012.

Enjoy the world around you — especially these moments of a lifetime!

Signing out, Halley

There are ways you can create chore time having a positive practical experience, and help persuade your sons or daughters to get their tasks done. Here are some tips:

Earning Privileges

Psychiatrists highly recommend establishing privileges in the house, and then working out a chore schedule which allows kids to earn their privileges. For example, if your kid enjoys having fun with his toy cars, set up a chore checklist where certain chores earn him a 30 minutes of car play time.

A similar principle may be applied to a teenager who loves to spend time on social networking, or perhaps a toddler who likes tinkering with blocks. If you make enjoyable tasks into things children earn, than the chores could be their tactic to earn these privileges.

Create a Chart

The idea of earning privileges through doing chores can be made easier using a chart. And this gives kids control over what privileges they earn and the like. It encourages them to participate to get involved instead of evading Moms and dads who sadly are nagging on a regular basis about house chores.

• For very young children who can’t read, you should use pictures – have a image of the chore, then a image of the privilege and draw a line or arrow connecting them.
• For teenagers, you may even have them earn play money with their chores. “Putting away shoes = $3″ for example. Then liberties “cost” certain amounts: “One-half hour of television = $5.”

Your children can “pay” you with the play money. Or you can merely have a chart that illustrates which chores gain which privileges.

Be involved

Many experts have stated that getting up off the couch and helping your young ones get their chores done is helpful. It’s wise – kids (and older people) will resent being told to “get to work” by a person who’s sitting on the easy chair with a remote control in his or her hand screaming orders.

So get up and take part in – don’t do your kids’ chores for your kids, but focus on your own personal clean-up chores simultaneously, or pick up items you want your kids to put away and give these to them.

Occasionally, kids – especially preschoolers – really should be “walked through” a chore. Some youngsters need for you to point out the toys (and it feels like you have to point to each and every one!) which have to be put away, or the laundry that’s hanging around to be put away.

Games

If at all possible, make chores into games.

• Small children might enjoy pretending to become clean-up robot. You can make believe you run the remote with “buttons” for fast, slow, etc.
• Teenagers may get a kick out of a waste can attached to the wall that they can “shoot” for like basketball.
• Homework is homework, nevertheless, you can make it a game by allowing your sons or daughters earn points or treats for each homework task they complete.

Making chores fun for kids to do can save you a lot of stress and bad feelings for everyone in the family.  And if you want to help your little ones visualize just how great it is to have a neat and orderly place to live, zoom over to the Tiny Planet of Stuff and watch the video “A Place For Everthing.”  In this episode  Bing and Bong help their little Flocker friends see the importance of tidying up their rooms.

photo credit: clogozm

Hope you have gotten a chance to zoom around all the Tiny Planets by now. It’s tons of fun, huh? Anyway, I want to show you how you can enjoy all the games MORE! You ready for it?

Okay, so once you go on TinyPlanets.com, you are going to see this:

See what I circled using my red pen on the bottom right — “Adopt a Furry Alien!”? Yes, that! Okay, once you click on that, you can adopt your VERY OWN adorably cute “Boing”! Yes, you and your Boing can play with Bing, Bong and I all over the Tiny Planets Universe. Exciting, isn’t it?

Just follow the steps and ta-da! Once you sign up, you will be able to record your scores, complete against other members and much much more! Explore and enjoy

In my next post, I will be giving you some tricks on how to play my favorite game — wait to find out what it is and how you can be a high-scorer!

Signing out, Halley

Bing, Bong and I have an exciting announcement for YOU from the Big Blue Space Station! Watch to find out what it is:

HOW EXCITING! Stay tuned for more updates from yours truly. Till then, have some fun! Play games with us on tinyplanets.com

Signing out, Halley

Show Mom how much she means to you with these Mother’s Day brunch ideas. Rather than planning breakfast in bed and waking Mom up early, let her sleep in and use these ideas to create a Mother’s Day brunch Mom will thoroughly enjoy.

She will appreciate not having to cook on Mother’s Day. However, you’ll want to make sure you’re also prepared to clean up after yourself. There’s no reason to make Mom clean up after the meal if it’s her special day. Remember you’re letting her relax and enjoy a day without cooking and cleaning.

Think about the foods Mom loves for breakfast or lunch. You may also want to consider items she wouldn’t normally eat. The goal is to prepare a meal Mom will enjoy and remember for years to come.

Start with freshly squeezed orange juice. If Mom drinks alcoholic beverages, you may want to add the fresh orange juice to ice cold champagne to make a Mimosa. Of course, you can also make a non-alcoholic version using sparkling grape juice.

Toast bagel halves, spread cream cheese on them and then top the bagel halves with a few thinly sliced pieces of smoked salmon. You can top them with capers, red onions or lemons if you want a traditional garnish. Try diced tomatoes or minced chives for a different taste to this classic brunch item.

Pancakes are also a good choice if you’re serving brunch. Crepes are another good brunch item. Either can be prepared to be sweet or savory. Traditional maple syrup is wonderful as a topping but fresh fruit would also be delicious.

There’s no better time in the day to have pizza. Make a breakfast pizza with sausage and eggs to go with a great cheese. This may become a favorite brunch item that is requested year after year.

Once the main part of the meal has been served, don’t forget a healthy final dish. Many mothers love fresh strawberries any time of the year. When you want something healthy and delicious, slice up fresh strawberries and add sliced kiwi. Sprinkle a little sugar and mix the two together. They will make their own sauce. Serve the fruit with ‘fancy’ cookies such as biscotti, ladyfingers or Amaretto. Your mother will love the combination of the fruit and cookies.

Set the table to include your family’s good dishes and silverware. Chances are these dishes aren’t used that often so why not use them to celebrate Mom?

You can also find fresh flowers from the garden or buy a bouquet which can be split up between several small vases. Mom will love the extra effort you’ve made by using some of these Mother’s Day brunch ideas or coming up with ones of your own.
photo credit: Joris-Jan