The Giving of Christmas

Hello everyone! Christmas is right around the corner and I would like to remind you of some things that you can do this year to help the less fortunate. You can give your time, money, and extra items to the people that need it the most. Here are some ideas of things that you can do to help your community:

• One thing you can do to help the less fortunate is donate to the Salvation Army. There are stands outside of grocery stores were you can donate money. Just listen for someone ringing a bell by a donation stand. Every penny counts and it makes a HUGE difference! Just imagine what would happen if everyone donated a dollar or penny! A lot of money would be raised, and many families would benefit!



• Another generous thing you can do is donate food to the Second Harvest Food Bank. Just pick up some canned food and drop it off at the designated locations listed on the Second Harvest website. My school had a Second Harvest peanut butter drive a while ago. The school that got the most donations won a trophy. Last year, my school won the contest, but this year the results haven't been announced.



• If you can't donate financially, then donate your time by telling others about the true meaning of Christmas. A lot of people are so busy with buying, wrapping, and visiting relatives that they forget what Christmas is all about. Christmas is not about rushing to mark everything off your to-do-list; it's really about how God loved us so much that he sent his only son to save us from our sins. We should always remember that, even when we're busy. Remind someone what the true meaning of Christmas is, and maybe that will inspire them to slow down and enjoy the celebration of Jesus's birth.
  

I hope that this post has reminded you that Christmas is not about rushing and spending. God's love and Jesus's birth is definitely something to celebrate! I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Tween's Guide to Room Cleaning!

When your parents tell you to clean your room, what do you do? Do you shove everything under your bed? Stuff things in closets and drawers? All of the above? Well, this is not really the correct way to clean your room, even if it does seem like the easy way out! When you hide everything in random places, the junk starts to overflow, and you never know where things are! Here are some tips that will help your room be clean and organized, and make room cleaning quick and easy!

1.) If you have overflowing avalanches all over your room, chances are, you need to weed out some stuff! Here are some tips on how to do so!

• First of all, set up 4 bags or mats. One for trash, one for paper recyclables, one for plastic recyclables, and the last for donations to toy drives or Goodwill. Set the things you want to keep in a neat pile to the side; you will organize them later.


• You can recycle letters that were sent home from school or church long ago announcing events that have already happened.


• You can also recycle phone numbers of people you met at summer camp, the park, etc., that you don't plan on seeing again and forgot almost everything about. Chances are, if you don't remember them that well, they won't remember you either.


• It is also pointless to keep every single coloring page, paper, and piece of artwork you made in pre-school and Sunday school. Pick out your favorites and get rid of the rest. You can type the stories and songs you wrote when were young and save them on your computer and/or flash drive. (Flash drives are good because if your computer crashes, you will always have your special pictures and documents on the small but helpful flash drive!) You can also take pictures of projects and artwork to get them out of the way. ( I call them "Throw Away Pictures"!) You obviously can't keep everything you make over the years!


• You can hand down or donate toys that you are too old for or don't need. Party favors are good examples. Some are useful, but most are just small toys like bubbles, bouncy balls, and plastic rings. The ones you don't want, your younger siblings or the less fortunate kids that don't have toys might love them, and will be happy to get them. If you find left over school supplies from last year, you have several options. By now you probably have bought all of the school supplies for this year, so you could either keep the old ones for back up or donate them to one of your teachers, just make sure they still are in good condition and work.


• There are 2 important things that you need to keep in mind while weeding out. The 1st thing is that if you have survived this long with the item shoved in the back of the closet, you can probably live without it! The 2cnd is that if you are not sure if you want to keep something or not, go ahead and keep it. If you get rid of something, you can't get it back, so discuss with your parents what you want to keep and get rid of, because they might want you to keep what you would have never thought of keeping. Remember, your parents are wise adults that are experienced in this area! They were in your position once too; they can help you!

2.) After you finish weeding out, it's time to start organizing! This will help a lot when you are looking for something later. Here are some tips about organization!

• Have a certain place to put calculaters, text books, folders, and papers that always stay at home. Keep them together in one place so that you will always know where they ar


• Keep odds and ends together in a small bag, drawer, or neat pile.


• Have a somewhere like a cabinet or drawer to keep all of your games or puzzels. If you are in the mood for a game, you will be able to see all of your options at once without having to dig through your room!


• Keep all of your art supplies in a cabinet, closet, or drawer. Have some sort of way of knowing which supplies are have been opened, and which are unopened so that you won't, for example, open a new box of crayons when you already have 2 opened.


• You might want to find some storage bins and cadies to put your make-up, jewelery, and hair accesories in.


• You need to make sure that you put your things were you will be able to find them easily when you need them.

I hope these tips are helpful to you when you're cleaning your room. Every once in a while weed out and organize to suprise your parents with a neat room. I just resently cleaned my room and my parents were impressed with the results. They couldn't believe how organized it looked! I am happy to share these tips with you, and I hope they work wonders for your room too!

Tri-Cross Eco-Edition

Hi everyone! I recently played a cool game called Tri-Cross Eco-Edition! It is similar to checkers and requires 2-4 players. There are several different versions, and I prefer the 2 player face-up version. There are two ways to play that, and I like to play so that the first player to get all of the other player's pieces wins. It takes a fairly long time, it takes shorter time than Monopoly but longer than the Memory card game. It does require strategy, but is easier than chess the way I play it. I love that it is packaged in a cloth bag and the only thing that is not made of cloth is the pieces and the instructions! It cuts down on waste, and 10% of each purchase goes to an Eco-Friendly charity, so when you purchase it, little by little your saving the world!

I would say that it is a game for kids 9 and up! This game will have you thinking, and it will show you that reducing waste is just one game away! Please visit the Tri-Cross website today for helpful instructional videos. The videos helped me better understand the game.

*I was provided with the Tri-Cross Eco-Edition in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for reviewing this product.

I'm on Twitter!

By TwitterButtons.com


I can't believe I'm on Twitter! I'll tweet about new posts, books I'm reading, and much more! Just click on the cute birdie on the right side-bar. I would love to have more followers, and I'll try to follow you too!



I also would love it if you put my button on your blog! You can get that also on the right side-bar. I appreciate all of my readers and hope to her from you soon! Tweet you later!

4 Great Nintendo DS Games for children 6 and up

My wonderful follower Ann (http://ann-crabs.blogspot.com/) liked the post I did about Style Savvy so much that she wanted to know about good ds games for 6 year olds. I have some games in mind that I hope will be helpful!


1.) Nintendogs Lab & Friends

This was one of my first ds games and I still play it occasionally! It is not too complicated, and it teaches you a little responsibility, because you have to feed, groom, and give water to dogs. You can walk your dog , enter your dog(s) (you can have up to three), into contests, and shop for supplies and toys. These are the three dogs I have on my game in the order I got them: Daisy (A yellow lab), Rachel (An orange poodle), and last but not least, Sammy (My new cute little Welsh Corgi). After you get better at being a trainer, the kennel gets more varieties of dog breeds. So it gives you things to look forward to! There are also different versions of Nintendogs, but I guess which one you choose depends on which types of dogs you like because there is also a Chihuahua and Dalmatian version. I've played this one for about 2 years, and it is very fun!


2.) Littlest Pet Shop DS Games

There is a variety of littlest pet shop ds games and they are very fun! But I will warn you that all of the games are pretty much the same, except for the pets available and a little more small differences. My cousins and I love the minigames and they always keep them laughing! It's hard to get them to put it down! You start out with 3 pets and earn money to buy more as you go. You can get toys and playsets for you and your pets to play with. I was kind of sad when I got my last pet and couldn't get anymore, but the game continues even after you get your last pet, which I love! Must-have for littlest pet shop lovers!



3.) My Baby First Steps

This is a great game that lets you watch your baby grow up! It gives you guidelines of what you are supposed to teach your daughter/son each month. It will make you laugh and it is also a good game to teach you responsibility! The only down side is that you can complete it very quickly, and I was very disappointed when I found out that after your baby grows up, you have to delete it before you can get a new one. That's why I only play it every once in a while so that my virtual baby boy, Jonathan, won't grow up too fast. But other than that it is a great game where you will feed, play with, teach, put to bed, change clothes on, and change diapers of your baby! This might require a little help from their parents, but soon your kids will probably get the hang of it! There are more "My Baby" games that I haven't played but I'm sure they're great too! This is one of the newer games in the series!



4.) Let's Draw!

Last but definitely not least, this game provides fun for kids that love to draw! It will teach you to draw a variety of animals, bugs, shapes and more with easy steps. You can color your drawings crazy colors and play with them in fun games. This game doesn't require a lot of reading, and it writes out and shows you the steps instead of only writing it out leaving you wondering what the directions mean. Your child will love it, especially if they love to draw!



I hope this review has given you all great ds game ideas! Thank you so much Ann, for being such an awesome supporter of my blog! And I also thank all of my other follows for making my blog more and more famous!

A New Blogger in Town!

I'm so exited to announce that one of my friends has entered the bloging world at

Bite Size Reviews. She doesn't want you to read long reviews all day and not find what you are looking for, so her top priority is to give you short and sweet reviews that are "Bite Size" and sure to make you satisfied! I highly recommed her blog!

5 Great Books For Elementary Aged Students

Hello book lovers! My friend and follower Ann, from http://ann-crabs.blogspot.com/, asked me to suggest books for her elementary aged daughter. So I agreed! All of the books listed here are books I read and enjoyed when I was younger. I hope you enjoy these too!

1. "Family Stories You Can Relate to, A Reading Rainbow Readers book", by Marc Brown, Arnold Lobel, Cynthia Rylant, and many more wonderful children's books authors:

This book includes many entertaining stories for the whole family! There are other books in the Reading Rainbow Readers series also, but I chose this book because I love books that will get the whole family laughing! The Reading Rainbow Books are kind of old, so they might be hard to find in stores. If you can't find it in stores, you can buy it at amazon with the link right here!



2. The Junie B. Jones Series, by Barbara Park and Janet Brunkus:

This book is very funny! You will follow Junie B. through Kindergarten and 1st grade in this great book! The only down side to it is that sometimes Junie acts mischievous, and I'd hate for your child to pick up bad behavioral habits because of this book, so if your child picks up habits from books and movies, I'd say no to this book. Personally, I didn't pick up any habits when I read the books, but it all depends on the child. You can read the books in any order you like.


3. The Magic Tree House Series, by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca:

These are good books that tell about times in history, so it is learning, with a splash of fun fiction! Jack and Annie are smart children that love to go on fun adventures in their Magic Tree House. You can read these books out of order at the start, but it is better to read them in order later on in the series. This is a book that is good for classes to read together because of the educational value.


4.The Puppy Place Series, by Ellen Miles:

These books are great for children who love animals. It is about a brother and sister who keep dogs as foster pets and try to find them homes. It is a very detailed book that your child will love. I did get emotional when I read the first book, but I still liked the series a lot, and I always looked forward to buying the next book at the school book fair.


5.The Janette Oke's Animal Friends Series:

Last but definitely not least, these books teach lessons and provide entertainment for animal loving kids! It talks about a variety of animals, most of them living in the forest. Janette Oke also writes adult books.


I hope this answers your question, Ann. I also hope it provide information for anyone needing new reading matterial for their little ones! All of these books would be good for both boys and girls. Remember, whenever you need movie, book, cd, or game suggestions, just comment on my blog and I will try my best to answer your request!
*If you would like to buy these books on Amazon, follow the blue underscored links for each suggestion.

Style Savvy for the Nintendo DS

Style Savvy is a wonderful game for girls age nine and up, and it is even good for mothers who want practice styling clothes for their daughters! The concept is that you start as an amateur employee and you work your way up in the fashion world. It has fashion shows where you can compete for not only exclusive clothes for your wardrobe and store, but also a higher status in the fashion world. It contains a lot of reading, but the reading is not too advanced. Almost the only thing that gets me to put it down is when the battery gets low! It is my favorite DS game so far! I highly recommend it!




*Disclosure:  This review is my opinion of a game that I own.  I was not compensated for this review.

Miss O & Friends Trouble with a Capital O ~Review

Trouble with a Capital O is the first book of the Miss O & Friends book series, which is based on the characters of the popular website, Miss O & Friends - Website for tween and teen girls. It is about a girl nicknamed Miss O, (her real name is Olivia) who is worried about starting 5th grade with a teacher said to be the meanest teacher in the whole school, Mrs.Hintermeister, who they call The Hinter Monster. When one of Miss O’s friends, Isabella, finds an article saying that Hintermeister was behind bars, they want to investigate. Miss O tries her best to get on “The Hinter Monster’s” good side.

To make matters worse, her big sister, Juliette, has started to act mean ever since she started 6th grade. She always talks about middle division and Miss O feels like she’s losing her sister. You’ll love this book that will have you laughing, wondering what’s next, and wanting to keep reading until you finish the last page. After I finished this book, it left me wanting more. It is a good book for ages 9, 10, and 11. I give Trouble with a Capital O two thumbs up!

Trouble with a Capitol O written by Miss O, with Devra Newberger Speregen.  Illustrated by Hermine Brindak.
*Disclosure-  This review is written in my own words and my own opinion.  I was not compensated in any way to do this review.  This is a book from my own library.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi fellow web surfers!  This is a blog by a tween reader, gamer, and expert on fun!  Stay tuned for my fun exiting reviews!



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