***Disclosure:  I received a free week of Soccer Camp for my daughter thanks to the USFamilyGuide.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.***

Chloe loved soccer camp again this summer. She enjoyed the program and that it was slightly different but still similar enough that she felt comfortable. It’s awesome to watch all the kids grow and develop through the skill building at Challenger International Soccer Camp. This year instead of competing in the World Cup the kids competed as premier league teams. My daughter enjoyed this since her dad is a soccer nut (self proclaimed) – he was sad that she was on Arsenal and not Liverpool though!

It’s amazing to see the changes in Chloe as both a player with her skills but also with her confidence in general. This year we would arrive at camp – check-in and she would take off without even saying bye! Four years of Challenger soccer camps has really made a huge difference for her.

The only thing that was disappointing this year was the weather on Friday. It poured buckets – I had planned to go to watch the final game and the awards but we got a call saying camp was cancelled and to come pick up our kiddos. They didn’t get to play the final game and they did the awards crammed into a baseball dugout. Then we headed home for the day.

Register for Challenger International Soccer Camps

Register for Challenger’s International Soccer camp & get a free international ball, t-shirt, poster, skills evaluation, new downloadable coaching app & 20 skills videos! Register 30 days before camp and qualify for a free International Game Jersey! https://bit.ly/2T6K5jK @usfgeve

Why Challenger Sports? Challenger Sports, the leading camp company in the US has launched a brand new, soccer camp that combines the most popular elements of their two camp programs, British Soccer and TetraBrazil. The all new Challenger International Soccer Camp will offer instructional camp programs for each age/ability level!

Don’t miss our past reviews as well!

• 1/2 day camp
• Full Day camp
• Full Day camp

The post Skill Building at Challenger International Soccer Camp appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

***The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Entenmann’s® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Entenmann’s®. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of
Entenmann’s®.***

Are you a donut family? We definitely are! We don’t have them frequently but the kids get super excited when they see a box of Enenmann’s®. Donuts are the perfect addition to any camping trip as they take minimal prep work for maximum enjoyment! We can’t wait for #NationalDonutDay!

What is your favorite flavor of Entenmann’s®? Enter the Fan Flavor Challenge for a chance to win yourself free donuts for a year – who wouldn’t want that?!

Entenmann’s® National Donut Day 2019 – Fan Flavor Challenge

Enter the Fan Flavor Challenge before June 14th for a chance to win $5000 and free donuts for a year! Visit the website below to enter:

http://www.entenmanns.com/fanflavorchallenge

How are you going to spend #NationalDonutDay? We will be headed out camping as a family to celebrate my sons crossover from Wolves to Bears in Cub Scouts. We will be enjoying donuts in the camper for breakfast (#momwin #kidwin #weallwin).

Find more information about Entenmann’s® below:

 Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Enter my Giveaway!!

Enter for a chance to win a $25 Visa digital gift card!

Entenmann’s® is responsible for sending out the winner’s prize.

The post Fan Flavor Challenge #NationalDonutDay Camping Edition appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

***The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Entenmann’s® Little Bites® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® . The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of
Entenmann’s® Little Bites® .***

Do your kids adore Little Bites®? Mine surely do! They love seeing any special boxes when we go out to the grocery store and more often then not we end up with some in the cart! The festive birthday bash packages were no exception! The kids can’t wait to snack happy for Little Bites 20th Birthday!

Super exciting news! You have multiple chances to win! Don’t miss out on the Birthday Bash Sweepstakes and my own giveaway (keep scrolling to the end of the post to make sure you enter mine!)

Entenmann’s® Little Bites® 20^th Birthday Bash Sweepstakes

Enter the Entenmann’s® Little Bites® 20th Birthday Bash sweepstakes between January 21,2019, and March 29, 2019. Enter in one of two ways:

• Text “LITTLEBITES20” to short code 555888 and send us your Happy Birthday Wish for Little Bite
• Submit your Happy Birthday Wish to Little Bites (along with contact info) on www.littlebites.com/20Birthdaybash

For each message submitted, Little Bites will donate $1 (up to $6,500) to The Birthday Party Project, a national organization that hosts birthday parties for kids who are residing in homeless or transitional living facilities.

20 people will win an Ultimate Prize Pack featuring:

• $500 donation in their name to a charity of their choice
• $500 gift card toward an ultimate birthday party for their child and friends
• One-year supply of Little Bites® muffins

Download a free Little Bite Party Kit at  www.littlebites.com/20Birthdaybash

Find more information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® below:

 Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Or check out the Birthday Party Project below:

Website / Facebook / Instagram

Enter my Giveaway!!

Enter for a chance to win a $25 Visa digital gift card and (3) coupons for $5.00 off the purchase of any Entenmann’s® Little Bites®!! 

Entenmann’s® is responsible for sending out the winner’s prize.

The post Snack Happy for Little Bites 20th Birthday appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

***The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Entenmann’s® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Entenmann’s®. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Entenmann’s®.***

Do you and your family love movies? Do you also love Entenmann’s® products?? If so then pay attention! Entenmann’s & BUMBLEBEE are teaming up to provide an awesome offer to celebrate the release of BUMBLEBEE to theaters!

From now through January 5, 2019, with the purchase of three Entenmann’s® Little Bites® muffins, eight count donuts or Entenmann’s® Minis, fans will receive $5.00 off a movie ticket to see the film! How awesome!!! Which of the three products listed below can your family not live without?

• Entenmann’s® Little Bites® muffins are pre-portioned pouches of delicious baked snacks made with real ingredients like blueberries, strawberries and bananas
• Entenmann’s® makes a variety of delicious, cake style donuts such as Rich Chocolate Frosted, Crumb and Powdered
• Entenmann’s® Minis feature the same deliciousness and quality you know and love from classic Entenmann’s® products, only smaller and individually wrapped

Our whole family loves Entenmann’s® Minis but the kids would definitely pick Little Bites® muffins because they love getting them in their lunch boxes!

For more information about the promotion, please visit www.littlebites.com/bumblebeemovie

Bumblebee in Theaters December 21st

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.  When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug. 

Find more information about Entenmann’s® below:

Website /  Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Enter my Giveaway!!

Enter for a chance to win a $25 Visa digital gift card and (3) coupons for $5.00 off the purchase of any Entenmann’s® Little Bites®!! 

Entenmann’s® is responsible for sending out the winner’s prize.

The post Entenmann’s® & BUMBLEBEE! appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Each and every year, months before Christmas, kids start to question how long until Christmas comes! Is it the same in your home? We like to keep kids occupied and prolong their anticipation with crafting many a Kids Craft and especially DIY Christmas ornaments every year! Will you join us this year? They make wonderful little gifts that kids can give at Christmas and are a great way to also decorate gifts. We also have some amazing Christmas Sewing Projects to make and gift.

1. Reindeers and Christmas are inseparable, right? We love seeing adorable little reindeers, and when they look as cute as this felt Christmas reindeer ornament, you can’t resist to make a whole lot of them!
2. For kids who are eager to learn how to sew, easy felt stars are perfect ornament to make this Christmas. Super easy and when presented with bunch of different items for decorations, it’s super fun to make as well!
3. We like to mix things up and add different themed ornaments on our Christmas tree. So, crochet fox ornament also found a way to our Christmas tree. Adorable, isn’t it? If you like fox crafts, we have made lots in the past!
4. With Christmas falling in winter season, it’s easy to add some of the winter crafts and decorations to Christmas holiday. We love these quick to make penguin softies you can make and hang on your Christmas tree. You can choose few other penguin ornaments and make them too!
5. If you prefer paper crafts, we prepared a printable template to use and make adorable 3D reindeer ornament! Quick to make and looks so cute hanging on Christmas tree. You can even string many together and make a garland!
6. Kids always ask: Will it snow on Christmas? It’s one of the things so many associate with Christmas. If your kids are also looking forward to white Christmas, invite them to make few of these lovely pipe cleaner snowflakes!
7. Another pretty easy to make Christmas ornament, even for kids as young as toddlers and preschoolers – pipe cleaner Christmas tree. We used them for Christmas garland, but you can easily just hang easy one separately on Christmas tree as an ornament.
8. For unicorn fans, Christmas is another opportunity to add them to holiday decorations! There are many unicorn crafts to choose from, but we love these adorable and easy unicorn ornaments made from paper and wool! Cute!
9. Use smaller wooden slices to make wood slice snowman ornament or use larger ones and turn your snowman into decorative piece for Christmas mantel.You can even use it to decorate your front porch! Which one will you choose?
10. Christmas crafting provides an opportunity for younger children to work on their fine motor skills. Great example is this yarn wrapped Christmas tree which can be decorated in number of ways. Let your child’s imagination run wild as they pick materials for their wrapped tree!

From easy crafts for kids who are younger like toddlers and preschoolers, to more elaborate, like Christmas sewing crafts for kids – we have done so many over years! My kids ADORE crafting and we often use crafting sessions in our home as a way to bond as a family. We wish you lots of crafting and lots of bonding this holiday season!

If you are looking for more Kid Made Christmas Ornaments make sure you check out the Blog Hop I hosted last year:

Kid Made Christmas Ornament Blog Hop 2017

The post 10 Great Decorations for the Christmas Tree appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Celebrate Root Beer Float Day with A&W Root Beer

Do you love celebrating quirky holidays with your families?  Well today (August 6th) is a fun day!  Celebrate Root Beer Float Day with A&W Root Beer and have a fun family night!  We love any reason to celebrate and had a lot of fun making our Root Beer Floats together as a family .

You’ve seen me post before about on our our families favorite activities – dinner movie picnics.  A&W Root Beer floats would be the perfect addition to your dinner movie picnic.  They would also be great served pool side or when you are out camping.  That’s the great thing about A&W Root Beer floats – you don’t need many supplies to make them but they are always great!  We like the original Root Beer Float but check out some other fun ideas here: www.rootbeer.com.

What Makes A&W Root Beer Great?!

• A&W Root Beer has a long history of creating family memories.
• The unique, creamy taste of A&W Root Beer is a simple treat that creates fun, care-free experiences for families and can help make any moment special.
• A&W Root Beer helps create the perfect timeless family night treat: an A&W Root Beer Float!
• For “float how-tos” and recipe inspiration visit, www.rootbeer.com.

 Find more information about A&W Root Beer by visiting them at their sites below:

A&W website / A&W Instagram

The post Celebrate Root Beer Float Day with A&W Root Beer appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Confidence Building at British Soccer Camp 

Do you have a child that loves soccer?  My daughter definitely has a great love for soccer.  This was her third summer attending British Soccer Camp and her skills have improved drastically which has been great for her confidence.   This year Chloe really enjoyed herself – she was no longer one of the youngest or least experienced children at the camp and that in itself helped her feel more confident in herself.  She loves everything at soccer camp from the drills, to the practices and games.  She loved the coaches and the silly challenges and themed days.  She is already looking forward to going again next summer!

I love the feedback sheets given to the kiddos on their last day of camp – they highlight areas that they can improve as well as positive feedback on things they are doing well.  As long as Chloe still loves soccer she will be attending British Soccer Camp each summer.  Each year the kids get broken up into teams to compete in the “World Cup” – this year Chloe’s team came in second and she was so excited!  She went from scoring only 1 goal last year all week to more than I could count this week.  It’s such a pleasure as a parent to watch your child improve and to see coaches that really support them along their journey.  One of the best point for Chloe this year was that their was a female coach and that she was who Chloe’s group was assigned to.  It was exciting for her to have a female role model when all of her past coaches have been male.

Find my past reviews for both the half day and full day camps below:

Half Day Camp

Full Day Camp

More information about British Soccer Camps

British Soccer Camps are the most popular soccer camp in the US. With an innovative curriculum that develops skills, speed and confidence in players ages 3-18, The British Soccer Camp provide boys and girls with the rare opportunity to receive high-level soccer coaching from a team of international expert’s right in the heart of their own community. In addition to teaching new skills and improving game performance, each British Soccer Camp provides lessons in character development, cultural education and is the most fun your child can have learning the sport they love!

Special Offer!

Register for Camp and get a Jersey, Ball, T-shirt, New Skills App and 20 Free Videos!!

Enroll in the most popular soccer camp in North America! British Soccer Camps have programs for all ages and abilities and feature an innovative curriculum full of skills, drills, and thrills! Register now and you will not only get your free British Soccer game jersey (value $34.95) shipped to you for free immediately, but you will also get our brand new skill development App and 20 videos to help your child practice at home. Your soccer ball, T-shirt & poster will be given out at camp.

USE CODE BSC18 at check out to get free shipping.

To Enroll: https://www.challengersports.com/british-soccer/

The post Confidence Building at British Soccer Camp – Sponsored appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Entenmann’s® Father’s Day Giveaway

Father’s Day is rapidly approaching!  How are you going to celebrate with dad this year?   This year our Sunday will be spent mostly at home since the World Cup is on!  Hubby will be glued to the TV.  He and the kids can watch together and enjoy some of the New Limited Edition Entenmann’s® Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins!

Information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins 

• New Limited Edition Entenmann’s® Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins are naturally flavored with the simply delicious flavor of vanilla and come in perfectly portioned pouches ideal for breakfast or snacking on-the-go
• The scrumptious addition to the Little Bites® Seasonal Favorites® line can be devoured nationwide by kids and adults alike now through June
• With 190 calories per pouch, Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins contain no high fructose corn syrup or trans-fat, making them a snack kids will love and a choice parents can feel good about
• For more information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins please visit www.littlebites.com

Entenmann’s® Father’s Day Sweepstakes

Entenmann’s® Little Bites® is thanking dads for all that they do by giving away Entenmann’s® Little Bites® ties and a coupon to purchase the beloved snack to 10 lucky guys. Five extra lucky dads will win the Little Bites® tie, a coupon AND a $100 Amazon gift card!  Through June 15th simply log on to: https://www.littlebites.com/fathers-day to enter the Love Little Bites Father’s Day Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of the exciting prizes!!

Father’s Day Hole-in-One Treat

One way to show the love to create a tasty treat for Dad this year!  My husband loves when we bake for him!  Sometimes with the kids its a little easier to start out with a pre-made snack that the kids can dress up!  Take a peek at the Father’s Day treat that features Entenmann’s® Little Bites® Vanilla Muffins!  You can view the Little Bites Hole-in-One Father’s Day Fun DIY video below –  You can also find the step-by-step instructions.

I’m so excited to try the NEW Little Bites® rewards program! Buy 10 five-count boxes of Little Bites® snacks and get 1 FREE! Send in your receipts by text message, email or website. To get started, send a text message with the keyword “Little Bites” to 811-811, email to redeem@Rewards.LittleBites.com or visit http://rewards.littlebites.com.

Find more information about Entenmann’s® Little Bites® below:

 website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Enter my Giveaway!!

Enter for a chance to win a $25 Visa digital gift card and (3) coupons for $5.00 off the purchase of any Entenmann’s® Little Bites®!! 

Entenmann’s® is responsible for sending out the winner’s prize.

If you are looking for additional Father’s Day Inspiration take a peek at our Handprint Father’s Day Platter from a few years ago here:

The post Entenmann’s Father’s Day Giveaway appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Circuit Cubes & the Brownie Programming Robots Badge

Do you have a daughter in Girl Scouts?  Or are you interested in possibly having her join in future years?  You definitely should!  Some people consider Girl Scouts outdated and that they only teach girls how to sew and do other domestic tasks.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  This is my third year as my daughter’s leader and the badges they have now are amazing!  The girls still can earn some of the older patches (called legacy patches now) but also have the opportunity to focus on a lot of STEM learning (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). 

This year we had the girls chose the journeys they wanted to earn (a journey is a set of patches that go together and focus on a specific learning area).  We weren’t surprised at all when they chose the engineering journey as their first badges to work on.  We had a ton of fun engineering pumpkin catapults, marble runs, and more!  I had the opportunity to receive three Circuit Cubes kits this spring and to use them with my troop.  I browsed the Brownie badges and new instantly that they would be perfect to tie in with the Programming Robots Badge.  The girls were ecstatic when I told them we were going to learn about programming robots and also get to build some as well!

The Brownie Robotics program is progressive and will result in the girls earning three different badges when they complete all of the requirements.  Download your own copy of the badge requirements by clicking the image below:

The meeting before we really started learning about Programming Robots I let the girls know that our next patch was going to be about robots.  I asked the girls what a robot was and what they did.  We also had the girls share some of the robots they knew – like R2D2, Wall-E, and Roomba!  I loved hearing the ideas they shared. 

Our first official Programming Robots meeting started by having the girls pair up – one was a robot and and one was a programmer.  The programmer had to tell the robot step by step how to do something and robot had to act out only the actions they were told.  We talked about how robots follow an algorithm, or step by step instructions.  Next we learned about coding and did an activity called Paper Programming that came from the Girl Scout Volunteer Toolkit (if you are a girl scout leader you have access to this).  The girls struggled with this step when we had them try it individually so we worked as a large group.  I would provide the verbal instruction and they would follow it and fill out the appropriate squares on their blank 4×4 grid.  At the end we checked to see if they completed the right pattern.  By the end of the session they were all doing really well.  

Finally we got out the Circuit Cubes so the girls could build their own robots.  The kits help them create very simple machines that only complete one task.  The girls broke up into three engineering teams and set to work!

We had one group working on the Whacky Wheels kit.

Another group worked on the Smart Art kit.

The third group worked on the Bright Lights kit.

The girls had a lot of fun in a short amount of time – we only had about 30 minutes for them from opening the kits to the end of our meeting.  They worked well together in their groups and all succeeded in following the directions to create at least part of the object they picked.  The Smart Art group was the only one that full completed their robot and all of the girls had a chance to look at it before we picked up (and they all want to use that kit at the next meeting!).  The instruction books were a little difficult for their age range (7-9) but with adult assistance we figured them out!

We will continue working with these kits at our next meeting as we conclude the badge requirements for Programming Robots.  The girls will also get a chance to write their own code for a robot next week as well as pretending to be robots following instructions in a maze!

I love helping expose my daughter and her friends to such cool activities.  Supplementing the Girl Scout programming with such awesome tools like the Circuit Cubes is a sure way to interest the girls and encourage them to want to learn about STEM.

The post Circuit Cubes & the Brownie Programming Robots Badge appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.

Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Pledge Program

I love programs that are made to help schools!  The Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Pledge Program is a win win – we help the environment and help schools at the same time.  My kids love Entenmann’s Little Bites® as I’m sure most kids do!  One of my favorite things about Entenmann’s Little Bites® is that they are nut free so my kids can both have them in their classrooms.  Read on to learn more about the Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Pledge Program and find out how you can participate!  

Information about Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Make the Pledge Program with TerraCycle®

• TerraCycle®, an international recycling company, turns waste into plastic that can be used for products such as park benches, recycling bins and playgrounds
• Through the free recycling program, you can collect waste, like Entenmann’s Little Bites® pouches, and ship to TerraCycle® for processing using a pre-paid shipping label
• From now through April 30, 2018, TerraCycle® and Entenmann’s Little Bites® want to reward you for making the pledge to make eco-friendly choices a habit. Plus, if you collect Entenmann’s Little Bites® pouches on behalf of a K-12 school, you could be placed in the running to win a Classroom Party. It’s easy to participate: make the pledge, send in the waste, and earn more rewards
• The Entenmann’s Little Bites ® Pouch Recycling Program is open to any individual, school or organization interested in reducing local landfill waste. To learn more about the Entenmann’s Little Bites ® Pouch Recycling Program here: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/little-bites-pledge

How to Win

1. Pledge: your pledge qualifies you for the contest
2. First Shipment: your first shipment earns 500 bonus points
3. Second Shipment: your second shipment earns 1,000 bonus points
4. TerraCycle Sweepstakes: K-12 schools-only have the chance to win a Classroom Party as long as they pledge. The classroom party will include five (5) cases of Entenmann’s® Little Bites® and 100 upcycled pencil cases. Please see more details and official rules here: http://www.terracycle.com/en-US/contests/little-bites-pledge

Enter for a chance to win your OWN prize package courtesty of Entenmann’s® here on my blog. 

If you are the lucky winner you will receive three coupons, each valid for a free Entenmann’s® product, and a $25 Visa gift card to purchase additional Entenmann’s® products!  The prize will be shipped directly by Entenmann’s®.

Find additional information about Entenmann’s® below

Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

The post Entenmann’s Little Bites® Pouch Pledge Program appeared first on Crafty Mama in ME!.