Website Wednesday: ChuckECheese.com

 Chances are, if you have kids, you've either been to a Chuck E. Cheese's or you've consciously avoided Chuck E. Cheese's. If you go there from time to time, or if you plan on caving in to your children's pleads, Then I recommend you visit their website first.

    The Chuck E. Cheese's website has cool little arcade-style games for kids to play. Kids like that sort of thing. But, there are things that the grownups like too- things like coupon deals... and tools to help bribe encourage your kids to do things like get good grades or clean their room. They even have a game that allows kids to win tickets for the prize counter.

   Navigating the website, you can: find restaurant locations, view the menu and nutritional information, book parties, learn about fundraising, buy gift cards, and play games; but my favorite features of the site are the coupons page and the promotions page.

From the coupons page, you can print coupons to use on food and/or tokens. They even allow you to combine coupons in the same visit! You can also sign up for their Email Club. You will get exclusive coupons right in your inbox.

From the promotions page, you can:

Print Rewards Calendars - These are printable two-week reward calendars for things your child needs encouraging to do, like- clean their room, do their homework, or brush their teeth. When your child completes the calendar, s/he can take it to Chuck E. Cheese's and trade it in for 10 free tokens.

Check out Tokens For Grades- Your child can take in his/her report card and get up to 15 free tokens for good grades.

You can also learn about Chuck E. Cheese's promotional partners, take advantage of teacher resources, and check out their cool printable activities.

ChuckECheese.com is a fun website for kids and a great resource for parents.
Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢

Thursday Review: Mega Bloks- Maxi Blocks

    I am sure that everyone is familiar with Mega Bloks. My kids have just been having so much fun with them lately, that I thought I would write about them.

    The kids have collected a few of the classic bags of the Maxi size Mega Bloks. I like the Maxi size for a few reasons. First, it allows the kids to build something BIG. And building something big is FUN! Second, we don't have to worry about our baby getting a hold of them. In fact, she loves playing with them too. OK, so she mostly just bangs them together or throws them, but if you saw the huge smile on her face when she does it, you'd understand just how fun it is. Now, the main reason I like the Maxi sized blocks is that they are easy to clean up. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night, half asleep, stumbling into the kitchen for a drink of water, only to suddenly "find" the one tiny block that was missed at cleanup time? Yup, just stepping on one of those little suckers is enough to make you want to throw all of them in the trash! OUCH!
   
    Back to the fun part. My kids are awesome! They have promising futures in architecture and engineering, and we owe it all to Mega Bloks. OK, maybe that statement is a little extreme. But playing with the Mega Bloks sure brings out their creativity. Here are a few of their "masterpieces".

    See what I mean? Fun, right? Do you know what else is fun? Using the blocks as teaching tools for preschoolers and young children!

They are GREAT for:

Copying. Can you build what I build?

Sorting. Sort by color, shape, or size.

Patterns. Which color comes next?

Math. 3+2=5

  

  Mega Bloks Maxi Blocks are tons of fun and educational too! They are definitely a family favorite toy!

Overall Rating: ¢¢¢¢¢