Activity Village News

8th October 2009

A Message From Lindsay

Firstly, a huge apology for the 3 month break newsletter "holiday". I didn't take an intentional break from the newsletter, but I have been so busy adding new content to the website that I just haven't had time to get a newsletter done. I will try to do better in future!

We are coming up to the busiest period of the year, and Sarah and I have been working round the clock to fill up the Autumn, Diwali, Halloween and Thanksgiving pages with lovely new things! You'll find some of the latest additions listed in the What's New section, below.

Maths games that help kids get better at maths..

If you haven't visited recently, you may not have tried out the Maths Whizz games which we are offering at Activity Village. We are really excited to be able to offer a free trial of the Whizz games to you. If you think your children could do with improving their maths skills, Whizz could be just what you need.

To give you some background, when my daughter lost confidence in maths a few years ago, I subscribed to a then-new online animated maths tutor, Maths-Whizz. Within a few months Tilly was not only right back where she should be, but was actually working at least a year above expectations for her age group at school (and sadly she had taken Maths Whizz as far as it would go). She enjoyed her animated lessons and games, and was never reluctant to sign in to her "room". She has remained confident with maths ever since.

Since then, Maths-Whizz has gone from strength to strength. It now caters for children up to 13 and has entered the US market successfully through Math-Whizz. There are over 30,000 home users and over 4000 schools in both the UK and US using the online services. You can try it too, with sign-up to a free trial now offered from within Activity Village. Click the link below, choose between a UK and US curriculum, and your child can get better at maths!
Try Maths-Whizz

We have three exciting competitions this week - sadly for UK visitors only!

We have 5 copies of Conn Iggulden's new explosive tails for children, Tollins, up for grabs (UK only).
Tollins competition

This fabulous collection of eight Peppa Pig games could be yours. Just have a go at the online game and then enter to win (UK only).
Peppa Pig competition

And we have five bundles of goodies to celebrate the release of Fantastic Mr Fox in the cinemas on 23rd October (UK only).
Fantastic Mr Fox competition

Getting ready for Christmas...

Don't forget that Christmas is just round the corner! Our Christmas section here at Activity Village is crammed full of fun activities for kids.
Christmas For Kids

Christmas Is Coming!
And if you have a more grown-up moment, get yourself a cup of tea and spent some time at www.ChristmasIsComing.co.uk for ideas, inspiration, Christmas recipes, organisational and buying tips, galleries of Christmas photos, and much more!

Finally, a quick head's up: last year we ran an online Advent Calendar from 1st December through to 24th, and it proved very popular. Stay tuned for another this year!

Coming up soon:

12th October - Thanksgiving (Canada)
17th October - Diwali
31st October - Halloween
5th November - Bonfire Night
26th November - Thanksgiving (US)
30th November - St Andrew's Day
1st December - Advent
11th December - Hanukkah
25th December - Christmas

If you or your child has made use of our craft ideas or printables, we'd love to share the results here! Drop me a line by emailing editor-at-activityvillage.co.uk (replace -at- with @).

What's New At Activity Village?

There has been so much new on the site since the last newsletter that I couldn't possibly mention it all here! Scroll down for some of the more recent highlights, and remember that you can always go to our What's New page which gives you a list of new additions, as they happen. You can subscribe to the RSS feed, too.

We love our new monsters theme! We've pulled together our original monster crafts and printables, and added a whole lot more!
Monsters Theme

We've got some really lovely new Autumn / Fall printables (including games, bookmarks, lacing cards, writing paper and lots more) as well as 8 super new colouring pages this year
Autumn / Fall

The beginning of a huge new collection of coloring pages! This week we've added four to start us off on a trip around the world...
Children Around The World Coloring Pages

We have three really gorgeous new Hanukkah coloring pages this year... there is so much detail in these, and we are sure that older kids will love them.
Hanukkah Coloring Pages

Just added today, seven colouring pages, puzzles, games and activities for Roary the Racing Car fans.
Roary The Racing Car colouring pages and printables

And seven fun colouring pages, puzzles and fun activities for Fifi fans.
Fifi And The Flower Tots colouring pages and printables

Take a trip to India by visiting our Diwali section - we've got super new crafts, a huge new collection of rangoli colouring pages, and lots more to discover...
Diwali and India for Kids

Rangoli and Rangoli colouring pages

Did you know that Chess originated in India many hundreds of years ago? We've got everything you need to get started playing chess - the rules, some hints and tips, and even two printable boards and sets of pieces!
Chess for kids

We've got lots more printable games of all sorts!

And last but certainly not least, please don't forget to check out our Halloween pages - they are absolutely jam-packed full of spooky fun, including some wonderful crafts and lots of new Halloween printables.
Halloween Favourite page!

A Giggle!

"Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes."
Mickey Mouse

A Quick Little Something To Play...

Play the First Name Game. Everybody has a piece of paper and a pencil. Choose a name randomly (shorter for younger children, longer for older kids) and write it down the left hand side of the page, one letter under another. Now give everybody 5 minutes to write down as many first names as they can think of which begin with the letters in that name. More Kids Games and Activities

Two Videos To Enjoy With The Kids..

Dance your way around the world with Matt. This one's been around for a while, but it makes me smile every time I see it...

NB Children should not browse video sharing sites unsupervised.

Watch Erik, who created many of the illustrations used at Activity Village, draw a cute giraffe - older kids can follow along.

NB Children should not browse video sharing sites unsupervised.

Something To Think About..

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
Robert Brault

Subscriber Special

I get so many requests for more origami booklets that I suspect I could run a whole site with nothing else on it .. and I have a sneaking suspicion that they are more popular with the parents than the children! Personally I have one with me always these days, and my favourites at the moment feature a quote on the front to catch my eye whenever I write something in them. I think these would be nice for older children, too.

If you can dream it... (Walt Disney)

I can choose to be happy... (Abraham Lincoln)

When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot.. (Thomas Jefferson)

Back to Newsletter Archives

	Don't miss...
	Thanksgiving
	St Andrew's Day
	Advent
	Hanukkah
	Christmas
	Kwanzaa
	Winter
	Shidonni

Christmas is coming!
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