Everyone likes Batman!  He’s tough, he has a cool car, and every man wants a “bat cave”.  Since my son is still too young to watch the show, we introduced him to Batman through his birthday.  If you’re throwing a Batman Birthday for your child, you’ll love these easy themed party ideas!

Many people don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on birthdays.  Neither do I.  So I used things that I had around the house to decorate and create a really fun Batman atmosphere for cheap!

Batman Party Decorations

First, I searched for Batman Bat images online to print off and hang around the house.  Then I doubled up some black construction paper, traced the bat shape, and cut out lots of bats!

I also used black construction paper to make some wall decorations for pictures.  You could use this dark city idea and add some Free Superhero Printables for any superhero themed party.

Batman to the rescue!  My little birthday boy is wearing a DIY cape from a plastic table cloth, a batman mask, and a no-sew felt arm band.  I made extra capes for the other children to wear around too.

“What was that?  Did someone call for help?  No, it was just mom telling my sister not to touch the cake.”

Batman Party Favors

The dollar store always has great party supplies, so I picked up a few flashlights and made them into Batman party favors with a sharpie.

Since it gets dark fast in the winter here, the kids had a blast playing with them.  You could also make extra bat masks and arm bands to go with them or how about this amazing DIY Batman Play Dough!

Batman Party Food

I ordered a Bakery Crafts cake from my local Walmart.  It saved me a lot of time and I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.  The best part was how easy it was to order.  I went online and looked at all of their Batman Cake Kits.  Then, I called the bakery department the day before the party with the cake number to place my order.

I chose the plain vanilla flavor of cake and it was delicious, but you also have the choice of chocolate, white, and marble plus a number of fillings like raspberry and even caramel.  I would definitely get another cake like this again!

The Birthday boy was very happy with his cake too!  He couldn’t wait to dig in.

Happy Birthday Colton!

Other snacks that I made were bat Quesadillas, a cheese plate and bat food (veggies).

Batman Party Game

After having cake and snacks, we had a lot of fun beating up some bad guys with homemade punch boxes.   I simply cut the top off of a couple of boxes and painted figures in black on tissue paper.  Then I stuffed toys, books, and candy in the boxes and taped the tissue paper over the openings.  I like to do games like this before opening presents so the other kids have something to play with or can go home if gifts are taking too long.

I was surprised how many punches it took to break the boxes open and I’m sure you can put more layers of tissue paper to make it harder for older children.  The younger children took a punch first and the older ones finished it off.  It was a really fun homemade alternative to the pinata!

We had such a blast making memories that will last a lifetime

Bakery Crafts $25 Giveaway

Enter to win $25 toward a free cake.  Just enter the rafflecopter below!

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Thanks for reading!

The post Batman Birthday Themed Party Ideas and a Cake Giveaway! first appeared on True Aim.

Carnivals are all about games, prizes, food, and being together as a family.  I created that atmosphere by arranging different Educational Carnival Party stations.  At each station, I set up a simple Carnival Themed activity that enabled parents to teach and have fun with their children.

Everything needed for the activity was at a separate table or area and I placed instructions for each game on a card so the families would know how to play the game.  I also included tickets (Popsicle sticks) at each station for parents to reward their children for participation and correct answers.

 Here are some free Carnival Printables that you can customize to make your own invitations and Game Instructions.

Carnival Games for Kids

Here some awesome ideas on what games you could set up at your Carnival stations.  All these games are adjustable to different situations and subjects so you can taylor them to fit your party group.

Easy Carnival Flag Color Craft helps children practice color recognition and counting!

Buried Treasure Learning – Hide anything educational that your children can find, like flash cards, numbers, letters, or money!

Cups and Card – This activity helps children practice concentration, memory, and anything else you want them to learn!

Or check out all of my Educational Carnival Games for even more ideas!

When my guests arrived, I gave everyone a party bag to collect their tickets.  At the end of the party, we took turns choosing prizes and paying for them with our tickets.  We had all different sizes of prizes labeled with different values so the children could practice their counting skills.  Everyone had a great time!

Don’t forget about the carnival food!  I served homemade macaroni and cheese, fresh veggies, fruit and these amazing Chocolate Chip Oreo Bars!  To make these bars, I just put a layer of cookie dough on the bottom of a 8×8 square glass dish,  topped with Oreos and covered with more cookie dough.  These things are amazing!

Our Carnival Party was a huge hit!  So, if you have a preschool, elementary, or play group, this would be the perfect party to make learning fun and create lasting memories.

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The post Throw an Educational Carnival Party: Games, Printables, Food! first appeared on True Aim.

To play this exciting preschool math activity you will need something to knock down like a bowling set or canisters from the recycle bin.  Then, print off this free number printable and tape the numbers on.  Finally, grab some bean bags, soft balls, or rolled up socks and start knock’em down.

I let each child toss 3 bean bags on their turn.  If you are doing this with just one child, you could let them throw until they hit all the pins down or they run out of bean bags.

For the younger children, after they knocked as many pins down as they could, I had them identify those numbers.  Sometimes I had them count how many they hit.  For the more advanced, you could have them add the numbers together.

The older children worked on sequencing by putting the pins back into the right spot in line.  Sometimes I would ask them a subtraction or addition equation that represented how many pins they hit.

For example, if they hit 3 out of 6 pins down you could ask, “What is 6 – 3?  How many pins are left after you hit 3 pins down?”  If you want to do an addition equation, just have them add the number that they hit to the number of pins left on the table.  “What is 3 + 3? You hit 3 pins and there are 3 pins left.  How many pins are there all together?”

I rewarded them with Popsicle sticks for participation and right answers, but you could use anything.  Don’t forget to hoot, holler, and cheer to get your preschooler even more exited about math!

This activity is perfect for ages 1 – 5 and can be changed into a letter activity too!  It would make a great Educational Carnival Game!  For even more math activity ideas, check out these 9 Math Activities for kids.

What kind of math games do you like play with your preschooler?

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The post Preschool Math: Knock’em Down Bean Bag Toss first appeared on True Aim.

To make your Carnival Party Flags you’ll need:

Free Carnival Party Flag Printables

(Please do not copy without permission.)

Wood Craft Dowels, or skewers (sharp points cut off if needed)

Coloring Supplies

Glue

Optional: Colored Star Stickers

To make your carnival flag, simply cut the flag printable in half so each child gets one flag outline.  Color your flag and cut it out.  Make sure you tell your children not to cut on the middle line because you are going to fold in it half to make a triangle shape.  Put glue on the back of your flag, especially in the middle of the diamond shape.  Place a dowel in the middle so that it does not stick up above the flag and fold the flag in half around the dowel.  Set it aside to dry.

To play a color matching game, have your children match colored sticker stars to same colors on their flag, (see Audrey’s flag above).  After they are done matching, you could also have them count how many stickers of each color they have.

Repeat

Let the flag waving begin!

What colors would your children make their flags?

*Please do not leave your children unattended with their flags.  Dowels could be a hazard to young children.  Use thicker dowels to reduce the chance of injury.

If you liked this post, check out more of my Education Carnival Party Ideas:

Buried Treasure Learning

Human Board Game

Bean Bag Toss Remix

Cups and Card

For more fun learning activities and easy craft ideas, like me on facebook or follow along on Pinterest.  Thanks for your support!

The post Easy Craft for Kids: Free Carnival Party Flag Printable first appeared on True Aim.

What you need:

Chalk

ABC Bean Bags (anything you can throw)

2 Ways to Play:

1. Draw circles for your kids with different point values in them.  Use bigger circles for younger children and draw them closer to the throwing line.

2. Then have your children throw bean bags into the circles to score points.

3. If they can sound out the letter on their bean bag, they get the points.  You could also try sight words!

4. Keep score by writing their names in chalk and tallying the points.

5. Reward the winner.  We use Popsicle Sticks!

Alternative Version:

1. Draw Letters, or whatever you want them to learn in the circles.

2. The children try to throw their bean bag on a letter.

3. If your children say the sound of the letter they hit, they get a reward.

4. For indoor play, use hula hoops and letter mats, or simply have the children throw a bean bag in a bin.  If they get it in the bin they can answer a question and win!

The post Educational Carnival Games: Bean Bag Toss Remix first appeared on True Aim.