I’m so excited to share some super fun news today about Osmo’s newest game Osmo Math Wizard & The Enchanted World Games. Osmo gifted this game to us a couple of weeks ago and Luke has been playing it every day and loving it so much! We’ve been long-time fans of Osmo and have enjoyed so many of their educational games throughout the years. This game was perfect for Luke because he’s currently learning multiplication and is most definitely a visual learner, so playing these games has really helped math click for him in so many new ways.

That’s one of the things that I love about Osmo games – kids are having fun and playing and don’t even realize they are learning. It’s pretty neat! This Math Wizard & The Enchanted World Game helps kids learn repeated addition so they have a solid foundation for multiplication, advanced addition and subtraction, number decomposition and analytical skills, too. Osmo games are great to help build a child’s confidence and it’s definitely screen time that this Mama feels less guilty about! 

I love how these Math Wizard games come in these super sturdy boxes that keep everything organized, but that also look super cool and fit the theme of the game. Luke always loves the cool packaging and was excited to have his name written on the front cover of this one. He made sure I did a little smiley face, too. ;) Osmo thinks of everything and the way this game is packaged definitely makes it easy to store and keep organized. 

Math Wizard & The Enchanted World Games includes two mats – the LunchBox mat and the Juice Mat. It also includes 22 fruit & veggie pieces, 12 fruit strip pieces and 1 magical coin. You do need either an iPad or a Fire tablet and the Osmo base to play this game. Luke’s favorite to play was the Juice Mat because he giggled and smiled through most of those games and he loves the basketball game. There are lots of different sports games that you can compete in and so it was definitely something that kept him interested and having fun. He also really loved the Enchanted Store – where you take the gems that you earned and use them to buy different clothing pieces, hats and even footwear to make you even more awesome! He thought it was the coolest thing and so funny! The game is super easy to navigate and provided hours of fun and learning for Luke! He has asked to play it every day, even outside of his regular school time, which has provided lots of great practice for his Math, without him really even realizing it. 

Some other things that Luke loved about the game: the silly characters and their voices, how you could jump up and grab a super fruit to make you run faster and definitely the corn missile. You’ll just have to play the game to learn more about that! Ha! 

I really loved how in the beginning of the game, the parent is able to pick the level of difficulty so you can adjust it to fit your child’s needs and when multiple children play the game at different times, it’s easy to modify for each child. Such a great feature and allows your child to go from an “Apprentice” level all the way to a “Wizard” level. 

I’ve found that hands-on play is such a great way for kids to learn and when you have visual learners or even if you just want to break out of the monotony of a regular school day – Osmo games are a great way to do just that! I’m really thankful for these cool educational games that not only use lots of imagination, but makes learning fun. Sometimes my kids can get bored with the typical day-to-day subjects and these games bring those subjects to life in new ways and is a great way to mix it all up! I highly recommend them. 

You can purchase this Osmo game and so many others at: Playosmo.com, Amazon, and be sure to also check your local retailers. 

Well, it’s official – Luke and I both think this Math Wizard & the Enchanted World Games is a winner for sure! It’s definitely made Math a bit more magical. 

Disclaimer: The sweet folks at Osmo sent us this Math Wizard game to review. All opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. No other compensation was given. 

The post Osmo Math Wizard & The Enchanted World Games appeared first on One Happy Mama.

Hey friends! I wanted to share a bit of my Document December album here on the blog and let you know that I’ve posted a walk-through video of the entire thing over on my IG account. You can find it saved as an IGTV video over there on my feed. If you’re not following me on Instagram yet, I’d love for you to! You can find me HERE. I also have some highlight bubbles (3 of them to be exact) that shows me walking through some of the process as I create the album. I hope you love it.

This year’s album has been my favorite to date and I’ve really loved them all. I guess there was just something about 2020 and I needed this extra joy. It was such a fun and laid-back documentation of our month and it was just the best. As usual, I kept it really simple and just documented stories throughout the month as I saw fit. If you have any questions, let me know!

Here are some more photos of the album:

Here’s to documenting the year ahead in so many ways, friends! Let’s do this 2021!

XO!

The post Document December 2020: Completed Album appeared first on One Happy Mama.

And there we have it, friends. The 9th year of our sweet Henry the Elf is in the books! It was so much fun and even after all of this time, the kids still love it and it brings some simple joy to the season, which is what it’s all about. So, if you’re unsure if the elf is right for you and your family – I would just ask yourself if you want to add a little joy into the season and if you do – then go for it. I know the elf gets a bad rep, but honestly, I’ve loved it and if you just keep it simple and remember the reason for it (you can totally make up your own rules, etc, too) you will love it and so will your kids!

If you want to see A LOT of elf ideas, you can search here on the blog OR go and follow Henry on Instagram. You can find him HERE. ALL of his shenanigans are on there and you will have a lot of great ideas for you and your elf up your sleeve. You’re welcome, Mama! Ha!

I pray your Christmastime was blessed and joy-filled. Here’s to a blessed new year full of hope, peace, joy and love!

Thank you for being here! Happy New Year! XO!

The post The Adventures of Henry the Elf: Part 3 appeared first on One Happy Mama.

Oh Henry! Ha! I’ll be back to share the last of Henry’s adventures in 2020! It’s been so much fun to see just what kind of shenanigans he’s up to every morning! I hope you’re enjoying following along, too

The post The Adventures of Henry the Elf: Part 2 appeared first on One Happy Mama.

We’ll see what he has up his sleeve in the coming days, but I tell ya what, this Henry is definitely adding some giggles and simple joy this season. We’re here for it. Thanks, Henry. We’re glad you came back.

You can check me out on Pinterest, too – I have some Elf on the Shelf boards that might help ya (find me here: https://www.pinterest.com/theonehappymama) AND if you search my blog here for Henry, you’ll see LOTS of ideas, some calendars and more!

I pray you and your family are having a wonderful Christmastime!

The post The Adventures of Henry the Elf: Part 1 appeared first on One Happy Mama.

Hi friends!

I wanted to post what I’ve completed so far of my Just Write story album that I’ve been working on this year. I really do love the Just Write subscription that Ali has because it’s so great to see a word and then see what kind of stories pops in your head + heart right away. Sometimes I have to let the word soak in a bit and other times a story comes to mind right away. It’s actually pretty invigorating. Here’s a look at my album and how it’s coming along. It’s simple, it’s telling stories, it’s a project that I really am loving.

I love being able to get stories told, use large photos and just simple embellishments.

I don’t have any rhyme or reason for what or who I tell stories about and I think that’s the cool thing about this subscription service – one single word can spark a story that you might not even know you needed to tell or maybe one that you forgot that you needed to tell.

I love how some of the stories these word prompts bring out are the simplest stories, but filled with such meaning. Those are seriously the best. Simple, but impactful.

So thankful for words; both single word prompts and all of the stories we get to tell and share when when strings these words together. It’s a treasure and so important to document. Here’s to taking these words and sharing more stories. They matter.

If you’d like more information about the Just Write subscription, check out Ali’s website HERE.

The post Just Write Album: An Update appeared first on One Happy Mama.

With the holidays right around the corner, I wanted to share one of Luke’s favorite things with you right now – the Osmo game, Pizza Co. I’ve shared about Pizza Co before here on the blog, but if you are looking for a great Christmas gift for your child or grandchild, then look no further because this should totally be on your holiday must-have list. If you’re not familiar with Osmo, it’s an interactive learning game system that allows players to use objects in the real world to interact with the digital world shown on their iPad or Fire tablets. It’s really, really cool. Osmo has so many different games to choose from, but I’m so happy to be able to brag about Pizza Co., for a little bit today because it’s seriously a family favorite.

Luke insisted on wearing the Santa hat while he played today and I thought it was the perfect touch. Nothing like a little extra holiday cheer, right? Especially for this crazy 2020 we’ve all been experiencing. Ha!

So, why do we love Osmo and the game Pizza Co., so much? Well, first of all, isn’t it always so much fun to pretend that you’re running a little restaurant or shop when you’re little? I know that when I was little, I always loved pretending that and all of my kids have felt the same, including Luke, so when he realized the first time that he played Pizza Co., that he was going to be running the Pizza Shop and making the pizzas, he was so excited.

The game comes with a pizza, all the pizza fixin’s and pretend money (both dollars & coins). Everything is organized in great little containers so pieces can stay put during game play, but also can be stored away efficiently and effectively after play, which this Mama loves (Thank you, Osmo)!

The objective of the game is to be the pizza boss! You’ve gotta make pizzas the way the customers want, cook the pizzas and also calculate the change that each customer gets. There are so many amazing things that your child will learn playing this game and having fun. Things like: math skills, nonverbal communication (cute customer characters will smile, get excited or even get grumpy, depending on how you’re doing making their pizza) and more. One of the coolest things I think that they learn is a bit about entrepreneurship as they navigate how to run and grow a business. They’ll be able to save up their profits, invest in things like upgrading their shop and more! The pace picks up a bit as they child plays and so they’ll have to do real-time math and that is a great skill for any kid to learn! The cool thing is that they’ll not really notice that they’re learning while they’re having fun.

Osmo games are so fun to include during your homeschool or virtual school days, too. It breaks up the monotony of the day, gives the child some time to use their imagination in a different way and is guilt-free screen time.

Pizza Co., should definitely be one of those must-have holiday items for your family this year. Grab yourself the game, a base (if you don’t already have one) and download the app for free and you’ll be good to go (of course you’ll need an iPad or Fire tablet)! It’s so much fun and I bet that your kiddo will be asking for more Osmo games and so you’ll even have some gift ideas for their next birthday or next Christmas, too! 

Be sure to put Pizza Co., under the tree this year, friends. It’ll be a hit! I really ho-ho-hope you do! Wow, that was super cheesy … just like my favorite pizza. ;)

Disclosure: Osmo sent my kids Pizza Co. to play, but all opinions expressed in this blog post are solely my own. No other compensation was given. Osmo’s games are just super cool and we love them! We’ve been fans for a long time!

The post Osmo Wonderland: Pizza Co. appeared first on One Happy Mama.

Here are all of the awesome extras this month too and friends, they are SOOOOOOO good:

And there are always cute printables, digitals and cut files, too that coordinate with the kit and are super versatile:

I had such a great time using the October goodies to create some projects this month. I say that every month, I think, but that’s just because that’s how much fun it is to pull out the monthly kit & extras and create! Here’s a look at what I created:

I was so excited to document my sweet Cowboy Luke! ;) He is just the cutest and well, I loved using those Medium Jane Alphabet stamps. They are SO awesome and versatile! GET YA SOME! I love all of the great labels this month (as you’re going to see more in the layout below). They are also one of those products that can be used over and over again for so many reasons. I just love how Elle’s products have multiple uses and can be used in multiple seasons. She knocks it out of the park every time!

Here’s the layout that I created:

See what I mean about those label tags? Yep, SO good! I just loved putting them on this entire layout! It was such fun and such a great way to use product AND the extra fun part was filling all of those labels with something – even photographs!

I am SO excited about the new Pocket, Frame and Flip-Up products! Friends – these are SO awesome! Check out my friend Meghann’s video walking you through it all. She will show you the new Pocket, Frame and Flip-Up Metal Die, Pocket, Frame, and Flip Up – Extra Frames Metal Die, Everyday Tabs Vol. 2 Metal Die and the Collected Stamp! You can find it HERE.

If you’d like to grab some of the new Elle’s Studio goodies then click HERE and get ya some! Have a great rest of October friends and be sure to check out the Elle’s Studio Blog to see so much inspiration and I’ll have Project Life spread later in the month on the blog, too! XO!

The post Elle’s Studio October 2020 Kit and Extras appeared first on One Happy Mama.

Today is a super fun and extra magical day because Osmo just released their new math series called, Math Wizard. We are huge fans of Osmo and so when Luke found out that he was going to be able to try one of the games in the series, Secrets of the Dragon, let’s just say he was a tad bit excited. I really love being able to incorporate Osmo’s educational games in my kids’ homeschooling days, especially my boys, and so I was also really excited to see what he thought about Osmo’s new Math Wizard game.  Luke is the youngest in the family and in 2nd grade this year so this new Osmo game was PERFECT for him since it’s geared toward kids ages 6-8. Luke already loves math, but he loves games too, and so combining the two was sure to be a big hit!

The first thing that both Luke and I loved was the packaging of the game. It looks like a big, magical book with dragon scales on the front and a sturdy lock on the side. It just has to be full of awesomeness, right? Yep! Sure, packaging is not that important really, but Luke thought it was SO cool and I loved how all of the pieces were kept neatly and all organized on the inside. Osmo always does a great job at making sure their games are easily organized and accessible. I love how the box has a great magnetic flap on the side to keep all of the pieces from going missing and it’s super sturdy, too. I know lots of other Mamas will appreciate that, too.

When you open up the game box, there’s this really cool “Dragon Guidebook” inside that has the appearance of a really old, ancient, magical book. Luke loved the book! He actually shouted, “AWESOME!!” when he first saw it. It grabbed his attention right away and he quickly began to turn the pages. All of the pages are spiral-bound and great quality – super durable for kids. All of my kids love dragons and so Luke was super excited this game was centered around dragons. He couldn’t wait to get it all set up and play.

The game has a lot of really eye-catching and cool touches throughout it. Luke and I both really loved the music that plays throughout the game – it’s actually very calming and relaxing – I think it’s perfect for allowing kids some concentration and focus while they play & learn, all the while keeping the magical, dragon-theme alive.

The Secrets of the Dragons game focuses on measurement.  Throughout the game you’re asked to measure dragons, feed & take care of the dragons, visit different biomes where the dragons live, add and estimate lengths and more. It’s really, really cool. You even get to watch your dragons grow! Luke loved seeing them hatch and getting to name them. Some of the other things that Luke loved about the game were: the different maps, how cool the dragons and graphics looked and pulling out the ruler to measure the dragons. He was having fun and learning at the same time and honestly, that is one of the most special things about all of Osmo’s games – kids learn WHILE having fun and they don’t even realize it. Luke loved being a Math Wizard!

Hands-on-play is so important for kids and while I don’t let Luke stay on the iPad for long periods of time, pulling out our Osmo games and breaking up the monotony of his regular math curriculum by supplementing it with this, has been so fun the past week. He’s loving it and it doesn’t come with all of that Mama-guilt! I love the math confidence that it helps build and the fun, creative play that happens as a result of these math adventures. This game has such a cool, creative concept that we both really love.

Math Wizard is fun and so creative and kids and self-paced, too. Right now there is currently one other game out in the Math Wizard series and there will be more releases coming soon. We can’t wait! This is definitely one of those Osmo games that I know Luke will want to pull out a lot (he’s already been playing it every day right after his regular math lesson). Osmo games would make great holiday gifts for your children or even great supplemental learning for your homeschooling or for your kids to do after school or on the weekends. You can find Math Wizard on Amazon or on Osmo’s website HERE.

Yep, after spending some time in the Magical Workshop, Luke and I both are pretty confident that this series, just like the dragons that fill it, is going to be a legend for sure. Way to go, Osmo.

Disclaimer: The sweet folks at Osmo sent me the Math Wizard game to review. All opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. No other compensation was given. 

The post Osmo Math Wizard appeared first on One Happy Mama.

I ended up taking 10 photographs that day. I shared them all on my IG feed (you can find me HERE if you’d like to follow me) and I love sharing that way because then when I go to create the project around the photos + words, I can easily copy & paste what I said about each photo onto the journaling card, etc.

The album and kit that I used for this project is the same album and goodies from the Day in the Life kit that you can find HERE. The album is sold out, but you can still get the physical products and even digital products on Ali’s website.

I loved this “today” yellow tag (yellow is my absolute favorite) and so I stamped the date on it and then adhered it to the FOR THE RECORD tag. I cut of a bit of the bottom of the tag, added a tiny staple from my tiny attacher and then slipped it into a 3×4 page protector that I cut down a bit. I did have to punch a couple of new holes in the sides to make it work, but it was super easy.

I made sure to use an Avery tab for the side and then added two of the phrase stickers from the kit onto the tab.

On the back, I adhered a plastic quote embellishment piece from a previous purchase. I loved the sentiment and thought it was perfect.

For all of my photos, I kept them 3×4 and then just alternated between photo, journaling card, journaling card and then photo throughout the pages.

I stamped the date on each journaling card and used the digital kit to make copying & pasting the journaling onto the cards super simple.

I did add a few random embellishments here and there on some of the pages (like this talk bubble heart), but mainly just used the phrase stickers from the kit for simplicity sake and I loved the look of them.

For a couple of the photos, I used a tag to give it a bit of a different look and to break up the sizes and depths of the pages.

I added a bit of this super cute patterned paper from Maggie Holmes (the line is called Sweet Story). I just loved the look of it and wanted something on the last page before the album turned to the next section which is all about Pieces of Me. You can see that documentation HERE. If you have any questions about anything – let me know! I’m happy to help and if you documented Day in the Life too – I’d love for you to leave me a comment if you have it posted somewhere!

Have a great week ahead! XO! Thanks for stopping by!

The post Day in the Life | September 2020 appeared first on One Happy Mama.