Take a photo and send it in to theinquisitivemom at gmail dot com. Then, I will post the pictures I receive each day on my blog. Be sure to include your first name and city.

Remember, it’s not a contest. Everyone’s art from each day will be posted each day in an art gallery. It will say the date and the day. Then it will show all of the pictures that have been sent in. Please start tonight. I will put up the post after school in the evening.

Here are a couple of examples of art projects I made today.

You can take a photo of one of your family members and decorate it however you want, like I did in my brother the elf picture, or you can just start from scratch.

Please submit your pictures. I’m excited to see them!

This one shows you how to make your very own reindeer. It’s very easy to make and easy for kids. I created step by step directions and tried them on my mom. If she can draw it, anyone can (my mom told me to say that)!

You can make a reindeer nose, words, snowmen, or elves in the background. I hope you like this video. Say if it was easy or hard for you in the comments.

How it Works

First, get onto Dino Lingo and sign up for an online subscription. Then, choose the language you want to learn. There are 43 languages that you can choose. I chose Spanish because there are people at my school that I want to be able to speak Spanish with.

Next, pick which section you want to go on. There are activities, games, and coloring pages. You can even have it read a story to you! If you haven’t learned the language, it will help you learn it. I made it read aloud to me and it showed numbers at the zoo. A little dinosaur was walking around and seeing how many animals were in the cages. It showed 1, 2, 3 and the person who was reading it said, “Uno, dos, tres.” That helped me because it taught me how to say “one, two, three” in Spanish.

There are also fun games you can do. I tried the memory game and the click and tell game. The click and tell game helped me because I could click on the animal, food, color, or whatever thing it was and it would tell me how to say it in Spanish. I would have to say it back to the game. I said it over and over, so I could remember. The Spanish memory game helped me because when I turned over the cards, it would say what the thing was in Spanish. Then, I knew how to say it and I had a good time!

The Great Things About Dino Lingo

I wasn’t very excited about Dino Lingo when I first saw it because I thought it was just for little kids. But, when I tried it, it was great fun and the games are entertaining. The best thing about it is I feel like it was such a good way to learn language that I wouldn’t change a thing about it! The dinosaurs are very cute and I loved the games and activities, fun coloring pages, and read aloud stories. I think that Dino Lingo is a great way to learn whatever language that you think that it would be fun to be able to speak.

Thank you to Dino Lingo for sponsoring our Spring Story Contest!

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.

Disclosure: I received product to review for this post. All opinions are my own.

We are a mom and daughter team at Super Smarty Pants and The Inquisitive Mom. We share a love of writing and had so much fun creating this contest together. We hope you had fun, too, and that you will keep writing and dreaming!

Congratulations to Ava P., our Spring Story Contest Junior Winner!

A Cheetah Named French Fry
By Ava P.

One day French Fry, a cheetah, was racing in a race, and he was in last place. Then he passed a few cheetahs. He was in first place! The trophy was shiny and golden and it came with a blue ribbon. But the finish line was still 201 miles away, and all the cheetahs were tired and didn’t get any water breaks or bathroom breaks.

Then French Fry fell down and broke his leg. Then he was in last place again. Nobody helped French Fry. His mom and dad were sad. Some humans were walking past the raceway, and they called the vet. The vet came in an ambulance. She took an x-ray and looked at the leg. They had to take French Fry to an animal hospital. The vet put a cast on French Fry’s leg. Then she said French Fry couldn’t walk for a few weeks. French Fry felt sad. But his friends came and gave him gifts and cards.

A few weeks later, his leg was all healed. Then French Fry could run again! He ran another race. It was a 210-mile race. This time he won the blue ribbon and trophy. He was so happy! That day was also French Fry’s birthday. So all the cheetahs went to his home and celebrated his birthday and his victory (it was a surprise party). They all shouted, “Hooray for French Fry!” and lifted him up on their paws. They had chocolate cake with lemonade. They danced and played games, like Pin the Tail on the Cheetah. They had a cheetah piñata. French Fry felt wonderful. And everyone felt happy for French Fry.

About the Author

Ava is six and she loves making art projects, staying up late reading Beverly Cleary, playing with her little sisters or friends, jumping on trampolines, cracking jokes, inventing her own salad recipes, and watching Odd Squad. She is from Washington State.

A special thanks to our contest sponsors! 

• Brookdale House.
• I See Me!
• spbang
• Green Paxx
• One Bright Monster
• Dino Lingo
• Jaq Jaq Bird
• Crayola
• Educents

You can find more story contest winners here.

Congratulations to Keeley S., who won an Honorable Mention in our Spring Story Contest random drawing for her story Keeley and Her Friends!

Keeley and Her Friends

by Keeley S.

Once upon a time, there was a girl and her name was Keeley. She liked to play salon. She believed that her stuffed animals would come to life. They always come to life when Keeley is out of the room. They love to play together.

One day while Keeley was playing salon next door in a different room, she heard her stuffed animals talking!

She snuck back into her room without her animals knowing. Then she said ‘hi! I didn’t know you were alive!’ Her animals said ‘Ahh! We didn’t know that you knew we were alive!’

So they went on an adventure together. She picked them up and went outside. They snuck outside without her mom knowing. They explored outside together. They found some money buried under the dirt. It was $10.15. They went to the forest and looked for a good place for a hideout. They found the perfect spot far enough away from the house because Keeley’s mom could hear from a long distance. She put her animals in the hideout. Then she told her mom about the money and brought the money to her mom. The mom said ‘let’s put this in a piggy bank.’

About the Author

Keeley is from Illinois.

A special thanks to our contest sponsors! 

• Brookdale House.
• I See Me!
• spbang
• Green Paxx
• One Bright Monster
• Dino Lingo
• Jaq Jaq Bird
• Crayola
• Educents

You can find more story contest winners here.

***Drum Roll Please***

Our Spring Story Contest Winners 

Junior – Ages 5 to 8 – Ava P. for A Cheetah Named French Fry. You can read her story here.

Ava has won

• Ebook from Brookdale House.
• I See Me! Personalized Book Gift Certificate
• 1 Set of 2 Reusable Bags from spbang
• 1 Set each of Green Paxx Slim Snacks, Cool Caps & Cool Straws
• 1 One Bright Monster book
• 1 Dino Lingo Language Learning 6 DVD Set (winner pays shipping fee to Canada)
• Jaq Jaq Bird Art Smock and Chalkboard
• Newly Added: 2 Crayola Color Alive Books

Senior – Ages 9 to 12 – Joseph S. for Grayclaw Saves the Day. You can read his story here.

Joseph has won

• Chapter Book from Brookdale House.
• 1 Set of 2 Reusable Bags from spbang
• 1 $50 Educents Gift Card
• 1 Set each of Green Paxx Slim Snacks, Cool Caps & Cool Straws
• 1 Gravy on My Mashed Potatoes book
• 1 Dino Lingo Language Learning 6 DVD Set (winner pays shipping fee to Canada)
• Newly Added: 2 Crayola Color Alive Books

Honorable Mention Random Drawing Winner – Keeley S. for her story Keeley and her Friends. You can read her story here.

Keeley has won

• 1 Set of 2 Reusable Bags from spbang
• 1 Matthew’s Monsters book
• 1 Set each of Green Paxx Slim Snacks, Cool Caps & Cool Straws

We are a mom and daughter team at Super Smarty Pants and The Inquisitive Mom. We share a love of writing and had so much fun creating this contest together. We hope you had fun, too, and that you will keep writing and dreaming!

Congratulations to Joseph S., the winner of our Spring Story Contest Senior Winner for ages 9 to 12!

Grayclaw Saves the Day
by Joseph S.

As the sun came up over the horizon near Moose Lodge, skiers woke up with a start and ran to grab their gear. Inside another room, Grayclaw was already awake. He was a long, slender wolf with gray ears and a black body. Grayclaw was on the Avalanche Rescue Team. He looked up through the window to see the mountain tips glowing yellow as the sun peeked out.

The skiers had their food and were outside getting ready to have fun. Instructors were advising people to be careful on the snowy slopes. “It snowed hard last night so you must watch your step.”

Grayclaw ate his meal and was being helped with his gear. As the skiers started off, they heard a low rumble. They didn’t bother about the noise because they thought it was some wild animals. Grayclaw jumped up because he knew what the sound was. So did the team members. They were out the door in a flash, just in time to see an avalanche come crashing down, like a sea that could swallow everything up.

Some of the skiers were engulfed by the great white ocean of snow. But most managed to escape. The team members were on the slopes in a minute. They knew that under the snow you could die in just a couple of minutes, but they could not find the skiers.

While they were looking, they heard another low rumble. They saw more snow crashing down the mountainside. Grayclaw managed to avoid it on his way up the slopes.

The rest of team thought everything was hopeless. Grayclaw had not given up. He was already on the mountainside digging up the snow. With his powerful nose he found found a place where the snow was not so deep. He dug it away with his forelegs. As the rest of team came close, they were amazed. Grayclaw had dug away the snow and found three skiers. Their faces were red and their teeth were chattering. They did not look good but they were not dead. Grayclaw had found them in time.

About the Author

Joseph is a twelve-year-old homeschooler who loves to study medieval and military history. He works at a local antique shop and in his spare time enjoys building with LEGO’s and reading. His favorite books are the Chronicles of Narnia and the Chronicles of Prydain. He lives in Texas.

A special thanks to our contest sponsors! 

• Brookdale House.
• I See Me!
• spbang
• Green Paxx
• One Bright Monster
• Dino Lingo
• Jaq Jaq Bird
• Crayola
• Educents

You can find links to the other winning stories here.