Introducing the Kids Puzzles Online Secret Decoder!

So, for Kids Puzzles Online’s beginner cryptograms for kids, we are introducing the concept of the Decoder Wheel.  The decoder wheel is based on the famous Caesar Cipher, named after Julius Caesar who used such a wheel to send secret messages to his many spies throughout the Roman Empire.  But here at Kids Puzzles Online,  we will also be using it as a tool to teach kids how to solve cryptograms by 1) starting to get the kids used to deciphering codes of course, and 2) by using simple recurring words and letter combinations in our puzzles (such as the, and, is, in, in the, is the, str, ie, etc.), we expose them to common word formats, sentence structure and grammatical patterns which will help to develop their skills in deciphering cryptograms – and all this without making it a long drawn out English lesson!  WHEW!

But even better, a Decoder Wheel is so easy to make and a fun activity to do with your child.  So, spend a nice afternoon to make decoder wheel, and then reward them with the fun puzzles they can solve using the wheel.

Plus, if your kids are into the spy thing like mine are, why not have them also custom-make decoder wheel to give to their BFF (or spy team), so they can write secret notes to each other.  Click Here for the Kids Puzzles Online Secret Decoder or enter your email below so I can send you a blank customizable template.

How to Make a Decoder Wheel

You will need:

• Print out of the Decoder Wheel Template  on cardstock is best.  If not, you can glue on cardstock or leave as is)
• Scissors
• String (wool or thick string is best) – long enough so you can easily tie a knot (7”-10”)
• Needle (with hole big enough to fit the string you are using)
• 2 buttons (or beads)

Putting it together:

1. Cut out the outside and inside wheels from the template.  (Note: if you are gluing to cardstock, do it first and wait for glue to dry before cutting)
2. Thread needle and string.
3. First sew in the back button.
4. Then, going from the back of the outside wheel, poke the needle through the center (where the dot is).
5. Next, from the back of the inside wheel, poke the needle through the center (where the dot is)
6. Then sew in the front button.
7. Now you go backwards.  If you have a button, poke the needle through the other hole first, then continue onto the next step.  Otherwise, if you have a bead, just skip this step.
8. With the needle, poke back into the front hole of the inside wheel.  Then the front hole of the outside wheel.
9. You’ll now end up with your needle and thread at the back of your wheel.
10. Finally, poke it through the other button hole (if using a button), or simple tie a firm knot.  The front and back beads/buttons will stop the string from going through.

And that’s it!

You should now be able to spin the top wheel

and start solving cryptograms for kids.

Check out some other cool spy gear and activities for kids:

If you’re looking for a gift that’s fun to give, absolutely amusing to watch someone receive it, and then continue to be a talking (or show-off) piece even after the party’s over, then you have to take a look at this Japanese puzzle box.  It really is the ultimate gift for any kid (or adult for that matter) who just loves a challenge.

To be honest, I don’t even know how I came across these wooden puzzles boxes.  I do remember a couple of years ago when my brother-in-law gave my son a clear little plastic box that was completely sealed with a $50 note folded up inside.  The challenge of course was to get the coveted money without breaking the box.  The ultimate “escape room” toy.  Now my son is the ultimate puzzler and loves a challenge, so enter Brother-in-Law -> he who has made it his mission to find THE ultimate gift that will stump my son.  It hasn’t happened yet and to this day, brother-in-law searches high and low as he continues his quest.  Although, in the interim, he has satisfied himself that as long as the puzzle can last more than half an hour unsolved, then he has succeed…somewhat.

Anyway, that was then.  And in case you were curious, my son did get the $50 note and it did take him a few hours to work it out.  So minor victory for brother-in-law and…well, a double-win for the kid.  What can I say?  It’s all in the genes

But back to this Japanese puzzle box.

My son received this from Santa last Christmas and I guess what brother-in-law couldn’t achieve, Santa definitely succeeded with flying colors.  My son was stumped!  And since Santa didn’t leave any instructions, my determined boy had to go online and do some digging.  Unfortunately, hubby and I were no help at all since we knew nothing about this strange looking box.

But he persevered and once he found out what this box was and how it worked, he was just beside himself!  He absolutely loved it and to this day, continues to show it off to his friends who all want one – no kidding!  Even the ones who aren’t into puzzles couldn’t resist this intriguing, mysterious looking box that holds who-knows-what secret.

The particular box referenced in the video is the Himitsu Bako Japanese Puzzle Box.  These boxes are beautifully handcrafted in the traditional Himitsu Bako style and they are described by size and number of steps to solve it.  For example, this one is “4 sun 12.”  So the “sun” is a rough measurement in inches, in this case, it is about 4.8″ and 12 steps to solve.  However, they can go as large as about 7 sun and 125 steps to solve.  Can you imagine?  125 steps!

Because the box isn’t see through like that money box I was talking about, I would suggest putting a little trinket inside just so it peaks the curiosity and interest of the recipient.  Think about it – a mysterious (almost ancient) looking box with no apparent opening and something strange rattling inside?  Who wouldn’t be intrigued?  Am I right?

Or maybe you’re scrambling for some some last minute affordable stocking stuffers?

Puzzle Mom to the rescue!  We’ve found some really fun and unique toys that your kids will be sure to enjoy – even MONTHS after you take down the Christmas tree.

All toys recommended at Kids Puzzles Online have been played with or suggested by real kids and have been given the stamp of “Cool.”  And, you won’t find these under the fad-section in your toy store so rest easy, you won’t have to run around town looking for these since most are available from Amazon and ship within days.  I also try to keep them reasonably priced, so they won’t break the budget.

Word of caution: These toys are so super cool, adults might try to steal them away from the kiddos!

#1 – Educational Insights Kanoodle

This very cool toy came into our life quite by accident.  My son won a competition and he picked this out as the prize.  It’s a set of 12 puzzle pieces and it’s like Tetris but better.  It combines logic and spacial reasoning skills.

How it works: The clue starts you off with several pieces arranged on the board.  The task is to then fit the remaining pieces to fill in the blank spaces to complete the board.  I know it sounds easy, but believe me, it’s not.  And the strange thing about this is that older doesn’t mean wiser!  My 11-year-old son and I were struggling for some time on one of the puzzles, and along comes my 8-year-old daughter and completed it just like that!  I was amazed (and my son slightly miffed)!  It even includes 3D puzzles where you have to complete a pyramid.

See what other customers have to say about the Kanoodle

What we also love about this:

• Pocket-sized with built in game board (5.6 x 3.2 x 1 inches) so it’s completely portable.
• Includes over 100 puzzles so it will be awhile before you solve them all
• Great distraction and kids will really spend hours doing this
• It is a solitaire game so the kids can play with this on their own
• Inexpensive.  Suggest buying an extra 2 or 3 of these so you can turn it into a game competing with others
• Excellent rainy day game
• Suitable for the whole family – truly, even teens to adults will get as much fun out of it
• Recommended for Ages 7+

Cons:

• Small pieces so younger kids need to take care not to lose them
• Unless you get an extra set, only one person can play at a time

#2 – ThinkFun Gordians Knot

I absolutely LOVE this puzzle!  It’s actually just as much fun to take apart as it is to try and put it back together again.  I do have to admit, there are so many steps that it’s probably more suited to the older kids.  The manufacturer recommends Ages 14+ and that sounds about right, but kids a couple of years younger who are really into these types of puzzles will enjoy it too.

See what others have to say about the Gordians Knot

What we also love about this:

• Comes with an instruction book, so you’re not completely lost (hahaha)
• Provides hours of fun – a definite boredom buster
• Portable and lightweight
• Suitable for the whole family.
• Recommended for Ages 14+ (but I think younger kids who love challenging puzzles would enjoy this as well)

Cons:

• Level of difficulty may lead to frustration (but, difficulty is relative, isn’t it?)
• Not for the faint-hearted (haha)

#3 – ThinkFun Adams Cube

Winner of the Parents Choice Gold Award

This is such a fun puzzle that has actually been around for ages.  It looks pretty simple with only 5 pieces and 6 sides…but don’t be fooled.  Each side is challenging by it’s own rights.

How it works: Each side has a unique polygon shape.  The object is to arrange all 5 pieces within the polygon frame.  Each side gets more challenging.

See what other have to say about the Adams Cube

What we also love about this:

• Small & portable (3.8 x 3.8 x 3.8 inches)
• Perfect for long car trips, waiting in restaurants, or anywhere needed to keep the kids occupied
• Suitable for the whole family, even younger kids
• Even though it’s solitaire, great to share with friends
• Recommended Ages 7+

Cons:

• This is a toy you keep coming back to, but at the end of the day, there are only 6 puzzles.
• Fun for older kids but I don’t think it’s as challenging as some of the other puzzles I’m recommending.  (But then again, my kids do think I’m too tough  )

#4 – Perplexus Original

A few years ago when the Perplexus first came out, it was going for over $20.  But after browsing on Amazon, I am SO glad to report that I have found it for $15.99!  Why am I excited?  Because even years later, my kids still love to play with this and at this price, I am going to be purchasing a few as well since we’ve got several birthdays and Christmas parties to go to.  I was struggling with whether to include the Perplexus on my list because I wouldn’t exactly call it “brain teaser” challenging…but, it is DEFINITELY challenging and it always gets double thumbs up from my kids’ friends, so I thought I had to share it with you and let this sneak onto my list.

See other customer reviews – they rave on about it too!

How it works: Remember those little maze games you get in the goodie bags with the little metal ball you have to maneuver from start to finish?  Well, this is similar but 100 TIMES more challenging!  Take a close look at the picture – you have to move the ball through all those twists and turns and not let it fall off – otherwise, back to the start!  It drives the kids crazy but they can’t put it down!

What we also love about this:

• From 5-year-old to adults…you will have a blast trying to complete this.
• Provides hours upon hours of fun
• Number 1 boredom buster
• Recommended Ages 5+

Cons:

• It’s not pocket sized, so can’t fit inside a purse.  But if you want to carry a hobo bag…?
• Won’t really work in the car since it requires steady hands and careful precision – but non-moving locations would be fine

#5 – Rubik’s Cube

My Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids list wouldn’t be complete without the Rubik’s Cube.  It’s the ultimate brain teaser puzzle that has become a “sport” in its own right, with Speedcubing competitions held all around the world by the World Cubing Association.  I have to say, we’ve attended a few of these events, and my son even entered one of the competitions and the experience was surreal but so much fun.  Do a Google Search on Speedcubing competitions in your area and pop in to see what I’m talking about.  These are kids with amazing talent, solving the cube at under 10 seconds!

See what others are saying about the Rubiks Cube

What we also love about this:

• Portable and lightweight
• Even if not solving, it’s actually a great “stress-reliever” and helps with fiddly fingers
• Grab a few of these for cubing competitions
• Maybe it’s the colors, but even my 3-year-old niece finds hours of amusement with it

Cons

• If your child is serious about speedcubing, then the Rubiks Cube is “stiffer” compared to those used by the competitors and they won’t see any time improvements on this.  I would suggest purchasing a speedcube such as the Dayan ZhanChi to practice on instead.

If you love the cube but already have one, or want to add a bit of a WOW factor, try one of these:

[table id=16 /]

And there you have it.  My Top 5 Christmas gift ideas for kids – a little bit different, but a whole lot of fun.

I hope you have a VERY  

From,

Did you know there are about a gazillion Halloween jokes out there?   Truly!  I did a Google search for my cryptograms, and I don’t know – maybe I was just caught up in the Halloween spirit.  Or maybe it’s from lack of sleep and too much caffeine.  But seriously?  I was ROLLING on the floor in the middle of the night!

Admit it!  That’s pretty funny, right?

Well, in true puzzling spirit, if you want to hear more stinkin’ spookalisciously funny jokes, check out these Halloween Puzzles – printable and free to download and use…any time of the year!

Halloween Word Search Printable for kids

• Halloween Wordsearch #1
• Halloween Wordsearch #2

Halloween Crossword Puzzles for Kids

• Halloween Crossword #1 (beginner)
• Halloween Crossword #2 (intermediate)
• Spooky Crossword Puzzle (intermediate) – Halloween crossword puzzle from Family Fun Shop.
• Halloween Crossword Puzzle (intermediate) – from Halloween Party Games.
• Difficult Halloween Crossword Puzzle – from Halloween Party Games.
• Halloween Crossword (Hard) – You might need a dictionary for this one. From Halloween Party Games.
• Squiggly’s Halloween Crossword (Challenging) – This is a pretty tough puzzle from Squiggly’s Playhouse. I hope it doesn’t SCARE you off!

Halloween Cryptograms for kids

Click here  to learn how we code our cryptogram puzzles for beginners and make Decoder Wheel.  Decoder Wheel is not necessary, but it’s more fun to solve the puzzles this way.

• Halloween Cryptogram #1 – beginner.  A little spooky, a little creepy, and a whole lot of funny! Enjoy these fun Halloween puzzles.
• Halloween Cryptogram #2 – beginner.  I couldn’t resist. There are just TOO MANY hilarious Halloween jokes to pass up. This won’t be the last Halloween-themed cryptogram, I tell you.
• Halloween Cryptogram #3 – intermediate.  It’s TERRIFYING how funny I find these Halloween jokes!
• Halloween Cryptogram #4 – intermediate.  Please stop me now, or I just might DIE from laughing!

And now that you have the kiddos pre-occupied with these puzzles, can I tempt you with these devilishly amazing Chocolate Muffins! Honestly, I’ve tried many recipes and these are by far TO DIE FOR!

Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moist-chocolate-muffins/

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, 3/4 cup chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk egg, yogurt, milk, and vegetable oil in another bowl until smooth; pour into chocolate mixture and stir until batter is just blended. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

And it’s not just for the young ones either.  Although your teen won’t “squeal with delight,” I guarantee their fingers will at least stop mid-texting and if you’re lucky, you may even be rewarded with their eyes actually leaving the screen for a split second showing signs of curiosity and veiled interest.

So, for your next party, why not put together THE ULTIMATE scavenger hunt?

I know what you’re going to say.  It’s too complicated.  It’s too much effort.  But I promise you, it’s really easy.  I’ll show you that with very little effort, you’ll soon be an expert on how to create a scavenger hunt for kids, and guaranteed to make your next party a roaring success.

PLANNING STAGE

1)      Determine the level of difficulty for the hunt

This is pretty obvious, but here’s what could happen when you forget this step.  I was so caught up in creating all these creative princess-themed clues on pretty pink paper before realizing…oops, these are five-year-olds who can barely read.  Lesson learnt: work out what the majority age group is and their reading level, and design a hunt with appropriate level of difficulty to suit.

For younger kids or beginner readers, I would suggest either recruiting a “reader” to tag along to read the clues or using picture-clues instead of words.

2)      Determine time frame

A simple hunt will typically last around 15-20 minutes for 7-year-olds or younger, but can go for much longer for the older children.  I have hunts that can last for an hour, but that’s because the hunt was for older kids and I had them go all around the neighborhood.  It really just depends on your schedule of events and who the participants are.

But remember that younger kids have shorter attention spans.  So if you want to make your hunt last longer, do so by using more clues, as opposed to making the clues more difficult to solve or find.  Otherwise, they will get bored and give up.

3)      Determine location and boundaries

Indoors or outdoors?  Backyard or playground or some other location?  If indoors, look around to make sure you don’t have any breakables, because scavengers can get pretty rowdy and rough.  Unless it is a small group or your family, I always suggest hunts stay outdoors.  Look around to make sure the hunt area is safe and identify any unsafe or off limit areas.  Make a note of these boundaries so you can let the kids know later.  If the kids are older, surprise them with a hunt that takes them all around the neighborhood.

4)      Prepare the treasure

For a children’s party, I like to make the goody bags the treasure, secured and labeled with each child’s name, then put into a box and seal with tape.  I then plan the treasure hunt to be the last party activity so they can have fun finding their own goody bags.  However, the treasure can be anything.  Just be sure that there is enough of it so no child misses out.  It doesn’t have to be elaborate and certainly should not be expensive, but please make it “worthy” of the effort they put into finding it.  Even a competitive hunt for older kids should include a small token gift for all participants.

CREATING YOUR HUNT

5)      Find a cool location to hide the treasure

Make sure it is well-hidden and not someplace where someone can accidentally find it while playing around or hunting for the other clues.

6)      Make a list of hiding places for each clue

List and number each location in order of how you want them found, with the last location being where the treasure is of course.  Try to space locations appropriately so kids don’t accidentally find the wrong clue at a location which is too close to another.

7)      Create the clues

Using your list above, write out each clue (or take photos), making sure that each clue leads to the next clue on the list.

HELPFUL TIP:  Some people make the mistake of putting the clue where the answer states.  This would be incorrect.  The clue pointing to one location should be placed in the previous location on the list.  To avoid accidentally putting the clues in the wrong location, put the location number next to your clue during this planning stage, so you know exactly where to place them.  This helps when you have a lot of clues.  See how in our example below, the number next to the clue match the locations list, telling me WHERE each clue should be placed.

Level of difficulty for the clues depends on age group – the older the kids, the more complex the clues.  Number of clues to use depends on length of hunt and difficulty of clues.  However, on average, I usually end up with about 10-15 clues.  This number also works with more difficult hunts where each clue takes longer to solve or find.

Word of advice: Some people tend to get bogged down with the clues.  My suggestion is to keep it simple.   Especially if this is your first hunt or for really young kids.  Yes, rhyming clues are fun and clever, but not all clues have to rhyme.  Some can be fill in the blanks, or a picture of part of an object.  For themed events, simply mentioning a character in the clue gets a great response.  E.G., This is where Rainbow Dash wipes her muddy feet on.  Or, Elmo likes to hang up his clothes to dry on this.  Get creative but don’t over-think it either.

8)      Almost done!  Now it’s time to hide the clues. 

Use your best judgement.  Don’t make it too easy to find, but don’t make it too difficult either.  In general, young kids are not too observant.  Once I thought I was being clever and stuck a clue on the lid of the mailbox, but when the kids lifted the lid, they only looked inside and found nothing there.  It took several kids looking before one eventually noticed the clue stuck ON the lid and not sitting IN the mailbox.  And it took all of my will power to bite my tongue and keep from shouting out “The lid!  The lid!”

HUNTING DAY

9)      Ground Rules.  

Ground rules are a good way to kick off the hunt.  It serves two purposes.  It ensures that things go smoothly and minimizes tears or bad sportsmanship.  But it is also an opportunity to build up the hunt and add some drama.  Especially for themed parties – get theatrical!  Here’s a sample of basic rules I use:

• This is all about teamwork and working together.
• This is not a race.  You have to work as a team and help each other.
• No snatching clues from each other.
• It doesn’t matter if you don’t find any clues yourself because at the end, EVERYONE gets to share in the treasure!
• State off limit areas
• Other rules, depending on how you’ve modified your hunt.
• Anybody not playing by the rules will have to sit out.

10)      Give the first clue and off a-hunting we go!  

Kick-off the hunt by giving the first clue.  You can simply read it out after the ground rules.  Or for added drama, my favorite option is to challenge the birthday boy/girl to “win” the first clue.  (I like to pick a game or activity they are good at or love, like the first to shoot 5 basketball hoops or who can keep the hula hoop going the longest, etc).  When they win, you then reward them with the first clue.

And that’s it!  Because of your preparations (admit it, they weren’t so bad, were they?) you can simply relax and enjoy watching the kids run around looking for their treasure.  Oh wait – don’t forget the camera!

I hope you’ve found this guide helpful and I hope you really give this a go for your next party.  I know the kids will really enjoy it.  I have had a lot of success using this simple format and it is easy to modify to suit any party theme or age group.  But if you really want to go crazy, you can also build on this to make it more complex by incorporating such things as puzzle challenges, physical challenges, or turning it into a competition with teams competing for the treasure.  Really, the options are limitless.

But most of all, I hope you have fun, and HAPPY HUNTING!

So my son came home from school one day and announced, “I’ve got another project.  But this time it’s cool – it’s a biome.”  Biome?  My mind drew a blank.  So here’s how the rest of the conversation went…

And there you have it folks!  You see, there is educational value to be had with Minecraft!  (Okay, so you didn’t buy that either, huh?)

Regardless.  I thought it would be fun to whip up this Minecraft crossword puzzle for my son to do and see if I can impress him with my Minecraft-speak, because you know, I wouldn’t want to be accused of being a few gunpowders short of a creeper¸ if you know what I mean…

Enjoy the puzzle!

Crazy Idea #1 – Make your own crossword puzzle I know it sounds crazy, which is why it’s my #1 crazy idea, but making crossword puzzles with your kids can be fun.  Seriously.  But first, let’s get one thing straight.  You can’t just come out and say, “Hey kids, I’ve got a great idea.  Let’s make crossword puzzles today!”  I guarantee, you’ll get blank stares or worse – the evil eye from your too-cool-for-anything teen.  Remember.  It’s all in the presentation.  For example, think about turning it into a crossword swap game, or even better, a craft activity by making a series of themed puzzles to put into a booklet to give to friends.  Older kids can get involved too, and if they think making booklets for friends is a lame idea, they can make one for an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, or a younger sibling instead.  My daughter is working on a Hello Kitty booklet and is having fun collecting Hello Kitty images and stickers to decorate her puzzles with.  And because it’s crafts, this activity can last all morning or afternoon…at least until snack time.  And don’t forget to make a stunning cover to complete the booklet!

Click here to learn how to make your own crossword puzzle for any occasion using a free online crossword puzzle maker.

Crazy Idea #2 – Open up a kids toy store Well – kinda… I don’t know about you, but my kids love going to markets and garage sales.  And even though we’re not really out to buy anything, they just love to rummage through the various boxes to see what goodies they might find there. So for this crazy idea, the kids will set up their own toy store/garage sale selling their old toys.  They will be the “shop keeper” and get to keep all proceeds from the sale as well.  We’ve held several garage sales and the secret to our success is promote promote promote.  Promote with friends and relatives, neighbors, local paper, flyers, etc.  Ask local schools if you can put a flyer or notice in their school newsletter or bulletin board.  Make invitations for your child to give out to their classmates.  And, to ensure success, keep toy pricing under $1.  The idea is that other little kids should be able to afford to buy something with their own pocket money and if you price toys too high, that won’t be possible.  If you’re really ambitious, you can even throw in a bake stall with a lemonade or cordial stand.  Get creative.  Have fun.  It’s the holidays, after all!

Crazy Idea # 3 – Neighborhood Scavenger Hunt We did this for my son’s 10^th birthday party since it was only a small party with a few friends.  We had the boys complete both brain teaser/riddles as well as physical challenges (with the challenger always being dad).  We had them go around the neighborhood and luckily, my parents live down the road so their final clue ended up there, where the wizard (my dad) gave them the final riddle, and they were rewarded with cake and ice-cream. I love activity because the kids can invite several friends over making this a “mini party” of sorts.  To make this an all day activity, think about several locations within walking or scooter distance.  Plan the trail and leave clues a day in advance (without the kids’ knowledge of course).  If you live near a local retail strip like ours and are familiar with the store owners, it would be great to have them hold a clue or ask if you can do one of the challenges at their store.  Make sure the final destination is a rewarding one, worthy of their efforts – like a picnic at a park, where the “treasure” is a basket of goodies and picnic lunch, an ice-cream store where they get to pick their favorite ice-cream, or like ours – generous grandparents’ willing to host a bunch of loud, excited kids.  Happy hunting!

Crazy Idea #4 – Paint, Paint, and More Paint And I don’t mean on a canvas…although, you could do that if you want.  No, I mean, let’s get down and dirty and paint the walls.  Or the dining table.  Or the bookshelves.  I know, this involves a little more planning, but what fun to get the kids involved and actually achieve a task from your to-do list (admit it – we all have one of these listed…kitchen redo, redecorate the kids bedrooms, redo dining room, etc.).  I know it can be a huge job, but here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Keep your expectations realistic.  Only let them paint areas which allows a little room for error (eg., have them paint the entire wall, but leave the edging to you, or they can paint their desk any color they want, even if it’s not your preferred choice).
2. Depending on what you will paint, this project can take more than a few days.  Be prepared to live in a bit of a mess.
3. If painting a child’s bedroom, let your child be involved in color choices.  If it really offends your sense of style (like fluoro pink or jet black on the walls), perhaps suggest a compromise, like painting an accent wall instead, or even better, use one of the free online designing tools such as http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/personal-color-viewer which lets you upload a photo of your room and view it in different paint colors.

As long as you keep things simple, this can be a really fun project for the entire family and return pretty amazing results for everyone to enjoy. P.S. If you have really little ones, PLEASE find a small area or piece of furniture for them to paint and put their own stamp of signature.

Crazy Idea #5 – Host a Dinner Party This can be as simple as a dinner party for the family, or a little more elaborate to include a couple of friends or relatives.  Have the kids decide on the guest list (rule of thumb – the smaller the crowd, the less stressful J ) and the menu a few days in advance.  They can then email or hand deliver their invitations.  Keep the menu kid-friendly, easy to prepare and simple to cook.  Some ideas are spaghetti or meatballs, spring rolls, noodles and fried rice, taco salads or hamburgers and store-bought fries.  Dessert can include an easy-bake cake with fruits on the side, or ice cream with fresh berries.  Of course, a big part of the fun is laying out the table, so let the kids get creative with a pretty menu card, fancy table arrangements, napkin folding creations from youtube, and fresh flowers.  If you have any kids that are not really interested in cooking, they can still play an important role by being the server or the host, refilling glasses, or clearing dishes away. With such a busy schedule, we rarely have time for a nice, sit-down meal as a family, but simple pleasures such as this always reminds us of the value of family-time.  And don’t forget to finish the evening off with a game that everyone can enjoy, such as our family fav – UNO! So there you have it.  Five crazy things my family will be doing over the school holidays.  Do you have any ideas of your own?  If so, we would love to hear from you.  Please share with us below or visit us on our Facebook page.

Enjoy your break!

But, as with any free product, there are limitations on what you can do – for example, for our kids puzzles, we like to include a lot of fun graphics and use our own fonts and layouts.  For this, you would need to purchase the full upgrade which can run around $30-$40.  Which is fine if you are looking to generate a lot of puzzles, but if you’re only doing this occasionally, then there is an alternative way to get awesome customized puzzles using Microsoft Word in addition to the free online crossword puzzle maker.  It does mean a little extra work, but personally, I think it’s worth it to get a puzzle to look exactly how you want it to.  Plus, it’s free!

Here’s how I do it…

1) Open up to an online crossword puzzle maker. Our favorite puzzle maker can be found at Puzzle-Maker.com.

2) Enter a simple title. Don’t worry too much about it since we will be editing this later anyway.  Just put something that reminds you which puzzle this is.

3) Enter your words & clues in the format stated.  In this case, it is Answer word / Clue.  I like to list down all my words first for both the “answer word” and “clue” section just so I can generate the puzzle quickly.  This way, I can take my time to make up tricky clues later.  However, this is simply a preference and you may choose to do it all in one step here.  For a good-sized puzzle, I would recommend at least 12 words.  Here’s one I’m doing for the U.S. Capital Cities, which will be 50 clues and make a really nice study puzzle.

4) Once done, click the “Create Puzzle” button. This will take you to three options.  Select that FREE tab, then click on the Print/Next button on the left hand side.  Follow the prompts until you get to the completed puzzle page that looks like this.  See what I mean by not really nice looking?

5) Go ahead and print this to PDF and save to your local hard drive. Make sure to print the solution page as well.

6) Open the PDF to determine the number of columns and rows.  Do this by starting from left to right and counting the number of squares across, then do the same from top to bottom.  In the example below, we have 45 columns and 31 rows.

7) Open up a new Word document and insert a table with the correct number of columns/rows as above.

You’ll end up with a grid that looks like this showing only gridlines:

8) Next we recreate the free puzzle by highlighting boxes and putting in the borders.  Using the PDF as a guide, follow step 1 thru 3 per diagram below.

 9) Once all boxes have been re-created, copy and paste the clues beneath the puzzle. If you didn’t create proper clues earlier, this is the chance to start making them up.  You shouldn’t get confused since the actual answer will be in the correct spot.  Simply replace that with an appropriate clue.  Here’s what mine looks like.  For example for 3 ACROSS, I would simply replace the text with an appropriate clue, such as “Capital city of Montana”

10) Finally, since it’s a word document, you can format it as you please.  Have fun and feel free to insert images, add color or change the background.  Just as good as the paid version.

And that’s all there is to it.  A little fiddly, I know, especially if you have a huge puzzle like I did with the 50 clues.  But the end result is definitely worth it – check it out.

Of course, if pressed for time, you can’t beat the convenience of the paid software.  Puzzle-Maker.com allows you to pay per puzzle, which is great for one-offs.  But if you are going to be creating puzzles on a regular basis, I would suggest purchasing a fully paid version to download to your desktop.  My #1 recommendation in this case is Crossword Weaver, which runs for US $39.95 or US $29.95 with an educational discount.  They even offer a package version which generates wordsearch puzzles as well.

I hope you’ve found this tutorial helpful, and thanks for stopping by!

Happy puzzling,

But wait, it gets even better…they’ve allowed Kids Puzzles Online to post their daily puzzle right here, which means, you can visit me every day to get your daily Sudoku fix for your child.  And as we we all know, Sudoku puzzles are so addictive you can’t stop at one, so guess what?  I’ll also be bringing a selection of 500+ puzzles from The Daily SuDoku archives for you to go crazy on.  I just have to get the right permissions, etc. to make sure it’s ok.

Now, just a quick heads up. Even though The Daily SuDoku puzzles are thoughtfully designed especially for kids, it doesn’t mean that all the puzzles are “easy.” So, be sure to check the level of difficulty first so as not to scare off your kids from Sudoku on their first go. Anyway, here’s the first installment. But going forward, you can also access these daily puzzles on the Sudoku page.

Hi!  My name is Puzzle Mom (also known as Lou-Ellen in my spare time) and I have a confession to make…I am a puzzle junkie.

I love all kinds of puzzles, riddles, brain teasers, or toys that you have to figure out.  Basically anything that requires me having to solve something or having to put something together.

My first love was word searches – what kid doesn’t love that, right?  It’s like Hide-n-Seek, but with words on paper.   But these days, my real love is logic puzzles.   You know the kind where you only get four or five clues and you have to match up who belongs to what, like which person has what pet and what day of the week they visited the vet (as an example).  Yeah, those are great!  I don’t know why, but the more twisted my brain gets, the more I enjoy it.  There’s also the number puzzles such as sudoku or kenken (whoever invented these are genius).  I just LOVE these and can spend hours doing puzzle after puzzle.

What is Kids Puzzles Online?

Well, I have two awesome kids (an 11-year-old and an 8-year-old) who are pretty “normal” – you know, obsessed with Minecraft, Clash of Clans and Cooking Mama – but, they also happen to enjoy puzzles and crazy challenging toys.   The problem is, when I started looking online to find some worksheets to print off (in order to pry them away from the screen for a bit), I had to do quite a bit of digging around to find decent puzzles.   And even when I did find these sites, they weren’t regularly maintained, so once I got all the puzzles from that site, I would have to go searching further to find new ones.   Which was kinda annoying considering there are always puzzle pages in every newspaper and most magazines, and they even have apps with daily puzzles.  But, there’s nothing really like that for kids.   So I thought I would create a kids puzzle zone that had fresh content, everything in one place so you don’t have to keep searching, and somewhere that kids of all ages would want to come to and encourage their love for puzzle fun.

There’s also a bunch of cool challenging toys I wanted to share with you as well, so I’ll put them here for some great gift ideas – you know, as an alternative to an iTunes gift card  And just to keep it real, I’ll even try to get reviews from real kids, okay?

Well, that’s the goal anyway.   Some of my fondest memories growing up were doing puzzles as a family.  At the end of the day, I want to try and share as much as I can with you so that we can create some fun memories with our kids together – puzzle fun!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you and the kidsters enjoy the site!

Happy puzzling,

Kids Puzzles Online
Email: louellen@kidspuzzlesonline.com