Looking for Baby Monitor Reviews?

Keera, Levana's Touch Panel Video Baby Monitor

With a Baby Monitor like the Keera, you can do more knowing your child is safe. The thing we'd do more of is get some sleep! Our babies were into co-sleeping. We never felt safe with them in the other room- if only we had this monitor! Keep reading this review to learn how you can WIN your own. Enjoy!

Keera, Levana's Touch Panel Video Baby Monitor.

We really wanted a video monitor. Not only does everyone here at Kids Creative Chaos have babies and small children, some of us have GRAND babies! Our little granddaughter often spends the night at our house. We wanted to feel secure knowing that she is safe and sound, not climbing out of her bed, and not getting squished by a big, fat cat.

But... there were other reasons we wanted a baby monitor...

Our 9 yr. old is very in to detective work. It has been her dream for the last 5 or so years to catch Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy in the act. Mommy wants to know what the cats do when we're gone. I mean, do they sleep all day or do they terrorize the house? AND, what do the cats do when they see the Tooth Fairy? 

You need special software to view your baby monitor videos on your computer. This helps keep them safer from hackers. We wanted to share the soothing music, so we took a video of our video! :) The pictures and videos are high quality, and make great family keepsakes when you download the software.

Full Disclosure: We'd also planned to use the camera to monitor the chicken coop at night, but after receiving this one for review, we quickly decided against that. This is a very NICE camera. Far too good for placement in the chicken coop!

Keera, Levana's Touch Panel Video Baby Monitor.

The Keera, Levana's 3.5" touch panel baby monitor has pan, tilt, and zoom. It can record video and take pictures while viewing the live performance on your monitor. The battery lasts up to 24 hrs. The monitor has a touch panel with simple icons that make selecting the features easy. You can do more knowing your child is safe. Imagine using it as a Nanny Cam while you have an older sibling babysit as you make a run to the store for bread and milk.

All Levana monitors are cordless, eliminating the risk of strangulation. You can keep the charging cords in another room or out of your babies reach.

• They know their stuff! Levana launched the first-ever wireless handheld baby monitor in 2002.
• The monitors are state of the art with invisible LED's and ClearVu Digital Wireless Technology (to protect from hackers).
• They are one of the first movement monitors ever introduced.
• Smart LED Indicator Ring
• Sound indicator ring changes color with the sound of your baby’s voice alerting you if she is crying out when you have the volume turned down and features adjustable sensitivity.

Pink - Disconnected

Blue – Whispers

Green – Murmurs

Yellow – Cooing

Orange – Chatter

Red – Yelling

Blah, blah... you want to know how we liked it? More importantly, you want to know how to score your own, right? Loved it. 

A Rafflecopter Giveaway for Keera

Recommended:

Baby Carrier and Slings 

Baby Play Ideas

Easy Nursery Decorating Ideas

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Levana. The opinions and text are all mine.

Circle Activities for Teens Middle School Age Youth

Circle Games and Activities for Youth: Camp Songs and More

Camp Songs always bring back the best memories! Circle Time isn't just for preschoolers! Circle Activities and Games are fun for teens too. If you're planning activities for an after school program, summer camp, scouts, or youth group, these school-aged circle camp activities make nice icebreakers. We've used these group circle games and songs to welcome kids to camp, introduce each other, and as a way to make attendance and head counts fun. 

5 Best Sleepover Games and Activities for Teens

Plan the Best Sleepover Ever with These 5 Cool Games and Activities for Teens

These five, easy party ideas for teenagers will help you plan a fun sleepover or even the best slumber party ever! Click the links to find more great birthday party ideas for both teen boys and girls. Enjoy!

5 Best Sleepover Games and Activities for Teens.

• Backwards Birthday Party

Have all the guest wear all of their clothes backward.

• Who's in the Bag?

Play, "Who's in the Bag?", at your next sleepover.

Before the party, mark straws with the number of party guest minus

one. On the last straw, write "it" with a Sharpie. Have each guest 

choose a straw. Get everyone's sleeping bag and roll them out on 

the floor in a large room. Send "it" into the bathroom or a closet.


Now, everyone else climbs into a random sleeping bag (not their 

own). Pull the bag over your heads so "it" cannot see who is who.


When "it" comes back, he taps the foot of a bag and asks one question. 

For example:  "What is your favorite color?"

The person in the bag, disguises his voice to answer but answers truthfully.

Now, "it" guesses who is in the bag. If he guesses wrong, he moves to the next bag. If he guesses right, the player gets to come out of the bag and watch the fun!

Play continues until all player's identities are revealed.

• Cool Sleepover Game for Girls or guys, just change the sex of the hotties you choose to share :)

The guys from One Direction.

Before the party, find photos of cute guys. Make a Pinterest board

just for the party. Pin as many cute guys as you can find, then pull 

them up on the television screen with Chrome Cast. What would 

you do with him? Make Out, Marry, or Dump?

• Whip Cream Fingertips

Sleepover prank: place whipcream on a sleeping beauty's fingers, then tickle her nose.

Put some whip cream on the fingers of the first one to fall asleep. 

Unlike peanut butter, which is sticky and can be deadly if anyone 

at the party has a peanut allergy, whip cream is an innocent 

slumber party prank. Now, gently tickle sleeping beauty's face. 


Watch what happens! For the record, I hate pranks. I'm opposed. 

If you are the first one to fall asleep, you probably won't be a fan 

of sleepover pranks either, so keep this in mind when choosing 

activities for your party.

• Cell Phone

Play "Cell Phone", a sleepover game similar to 20 questions, but better!

Gather the party guests and pick one to be "it". Send it to the 

bathroom with loud music or headphones. Now, the rest of the 

group chooses a noun for the game. 

For example: Cat, Car, Flower, Food.

Now, bring "it" back to guess the chosen word.

"It" has to ask questions about the unknown word. So, she replaces 

the unknown word with Cell Phone. She asks each player a 

different question.

For example: "Is the Cell Phone purple?" or "Does the Cell Phone 

breathe?"

Like Twenty Questions, the other players (in on the secret word),

say yes or no until "it" gets the answer correct.


The last player to answer the question before she guesses correctly

becomes the next "it".




Recommended Reading:



Sleepover Party Mad Libs*



Group Games Played in a Circle*



The Everything Girls Ultimate Sleepover Party Book: 100+ Ideas 

for Sleepover Games, Goodies, Makeovers, and More! 

(Everything® Girls)*




The Unofficial ONE DIRECTION Big Sleepover Trivia Party 

Game: Find Out Who Loves One Direction The Most! - Star 

Version (One Direction Trivia Party Game Book 2)*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Homeschool Nature Study Ornithology

Homeschool Nature Study: The Science of Ornithology

My kids have been taking a Homeschool Ornithology Class. They love it! The instructors have great ideas for a Nature Study on Birds. So, in today's Free Online Homeschool Lesson, I wanted to share some of the fabulous things they've done to learn about birds! Make sure you click on all the links for fun, educational videos, games, and free printables.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

If you are in Indiana, discover the world of birds at the Eagle Creek Ornithology Center. Meet a Raptor every Wednesday and Friday at 4:00 pm and enjoy special bird programs Saturdays at 2:00 p.m.

These lessons are meant to be done over the course of week. If you choose to do a science block, you can complete the projects in one day.

Homeschool Nature Study: Ornithology

Define Ornithology: The study of birds, including their behavior, natural history, physiology, ecology, and identification. Can you answer these bird vocabulary questions.

Grab your Journal. Run to a window or go outside on a hike. List 10 birds in your yard or neighborhood. Describe the birds. This free printable is perfect for your bird journal.

For example: 

Small, Red bird with orange beak. Tufted head. 

Seen year round = Cardinal.

If you don't know what type of bird it is, make sure you have a detailed description for your search. If you have access to a camera, snap a photo. If not, draw a simple sketch. It doesn't have to be a work of art. Just good enough to help you remember details about the birds camouflage, beak, size, habit, etc.

Do you know what makes a bird a bird? Is a Platypus a bird? Is a bee a bird? Is an airplane a bird? Is a penguin a bird? Think about why or why not? Then, watch this video.

The Cat in the Hat also knows a lot about that.
Learn to draw: Trace a Bird Printable
(Recommended for ages 2-5 yrs. or everyone who is young at heart.)

Learn about different types of birds. When you click the link, you will see a series of bird videos that include:

Puffins, Eagles, Falcons, Snowy Owls, Snowy Egrets, Condors, Emperor Penguins, and more.

After watching the videos on all of the birds, list the raptors in your journal. What is a raptor? Visit Wordsmyth to find out.

Classify your birds with these Printable Flashcards.

Language Arts Component

Compare and Contrast. Write a paper with 5 paragraphs.
Remember to include a introductory paragraph (tell me what you are going to tell me), 3 detailed paragraphs in the middle (tell me), and a summary paragraph (tell me again).

Topic: Why isn't a Platypus a bird? Why is a Penguin a bird?

In the three middle paragraphs, give supporting details on each animal. You can write more than 3 supporting paragraphs if you need to, but don't forget your summary. Write this in a Google Doc. My kids send these docs to me. 


Arts and Crafts Component

Build a Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder. This is a fun construction project. Use wood glue. School glue may break down when used outdoors.

Popsicle stick bird feeder.

How to Make a Bird Feeder from Popsicle Sticks

First, lay the ten sticks flat, placing glue on the connecting sides.
Then, stack the sticks in a perfect square in layers with glue on the connecting ends. Eight makes the perfect height. Next, cut four pieces of yarn about 2' long. String a piece of yarn under the second stick at each corner as shown. Pull all pieces of yarn evenly and tie a knot in the top. Let dry for 24 hours. After your feeder is dry, paste in some peanut butter and sprinkle in bird seed.

You might also like:

How to Make Origami Birds


Science Lab Component

Try this Fun Science Experiment: How does a bird eat? How does the beak's shape factor in to the equation? Try this fun science experiment.

Graphic Organizer for Science Experiment

You will need the following utensils and supplies:
Eye dropper
Salad Thongs
Nutcracker
Large Serving Spoon
Tweezers

Bag Popcorn (Bugs)
Glass of Water (Nectar)
Raisins and Small Log with holes (Bugs in a Log) You can substitute a cardboard tube for this if necessary.

Click on the link above for the printable companion worksheet.

Start with a Bag of popcorn. Experiment with each utensil. Your goal is to get the popcorn into your mouth or the mouth of your partner using each utensil. Which works best. What type of bird might eat something like popcorn? What does each utensil represent? In other words, imagine a bird with a similar beak. Next, have your science partner toss you some popcorn and try to catch it with each utensil.

Place the raisins in the cardboard tube or log. Use the utensils to remove the raisins. Which works best? Remember, you are a bird. You cannot use your hands. Make a note of your findings on the graphic organizer.

Finally, try to "drink" water from the glass with each of the utensils. Which one allows you easiest access to the drink? Which one takes the longest? Would you get frustrated if you were really thirsty and had to drink water with a nutcracker?

Label the parts of a bird.


Just for Fun

Flight School Game

Birds of a feather flock together? What does this mean? Where does the phrase originate? _____________________________


Recommended Reading:


United States Capitals Lesson

Leonardo da Vinci Design Wooden Ornithopter Model Kit

Cat Sleeping in Basket: Caturday Pictures

Funny Picture for Caturday, Cat Sleeps in Basket

So, my cat is very cool. Smoothe, unencumbered by normal cat behaviors. He sleeps, he eats, he sleeps. I was lucky to catch him in a less than flattering sleeping position. Smack dab in the middle of the snack basket. Embarrassed much? Not so regal now, Mister fancy pants... I feel a bribe coming on. Enjoy!

Cat Sleeping in Basket: Caturday Pictures.

Recommended Reading:

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (If You Give... Books)

Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss

Cat in Perry the Platypus Costume

Have a Spooky Sleepover and Pajama Reading Party with Halloween Books from Scholastics

Have a Spooky Sleepover: Pajama Reading Party with Candy Corn S'mores Recipe

It's easy to plan a spooky sleepover with a Scholastics story and EVEREADY® Gold batteries in your flashlights! We decided to plan our spooky pajama party around fun Halloween books for kids! "We picked some fun spooky books and decided on a Candy Corn S'more Recipe as the perfect companion snack! There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bat" by Jared Lee, "Splat the Cat" by Rob Scotton, and "Ten Timid Ghosts" by Jennifer O'Connell. Read on to learn more about the best sleepover ever!

*This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of EVEREADY®. The opinions and text are all mine. It contains affiliate links.

Have a pajama sleepover with spooky Scholastic Books and EVEREADY® Gold.

Spooky Book for early readers, Scholastics, Ten Timid Ghosts.

Before the party, we gathered supplies for our craft, snack, and pajama party tent. The kitchen nook worked best, because it has room for a large, family-size tent. We used the walls and bench to construct a tent from one of our favorite blankets. Mommy filled a basket with books, juice packs, popcorn, and flashlights. Then, we created some, super cute edible crafts- with a ghost theme of course. Candy Corn S'mores!

Candy Corn Smores Recipe: Make S'mores with candy corn and candy corn marshmallows.

For our Candy Corn S'mores recipe, we used graham crackers, candy corn marshmallows, candy corn, and chocolate chips to make our S'mores. They were the best S'mores we ever had! Messy, but delicious.

While our sleepover snacks were baking in the toaster oven, we started the spooky ghost craft. We used cheesecloth, Styrofoam cups, and buttons to make a Halloween Ghost craft.

Spooky ghosts from Styrofoam cups.

After reading the story, Mayhem wanted to make a bat too. So, we cut out a pattern that looks like the bat on the cover of the book. To make our bat you only need scissors, construction paper, and glue. If you want to make an outdoor Halloween decoration, before cutting, cover your paper with Duct Tape in coordinating colors. The duct tape will make a durable Halloween decoration for your door.

While we enjoyed reading stories to each other and making shadow puppets on the walls, we had some surprise guests! They wanted to hear about Splat the Cat, and they wanted to chase the lights from our EVEREADY® Flashlights!

Curious cats crash our pajama party!

Educational Element for Homeschooling

We wanted to count this experience as school, so we found a free printable story starter and Lesson Plans for, There Was an Old Lady, on Scholastic's website. From the list of lesson plans, we also chose to try the edible estimations. This is a fun math lesson for kids where you compare the things the old lady ate with similar weighing objects around the house or classroom and then calculate the grand total of everything she ate. The EVEREADY® website has free printables to help plan for a disaster.

Grab your favorite Scholastic books, and EVEREADY® flashlights and get reading! When you purchase 2 special marked packs of EVEREADY® Gold Batteries or EVEREADY® flashlights, you can redeem them for a free book. How fun is that?

It must be time to go to sleep, our guests are yawning!

Hey lady, don't shine that light in my eyes!
Where are my pajamas? Those stories made me sleepy!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of EVEREADY®. The opinions and text are all mine.


Recommended Reading:



There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!


Splat the Cat Storybook Collection

Lesson on Money for Homeschool: Budgeting and Online Games

Need an Online Lesson on Money and Minting for Homeschooling or Class Curriculum?

Do you homeschool or plan curriculum for afterschool programs? We've come up with some fun, online lessons that teach about money, budgeting, financing, and the U.S. Mint. The links lead to kid-friendly websites for online learning. We're also sharing the link to our original Google doc lesson so that you can make a free printable. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, we get a small commission. This is how we provide free lesson plans and curriculum for homeschoolers. Thanks!

Money Lesson Plan Curriculum for Homeschooling.

Money Lesson Online

Want access to the Google Doc? Click here and you can print out your own homeschool money lesson.

___________________________________________________

Grades 3-5

Watch How Money is Made by How Stuff  Works

Read Alexander Who used to be Rich last Sunday by Judith Viorst

Bennie's Pennies is also a good resource on spending for children ages 9-12.

K-2 Math printable PDF math sheet

__________________________________________________

Language Arts:  Story Starter -  If you made a million, would you share it with others?

Explain why or why not with details. How would you save it? List out the ways.

Watch Scholastics Video on Netflix - Amazing Americans - “If I made a Million.”

How Paper Money is Made Video - Field trip to money factory  

How Coins are Made

www.usmint.gov/kids/coinNews/mintingProcess/

When you get there, click roll em to see.

Also watch, The Birth of a Coin (Cool activities here too.)

___________________________________________________

Math Activity:

Time Machine American Revolution: Fun with Fractions

Fraction Printable PDF

Free Printable 3rd grade stories and comprehension worksheets also find thru grade 5 here.

___________________________________________________

Art Activity: 

Create your own money online 

Printable Checks from Kids Money Farm

More Money Lesson Plans and Printables

____________________________________________________

Science Component:

Cat and Mouse Game from the US MINT.

Place two coins of the same size, (quarters, nickels, whatever you have) on a flat, smooth surface.  Put a third coin of any size in front of them, making sure they all touch.  This is the "cat."  Place a fourth coin, the "mouse," about a foot away.  (You could even add a tail to this coin with a piece of dental floss and tape.)

Make your hand into a fist with the index and middle fingers pointing out.  Then tap down quickly on the first two coins with these fingers.  The kinetic force will propel the "cat" toward the "mouse."  Play with a friend, and see who can get the cat to the mouse with the fewest hits. 

Find more games and activities like this at the U.S Mint.

Recommended Reading:

Bennie's Pennies

Online Homeschooling Projects


Pin it!

Elementary Homeschooling Science and Health Resources Online: From Netflix to Khan Academy

Online Elementary Science and Health Resources for Homeschoolers

I scour the Netflix episodes to find a title that coordinates with our daily Science or Health lesson. Below, I've highlighted some Health Resources for Homeschoolers with episodes we used to study the Human Body and Human Growth and Development which can be a touchy teaching subject. Enjoy!

Online Science and Health Resources for Homeschoolers.

Those old Saturday edutainment programs are an excellent resource for companion videos. Reward children who don't like to read with a video upon completion of their reading assignment. The video will reinforce what they've read. 

Don't do the video first, or they will say things like, "I know this already."  "I don't need to read it; I just watched it!"  "This is boring me!" The video can help them remember key points of information. They may even have to refer back to what they've read to make sure the two media forms agree. My kids are always looking for mistakes in school books!

Beakman's World 

Beakman touches on many things to do with the body like flatulence (super fun for kids), lungs, allergies, the skeletal system, and much more. When studying about health, especially for fourth-grade, with those all important hygiene lessons (remember those cheesy movies about getting your period and raging hormones?) and the birds and the bees, Beakman's world is a good place to start.

We signed up for Time4Learning and love it!

Previously, I had searched for a companion video to teach about the senses. There were plenty of videos out there, but all of them targeted preschoolers. Beakman's World had many great videos on Science and Health. (We started with Season 4 to learn about Human Growth).

The Magic School Bus

Is an awesome resource that public school teachers often use as their go to video to fill in some curriculum time. In the past, it was available only on DVD through Netflix, but now it comes in the streaming version too.  Inside Ralphie and Goes Cellular are two episodes that focus on the body. We paired Flexes its Muscles (Season 2 Episode 2) with Beakman's World on Human Growth.

Khan Academy is an online school of sorts. It is every bit as good as some of the popular academies for online learning (We previously attended Connections Academy), but it isn't an official school.  Kids can learn at their own pace. It is TOTALLY FREE! Lessons are set up for grade levels. Children can watch videos, do practice problems, and take quizzes until they've mastered the subject.

Exploring, can be a bit overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is an AMAZING educational resource. Kids earn badges in each subject matter. Lessons are targeted on core learning principles. Some of the video are a snore, but they are consistently getting better. They even offer an online scratch pad, hints, and more to insure your child doesn't get frustrated by taking the tests. A lot of it is for older children, but they have been adding new material for early elementary age students. Our favorite lessons are Computer Coding, but there are some videos on health and the senses too.

Speaking of Coding, you might also enjoy Minecraft Summer School Camps. These is an online learning experience, you  won't learn about the human body, but you will learn about Wonder of the Natural World!

Recommended Reading:

Inside Your Outside: All About the Human Body (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library)*

Homeschool Art: Crafting with Minecraft

Homeschooling Lesson on Geography: Country Study of China

The Everything KIDS' Human Body Book: All You Need to Know About Your Body Systems - From Head to Toe! (The Everything® Kids Series)*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)