Brighter Minds Media’s newest hit with kids and parents alike is Bob the Builder: Can-Do Zoo. This adventurous zoo-building game takes us along with Bob as he needs us to help him construct exciting colorful and playful homes for the lovable zoo animals. Not only will your kids love this game and find themselves immersed in hours of exhilarating entertainment, but they will also learn essential skills such as problem solving and logic! Learning and playing at the same time! How can you beat that?!?!

We at Brighter Minds are so excited about this brilliant new game and we think you will be too!

Click here to download a free trial version of Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo!

Once you and your child have played the trial version, leave us a comment here about your favorite part of the game and enter to win your very own copy of our newest and most exciting game: Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo!

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Tired of cleaning up the mess from your kid’s favorite crafts? What if they could clean up the mess by eating it?

Edible play-doh is a mother’s best friend of these rainy days. It only takes minutes to make and if your kids have it their way, there will be no mess leftover!

You’ll need:

• 1 part flour

• 2 parts oatmeal

• 1 part water

How to make it:

Just mix all the ingredients together and make all sort of neat and crazy shapes! Even better, when the shapes dry completely, they can be painted to add extra flair!

Not a fan of oatmeal? Try peanut butter edible play-doh!

You’ll need:

• 1 18-oz jar creamy peanut butter
• 6 tbsp. honey
• ¾ c. non-fat dry milk

How to make it:

Mix ingredients together and knead with fingers. Make it even more imaginative by adding other edible favorites like chocolate chips or other bite-size candies!

All play-dohs should be stored in airtight containers when finished. (If there’s any left over, that is!)

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Fall is officially here and as the summer heat ends, we will watch the luscious green leaves on the trees turn to rustic, vibrant hues of brown, red and gold.

But before that happens, we can gather this summer’s leaves and make a t-shirt commemorating their memory and giving our kids a really cool t-shirt to wear!

Make your very own leaf t-shirt for you and your kids!

The process is really simple, but an adult will definitely be needed to oversee the process.

To make your very cool leaf t-shirt, you’ll need:

• Leaves

• A dark-colored t-shirt

• Large bucket of cool water

• Newspaper

• Bleach in a spray bottle

Once you have all your supplies, the fun begins!

Design your shirt!

1. Place the newspaper in between the front and back layers of the t-shirt.
2. Put the leaves in whatever places you want the design to appear on the shirt.
3. Make random patterns or maybe even a circle of different leaves! Be creative and fun!

Now make it permanent.

At last you have all your leaves in place. Now spray the entire t-shirt with the spray bleach. Be sure to hit all the areas, including the leaves and the empty areas. Allow five minutes for the bleach to set in. You should notice the color of the shirt begin to fade.

Rinse the bleach out of the shirt in the bucket of cool water. Voila! You have your very own leaf t-shirt to show off!

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The first Monday of every September is a day that is unofficially acknowledged at the last day of summer.

Pools close up shop, parents get their kids ready for their first day of school and Halloween candy is stacked on grocery store shelves. The Labor Day weekend is usually filled with last trips to lakes, “Good-bye Summer!” grill-fests and leisurely family activities. It is the quintessential day off.

But what exactly is the reasoning behind Labor Day? Why do we get a day named after labor, off from work?

In addition to creating that last weekend of fun for your children, you can also teach them the importance of the history of Labor Day.

At the advent of the Industrial Revolution, men, women and children were forced to work anywhere from twelve to sixteen hour days in poor conditions, often working them to death or illness.

On September 5, 1882, disgruntled workers decided to stand up and march for their plight. Ten thousand workers marched in New York City to bring attention to the unkind conditions they had been working under, in hopes to cause their own revolution in the industries.

This infamous march set a trend for other workers all over the country. In the next twelve years, other states participated in similar marches during the first week of September to bring their working woes to the forefront of the public agenda.

Still, the government did nothing to help the tired and angry workers gain basic rights in the workplace. It would take something much more drastic to get the attention of those who could bring about change.

On May 11, 1894, that event took place.

A bloody and riotous protest took place in Chicago over the wage reductions and elimination of jobs within the Pullman Palace Car Company. A call to workers was made to boycott the railcars. Fifty thousand railway workers pulled out their services, bringing the railroad traffic in Chicago to an absolute standstill.

Forced to react, President Grover Cleveland sent in troops to break up the protest, which turned disastrous and violent. Regardless of the arrests and injuries, the nation could no longer deny worker’s rights needed to be re-evaluated and addressed.

That very same year, Labor Day was created by Congress to give labor workers a much-needed holiday to say thanks for their year-long hard work.

So each Labor Day when you and your family are firing up the grill for the last time and getting in that last swim before draining the backyard pool, remember to pat yourself on the back and sit down and relax! This is your day!

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It’s that time of year again when moms can breathe that sigh of relief! It’s time to send the kids back to school!

After a summer of coming up with fun and creative things to keep your school-aged kids occupied, finally it’s in someone else’s hands. But sometimes the pre-school little ones are left behind and feel left out as their big brothers and sisters go off to school and return home excited about all the neat, new things they have learned and done at school.

Keeping the half-day kindergartners and Pre-K tots in the loop can be a challenge, but there are always great activities and learning exercises you can give to your pre-schoolers to keep them busy and prepare them for the day when they finally get to ride the big yellow bus.

Post your favorite activity or learning exercise and help out other moms and dads!

In addition to helping your fellow parents, the most creative idea will win one of Brighter Minds Media’s 30 A Day Learning System books! You can even check out the activities these great activity books offer by visiting www.30aday.com ! Once you have decided which would best suit your tot, go to www.brightermindsmedia.com and check out what each book has to offer!

Visit www.brighter-contest.com to enter!