My husband has an iPhone for work, and we have a stay-in-the-house iPhone, as well, an older model discarded by Ken that the kids love to play with.

Like most media, we have to regulate the time they spend playing iPhone games, but they do enjoy them….and I’m pleasantly aware that about half of the games they choose have educational value!

What are the kids’ top favorites? I thought I’d share them with you. Maybe you can find one or two that your kids would dig!

(Note: I’m linking many of these to review sites we usually refer to for each new app we download. Search for these apps within Google or directly via iTunes for download instructions.)

Dress Chica – Based on the lovable character from PBS Sprout’s Sunny Side Up Show, this preschool app lets your little one dress Chica in funny clothes, all the while teaching vocabulary. Fun sound effects abound.

Trace – Though not specifically for kids, this is one of G’s favorites. This app is stellar in regards to critical thinking skill building as well as art. The soundtrack is fun, too!

Giraffe’s Matching Zoo – Another preschool favorite. A simple matching game in the style of good old fashioned “Memory,” but with fun animal sounds.

Layers – Another not-kid-geared app, but a terrific, detailed art app for dexterous little fingers. Create art having five layers, hence the name, and draw with a wide array of brushes and colors.

Talking Tom – Okay. This one is just for fun. No educational value found here. But the kids find him immensely entertaining. And it freaks adults out the first time they hear Tom speak. :)

Faces I Make – A found-art collage art app that helps kids stretch their creative horizons!

My Little Suitcase – Lets your kids pack a suitcase and decide on a destination for a virtual vacation.

Sunday Lawn – Strictly arcade-style gaming here. Our G is pretty good at it and loves it! Biding his time, I guess, until his Dad lets him drive the REAL lawn mower.

We Rule – A personalizable territory game in the style of Farmville, but much more elegant. Create a kingdom, plant and harvest crops, and meet new neighbors. I have to say — the music backdrop is my favorite part of this app.

Fruit Ninja – This one is just plain addictive. Take turns with your kids virtually slicing fruit with the swipe of your finger. It’s only messy on-screen!

(*Note: I was not asked to write this post, share my reviews, or compensated in any way. I am just simply telling about our family’s favorite apps — nothing more. :)

If you have an iPhone, there are a couple of classic photobooth-like apps that give you four-photo strips, suitable for blogging, sharing, or even framing!

Because of its retro feel, our family’s favorite is IncrediBooth.

It’s only available right now for the iPhone 4….but a couple of others, including Mobile Photobooth and Photo Booth Classic, are available for all iPhone operating systems.

Download one today — and get ready for impromptu photo booth fun!

C’mon. Is there really anyone out there who actually enjoys washing dishes? Cleaning the countertops? Scouring the sink?

Well, thanks to a very feminine and fun addition to your kitchen cleaning repertoire, this repetitive task can at least become a bit more fashionable.

I call them my “fancy gloves.” They add a touch of whimsy to otherwise sterile-looking latex gloves. I have some of these DeLovely Dish Gloves from freshstudio’s shop on Etsy.

Doing dishes, daaahhhling, doesn’t have to be dull. ;)

Check out other WFMW ideas at We Are THAT Family!

Though their company name didn’t ring a bell at first, it became apparent really quick that these were the dramatized Bible stories I’d been searching for. Unchanged! Unabridged! And now on CD!

One brief sound clip from the beginning of an episode allowed me to hear the distantly familiar voices of “Aunt Carole” and “Uncle Dan.” Now…how could I obtain these treasured audiobooks for my two children to grow up with and enjoy?

I was delighted to learn that Your Story Hour offers a mail-order program for kids. By completing Adventures in the Holy Bible quizzes based on Bible stories sent straight to your mailbox, your kids can earn each and every one of Your Story Hour’s Life of Jesus CDs. Free! You can read all about the program here.

The quizzes are a bit over my children’s heads, but we usually do them together….me reading the story and asking them the review questions, then writing down the answers. We’ve earned six of these CDs so far this year. When all of them are earned, they’ll send a special keepsake binder to house them all.

Of course, Your Story Hour readily accepts donations — and all of their complete CD series can be purchased via their website or other online retailers such as ChristianBook.com.

(Helpful for homeschooling are their Great Stories and Adventures in life volumes, which dramatize the life stories of notable figures in history as well as tell stories for teaching morals and virtues.)

Your Story Hour Adventures in the Holy Bible program is certainly a valuable resource….worth every minute of work required….and worth far more than the cost (free).

It’s almost time to gather it all into one big basket again and place it in a prominent place in our living room, a bin full of Christmas cheer!

Books :

The Santa Claus Book. This is a vintage Little Golden Shape Book, passed down from my childhood. Pages are torn and worn (and I believe a couple are missing), but we read it anyway!

The Small One. A very touching story that my little sister fell in love with as a preschooler….and I did, too. Now my own two love it, as well. Not 100% Biblically accurate (the Bible doesn’t give an account of the animal’s background nor does it even say that it was a donkey), but a good story with a good message nonetheless.

The Polar Express.

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies.

- The Sweet Smell of Christmas. A fun scratch-and-sniff book!

- Snowmen at Christmas. Breathtaking illustrations!

- The Christmas Story. Illustrated by our favorite illustrator, Eloise Wilkin.

- Usborne Lift-the-Flap Navitity. Tiny, tiny detailed pictures…

Who is Coming to Our House? The Christmas event and its anticipation, told from the stable animals’ point of view.

- Merry Christmas, Splat. A new one this year — we LOVE Splat!

Movies/DVDs :

Jim Henson’s The Christmas Toy. This was a TV special when I was a kid — I was thrilled to see it released on DVD last year.

Miss Patty Cake’s Christmas. Little Miss R LOVES Miss Patty Cake. I love that this DVD is in-depth when it comes to telling the Real Story of Christmas. It is a terrific accompaniment to the What God Wants for Christmas Nativity Set.

Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker. R watches it (and dances to it) all the time!

The Polar Express.

Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites: Classic Holiday Stories. This DVD includes The Small One as well as other much-loved Disney favorites.

(Of course, we also own and love Rudolph, Veggie Tales and the Toy That Saved Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, and the less-traditional Olive, The Other Reindeer.)

Music :

- The Nutcracker

- Cedarmont Kids’ Christmas Carols

- Wee Sing for Christmas

- George Winston’s December

- Merry Mixmas and Holiday Remixed (remixed Christmas compilations that are our picks for “holiday dance parties!”)

The film heralds from the year 1988, but I knew nothing of it until recently. Thanks to Netflix, we watched it over and over and over. I fell in love with so many things about it: The portrayal of the innocence and imagination of childhood, the lovable characters, the strong portrayal of family bonds, respect and loyalty, and the fact that, well, it’s Japanese, and that makes it pretty much all-around awesome.

The kids liked it, too, especially G, who’s old enough now to sit through an entire feature-length movie and enjoy it as a whole. In fact, for weeks afterward, I found sketches and drawings of Totoro laying here and there around the house. So cute.

It easily made my movie-to-buy list, which has some pretty strict guidelines for admission. I eagerly began searching for it around the time of G’s birthday in September, and actually had it in my Amazon shopping cart.

One thing led to another and we decided to get him other things, and I put it in my “save till later” folder in anticipation of getting it for Christmas.

Big mistake.

Evidently, between then and now, Disney has secretly pulled My Neighbor Totoro off of store shelves, quietly putting it into temporary retirement.

I have searched and searched and can’t find it locally….and online the sale prices are exorbitant (as in close to $90!). What was going on?

After a bit of prodding and lurking in some forums, I have reason to believe that it will be back, and perhaps packaged in a DVD bundle along with other Miyazaki classics such as Spirited Away, PLUS the new DVD release of Ponyo. And supposedly it will be out in December…whether or not that means before Christmas, I don’t know….

Speculation is all I have. If you have news about this supposed re-release, I’d (we’d) love to know!

Yet in early October, I received an email from Phil Vischer himself: Jellytelly was up and running.

That name may ring a bell for you. Phil Vischer. Yes, it’s the very same guy who cofounded Big Idea Productions, the creators of the ever-popular Veggie Tales series. He still has a passion for bringing the message of Christ to little guys and gals, and so ideas began brewing once again. This time, the brainchild ended up being Jellytelly, a website full of whimsical video segments, songs, and games that teach children a variety of Biblical tidbits and moral how-tos.

I signed our family up for the free month trial period and we began exploring the site. I loved what I saw…and it became evident that the kids did, too….especially G. At four, he is able to comprehend 80% of the content on this site….with a little help from his dad or me (we usually watch Jellytelly together). I would say it’s more geared towards kids ages 5-12, but like I said, even our young ones enjoy it….and since I know a few pre-teens and teens who are still closet fans of Bob & Larry and the gang, I’m willing to bet that kids over 12 will still dig this site, too.

We enjoyed the regular segments, the real-life, puppet, and cartoon characters’ sketches that made the kids (and me) chuckle more often than not. Michael’s Movie Reviews, where a kid tells his side of the story about movies he’s watched while riding in the backseat of his mom’s carpooling car (and often getting the movie completely confused with another one)….God’s Amazing Animals with Clive & Ian….and Pirate Etiquette with Captain Pete. Also included most weekdays is a mini historical Bible lesson, short and sweet and to the point, but getting the point across, nonetheless. And the best part? Every Sunday, full-length feature movies/presentations would be available to watch, some old favorites, some new-to-us films such as episodes from The Last Chance Detectives, Junior’s Giants, and Gigi, God’s Little Princess.

After a month was up, it was more than evident that we needed to subscribe. It was painless; just $3 a month. It was worth much more than that to me to know that the kids were enjoying themselves while learning more about God and the Bible in an eclectic, motion-graphics-heavy (like Daddy’s work), engaging format.

Imagine my surprise and elation when I found out this month that Jellytelly has since become 100% free and available to all for the watching. Though I was gladly paying the minimal dues per month, this just made me even more dedicated to this site, this team, and the purpose and plan they stand for.

Head over to Jellytelly and check it out. Help support it with me. It’s a great idea…it’s a wonderful, Biblical, relevant resource for kids. (And it’s also fun to pick out the voices of Bob & Larry housed within brand new characters. It’s a little game I play. :) )

Go see other Works for Me Wednesday solutions at Rocks in My Dryer!

I love to buy creative gifts in general — but when it comes to what goes in my family’s stockings, creativity takes a higher stand. Take a look at these finds.

Stuffed Felt Numbers from MiChiMa

There’s a Monster in My Pocket wallet by Giggling Goldfish

Queen Beatrix Jumping Bug from Kikkerland

Coffee Cup Sleeves from HandmaidenBC

Lucky Sock Dip Game by Haba (via Oompa Toys)

Robopod iPod Nano case from Strawberrykitten

- Skip To My Lou made some adorable jack-o-lantern votives using glue and crepe paper.

- Here’s a fun scarecrow felt game thought up by Let’s Explore.

- Also from Skip To My Lou, scarecrow cookie pops.

- The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman made this cute Halloween hand and footprint wreath.

- Make and Takes’ Icky Sticky Spider Webs.

- Family Fun shows how to make mini pumpkins from circus peanuts.

- Much easier for little fingers, also from Family Fun: Have your preschoolers paint faces on their pumpkins instead.

You came back from lunch or recess and they were there. Bright, shiny, brand new, shrink-wrapped books all for you. Your classmates groaned as the teacher told you to “please put the books in your desk cubby — you can open them when you are at home” so as to not disturb class. Most of your pals were grouchy about it, but you were secretly pleased — after all, the fun was in the waiting!

I thought those days of Scholastic-related anticipation were long gone for me. I was wrong.

You see, something I didn’t know (but have recently discovered) was that homeschooling families, groups, and co-ops can sign up with Scholastic, as well. Yes, even as young as Pre-K and K. I had heard rumors, but was it true? A few online applications and two exceptionally courteous phone calls later, we were members, and I began my wish lists to coincide with our curriculum topics for the next two months.

The package arrived at my doorstep yesterday, a mere six days after my order was submitted. And the excitement? Oh, just as it always was. I dove into the box as if it was filled with dozens of 70% dark chocolate-with-orange candy bars. The new-book-smell was there. The shrink-wrap-unwrapping was there. I filled our school reading basket with books all about apples, pumpkins and farms. And then I did a little happy dance, right there in our living room.

And let me tell you something about these fine folks at Scholastic. Their customer service is beyond great. It’s absolutely stellar. They patiently and expertly walked me through the process of signing up, ordering (I don’t know how a teacher of 20-plus students keeps up with it all), and even settled a couple of weird questions I had (if there’s a weird question to be asked, you betcha I’m gonna be the one to ask it). One of the books I ordered was out of stock, so they sent me a free placeholder book, “to enjoy while I wait on the arrival of the missing book.” As if all this wasn’t enough, when I called today to tell them one of my titles was incorrect, they told me to keep the book and they’d send out the book I ordered at no cost to me at all.

Companies like this have my loyalty for life.

Now. I’m going to go and read some of these fine books to my little ones right now. They are starting to wonder why their mom is so unbelievably excited about a box of books.