Grand Prize Winning Photo

As 2009 came to an end, so too did Education.com’s Activities Photo Contest. Over the 100 days of the contest, members of the Education.com community uploaded hundreds of photos featuring the start-to-finish elements of Education.com activities.

Some of the photos showed supplies, others the finished product, and many included happy and active children having fun learning. There were seasonal shots with autumn and winter, as well as holiday activity pics from Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Participant families did art and science projects, cooked and counted, crafted costumes, practiced reading and writing, explored sounds and gardening, and more!

There were so many wonderful pictures shared, it was truly difficult to choose each week’s winners. In all, there are 100 winning photos showcased, which you can view by clicking here.

Contest prizes included: children’s guitars from BerkeleyWind.com; Kenny Loggins’ “All Join In” CDs; Putumayo Kids “European Playground” CDs; Bill Harley “Wash Your Hands” CDs; and for a limited time only, VTech’s V.Smile Motion Active Learning System. Thank you to all of our prize sponsors for your generous contributions!

So which photo was selected as the best of the 100 winning photos, earning its submitter the grand prize package? That would be this one (also featured above), which was uploaded by Education.com member, “salfam” and features her son doing the activity, Button Math: Have Fun with Buttons. This family will now receive a $500 gift certificate to Shutterfly; $250 cash from Education.com; and one non-splurge item from the 2009 Education.com Gift Guide.

Congratulations to all of the winners in the Activities Photo Contest, and thank you very much to every single member who has uploaded photos! You have helped other families understand the steps of Education.com activities better, while demonstrating your photography talents and showing how fun learning can be. Your children may also like seeing their projects displayed on Education.com.  

While the contest may now be over, you may still upload your activities photos in the comments section of any Education.com activity page. Thanks for participating and sharing!

V.Smile Motion™ Active Learning System

Thanks to a generous donation from VTech, there’s a new really cool prize to be won in the Activities Photo Contest: the V.Smile Motion Active Learning System!

This motion-activated educational gaming system for children ages 3 -7 combines active play with lessons in math, reading, science, spelling and more.Adaptable for both right-handed and left-handed kids, V.Smile Motion is also compatible with the entire existing V.Smile Smartridge™ library and plugs directly into your TV! Game characters include many of your child’s favorites: Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E, Scooby-Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine, Winnie the Pooh, Spider-Man, Disney Fairies, Pixar’s Up!, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse, Ni Hao Kai Lan and more. Plus children can use the V.Link to track scores and earn bonus online games at www.vsmilelink.com.

Participating families whose photos are chosen as winners on Monday, December 14 or Monday, December 21 are eligible to win one V.Smile Motion™ (which has an estimated retail value of $69.99).

Whether you’re a professional photographer, seasoned amateur or digital photography newbie, you have a chance at winning in the Activities Photo Contest. There’s no limit to the amount of times you can win, but time is running out. The deadline to join the contest and upload your photos is December 31 (at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern). To be eligible for the VTech prize, you’ll need to upload your photos by Saturday, December 19 (at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern). You can learn more about the Activities Photo Contest (and sign up) by clicking here.

The contest overview page also includes a link to the collection of winning photos, organized by each week of the contest. Will yours be added next?

If for some reason your family doesn’t win the VTech prize (or the other great prizes in the Activities Photo Contest)…

Here’s some info to cheer you up: there are multiple holiday discounts on VTech’s website, as well as with their retail partners (including Walmart, Target and others). Fans of VTech also follow them on Facebook and Twitter. (You can follow Education.com on Facebook and Twitter too!)

Good luck – we look forward to seeing your family’s photos of the fun learning activities on Education.com!

October will soon be here, and I’m so excited about the fall and winter holidays! The social butterfly in me loves all the parties and bonding, festive decorating and abundant kindness this time of year.

Another reason for that ‘night-before-Christmas’ feeling in my stomach: our family is hosting monthly activities parties, and I can’t wait for them to begin!

• In October: we’re throwing a Halloween-themed party. We’ll set up a spooky beverage bar, serve scary snacks, play a monstrous game of bingo and produce a shadow puppet show. (We may also squeeze a little housewarming in there too, because even with fun, this momma’s a multi-tasker!)

• In November: we’ll host hands-on, educational activities centered around exploring nature and science, learning about Native Americans, and giving thanks.

• In December: it’ll be a family-style birthday bash (for yours truly and other December babies). We may make a dance map to practice language skills (and put a snap in our step), whip up tie-dyed tissue paper, or create snowy salt paintings.

Among the many goodies our holiday party guests will enjoy is an opportunity to win prizes in Education.com’s Activities Photo Contest. By uploading their activities pics as contest entries, they’ll have a shot at winning: children’s guitars from BerkeleyWind.com; Kenny Loggins’ new family CD, “All Join In”; and the grand prize package of a $500 gift certificate to Shutterfly and a $250 cash prize from Education.com!

I wish I could win that grand prize package. Cash is always handy, of course, and I’d use the Shutterfly gift certificate to produce some photo memory books as special keepsakes for our family members near and far. Browsing Shutterfly’s offering, I might also pick up some thank you cards, create a 2010 calendar, or surprise our daughter with a CenterStage Poster of her and the Jonas brothers. As an Education.com employee, though, I’m ineligible to win prizes in the contest, so will have to appreciate the prizes vicariously. I will enjoy doing the activity projects with our daughter, and will upload our photos to help other families understand each activity better as well.

At our holiday parties this year, it may not be the fruit punch, treats or attire they’ll be talking about. Instead, it’ll be the countdown to winning and active flash bulbs that’ll have ‘em abuzz. To all of the activities party paparazzi everywhere: may your happy holidays also be sprinkled with the prizes and fun of the Activities Photo Contest!