Valentine’s Day Montessori Trays

Valentine’s day is a time of giving and a time of love.  Getting our kids into the spirit of the holiday is often hard without a moose-sized dose of sugar.    But we can easily turn the things they normally do into special holiday crafts that create adorable keepsakes (and even better memories) with a […]

Holiday Gift Kids Can Make — Peppermint Necklace

Here’s a quick and easy holiday gift kids can make using just a few materials, and you can even sneak in a pattern lesson while working on fine motor skills too! To make your own peppermint necklaces, you will need some string (or shoelaces), and cut up stripy straws to make beads that look like […]

Peppermint Mocha Teacher Gift

This holiday season, show appreciation and gratitude for your child’s teacher by giving her/him a mug full of delicious, sweet Peppermint Mocha Mix. Kids can help mix it, package it, and will experience the warmth and joy of giving. Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup instant coffee granules 1/2 cup cocoa powder 20 peppermint starlight […]

Candy Pumpkin Addition Game

I didn’t really need an excuse to buy sweet, delicious candy pumpkins, but it sure was fun to validate the purchase by telling myself, “These are for an addition game! An addition game for my kid, of course.” To play the candy pumpkin addition game, you will need: candy pumpkins dice 3 rings (metal canning […]

Apple Taste Test and Graph Activity

Using seasonal favorites is something I do a lot of in homeschooling.  Each year we do something with apples, then pumpkins, then turkeys, then snowflakes and so on.  It creates a rhythm of the year that the kids can rely on.  I love teaching my kids with food related themes, so right now, it’s all […]

Kid Illustrated Summer Memory Books

The end of the summer is bittersweet; it’s sad to say goodbye to the warm weather and time with the kids, but the new school year and upcoming seasons are wonderful things to look forward to. We celebrated summer’s end by creating Summer Memory Books, illustrated and put together by the boys! This post contains affiliate […]

Developing Storytelling Skills with a Mini Sandbox

Here’s a quick and easy way to work on developing storytelling skills with your preschooler using the sandbox, or in this case, a mini-sandbox! Clara was very lucky to have received this mini sandbox kit from a friend for her birthday, and she has spent many hours happily playing with this!! You could easily make […]

Sandbox Social Skills

There is a park near our home that has a spectacular public sandbox. Public sandboxes are fun places to play and learn because the high quantity of children and sand-toys present many opportunities for preschoolers to develop life-long social skills.  As parents, we sometimes forget that our children are not born with social skills. Children […]

5 Must Follow Pinterest Boards for Summer Learning

Are you on Pinterest? Looking for some inspiring boards to follow for plenty of Summer learning activity ideas? Here are five of our all-time favorite Pinterest boards you’ll want to add to your “must follow” list to help foster your child’s love of learning throughout the Summer months and beyond! 1. Inner Child Learning — Educational crafts […]

Sponge Bombs for Summer Fun and Learning

The days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer, and that can mean even more time spent outdoors. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to sneak in some learning and beat the heat? I think so too! So I’m excited to share this simple craft that can accomplish both of those […]

Summer Reading Resource Share

Last week, I shared a video with tips for making summer reading fun for your kids, and this week we’ll explore the topic even further. Recently, Amy from Teach Mama and the community managers from the We Teach forum got together and hosted a Google+ hangout all about summer reading. But don’t worry if you […]

“April Showers Bring May Flowers” Handprint Art

Have you ever gazed at your child and wondered to yourself, “How did he get so big?” or, “Did she grow in her sleep last night?” Colin had just come home from preschool and was excitedly sharing what he had learned that day from his teachers. As he yapped on and on, it became one […]

Rainbow Song

This week we’re exploring weather themes, and here to start off the week is a great video from Angelique teaching a rainbow song! Watching Angelique’s videos always makes me smile!  You can watch the video of the rainbow song here: Having trouble viewing the video? Click here to view it on YouTube, and don’t forget to subscribe […]

DIY Button Flower Learning Game for Kids

Signs of Spring are showing up everywhere! What better way to welcome Spring than with a bouquet of bright, colorful flowers? We made our bouquet with simple buttons and pipe cleaners, but took it a step further and made up a button flower game. It’s quick, easy, and lots of fun! Here is what you’ll need: […]

Around the Web: Birds

This week we shared a fun and creative way to make hanging shape bird feeders as well as the benefits of letting your child use real tools to build a bird feeder. But we don’t want to stop there! Here are even more inspiring links about birds.  1. Go on a frugal field trip and […]

Hanging Shape Bird Feeders

Spruce up your yard, help the birds, and get your kids involved! This simple project will have you cooking up some fun and creative bird feeders with your kids.  Even though winter still has its hold on the temperature, spring has started to show here in the Pacific NW and I am LOVING it!  Yesterday […]

Building Bird Feeders with Real Tools

Building bird feeders with your kids isn’t only doing something nice for the birds. It’s also great for your kids! You can encourage a great sense of capability by trusting them to use real tools to get the project done.  I have many warm childhood memories of spending time in my Grandpa’s workshop. He and […]

Watch Baby Wrens Leave The Nest

Nature provides many opportunities for learning and this week we will be learning all about our feathered friends. Chances are, no matter where you live, you can experience the wonders of birds first hand. You might even be able to spot the exciting first flight of a baby bird, like this one! Can’t see this […]