Healthy Soil — I Heart You!

The next stop on the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour was a visit to Guy and Beth Choinere’s organic dairy farm! Guy and Beth have two amazing kids (Hi, Matt and Hannah!), who also help out a great deal on their family farm. We received a very warm welcome!! Guy explained to us that he views his […]

Cows with Personality!

This morning, I woke up to this….. …and had to remind myself that I was at the fabulous Tabor House Inn enjoying the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour! Seriously, how lucky am I??? Then it was time for breakfast. An omelet made with local, organic eggs, goat cheese, and basil? AND…. BACON!!!! Umm… yes, please!!!   Breakfast […]

Five Little Bats Finger Puppet Playset

Here’s a fun Halloween craft for preschoolers to foster plenty of learning fun. This Five Little Bats Finger Puppet Playset is a festive way for kids to work on counting and number recognition! The bat finger puppets are quick and easy to make. The kids may want to perform their own creative puppet shows too! […]

Indoor Herb Garden Update… Sprouts!

When we woke up this morning, we were greeted by these….. …. sprouts of basil from our indoor herb garden!! To celebrate, we read the book Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. What a fabulous find this book turned out to be, and I highly recommend it if you have any junior gardeners in […]

Junior Stamp Collecting

This little gem of an activity was inspired by a recent package that arrived for Mark all the way from Hong Kong. Emily was enthralled with the stamps, so I thought I would introduce her to my old stamp collection from when I was a kid. My dad has a much larger collection, so it […]

Simple Tip to Reuse Workbooks

We go through several workbooks in this household, so I was trying to come up with an easy way to reuse them and save them for when Clara is a little older. This seemed to work the best, and it’s also very frugal. To reuse sheets from a workbook, tear out the pages, and place […]

Super Summer Swap

I am so glad I signed Emily up for the Super Summer Swap hosted by Christy from Superheros and Princesses and Life of a Dairy Queen. I thought it would be a great way to teach Emily a little bit about a state other than Pennsylvania, and it was so much fun! We were paired […]

DIY: Lightweight Blocks for Toddlers

These light-weight blocks were so simple to make, and Clara had a lot of fun playing with them. Sometimes wooden blocks can be a bit too heavy and difficult for the little ones to play with. Instead, we made our own using empty (well-cleaned) milk cartons! Stacking blocks is a great educational activity for toddlers […]

Slacker Saturday — Know Your Library

Today’s Slacker Saturday activity is simple — visit your local library! For families on a budget, getting to know your local public library can be a tremendous resource. Make it a habit to visit your library on a regular basis, and pick up a calendar of events. Resources your library may offer include: free cultural […]

Slacker Saturday — Easy Phonics Game

The idea behind this phonics game is simple: separate cards into two piles (one with categories and one with letters). Have your child pick one card from each pile. For example, “Animal” and “G” means she must name an animal that starts with the letter G.  Emily seemed to enjoy this game, and afterwards asked […]

Graphing with Skittles

Nothing helps motivate kids to learn more than CANDY! Last week, I purchased a large bag of Skittles at Big Lots for just $2. Today, we did some graphing with them, and Emily counted them as we went along. We charted the ages of family and friends. Purple for Clara (not quite 1), Orange for […]

Free Online Learning Games for Kids

If you are looking for ways to keep your child busy this winter, why not try some online learning games?  My daughter Emily (4) is a trained professional high-tech toddler.  Here are some of her favorite sites that offer free online learning games that your child is sure to enjoy.   PBS Kids.org —  This […]