Painting at the Pool
Forget the fancy water toys when you head out to the pool…take your paintbrushes instead! I decided to take 2 of our paintbrushes and a couple cups to keep Little Brother occupied (instead of chasing him down while he tries to…
Toddler Time: Beanbag Toss
This activity didn’t go exactly as planned (does it ever???). I had intended it to be a practice in underhand throwing for Little Brother. He had other plans (as you’ll see). Here’s what you’ll need:  a big bowl (or bucket) and…
Blogging Tips from an Accidental Blogger
A few people have e-mailed and asked how my blog has grown so quickly in one year. My first thought was, “I don’t really know…I never dreamed that it would grow so fast with so many sweet people sharing bits…
Sesame Street Sticker Graphing
Graphing for preschoolers is a GREAT activity for cognitive development. It requires your child to sort and classify objects based on a similar attribute…which is pretty complicated for such a little person! Graphing can be done with real-life objects/toys, food,…
Pop ‘n Learn
Here’s an activity for those leftover poppers from July 4th. Or perhaps you like to hit the firework tents the day after like I do for the great bargains! After all, who says you can’t throw some learning in with…
Happy 4th of July!
I hope you have had a great 4th of July weekend! Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to this weekend… First time on a jet ski for Big Brother! Silly boy…Big Brother LOVED all the excitement! I couldn’t…
When TV Can Promote Pretend Play
Guest post by Crystal My daughter loves TV. Although we try to keep a limit on it, there are some days that the TV stays on a little too long. So, after watching several episodes of Max and Ruby (brother and sister…
A Lesson Learned: "Motherly" Judging
My mom has told me a story time and time again. It’s one that I’ve learned to appreciate now more than ever: My parents were blessed with my oldest brother Brian. He was a relatively easy baby. As a toddler,…
Show-and-Share Saturday Link Up!
Once again, there were so many amazing ideas shared last week. Here are just a few: These Sponge Balls from Tutus and Tea Parties are perfect for some water fun this summer! Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational shows you how to…
Toddler Time: Opposites
Introducing your toddler to opposites is great for both cognitive and vocabulary development. This activity can be done anytime…it is so simple and requires little to no materials. Just list out some opposites and let your child act them out….
Stuffed Mushrooms
I love mushrooms. In fact, if I had to choose between ice cream and mushrooms…I would choose mushrooms. If you love mushrooms as much as I do, you’ll love this recipe! I’ve never made stuffed mushrooms and I was delighted…
Homemade Watercolors
This activity is like a science experiment and an art project all rolled up into one! The idea didn’t come out of the Preschooler’s Busy Book like the others I’ve shared this week. But as I was reflecting on the…
Old Glory Craft
I’m sure craft sticks and painter’s tape isn’t exactly what Betsy Ross had in mind when she made the first flag over 230 years ago. But we had fun lots of fun making this popsicle stick flag…even if all the…
Squeezable Homemade Finger Paint
I get writer’s block…some times more than others. I had a few days last week where I felt like my ideas had all dried up. That’s when I like to look through books and magazines for inspiration. In fact, I…
A Lesson Learned: Obedience…for his benefit, or mine?
We were graciously invited over for dinner by some sweet neighbors last week. As the kids were playing in the backyard after dinner, I noticed Big Brother throwing sticks. Here is how the situation escalated: Me: Don’t throw that stick….
Show-and-Share Saturday Link Up!
There were so many amazing ideas submitted to last week’s link-up. It was so hard to pick which ones to share! Here are just a few of the great ideas: The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of our favorites. A…
Word Family Pull-Out Activity
After making the Toilet Paper Roll Books last week, I started thinking about ways that I could reuse my paper towel rolls too. After pondering for a while, I finally came up with a fun word family interactive activity…
Salt-Absorbing Fireworks!
Several months ago, I saw this idea for absorbing artwork from Family Fun using salt and colored water. I thought it would be fun to use black paper to make some festive 4th of July fireworks. So that’s exactly what we…