Puffy Planets
We’re still fascinated with Outer Space at our house and we even took a day trip to a space museum a few weeks ago (which both of the boys LOVED). In addition to our Outer Space Playdough, we continued…
Playdough & Alphabet Stamps
This was a serendipitous idea that came while the boys were playing with playdough today. As I watched them play with the cookie cutters, I grabbed our Melissa & Doug Alphabet Stamps (my favorite stamps ever) and encouraged a little…
Sight Word Dive
One of our favorite things about the summer is swimming. My parents have a pool and we live about 2 miles from a YMCA waterpark, so we are in the water a lot! Unfortunately, Little Brother has had some…
Outer Space Playdough
Big Brother is currently obsessed with learning about space. He has all 8 planets (plus Pluto and its moon) memorized in order and knows individual facts about each one. I honestly didn’t know most of this information until he…
DIY Quiet Blocks
We’ve found another way to utilize pool noodles–making them into quiet blocks! I love it when the boys build with blocks, but we have wood laminate floors on our main floor…which means that blocks are really, really loud (especially when…
Summer of Reading
Make the summer of 2013 a summer of reading! Encourage your children to develop a life-long love of reading with these suggestions: 1. Read aloud to your child for at least 20 minutes each day. Even if your…
God’s Little Explorers Preschool Curriculum
My friend Stacie from MotherhoodOnADime.com has been working tirelessly over the last year to create an AWESOME preschool curriculum: God’s Little Explorers. It is a wonderful hands-on curriculum that teaches about God and academic concepts simultaneously! Little Brother will…
DIY Books of the Bible Puzzle
This post is obviously for older kids, most appropriate for 3rd to 5th graders. Our church is in the process of adopting a new curriculum that needs a lot of additional supplementing, so I have been working on writing…
Shaving Cream + Cornstarch = Fun
We tried out a new sensory experience with shaving cream and cornstarch that I originally saw on Ms. Lisa’s Musings and Mayhems (via Pinterest). The boys loved it and if we’re being completely honest…I thought it was pretty cool…
Books about Road Trips
Summer is the time for road trips. Hearing these two simple words together could elicit a wide variety of emotions, ranging from wonderful memories in the car as a family to a bit of anxiety as you remember listening…
Alphabet Parking Lot: Matching Capital and Lowercase Letters
One of the boys’ favorite things to play with is cars. They spend hours playing with their assortment of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Little Brother used to be the only car lover, but he has now passed along his love…
Sticky Salt Painting
This was a fun, last-minute activity for both of the boys that took all of two minutes of prep time and less than 10 minutes to complete. It is similar to our salt-absorbing fireworks but uses contact paper instead…
67 Ideas for Fun and Learning This Summer
Summer is almost here! Woo-hoo! I love nearly everything about the summer (except for the bugs). I love the warm weather, I love the pool, I love longer evenings, I love having my kids home. I’ve compliled a list…
Teaching Children the Difference Between Wants and Needs
Although our boys are relatively good about not constantly asking for stuff, I want them to know the difference between “needs” and “wants”. “Needs” are the things that we rely on to live (comfortably). “Wants” are not essential to our life,…
Counting Robots
This simple activity is great for number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and fine motor control! We used some robot stickers to make the activity even more appealing to Little Brother. Here’s what you’ll need: craft sticks, clothespins, robot stickers,…
Books for Brand New Readers
Finding books with engaging content for brand new readers is tough. If you regularly read high-quality picture books aloud to your child, she can easily become frustrated with the simple storylines in easy readers that she reads herself. But…
Outdoor Alphabet Track
It is finally feeling like spring around here so we decided to have some fun outside! This activity was so simple and both boys enjoyed it far longer than I expected. It was especially great for my little “mover and shaker”,…
Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Puzzle
I’ve had this bean tub in our closet for over 2 years now. Big Brother used to love playing with it, and still does on occasion. Little Brother had not had a chance to play with it yet…until now…