Ages & Stages Archives

Preschoolers and Toddlers Learning Together: Pasta Snakes

Guest Post by Katey of Having Fun at Home Having both a preschooler and a toddler at home at the same time can be a bit tricky. Projects that work well for preschoolers often don’t work well for toddlers-…

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Snowflake Matching

This Snowflake Matching activity is not only great for cognitive development and visual discrimination, but it can also be used as a decoration after the activity is over! This is also a great time to discuss that no two…

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Snowy Sight Words

We’re starting a brand-new thematic unit…SNOW! Regardless of whether we have any white stuff on the ground outside here, we are going to enjoy snow, snowflakes, and even snowmen for the next few weeks. To kick off our new thematic…

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Angry Birds in 3D

Whenever Big Brother sees his Uncle Chris, he always asks to play “Angry Birds” on his phone. And as a doting uncle does, Uncle Chris will always oblige. Because of Big Brother’s love for Angry Birds, Uncle Chris thought these two…

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Laced Felt Stocking :: Perfect Gift Card Holder

Big Brother helped me add a personalized touch to the gift cards we’ll be giving this Christmas by making (and lacing) these felt stockings. Threading and lacing are excellent for developing fine motor control! Here’s what you’ll need: Felt, Glittered…

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Coffee Filter Christmas Tree

I love the simplicity of this craft. I’m also a huge fan of using coffee filters for kid’s crafts (remember this, this and this?)! Here’s what you’ll need: 2 coffee filters, green markers (we used regular and Do-A-Dot Markers),…

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Toilet Paper Roll Angel

Angels and toilet paper…shouldn’t that be an oxymoron, or something??? This was a very kid-centered craft. Big Brother loved putting the face on the angel and the glitter on its wings! Here’s what you’ll need: Toilet paper roll, gauze (or…

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Kid-Friendly Christmas Tree

The idea for felt Christmas trees has been all over Pinterest recently, but my absolute favorite has been this version from Johnny in a Dress. I love the simplicity of the triangle for the Christmas tree as well as the…

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Toddler Time: Sorting (and Counting) Ornaments

Before we go any further, let me preface: Do not use ornaments that are special or sentimental to you. And obviously, no glass. Okay, now that we’ve got that out of the way… We used some drum ornaments that I…

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Build-Your-Own Snowman (in a bag)

What kid doesn’t love building snowmen??? Now you can give the gift of snowman building and there is absolutely no snow required! This is the perfect gift for preschoolers…it’s cheap, it’s interactive, and it’s fun! Plus, it can double…

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Treasure Hunt with Grandpa

Our children are so blessed to have the four best grandparents in the entire world. They are loved unconditionally and each grandparent brings a special, unique relationship to their lives. We are so very thankful for the way our parents…

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Lipstick Tube Monster

Prior to having kids of our own, whenever I held a baby in church and didn’t have any toys to entertain them with, I would always give them my lipstick tubes from my purse to play with. The babies could…

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Coffee Filter ‘Stained Glass’ Pumpkins

Big Brother and I made these cute stained glass pumpkins yesterday and they are now gracing our presence above the kitchen sink. We really enjoyed making these together, especially since they involved two things Big Brother LOVES to do…color and…

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Create a Pretend Play Kit with Discounted Halloween Costumes

Last year I created this Pretend Play Dress Up Clothes kit for Big Brother for Christmas. I bought all the costumes right after Halloween for pennies on the dollar and saved them until Christmas. I put them all in…

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10 Steps to Teaching Your Child to Read

As a former first grade teacher, teaching children to read is one of my greatest passions! But because most children don’t start actually “reading” until around 6 years old (which is upwards of the targeted age range for my…

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Toddler Time: Touchy-Feely Activity

We used lots of items from around the house to talk about sensory descriptors like soft, rough, smooth, sticky, and bumpy. This would be a perfect activity for older babies and toddlers! Just be sure you don’t use any items…

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Shape Investigation

As we’ve been talking about shapes recently, I realized that Big Brother didn’t know the difference between a “side” and a “corner” (or angle, if you really want to get technical). I thought a fun shape investigation was in order…

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What To Do When Naptime Ceases…

I don’t know about you, but my sanity break (and my blogging time) comes about 2:00 every afternoon…when my children nap. Both boys have thankfully been regular nappers their entire lives. Until now, that is… Big Brother will be…

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