We just returned from one of our summer vacations and oh how much we will miss the good times together. To capture our memories, one of the things we do is a bedtime ritual called, “Review the Holiday,” where we recount the highlights of our vacation. A hands-on way to cement our happy memories is with […]
Hooray for vacation and stay at home days! Well, except for those days when the weather is too hot or too cold to get outside and run off all the extra energy from being cooped up. Even though we rotate toys - I hide stuffed animals in the attic and store birthday and holiday gifts in […]
Glitter, upcycling, and independent play: these are a few of my favorite things. When we received a box brimming with Glitter Glue, Painters Markers, School Glue and Glue Sticks from Elmer’s last weekend, I knew EXACTLY what we would do - get our craft on and create a homemade play town with items straight from […]
After our maiden voyage to Disneyland was such a magical success, we can’t wait to visit again. Short and sweet, here are our Top Ten Tips for Disneyland With Preschoolers. Don’t forget to check out our detailed post on Planning for Disneyland with Preschoolers, with tips on when to visit the park, what attractions not to […]
Disneyland is truly the happiest place on Earth. I hadn’t visited the park since 1987, so I was excited to take the kids (4 and 5 years old) on their maiden voyage, but I had no idea how absolutely magical the experience would be. Watching the children’s hearts nearly explode with joy was the best part […]
Keeping the kids occupied (meaning, not putting them in front of the TV and making sure they’re safe and not killing one another) while we prep dinner is sometimes challenging for us. A fun way to turn what can be a difficult time into an opportunity for learning is this simple Counting by Tens math […]
We’ve been in our new house for about half a year now, but after unpacking our boxes and getting our 1950’s Rancher fixed up, we haven’t really begun to make the house our home. Part of the reason is that we will be remodeling eventually, so making a big investment on statement pieces or committing […]
I’m thrilled to be participating in the Second Annual School’s Out! Top 10 Summer Learning Activities series and sharing our Top Ten Ways to Keep Kids Thinking over Summer Break with you. If you’re like me, you want your children to enjoy the beautiful summer weather, play in the dirt, swim in the pool and just […]
If you’re like us, you’re scrambling to make one hundred homemade Valentines for your children’s classroom Valentine’s Day Exchange and need something quick, cheap, and fun. Lucky for all you last-minute crafters, we’re sharing our simple Magic Heart Wands that will help your child spread some love this Valentine’s Day. All you need is: A […]
It’s been over 20 years in the making, but it’s finally happened. We just moved into our Forever House over Thanksgiving week. It couldn’t be more fitting that we moved that week because there is so much to be thankful for. We are right next door to the house I grew up in and the […]
DIY Memory Box Display
DIY Board Games for Kids
Easy Homemade Play Town
Top Ten Tips For Disneyland With Preschoolers
Planning for Disneyland with Preschoolers
Easy Kitchen Math: Counting By Tens
5 Creative Ways To Upgrade Your Home Style
Summer Learning Activities for Kids: Top Ten Ways To Keep Kids Thinking
{Homemade Valentines} Magic Heart Wands
Home Sweet Home
October 5, 2012 in All Posts, Popular, Preschool, Preschool Art, Preschool Math, Toddler Activities
Preschool art and math activities don’t need to be complicated: you can turn ordinary objects in your home into fantastic learning tools for your kids if you just look at them in a new light. Do you have any leftover strawberry baskets from this summer? Then you have almost everything you’ll need for Strawberry Basket […]
October 3, 2012 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
We’re back with another simple, classic play activity that requires barely any setup time and is just as fun as any newfangled game or activity on the market.: transferring pom poms with kitchen tongs. Materials All you need are baskets (bowls or trays - even a shoebox - will do) + pom poms + kitchen tongs. […]
August 27, 2012 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
Technically, I’m on a break here, but I wanted to share our Simple Preschool Addition and Subtraction Do-A-Dot Marker Math Activity published over at Kids Activities Blog today: Do you have any simple preschool math activity favorites at your house? LEARN! Math, counting, numbers, addition, subtraction You Might Enjoy:{Play} Fun With Food! Fun With Gumdrops{Play} Eight Indoor […]
August 3, 2012 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
I’ve been doing tons of spring cleaning - even though it’s almost fall (that’s how far behind I am on everything in life) - and came across a sweet set of dominoes. Come check out how we did some preschool math learning by playing with tiles from a favorite classic game over here at Quirky […]
April 23, 2012 in All Posts, Fun With Food!, Play, Toddler Activities
We’ve really been getting mileage out of our first batch of Rainbow Rice, which we used to make Magic Rainbow Rice Letters. The opportunities for play and learning are endless with this material, which makes it one of our favorites, even though it’s a hassle in terms of clean up. Here are some of the […]
April 5, 2012 in All Posts, Fun With Food!, Play, Toddler Activities
If you don’t already, you know you’ll have an empty egg carton and leftover Easter candy in a few days. This is a great way to get a second life out of that carton and keep -at least some of- all that candy out of your kids’ bellies. Materials We just used a 30-egg carton […]
March 8, 2012 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
The game of hopscotch has been around for ages. We played it as kids, our parents played it, our parents’ parents played it. It’s fun. It’s active. And it’s as much a required childhood activity as jumping rope and patty cake. But what to do when the weather’s wet, windy, or too cold? Here are […]
June 8, 2011 in All Posts, Fun With Food!, Play, Toddler Activities
I don’t care what the so-called parenting gurus say: food is fun. Fun to eat. Even more fun to play with. This is the second post in a series of Fun With Food! posts for you and your toddler to enjoy! Check out Fun with Gumdrops! for our first Fun With Food! post. Every year my father […]
May 17, 2011 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
Even though April showers are supposed to be over by now, we’re still getting our fair share of dreary, drizzly weather. Not being able to play outside is a bit of a drag, but not if you drag out your paper or plastic party plates from the Rainy Day Construction Paper Octopus project or your Special […]
May 9, 2011 in All Posts, Fun With Food!, Play, Toddler Activities
Goody goody gumdrops! Fun With Gumdrops! is the first post in our Fun With Food! series. Remember gumdrops?! I used to love the sugary, spicy taste of these yummy gummy confections. My mother always broke them out at Christmastime for our gingerbread houses and just the scent of these candies makes me nostalgic for my childhood. […]
