When I went to the Arkansas Early Childhood Association conference last month (thanks, Better Beginnings!) one of the workshops I sat in on was all about prop boxes for outdoor play. The presenters offered more than 20 ideas for different prop collections that could be used outside, such as gathering buckets, sponges and soapy water […]
Three Great “Toys” for Unstructured Play
As a blog ambassador for Better Beginnings, I am being compensated for this post, but all opinions and content are my own. Now that the holiday season is basically upon us, I know a lot of parents and family members of young kids are starting to think about holiday gifts. And while the temptation is […]
Make an Easy Kid Craft Halloween Centerpiece
Through the years the girl has made a lot of great Halloween crafts at school. These are actually just a few of them. I love the yarn-wrapped mummy, of course, and the spider is pretty awesome, too (it’s made out of a Laughing Cow cheese container). Then there are all the pumpkins she painted last […]
Making Paper Bag Puppets (Your Own or With a Kit)
I like to give the girl crafty gifts and I have a lot of things on her wish list that are craft kits and other things I think she’ll like but that are kind of special because we don’t use craft kits all that often. This year someone bought her the ALEX Toys Paper Bag […]
Shaving Cream Sensory Play
When I know the girl is going to be home for an extended period of time — summer break, say — I try to have supplies on hand for a few special crafty/sensory activities we’ve never done together before. I know she had played with shaving cream and cornstarch at school , but we’d never […]
Appreciate the Changing Seasons with a Nature Scavenger Hunt
There are affiliate links in this post. If you buy something from Kiwi Crate after clicking on one, they’ll send me some cash. Just so you know. The girl got Kiwi Crates for a full year (and I actually just resubscribed after almost a year to get the super-cute time traveler series they’re doing right […]
Go Back to Basics When You’re Busy
You might have noticed a distinct lack of posting lately, and I’m going to let you know right up front that’s going to be the norm for the next six weeks or so. The book is due Sept. 1, and there’s still a lot to do. All my creativity is going to it rather than […]