Learning ideas, games, activities, books, and concepts for the child too young for school!
On September 11, 2001, I got up early because that was the only time my apartment of six was quiet. I read the entire New York Times and headed up to my early Economics class. When I got there, I learned of the attacks in New York. It’s hard to consider how to teach of
When the weather turns rainy and yucky, we need something creative to do! My girls have always been very crafty. Since they loved reading princess books, we decided it was a great day to make princess jewelry inside! We used aluminum foil to make princess jewelry, as well as stickers, tape, and colorful construction paper,
Each summer, my kids and I celebrate our pioneer heritage, especially those who traveled across the infant American continent in covered wagons and by foot. To make the concept more hands on for my kids, we decided to make a covered wagon! This covered wagon craft is pretty simple to decorate and assemble. Making the
My preschooler always loved to move! One day we were at the playground and I suggested we do a circus. She was eager to get started! We did another “circus” in our own backyard on our playset and inside as well. This is an imagination game she wants to redo again and again. Why Play CircusThe
When I think about summer, I think of the sudden increase is dirt and mud everywhere! Baths are a frequent necessity. My daughters always would dig, only encouraged by their brother, who would always be on a new emphatic hunt for “rocks” hiding beneath our lawn and play set. The only way to get by is
Every July, the world celebrates the first walk on the moon on July 20, 1969. For a celebratory activity, we learned about the surface of the moon, especially the 1969 moon landing. Of course, we had to recreate the moon landing with a fun moon sensory activity. My preschool and my toddler loved to walk
What could be better than learning about space and sending off our own rockets? Learning about DOGS going in to space and helping send THEM up in to “space”! Today’s brief storybook-inspired science project found us learning about two stray dogs and their incredible journey into space. Then, we designed our own doggie rockets and tested
After we found rubber ducks at the dollar store, my toddler was very excited to play with them! We had to stock up on a lot of them. Of course, rubber ducks are a fun friend for the bathtub. But we decided to make a game so we could play and count with duckies anytime.
I love to use an engaging picture book as an excuse to spearhead a creative project! After we read a fun picture book about kittens mixing colors, my preschooler and I were eager to give our own color mixing project a try. Because the book I chose spent the whole book mixing colors from their
My preschool daughter loves Princess Sofia and her animal friends, so I try to tie in her stories to our learning moments whenever we get a chance. We watched an episode in which Sofia and a friend must design and build their own dream castle, and we read Chris van Dusen’s amusing book If I Built a
Chocolate + a picture book! Yummy fun! In I’m a Hungry Dinosaur by Janeen Brian (illustrated by Ann James), the illustrations are created with cocoa powder, chocolate, and sprinkles. Of course, my preschooler needed to give painting with chocolate a try herself! I’m a Hungry Dinosaur is simply delightful.In this book, the dinosaur is eager to
My preschooler needed more fine motor practice. Those little fingers lacked practice and it was necessary to strengthen the muscles before they were ready for writing! One of the “go to” fine motor practice activities my daughter enjoyed was beads and pipe cleaners. When I needed an activity for the busy box, I tried to
