fine motor skills

best of teach mama countdown: #2 — spelling words

January 12, 2012

Yay! We’re getting down to the wire with this teach mama top 10 all-time best countdown! This post is one that I have shared probably more than times than any other post I’ve written.  It seems that most of the emails that I receive are from parents who are tired, desperate, and . . . [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #3 shoe-tying

January 11, 2012

Teaching some kids how to tie their shoes is so not easy, it’s not even funny. While one child may teach herself how to do it, for another child, it may take time and time and time again for her to actually learn how to tie those shoelaces on her own. Maddy was a great [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #4 — cooking with kids

January 9, 2012

Though our family has changed a ton in the three years that I’ve been writing this blog, one thing that has remained the same is my kids’ interest in hanging out in the kitchen. They love to eat. They love to cook. They (shhhhh!) love to throw on an apron, crack some eggs, measure ingredients, [...]

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best of teach mama countdown: #6 — learning with recyclables

January 7, 2012

One of these days I’m going to share where and how we store the recyclables that we manage to save from the big blue bin over here. But until then, I’ll share the #6 most popular teach mama post of all-time: how to use recyclables with kids–get fun, crafty, creative. I think people have responded [...]

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making the most of holiday clean-up

December 31, 2011

The holidays have rushed in and rushed out over here, and despite a 7+ hour ride home from Pennsylvania and two people down over three days with the stomach bug, we had an amazing season. And now that we’re home and trying–desperately–to reclaim our home and have a little fun, rather than throwing the kids [...]

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last minute treats: fancy, festive chocolate pretzels

December 22, 2011

Last week, the kids and I celebrated our annual Cookie Baking Day–something we all look forward to in the month of December. On the morning of our Cookie Baking Day, we carry on as usual.  I drag everyone out of bed, cheerlead them through bed-making, dressing, teeth-brushing, and the relocation from bedroom to breakfast table. [...]

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magazines rock: creative, crafty, sneaky-learning fun

December 4, 2011

We are huge magazine fans over here. We love finding them in the mailbox, reading them, playing detective with them, crafting with them, and learning with them.  When they arrive in the day’s mail, it’s like a getting a little gift, just for you.  And when we sit down to read a magazine, it never [...]

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build your own bingo: uppercase and lowercase letter match

December 1, 2011

Cora and I have been rockin’ the bingo games lately, with a new spin on bingo that she really seems to love. And I’m sure the Smartie bingo markers don’t hurt. . . But after noticing that my tiny one seems to have the uppercase letters of the alphabet down pat, I have been keeping [...]

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new for us friday: LeapFrog Peek-A-Shoe Octopus (& giveaway!)

November 26, 2011

As much as I have had a ton of success with LeapFrog products and love nearly everything LeapFrog, I knew that I needed to outsource a bit when it came to really taking an honest look at one of their new-to-me toys, the Peek-A-Shoe Octopus. Luckily, I have a ton of awesome pals whom I [...]

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family names: reading and writing the ones we love

November 21, 2011

Homework time is still a really important part of our day, especially now that Owen’s in Kindergarten and Maddy’s second grade work is picking up. And I really try my best to find something fun and focused for Cora to do while Maddy and Owen are doing their work.  Lately, she’s been really into learning [...]

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new for us friday: LeapFrog Storytime Pad (& giveaway!)

November 11, 2011

This New For Us Friday, I’m totally excited about a new product from LeapFrog designed especially with younger kiddos in mind. And I’m not at all surprised that though I originally handed it to Cora, that Maddy and Owen have been vying for the LeapFrog Story Time Pad for the last few days. It’s new, [...]

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under a shady tree
can you feel the soft cool grass?
can you feel it with your toes?
we can sit here while it grows.
laurie berkner, "under a shady tree"


i know nothing with certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream
. . . vincent van gogh