paint

how to make super-easy, beautiful flower pens

May 8, 2012

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, a time I really believe teachers should get a little love, a pat on the back for all of their hard work, effort, and energy. Though my kids’ school has a whole committee who plans a week of total awesomeness for our teachers, the second day of the week is usually [...]

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5 easy ways to raise earth-friendly kids

April 20, 2012

Really, nothing about raising kids is easy. I so know this to be true.   I think I’m pretty honest about my own on-the-job struggles, and most people I talk to are pretty open about how difficult a gig this parenting thing is. But I think that raising three earth-friendly kids has been relatively easy. [...]

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learning to spell contractions: sneaky games and play

February 22, 2012

We were so thankful for the gorgeous three-day weekend to slowly get us back on track and to allow us to (kind of) regain control over the mess that had become of our home.  After being away last week, the game nights, our movie night, book-reading, errands–even cleaning and organizing with the kids–was really a [...]

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new for us friday: homemade scratch-off tickets (fun stocking stuffers!)

December 16, 2011

It’s been a busy few days–weeks!–with our December birthday and work and school and holiday festivities, but I’m totally over the moon excited to share something fun and completely new-for-me. And on Christmas, when Maddy, Owen, and Cora open up their stockings, they’ll find something totally new-for-them: Homemade Scratch-off tickets! These scratch-off tickets are filled [...]

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backyard painting–with nature

June 15, 2011

We have been taking a lot of walks lately, just slow walks where we’re looking closely at what’s around us because I feel like we’ve been moving too quickly in the rush of the last weeks of school. And just like last year, when everyone started to get antsy and bickery and up and down [...]

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quick trick: how to use recyclables with kids–get fun, crafty, creative

June 8, 2011

With summer right around the corner and kids home a lot more than usual, many of us need to keep a few tricks in our back pocket for rainy days or those occasions when we feel like we might lose our minds. This Quick Trick is certainly a keeper; it’s all about what kinds of [...]

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free spring crafts ebook! (for everyone!)

April 17, 2011

I’m over the moon to have been invited by my pal, Allie, to contribute to her spring crafts ebook, and I’m even more grateful to have the opportunity to share it with teach mama readers today! Compiled by Allie, of No Time For Flashcards, and Mandi, of Life. . . Your Way, the final product [...]

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three cheers for an awesome cheerleading birthday party!

January 15, 2011

Maddy celebrated her big #7 last month, and we rang in her birthday with a cheerleading birthday party, complete with expert cheerleaders, homemade pom-poms, megaphones, and dance routines. It was a blast, but we couldn’t have done it without a ton of help from Aunt Katie (who led the pom-pom making team) and our amazing [...]

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painting with candy: candy experiments (part two)

November 4, 2010

Maddy, Owen, and Cora had an absolute blast performing candy experiments using their Halloween loot this week, but I think the most fun they had stemmed from our own experiment missteps. We tried to conquer the Color Separation experiment, but our little sheets from the USA Science and Engineering Festival didn’t outline the experiment steps [...]

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painting flower pots–simple and special gifts

May 13, 2010

This year for Mother’s Day, I leaned on an old faithful: painted flower pots! I really think that you can’t go wrong when you take a little time to jazz up a clay pot, add some daisies, and throw in a little bit of love. First, while Maddy and Owen were at school one morning, [...]

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our love tree

February 1, 2010

I saw these Love Trees back in January, over at super-talented Jenny’s Our Nifty Notebook, and I thought that Maddy, Owen, and Cora would love to do this. And they did. We worked on them over two days last week, and they each had a favorite part–from gathering sticks, to tracing the hearts, to glittering [...]

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