printables

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 . . . [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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, [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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 [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

best of teach mama countdown: #7 — me on the map

January 6, 2012

This activity is one that my kids still see every day because the circles are hanging in our Work Room, and it’s one that we talk about frequently. That is absolutely not to say that my children have a firm understanding of their little place in this big world, but I’m trying. It’s a really [...]

Pin It
StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

best of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

January 4, 2012

This post, which rolls in at #9, continues to surprise me with the amount of hits it gets. Maybe it’s the title: word building, name building (and crossing the line). Maybe people find it unintentionally when they’re trying to figure out what to do when their kids ‘cross the line’–I’m not sure. I’m really not [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

our easy, affordable new year’s family traditions

December 29, 2011

My husband and I have never really been fans of New Year’s Eve. We’re the furthest thing from night owls, so staying up late is not easy–or that much fun for us. New Year’s means that the long-awaited holidays are over (boo) and that family has come and gone (wah) and that there’s a lot [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

family playing cards: take ‘em, make ‘em, then play!

December 28, 2011

A few years ago, I burned the midnight oil way too close to the finish line, in an attempt to create Family Playing Cards for Maddy, Owen, and Cora. And though I made the work harder than it needed to be, it was well worth it. The kids have used the cards steadily for the [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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. [...]

Pin It
StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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 [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

holiday time fun-fact lunchbox notes

December 13, 2011

As I said yesterday, my kids have taken to the Christmas around the World, and I am so totally over the moon about it. They’re batty over a non-fiction text! They want to read it! They talk about it–even when I’m not there! I’d be crazy if I didn’t try to do some sort of [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

learning during read-alouds: non-fiction that WORKS

December 12, 2011

The first few times Owen had media at school this year, he came home with the most random books. His first book was an Arthur book that we already have here at home.  Then he came home with a non-fiction book about Chihuahuas. The next week, he picked yet another book that we have here [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →