It's amazing how easily you can create sweet and easy gifts sometimes when you have a bit of inspiration. Sometimes it's a walk in the craft store. Sometimes it's a stroll through the park. Sometimes it's a glance through a photo album. Sometimes it's a movie, tv program, or book. These quick and easy flower wish boxes were inspired by a book series that we've recently discovered. It's a book series that Maddy and Cora have devoured, and it's a series that I love as … [Read more...]
how to make poetry ROCK for kids (start now — it’s national poetry month!)
Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? It is. What does that even mean? It means that this month is all about celebrating poetry! You know what, my friends? Poetry is different today than it once was. No longer are poems relegated to the boring topics of flowers or romance. No way. Now? Poems are about anything and everything. They rhyme or they're free verse. Anything goes. And so to honor National Poetry Month, I thought I'd share a few of our favorite … [Read more...]
st. patrick’s day BRAIN TEASER scavenger hunt
Even though our lives have changed quite a bit since I started this blog seven years ago, one thing has remained the same: we love to rock it out for holidays. Even big kids like to rock it out for the holidays. So this year, I decided to kick up our traditional St. Patty's Day Scavenger Hunt just a wee bit. My kids are quick, and they're smart. So our Scavenger Hunt needs to be tricky and engaging to keep them interested--or at least to stretch our hunt a bit past the usual two … [Read more...]
secret message valentines: homemade, candy-free, totally cool
Longtime fans of the ole homemade Valentine, I've had to get a little more clever and crafty as the kids get older. But I still want them writing, reading, and thinking (come on. . . at least a little!) while they're making them. So when I did some Valentine searching this year, I found a ton of cool ideas. A ton of cool ideas. There are about a million, trillion awesome homemade Valentines out there. But the Secret Message Valentines caught my eye. I knew Maddy, Owen, and Cora … [Read more...]
our favorite thanksgiving printables for BIG kids!
This week is the big week for us--lots of travel, lots of family, lots of friends, and lots of food! Officially, the fun winter holiday season is upon us, and from here until January 2nd, it's a wild ride. But often that wild ride means that our kids tend to be kicked off of their normal schedules. They get tired. We get tired. They get cranky. We get cranky. And they need some down time. We need some down time. So we've gathered a few of our favorite Thanksgiving … [Read more...]
halloween giving: how to BOO! your friends (on a budget)
I've said it before--spooky Halloween is not my thing. So this weekend, when our family was officially BOO'ed for the first time, a whole new chapter of Halloween fun--and Halloween giving--opened up for us. BOO'ing is all the craze, it seems, though (boo-hooo!) we haven't fallen victim to BOO'ing quite like this--ever. What I love about BOO'ing is that it actually adds an element of sneaky, fun, giving to this candy-saturated holiday. Maddy, Owen, and Cora were actually thinking … [Read more...]
join the #readchallenge and celebrate reading all month long
March is the time to really celebrate reading, my friends! Especially this year, now that I'm back in the classroom, I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing reading. And I'm ready to bring you into the mix, too. So buckle up. The more we talk about reading, think about reading, and get excited about reading, the better. Believe me, the more reading we do as parents and educators, the more our kids will want to read. Promise. So this year, I've teamed up with my sweet and … [Read more...]
fun dip valentines
Judge me if you will, but I have finally given in to the pressure of Owen and Cora. I've held up for quite a while, though, and for that I'm proud. Every, single year when I bragged about creating fun, super-cool candy-free Valentines for the kids to make for their classmates, they sighed. Puh-leaaaase, Mom. We just want to give our friends candy Valentines. That's all kids want. Can we just get the Valentines from the store that everyone loves? The ones that have a lollipop or Nerds … [Read more...]
top secret ‘happy day’ notes for the whole ‘hood
Originally published September 1, 2010, but republished today because, well, friends, everyone could use a lift. Last week, we ran into a verrrry blue Thursday morning. Everyone was cranky, everyone was bickering, and everyone was down in the dumps. Maybe our summertime later-night schedule was finally taking a toll on us; maybe we were anxious about the upcoming change of schedule. Whatever it was, we needed a lift. I remembered my pal Jessica's recent post about 'Doing Good … [Read more...]
halloween mad lib: spooky fill-in story for halloween fun
I am always on the hunt for super fun Halloween activities for my kids. From the time they were teeny, we played Hats, Cats, and Pumpkin Grid Games, ABC Leaf Hunt, GHOST Bingo!, or Halloween Word Search. Anything to ring in this spooky holiday with a bit o' sneaky learning. But as they get a little older, they've grown out of those kinda little-guy-ish games. They love the Halloween Printable Games we play at Halloween Class parties, but I also wanted something fun for them to do here at … [Read more...]
swim ribbon garland: what to do with summer swim ribbons
Originally published in August of 2014 but republished because we're making these same swim ribbon garlands today! Our swim and dive season has been over now for two weeks, but we've done more post-season celebrating this year than ever before. Usually, as soon as we wrap up the banquet, swim ribbons get shoved in a drawer, meet caps get put away, and trophies are given a home on the bedroom shelf. And then we move quickly into part two of our summer: everything after swim and … [Read more...]
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