sweet kids’ valentines: mini stained glass hearts I have always loved making Valentines with Maddy, Owen, and Cora. I love the discussion and decision-making beforehand, I love the mess, I love the …Read moresweet kids’ valentines: mini stained glass hearts
rich, diverse digital resources for learning: PBS LearningMedia So many times–without thinking–I look to those old standbys when I am searching for information on the web. Whether it’s just the …Read morerich, diverse digital resources for learning: PBS LearningMedia
quick trick: showing love Lately, my tiny Cora has been a little, teeny, tiny bit on the tough side. We’re back on a regular diet for her, after our gluten-free spring …Read morequick trick: showing love
leafy, outdoor alphabet letter hunt It’s very leafy over here. With tons of huge trees dropping leaves at about a million per minute, our yard and house is covered. But before I …Read moreleafy, outdoor alphabet letter hunt
fabulous, fancy game to practice tricky sounds: s, t, r, l It’s Cora’s Sparkle-icious Game. That’s what she calls is. But I don’t care what she calls it because all I know is that …Read morefabulous, fancy game to practice tricky sounds: s, t, r, l
learning during read-alouds: oral language development Sometimes, simple is better. Sometimes, more choices make us more confused. If Maddy, Owen, and Cora were shown an amazing pallet of face paints …Read morelearning during read-alouds: oral language development
the fancy brush–avoiding tangled hair and tearful mornings This Quick Trick is a little bit funny to me. It’s not about how to make the school year a success. It’s not about how to teach kids to …Read morethe fancy brush–avoiding tangled hair and tearful mornings
a fish out of water: games to practice sight words Owen and I had to play a few extra games of Go Fish! this week to celebrate the Water Fun we’ve got on our calendar for the Smart Summer …Read morea fish out of water: games to practice sight words
alphabet letter splash–keeping cool with the abc’s Who says playing with the letters of the alphabet can’t be a fun and exciting outdoor activity? Who thinks that all letter-learning involves …Read morealphabet letter splash–keeping cool with the abc’s
getting ready for kindergarten: summertime prep We’re almost exactly at the mid-summer point, and before we know it, the new school year will be upon us. What can families do this …Read moregetting ready for kindergarten: summertime prep
number boxes 2.0 It’s so important for kids to practice one-to-one correspondence with counting, and there are about 60 million ways of doing it. Whether …Read morenumber boxes 2.0
how to teach kids to tie their shoes This Quick Trick is admittedly a work in progress. While Owen hasn’t quite mastered tying his shoes yet, he’s getting there. Slowly. He …Read morehow to teach kids to tie their shoes
how we make st. patrick’s day fun, festive, and family-friendly March is slipping away! St. Patrick’s Day is here!! I can’t believe it! Want some super-easy ways to make this lucky holiday even …Read morehow we make st. patrick’s day fun, festive, and family-friendly
letter and word learning: cora’s word search puzzles One more way we’re making Maddy’s homework time work for everyone is with Word Searches. You know those sheets of paper with …Read moreletter and word learning: cora’s word search puzzles
nfuf: managing kids’ screen time with ‘game time’ cards This New For Us Friday I’m sharing our family’s feeble attempt to regain some control over the wild world of electronics in our household …Read morenfuf: managing kids’ screen time with ‘game time’ cards
remembering the importance of pretend play The Red Checks Restaurant was up and running over here for the last few days, serving up its famous chicken noodle soup, corn, pizza, sandwiches, …Read moreremembering the importance of pretend play
alphabingo: playing with lowercase letters An oldie but goodie, we brought out Alphabingo before rest time on Monday, before I was hit hard with what seems like the flu and before our lives got …Read morealphabingo: playing with lowercase letters
bottle cap ornaments–simple, blingy, and sparkle-rific Maddy fell hard for bottle cap jewelry at her school’s Craft Night this year (and who wouldn’t?), so when we brainstormed what kinds of …Read morebottle cap ornaments–simple, blingy, and sparkle-rific
family paper roll dolls: a silly way to help teach emotions I’ve had a really difficult time with my sweet Cora lately, and I’m not sure how much longer we can chalk her hot-headedness up to a bad …Read morefamily paper roll dolls: a silly way to help teach emotions
our thankful tree: beautiful, simple for thanksgiving Maddy, Owen, and Cora have already started with a case of the ‘galloping greedy gimmies’ a la Berenstain Bears thanks to the 800 million …Read moreour thankful tree: beautiful, simple for thanksgiving