Tag: kids

Create a DIY Outdoor Play Table for Kids from Reclaimed Wood

create a diy outdoor play table for kids

We took back our yard last spring, fighting for control of the space against a formidible foe of Asian jasmine and ivy. Once we had established our dominance and set up an enjoyable outdoor room, it was time to bring in a table for the kids and some play structures. I’ve shared with you our DIY water table already, and today I’m showing our DIY wood table, stools, and play structure. We created them all from wood found in the neighborhood after a storm, for free, and will share how you can make them for your own family.

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Read Around the World ~ Reading Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock #ReadAroundtheWorldMKB

 

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As a part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Read Around the World Summer Series, I’m sharing one of our recent favorite stories with you. Anansi and the Moss-covered Rock is a traditional trickster story featuring Anansi, the beloved trickster character from Ghana in West Africa, as well as the Caribbean. I studied trickster stories from around the world in a literature class in college, and have loved them ever since. Trickster stories teach a moral lesson through the mishaps and trickery of a rogue character who isn’t afraid to break the rules. Here are some free printable activities to go with Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. If you are looking to introduce your children to stories from other cultures, Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock is a great place to start. The illustrations are delightful and the story captures the imagination of kids from ages 2 and up. You can find this book and other Anansi stories on Amazon or at your local library.

Find all the other recommendations for reading around the world by clicking the button below or checking out the Pinterest board here.

Read Around the World Summer Reading Series

Make a DIY Water Table for Less than $15

diywatertable

One of our sweet toddler friends received a water table at his birthday party this past spring, and every kid from 10 months to 6 years old was instantly obsessed. The Bear talked about it endlessly after we left, so we looked into buying one. The plastic ones we found online ran anywhere from $30-50, and sturdier wooden ones were much more expensive. Jed knew he could build one, so we headed out to pick out materials. Below you’ll find a tutorial for our simple and sturdy DIY water table, perfect for water play and sensory play. You can make it at home for less than $15, and is sturdy enough to put up with the abuse preschoolers can dish out. We still plan to paint it with outdoor paint, but haven’t gotten around to it yet because the kids use it almost every day.

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Getting Ready for Preschool and Winning Lunch Battles #DelMonteBTS

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Del Monte, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #DelMonteBTS  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV” 

#delmontebts#pmedia#adwinninglunchbattlesreadyforpreschool

Summer has been so good to us, but I have to admit I’m ready for school to start. I love getting in to the fall routine, even though we sorely miss having my teacher husband at home with us once school starts. This fall the Bear (age 3) and I will be starting home preschool, and we are both crazy excited. I’ll be sharing more as we get the details figured out, but for now I’ll tell you a little about our game plan. Today I’m also sharing one of my strategies for winning lunch time battles as well as a coupon and offer for a free 5×7 photo print perfect for those back to school prints.

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Road Trip Tips: 5 Practical Uses for Wet-Nap on the Road with Kids #ShowUsYourMess #pmedia #ad

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Wet-Nap but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #showusyourmess  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

#showusyourmess#pmedia#adpracticalusesforwetnapontheroad

This has been a summer of travel for our family. We’ve been away from home for 46 days so far since May, with a few more still to go. Our kiddos seem to be perpetually sticky and crumb covered, so messes are the norm in our daily life at home and on the road. One of our secrets for keeping the mess to a minimum is bringing Wet-Nap on the road with us. Today I’m sharing a few ways we love to use Wet-Nap on the road so you can make your road trip with kids less messy. Did I mention I also have a $.55 off coupon? Bonus! Read on for details.

#showusyourmess#pmedia#adwetnaproadtriptips

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20 of the Best Beach Activities for Kids and Families #BareFeetontheBeach

beachactivitiesfamilies

Welcome to the #BareFeetontheBeach series here on Bare Feet on the Dashboard. We’ve been taking family beach vacations for over 30 years (since I was a toddler) and are now taking the third generation on beach trips. I’ve compiled a list of 20 of the best beach activities for kids and families for your vacation or staycation this year (some are perfect to do at home). Read more below and don’t forget to pin this post to find it later.

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Make Summer Sun Safety a Breeze with SwimZip UV Swimwear for Kids and Adults #BareFeetontheBeach

easyuvprotectionswimzip

Welcome to the #BareFeetontheBeach blog series! Today is the first in a series of beach themed posts I’ll be sharing while we make our way across the country toward our own beach vacation. Follow along on Instagram as I share our road trip adventures. We love to play outside all year round, but after a scare with precancerous moles a few years ago I’ve become more proactive about sun safety. My darling daughter has the fairest skin around, so I know I’ll have to be extra vigilent with her all summer and especially on our beach trip.  When I saw the zipper swimwear created by SwimZip on Shark Tank, I knew the company had a genius idea. How many of you have ever wrestled a kid in to or out of a wet swim suit or rash guard? *Raises hand* It is ridiculously frustrating, as is lathering every inch of your wee ones with sunscreen only to have it come off as soon as they get wet. I reached out to Betsy (the head mompreneur) to review SwimZip UV Swimwear, and I’ll share our full review below.

swimzipforkids

 

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Teaching Courage with the Help of Disney Planes #PlanestotheRescue

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

#planestotherescue#shop#cbiascouragewithplanes

Kids are funny. Just when you think you have them figured out, they throw you for a loop. Our son recently developed a fear of shadows in his room at night. I’m talking a wake up screaming bloody murder, wake the neighbors and his baby sister, traumatizing for everyone involved fear. It came out of the blue and we had no idea what to do about it. We prayed with him and snuggled him and tried to reason with him. Nothing worked until we decided to talk about courage. Being the Disney obsessed family that we are, we used his current favorite movie, Planes, to help teach him to be brave and courageous like his buddy Dusty.

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Play Outside: Tips for Taking Your Kids on a Nature Walk

This play idea is brought to you by Knoala – Raise Happier Kids. Knoala is a free app that offers activities for parents to enjoy with infants to preschoolers.

naturewalkswithkidsknoala

 

We love to go on nature walks with our kids. Playing outside is a daily activity at our house, and we try to make everythine we do an adventure and a learning experience without making it complicated. Recently I downloaded the new Knoala app and used it to take our nature walks to the next level. Don’t worry, I wasn’t on my phone during our walk. I clicked on to Knoala before we left and found a few ideas for our walk to get the kids to notice everything around me. They responded really well, and we felt like super fun parents.

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Family Travel: 20 Fun Ways to Entertain Preschool Kids while Traveling

entertainkidstraveling

Every time we tell friends about our family travel plans with two kids under three, they look at us like we are crazy. We may very well be, but we love to travel and are almost done with our first adventure of the summer and preparing for our next one. Today I’m sharing 20 tips for entertaining preschool kids while traveling, and I hope they will be as useful to you as they have been to us. We love to travel and to take our kids along, so keeping them entertained is a must for our sanity.

We’ve been living and working at Camp Buckner, a beautiful camp in the Texas Hill Country for the last 2 1/2 weeks serving with Young Life. Traveling to and living at camp is challenging, but we are using it as a test run for our big 4 week road trip coming up later this summer. In July we will head out to Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook so you don’t miss our adventures.

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