Tag: preschool

Active Indoor Play: Dance Through the Alphabet

Easy Ideas for Active Indoor Play - Dance through the AlphabetThe weather outside is frightful, and the indoors might not be so delightful if your kids are filled with pent up energy. My little ones are VERY active and when they don’t get to play outside we have to get creative. I’ve shared before about our dance parties and indoor obstacle courses. Today I’m sharing a new idea we tried this week as part of the Gross Motor Activities from A to Z Series with Still Playing School – lots of great ideas for active indoor play.  We’ve been working on the alphabet as part of our home preschool, and the Bear can now identify all of his letters. To practice them while getting some exercise we had an alphabet dance party. With the whole body involved, simple silly dancing becomes a gross motor skill development tool. It was silly, fun, and both kids really got in to it. Best of all you don’t need anything except a little creativity and music. Bonus: Enter to win a Parachute Pack to take active play to the next level. (more…)

The Best Kid Activities of 2014 ~ Crafts, Education, & Parenting

best-kid-blogger-posts-2014
With the new year fresh and full of possibility, I like to take a minute to reflect on the one just ended. This little blog has grown like crazy and I am constantly blown away by how many of you visit, read, share, and pin. I am so thankful for each one of you and for the way your support enables me to be home with my kids and have this creative outlet. Thank you. I am also so thankful to be part of a fabulous network of kid bloggers – moms, dads, grandparents, and education professionals – who partner to make each of blogs better together. We’ve joined forces once again to share the very best of our work from 2014. Each blogger has added their BEST post from the past year in one of the three categories below – crafts, education, and parenting.

(more…)

Three Ways to Celebrate Epiphany with Preschool Kids

Three Ways to Celebrate Epiphany with Preschool Kids

I’ve always loved the way Epiphany (the coming of the 3 kings/wise men) is celebrated in Spanish culture. Most Americans don’t make a big deal out of the January 6th holiday that is the traditional end of the 12 days of Christmas. I studied abroad in Spain in college and fell in love with the culture, and was *this close* to moving there in my mid 20s. I thought it would be fun this year to celebrate Epiphany with my kids and teach them about the holiday. This post is a part of the Christmas Around the World Series hosted by my friends over at Multicultural Kid Blogs. Visit the main page here and the Pinterest board here.

(more…)

Four Simple Ways to Use the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet to Help Kids Learn, Play, and Grow


4 Simple Ways to Use your #FireHDKidsEdition Tablet

We are a few months in to our home preschool journey, and are always looking for new tools for learning at home. When I had the opportunity to review the new Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet I knew it could be a great fit for our family. Today I’m sharing four ways you can use the tablet to help your kids learn, play, and grow as well as how the Kids Edition Tablet works for us. Read on to find out more and learn how to get a FREE year of Amazon Free Time for your family. (more…)

Advent with Kids – Reading Song of the Stars & Playing with the Nativity

Advent with Kids Reading Song of the Stars and Playing with the Nativity

The Advent season is one of my favorite times of the year, as we celebrate the awaited arrival of Jesus. My goal this year is to involve the whole family in our Advent traditions to make the joy of Christmas real and full for our kids. We will be using a Jesse Tree and the Jesus Storybook Bible each day starting November 30th, along with a fun activity each day. I’ve joined with a group of other Kid Blogger Network bloggers to bring you a special Storybook Advent series to help you incorporate books and kid activities in to your holiday celebration, as well as a Christmas Read and Play series all about our favorite holiday books. I’m sharing a quick and fun way to bring the Christmas story to life with your kids using The Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story along with a children’s nativity set and a few extra friends.

(more…)

20+ Ideas for Preschool and Toddler Christmas Fun

20+ Ideas for Preschool and Toddler Christmas Fun

The most wonderful time of the year is here and we are so ready to create special Christmas memories with our family. With a toddler and a preschooler in our house, the wonder and magic of the season is in full effect. I’ve spend time gathering the best ideas for preschool and toddler Christmas fun to share with you and your wee ones. Pick a few ideas and spread holiday cheer in your home. Don’t forget to enter to win one of 4 $500 CASH prizes we’re giving away at the bottom of this post to make your holiday extra special. If you’re looking for gift ideas for your favorite toddler, you’ll find our gift guide for 1-3 year olds here.

(more…)

Preschool Fun: L is for Light Letter Activities & Free Printable

Preparing for Home Preschool: 10 Great Resources to Help You Get Started

great resources for home preschool

We started preschool with the Bear at home this year, and though I was confident I could teach him I didn’t really know where to start. We want to create a family culture of life long learning, and want to save the money traditional preschool would cost. Thankfully I found some amazing resources for home preschool on some of my favorite blogs, and I’m sharing them with you today. You can read more about our plan for home preschool here, and some of our favorite ideas for pumpkin fun with preschool kids here. Read about how we paint with preschoolers and toddlers stress free here. You can teach your preschooler at home, you really can. Read on to find great resources to help you.

(more…)