Tag: preschool

Learn with Play ~ Get 150+ Ideas for Year Round Fun and Learning for Kids of All Ages

KBN coverY’all, I could not be more excited. One of my lifelong dreams has come true – to be published in a book! I collaborated with an amazing group of bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network to bring you the new Learn with Play book, available now as an ebook, Kindle, or paperback. In this book you will find fresh ideas with clear instructions for activities, crafts, and so much more for kids of all ages. The book is easy to use and will help your kids to learn through play. The book makes a great gift for parents and educators, and I couldn’t be prouder of this project.

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20 Ideas for Summer Fun with Preschool Kids

20 Ideas for Summer Fun with Preschool KidsSummer is here and we are ready to play! Are you looking for fresh ideas to keep your little ones entertained this summer? Here are 20 ideas for summer fun with preschool kids to help you have fun with your family during the hot months ahead. Need ideas for your toddler? You’ll find five fun ideas to entertain your toddler this summer here. I’ve joined with my favorite kid bloggers to share our favorite summer ideas for kids and families, so be sure to hop around to the links at the bottom of this post.

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Glow in the Dark Fun Indoor Play Ideas- A to Z Rainy Day Activities Series

Ideas for Glow in the Dark Fun for Indoor PlayGlow in the dark activities are REALLY fun for kids (and you), but they are SUPER difficult to photograph. I tried, really I did, but nothing worked out. So, I’m sharing a few fun ideas for glow in the dark fun with your kids for those hot or rainy days when you need to play indoors and you’ll have to use your imagination to picture them. Thanks for understanding. These are ideas are simple, but will provide endless fun for your family. Be sure to check out the rest of the A to Z Rainy Day Activities Series at Something 2 Offer for more fun indoor play ideas. 

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Three Tips for Teaching Preschool Kids to Brush Their Teeth

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Three Tips for Teaching Preschool Kids to Brush Their Teeth #naturalgoodness #adLike every transition we’ve gone through with our kids, I’ve spent so much time worried about how to transition our preschool son to big kid toothpaste. His dentist recommended the switch months ago, and I just couldn’t figure out how to teach him to brush and spit the toothpaste out. He is almost four, so I finally quit procrastinating and bought big kid toothpaste. We chose Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry Fluoride Toothpaste because I’ve loved and trusted Tom’s of Maine products for nearly 20 years and it is the perfect fit for our family’s quests to live green. Within a few days, the we had the whole brushing and spitting thing figured out and I realized I’d wasted time worrying about nothing. Read on to find out our three easy tips for teaching preschool kids to brush their teeth to make the transition easy and painless for your kids.

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Three Practical Tips for Dressing Kids on a Budget

Kids are a blessing and a gift to parents and family, but they can be expensive. There are so many ways to save money on your child’s wardrobe to help you make it through these fast growing years without breaking the bank. How many times have we had a child outgrow an outfit before they even get a chance to wear it? Very rarely do my kids actually get to wear something until it is worn out. They grow too fast! Spending a ton of money on kids’ clothes just doesn’t make sense when you are on a tight budget, but there are ways to dress your kids well without spending a ton.Three Practical Tips for Dressing Kids on a Budget

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Clean Mud Bubble Dough – The Easiest Sensory Dough Ever

Making Clean Mud Bubble Dough with Kids - The Easiest Sensory Dough  Ever

We love to play outside, but sometimes need fresh ideas to get the kids engaged. They’ve been really in to bubbles lately, so after making a DIY bubble solution with dish soap and water I was inspired to try a new twist on clean mud dough. Play dough of all kinds is so much fun and give kids a great sensory experience, but making it yourself can be a challenge. This recipe for clean mud bubble dough is pretty much the easiest sensory dough ever and creates clean bubbly fun for your kids. It takes only 3 ingredients and about 5 minutes, plus the clean up is super simple as well. Ready to have some bubble dough fun?

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Preschool Name Recognition and Writing Practice with Sidewalk Chalk

Name Recognition and Writing Practice with Sidewalk ChalkWe work on lots of preschool skills at home with our kids, all while having fun. Our almost four year old loves to learn through play, so I try to make our home preschool activities an exciting adventure rather than boring and stiff. We’ve worked on pre-writing skills all year and it has been really fun to see his handwriting skills develop. Lately we’ve been doing preschool name recognition activities to tie in with the writing practice so that soon he will be able to write his own name. We love to play with sidewalk chalk outside, so I combined the skills practice with play to help him learn to recognize his name and practice writing it.

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Kid Art: Turn a Used Cardboard Roll in to a Telescope and Sword

Kid Art Paint a Cardboard Tube to Create a TelescopeHave you noticed how kids will turn something bound for the trashcan in to a treasure? At our house, this most commonly happens with cardboard rolls from paper towels and toilet paper. The Bear (almost 4) loves to turn them in to swords, binoculars, and telescopes. We don’t use a lot of paper towels, so whenever we run through a roll he gets really excited to make an “eye scope”. Usually the roll becomes a telescope until it is too bent to see through and then transforms in to a sword. Paper towel rolls get taped together and made in to “knock-ulars”. For this spring’s 60 Day Junk Play Challenge, we decided to take a few of our old paper towel rolls and turn them in to special works of art.

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DIY Resurrection Eggs for Toddlers and Preschool Kids

DIY Resurrection Eggs for Teaching Toddlers and Preschoolers about Easter - Made to Go with the Jesus Storybook BibleEaster is one of my favorite holidays, bringing a joyful celebration of faith to our family every year. Though the holiday itself is filled with joy, the season of Lent reminds us of the suffering of Christ and is difficult to teach to young children. While teaching about Christmas is easy, because babies are fun and easy to celebrate, the Cross and Easter are a bit of a challenge. I created a set of DIY Resurrection Eggs for toddlers and preschoolers and paired them with stories from The Jesus Storybook Bible to help us teach our kids about the real meaning of the holiday. We still celebrate with bunnies and chocolate and cute Easter outfits, but this activity is simple to create and really explains it in a way kids can understand. Be sure to check out our other fun ideas for Easter here.

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Taste Safe Strawberry Lemonade Sparkle Sensory Play Dough