Pumpkins are one of my favorite things about fall. I love to have them around the house, eat them in everything, and create pumpkin fun for my kids. Today I’m sharing 20 easy ideas for pumpkin fun for preschool and toddler age kids. Pour yourself a DIY pumpkin spice latte and pin these ideas to do with your favorite little ones. Did I mention I’m partnering with some other fabulous bloggers to give away $2000 at the end of this post? {It’s true!}
Pretend play is incredibly important for child development. In preschool children it helps them develop their thinking, emotional, social, and language skills. Today I’m sharing three easy ways to encourage pretend play and imaginative play in your children.
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
Find all the other recommendations for reading around the world by clicking the button below or checking out the Pinterest board here.
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.
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”
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.
Finger painting with toddlers and little kids may sound like a total disaster waiting to happen, but I promise it can be fun and painless. All you need is construction paper
This was the Pearl Girl’s first foray in to finger painting, and she did well for about 10 minutes. I feel pretty great about that for a 14 month old. She really liked the feel of the paint on her fingers and patting it down on the paper. I set out four color options on a disposible paper plate. Only put out as much paint as you think they’ll need for one painting at a time. I gave each child a piece of paper and had Bear show PG how to do it. I guided her first few strokes and then she got the hang of it quickly. The Bear will paint happily for about 20 minutes now at age 3.
Let go of any image of Pinterest perfection and let your kids have a blast being creative. We’ve been reading a book about Franklin the Turtle being an artist, so the Bear believes he is one. I think every kid does until someone tells them different. Artistic expression is important for development and doesn’t have to be difficult for parents and caregivers to execute.
Clean up is so easy during the summer. I turn on the hose and let the kids splash the paint away, then turn the hose on our mini picnic table to wash it down. Leave the paintings out to dry and head in for a snack. You can find one of the ways we preserve kid art at no cost here. Happy Independence Day America!
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.
Summer is here and we are ready to play. We were recently send a set of the new RoseArt Washable Sidewalk Chalk Paint
to try. We had a blast with it, and were able to use it for quite a few different activities. I love that you can mix up only as much paint as you want your child to use each time, and save the rest indefinitely. The paint washes off so easily and gives you a clean slate each time. I thought I’d share five fun uses for sidewalk chalk paint to help get your kids playing outside and learning this summer. (more…)
Holy Week is one of my favorite times of the year because we get to take the time to focus on Christ’s work on the cross and what it means for us. I’ve shared with y’all about simple ways to bring Jesus in to your child’s daily life here, but talking about Easter and what it means can be a bit more difficult. Christmas is easy with the baby Jesus and all of the manger scene and Jesse Tree activities. Death on a cross for the sin of humanity is slightly more difficult to discuss with preschoolers, am I right? One way we’ve made it personal for our kids this year is to create a thumbprint cross with each of them. Their unique thumbprint represents the personal nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection – that it means the possibility of real relationship with God and eternal life for them. Plus, they are super fun and easy to make.
