Alphabet books are a staple of every child's reading diet. In fact, the first known ABC book was published in the 16th century! Fortunately children's books have come a long way since then. Unfortunately, lots of ABC books are still a big snoozefest, so what's a read aloud loving parent to do? Fortunately, I have...
ABC Books for Kids that Parents Will Enjoy Too!
Have Patience! Two Brain-Building Solitaire Board Games
It may seem like all your kids want to do is play games online, and you are wondering how you can get your kids off the iPad! With a little encouragement, screen-free solitaire board games can be just as tempting as screens (really!). After all, people have been playing them for centuries! And bonus: no...
Fascinating Must-Read Historical Fiction Picture Books
Historical fiction picture books can be a gateway into the past for kids, inspiring them to dig deeper into a specific historical event or period. I found it challenging to make this list because I could easily have included 100 books! However, I wanted to keep it manageable for you as well as share books...
Essential Black and White Board Books for Babies
What are some good books for babies and newborns, you ask? Since research shows that babies are stimulated by high contrast images, I highly recommend you invest in some black and white board books. Bold black, white and red graphics are much more likely to engage your infant than soft pastels and beautiful watercolor illustrations....
Irrational and Transcendental Number Fun for Pi Day: Pi Dice Game
In case you have been living under a rock, we love dice games! And of course because my eldest son was born with with an obsession for numbers we love to celebrate Pi Day (March 14th), as we did once by creating these gorgeous pi city skylines. This year I thought, hmmm, how can we...
Marvelous March Read Alouds
March! A month of contradictions. Is it spring? Not yet! Is it winter? Not much longer! When making this list of March read alouds I wondered what this fickle month would offer up for thematic inspiration. Besides St. Patrick's Day, of course. For that you can take a look at my list of Irish folktales....
Sprinkle Rainbow Joy Around Your Living Room
Rainbow time has arrived! Our gorgeous new diy prism rainbow mobile is hanging in the window, and rainbow happy hour in our apartment is currently from about 3 to 6 pm. We used to have a lovely glass prism object d'art that brought us a kaleidoscope of rainbow happiness every afternoon, but (gasp!) I broke...
Picture Book Biographies of Women Artists: The Visual Arts
These beautifully illustrated picture book biographies of women artists introduce children to a diverse group of visual artists, including painter, sculptors, fashion designers, photographers and more! MORE: Expand your definition of art by reading from the companion booklist: Picture book biographies of female performing artists. Dancers, actors, filmmakers and more! Biographies of Painters and Illustrators...
Books about Women Performers Who Dazzled the Crowds
Know who gets left out when learning about famous artists throughout history? The performing artists! This list of picture book biographies of women actors, dancers, magicians and film makers will fill that gap. You will see familiar names as well as women who have made important contributions to performing arts fields and who have been...
10 DIY Bookmarks for Kids: Never Lose Your Place Again!
Crafts are all well and good, but a craft that promotes reading? Now that is stellar! You might think you it is perfectly acceptable to use a scrap of paper you found lying around as a bookmark. But I am here to tell you it is not! A bookmark that is both useful and pleasing...
Middle Grade Books with Characters Who Have Medical Challenges
We all hope that our children will live typical, healthy lives. Sadly, whether it is our own children, or their friends, sickness, chronic illness and even tragedy occur. Books about tough situations can give children a way of approaching difficult emotions that surround challenging medical conditions, whether that be a temporary sickness, chronic conditions like...
President Books for Middle Schoolers to Help Them Think Critically
Use this list to find president books for middle schoolers ages 10-14 (6-8th grade). In order to learn from history, our children should think critically about contemporary events so they can put each president's actions (or lack of action) into context. Children can then form more educated opinions about who the men (hopefully one day...
Heart Animals Coloring Page and Stick Puppet Craft
This heart animals coloring page is a sweet Valentine's Day activity for kids, but of course, children can also enjoy it as a fun puppet craft all year long! Children's book illustrator, Melanie Hope Greenberg designed this coloring sheet exclusively for readers of What Do We Do All Day?, so we are feeling all the...
Heart Bookmarks Even Origami Beginners Can Make
A good bookmark is essential to a avid reader and these origami heart bookmarks will advertise your love of reading. These origami heart bookmarks are so easy to make. No need to be an origami genius. In fact if your kids have never done origami before, these bookmarks are a good way to start! Plus,...
Favorite and Funny Read Aloud Books for 9-10 Year Olds
Read aloud time in my house is changing. No longer can I choose the books on my own with impunity. Most of what became our best read aloud books in the past were titles I picked out. Many books I present are rejected on sight by kid who spanned 9-10 years old this past year. Even though...
Heart Geometry Puzzle to Make Your Kids Love Math!
What better way to learn to love math that putting together the pieces of your heart with this sweet geometry puzzle! This heart puzzle is also a simple STEAM project that teaches the concepts of math, engineering and art/design. But not only that, it is a boredom buster brain teaser that will make your kids smarter!...
Golf Card Rules: Easy and Fun Family Game
My grandparents believed that owning a deck of standard playing cards would tempt the owner into a life of sinful gambling. You should definitely start praying for me because I own about a dozen decks. Those playing cards come in handy when my kid requests we play his favorite new card game, GOLF, 200 times...
Heart Tessellations: Three Lovely Math Art Designs
Heart tessellations make a relaxing math art project, especially for kids who like patterning, and repetitive doodling. Art doesn't always have to mean drawing still life, after all. Combine this math art project idea with Möbius strip hearts and you and your kids can celebrate Valentine's Day in style. Made famous in popular culture by...
February Read Aloud Books that Will Warm Your Heart
Happy February! Welcome to the read aloud book list that will get you through the shortest month of the year. Unlike my January book list which had nothing to do with the month itself, these February books will remind you of the love-themed holiday of Valentine's Day. At least the picture books will. I was...
Game of the Month: Go Nuts for Donuts
Glazed, powdered or plain, who doesn't love a fresh donut? And what family doesn't like a good, rousing card game? Now your favorite baked good comes in a fast-paced, spirited family-friendly card game, Go Nuts for Donuts. This past Christmas, "Santa" brought us Gamewright's card game, Go Nuts for Donuts, "The Pastry-Picking Card Game" and we...
Classic Read Aloud Books - You Haven't Read Yet!
Have you ever noticed how book lists of classic read alouds contain the same titles? Does one of the following describe your situation? A) You are an experienced read aloud-er and you've read all the standards (Charlotte's Web, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe) and you want something new, but with a classic literature sensibility....
January Read Alouds that Aren't About Winter!
The dark days of January are perfect for snuggling up with a good book and reading aloud to your children. Of course, I could say something similar for any month of the year–and I probably have! In any case, I know you book-crazy families are looking for something new to start off the New Year!...
This Hilarious Item Will Help You Survive Family Gatherings
Do your children feel anxious in large family gatherings? Or maybe you do! Perhaps your children (or you!) are introverts and all the conversation and questions about "how are you doing" rattles the brain and they just want to go into the back room and curl up with a good book. (This post contains affiliate...
Fun Things to Do During Winter Break: Including Free Planner!
School is about to break for the holidays and you don't have a plan! No holiday trip, no classes, and it seems like everybody else is out of town, so no, you can't send the kids and their friends down to play table football in the basement for hours. And letting them play on the...
Paper Snowflake Wreath: Easy Winter Craft for Kids
How would you like a ring of snow to grace your front door? Making a paper snowflake wreath is a fun, simple winter craft for kids. It's a great way to use up all those paper snowflake if (like us) you are addicted to making them! If you use non-Christmas colors, this can be a...
Game of the Month: Set Card Game
My family loves simple games that are adaptable for a number of different situations. SET is an easy-to-learn card game that can be played together as a family, or individually as a brain teaser. You can play it as long as you want or play it for just a few minutes as a quick boredom...
Darling Village Shop Template Coloring Page
Coloring pages that double as prompts for pretend play and storytelling like these village shops are our speciality! We are super fortunate that children's book illustrator and author Melanie Hope Greenberg designed four adorable village shops to recreate pretend play scenes from her children's picture book, Aunt Lilly's Laundromat. Although, of course, your children can...
Charities That Give Books and Promote Literacy
Here at What Do We Do All Day? the love of books is strong! We like to inspire you to read with your children and fill their shelves with books and their days with trips to the library. But not every child has the good fortune to live in an environment that supports their literacy...
The Best Gift a Child Can Give - and It's 100% Free
Handprint ornaments. Tissue paper covered jars. Painted pinch pots. Do any of these items sound familiar? Yep, they are the delightful handmade gifts our kids give us and we treasure each and every one. And yet, when kids get a little older, they may not be bringing these gifts home for you any more. Perhaps...
Poetry Advent Calendar for Kids (Last Minute!)
Does your family have a Christmas advent calendar tradition? When I was a kid I used to think opening a little paper door on a decorated piece of cardboard was exciting. And I never even got a piece of chocolate to go with a teeny-tiny surprise picture! DIY advent calendars are fun, but sometimes you...
Favorite December Read Aloud Books for the Longest Nights of the Year
Making a non-holiday December read aloud books list was more challenging than I expected! As you will see below this list is not entirely holiday free, but you will find that no matter what December holiday you celebrate, all of these December books will fit into your winter reading list. I included a mix of...
15 Fun Family Activities for Black Friday
It's one of the great mysteries of American life. We've just enjoyed a holiday expressing gratitude for family, friends, health and all the other non-material blessings in our lives. At yet the thing that is uppermost on our minds is that we need to wake up at 3am to wait in a long line just...
Books Like Wonder for Kids Who Want to Choose Kind
You've heard of Wonder by RJ Palacio, yes? Perhaps you read Wonder aloud, or your kids have read it independently, or in the classroom. Wonder, with its message to "Choose Kind," has captured the hearts of kids and perhaps even sparked a fire within those young readers to search out other books that will make their...
Thanksgiving Activity Ideas that Keep Kids (and Grown-ups) Off Screens
When the family gathers for a large celebration and lots of kids are crowding up the space, it can be tempting to send them all into the back room to play video games so the grown-ups can argue about politics chat about grown-up things. And maybe you will want to do that later on in...
November Read Alouds You Will Be Thankful For
This November read aloud book list is a bit of a hodgepodge. You might expect books about turkeys, leaves and Thanksgiving gratitude. And yes, I did include picture books and poetry with a thankful theme, but I didn't want to limit the picture books to Thanksgiving or gratitude as I already have book lists on...
50 Science Picture Books for Kids that Teach about Our Amazing World
Plug any science topic into the library catalog and you will find a large selection of science books for kids on that subject. But which of those myriad of dinosaur or ocean books will you actually enjoy reading with your child? When you are looking for science picture books to read aloud, you don't really...
Space Books for Kids that Will Turn Them into Astronauts
Space is one of those subjects (like dinosaurs) that kids love learning and reading about. Some kids read about the mysteries of the cosmos and get so inspired they grow up to be scientists or astronauts. Regardless of whether your kids' ultimate destination is the moon or Earth, they will love these nonfiction space books...
Printable Halloween Finger Puppets to Inspire Pretend Play
Want a fun and unique way to encourage pretend play this season? These Halloween finger puppets are just the ticket. Your kids will love them more than your typical printable puppet because they get to color their own. Children's book author and illustrator, Melanie Hope Greenberg has been designing exclusive coloring pages for this site...
The Best, Most Magical October Read Alouds
Are you wondering what you should read to your children in October? The month of ever increasing chilly nights and ever decreasing hours of sunlight? Well, I have what you need! Our October book list is full of picture books, poetry and chapter books to read aloud during the month of pumpkins, magic, colorful leaf...
Gorgeous Fall Leaf Suncatcher Coloring Page
It's everyone's favorite time of year, and that means its time for a fall themed coloring page from Melanie Hope Greenberg, the children's book illustrator and author who graces us with a new coloring page each month. When Melanie suggested this fall leaf design for our September coloring sheet, I immediately knew I could turn...
