The boys and I have a particular penchant for math art. We love making tessellations, playing with shapes and even turn treats into fractions. It goes without saying that a toy that explores math and art simultaneously is one we will love. This Kaleidograph design toy is a clever way to explore shapes, geometry and...
Kaleidograph Design Toy
Handwriting Practice with Alphabet Cards
My 5 ½ year old has fine motor delays and struggles with handwriting. He's still young yet, but I try to make his handwriting work fun so he doesn't get put off. Sandpaper alphabet cards are a popular way to have kids practice forming their letters, but my mom gave us this set of alphabet...
Star Wars Handwriting Practice
To say that my 5 year old is obsessed with Star Wars would be the understatement of the year. Remember his Star Wars pop-up book? I'm been trying to harness his interest and use it to encourage him to practice his handwriting and storytelling skills. I'm not even quite sure how he first learned of...
Game of the Month: MiQube
This selection for our game of the month series is a challenging strategic logic puzzle. miQube from MindWare is recommended for kids ages 7 and up and while I often think games can be played by kids younger than the recommended age, I agree with MindWare. We've actually had miQube for several years. I had...
Day and Night: City and Country Coloring Page for Kids
This adorable city and country coloring page from children's book author and illustrator Melanie Hope Greenberg is the latest in our monthly series of free, printable coloring pages. The coloring page features dueling landscapes. On top is daytime in a bucolic countryside retreat complete with cute house and dreamy wishing well. If they look closely,...
Ten 1950s Children's Picture Books
Not every book stands the test of time, but these classic children's picture books from the 1950s are still a joy to read aloud! As with my previous series, I am highlighting books which are less-than-famous but still worthy of your attention. There is no need for me to create yet another popular books or so-called...
17 Japanese Folktales for Kids
These Japanese folktales and folklore offer a range of amusing anecdotes to legends, to full-scale adventures. Many of them feature gorgeous pictures based on traditional Japanese illustration styles. Read these traditional folktales from Japan alongside folktales from other cultures and you'll start to notice common themes! The Crane Girl. I absolutely love this gorgeously illustrated...
Earth Day Coloring Page
This month's earth coloring page by Melanie Hope Greenberg is perfect for Earth Day or anytime you want to encourage your kids to think about the importance of taking care of the planet. The design for the coloring sheet comes from Melanie's illustrations in the book, It's My Earth Too by Kathy Krull. It features a globe encircled...
How to Make a Pop Up Book {With Your 5 Year Old}
Today's book list comes with a twist! If you've ever wondered how to make a pop up book, you are in for a treat. Art and design superstar Ana of Babble Dabble Do and I are starting a BOOK ART collaboration and our first project is pop-up books. Since Ana is all about design and...
More Plant Science: Regrowing Vegetables from Scraps
Observing how some vegetables magically regrow from scraps is a fascinating plant science project you can do at home with the kids even if you don't have a yard! The boys and I are watching a few items regrow (or not, in one case) in our small window greenhouse. I remember growing vegetables from scraps...
Splendid Read Aloud Chapter Books for 3rd Graders
It's so much fun to read aloud to third grade students! Although a classroom of 8 and 9 year olds may include students working at a variety of reading levels, they can all sit and listen to more advanced read aloud books. This list of read alouds for third graders includes a diverse range of...
Game of the Month: Mine Shift
NOTE: THIS GAME HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED BUT SEE OUR OTHER FAMILY FRIENDLY FAVORITE TILE-BASED GAMES HERE! My oldest son spied the strategy board game, Mine Shift by Mindware, in the local toy store and decided then and there that he was going to save up his money to buy it. When I realized yesterday I...
Plant Science Activity with Kids
Since we have no yard, much of the kids' gardening learning happens indoors. Right now the boys and I are learning a little plant science by observing pots of various beans and seeds growing in the window. Despite the fact that I am an avid gardener, I'm embarrassed to say that it continues to be...
8 Math Reference Books for Kids
During our trips to the library I can usually find my 9-year-old between dewey decimals 510 and 520. After all, that's where the math reference books are. Over the last few years we have collected quite a number (pun!) of math books. These are some of my son's favorites, and frankly, I've found them quite helpful...
Respecting Sibling Differences
If you have more than one child how do you support and respect their differences? Before I had kids I never thought about how much of a person's character is inherent. Truthfully, it wasn't until I had my second child that I really understood how people have a unique personality that is present from day...
14 Kids' Stained Glass Window Projects
You all know my kids and I love simple ways to decorate our windows and our various faux stained glass windows always cheer me up. I've been looking for some new window art ideas to try, so of course I wanted to let you in on my search. The biggest benefit of our window art...
Rainbow Village Coloring Page
A rainbow coloring page is this month's pick from children's book illustrator, Melanie Hope Greenberg. Everyone seems to go crazy for rainbows in March because we are all so ready for spring so it was the perfect choice for our coloring pages series. As always, this exclusive, printable coloring page is free to download. Print...
Pi Day Math Art for Kids: Pi Skyline
Math art projects like this Pi Day Skyline are my favorite way to get my older son's creative juices flowing. It's also a great Pi Day activity! My little math nerd loves making tessellations, spirolaterals, drawing with a compass and other math tools. The idea of creating a cityscape out of graphing the numbers in pi was...
Game of the Month: Perplexus
This month's game recommendation is a bit different because it is a single player game. Actually, it is more of a puzzle than a game. However, both my kids are completely obsessed with Perplexus, so it makes the perfect choice for game of the month. The genius creation known as Perplexus is a three dimensional maze...
Counting to 100: Math Activity for the 100th Day of School
Many schools have a special celebration on the 100th day of school. At our school, the teachers use the 100th day to help reinforce math concepts and each kindergartener brings in 100 small items. This math counting activity teaches kids how 100 is the same as 10 groups of 10. I figured the other kids...
Easy Kid-Made Valentines Perfect for the Last Minute
I'm quite notorious for doing all holiday-related activities at the last minute. Last year my youngest kid and I figured out how to make class valentines in bulk in under 30 minutes. I was about to do the same thing this year for his Kindergarten class but thought perhaps I should do something different so...
1960s Children's Picture Books
It's fun to search through vintage books to find long lost favorites like this selection of children's picture books from the 1960s. Despite their age, these books are still wonderful choices to read to your kids. Think of it as vintage story time! When you've finished reading aloud these great classic picture books be sure...
Construction Coloring Page for Kids Who Love Diggers!
Construction-loving kids rejoice! For this month's coloring page featuring things that go, Melanie Hope Greenberg shares this fun, printable construction coloring page (for free, of course!) featuring trucks and construction workers. The illustrations of the dump truck, digger and cement mixer along with the workers on the scaffolding are from Melanie's dummy sketches for the...
What To Do After School - Surviving Afternoon Meltdowns
Do your kids have meltdowns after school? You know what I mean. As soon as they get in the door all of the emotions they have been holding in tight for six hours in order to "not get into trouble" at school come to a head and erupt, otherwise known as "after-school restraint collapse". This...
Single Color Art Exploration {Encouraging Less Arty Kids}
My older son is a somewhat reluctant artist. One of the techniques I have used to encourage him to explore his creative side was to offer only a single color for our art projects. You may be thinking that using only one color for art projects will bore kids. I found the opposite to be...
Encouraging Family Harmony with Kindness Tokens
It's normal for siblings to fight, but it can really take a toll on parents when it seems all their kids do is bicker, bicker, bicker. One way to encourage kids to bond is to engage them in a craft activity like these kindness tokens. Working on this project focuses their attention on a positive...
Winter Birding with Kids {Parent Tips}
Winter is actually a great time to explore nature and go birding with the kids. February is the Great Backyard Bird Count so a winter birding walk will get you and your kids ready to participate. Long time readers (waves) know that my oldest son is the one who got me into birding and now his brother is...
Game of the Month: Hoot Owl Hoot
Hoot Owl Hoot from Peaceable Kingdom was one of my 5 year old's birthday gifts and I am totally in love. It's a cooperative board game so there is no fighting! It was the obvious choice for the game of the month. I can't believe it took our family this long to discover the joys...
Indoor Winter Activity: Thin Ice
Your kids will love sensory experience while exploring the properties of thin ice with this indoor winter nature activity! Indoor activities are a must during winter and you may be surprised to know that I frequently let my kids play with water inside. This particular icy indoor winter activity was inspired by a recent outdoor...
New Year's Resolutions to Practice Family Kindness
As you know, I consider teaching my kids compassion and kindness one of my most important parenting responsibilities. The start of the New Year provides the perfect opportunity to begin a conversation about new ways we can show kindness towards others. I decided to focus our New Year's Resolution conversation on ways we can be...
42 Easy Indoor Activities for Toddlers
Keeping your toddler busy when you are stuck at home can be a challenge. I selected these indoor activities for toddlers specifically because they are simple, easy, and quick to put together. Use them on rainy days, when it's too cold or hot outside, or even when you are just too tired to get out!...
Christmas Tree and Toys Coloring Page (Plus Activity)
Use this Christmas tree, toys and ornaments coloring page as a springboard for a fun Christmas arts and craft project! This festive holiday coloring page from children's book author and illustrator, Melanie Hope Greenberg is so cute, and the detail makes it a great choice for older kids. Like all of our coloring pages, it's...
Game of the Month: Yamslam
My kids and I have been playing a lot of Yamslam lately, so it was a natural choice for our game of the month series. Yamslam shares a few traits with the classic game Yahtzee, but it's much better for playing with children. Yamslam is primarily a game of chance but there is some strategy...
Handmade Paper Clip Bookmarks that Don't Rip Pages
These handmade paper clip bookmarks I made for the boys are an easy gift for kids, perfect to include with a new book or to tuck inside a stocking at Christmas. Best of all, you don't have to be particularly craft-y to make them! I've seen other paper clip ribbon bookmarks and they are lovely,...
5 Holiday DOs that I DO Do
In the wake of last year's post informing you of my 5 Holiday Don'ts I thought it prudent to share 5 of my Holiday DOs. Note: The first "holiday do" is actually to let your two children design the picmonkey image for your post. Hence, the bespectacled, ear-muffed, candy cane and cookie-holding snowman you see...
Game of the Month: Sumoku
Sumoku is what you get when you merge sudoku, a crossword puzzle, Qwirkle, Scrabble, and arithmetic. Yes, I know. That description sounds AWESOME, right? Previously, in my math gifts recommendations, I promised to Sumoku as my game of the month. The wait is over. My math nerd son adores this game and recruits me to play whenever...
Super Easy Hanukkah Dreidel Craft for Kids
This simple dreidel made out of recycled materials is a super easy Hanukkah craft for kids. Every child loves spinning the dreidel and like most kids who celebrate the Festival of Lights, my boys have a slew of dreidels. Nevertheless, it's still fun to make your own (especially when it doesn't take much effort!). I must...
Election Day Activity for Kids: Voting
One of the best Election Day activities for kids is extremely simple: vote with them! It is also a great way to learn about democracy and show them you value voting rights. Take your kids to the Polls: Today is Election Day and even though it might take a bit of extra time and planning,...
Classic Outdoor Fun: Rolling Down the Hill
The internet is full of complicated ideas: kid crafting, elaborate messy art projects, and sensory play ideas but honestly it's always best to get back to basics. A simple classic outdoor activity that every kid must do is rolling down a grassy hill! It's free, it's fun and best of all, there's no prep time....
How to Help Young Children Love Chapter Books
One of my most consistently popular posts is a list of chapter books to read aloud to preschoolers. That thrills me because it means loads of parents are interested in reading to their younger kids. I am beyond excited that Amy from Sunlit Pages accepted my plea invitation to share her thoughts about reading chapter...
