Jenn was wearing underwear before her second birthday. Emma was so strong-willed she refused to accept help in getting dressed from a time before she could even say a simple sentence. And Rhett was putting on his own shoes by 9 months. And while some of this is self-guided, we believe in empowering our kids…
The joke growing up was that my brother didn’t know how to climb a tree until we moved into a house with a mulberry tree. And there we found him, 15 feet off the ground munching on plump, delicious mulberries. I remember every summer our sidewalks, our cars, and our windshields would be stained a…
My oldest is a hands-on girl. Many time she needs to be working with a concept in her hands in order for her mind to fully grasp it. It’s how she’s wired, so when we tackled basic graphing skills, of course, the obvious choice was to make it something that worked her fine motor skills…
When looking at ways to teach your 2 and 3 year olds, scissors may be the last thing you want to equip them with. Visions from a horror movie flash through your mind involving your own toddler, your furniture, and a pair of scissors. I get it. But let them cut. Let them learn to…
In 2012, I was introduced to the idea of making DIY sensory boards and in the past several years I have learned so much about the sensory systems and how important they are for our children. A local mom was moving across the country and put out a freebie if anyone was interested in her…
What kid doesn’t love all things that pop? And as a way to learn, it’s tons of fun. In our learning themes journey, my preschooler and I have been doing some bubble wrap number formation to work on her fine motor skills and also understand how numbers are formed.
I think every mother dreams of the day she can have cute little parties with her daughter. I know that even though I am not a girly girl and my daughters really aren’t either, there is always still fun to be had and even learning with Piggy Paint!
With fall here and all the great gourds and pumpkins arriving at the farmers market, in stores, and popping up around town, my toddler is so amused by them. We made a quick trip to the local grocery store this past week and as we walked in the door she saw all the big pumpkins…
I love book extension activities which meant I set out to create and find other The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities for Toddlers. I wanted it to be fun, resourceful, and educational with a purpose. For us, that meant incorporating fine motor skills and upcycling some old pouch caps that we have collected over a period…
Bottle caps of all shapes, sizes, textures, and materials are something we typically find a lot of in our house. They can make great craft supplies and toys before getting recycled, so we are always looking for ways to use our stash. (We do have a collection of bottle caps that is a variety that…
This week in tot school we did things a little bit different. We didn’t have a daily topic because we were simply learning about magnets! We enjoyed so much fun and play time each day with fun magnetic activities that enriched the mind and encouraged exploration.
This past week in tot school, I had the opportunity to introduce and teach patterns to my almost 15 month old. The beauty of being able to teach patterns is that our entire lives revolve around them! What I mean by this is that the basic definition of a pattern is something that repeats and…