It's August; cue the Back to School Scaries. Along with the excitement of a new school year comes changes to normal routine and the build-up of anticipation anxiety. If you didn't know, before becoming a mom, I was a preschool teacher, so I have experienced a whole lot of first days and seen the range of emotion kids go through! Whether it is starting a new school, ...
Harper is jumping back into first grade in person this year and- a girl after my own heart- she is so excited for Back to School shopping! I always do a little browsing beforehand to give us a head start with some choices that I think she'll like. Here are my favorite kids backpacks for girls this school year! My picks are full of bright colors, magical prints, ...
One of our favorite activities to do together is taking my little ones on an outdoor scavenger hunt. It's something that I can do with 3 kids of various ages; Josie stays content in the stroller or Ergo while the big kids work on finding everything on their lists. I have noticed that adding a task like this keeps them engaged with their surroundings and typically means we ...
The often exaggerated emotions of an emoji make them a fun way to visualize and discuss feelings with children. And, let's be honest, their cute little dramatic yellow faces oftentimes match the big feelings of my own children 😆which I think makes them even more relatable! This paper plate craft for kids is a fun invitation-to-create where children can either recreate their favorite emoji or come up with ...
World Emoji Day is July 17- how fun! I mean, who doesn't love an emoji? They have a way of adding a little something extra-extra and even help to improve conversation by adding an expressive touch to plain text. Emojis took on a whole new level at our house this year as Harper completed a year of virtual Kindergarten. It didn't take long for her and the rest ...
A whole year with our little homegrown pandemic baby - whew! We made it! If nothing else, this year is definitely one to celebrate. The shiny silver lining to an otherwise difficult year was pressing the pause button on life and spending every single moment of slow living at home with Josie. Watching her grow and soaking it all in because by now I know how quickly it ...
Be sure to hit the pin button to save these first birthday gift ideas for later! This guide is full of First Birthday Gift Ideas made up of tried and true one-year-old favorites in our house as well as some new items that I found this year that I knew Josie would enjoy opening on her first birthday! Unicorn 3-in-One: Well I think this is just about the cutest ...
I think every parent (justifiably) has a love / hate relationship with Legos. Especially the idea of trying to figure out Lego storage ideas. On one hand, the building kits entertain my kids for HOURS and I love them from a STEM perspective. But then there is the anxiety of kits getting mixed up, pieces lost, and -collective groan- stepped on. So when Harper and Ethan got ...
If there's one place I know I can find my kids in the spring, it's elbows deep in the dirt in our backyard garden. I'm talking full on showers every time they come inside. So a few years ago I started making them an indoor garden spring sensory bin; it's a perfect solution for those days when the weather isn't the best (which let's face it, in Northeast ...
I have seen these cute cardboard sensory puzzles floating around social media so I decided to try to DIY my own. I ended up making this one for the kids to sort pom poms into rainbow colors! It is a simple and fun invitation to play that I have kept set up on our kitchen island for them to do in the mornings or while I am making ...
I am all about incorporating holiday themes to make learning more fun! Manipulatives are a hands-on way to learn common preschool and kindergarten concepts. They are also one of the easiest things to swap out for a holiday theme. I made this sweet little Valentine Math Mat to use with conversation heart manipulatives! If you don't have candies, don't worry: you can do the same activities with cut ...
We have always celebrated Valentine's Day with homemade gifts. I like to keep it simple with something like a handmade heart card (that I usually stay up way too late crafting with doilies, stickers, the whole 9 yards 😅). Last year, I also made the kids a set of melted crayon hearts. This year, I'm giving them an "XOXO Dough" playdough valentine! You can find my favorite homemade ...