My preschooler recently saw Disney’s “The Jungle Book” and pretended he was Mowgli for two weeks straight, so when I asked him what he wanted to learn about it made sense that he chose the jungle. A jungle is technically a very dense, usually tropical forest- but it isn’t always rainy. Since rainforests can alsoContinue reading “Jungle Explorers!”
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It’s a Bad Week to be a Seal…
So Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” starts this Sunday and my little is sort of obsessed with the creatures, so I thought it would be perfect timing to do some shark themed learning! It all started when he saw “Shark Boy and Lava Girl” a few weeks ago, and since then has morphed into a fascinationContinue reading “It’s a Bad Week to be a Seal…”
Baby Shark Dodo Dodo Dodo
Since Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” is scheduled to begin on Sunday, I thought this would be a perfect week to dive into some shark themed activities with the littles! Now turn on some “Baby Shark” and let’s go make a splash! –Eatable ocean sensory play: This one is super easy to set up and theContinue reading “Baby Shark Dodo Dodo Dodo”
Snow and Ice
The weather is hot, but this week we’re choosing to “let it go” and dive into some Frozen inspired sensory play and art! My toddler hasn’t seen Frozen yet, but he loves listening to the story book we have featuring Anna, Elsa and their crew of do-gooders. For the first time in forever, we hadContinue reading “Snow and Ice”
Learning with the Snow Queen
It’s the smack middle of summer and it is HOT, so what better way to cool off than with some icy cold learning from Frozen! Both Frozen movies are amazing- the music, the animation, the story lines- it’s no wonder that kids (and adults) everywhere love them, so this week I turned to Elsa, Anna,Continue reading “Learning with the Snow Queen”
Preschool Calendar Time
With the start of the school year coming up, I’m adding in a daily calendar time to our homeschooling routine. I know many preschool and kindergarten teachers start each day with fun songs and activities to build and solidify skills such as letter name and sound recognition, base ten and counting practice, and calendar skills.Continue reading “Preschool Calendar Time”
Accio Toddler Activities
Welcome to a magical week of wizard themed learning and play! Since Harry Potter’s birthday is on July 31st, I conjured up some Hogwarts themed toddler activities I know your little is going to love! I mean, it’s never to early to foster a love of all things Potter- am I right?! –Sorting hat play:Continue reading “Accio Toddler Activities”
Welcome to Hogwarts
Harry Potter turns 40 on July 31st (the character, not the book series- we’re not THAT old yet folks!) so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to do some magical learning with my boys to celebrate! I had to get pretty creative since most of the learning ideas centering around HP are for middleContinue reading “Welcome to Hogwarts”
Sand and Sun
Since it’s summer and the beach is the ultimate sensory experience (the crash of the waves, the salty smelling air, the sand between your toes, the warm sun and cool water on your skin!) we decided to bring the beach home for our learning this week! Turn on some Caribbean steal drum music (Alexa willContinue reading “Sand and Sun”
Learning like Busy Bees!
Even though bees can strike fear into the hearts of young and old alike, they’re such fascinating creatures- and are really kind of cute (at a distance!)! They’re also vitally important to the life of plants (which give us oxygen and food) so I thought we’d take a week to pay tribute to these fuzzyContinue reading “Learning like Busy Bees!”
Learning- with a Little Pixie Dust
Disney World is definitely my favorite place on the planet! There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get walking through the gate and seeing Cinderella’s castle at the end of Main Street USA. Since Disney has been closed due to COVID, we’ve been looking for ways to add a little Disney magic to our daysContinue reading “Learning- with a Little Pixie Dust”
Bring the Disney Magic Home
Even though they’ve been closed for a few months, Disney has done so much to bring their brand of magic home to us while we’re staying away from all the germs. They’re scheduled to reopen with restrictions this coming Saturday, but we won’t be heading to the parks any time soon, so we decided toContinue reading “Bring the Disney Magic Home”
4th of July Boredom Busters
It’s almost the 4th of July and that means sensory play filled with red, white and blue glitter, star confetti and EXPLOSIONS (kid friendly safe ones of course!). I’m so excited to share these plans with you centering around the great ideals our nation has on freedom and fairness for all (such important concepts toContinue reading “4th of July Boredom Busters”
Freedom and Justice for ALL
The 4th of July is this Saturday and what a perfect opportunity to teach our children a little bit about our nation and the wonderful variety of people who live here! Sometimes our country can seem like it’s one huge mess with the hate and division and refusal to listen to other’s opinions we seeContinue reading “Freedom and Justice for ALL”
Sunshine and Water
The weather is getting hot, hot, hot and it’s the perfect time for something I think all kids love- water play! This week’s activities all have to do with fun in the sun (and fun in the water!) Don’t forget to check out the toddler page for some soggy sensory play activities like a DIYContinue reading “Sunshine and Water”
Combatting Prejudice through Kids’ Books
My whole life I have been fascinated with other cultures and the beautifully creative ways the human race has come to meet our similar needs in such varying ways. This interest lead me to study cultural anthropology as an undergraduate, and then when I went on to get my masters in teaching, helped inspire myContinue reading “Combatting Prejudice through Kids’ Books”
The Daily Schedule
As a classroom teacher I ran by a fairly consistent daily schedule, and I try to do the same thing when teaching my kids at home. Although we don’t live by the clock as strictly as I did in the classroom (after all- if we eat lunch at 11:30 instead of 12 we’ll still haveContinue reading “The Daily Schedule”
Basic Supplies
This is probably common knowledge, but just in case someone out there needs a place to start, here’s a list of supplies that are good to keep on hand for learning activities. It’s definitely not exhaustive, but keeping these items stocked at home will make planning and completing many of my activities much easier! -extraContinue reading “Basic Supplies”
The Early Days
Oh the early days of parenthood! The midnight feedings, the exhaustion…the snuggles, the first smiles. When your baby is only a few months old I honestly don’t think that’s the time for learning anything but how to love and care for them well. Everything else should take a back seat (except your prayer life andContinue reading “The Early Days”
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