Each year I challenge our family to choose a new vegetable to plant in our garden. Someone recommended that I try Growing Texas 40 Peas . Knowing NOTHING about them, I planted a short row. Amazon Affiliate links How did Growing Texas 40 Peas go? This Southern Style Cowpea only does well in warm weather and is drought tolerant – so if I don’t get to watering, all is still good. They grew well, so tall in fact, that I needed to add some string support. Then, the aphids came in ... Read more...
Make a Collage with toddlers
Make a collage with black and orange this fall. Better yet - make a few and turn your toddler's projects into a kid-made book. How to Make a Collage with Toddlers Does your toddler resist craft projects, but you still want to do tot time lessons with them? When crafting or having "lessons" with toddlers, I have found that it is best to have open ended projects that allow them to practice age-appropriate skills; ripping, painting, cutting, gluing and sticking. In small doses, these ... Read more...
Baby Friendly Hotel Fun
I thought it might be fun to share with you some tricks of the trade that I’ve learned over the years as a mother of 3. I need to remind myself every once in a while that I need to make plans for what to do with my baby so I thought blogging about it might help both you and me become active parents with our actively learning babies. This past week we were on vacation which can be challenging enough on your own but with a baby you have to get a little creative in hotel ... Read more...
Spider Shirt!
It's fun to make cute holiday shirts for your kids. As soon as I set my eyes on this DIY project, I knew I needed to this Spider Web Shirt for my daughter. She is fascinated by spiders and the webs that they make. Spider Web Shirt Inspiration If you haven't stopped by to see Pink and Green Mama's art projects for littles, I highly recommend it! Her art projects are fantastic and the pictures are beautiful. I was so inspired by her yesterday post Spider Web Halloween Shirt that I went to ... Read more...
Spider Meatballs: Little Hands that Cook with Books
Create a spider themed snack with your kids with our spider meatballs! With just a few ingredients you can sneak in some veggies for some a spider themed meatball snack! Here's how to make this spider snack. It's October and we're getting into the Halloween spirit. We had fun this week making Spider Meatballs in cooking class. The girls really became interested in spiders as we were cooking. This lesson we focused on the mixing ingredients together. We discussed food ... Read more...
Using Environmental Print to Teach a Second Language
Does your family speak more than one language? Make sure to fill your house with print! Using environmental print to teach a second language can be beneficial in strengthening their ability to read in their second (or third) language. What is Using Environmental Print to Teach a Second Language? Environmental print is the words children see all around them. It is the signs and symbols that surround them and become familiar to young readers. Children become so familiar with these ... Read more...
Owl Crafts and Learning Activities
We have been in an "owl" mood lately. It doesn't help that our neighborhood owl has been rather loud in the evenings and reminding us of his presence. That means we have been making a lot of owl crafts and learning activities! Affiliate links. Owl Crafts and Learning Activities Owl Crafts and Learning Activities: Owl Headband My daughter helped me design, cut, and sew this owl headband after she saw the one I made for her little brother. (more info here if you want to make one too) ... Read more...
Gardening with Kids When to use Seeds vs Transplants
Gardening with kids is a ton of fun. I can easily get overwhelmed in the seed and vegetable plant section at our local home improvement store. Ohhhh the choices of gardening! I am so thankful that we do have choices, but it is hard to decide WHAT I want to plant and then I need to choose how to get THAT plant in the garden. So when do you use seeds vs transplants? When do I use Seeds vs Transplants It seems that I end up with a combination split almost equally between using my own seeds ... Read more...
Tot School At the Beach
A beach day doesn't mean your little one isn't learning. In fact, we LOVE having Tot School At the Beach. It's the perfect place to play and learn about the natural world. Tot School At the Beach Activity Ideas If you have ever traveled with an opinionated toddler - you would know that keeping your home routines while away from home keeps everything a little saner. It does help if you bring a dump truck along too! We have been doing tot-school on the beach, focusing on living and ... Read more...
Whoooo wants to make an owl costume for pretend play or Halloween?
Make an owl costume for pretend play or Halloween. DIY Owl Costume Headband This little hoot was so easy to make. For less than $1.00 and about 10 minutes of time (depending on how many helpers you have) you can make one too. These owl headbands are great for pretend play in the garden and could be a start to a Halloween Costume. The first thing you do is cut out the owl shapes from felt. You need an owl base, outline for owl eyes, white portion of eyes into two connect ... Read more...
