Happy Friday, y’all! If you’ve never stopped by my Playground Parkbench before, welcome – I’m Meghan, also known as the PGPB Guru. I write about all the things my fellow parents and I kick around on the sidelines at the playground: at-home activities for kids, parenting tips, financial savvy and…
Skills
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The girls had so much fun a few weeks back with our patriotic colored-ice sensory play, this week we decided to do it again. Only this time, we traded in the red, yellow and blue stars for neon-colored ocean animals! Ocean-Themed Sensory Play Sensory play with ice is rapidly becoming…
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Most of our ‘projects’, as Big M likes to call them, are targeted toward the preschool aged child, and I modify them so that Lil’ M, at almost 2, can participate as well. This week, however, I set up a fun, July 4th Sensory Play activity just for Lil’ M……
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Happy Friday, y’all! It’s time for another edition of We Love Weekends – a chance for all our favorite family-friendly bloggers to share their great ideas with you for inspiration to help you and your family love the weekend too. This week, we are our featured favorites from last week’s…
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Summer School Ideas for Preschoolers & We Love Weekends
by MeghanHappy Friday! And welcome to another We Love Weekends link-up, featuring content from family-friendly bloggers around the web to inspire you and your family to love the weekend too! Be sure to check out our favorite picks from last week, a Summer School Ideas for Preschoolers round-up. Last Weekend Summer…
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CraftsFor KidsFor ParentsPlayPractical ParentingSkills
3 No Prep, 15-Minute Toddler Activities
by MeghanIt’s the same thing every late afternoon… I start to get dinner ready, the kids are cranky and hungry, and insist on being right under my feet in the kitchen. I try to let them help as often as I can, but sometimes, there just isn’t time for that, or…
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I received a complimentary Encourage Play box to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. As you may have guessed from our post on the Importance of Play yesterday, I am passionate about play for my girls, both free play, as well as organized projects. I also…
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ActiveFor KidsFor ParentsOutdoorPlaySavvy Mom LifeSkills
The Importance of Play for Early Childhood Development
by MeghanWhen your mom is a kindergarten teacher, you hear a lot about the massive changes sweeping public education, impacting even the youngest of students. You start to pay a lot more attention to these changes when your own children near the age of entering kindergarten. And while research has documented…
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Last week we had beautiful, perfect pre-summer weather: blue clear skies, sun for days, and that temperature that is warm enough for water play, but not so hot you are melting. I promised the girls a pool day in the backyard, and of course, that morning, Lil’ M woke up…
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Family OrganizationFor KidsFor ParentsPlayPractical ParentingSkills
10 Screen-Free Ways to Entertain Kids Out to Eat
by MeghanWe eat out with our kids a lot. They have been going to restaurants since they were infants, and I can recall maybe twice since Big M was born nearly 4 years ago, where they were so badly behaved we took turns racing through our food while the other shepherded…
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Living by the beach, much of our home decor is beach themed. On top of a cabinet in our living room, we keep a large vase of seashells – some were originally purchased as party decor, others have been added over the last 8 years of walking the neighborhood beach,…
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CraftsCrafts & DIYFamily OrganizationFor KidsFor ParentsPractical ParentingSkills
DIY Weekly Magnet Calendar
by MeghanBig M, at 3.5, has become increasingly interested in the concept of days and times. When she is awaiting a holiday or Grandma coming to visit, she will ask what day it is happening, and then everyday ask if it is that day yet! Similarly, she has picked up on…
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I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hands-on-Prints books. I received books to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own. Books are probably the most prevalent, and most loved, toy in our house. Big M’s library started before she was even born,…
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I recently received an amazing set of books from Hands-On-Prints. Stay tuned for my full review next week, but one of the books immediately became Big M’s favorite. Around the World from A to Z, by Christinia Cheung and Han Tran, is a beautifully illustrated alphabet book. Inspired by Montessori…
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A few months back, when I couldn’t take Big M’s requests to read the same Fancy Nancy book for the 100th time in a row, I decided to change up our bedtime reading routine and start reading chapter books! She fell in love with The Wizard of Oz and has…
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As I mentioned last week, Big M and I have been reading Charlotte’s Web at bedtime, inspiring many of our daytime activities, or ‘projects’ as she likes to call them. Our next Charlotte’s Web Words project channeled our inner Templeton, as we worked on not only word formation, but also…
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Big M and I have been reading Charlotte’s Web at bedtime these last few weeks. Due largely to the story, Big M has become increasingly interested in word formation, and we have made several projects this week featuring Charlotte’s web words. Today, taking a little inspiration from Parenting Chaos’ Dinosaur…
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Happy Friday! And into the second week of May, it seems our Spring has ended and Summer has arrived… but after our interminable Winter this year, I’m not complaining. Instead, we’ve been making the most of the beautiful weather and enjoying lots of fresh air and sunshine. We Love Weekends…
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Happy Friday… and welcome to May! We Love Weekends can only get better with the onset of longer days and finally, warmer weather. As always, bloggers, link up your best family-friendly fun, activities, crafts, and readers, check out all the great content to fill your family’s weekend with fun. Last…
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Earth Day is next week. In celebration, the girls and I have been exploring all about seeds, plants and gardening this week. It all started when Big M went to Home Depot with the hubby last weekend and the cashier gave her a tiny pot of sprouting grass… We let…