math

“Never discuss religion, politics or money in polite company.” Maybe that makes for polite etiquette, but not talking about money with your kids is doing them a HUGE disservice. If they can count, than it’s time to start teaching money, its value and how to be financially savvy for life. Here are…

Would it surprise you to learn that the world’s first computer programmer was a woman? And a woman born more than 100 years before the first computer was ever invented? Ada’s Ideas is an amazing, picture book biography of Ada Lovelace, documenting her life and creativity in mathematics that far…

This month for my guest contribution on Pre-K Pages, I shared a Peppermint Science activity, exploring the effect on temperature on sugar. With an abundance of peppermints and candy canes this time of year, we continued our holiday STEAM activities for kids with some simple, but instructive activities for measuring…

I received a complementary copy of The Bubble Gum Girl to facilitate this post. As always, opinions remain 100% my own. If your girls are fans of Pinkalicious and Lady Bug Girl, they are going to love The Bubble Gum Girl.  Katie, the real-life Bubble Gum Girl, empties all the money in…

Ten Apples Up on Top has been one of the girls’ favorite books for as long as I can remember.  It started with the board book version, and now my youngest takes the full  ‘Apples on Top’ book to bed with her almost every night.  Using a favorite book is a…

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fujifilm Wonder Photo Shop. All opinions are 100% mine. All children learn differently.  But for early learners, like toddlers and preschoolers, their experiences are maximized through open-ended, active, hands-on learning. It’s one of the reasons my girls love the different…

Do you know the story of the Brooklyn Bridge? Twenty One Elephants and Still Standing tells the tale of the construction of this famous landmark, and serves as the inspiration for this week’s Architecture and Engineering activity with a fun engineering science for kids challenge.   Can You Build A Bridge for Twenty-One…

My girls love math games – especially when they involve lots of shiny, new loose parts.  But official math manipulatives can be expensive, ranging anywhere from $10 to upwards of $30 for larger sets.  The good news is you can play and teach all sorts of arithmetic with math manipulatives that…

“…27, 28, 29… Mom, what comes after 29?” This became a recurring conversation with Big M (age 4) over the holidays. She has mastered counting to 20, and quickly caught on to the pattern thereafter. When she starts asking repetitive questions on a subject, I like to seize on her enthusiasm.…

We have another great round-up of kids activities for you today on Instagram, courtesy of #KidBloggersofIG.  This week features 12 awesome Halloween activities, crafts, and snacks just in time for Halloween week!  The girls loved our contribution, and have played with it every afternoon for the last 4 days: Halloween…

Looking for a little spooky, learning fun this Halloween?  The girls and I had lots of fun this week with this Spider Web Jumble.  It is a great fine motor skills challenge, and the simple set up makes for easy holiday STEM games for kids too. Spider Web Jumble Ever…

I’m interrupting my usually scheduled Tuesday Tips to bring you a special math activity for preschoolers as part of the Cool Maths for Cool Kids month-long blog hop, hosted by Peakle Pie!  And no, that’s not a typo – Brits are fancy, and don’t say math.  For the last and…

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…

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,…

How many conversation hearts did your child get in their Valentine box this week?  Instead of consuming all those little sugar bombs, you can make a great learning experience with them.  Big M has enjoyed two great activities this month using two different types of candy hearts: Graphing with Sweethearts Conversation…

In today’s modern era, technology can enable great learning opportunities at every age, not to mention, displace weighty books and handfuls of toys in the diaper bag when you are on the go.  Last week, we highlighted our 15 favorite iPad apps for babies and toddlers.  This week, we cover…

When Big M was a toddler, she would eat just about anything.  Then, the closer she got to her second birthday, the less and less she would eat.  Food I had considered among her favorites (avocado, lunch meat, peanut butter), suddenly became tantamount to poison when put on the plate…