Preschool: 3-5 years

There are few books from my childhood that I vividly remember… Miss Rumphius, the story of the Lupine Lady, is one of them.  Whether it is the beautiful illustrations or the inspiring message the story delivers, the award winning children’s classic is definitely one book from my childhood that has…

How many of you remember the award-winning, children’s classic Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney?  In this now famous story of the Lupine Lady, a young Alice promises her grandfather that she will do three things in life: go to faraway places, live beside the sea in her old age, and…

While pizza as we commonly know it may have first been invented in Naples, Italy in the late 18th century, it has become an American staple.  And with a strong base of Italian immigrants here in our home state, and family-run establishments dating back to the early 1900’s, New Haven-style…

This Spring, a group of my fellow kids activity bloggers and I worked together to bring you a Tour of the World by Flower, featuring flower crafts representative of our home states, provinces and countries from around the world.  We all had so much fun, this summer we’ve teamed together…

Happy Friday, y’all… and welcome to another edition of We Love Weekends!  Sadly, this is also my last installment – but not to worry, the rest of my co-hosts will continue to carry on this great weekly link-up for all your family fun.  I have loved getting to know many…

A while back, I wrote about all the reasons moms make the worst drivers.  Top among them was my 3 year old, pint-sized backseat DJ.  Fast forward 6 months, and my backseat now has two miniature music aficionados, shouting out song requests and belting along with ballads.  Which has also…

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…

TGIF, y’all!  Welcome to another edition of We Love Weekends!  If this is your first time joining us, welcome to Playground Parkbench – I’m Meghan, the Playground Parkbench Guru.  Mom to Big M (almost 4), Lil’ M (almost 2) and M3, coming this Fall.  I write aboutparenting tips, mommy sanity…

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #QuakerTime #CollectiveBias I can’t believe summer is nearly over, and it’s already time to start preparing the kids to head back to school!  We’ve started by stocking our pantry with the Ms’ breakfast,…

With two teachers for grandmas, the girls are frequent recipients of books.  The grandmas often think alike too, and this Spring, both gave Big M mermaid-themed books.  MerMer, our Texas grandma, gave her Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet when she came to visit for Spring Break.  Today, we are…

Before I was a Stay at Home Mom, I never thought I would be… what could those moms possibly be so busy doing all day long?  How hard could it really be?  These were the thoughts that ran through my head as I sat in the cool, relative quiet of…

Last month, on a trip to the local playground, I observed my 3 year old’s first encounter with bullying.  Sure, young kids often don’t want to share toys, but this was different.  This was her approaching a group of kids, most of which she knew, to play, and being told…

If you have ever seen Lil’ M wield a paintbrush, you will understand why we take many of our crafting activities outdoors when weather permits.  At almost 2, she has a fierce independent streak, wants to do it herself, and when I try to help, she gets mad and paint…

Happy Friday, y’all!  Welcome to Playground Parkbench, and this week’s installment of We Love Weekends.  If you’ve never been here before, I’m Meghan, the Playground Parkbench Guru – SAHM to two girls, Big M and Lil’ M, almost 4 and almost 2, and 7 months pregnant with M3, our first…

A summer road trip to Bar Harbor used to be the hubby and my annual summer tradition.  It is one of the few places I have been more times than I can count on one hand.  And we keep going back because there is so much to enjoy – from…

I am super excited to join in Study at Home Mama’s 31 Days of Kids Kitchen Activities this month.  The girls LOVE to help in the kitchen and run to pull in chairs as soon as I start putting ingredients on the counter.  I love to encourage them given all…

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…

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…

At our house, summer means long hot days spent outdoors as much as humanly possible.  And with two, active kids under 4, there’s no better place for that than our local playgrounds.  After nearly 3 years now of playground adventures under my belt, I have just about perfected the list…