Toddler: 1-3 years

As I mentioned in last week’s post on School Fundraisers, this month, we have been raising money at Big M’s school with Coin Wars.  Every week we sort out the coin of the week from Daddy’s coin jar to bring into school and fill her class’ jar.  Having sorted the…

The secret to keeping your kids entertained, especially through this interminable winter, is a well stocked craft closet.  You’ll often notice in my At-Home Activity posts, I mention that an activity was free or cost me a $1 because I already had everything else in the craft closet.  So what…

Lil’ M no longer cares to be left out.  She wants in on every craft and activity Big M does these days.  Sometimes, it can be a bit of a struggle, given their 2 year age difference, but I am enjoying the challenge of coming up with activities I can…

Last week, we shared one of our favorite activities from a Montessori Play Group we attended when Big M was 18 months old… Montessori Animal Match.  This week we are sharing Big M’s other favorite activity from the play group… Montessori Color Match. Playing Montessori Color Match Order and ‘exactness,’…

As promised in last week’s Transition series post on Baby Led Weaning, this week I am sharing two of my kids favorite, BLW-friendly, recipes.  And the best part… I love them too because they are perfect veggies for kids, and can be made in large batches and frozen in individual…

As promised in last week’s Transition series post on Baby Led Weaning, this week I am sharing two of my kids favorite, BLW-friendly, recipes.  And the best part… I love them too because they are full of vegetables, and can be made in large batches and frozen in individual serving…

We continue our Transitions series this week covering daily transitions.  If you have a toddler or preschool aged child, I know you have been there… The morning is going swimmingly, right until the moment it is time to load everyone into the car to be somewhere.  They don’t want to stop…

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…

When Big M was about 18 months old, we went to a trial Montessori playgroup with a few of our friends.  All the kids enjoyed themselves, and the minimalist, open-ended toys and play ideas were great.  At the end, the facilitators handed out brochures to enlist registration for the 6-week…

I know I am at risk of offending all my fellow mom out there – but if I am honest with myself and all of you, I have to confess, I am a much worse driver today than I ever was before I had kids.  And if you stop and…

We still have the Frozen soundtrack on repeat in the car, so anything Frozen related is still a big hit.  I found these great heart sequins in the Dollar Spot at Target last week, and the next day saw this amazing post from Totschooling: Thawing a Frozen Heart, and thought…

Do your kids pick the same book at the library over and over?  We go to our local library fairly regularly to check out books and participate in story time.  I always let the girls select their own books, and they always seem to gravitate toward the same handful of…

One thing crafting with young toddlers has taught me… the more you plan a project, the more likely they will decide to create something wholly and entirely different!  These Valentine Relief Paintings emerged last year out of a planned shaving cream art project that went totally awry.  And if there’s…

The dreaded day has finally arrived… There is no more nap for Big M.  She has always been a great sleeper, and I cherished my daily 2-3 hours of peaceful solitude.  It was enough time to do household chores, shower, AND still have time to myself to catch up on…

Big M’s paper plate wreaths are beginning to become a fixture in our kitchen.  As soon as we remove one at the end of one holiday season, she asks to make another one for the next!  So far for Valentine’s Day, we have made 3 easy Valentine wreaths… two paper…

From the second I set foot in my first yoga class six years ago, it was love at first sight.  The gleaming hardwood floors, the zen-like music, and most importantly, the amazing instructor.  She could teach to a class ranging in age from 18 to 80, and manage to modify…

Every Tuesday, we post tips to make family life easier, covering an array of topics from the kitchen, to parenting, to managing your household.  Over the next few weeks our tips will focus on childhood transitions, and how to make them as seamlessly as possible.  We started with our best…

A year after its release, and both my M&Ms are still as Frozen-obsessed as ever.  Big M has dolls named Elsa and Anna (that are not actually Frozen dolls), she orders Siri to “Play Frozen soundtrack” when we drive to preschool every day, and she has to wear her hair…

…and 6 of them are FREE! There is great debate over the use of ‘screens’ with children under the age of 2.  Beyond 2 years old, the debate shifts to how much screen time is too much screen time.  If you don’t believe in screen time before 2, then this…