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Rainy Day Play: Gum Drop Engineers

February 18 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

With cold days persisting and school breaks coming up, I thought now would be the perfect time to share one of my all-time favorite indoor play ideas... Have you noticed the big emphasis on both creativity and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills for kids lately?  At first glance these two things may seem to be in opposition, but in reality creative thinking and innovation are necessities to scientific and technological advancement. So how do we foster these … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: gum drop engineering marshmallow engineering, indoor play, preschool play, rainy day play, rainy day play ideas, toddler play

Making Snowmen… Inside!

February 12 by Kaley

Making Snowmen inside! Say it with me, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

You know how we love a good messy sensory art project here at MPMK. So far we've tackled Jell-O Play Dough, DIY body Paint, and even Dr. Seuss' Oobleck.  So what's next? Why, indoor snowmen of course! Kaley's here today sharing with us... I always think of sledding and building snowmen as the quintessential wintertime activities. Unfortunately, we don't live anywhere near snow. I didn't want to rob my little one of all that winter fun, so I had to get a little creative. With a few boxes of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Exploring, Kaley, Sensory & Interactive Play Tagged With: Christmas craft, cloud dough, do you want to build a snowman?, Frozen play activity, homemade dough, indoor snowmen activity, making snowmen inside, play snow, sensory activities, sensory activities for kids, winter activity

My Favorite Valentine Activity for Toddlers

February 6 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Valentine's Day is just a couple weeks away and it can be hard to think of an engaging way to celebrate with young toddlers. I told you I was going to help you grow better eaters and the holiday is the perfect time to try something new! So today I've got a fun activity your kiddo will enjoy- and will produce lots of cute pictures too ;) When introducing new foods to new eaters, it’s important to go slow. Just like adults, young toddlers eat with all their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen

Easy and Healthy To-Go Snacks for Toddlers

February 3 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

on the go toddler snacks

Running around with young toddlers is challenging for a number of reasons. There's the dreaded task of having to work around nap time. Not to mention the mountain of stuff you need to bring: diapers, changing pads, and- of course - healthy snacks! Today I'm sharing 7 of our favorite healthy snacks that you can make ahead of time and can grab-and-go without worry. #1 - The Roll Up Simple to make and easy to create lots of different varieties, the roll up is a great snack (or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: 1 year old snacks, 1-year-old meals, healthy kid snacks, healthy kids snacks, healthy toddler snacks, on the go kid snacks, on the go snacks, on the go toddler snacks, snacks for 1 year olds, toddler food, toddler meals, toddler snacks

10 Immunity Boosting Recipes for Keeping the Family Healthy

January 30 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Immunity Boosting Recipes to Keep Your Family Healthy this Cold and Flu Season- can't wait to start feeding these to my family!

It seems like this time of year my family (and basically every family we know) gets hit with some serious sick bugs. One of the worse seasons I can remember lasted for more than a month. I won't get too much into the gory details. Suffice to say that it was a stomach bug/flu that hit everyone, except for me, for over a week at a time (some of us multiple times). It. Was. Awful. And it was somewhere around the moments I was alternating between rubbing the back of my 21-month-old while he slept … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 1 Year to a Non-Toxic Home, In the Kitchen Tagged With: cold and flu recipes, cold gummies, elderberry, immunity boosting drinks, immunity boosting recipes, immunity boosting smoothies

Free Printable: A Week’s Worth of Valentine Lunchbox Jokes

January 28 by Kristin

I've been talking to you a lot about healthy kid food lately. You know what goes fabulously with healthy lunches? Absolutely anything that makes eating them more fun! Younger kids almost universally love knock-knock or punny jokes. So we've put together a printable with valentine jokes for you to slip inside your child's lunchbox. Simply print out the free form, cut along the lines, and you're good to go. Send me the lunchbox notes! You'll have one for every school day the week of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Kristin, Printables Tagged With: lunchbox valentines, valentine jokes, valentine printable, Valentines for kids

Playtime: Valentine Fortune-Tellers & Knock-Knock Jokes

January 22 by Kaley

I don't know about your kids but mine are totally obsessed with knock-knock jokes - they think they're hilarious and absolutely love getting a laugh when telling one.  So I know they're going to go nuts for these adorable Valentine Fortune-Tellers. Be sure to click for the printable with all 14 Valentine-inspired knock-knock jokes! Do you remember folding fortune tellers back in elementary school? (Maybe you called them cootie catchers?) If I wasn't busy playing M.A.S.H. with my BFFs, we were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Engaging, Holiday Projects, Kaley, Seasonal Fun, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: How to fold cootie-catcher, how to fold fortune teller, kids Valentine's, Kids' craft, playtime activity, Valentine's Day craft, Valentine's Day Knock-Knock Jokes

Healthy Toddler Meals Perfect to Batch and Freeze

January 21 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

batch and freeze toddler reipce

Feeding new eaters and toddlers can feel like a lot of work. It feels like they're hungry all day long! And let's not forget about the joy that is having a picky eater. Wouldn't it be great if you could just pull something you know they like out of the freezer that's healthy and wholesome instead of processed? I've got just the list for you my friends- 7 healthy foods ideal for babies, toddlers, and picky eaters that will allow you to do just that! #1 Apple Muffins Are you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: 1-year-old meals, 1-year-old recipes, batch and freeze for picky eaters, healthy batch and freeze, healthy on the go snacks, healthy on the go toddler snacks, healthy recipe for picky recipes, healthy snacks for picky eaters, picky eater recipes, toddler batch and freeze, toddler batch meals, toddler meal batch and freeze

How to Connect at Dinner Time: Conversation Starters & Parked Phone Stations

January 16 by Kristin

Hundreds of dinner conversation starters for kids- tons and tons of printable conversation starters to get the kids talking at dinner time. We started using these every night!

Life comes at you fast these days.  Have you noticed how we drink our morning coffee and the next thing we know, we're tired and crawling into bed? If we don't stop to be intentional, we can miss out on some really important moments with our spouse and kids. There are two things we've found helpful in being more present with our kids at dinner time: A no-technology rule at meal time. A handy set of conversations starters to get the ball rolling. Today we're going to show … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Kristin, Parenting, Printables Tagged With: conversation starters, no-technology rule, phone parking station, technology free dinner, technology-free zone

2-Minute Strategies for Strengthening Your Child’s “Mental Game” in Sports and in Life

January 13 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

In our fast-moving world today, there is barely enough time to squeeze in a meal together, let alone time to work on the emotional development of your kids. Yet, no matter how well you provide for their every need, if you neglect your child’s mental well-being then you are doing them a disservice in life. But, before I explain how you can find that precious time, you need to understand the following facts:  Parents are the epicenter of their child’s world and creators of their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: grit, grit mindset, kids sports, parenting, positive parenting, teaching grit

Healthy Kid Snack with Hidden Protein: Roasted Peas Three Ways

January 9 by Kristin

Peas are one of those under-estimated vegetables. You think they need to stay in the frozen section and only come out for a chicken pot pie. Peas actually have more protein than a whole egg or a tablespoon of peanut butter. Not only that, peas are a source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, thiamine (B1), iron and phosphorus. Getting peas into your diet can be a little challenging, so I decided to try my hand at roasting them as an alternative to steaming. I've made roasted chickpeas … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: after school snack, healthy kid snacks, healthy pea recipe, healthy snacks, kid snacks, pea protein, pea recipe, roasted peas

Why You Should Make the Dining Room an Art Room

January 6 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

This is the time of the year that we're all thinking about organization. So today I'd like to bring back I had a few years ago and see what you guys think... Turning the (often underused) dining room into an art room for the kids. Here's my original argument for the change.... I finally did it - I got rid of the old green couch (which was essentially a glorified dog bed) in our play room and replaced it with the mother of all tables and some clever storage benches. Thus creating the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Organizing, Parenting, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: DIY art center, DIY creativity center, DIY playdoh, DIY playdough, kids art center, kids art organization, play dough recipe, playdoh recipe, playdoh tools, playdough tools, soft playdough, super soft play doh

Family New Year’s Eve Idea: DIY Balloon Drop

December 30 by Kristin

Why didn't I think of this? It's so easy - definitely doing it with the kids this New Years!

Do you guys celebrate New Year's eve with your kiddos? In years past I've skipped it due to the whole, "there's no way my kids are making it to anywhere near midnight and, if by some some miracle, they do - I'm scared to see what will happen the next day" thing.  But then I stumbled on the concept of "Happy Noonyear". Which is just what it sounds like, basically celebrating at noon instead of midnight. Kinda genius, right? Regardless if you decide "Happy Noonyear" or stay up for regular … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday, Kristin, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: balloon drop, DIY balloon drop, DIY New Year's balloon drop, diy new years eve, Happy Noonyear, kids balloon drop, kids New Years Eve activity, new year's eve for kids

The 2020 POYEL Kit is Here!

December 25 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Ready to take a deep breath and vow to make a fresh start? To help you out, we've got some big, exciting news to share today! When we launched our handbook to leading a more simplified life, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: The Quick Start Guide. It was a huge success and we've since sold well over 10,000 copies. But I also heard from you guys that you would like some handy-dandy printables to go along with your newly-formed action plans. So I worked really hard to make that wish a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Cleaning schedule, finally getting organized, getting organized, meal planning, organization printable, organization printables, paperplanner, personal planner, planner, POYEL, POYEL printable, printable planner, yearly planner

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