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Playtime Cheat Sheet No. 2: Sports

May 6 by Alli

Another month, another play theme cheat sheet to get you through.  Did you guys enjoy trying out all our nature ideas from last month?  Alli's back today with another stellar list of activities, books, etc. you can refer to all month long.  This time our focus is sports - so grab a ball, get outside, and get those little ones running! May is the perfect month to get outside and get active with your family, which is why it's also the perfect month to focus on sports. When I first started … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Play Theme Cheat Sheets, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: DIY sports games, sports games, sports games for kids

Last Minute Mother’s Day Ideas

May 4 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Ok, so maybe a week away isn't exactly "last minute" - but it still kind of feels like the rush is on to get ready for Mother's Day, doesn't it?  So I'm popping in today to share with you my 5 favorite ways to pull together a thoughtful gift for Mom this year. Before I get to that though - have you guys heard of the "Make Another Mother's Day" effort?  I absolutely love the sentiment of doing something special for single Moms on Mother's Day (and for military mom's with deployed husbands too!). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Seasonal Fun

MPMK Continuing Ed: How to Raise Happy Kids

May 3 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

If you're a regular here, then I'm sure you've noticed the happiness revolution that has been slowly taking over MPMK. From our new Happy Family Habits series to our recent virtual book club selection, the science of happiness is quite ubiquitous around here. I'm not sure exactly where or when it became so prevalent, but I do know why. A few months ago, the day after announcing MPMK's new Continuing Ed feature, I was contacted by a representative of Dr. Christine Carter of UC Berkley's Greater … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fresh Finds: The Everyday

Virtual Book Club: “Happier at Home” – Part 1

May 2 by Janssen

Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project has been on the top of my reading list for a while now (it was the runner up for our last virtual book club selection), so when I heard she had a new happiness book out based on the idea of starting at home, I knew we had to tackle it here.  And I'm so happy with that decision as I'm really loving this book! As much as I'm enjoying reading it, I've been swamped with extra projects this month and haven't had much (or any) time to write about it.  So, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Happier at Home, Janssen, Virtual Book Club Tagged With: Happier at Home, virtual parenting book club

The Benefits of Kid Yoga & How to Get Started Today

May 1 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Have your littles ever tried yoga?  Kid yoga seems to be the trend these days and, I must admit, I've completely hopped on board.  By the time S was 2, "namaste" was a regular part of her vernacular. Now before you go thinking I've gotten all hippy-dippy on you, just know that I'm a girl who likes to make decisions based on research - and this is no exception.  There's actually been quite a few studies that have delved into the benefits of getting kids started in yoga early.  This Wall Street … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Everyday Tagged With: benefits of yoga for kids, kids yoga, yoga for kids, yoga games

30 Tips to Make Life Easier & Better

April 30 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I've got a bit of a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  Mostly it's all fuzzy warm feelings and gratitude for the mountains of delectable eye-candy.  But I do have a couple bones to pick too. First, it can be a HUGE time suck.  Invariably so at times when I really just need to get stuff done! Second, I've realized that all the pinning over there has led to fewer round ups over here. So today I'm attempting to remedy both of those problems with the inaugural (and possibly last ever) MPMK … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Style & Simplify Tagged With: getting organized, how to organize your life, organizing

Mother’s Day Ideas: Sometimes It’s The Little Things

April 29 by Anna

4 easy DIY gifts for bringing the spa to mom

Mother's Day is sneaking up on us and this year I'm all about gifts that will help bring a little more peace to every Mom's day.  So today Anna's here sharing three easy recipes for bringing the spa straight to mom.  And, as a bonus, I'm also over on eHow's mom channel sharing a pretty project to encourage mom to drink more water throughout the day.  Check them all out and pick your pleasure. Sneaking off to a yoga class, carving out time for a warm bath, a pedicure, a face mask - sometimes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anna, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: DIY Mother's Day Ideas, homemade Mother's Day gifts, Mother's Day gifts

Build STEM Skills: Make an “Inventor’s Box”

April 26 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

DIY Inventor's Box - a super easy and cheap way to build STEM skills at home (and to keep the kids entertained!)

I'm super excited to share with you a project I put together for eHow's mom channel recently.  You guys know how my ears perk up anytime the words "STEM skills" are uttered, right? Well, the good folks over there at eHow asked me to contribute a few easy STEM skill building activities for home and I took it as my chance to finally try a couple things that have been percolating in my head. The first activity had to be building an Inventor's Box.  I've been wanting to start one of these for the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Educational Activities, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: inventor's box, rainy day activities, rainy day ideas, STEM, STEM activities

Getting Kids in the Kitchen with Dad

April 25 by Natalie

Natalie's with us today sharing her favorite tasty treats that Dad and the kiddos can tackle together for Mother's Day.  Forward it to your hubby or, better yet, to your best mom friend's hubby! QUESTION OF THE DAY How do you celebrate Mother's Day?  With your mom, with your own nuclear family, or do you split your time? Mother's Day is around the corner again, and what a funny little holiday it is. As a mom, I'm used to taking care of holiday preparations and making the days feel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie

MidWeek Musing: How to Instill (and Not Just Hope for) Compassion in Our Kids

April 24 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I've been talking to you guys a lot about bully-prevention lately as part of a campaign we're working on with TakePart.com.  Of course, as a parent of two young children, keeping them safe and happy is a top priority.  But there's another side to this story too.  Along with ensuring that my kids feel secure in their world, it's also vitally important to me that they grow up to be compassionate and contributing members of society. And I don't just feel this way because I want them to be good … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Midweek Musings Tagged With: compassionate kids, emotional coaching, emotional intelligence, teaching kids compassion

The Kitchen Experiment Garden: Growing Plants from Food Scraps

April 23 by Kaley

Grow a windowsill garden with your kids using food scraps (with a free printable)

The other day I walked into my mom friend's kitchen and found the top of a pineapple sitting in a jar of water. I thought it was odd so I immediately quizzed her about it and she politely told little-ol-woefully-uninformed-me that if you plant the top of a pineapple, it will sprout.  What?! I was still digesting this info. a few days later when my contributor Kaley (a wonderfully creative mom in her own right) emailed to ask if she could do her next post on growing stuff from food scraps. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Engaging, Educational Activities, Kaley, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: Earth Day activities for kids, growing experiments, growing from food scraps, growing with kids, kids science activities, kitchen science, kitchen science activities, science experiments for kids, STEM activities for kids

Six Books for Princesses

April 22 by Janssen

I'm totally smitten with the reading list Janssen has curated for us this week.  Whether you're pro-princess or princess averse, we all want princesses with qualities our kids can look up to! Question of the Day Has your daughter gone through a princess phase?  If so at what age did it strike and how long did it last? If you have a little girl, you probably can't avoid the princess scene altogether. Even if you don't introduce your child yourself to the world of ball gowns, glass slippers, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Janssen, The Book Nook Tagged With: books for girls, positive books for girls, positive princess books, princess books

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Win an Awesome Personalized Planner from “I Heart Organizing”

April 21 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Hey guys - happy Sunday! I'm just checking in to make sure you all enter for your chance to win our "Spring Cleaning Surival Guide".  We've talked a lot about two components of the prize pack but I wanted to give you a little refresher on the third component - the 2013 Daily Planner PDF Printable with Personalized Cover from the lovely and talented Jen of I Heart Organizing. She sells the printable pack through her Etsy shop for $25 but has once agreed to give away a set to each of 5 lucky MPMK … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Elsewhere

April 20 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Over on eHow's mom channel this week I'm sharing an interesting twist on the classic bean mosaic. Pair this activity with our plantable paper Earths and you'll have yourself a craft-tastic Earth Day. Here are some other things I've been discussing over on Sulia this week: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Creating & Engaging

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