Modern Parents Messy Kids

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How to Set Up Natural Play Spaces in Your Back Yard

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Recently, one of my neighbors sent out a group text asking if anyone had logs from cut-down trees for a friend who had some cool plans for her backyard. It immediately reminded me of the Natural Play Spaces series we did a few years ago and I sent it to her. Looking over it, I remembered how wonderful it was and wanted to share it with you guys with summer being here.  I hope it inspires you to look at your backyard in a whole new way this summer! I've written before about how much I value … [Read more...]

Making Snowmen… Inside!

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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...]

Best Homemade Playdough Ever: Jell-O Playdough

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Homemade playdough - If ever there was a quintessential DIY this is it!  Parents and children have been happily cooking up this stuff at home for decades.  Today Kaley is sharing her favorite play dough recipe using another kid classic: Jell-O (because it just wouldn't be an MPMK post without some sort of twist). You're going to love this recipe.  Kaley promises it comes out silky smooth and I could practically smell the fruity scents wafting from my computer as I read her … [Read more...]

Best Playtime Activities Ever

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How's your summer going so far?  Running out of ways to fill the hours yet? Never fear, today I've rounded up 10 of my all time favorite MPMK playtime activities. Click on the links for all the details. (And for extra fun, see if you can tell how old the original post is based on the slowly improving quality of my photography.) In no particular order, here they are - enjoy! 1. Discovery Bottles 2. Magic Milk Paints 3. Jell-O Playdough 4. Cup Castles (posted by me on … [Read more...]

Kid Activity: Become a Birder for a Day

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Today we've got a very sweet playtime activity from our newest contributor, Alli.  I love the dramatic play aspect of this idea and I can see it sparking all kinds of curiosity in my littles.  As is the case with a lot of activities, spend 20 minutes participating with the kids and you should be able to set them loose on their own while you tackle something for Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life. We do theme months at our house, and right now we're in the middle of Sky Month– learning about … [Read more...]

Make It: Pretty Science Snow Balls

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We're taking a little break from Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life today and highlighting an intriguing winter science decor project (I think I may have invented a new category of project with that one).  Because the whole point of organizing and simplifying is to have more time to connect with the kids, right?  Take it away Jen... As much as I love January and the fresh beginnings that come with a new year, I'm always a bit sad to watch the Christmas decorations make their way back to … [Read more...]

Getting Our Christmas Craft On

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I always try to make an extra effort to do some special activities with the littles this time of year. Lately, I find sitting around the art table with the kids is just about all I want to do. So here's a glimpse of a few simple crafts the kiddos and I have made together this past week.  I hope you can find the time to share one or two of them with your little ones. … [Read more...]

Make It: Washi Tape Tree

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I'm thrilled to introduce you guys to our newest MPMK contributor, Alli. She's an amazing mama, photographer and kiddo activity planner!  I think you're going to love her and her first tutorial as much as I do. Decorating the family tree has to be the most exciting part about Christmas for a kiddo, right? Okay, maybe Santa wins out. But still, Christmas trees hold a very special place not just in our little ones' hearts, but our hearts as well. Having a small toddler, I am one of the … [Read more...]

Two Tips for Easy, No-Bake Gingerbread Houses

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So I know I suggested decorating ginger bread men in lieu of gingerbread houses in this year's 24 family Advent activities. But then my mother-in-law decided she wanted to host a family gingerbread house party the day after Thanksgiving and she kind of changed my mind about the difficulty of making gingerbread houses - with two very clever tricks. Wanna know what they were?  Read on for all the details... … [Read more...]