Flickr find at Wallflower. Whether you buy them, sew them, or throw them together on a whim - kids love forts. They're great for imaginary play with friends or quiet time alone with a good book. And they're perfect for those times when you're stuck at home for one reason or another (say, for example, you live in the Midwest). To get you inspired, I've collected some of the best examples and DIYs from around the web. (Also, you won't want to miss these amazing "Build a Fort" … [Read more...]
Retro Toy Love: Suitcase Dollhouse
This is version #2 of this post. I just spent the last 20 minutes drafting a very clever write up about how much I adore this doll suitcase from hart + sew and how it reminded me of one of my other favorite blogs Modern Kiddo. I went on for about a paragraph about how similar the authors of these two sites are and how I should totally introduce them. Then, just to be thorough, I quickly popped over to Modern Kiddo to make sure they hadn't actually featured hart + sew in the past. … [Read more...]
Tutorial: Shaving Cream Valentine
It's almost February and that's got me thinking about, what else, Valentine's Day. I love that C is finally old enough to get into holidays so I wanted to make something special for him to give to his pals. Since chocolate candy isn't really appropriate for a bunch of 2 year olds (at least not in my world), I came up with this instead. Process based art and play has been big around our house lately (as evidenced by Monday's post) so these shaving cream Valentines were kind of a … [Read more...]
Entertain Your Kids (and Get Stuff Done) with a Sensory Box
If you've ever stepped foot inside a preschool classroom, you're probably familiar with the mysterious attention-holding sensory box. Its ability to keep a young child's attention is so life changing that you need to have one in your own home - trust me! Not only will it keep them occupied for unheard of amounts of time, it also comes with all these developmental benefits. A sensory box is simply a container (preferably with a lid for storage) filled with tactile materials for kids to … [Read more...]
What to Put in Your Art Tool Box
I've been drooling over some amazing blogs about art and play lately. I look at these virtual Montessori Meccas and fantasize about daily art activities based on weekly themes for C. Then S starts crying and I come to my senses. But not having time to set up a preschool in my living room doesn't mean I have to give up on art all together. To make it more manageable (and to keep me more accountable), I've made a pact with a friend - we'll do it together, about once a week. We'll go … [Read more...]