It's only a few weeks until the last day of school for us and I know summer vacation has already started for many of you! To help you prepare for a wonderful summer filled with lots of relaxing, playing, connecting, and - yes - even learning, I've asked my good friend Mariah of Playful Learning to stop by and share her tips.To say Mariah is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to education, is an understatement.She has 20 years of experience working in the field of education and a Master of … [Read more...]
Summer Budget Bucket List: 25 Ideas that Don’t Cost a Lot of Money
I'm all about the bucket lists. Let me re-phrase that...I'm all about lists in general. Maybe it's the first grade teacher in me? I have found that lists help me stay on task, focus and get things done.So, when it comes to summer fun, of course I would make a bucket list. Summer seems to go as quickly as it comes. I want to make sure that we soak up every moment of enjoyment.The only problem is that I don't have endless amounts of cash to spend on amusement … [Read more...]
20 No/Low Set-Up Ways to Play with Your Kids in the Back Yard
Not that I'm counting or anything, but summer is something like 52 days away.I don't know about you, but for us... Summer is all about fun without the fuss. Our family loves the new-found together time. And we love doing activities together, both in and out of the house. But the key to making things more enjoyable for everyone? Especially for Mom?Minimal planning and set up.I mean, it's KEY.As usual, we'll be focusing on getting outside as much as possible this summer, even despite the … [Read more...]
Best Homemade Playdough Ever: Jell-O Playdough
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...]
13 Kitchen Science Projects to Blow Your Kids’ Minds
With spring just barely arrived, I think it is fair to say we could all use a few good indoor activities to keep the kids engaged about now.I usually turn to arts and crafts, but lately I have been trying to introduce a little more science to my little ones.Since I don't want to leave the house when the weather is so terrible, I definitely don't want to be running all over town looking for specific materials for our experiments. So I've rounded up 13 kitchen science projects that use … [Read more...]
DIY Personalized Alphabet Book
It's so hard to believe I first shared the personalized alphabet book I made for my son 7 years ago. It's been an extremely popular post ever since so I thought it was time to bring it out of the vault. And with all the options out there for creating photo books now, it couldn't be easier to do! But it can still be surprisingly hard to think of something that's salient to your child for each letter - I'm hoping sharing my picks might help.Please enjoy and let me know if you … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Advent Calendar with Jokes for Every Day
Advent calendars have become such a HUGE part of Christmas these days – have you noticed? We’ve tried several variations over the years from our DIY Freezer Paper Stencil Advent Calendar and our Family Activities Advent Calendar to LEGO Advent and our Reading Advent Calendar. This year, though, with three kids including a feisty 1 1/2-year-old, I’m once again opting to go the super simple route.Our free printable Christmas Joke countdown (created last year by our contributor … [Read more...]
Handmade Halloween: Make Spider Sack Decor with the Kids
I'm so excited about this Halloween project, it turned out even better than I'd envisioned. It's the quintessential MPMK project - easy enough for kids of all ages to get in on the action and the finished product is a decidedly stylish take on traditional Halloween decor. And did I mention how inexpensive it is? … [Read more...]
Free Printable: Thanksgiving Gratitude Conversation Starters
Gratitude isn't a new concept for us. We've talked before about regularly expressing gratitude toward our kids and putting our gratitude into writing.Do a simple search for gratitude on the blog and you'll see many ideas for crafts and thoughts about giving thanks.The benefits of being a grateful person range from being more optimistic, less materialistic and self-centered, to increasing our self-esteem and actually making us healthier. This is something we should be working on … [Read more...]