Modern Parents Messy Kids

We're all about finding ways to make family life better while keeping our sense of humor. Check out our famous MPMK Top Toy Awards, already viewed over 7,000,000 times!

  • Start Here
  • Travel
  • The Kids
    • Our Famous Toy Gift Guides
    • Play Activities & Art Ideas
  • The Home
    • In the Kitchen
    • Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life
      • Cleaning House
      • Meal Planning
      • Decluttering
      • Organizing
      • Schedules & To Do Lists
      • Daily Rhythms
    • The Holidays
    • Photography & Memory Keeping
  • Parenting
    • Parenting Discussions
    • Happy Family Habits
    • The Book Nook
    • Mom Health & Beauty

Free Printable: Thanksgiving Gratitude Conversation Starters

October 25 by Kristin

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...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Kristin, MJ, Printables, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: free thanksgiving printable, kids gratitude ideas, kids Thanksgiving craft, kids Thanksgiving ideas, Thanksgiving activities, thanksgiving countdown, thanksgiving diy

Summer Learning: How to Build Reading Skills at Home with Reggio Activities

July 12 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Summer Learning: How to Build Reading Skills at Home with Reggio Activities

Reading is perhaps one of the most important skills for a child to learn. During the school year, teachers guide and encourage their students to read, and they open them up to the magical worlds that only reading can lead to. So it's important to continue to flex those skills, and keep kids open to those worlds over the summer too. There are countless traditional ways to promote literacy, from reading groups and worksheets, to e-books and other electronic activities but the summer provides an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Educational Activities Tagged With: learning at home, learning play ideas, reading activities for elementary students, reading activities for young kids, Reggio activities, Reggio Emilia activities, writing activities for elementary students, writing activities for young kids

Homemade Face Paints for the 4th of July

June 30 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Homemade Face Paints for the 4th of July

Happy almost 4th of July guys. Got big plans for the holiday? We're spending the day at a neighborhood BBQ.  This will be the first year we're going to let all three of the kiddos stay up late enough to see the fireworks and we're excited to see what the 3-year-old thinks. We'll also be breaking out some homemade patriotic face paints.  Check out my post over at eHow's Mom channel for the full tutorial and have a happy and safe holiday! P.S. If you're looking for more good 4th of July ideas, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: 4th of july face paint, DIY face paint, homemade face paint, non-toxic face paint

5 Ways to Get Your Kids Off Their Screens and Playing Outside

May 15 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

5 Ways to Get Your Kids Off Their Screens and Playing Outside

Despite living in rain city USA, I believe strongly in getting the kids outside as much as possible (also, the summers in Seattle are gorgeous). So today I've asked Lea to stop by with her top 5 tips for getting your kids away from a screen and outside to play. (And added a few photos of my family because I just couldn't resist.) Playtime is serious business. Just ask the American Council on Pediatrics. In their concerns about the effect of media on young minds, they encourage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Outdoor Play, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: getting kids to play outside, outside play, parenting styles, screen time

Free Printable: No More “Mom, I’m Bored!”

May 9 by MJ at Pars Caeli

Free Printable: No More “Mom, I’m Bored!”

I absolutely adore the idea of hanging something on the wall that I can direct my kids to whenever boredom strikes- so I've got a present for you! It's a free printable and our contributor MJ included some cute icons next to each item so even my pre-readers can use it.   Get your copy today and get prepped for a summer of fun. School is barely out and I’m already anticipating the inevitable, “Mommy, I’m bored!” This summer we’re fixing that complaint with this creative checklist that I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MJ, Printables, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: BORED printable, ideas for bored kids, summer activities for kids, summer activities printable

Natural Play Spaces: Children’s Veggie Gardens

May 4 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Natural Play Spaces: Children’s Veggie Gardens

You guys! It has been the rainiest season in Seattle in the history of ever (literally) but the sun is out today. And - of course - it's making me want to plant all the things.   If you're feeling me, here's a post we did a few summers ago on one of the coolest kinds of gardens out there; the kids' garden. Enjoy and happy planting! Now that the bark has been laid, we've made one more major addition to our backyard natural play space.  But don't get too excited - I haven't had a chance … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Natural Outdoor Play Spaces Tagged With: Earth Day activities, Earth Day activities for kids, gardens for children, kid gardens, kids vegetable gardens, natural play spaces, planting with kids

St. Patrick’s Day Treat: Rainbow Drinks

March 10 by Janssen

St. Patrick’s Day Treat: Rainbow Drinks

I love celebrating the holidays with my kids - they have such a knack for getting excited about each and every one. But that doesn't mean I want to stay up all night frosting cupcakes! Simple but special treats that take under 5 minutes to prepare are much more up my alley. Here's Janssen with a great one... Last year, I made some of that rainbow jello that's floating around on the Internet to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It looked great, but it took hours to make (because it had to set … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Janssen, Seasonal Fun Tagged With: beverage, kid snacks, kid treats, rainbow dessert, rainbow fruit drink, recipe, st patrick's day, St. Patrick's Day treats

Make It: Donut Easter Bunny Surprise

March 6 by Alli

Make It: Donut Easter Bunny Surprise

Easter is about a month away, so it's time to roll out the ideas. We're kicking things off with Alli and her super cute bunny donut idea, perfect for Easter.   We'll probably make ours Saturday morning since we do family brunch on Easter Sunday.   Here's how to make yours... Who says you can't play with your food? Especially your kids' food. Our home activity theme for this month is Easter, so I was determined to surprise Isaiah with a bunny breakfast at some point. And I just loved how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alli, Holiday Projects, In the Kitchen, The Make & Play Vault Tagged With: donut Easter bunny recipe, Easter breakfast recipe, Easter dessert, Easter kids' treat, Easter recipe, Easter treat

Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: Cheerful DIY Storage Jars

February 23 by Kristin

Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: Cheerful DIY Storage Jars

If you're a regular here, you know we're all about getting kids involved in contributing around the house early. Sometimes that means setting up regular family and money jobs, and sometimes it just means taking a little time for a bright and cheerful DIY organization project. Here's Kristen with the details... Things look better when they are organized. And I think we function better when things look better. Case in point:  The Junk Drawer. We all have one and if you've ever … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art + Kid Crafts, Kristin, Organizing, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life Tagged With: DIY organization, diy projects, DIY storage jars, easy kid craft, home office organization, How to get organized, Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 25
  • Next Page »

Get your kids' kit

Finally Get Organized

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Our Famous Gift Guides

MPMK's Famous Gift Guides

Find the Perfect Toy!

Copyright © 2018 · Parallax Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in