Time for another play/art room update. The last time I showed it to you guys we had just chucked the couch and acquired a huge new art table (thank you craigslist). Since then we've been getting tons of use out of it - we can be found creating in the room almost daily. I've been so, so happy with it, with one exception. While the addition of the art table has exponentially increased our creative endeavors, it takes up quite a bit of space and has cut down a bit on the amount of area we have … [Read more...]
Kid Activity: Become a Birder for a Day
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...]
We Tried It! Making Tracks with Tape
We were stuck inside the other day in an attempt to keep a case of the sniffles from becoming something uglier. As the morning began to drag on (and I realized it was still only 9:00 am), I decided it was time to finally break out the painters tape and make some of those crazy cool DIY tracks I keep spotting on pinterest. Since we only had extra wide tape, I tore it in half vertically to make wonky strips and C helped me piece them together. The examples … [Read more...]
Christmas Gift Idea: DIY Playtime Mail Center
Between last year's Sensory Box and Easy Handmade Gifts for Imaginative Play posts and this year's DIY dress up box post, you've probably figured that I really like the idea of a homemade creative play box for Christmas. So it should be no surprise that I'm back today with yet another idea along those lines - the DIY Playtime Mail Center. Playroom mailboxes have been popping up all over the web lately and it's not hard to figure out why. Kids absolutely love getting mail and parents … [Read more...]
Christmas Gift Idea: Make a Dress Up Kit with Halloween Clearance Items
When I polled you guys a few weeks ago on what you'd like to see more of here, one of the most popular answers was kid gift ideas. So I wanted to share with you the DIY dress up kit I'm in the process of making for my two tots for Christmas. I know, I know - isn't it a little early for to be thinking about what Santa will have in his bag this year? Yes... but if you too want to put together a dress up kit then now is the time to do it. Striking while all the Halloween stuff is on … [Read more...]
The Super-Sized-Mega-Big-Post on Playing with Shadows
photos via Small Types So I bet you're expecting a slew of shadow puppets and Halloween fun from this post, right? You won't be disappointed - there's TONS. That is, afterall, what sparked the idea for today's collection. But in tracking down lots of interesting shadow activities, I found a surprising number of ideas that don't involve puppets or jack-o-lanterns. In fact, I've found activities for every occasion - indoors, outdoors, daytime, nighttime, sun, or … [Read more...]
Simple DIY Hammer & Nails Toy
Do you guys remember the play workbench roundup I did a while back? After all that research we ended up deciding we just didn't have the space. Plus, one of C's favorite games lately is to "fix" one of his riding toys with a series of pretend tools that I hand to him one by one (Now I need a hammer Mommy, OK now I need a screwdriver Mommy) and I didn't want to kill all that imagination with actual tools. Every once in a while, though, C just really wants to pound on something. So I … [Read more...]
DIY Puppet Theaters & the Benefits of Puppet Play
I'm so honored to have Amanda of Not Just Cute guest posting today. If you've been an MPMK reader for long then you know what a big fan I am of both her blog and her e-book, Parenting with Positive Discipline. I've referenced Amanda's insightful posts many, many times on topics ranging from picking the right preschool and talking to young children about death to being a better listener and Dr. Seuss. Today, in typical Not Just Cute fashion, Amanda shares with us not only her favorite DIY … [Read more...]
Ideas & Tools for Dramatic Play
This week started off with routine doctor appointments for the kids, which also meant routine shots. To say I wasn't looking forward to it is an understatement. I had visions of one kiddo watching the other scream in pain only to find out (from me) that they were next on the hot seat. In the end, though, it turned out to be a rather benign experience. Ironically, my saving grace was C falling down and scraping his knee the day before. The cut was so minor that I didn't really … [Read more...]