Modern Parents Messy Kids

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Kid Craft: Make Dr. Seuss’ Oobleck

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Who says Halloween crafts and activities have to be scary? I absolutely love this slimey, ooey, gooey activity for helping little ones to get in on the festivities. Here's our contributor Kaley with the detials... It's gooey. It's gummy. It's like glue. It's oobleck! I have a soft spot for activities that correlate with children's books, and this is one of our favorites. After reading about the green sticky goop that falls from the sky in Dr. Seuss's Bartholomew and the Oobleck, amaze your … [Read more...]

DIY Outdoor Halloween Garland

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My kids love having Holiday decorations outside our home. I love having homemade decorations. Unfortunately homemade + outdoors don't always mix well. A couple of years ago we started making these cute duct tape garlands and I'm happy to report that 2 years later our banners are still looking great. They are easy to make and look so festive no matter what the occasion. … [Read more...]

Scary Spider Webs & A Wonderful Fall Activity Book

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Ah, fall - I adore this time of year, especially now that I have kids.  There's so much potential for fun: fun crafts, fun outings, fun food - fun, fun, fun! The only thing I don't love about the season is the slightly panicked feeling I get about getting myself organized enough to cram it all in. That's why I'm so excited my friend, and kid art aficionado, Jean wrote The Artful Year: Autumn.  It's loaded with just the kind of activities and recipes I want to share with the kids this year, … [Read more...]

Fun with Logs

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At first I was feeling guilty that this post is long overdue - we started the series back in May after all. But now I'm thinking it might be just the time to re-visit the idea of natural outdoor play spaces. With summer coming to an end, so too is the time for running through the sprinklers and planting vegetable gardens. The return of cool, crisp fall weather is actually quite perfect for a more rustic approach to outdoor play. … [Read more...]

Dealing with Night Time Fears Through Play

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One of my boys was blessed with my very over active imagination, which can be fun during the day, but not so much at night.   We've battled our nighttime monsters in different ways. We talk about what good dreams he wants to have that night - where he wants to go, what he wants to do etc. I've also given him an old remote control so if he wakes up from a bad dream he can change his dream channel. Another way to battle those monsters is by melting them!   This activity is fun … [Read more...]

Everything You Need to Know to Start Montessori-ing at Home

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Last fall I was absolutely delighted when the lovely Kylie of How We Montessori agreed to write a four part series here on how to get started with Montessori principals at home.  We called the series Make Like a Montessori Mama and it was a huge success.   With each post Kylie provided detailed instructions on five new at-home activities, each revolving around a theme (food, animals, plants and shapes).  It was such a fabulous resource that I felt compelled to link up to the entire series … [Read more...]

Our Favorite Ways to Make Memories Outside

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I'm having so much fun rounding up our best posts for you to peruse while I'm working away on the site's redesign.  Today we're covering our all time favorite outdoor activities.  Take a look at the list and find a few items to put on your summer bucket list before it's too late.   1. Get Creative with Sidewalk Chalk - Grab some cheap sidewalk chalk, your camera phone, and ideas from this post and you'll have at least an afternoon's worth of playtime.  You'll also have some super cute … [Read more...]

Boredom Buster

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I love activities that are cheap, easy, and entertaining for more than just a minute. This is one of my favorite "go to" activities to do with bored kids. All you need is a handful of completely random objects and/or toys from around the house and a bag. The objects in the bag can be used in SO many different ways.  Lay them all out for your kids to look at and then take one away when they aren't looking. Have them try and remember what you took away.  Dump out … [Read more...]

Letting the Kids Color on Fabric

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Contributor Allison is back today with something very cool.  DecoArt sent us some of their new  and a bottle of basecoat to play with and I, in turn, sent it along to Allison to see what her and her boys could come up with.  The results are pretty fantastic.     I'm all about getting my kids involved so this project was their creation. I love creating (and getting) handmade gifts and I try to pass that love along to my kids as well. We decided to make a placemat/playmat that our younger … [Read more...]