Sometimes as a mother of three little ones, I look at the day and wonder what we did. Spills – check. Meltdowns – definitely. Band-aids – good thing we always stock up at the dollar store. It’s so easy for me to think of all the things that were chaotic, exhausting, and stressful. But if I’m being completely honest, there are always just as many beautiful moments. They just get View Post
Turn Children’s Artwork or Handwriting into Jewelry Keepsake
Turn children's artwork or handwriting into a jewelry keepsake. This has been on my wishlist for ages, and I can't wait to show you my daughter's picture and handwriting that is now transformed into a gorgeous necklace. Every time I throw away a piece of art from my children, I feel awful! But I can’t keep it all. My children love to draw and write -- all three of them -- and we would be buried View Post
The Best Alphabet Bead Activities and Ideas
Here are 25+ inviting alphabet activities with my all-time favorite alphabet beads! You may have seen them floating around Pinterest or on Facebook, and I am glad that I am not the only educator and mom who loves to throw them into activities on a regular basis! My children and I have “ooohed” and “ahhhhed” at so many activities that some of my favorite bloggers have made with them, so I was View Post
5 Tips for Choosing the Best Preschool Curriculum
Need a great preschool curriculum? Here's what I've learned as a veteran preschool teacher! I have invested a lot of time and money into preschool curricula, and the verdict is that I didn’t love hardly any of them. In fact, I hardly liked them. They fell short of my expectations or wishes, and then I was left with a low-quality preschool curriculum and less money. I never thought it would be View Post
Farm Animal Ten Frame Math Cards
Help children learn about counting and numbers with this easy method. I made these farm animal ten frame math cards because I believe that ten frame cards are the answer to helping children understand numbers and counting, instead of just memorization. Imagine this! Your child or student looks at the card with seven ducks. Instantly, the child knows that there are seven ducks, without looking View Post
Best-Loved Circle Time Books
I am always on the hunt for amazing circle time books! There's something about an incredible read-aloud that makes circle time so much more magical! Reading should be fun and exciting and with all of the wonderful books available, there is no reason to settle for less. Along with these great read-alouds, we have a ton more great book suggestions in our full list of the best preschool View Post
Name Sensory Bottle
A name sensory bottle is perfect to teach children to spell their names, or to work on name recognition! Spelling and name recognition should be fun and easy. If the thought of making even a simple sensory bottle is daunting to you, check out my best tips for how to make a perfect sensory bottle. Whenever parents or other teachers ask me for name activity ideas, hands-on methods are my View Post
3 Ingredient Galaxy Calm Down Bottle
With three ingredients you can make this stunning galaxy calm down bottle! This would also be perfect for the little ones who love learning about space! Every year I love making a space-themed activity, and this bottle is inspired by an amazing slime over at Two-daloo: Galaxy Slime. Calm down bottles and calm down jars are great for teaching children self-regulation. And they are just View Post
10 Important Skills Children Learn from LEGOs
One of the most educational toys available also happens to be one of the most inviting! The skills children learn from LEGOs are important and incredible! If you never really thought of them as super educational, you will soon see the benefits to letting children play with LEGOs. This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Skills Children Learn from LEGOs 1. Fine Motor View Post
Easy Bubble Sensory Table
A bubble blowing sensory table was my perfect answer for my bubble dilemmas! Children love to blow and blow and blow bubbles, and you can let them do it to their heart’s content with a sensory table! Several children can blow bubbles at once and make a huge bubble mountain! Plus, it’s so much fun! This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. The best part? It’s only 2 View Post