{Post by Heather Hice-McCray} The minute my kids get in the car on a road trip they tell me they’re bored. I have great memories of road trips in the car with my parents because my mom would always pack these awesome travel games. A map activity travel game is great for school age kids! This year I wanted to make a travel game of my own that was simple, … [Read more...]
K5 Learning Program for Children: 2 Weeks Free
This is a sponsored post. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure. I have to admit, I am not always jumping to pay for activities for my kids. Often our budget does not allow for that extra spending. You know me with the free/cheap kids activities! Have you seen all the commercials for computer-based learning programs for children and wondered if … [Read more...]
What to do with Toddlers
{This post is sponsored by Autumn McKay. All opinions are my own.} We started our first homeschool year last year. Balancing 2 toddlers while magically creating time to focus on my older two children was a challenge to say the least. (Brings out super woman cape from the closet…) The juggling act of homeschooling multiple children in multiple learning levels is-to be blunt- … [Read more...]
Encouraging Kids to be Thankful
Our family has a tradition of sharing the favorite part of our day with each other. We usually share while we are all together eating dinner. It is one of the ways we are encouraging kids to be thankful every day. Even on nights when daddy is away the girls will make it a point to ask him over the phone what his favorite moment was. With so much negativity surrounding … [Read more...]
Less Book Clutter, More Reading for Kids with Skybrary
This post is sponsored by Reading Rainbow Skybrary Family. All opinions are my own. Please view my disclosure. I look around my house and see multiple little bookshelves filled with great children’s books. The reality is my kids want to read the same 5 or 6 books over and over for months at a time. At bedtime when we read together as a family, all the kids pile up on … [Read more...]
How Do You Spend All That Time with Your Kids?
Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom. {This week: Post by Lisa} Often time’s people ask me how do I spend all of my time with the kids and not pull my hair out. When I add that I’m a homeschooling mom they shake their head in disbelief and comment on how … [Read more...]
Preschool at Home Day 2: Alphabetical Order Hands-On Activity
Preschool at home is a great way to get focused learning time with your child. This alphabetical order hands-on activity takes our introduction of the alphabet activity from Preschool Day 1, and breaks it apart-literally! I always try to use simple free or cheap supplies first. If I can't find a good set of supplies, I then go out and buy simple supplies from the local … [Read more...]
Preschool Journal Time
Kids love to mimic adults. Preschool journal time is a great way to expand on this interest. You can tell I am a list-maker, because my kids are always using the big pads of paper to “write,” “draw,” and “make lists” for fun. It is pretty entertaining how early kids start wanting to explore writing. This is why I incorporate preschool journal time in our preschool at home … [Read more...]
Calendar Time in Preschool at Home
Calendar time or circle time is a great way to start the day in preschool at home. It also allows for some repetition that is necessary for preschool age children. This is a time for learning big concepts in little bites. Preschool at home was a great experience for my daughter and me. I really enjoyed the extra time we had together and since I was a teacher before having … [Read more...]
Back to School Parenting Tips
We made a big decision regarding our kids schooling this year. This year it is vitally important that we follow some back to school parenting tips to get organized for the school year. Whether you homeschool, send your child to private school, a charter school, or public school, back to school parenting tips help us all get organized. We need to use our time wisely to support … [Read more...]
6 New Language Learning Apps for Kids
{Guest Post by Jennifer Monahan} How much do you remember from your world language classes in school? If you’re anything like me, probably not a lot. I remember feeling pressure to take a language class, but not much of what I learned has stuck with me over the years. That’s not the case for kids today, who are faced with a growing global economy where knowing a second … [Read more...]
Hands-On Division Activity
My second grader has been learning more about multiplication and division. I wanted to give him a hands-on division activity to explore. I was teaching him that multiplication and division are opposites. They are both focused on how we group numbers together. As a former teacher, it is exciting when I get to use activities I once created for my students at home with my own … [Read more...]
Easy ABC Poster and Alphabet Learning Game
This ABC poster and alphabet learning game is an easy one to create with your children so that they can see you writing each letter and work on pre-reading skills. You do not have to be an artist to do this. How often for your kids ask you to draw a picture for them, or add a special drawing to their artwork? My preschoolers have always enjoyed when I would draw something on … [Read more...]
Gardening in a Small Backyard
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro Gro-ables. All opinions are 100% mine. Last year I tried to start a container vegetable garden, and with the demands of being a mom and the water restrictions we had going on in California, it did not turn out well. This year I am determined to create a garden with the kids to teach them about self-reliance, get … [Read more...]
Teaching Preschool at Home for Non-Crafty Moms
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of M is for Monster - Preschool in a Box. All opinions are my own. Please view my disclosure. Teaching preschool at home for non-crafty moms can be intimidating. You read kid blogger network blogs and think to yourself, “I am not crafty enough to create this!” All the crafty moms sharing the beautifully photographed kids … [Read more...]