Fun Holiday Gifts and Crafts for Toddlers

If you are trying to navigate the holiday season on a tight budget this year, you are not alone. Many people, parents of toddlers included, are looking for ways to make merry for less. Whether your desire to cut back on spending is motivated by necessity or simply a desire to live a little more simply, here are some ideas that you might want to use this year. For your toddler, here are a few ideas. One thing that you can do is to round up any old, broken crayons that are lying around. Home made “crazy crayons”, made from pieces … Continue reading

Children’s Books We Are Loving Right Now

I love the library. Ever since I was a young child I have enjoyed reading immensely. My parents brought me to our local library all the time, and I have many fond memories of going there and choosing books to take home and enjoy. Now that I am a mom, I am discovering the library all over again. Even though I live in a different town now, and a different state, too, the feeling of going to the local library is a warm and familiar one. Dylan loves the library too. Whenever we pass by it, he asks if we … Continue reading

Routines Are Good For Toddlers And Parents Too

Many toddlers (and their parents) benefit from having routines that they follow on a daily basis. Routines do not have to be rigid or make you feel trapped. For toddlers, routines provide a sense of order which helps them to feel secure because they know what they can usually expect to be happening and when. As your toddler grows, routines can even help him or her to learn things like how to tell time and days of the week. For adults, routines are a great time management tool which can help them to get the things they need to do … Continue reading

Busy, Busy Toddlers

I’m amazed that single mothers of young children get anything done. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with Ivy but boy do I get behind in everything. Ivy is a tornado on legs. One minute she’s in the family room, the next she’s hanging off the railing by the stairs. We took her to the movies today which probably wasn’t the best idea, two hours of sitting in the theater left her with lots of pent up energy. As I write this her sister is trying to entertain her long enough for me to write but when she … Continue reading

Home School Blogger Spotlight: Spell Out Loud

This week I want to feature Spell Out Loud a homeschooling blog authored by Maureen Spell a homeschooling mom to six children. Maureen’s blog is full of activities and ideas that will inspire you and spark some creativity into your homeschool. You will find toddler and preschool arts and crafts, lapbook projects, reviews, digital scrapbooking and free printables. When you visit her blog you are entering a delightful world of arts, crafts and home school knowledge. Her blog is easy to navigate with many interesting posts and sections. I love her Toddler Time because she shows you how to engage … Continue reading

Free Online Story Books for Your Homeschool

Story Time for Me is a unique website dedicated to developing avid readers in children. The online books have delightful characters, entertaining stories, and colorful pictures which immediately engage the child into the story. Children as young as toddlers will love the interactive stories and beg to keep reading and listening to all their favorite characters. Children love the magic of books and this program will keep the magic alive while reinforcing important skills. Developing a love for reading at an early age will manifest into a student with better listening, writing and critical thinking skills. As the child hears … Continue reading

Book Reviews: Books on Families

Two general books about families include adoptive, multi-racial and special-needs families that will be of interest to adoptive families. The photos in both will appeal to young children and the text will spark discussion for older children and their parents. Photographer Ann Morris ‘ trademark style is books with one theme, such as “Work”, “Hats”, “Carrying Babies”, and show pictures of people all around the world doing these things. The text is kept simple and the photos speak for themselves, although an index in the back provides a caption for each picture explaining what country it was taken in and … Continue reading

Best Bedtime Books for Toddlers

My children and I enjoy reading books. Even though a couple of them are too young to read yet, they like to listen. My youngest especially likes to look at the pictures and pick out animals from the pages. She sometimes takes over story time by labeling everything she sees on the page. I let her because the others seem to like her little narratives too. Soon she will be retelling her version of the story in her own words as I turn the pages. There are several bedtime books we’ve enjoyed reading and exploring this month: *Ten, Nine, Eight … Continue reading

Toddlers and Grandparents

My son is very fortunate in that my grandmother, age 76, is still able to care for him. He has “Grammy Days” and spends time with her. They listen to Bluegrass music and dance around the living room. They also spend time watching cartoons and movies, reading books and occasionally go outside for a walk. It is much more common that toddlers spend time with their grandparents as many great grandparents are not able to keep up with the active life of a toddler. My son spends a great deal of time with his grandparents as well. My father and … Continue reading

More Top Bed Time Books for Babies

When my daughter was a baby, sometimes I despaired of reading to her. After all, there are only so many times you can go through the “what’s this?” and “what’s that” books with the pictures and the words. You know the ones. The plot is a little thin, though babies love the bright pictures of the apples and the zebras. Older babies love finding the objects in question. However, as a former English major, I yearned for plot, character, even a setting. Besides, she ate the books. Literally. We have one book about babies with delightfully cute pictures, and the … Continue reading