How to Keep Our Children Entertained & Expand Their Creativity At Home
Do you want to know the secret of how to get your kids to play longer?
In this podcast interview, I really got to the heart of what needs to be done to keep those little ones busy. And it's probably not what you think.
You can also hear the story of how Peaceful Play Box was born!
As much as I am against all this screen time, the kids are literally in front of a screen for virtual learning all morning and into the afternoon, I've learned there are different types of screentime, and it can't all be lumped into such a big category.
I heard somewhere that we can relate video games to candy, and educational games to veggies.
So if you want your kids to eat more veggies, join the new Facebook Group, where you can soon get on the waitlist for our activities membership.
See you in there!
3 Ways to Inspire Play Using Cardboard to Create
Watch the video version of this blog post here.
Good old Amazon boxes are coming in handy with kids.
Don't throw them out, seriously - keep them! At least break them down and lie them flat in a closet so you can break them out on days when you're looking for something to keep the kids busy.
Here are 3 ways to inspire your children to use cardboard to create:
1. Ask your child to create a prototype of something they want. Our daughter wanted a paper/pen organizer and created and customized one of her very own with boxes and a low-heat hot glue gun.
2. Build a home for their favorite figures. Whether it's animals or superheroes, princesses, or LEGO mini-figures, how cool is it to have a custom-designed home for their favorite toys. We used the prompt of making what the kids had built in their Minecraft worlds. It takes the 2-d learning into a 3-d, sensory world.
3. Try CORI. When your child is old enough to start working with wood and real tools, this is a wonderful in-between...
Teaching Young Children About Race and Racism With Art
The first step in discussing race with young children is talking about the differences. What better way to have this conversation through art?
When children ask about different colors of skin, take the opportunity to discuss what melanin is and how wonderful the world is with all different kinds of people.
While it may seem touchy to some of us, children enjoy mixing and matching skin tone colors to match what they see in the world.
Here are some great art supplies to practice with and have conversations about!
Be a model for the attitude, behavior, and values you want to instill in your children!
Here are our favorites:
5 Things Moms Need During Quarantine!
WOW! These things have been life-changing over the past month! During quarantine, there are just some items that make life easier. Moms, I hope this list helps you!
First, here's the FREE Play Presents eBook Link - available for a limited time!
These are the things we need, Mamas!
Note: if you decide to view and purchase some of these items, I may get paid a small amount, but your price will not increase. Thank you for your support! I made this list without knowing if any of these had affiliate programs or links.
1. Dustbuster
2. Joggers
3. Monopoly - so many versions to choose from!
4. Recipe Book
5. Hair Lightener and Dry Shampoo
Bonus - Journaling each morning has done wonders for my mindset and for our family. I start by writing down my dream from the night before. Then, I reframe any negative thoughts on my mind.
Easy Homeschooling During Coronavirus - Using Minecraft
Here's what we're doing to get in our "homeschooling" of reading, writing, and math skills during the quarantine for coronavirus. We even used Minecraft as inspiration to get our kids writing stories!
How to Teach Growth Mindset to Kids at Home Using Journaling
How can we teach our kids the growth mindset when we've been raised only knowing about a fixed mindset?
It's a lot easier with tools!
That's why I created this video about my favorite journals to use with little kids.
It's not what you might think!
Reinforcing the growth mindset at home is important so kids can adopt it as their way of thinking.
A growth mindset is a belief that our brain grows through practice and work, that we're not born with all of our talent and abilities.
Are you teaching your kids to use a growth mindset?
Here are the resources mentioned in the video for you!
These are Amazon links, so if you purchase through here, at no charge to you, you get to support me creating more info like this for you!
5 Ways to Make Healthy Snacks for Picky Eaters
Do you have a picky eater at home?
Get 5 tips for getting them to eat healthy snacks in this video version:
Or read on for the printed version!
Whenever I'm going anywhere for more than an hour, I make sure to take snacks along to keep their bellies full. Here in America, what's marketed as snack foods aren't exactly the healthiest. Healthy snacks should really be mini-meals made up of healthy fat, a protein, and a carbohydrate. Snacks like this slow digestion and help kids stay full longer. It also helps to avoid sugar highs and sugar crashes.
I look at snack time as a great time to get more nutrition into their little bodies. So I've got five tips for you to get your kids eating healthy snacks.
Use fun tools.
We like to use little food picks, skewers, toothpicks, or mini forks. Edible candy google eyes make snacks super cute.
Use dips!
For protein, use Greek yogurt, nut butter, cheese sauce, or a cream cheese spread. Lots of kids like whipped cream or ketchup. Make...
5 Healthy School Lunch Ideas for Your Preschooler, Kindergartener, or Elementary School Aged Child
Are you looking for inspiration on how to get your kids' lunches packed quickly and easily? Today I'm sharing five healthy school lunch ideas for kids in kindergarten and early elementary school. Check out the video to see it all in action - or scroll down for details on each lunch.
Our kids are now five, eight and nine. And up until two years ago, their lunches would come home and they would not be eaten. They'd be half eaten.
Our oldest always wanted to play instead of eat.
Our middle child sometimes had trouble finding everything in her lunch with all the different containers.
And our youngest, this has been a long journey, but he's been in food therapy for a number of years.
Our youngest used to eat only five to six foods and that was it, and so it's been a long struggle getting him on track. But one of the easiest ways to get him on track was to give him foods that he liked in his lunch, but then also add one or two things that he was kind of okay with, and...
Frozen Butterbeer From Harry Potter - So Easy Your Kids Can Make It!
We have a Harry Potter fan in this house!
For her 8th birthday, we took our little one to Universal Studios to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We all fell in love with the delicious frozen butterbeer served there.
We got home and tested a few different recipes, and settled on this lower-sugar version that the kids ask to make constantly!
Check out the video to see how to make it! The recipe is below.
Harry Potter Frozen Butterbeer Recipe (serves 3-4)
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
3/4 - 1 cup whipped cream
2 cups cream soda (for lower calorie/sugar use Zevia or similar)
1 tbsp butterscotch or caramel syrup
1. Freeze 1/2 cup cream soda in an ice cube tray.
2. Add all ingredients to high-speed blender, reserving 3/4 cup whipped cream for topping.
3. Blend on ice crush/milkshake setting.
4. Pour in chilled mugs, top with 1/4 cup whipped cream, and enjoy!
It's been a fun treat for the family all summer!
What's your favorite summer treat?
A Better Toy for Travel Than LEGO: Plus Plus Blocks Ideas
Do you wish your kids would play with something other than LEGO? Mix it up with this building toy, perfect for ages 3-10 years! This toy is great for creative thinking and it's wonderful for travel, for playing at a siblings practice, or for playing at home.
In this video, you'll learn what Plus Plus Blocks are, why you should try them out, and the favorite things our kids build with them:
What are Plus-Plus Blocks?
They are little plus signs that allow kids to build in all directions.
Why do we love them?
1. Perfect for grabbing on the go, the tube packaging is easy to stuff into a bag or large purse and run out the door. It's no big deal if a few are lost because they are all the same! I've spent hours looking in the grass for a dropped LEGO!
2. Great for all ages - they have larger pieces for young kids, and the regular sets are even fun for adults!
3. They don't hurt if you accidentally step on one!
What do we build?
People, robots, humans, dogs, eagles, babies, animals,...
