We were so excited to see that this month's Virtual Book Club for Kids author was Lois Ehlert! We have long-loved her vibrant illustrations and her focus on food and animals and were happy to discover books of hers we had never read before. However, it was an old favorite that we spent the most time reading. Eating the Alphabet definitely resonated with the kids. So we decided to create our own version of the ABC story. The kids searched … [Read more...]
Hunger Heroes: A Food Drive Play Date
Last week we went orange for No Kid Hungry by inviting our friends to the park for a Hunger Heroes play date! Everyone was asked to bring food donations for our local food bank and we were so excited that over 30 of our little friends showed up with enough food to fill 3 large boxes. Each of the Hunger Heroes received a "today I helped end childhood hunger" sticker and an orange super hero cape to signify their good deed. The kids also drew … [Read more...]
Go Orange for Hunger: Super Hero Capes
Today we have invited all of our friends to a Hunger Hero play date at the park in support of No Kid Hungry's Go Orange days. All of the kids are bringing food donations for our local food bank--and turning into Hunger Heroes! I made bright orange capes for all of our Hunger Heroes to wear out of plastic tablecloths from the Dollar store. They were super easy to make! You can get 8 capes out of 1 108 inch table cloth. I began by unfolding the … [Read more...]
First Day of School: Photos and Emotions!
All three of the kiddos started school last week! My oldest had been waiting all summer and was so excited to finally be a first grader. First grader sounds so crazy to me. On one hand she is more than ready for this chapter, but on the other I'm not even ready for her to be in kindergarten yet, much less first grade! The elementary kids start an hour before the preschoolers, but I could not pass up an opportunity for a group shot! (How much … [Read more...]
Back to School Muffin Tin Meal
Monday nights are busy at our house so a couple months ago we started doing muffin tin dinners. Muffin tin meals are usually just a fancy way to serve leftovers, but this week I made a back to school muffin tin meal to celebrate the first day of school! It was very simple to do. I used kitchen scissors to cut out the sandwiches in the shape of a notebook and wrote ABC on the top with an icing pen. I saw the super cute idea for the cheese pencil … [Read more...]
Activities for Birds by Kevin Henkes
The author for this month's Summer Virtual Book Club for Kids is Kevin Henkes! (amazon affiliate link) We read lots of Kevin Henkes books this month and especially enjoyed the book Birds, which is beautifully illustrated by Laura Dronzek. The book may be simple, but it packed full of fun learning opportunities. In the story Henkes talks about what birds look like, what they do and what they could do. In the story Henkes talks about what … [Read more...]
Sand and Cornstarch Dinosaur Fossils
I hosted an at-home summer camp day full of dino fun last month! We started the day by being palenotologists at a fossil dig and it was a super cool experience. Two nights before dino camp I made a batch of sand and cornstarch fossils. I hadn't made these in years so I kinda winged it and luckily it turned out fine. How to Make Sand and Cornstarch Fossils: Mix 1 cup of sand, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar in a … [Read more...]
Fizzy Dinosaur Egg Fossils
This summer we had lots of fun doing summer camp at home with a neighbor family. The other mom and I took turns hosting all of the kids for a day of activity themed fun and we all had a blast! I planned camping themed activities for the first camp day at my house and decided dinosaurs would be perfect for the second. One of the coolest things we did was dissolve dinosaur egg fossils. We started by reading the book Dinosaur Eggs by Susan H. Gray. … [Read more...]
