Sustainable & Creative Living
Christmas is just around the corner! Yay!! I just started my shopping the other day at T.J. Maxx and as I bent over the jewelry counter to look at some earrings, I said to myself, “ NOOOO…do not buy any of the girls another pair of earrings! They don’t need them!!” (Of course, I considered getting them for myself, but that’s another subject). I got to thinking about what gifts I could get the special people in my life in the way of experiences instead of [Read more…]
If you’ve read some of my recent posts, you know I’ve been kind of obsessed with sensory bins and fine motor development games. Both are great ways to help children explore and stimulate the 5 main senses. At the same time, they can help develop the skills needed to learn how to use [Read more…]
These days more products than ever are being recycled. Many of these items are things a lot of us never
considered to be recyclable. These 5 Items You Should Be Recycling are just a very few of those
products. I don’t know about you, but I find myself feeling more and more guilty when I throw something in the trash without trying to first figure out a way to repurpose or recycle it. At any given time I have 2 or 3, [Read more…]
Sensory bins are a great way to help children explore, develop, and stimulate the 5 main senses. When a child plays with a sensory bin, they are able to touch, feel, and even talk about the different materials they are discovering. Sensory bins can help develop and improve focus and concentration skills in a way that is far superior to average plastic toy play. While playing with sensory bins your child can also learn to [Read more…]
When I asked my 3-year-old son what he wanted to dress up as this Halloween, he said with confidence, “A racing car driver!” So I thought, ok this should be easy. I’ll just get a costume at Target or on Amazon and we’re set. Jumpsuit—check. Helmet—check. I thought I was done but to my surprise when my little firecracker tried on his new racing car driver costume, his next question was, “Where’s my car?” I LOL’d because he was right—how could I forget the car! So, I scoured the internet for boxcar costume ideas and found this DIY Race Car Box Halloween Costume. [Read more…]
It’s almost that dreaded time of year for parents….Daylight Savings! You know spring is officially here when moods are crazy, schedules are off, and kids are not going to bed or waking up on time! Ahh, the sweet taste of daylight savings. [Read more…]
The past few months I’ve been teaching my 3-year-old the alphabet. During the letter N week, we worked on numbers, specifically on how to call 911 in case of an emergency.
If your child has a clear understanding of numbers and letters, they’re probably at the perfect age to start learning what to do in the event of an emergency. In conjunction with learning how to call 911—on my smartphone—I’m also teaching little J how to call Mommy or Daddy in case of an emergency. [Read more…]
If you’re looking for some fun-filled crafts and activities for teaching your toddler the letter B, check out some of my ideas below in this Letter B Lesson Plan for preschoolers. I use the letter of week strategy to help teach my son the alphabet. Each day I follow a letter specific lesson plan, which you can print for free, and incorporate sensory and fine motor play to engage his senses. So far, it has been going great and little by little he gets more excited to learn his letters.
Reading, crafts, sensory, and fine motor play are all great ways to engage a toddler or preschooler when teaching the alphabet. [Read more…]
Grilled fruit is a tasty summer dessert that’s simple and easy for anyone to make at a moment’s notice. Peaches happen to be one of my favorite grilling fruits because of how easy they are to prepare and because they’re so sweet and delicious. The other day I had a peach and blueberry smoothie and it gave me the idea for grilling blueberries along with [Read more…]
About 2 months ago I started teaching my 2 (almost 3) year old son the alphabet. At first, I thought singing the alphabet song over and over would get him interested but that was a big fail. Every time I’d start to sing he would say, “stop mommy, stop singing!” Ultimately, I decided on a different approach— the letter of week strategy.
Starting with the letters in his name, each week I concentrate on [Read more…]
Having raised three kids and cared for multiple family pets, medication disposal has always been an issue. In the past, I either flushed old medications down the toilet or threw them in the trash. Then I read that our water supply is becoming contaminated with human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.
Admittedly, I procrastinated finding somewhere to take my unused prescription and over the counter medications until I recently found a designated place to dispose of them.
