Movie Club Monday: The Princess Bride Inspired Taste Testing Activity for Kids

You know those movies that you grow up watching that you absolutely love?  The ones you could watch a million times and quote all the lines and still enjoy it?  For me, one of those movies is The Princess Bride.  My sisters and I would watch it together and anytime one of us would quote it (either in or out of context), we'd all bust up laughing because it just never got old. "That's inconceivable!"  "I'm a poet, did you know it?" and "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die." are just a few that make the rounds and it always takes me back.  Last month, I shared some monthly link parties that I am going to be participating in this year.  Today is the first one that is part of the Movie Club Monday series and the theme is nostalgic films.

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3 Fun Ways to Paint with Toddlers and Preschoolers

As a stay-at-home mom, I'm always trying to come up with fun activities for my kids to do beyond coloring and Play-Doh.  Not that there's anything wrong with these things, but my kids get bored of them pretty quickly.  And when they get bored, what do they do?  Bug each other.  Which in turn bugs me.  So it makes everyone a lot happier if I have a few new activities to offer, especially during the winter when it's cold and we're stuck inside and even when it's summer and it's hot outside. *wink*

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Kid Science: Elephant Toothpaste

As much as I love the summertime and the sunshine and letting my kids play outside, there comes a point every day where it's just too hot and we have to come inside and cool off.  I made a commitment to myself that I would try to have a balance between structured time and unstructured time this summer, but I haven't been doing as well on the structured time with my kids as I would like.  So at the beginning of the week, I decided to do a little experiment that I've had on my mind for the last little while, but hadn't gotten around to: elephant toothpaste.

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46 Ways To Have Fun This Summer {plus a FREE printable}

I am totally one of those people who LOVES to-do lists.  I get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction when I put a little check mark next to something that is on my to-do list and sometimes I even add things to my to-do list that weren't there when I first made the list, just so that I can check it off.  Eat breakfast?  Check!  Brush teeth?  Check!  Make sure kids eat their veggies at dinnertime?  Double check!  ('Cause ya know, I have two kids...) *wink*

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Guest Post: Kendra Leigh Photography: How To Choose Colors for Family Pictures

I'm so excited to introduce today's guest poster: Kendra Hill, owner of Kendra Leigh Photography and Video!  Kendra and I live in the same neighborhood and go to the same church house so we see each other pretty regularly.  Kendra is actually the photographer who took our most recent family pictures and she also took my kids' pictures about a year ago for Mother's Day.  And see that picture of me on the sidebar?  Yeah, she took that one too.  So I am very familiar with her work and think she is great and totally recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer.  When I asked Kendra if she'd be willing to do a guest post for me, I was so happy she said yes because I know photographers are always super busy in the spring with weddings and family pictures.  I'm guessing that some of you might even be in the midst of planning one of these things out for yourself/your family.  Today, Kendra will be sharing some tips for choosing colors for family pictures (which I always find super tricky)!

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How Do Dinosaurs Books Review

Ever since I was young, books have been a huge part of my life.  I have a memory from when I was about five years old walking home from the library with an entire wagon full of books we had checked out.  That little wagon sat in our front room where I could pick a book and look through it or my mom would read it to me.  Before the week was done, I had looked through all the books at least once.  The next week, we took the books back and got another wagon full to bring home.  This love of reading has stuck with me all my life.  I love getting lost in the world of books.  My husband laughs at me because if I'm reading a book, I have no idea what's going on around me.

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60+ St. Patrick's Day Activities and Coloring Pages

I think St. Patrick's Day is such a fun holiday!  There are so many activities that make it enjoyable, especially for kids.  My daughter hasn't quite decided if she likes leprechauns or not though... Oh well!  I hope you enjoy this fun round up I've got for you today.  There are activities and coloring pages galore.  So take a peek and see what you like!  (Click on the link below the picture to be taken to the page.)

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Teaching Your Preschooler Time

Kadie: "Mom, what's for lunch?"
Me: "It's not lunch time, it's breakfast."

Kadie: "Mom, last year I went to Aunt Dani's house."

Me: "Sweetheart, we were there yesterday."

Kadie: "Mom, what's today?"

Me: "It's (insert day of the week)."

Kadie: "Does that mean it's splash pad day?"

If you've ever tried to help a young child understand how many days it is until a certain event or activity, you've probably been met with confusion and frustration that it's not happening right now.  This is because small children live in the present and they have a hard time thinking abstractly.   Time is a very abstract and intangible concept, which is why it is difficult to grasp until they get closer to age 6 or 7 and their brain starts to develop in a way that they are able to begin to understand things such as time.

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12 Fun Ways to Teach Your Child the Alphabet

This post originally appeared on Muddy Little Toes where I was previously a co-contributor.

One of the first songs I remember singing to my daughter was the alphabet song.  I'd sing it while changing diapers, in the car, during bath time, waiting for dinner...pretty much all the time.  When she was about 20 months, she started singing the song on her own with a little help here and there.  By the time she turned 2 years old, she knew the song and could recognize some letters (mostly the ones in her name).  Currently, she is 3 (turning 4 in January) and she knows all the letters by sight, can write about half of them, and knows 3/4 of them by sound.  I'm not telling you this to toot my horn or say that I'm a great teacher when it comes to letters.  But there are some tools I've used that have proven to be successful for my daughter, and my son is starting to catch on as well (he is 18 months).  Check out the list below and see if anything catches your eye!

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Glow in the Dark Bath Paint

You know those glow in the dark stars that every kid growing up in the 80's and 90's had?  I remember wanting them so much that I asked for them for my birthday and was so excited to get them!  I put them up all over my walls and ceiling and would rearrange them into different shapes or the initials of my latest crush.  Now that I have kids of my own, they are just as fascinated by things that glow in the dark.  So when I found a "recipe" for glow in the dark bath paint, I was excited to try it out with them.

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Kid Science: Color Explosions

As an adult, I forget sometimes how neat the simplest science experiments can be for kids.  So many of these experiments can be done at home with items you already own or are inexpensive to buy.  One such activity is combining baking soda and vinegar and watching the bubbles form.  Add some food coloring and dish soap and you've got an even better homemade explosion that will impress your little ones for sure!

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How to Make A Bouncy Ball

My 3.5 year old daughter is at the stage where she will take an afternoon nap about 50% of the time.  This means that some days I have kid-free time and other days I need to think of something to do with or for her that will keep her entertained so I can have some semi-kid-free time.  A while back I had seen a recipe for how to make a bouncy ball.  This sounded like something that my daughter would be interested in and I thought it seemed easy enough to do.   I did have to do a little planning ahead for this activity since it calls for Borax and white glue, which I didn’t have on hand.  I didn’t mind buying the items since I’ve seen other activities call for Borax and white glue is dirt cheap.  I already had corn starch and food coloring so when nap time didn’t happen, I was ready.

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