Kids Night In Box: Mind Your Manners

As a parent, teaching my kids to be thoughtful, kind and respectful of others is important to me.  Something we've worked on from a young age is manners, such as saying please and thank you, waiting their turn to talk and not chewing with their mouth open.  But sometimes it feels like the things I say go in one ear and out the other.  That's why I'm thankful for the different resources available to help me teach them.  Having the lesson come from someone (or something) other than me can create an environment where my kids are more willing to listen.

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Ocean In A Bottle

In an attempt to keep my kids entertained and engaged this summer as well as retain some of my sanity, I'm trying to stick with simple activities and projects that don't take too much time to prep.  This ocean in a bottle experiment completely fascinated my kids and they kept coming back to it throughout the day to shake their bottle up and watch the glitter swirl and the water and oil separate.  It took me less than five minutes to gather the supplies and five minutes more to help each of them create their own ocean in a bottle.

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Kids Night In Box: Camp

I never went to summer camp as a kid, but I did spend plenty of time camping with my family growing up.  Living in Utah, we have a lot of mountains nearby to explore and it's one of my favorite places to be.  So when I saw our Kids Night In box's theme for June was Camp, I knew my kids would be in for a fun group of activities.  Included in our box was a book, supplies to make a harmonica and a pair of binoculars, as well as a fun size bag of marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate.  They couldn't wait to start!

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How To Make Paper Beads

I love doing crafts with my kids that I used to do with my mom when I was growing up.  One of my favorites was making paper beads out of magazines, which I'd then turn into very fashionable bracelets and necklaces. *wink*  At six and four, I decided my kids were old enough to try making their own paper beads so I pulled out some scraps of colored paper, glue and a few other materials to get them started.

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Kids Night In Box: Finance Club

The other day, my daughter had a small pad of paper and a pen and was going around the house marking different things "for sale" and putting a price tag on them: puzzle piece - $88, piece of play food - $1000, a magnet - $5 and so on.  Being 6 years old, her concept of money is still developing but she's at the point where she recognizes that everything has a price attached to it.  My son, who is 4, thinks he's rich if he has 100 pennies.  This month, we had the chance to review the Kids Night In box and learn more about money and both my kids really enjoyed it.

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Kids Night In Box: Day At The Farm

I love doing fun activities with my kids at home, but sometimes the thought of coming up with an idea or theme and then gathering all the materials together feels like more than I have time for as a busy mom of three kids.  So when I heard about the Kids Night In Box, I thought it would be a great solution and also a great opportunity for my kids to do something new and fun together as a family.

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Springtime Butterfly Kit and Journal

Springtime is one of my favorite times of the year (minus the allergies, of course).  I love seeing all the new life: buds on the trees, flowers poking up through the dirt and baby animals.  The minute it's warm enough for my kids to start playing outside without a jacket and shoes, you can find them in our yard, digging in the dirt, catching bugs and chasing butterflies.  This year, we decided that a butterfly kit would be a fun way to welcome spring.

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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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15 Ways To Play With Glow Sticks

When I think about the things that remind me of summer, I can't help but have glow sticks come to my mind.  What is it about glow sticks that make them so much fun?  Maybe it's that they glow in the dark.  Or it could be that just wearing them makes you smile.  Whatever the case, I really don't think you are ever too old to enjoy them with your family and friends, so today I'm sharing a round up of my favorite glow stick activities!

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7 Tips for Hiking with Kids

This last week we went hiking as part of our Memorial Day activities.  We live close to the mountains and there are a lot of canyons and hiking trails to choose from, so we are always finding fun new places to explore.  My kids especially love hiking and it is one of mine and my husband's favorite activities as well so we do a lot of it.  With this being the case, I've learned a few tips along the way that have helped make hiking a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

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8 Colorful Hands On Activities for Kids

If your kids are anything like mine, they are very hands-on.  They love to do whatever I'm doing, whether it's gardening, baking, crafting, building, etc.  This is why I try to come up with activities that they can do most, or all of it, by themselves.  It's exciting for them to create something and it builds autonomy which is an important skill as they get older and need to figure out problems for themselves.  Over the last couple of years since my kids were old enough to appreciate and enjoy it, I've done a handful of really fun and colorful activities.  These are tried and true and my kids ask to do them over and over again.

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The ULTIMATE All Things Valentines Round Up

Less than two weeks ago, an idea popped into my head.  It went something along the lines of, "Holy crap!  Valentine's Day is going to be here in a month!  I need some new ideas, yummy recipes, crafts, printables, beauty... I need all things Valentines!"  I hopped on a few Facebook groups and asked my blogging friends to submit their Valentines posts for what I hoped would be an ultimate Valentines round up.  I didn't just want crafts or recipes.  I wanted something where I could find a ton of different ideas centered around Valentines all in one place.  And that, my friends, is how this post came into being.

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Midway Ice Castles {plus a GIVEAWAY!}

I'll be totally honest: winter is definitely not my favorite time of the year in terms of the weather.  I get super jealous of those of you who live in places where it's warmer in the winter and always wish I could just hop on a plane and visit for a weekend and soak up some vitamin D.  I didn't include 'sunshine' as part of my blog's name for nothing! *wink*  That being said, there are some things about winter that I do enjoy because there isn't any other time of year to experience it (at least not where I live).  One of these things are the Ice Castles in Midway, UT.

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150+ Halloween Coloring and Activity Pages

One of my kids' favorite activities is coloring.  I swear we pull out the bin of crayons, markers and colored pencils at least once a day.  As much fun as they have with our regular coloring books, it's good to mix it up a little and print out some holiday/seasonal coloring pages.  I've collected over 150 Halloween coloring and activity pages for you to choose from.

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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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How To Tie Dye T-Shirts

In my mind, there are few things that say summer more than "tie dye t-shirts", especially when it comes to kids.  I love how happy and bright the colors are and that each shirt is as unique as the child who wears it.

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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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American Fork Canyon: Granite Flats Campground

When I imagine going up the canyon, I think of narrow, winding roads with thick trees and brush all around. I think of cozy little picnic spots nestled in the trees and a river or stream flowing nearby. This is probably due to the fact that I grew up living within a short driving distance of American Fork Canyon in Utah.

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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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Bubble Snake

The weather here in Utah has been pretty crazy lately.  It will be sunny and 80 degrees one day and the next will be rainy and 60 degrees.  My poor kids ask me every morning if it's going to be a warm day outside so they can play in the yard.  Thankfully, today the answer was yes and they were outside as much as they could be playing on the swing set, jumping on the trampoline or splashing in the water.

One of their favorite things to do outside is blow bubbles.  We go through more bubbles than almost anything else they play with.  (This could also be due to the fact that they tend to spill the bubbles...)  While my son was napping, my daughter and I made a little contraption that when you blow into it, a stream of bubbles comes out the other end.  We call it a 'bubble snake'.  It's really simple and costs practically nothing to make.

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