Fun Ways to Encourage Pretend Play

  Not long ago, I walked into our playroom to find my daughter surrounded by all her cooking items and talking aloud to no one.  I just smiled and she smiled back. "What's up?", I asked. "I'm doing a cooking show!" I guess I h...

The Best Creative Kids Activities from 2013

  I do love the month of January.  Not because of the snow or any special occasions -- it's because the month brings us a chance to slow down and reflect on all the great times from the previous year. Live is busy; we all know ...

70+ Free Winter Printable Activities for Kids

Winter usually means more time indoors so it's always nice to have some quick & easy ideas on hand! Print off a variety of these FREE fun & learning activities and keep them in a basket.  Your kids can choose a few to do e...

Melted Crayon Tree Art

  We must have a BAZILLION old crayons in the house!  I kid you not -- old crayons from previous school years, the small packs the kids get when we eat out somewhere, crayons that we've received in treat bags at birthday parti...

8 Christmas Learning Activities Kids will LOVE

  It's always fun to link the holidays to some learning activities and we found quite a few at this week's Discover & Explore December Holiday Fun!  Squeeze a few of these great activities into the season to keep the kids thin...

20 Free Thanksgiving Printable Activities for Kids

Kids will LOVE these free Thanksgiving printable activities that are perfect for a holiday countdown or a fun way to decorate the kids' table! Thanksgiving is right around the corner & I’ve been busy preparing for both Thanksgiving d...

Tips for Creating Your Own Playscape + a Great Giveaway

I'm sure your kids love to pretend just like mine -- sometimes they dress up for pretend play and other times they employ the use of toys to create their own little worlds. My daughter really enjoys playing with the small figurines in th...

5 Ways to Make Your Own Dinosaur Fossil Dig

Try these fun ideas for creating your own fossil dig kit and excavation activity at home or in the classroom!Let's face it -- kids love to dig! Whether it's digging a hole at the beach or shoveling their way around the backyard, they w...

Exploring Ancient Greece & Greek Mythology with Kids

Ever since my daughter read the Percy Jackson series, she has been crazy about Greek Mythology!  The I-want-to-learn-everything-I-can-about-it kind of crazy....

Digging for Dinosaurs -- Learning about Famous Dinosaur Scientists

This week's Discover & Explore linky is going prehistoric to share ideas about Dinosaurs & Fossils! Over the summer, my daughter was able to do a fossil dig during our visit to Mammoth Site in South Dakota.  She had a great ti...

Fun Ways to Learn about Community Helpers

  It's so important to introduce our kids to the amazing people in our city who keep our community safe and healthy.  Kids need to learn who they can go to for help and also a little about the work of community helpers.  Th...

Let's Explore Schools from Around the World

Today is our monthly book & activity for the Poppins Book Nook.  Each month, we choose a book or books based on the theme and share a fun interactive idea to do with the story. This month's book theme is School Days and since ...

Fun Ways to Explore with Apples

Fall is a great time for apple crafts & activities. Your kids will enjoy these hands-on activities as they explore more about apples -- painting, playdough, taste tests and sensory fun! ...

Exploring Science & Math with Fall Activities

  Sometimes science and math can seem to be foreign concepts to our kids.  It's so important to give them hands-on opportunities to learn these subjects.  And why not also get them some time outdoors too as you explore the ...

Exploring the 5 Senses: A Science Experiment for Kids

This week, the Discover & Explore linky is diving into the 5 senses - things you love to see, hear, taste, smell and touch! When I think about the five senses, the first thing that comes to my mind is baking! So I thought we'd...