Explore Nature in Spring- Outdoor Activities for Kids

I know the rest of the world thinks that Spring begins on March 20th with the Spring Equinox but for us, Spring activities begin the day we turn back the clocks and gain that extra hour of daylight. Ahh… dinner during daylight hours Hea...

Fun Ways to Celebrate with Kids Books

  There will be a lot of reading going on this week - Read Across America (Dr. Suess's birthday) is March 2nd and celebrated in school throughout the week World Read Aloud Day is March 5th World Book Day is March 6th All great op...

New Kids Movies in Theaters for 2014

  Does your family enjoy going to the movies? We are big fans especially of family movies that we can all see together.  So we always like to look ahead and see what new movies are coming soon - you know, check out the trailers,...

It’s not about Creating Perfect, It’s about Creating Memories

  I learned a long time ago that the memories our kids have of the holidays are not those picture perfect ideals that you see in magazines and movies.  In fact, some of their fondest memories of Christmases past are ones...

25 Ways to Simplify Christmas & Enjoy the Holidays

Enjoy time with family this year with these simple activities that make Christmas memorable! I'm sure that right now, you're in the midst of holiday craziness -- is your mind going a mile a minute?  When do I need to mail the gifts?&nb...

9 Fun Ideas for Cooking with Kids

There are so many benefits to getting kids more involved in the kitchen -- kids are more likely to try new foods, more likely to eat a wider variety of foods and less likely to complain about what's being made for dinner :) But what to...

Family Volunteer Ideas for the Holidays

  Today we are sharing about Life Skills for Kids on the Discover & Explore linky.  Kids need to learn so many different things that will help them to grow up and become self-sufficient.  There’s some of the biggies –...

7 Gratitude Activities for Kids

These creative hands-on gratitude activities for kids are perfect for November! We've been discussing the idea of gratitude this month -- what we are thankful for and how we can show appreciation for our blessings. While we enjoy reading ...

Cooking with Kids - Sharing Family Recipes

  We have a running conversation in our house about why the kids will come back to visit us once they're grown -- they tell me it's for my lasagna and pizzelle cookies ;) In fact, the whole family was all smiles this week when I told...

New Christmas Books that Will Inspire Kids this Holiday

I love reading new books, especially new Christmas books that I can share with the kids!Now don't get me wrong, we certainly have our favorites at this time of the year -- you can see many of them on the 30 Books about Your Favorite Christm...

Teaching Kids about Helping Others with #SimpleGiving

During November, we will be sharing a number of ways that kids can learn about gratitude and giving to others.  I'm thrilled to be part of the #SimpleGiving Champions for Kids campaign sponsored through Collective Bias® and share my i...

A Great Way to Help Girls Grow to be Leaders

  Disclaimer: I am being compensated by Girl Scouts for sharing my thoughts on the #ICantWaitTo campaign as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network.  As always, all opinions are my own -- I only share programs that we really l...

Family Adventures - Tips for Picking and the Capri Sun Big Pouch Picking Contest

    We are HUGE fans of American Pickers -- I mean big!  In our house, it's a family show and we all watch to see what cool things can be found when you head out on a pick.  Needless to say I was thrilled when I was...

Explore the Forest - Tips for Hiking with Kids

We are a big hiking family - love to explore the forest on foot.  And we've been treated to some great encounters during our family hikes -- moose in Colorado, wildlife in South Dakota and even some out-of-the-ordinary highlights clos...

The Essential Guide for Homework Help & Afterschool Activities

  I'm always so overwhelmed once the school year gets into full swing.  I think it's coming off of those laid back summer days and then WHAM! -- it seems like there's hardly any time to relax.  One of our challenges is find...