Our backyard garden is in full swing; we had our first harvest of radishes over the weekend! Big Kid and Little Kid both got to pick them, and loved it. To go along with our radish harvest we read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens. The Story: This trickster tale tells the story of a … Continue reading Tops and Bottoms

I don't think I've ever put together a post about books from a single author before. I've posted about topics, book reviews, simple activities etc, but not about a single author. It kind of happened by accident. Big Kid has been participating in some distance learning over the past few months. Her delightful little Montessori … Continue reading Donald Crews

We've had a lot of big emotions here lately. In the past year Big Kid has gotten a new sister, started pre-school, been put under lockdown because of Covid-19, started distance learning, and she's only 3. That's enough to make anyone emotional! Overall she's been handling everything like a champ, but there are times each … Continue reading The Mindful Cat

So yes, I am posting this week after I posted all our butterfly activities, cause you know, life. We had fun looking for caterpillars during caterpillar week with Exploring Nature With Children, but unfortunately came up empty handed. We enjoyed learning about them anyway with the help of these books: Common Critters (open in picture) … Continue reading Caterpillar Week

It's finally gardening time in New Jersey. We’ve had some weird weather, including a few snow squalls at the beginning of May, but our plants are finally in the ground. Sunflower House by Eve Bunting & Kathryn Hewitt was the perfect book to get us ready for planting time this past weekend. The Story: A … Continue reading Sunflower House

Have you ever had fresh made pasta covered with slow simmered tomato sauce, meatballs and sausage? Since we've been home, we've been able to do some more extensive cooking projects, including making pasta from scratch a few times. It's something my husband has enjoyed doing with Big Kid. When they made pasta this week I … Continue reading Strega Nona

Butterfly week is coming with Exploring Nature With Children! I posted about butterfly symmetry, the life cycle of a butterfly, and parts of a butterfly already this week. We are also going to be looking at butterflies around the world. A big part of what Big Kids teachers have been discussing during distance learning is … Continue reading Butterfly Week – Butterflies of the World

Butterfly week is coming with Exploring Nature With Children! I posted about butterfly symmetry and the life cycle of a butterfly already this week. Next up we're talking about the parts of a butterfly. If you've been following along, you know 3-year old Big Kid was attending a darling little Montessori school a few mornings … Continue reading Butterfly Week – Parts of a Butterfly

Continuing on from my last post, butterfly week in Exploring Nature With Children is coming, and we are excited! Last week Big Kid made the butterfly life cycle pictured as part of her Montessori distance learning. This is the perfect way to get us started learning a little more about how caterpillars complete metamorphosis to … Continue reading Butterfly Week – Life Cycle

Butterfly week in Exploring Nature With Children is coming, and we are excited! We've seen a few butterflies around the neighborhood and have been excited to learn more. I've pulled all our butterfly books and have been trying to organize them a little. We are going to spend the first day focused on butterfly symmetry. … Continue reading Butterfly Week -Symmetry

I love when things just all come together perfectly. Last weekend, New Jersey opened it's state and county parks again to visitors. On a dreary, but not quite rainy day this week, Big Kid, Little Kid and I went to our favorite part of the D & R Canal, where we could also see the … Continue reading Rivers

How do we raise globally minded kids? Those who will live with compassion and tolerance? One way is through sharing stories of those different from ourselves. In her book Give Your Child the World, Jamie C. Martin says "[w]ith love, faith and compassion firmly rooted in their spirits thanks to the power of story, they'll … Continue reading Lilah Tov

Big Kid started learning about landforms in virtual pre school this week. She was introduced to “island” and “lake”. After her teacher introduced her to the words, I read her this amazing book, Water Land: Land and Water Forms Around the World by Christy Hale. Each landform is shown using a cut out so the … Continue reading Water Land: Land and Water Forms Around The World

I pulled this book of our shelf today because Big Kid is starting to ask a lot of questions about why we are home all the time, why we can't hug and kiss Grandma and Pop-Pop, and when this virus is going to go away. Good questions kid! We have explained the basics to her … Continue reading Home

Does anyone else feel like it's been raining for a week? Maybe it just feels that way because we've been cooped up for a weeks now. I hope all these April showers really do bring May flowers, and vegetables! Today I pulled out a few rainy day books and a fun salt painting umbrella project … Continue reading Rainy Day