April is Earth Month which gives us all the more reason to get outside and enjoy a little extra fresh air. Especially while the pandemic rages on, the great outdoors can be a game-changing, COVID-safe setting for a family adventure. 

If you’re in need of a little inspiration of activities that will keep your kids occupied (and won’t totally break the bank), look no further. Here are our five favorite outdoor activities that are perfect for educating the whole family about the environment while taking in a little extra Vitamin D. 

Go on a Nature Walk 

Find the nearest trail or river (or even makeshift with a neighborhood sidewalk) and grab all the essentials: snacks, maps, backpacks, and water. Round up your squad and go on an exciting new adventure that you didn’t know you had in your own backyard! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any plants or pebbles that might be worth stopping for. 

Start a Composting Garden

Not only does composting have several benefits for the environment, it also can be a fun boredom buster for all ages. You can buy everything you need at most major home or garden shops, or double down on the adventure by making your own garden from scratch. This one is a must, especially if you live in one of the best states for composting. 

Explore Local Wildlife 

Your local zoo might be closed during COVID, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spot some animals this Summer. While birds and insects may be a little less exciting than a tiger or lion, read up on local creatures native to your area and make a game out of spotting and identifying the species. This will have your little ones feeling like professional zoologists in no time!  

Play an Old-School Classic Game 

Tag and capture the flag are classics for a reason. While the games we grew up playing may have been replaced by Super Mario Bros and Animal Crossing in this decade, it’s always a good time for some healthy, old-fashioned competition. Bonus points if you end the afternoon with sharing your school-aged stories from when you played these games back in the day. 

Set Up a Picnic 

It’s an unstated rule that lunch and dinner time are significantly more fun when they’re outside. Grab a blanket, basket, and of course, some delicious goodies and change up your mealtime scenery. You can head to a local park or stay on your own property, whatever you do, don’t forget the SPF and bug spray! 

We hope this list inspires you to get outside and enjoy nature with the family. Before you know it, you’ll be adding these small activities into your routine!

Did you know that Dr. Fauci confirmed Santa Claus is immune to COVID-19? 

What a relief. Because parents all over, not just in the United States, but across the world are feeling the pressure and fatigue of pandemic life. So many things are unsure, unexpected, and unprecedented. Realistically, they’re also unpredictable. That’s why it’s such a relief to know Santa Claus is immune to COVID-19 and our kids will have some kind of respite from all of the chaos the pandemic has caused. 

Although children are generally resilient, it goes without saying that they have been affected by the changes in their day-to-day lifestyle. From school closures to being unable to visit Grandma and Grandpa, our kids have been through it this year. From virtual birthday parties to skipping holidays with the whole family, traditions are largely impacted. 

That’s why this year, it’s so important to focus on the meaning of the season in order to keep spirits bright. How can we make this holiday season magical and the most wonderful time of year? 

Here are some ideas. 

1. Create New Traditions 

Traditions, naturally, are the types of things you’d like to be able to do over and over again at the holidays because it makes them feel … well, like the holidays! But even if you’re not able to host the annual Christmas Eve Celebration at your home the way you’ve done for the last 10 years, there are still ways to make the evening special. 

You could opt to drop off cards or care packages at family members homes. You could even have a gift exchange, where everyone opens their gifts on Zoom or FaceTime. Creating new traditions will bring you and the kids together. 

Here are some more ideas for activities:

• Christmas Karaoke
• Make Christmas cookies
• Create your own advent calendar
• Build gingerbread houses
• Read Christmas books 
• Let the kids sleep under the tree

2. Tell Santa the Christmas List … on Zoom! 

If you like to bring the kids to get pictures with Santa each year, or they like to go and tell Santa what’s on their Christmas List, fear not! There’s an answer for you. You can schedule time on Zoom for the kids to get to have that chat. 

Pictures at the mall with Santa may be on the “don’t” list this year. This is a great, healthy, and socially distanced alternative to get the kids time with St. Nick. 

3. Movie Marathons 

Sure, we’ve all been watching the TV and using our devices a little bit too much this year. But what’s better than a movie marathon, complete with all of the kids’ favorite snacks and holiday treats? With these 40 Christmas movies for kids, something is definitely going to catch their attention.

One of our favorite traditions is to watch all of the Harry Potter movies between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve. 

4. Up the Holiday Decoration Game

Whether you normally decorate a little or a lot for the holidays, this year is the perfect excuse to load up on Christmas decor. If there was ever a time for holiday decoration overload, this is it. This year, many more people decided to decorate early. In fact, 1 in 4 people are putting up their tree earlier, this year. 

Deck the halls, update your porch decor, and feel the magic of Christmas in your home. 

Don’t put the pressure on yourself to make the holidays perfect this year. Above all else, mama: you’re doing great.

When your kid is turning six, it’s such a fun age, because their birthday is the BEST day as far as they’re concerned and they’re super excited about everything about it. Of course, you want their party to be amazing, and the best part is, kids are so enthusiastic that the sky’s the limit. We’ve outlined a few ideas for kids parties below so you can make sure that 6 is the best birthday ever!

Dinosaurs

• Activities: Have a sandbox set up for archeological investigations. Bury some plastic dinos and have the kids take them home as party favors! You can also bury some “dino eggs” with candy or other small prizes. 
• Adults: Adults can enjoy an adult beverage in a dinosaur cup that they can take home.
• Cake: To make a dinosaur cake, you can bake a regular round cake, frost with green and blue frosting, and set dinosaurs up as though they’re grazing! You can also include ground-up Oreos as “dirt”.
• Gifts: Dinosaur themed gifts
  • A dinosaur-themed play mat with dinosaur figures
  • A dinosaur fossil egg play set
  • Dinosaur book and toy play set

Beach Bash

• Activities: Have a limbo, make your own lei, and have the kids decorate their own flip flops or crocs!
• Adults: Parents can decorate their own stemless, silicone wine glass, and enjoy a Blue Hawaiian during the party.
• What to Wear: The kids (and adults!) can get into the spirit with grass skirts for the girls and Hawaiian shirts for the boys. Everyone gets sunglasses too!
• Cake: For the cake, you can bake a sheet cake, frost it with blue frosting on one side, and graham cracker crumbs on the other. Add in mini “beach” umbrellas on the sand side using little drink umbrellas and Swedish fish in the water!
• Gift Ideas
  • Ocean life book
  • Beach toys
  • Water Gun Toy

The party shouldn’t last too much longer than 2 hours at that age- that’s probably the max you and the other parents will be able to take! Within that time frame, you’ll have time to do a couple of activities, eat cake, open presents, and let the kids work off their sugar rush.

The letter “Y” is close to the end of the alphabet, which means we’ve worked together to teach almost 26 letters. Great job, parents! We are nearing the end of the alphabet, and also nearing the end of our shelter-in-place orders. It will be fun to take your kindergartener or preschooler out into the world with their new ability to identify and write all these letters. 

To learn many of the letters of the alphabet, crafts are a fun and creative way to teach your child. We’ve made all kinds of fun projects over the last few weeks, like a rainstick for the letter “R”, and Tic-Tac-Taco for the letter “T”. But today, we’ll be doing something a little bit different than the other crafts and activities. 

The letter “Y” is for YOU and this activity is all about YOU! There are no printouts needed here. Just the items listed below and YOUrself:

• A plain piece of paper
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
• A photograph or a mirror 

To learn the letter “Y” and discover the beauty of their individuality, have your children draw themselves! It might be helpful to offer them a mirror or a photograph of themselves to use as reference. 

Once your self portraits are complete, share the finished product with us in the comments below! It will be so fun to see all of the diversity in how we see ourselves! 

Other words that start with “Y”

• Yoga
• Yarn
• Yawn
• Yum
• Yellow

Not sure how to teach the necessary letter N? You’ve come to the right place. 

For kids who are preschool aged and who are starting to learn the alphabet, it’s fun to find different activities to help them learn the letters. That way, there’s something to remember the letters by! It’s always fun to start teaching your kids new things, and with different activities, not only will you be able to keep them busy but you’ll also be able to make some memories with them. 

While there are tons of different words starting with the letter “N,” there’s nothing more magical than the starry night sky. 

That’s why we thought it would be fun to teach the letter “N” by creating a beautiful glow in the dark night sky for your child’s bedroom ceiling. Let’s get started. 

Here’s what you’ll need. 

To get set up to make these glow in the dark stars, you won’t need many materials. You’ll definitely need to supervise your preschooler while you use some spray paint that’s involved, but otherwise, this is a no muss no fuss type of craft! 

These are the materials you’ll need to create your night sky: 

• Scissors
• Old cereal boxes 
• White paint 
• Glue dots or command strips 
• Glow in the dark spray paint (you don’t have to use spray paint if you’d like to use a paint you can brush on instead) 

The first step is to outline your constellations and stars on the cereal box. You can use the stencils below for your stars! 

Your next step is to paint the stars, moons, and other planets of your night sky white. Let them dry completely before moving on to the next step. Step three is to use your glow in the dark paint and coat the night sky stars, moons, and planets with several thin coats of the paint. 

Charge your night sky by leaving it out in the light for 15-20 minutes where the light or the sun can charge the glow in the dark paint. Then you’ll be ready to stick your stars on the ceiling and create a beautiful night sky! 

You need the letter “N”, so here are (n)ine other words that start with “N”: 

• Nose
• Nickel
• Nurse
• Ninja
• Necklace
• Name
• Noise
• Nana
• Noodles 

So many exciting and extraordinary words start with the letter E. For preschoolers who are starting to work with the alphabet it’s always fun to mix in new and creative activities that involve the letters of the alphabet. Today we are sharing with you fun activities to do with preschoolers that involve the letter E.

This activity requires very little mess, which also means very little clean up for you, mom. For this activity you’ll just need some colored pencils or crayons and the free to use picture for coloring.

We will be coloring a beautiful majestic elephant and a cute egg. Both of these things start with the letter E.  While sharing them with your preschooler you can help them make the letter E sound and invite them to color in the picture.

While things in the world may not seem so positive right now, elephants are beautiful creatures that symbolize many great things. While your kids are coloring their pictures, take this time to talk with them about elephants and how people believe they symbolize good luck, power, and wisdom – all things that are great to be reminded of.

“Eggs” are great for helping preschoolers learn the letter e because of the many related words that start with E.   When it comes to eggs – you (e)at them, they give you (e)nergy and they are (e)xtra delicious. Make your egg colorful and fun! Something that really shows your personality. 

In the comments below, feel free to share other activities that can help preschoolers learn the letter E.  

(E)ight other fun words that start with E:

1. Earth
2. Empathy
3. Excitement 
4. Elbow
5. Engine
6. Eye
7. Exit 
8. Entry