Tag: STEM

Top 10 Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love Animals

Top 10 Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love Animals

I waited (almost) patiently this morning while my daughter carefully arranged her outfit this morning. Fox shirt. Animal print leggings. Owl boots and ear muffs. Deer sweatshirt. Polar bear mittens. Animals from head to toe just in case it wasn’t already clear to me that 

Z is for Zoo Animals: Learning Activities for All Ages

Z is for Zoo Animals: Learning Activities for All Ages

My kids still sleep with a mound of stuffed animals around them. When I peek in on them before I go to bed I find they both stretched out on their backs dozing peacefully. Tucked under their arms and all around them are monkeys and 

Dinosaur Unit for Kindergarten and First Grade

Dinosaur Unit for Kindergarten and First Grade

When you walk in a dinosaur skeleton stretches in front of you up to the top of the vaulted ceiling. The American Museum of Natural History is a special place and one of my favorite in New York City. It is not lost on me 

Playful Preschool Math Ideas for Learning Shapes, Counting, Patterning and More

Playful Preschool Math Ideas for Learning Shapes, Counting, Patterning and More

I have this vivid math memory of getting quizzed on multiplication on the playground in elementary school. In third grade I was sick a lot (well every year I was, but that’s another story) and was behind on our weekly quizzes. We were doing our 8s. 

Easy Light Table Ideas for Infants and Toddlers

Easy Light Table Ideas for Infants and Toddlers

My kids have been quietly playing for over an hour in the next room. Every now and then I peek into the room, but every time I see the same thing. Two bodies. Carefully building. Quiet conversation. Concentration on their faces that are being lit 

5 Math and Movement Games to Play While You Wait

5 Math and Movement Games to Play While You Wait

I had just said “stand still please” for the fifteenth time in ten minutes and my daughter sighed long and hard as she stomped her feet back to the space next to me showing me she was as annoyed as I was. We had been 

Spring Planting Unit for Toddlers and Preschool

Spring Planting Unit for Toddlers and Preschool

“Look Mama! Spring is here!” one of my kids calls from the backyard. Spotting that first flower in the garden after a long cold Winter is one of life’s small joys and a true sign that Spring is finally here. My kids are often the ones 

Teaching Numbers with Dominoes

Teaching Numbers with Dominoes

  My grandpa taught me to play Dominoes one summer when he stayed with us. The traditional game of Dominoes is a great math game for young kids, but there are also lots of other fun ways to use this classic game. Dominoes are a 

5 Ways to Learn Patterns Outside

5 Ways to Learn Patterns Outside

STEM (or Science, Technology, Enginnering, and Math) skills are important ones to work on year round. In the freedom of long summer days outside, they can sometimes get lost in the mix. One easy way to work STEM activities into your day is to bring