Parenting

Another year, another spring. Time to begin thinking how your garden will grow. Sharing this with your mini farmer couldn't be more rewarding. Think of all the goodness that comes from teaching kids to garden. From the care and attention paid to planting the seeds to the overwhelming excitement over the first sprouts there's so much to be experienced.

When it comes to helping our kids have a good night's sleep there not much we wouldn't do...From monster powder to checking the closets three times to extra books at bedtime to lavender linen spray...you name it and we'll try it. And when a fear of nightmares comes into play sometimes we have to do a bit more than just leaving the hall light on for the night.

Mama King of 4 Crazy Kings has shared a brilliant idea for a dream catcher craft for kids.

There's nothing better (or funner) than teachable moments disguised as craft projects. And nothing is cooler than projects that are functional. That's why I love this Instructable by member sassygecko for making a 3 liter bottle piggy bank.

When author Michael Pollan talks I first think "Oh crap, what am I doing wrong now?" Then, I get over myself and prick up my ears to what he's saying because the man knows food.

As with many parts of this fine country, the weather has got me singing to "But baby it's cold outside" to my very restless 3 year old daughter. It's simply unacceptable to her that she can't have what she wants (outdoor fun). She's stir crazy which means I'm also stir crazy.

It seems rather silly to me that I've yet to sew a few bean bags for my kid. True I'm a sewing junkie who just so happens to own a sizeable collection of fabric. And true I have a very active 3.5 year old daughter who loves to catch, toss and balance all sorts of interesting things and true we own this CD.

When trying to teach toddlers a few pre-kinder skills it's best to have a few tricks in your bag. Young kids tend to learn best and are more motivated to try new things when concepts are presented to them in a fun way. One of the most important goals for us parents is raising our kids to be life-long learners and how better to achieve this than by showing our kids that learning is in fact fun.

Whitney from Rookie Moms shares a quick and clever trick for keeping those big brothers and sisters close by when mama (or daddy) is out and about with two kids, one walker and one stroller bound, both under the age of four. Check out her tutorial for making a big kid stroller handle. Crafted from items you probably already have around the house it's inexpensive and simple to put together. Attach it to the side of the stroller and get rolling.

Practicing counting skills and number recognition is easy as "1, 2, 3," when your toddler buys into the process of what you're trying to teach her. Getting her to take ownership in her learning is key. Kids love all things Halloween so why not use this as a motivating theme to get the learning started in a fun and pleasurable way for your toddler?

I'm a fan of tricking kids into learning something...Disguising concepts that might normally be on the dull side (like spelling) in a heaping helping of yummy game-time fun.