GuideCraft Kitchen Helper: A Family Investment

Our top recommended kid purchase of all time is our Kitchen Helper stool. It has grown with our kids allowing them to safely join us in the kitchen in so many ways!

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Glittery Sand Sensory Play

When presented with a container of plain sand for sensory play our kids both chose to add something that reflected their personalities. We ended up with Glittery Sand Sensory Play! This post is part of our monthly Sensory Bin Challenge.

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Matching, Sorting, and Comparing Size with Trains

If we have one main educational philosophy here at Still Playing School it is that you can use your child's interests to plan play based activities while introducing academic concepts. This early math lesson evolved naturally from our toddler's interest in Thomas the train!

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Cremation Memorial Glass by Pacific Northwest Glassblowing

We have a new way to keep Violet extra close to our hearts! I didn't even know this type of memorial jewelry was possible before we had our pieces custom made but the whole process was the perfect way to remember our daughter. 

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Newspaper Mache Balloon Animal Craft for Kids

I fondly remember making these paper mache balloon animals in art class as a kid! You only need newspaper, glue, a balloon, and some art supplies for the adorable details. It's a fun and fabulous recycled craft!

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Plastic Bottle Water Tower for Kids

We have been having so much fun playing with water this summer from our homemade water wall to gross motor color mixing. Our latest creation was a water funneling tower made from recycled plastic bottles!

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Flubber Sensory Play with Fine Motor Skills

What do you do when your sensory slime turns into flubber? You use it to practice your fine motor skills of course!

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Our Homeschool Organization - By Healthier Spaces Organizing

We are ready to enter our first year of official homeschooling! We are thrilled to give you a tour of how we are organizing for our homeschool!

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Tips to Get Kids to Try New Foods

Magic occurred in my kitchen today while I was cleaning fresh fruits and veggies. My kids both tried a food they had previously refused without me even saying a word!

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Coffee Grounds Farm Sensory Bin

Dried coffee grounds make an irresistible sensory material! Here is how we saved ours to use in sensory play when learning about farms.

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Fairy Land: Building with Recycled Materials on the Light Table

Our preschooler constructed a fairy land on the light table using recycled materials! The magical and girly pretend play sparked her imagination and mine.

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Fine Motor Printmaking for Kids

Have you ever tried printmaking with kids? All you need is a golf tee, paper, paint, and one recycled material!

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The Value of Korxx: A Safe, Sustainable, and Educational Choice

It's clear that kids love Korxx. As a early childhood teacher and a mom I love the company Korxx. I support the sustainable, natural cork blocks they make. Most importantly they've convinced me to be a customer because of why they do what they do.

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Fine Motor Mirror Play

Fine motor mirror box play was an inviting way to allow our preschooler to practice her pincer grasp!

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6 Fine Motor Play Activities with Dice

Dice are versatile in teaching kids math concepts while simultaneously practicing fine motor skills! Here are six fine motor activities with dice.

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Graphing for Kids

Data collection and graphing are real life applications of math concepts for kids. While creating a graph together we discuss more than, less than, and equal to while tallying data.

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Everyday Fine Motor Materials from A to Z

Fine motor skills are very important to early childhood activities! Working little hands and fingers through play is how kids strengthen muscles to get ready to write, type, draw, button coats, and much more. We've gathered a list of fine motor materials you already have around the house or classroom, one for each letter of the alphabet, and a fun activity to do with each one!

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Fizzy Lemonade Sensory Play Recipe

We created a fizzing sensory play experience with no vinegar! It smells like lemonade so it's prefect for summer and is taste safe for toddlers!

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Ribbon Pull Board for Kids

Ribbon pulling is simple yet motivating fine motor practice for kids! We used pegboard to create our ribbon wall play invitation.

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Picture Walk Preview for Early Readers

Prior to reading, early and veteran readers alike should preview a book by taking a picture walk. What is a picture walk? Why is it important?

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Gross Motor Color Mixing for Kids

We mixed up a batch of rainbow water to explore blending colors with our bodies! This beautiful invitation was great exercise and a fabulous way for the kids to cool off on a hot day.

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Fine Motor Color Mixing for Kids

Rainbow water invites kids to experiment with color mixing in a hands on way! An eye dropper adds fun fine motor work.

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Korxx Cork Building Blocks Review & Giveaway

KORXX cork blocks are a unique and durable building material unlike any we've ever touched before! My kids loved creating elaborate structures with these beautiful natural blocks.

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Visual Grocery Lists for Kids

Allowing children to make healthy choices for their own meals encourages them to try and eat a wide variety of foods. These free printables help us inventory our produce at a glance, assist with meal planning, offer the kids wholesome snack choices, and provide a visual grocery list for shopping trips!

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Children's Books about Honey Bees

We are learning all about honey bees in our our preschool unit on beekeeping. Here is a list of the best books we've found to teach kids about bees!

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S is for Sea Glass: ABCs of Nature Series

Sea glass has always fascinated me. I jumped at the chance to explore it with my children through School Time Snippets' ABC’s of Nature series!

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Glitter Calm Down Bottle

Calm Down Bottles made with glitter are soothing, inexpensive, and fun to make! Here are the steps to make a calming glitter sensory bottle as well as the cost break down and recommendations on the best supplies to use.

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Beekeeping: A Pretend Play Prompt

After visiting our friends' bee hive we created our own pretend play beekeeping prompt with costumes and tools. We even made the honeycomb ourselves! 

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Beekeeping for Kids

As part of our beekeeping science unit we took a field trip to see our friends' bee hive and tools! This visit was the perfect way for our kids to discover beekeeping!

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