As the Canadian March Break approaches, I am reminded of the countless hours of travel that my family put in over the years. Planes, trains and automobiles with the sweet sounds of crying, whining and fighting siblings. Many years ago when my children were small, we lived a four hour plane ride from our families. A friend of mine, who travelled to Europe every summer, gave me this great idea for long plane rides (works in the car too). . . . → Read More: Keeping kids busy on long trips
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I found a coloured plastic ball and plastic links in the baby section of Walmart (clearance aisle), and took them to the daycare to see what the children would do with them. First they had fun trying to attach them to the ball and it was a good fine-motor workout. . . . → Read More: Toddler Fun with Links 
Clothespin color matching Thrift stores are a wonderful resource for cool, interesting materials. I bought a bag of colourful clothespins for two dollars. I then went to the dollar store and bought some aluminum pie plates for a buck. This is the result!!! You can have the children match by a single color (put one . . . → Read More: Clothes Pin Sort 
This activity takes some preparation and shopping, but the children will be able to do it over and over. – get some different bead necklaces and smooth rocks from the dollar store – also buy some plastic containers with lids . . . → Read More: Preschool Bead Sort 
One of my favorite fables for young children is Stone Soup. Here is a link to a version of the story that you can read to the children. The best way to enhance this story is to have the children participate and “act-it-out.” Gather up the food items needed, either fresh or plastic foods. Give . . . → Read More: Stone Soup Story Time 
It’s really close to Halloween now, here are some quick ideas of food to make with the kids that you can pull together at the last minute. Both are especially good if you are planning a halloween party. . . . → Read More: Halloween Cooking and Baking This is an easy and fun sensory activity that children really enjoy. All you need to do is collect some items, foods or spices with strong aromas that are familiar to most kids. You can, of course, make it more difficult for older children. Put them in baby food jars or small tupperware containers with holes in the top. . . . → Read More: “Guess the Smell” game 
Fathers Day is coming and everyone loves breakfast in bed. Even young children can get involved in the planning and execution of the meal. Ask the children what they think Daddy would like for breakfast and include fruits and items that they can assemble themselves. One of our family favorites is pancake faces. . . . → Read More: Father’s Day breakfast in bed with placemat craft I just picked up colourful, paper butterflies from the dollar store. The obvious thing to do with them is glue them on paper as a craft, but I like to expand materials and always use things to teach concepts while the children are having fun. . . . → Read More: Butterfly patterning and matching activity 
“Waiting for Wings” by Lois Ehlert is one of my favorite spring book for preschoolers. It explains the life cycle of the butterfly in simple terms. The illustrations are stunningly colorful. A book like this leads to all kinds of discussion around spring and what is happening in nature. The children might be inspired to make butterflies, caterpillars or flowers after hearing the story. I have some craft ideas to pair with this book. . . . → Read More: Butterfly story and crafts |
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