From the category archives:

Preschooler

Oooh, Ubooly!

October 8, 2012

My kids are dying for a pet, but we are not historically animal people. I think that’s why they are so obsessed with stuffed animals. When I recieved an Ubooly from the Kickstarter-funded company who created this fluffy orange marsupial, I knew Julian would go crazy for it. I can’t wait to see him open [...]

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Inside Julian’s closet: shoes

September 26, 2012

For those of you with upright walkers, we’re wondering: Where do you buy your child’s shoes? Our nearest local mom-and-pop children’s shoe store (the one where people actually help you and know things about kids, development, feet, and merchandise) has closed, leaving us with a few boutiques that carry a small selection of shoes, Target, [...]

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5 easy Halloween costumes from vests

September 25, 2012

When Whitney posted her easy babydoll dress tutorial and explained that it could double as a pirate vest, she inspired me to brainstorm other easy vest Halloween costumes. I love vests for their versatility in the costume box and the fact that they can fit longer than other tops. She said that if you didn’t [...]

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Make an easy flag garland for baby’s room

September 24, 2012

I’m gonna file this under preschooler, because Julian and I had a good time making this adorable paper flag banner for his room when he was about 3, but I’ll also tag it with prenatal, because I made a similar flag banner for Scarlett’s room before she was born. I made the one for Scarlett [...]

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Activity #467: Go hunting with your preschooler

September 21, 2012

We asked Christie Mellor, author of The Three-Martini Playdate and the new Fun Without Dick and Jane, to suggest an activity for rookie moms. Put the fun back in some of your routine outings by “going hunting” with your toddler or preschooler. Here’s how: You want to spend a nice morning with your baby, but [...]

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Tutorial: An Easy Baby Doll Dress

September 10, 2012

My daughter loves to take the clothes off her baby doll, but mostly the task is too difficult for her. I wanted to make a dress she could take off by herself, and I came up with an easy pattern to share. This baby doll dress (or robe) takes just a few minutes to sew. [...]

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Personalized paper doll set

August 9, 2012

My stepmom, whose creative gifts have been documented here before, made this adorable paper doll set for Scarlett’s birthday. She had Scarlett pose for a photo in her bathing suit against a wall. She printed the results on photo paper and cut mini-Scarlett out to create the “doll”. Then, she hand drew clothes on white [...]

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Let us tell you about StoryBots

July 17, 2012

A few weeks ago, Heather and I traveled down to L.A. to do a little consulting with JibJab. If you’ve ever seen Elf Yourself, or one of those other online holiday cards where people’s faces are added to a funny animation to create a music video, then you are familiar with their work. The brothers [...]

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Activity #195: Teach your preschooler about money

July 10, 2012

Fellow rookie parents, I discovered a website for teaching kids about money and I wanted to share. Wait, don’t click away just yet. I realize how boring that sounds (“Teaching about money.” Blech). But really, I could argue that teaching your children about money is one of the most important things you’ll do as a [...]

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Makin’ it: A toddler pillow case

July 2, 2012

Does a toddler need a pillow? I don’t know the medical answer to that, but a special kid-sized pillow, decked out with a favorite pattern or color scheme, can be used as a tool for transitioning to a big kid bed, or maybe as a reward for staying in one’s crib or bed all night [...]

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Backyard science: How to make your chalk drawings fizzy

June 22, 2012

A useful bit of knowledge to have under your belt is that baking soda plus vinegar produces a gentle fizz. This chemical romance is the premise beneath volcanoes you may have produced at a science fair as a child. And if you were deprived of that pleasure, well, there’s no time like the present. I [...]

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2-minute puppet theater

May 15, 2012

Did you know that you might have a puppet theater in your child’s room already? Materials needed: Crib Sheet Dolls or stuffed animals Preschooler with a repertoire of songs Any combination of parent, baby, and toddler to serve as audience +++ We’re assembling a huge list of DIY projects for parents. Browse them all on [...]

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