From the category archives:

Indoors

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Publish your own I Spy book

January 16, 2012

We are big fans of the I Spy books, starting with the board book versions I bought when Julian was a baby. We play “I Spy” with regular books, too, and now we’ve graduated into Where’s Waldo? territory. When Julian was four, he and I did a little photo shoot with big plans — still [...]

Activity #177: Join a museum

November 21, 2011

Like they used to say on TV, membership has it’s privileges. Both of the Bay Area children’s museums that I have been to are part of a consortium of Children’s Museums that have reciprocal memberships. This means that if you get a one-year membership at Habitot in Berkeley, for example, you can go to the [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #328: Host a clothing swap party

November 14, 2011

Nine months on, nine months off? Something like that. Your 46th weekly challenge is to obtain some new-to-you clothes that you’ll enjoy along with an afternoon of girlfriend hilarity all for the cost of some cucumber-scented spa water. The end of the year is a perfect time to plan a clothing swap. Whitney totally hates [...]

(Giveaway) New kids’ craft book from Make and Takes

November 11, 2011

I am so proud of our buddy Marie who has just published her first book. The team at her publisher, Wiley, who maintain a pretty solid crafty website themselves, put together an adorable package of Marie’s ideas and photographer Nicole Gerulat’s images. As you can see in the table of contents above, the projects are [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Test drive some baby classes

October 10, 2011

Most classes for babies provide a free trial experience. Take advantage of these freebies before committing to a paid class. Try to talk your other mama friends into joining you so it’s the most fun for YOU. Your 41st weekly challenge is to contact a local music, dance, or exercise class for moms and babies, [...]

Inside our closet: What’s in my kids’ dress-up boxes

September 20, 2011

Today I thought I’d post pictures of what’s in my children’s costume stash. To say that our dress-up boxes overfloweth would be an understatement. But in my house, this stuff gets a lot of use. Some of the pieces are versatile and some are, well, just an astronaut helmet. First, the headwear collection. Wizard hats [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #567: Host a kid scavenger hunt

September 16, 2011

Argh! Shiver me timbers, Monday is Talk Like a Pirate Day, so I offer a thematic scavenger hunt for little kids. Some folks might tell you that to be a pirate, all you need is an eye patch. Or a parrot. Or a peg leg. But in my house, all you really need is the [...]

Activity #589: Tape up a train track for your toddler

July 31, 2011

A few weeks ago, a stroke of genius hit and I laid these “train tracks” down on the rug in Julian’s room. At four-and-three-quarters, he is over the whole Thomas thing, but larger scale train action definitely still turns him on. All you need is a roll of painter’s tape, the kind that removes from [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Games preschoolers play

July 26, 2011

When I was a little girl, I had no siblings. At my birthday parties, I frequently received board games as gifts, but they mostly sat on the shelf in my closet until I got too old for them. Sure my mom and step-dad and I played Monopoly from time to time; I played Sorry! with [...]

Activity #129: Make a mini water table

July 24, 2011

Misty’s found a way for her baby to enjoy some summertime water fun: Fill baby’s high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing! I love this activity for hot, housebound babies everywhere (especially those of us jailed by an older napping child). Baby Madeline’s high chair has a very deep lip, enough to hold [...]

Rainy day activities to make you and baby smile

Activity #505: Create a princess tutu

July 13, 2011

Girl parents, I know: you didn’t think your little baby, so bald and androgynous for a whole year, would begin crawling, walking, then talking about princesses and demanding tutus — but it happened. Well, you just have to learn to live with it. But here’s an easy project – no sewing or glue – that [...]

How to make slime

June 8, 2011

Call it gak. Call it slime. Just don’t call it messy, because this amazing stuff is easier to clean up than playdough and offers as much tactile fun as the dreaded finger-painting. So if you have found yourself saying, “I am not THAT mom, the one who does craft projects,” this is one that might [...]

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