Family Fun, Recipes, & Healthy Living
Well it’s no secret we are obsessed with Reima gear! This is our second year even knowing the brand existed. When you live in a place like Maine especially, you truly need Winter gear that is functional. However I would say, if I knew about …
Ingredients 1-2 puff pastry dough sheets 8 oz cream cheese softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 tsp vanilla extract optional 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 egg 1-2 teaspoons water 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2-3 tsp milk (or milk substitute) 1/4 tsp vanilla extract Instructions Preheat …
I linked our stamps and some other options for these activities.
Letter Recognition
Here are a couple ways to work on letter recognition with your child. 1: Have your child pick a stamp and ask them the letter they picked. If they say the correct letter, let them stamp it into the dough. If they say the incorrect letter then say, “It’s a __!” Stay excited while you correctly state the letter and ask them to now stamp it into the play dough. Have them repeat the letter name with you. 2: Another activity would be asking your child to find a specific letter. Say the letter name and letter sound and then say some words that start with that letter as they search. Depending on age, you may want to only have a few letters for them to choose from. As they master their letter recognition & gain confidence, you can have more and more out for the child to look through.
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Letter Sounds
Here are a couple of ways to work on letter sounds with play dough and stamps. Have your child pick a stamp and ask them the letter they picked. Now ask them the letter sound. If they say the correct letter sound, let them stamp into the dough. If they say the incorrect letter sound, then say, “Letter ___ makes this sound ___!” (Stay away from, “No that’s wrong”) Stay excited and positive while you correctly state the letter sound and ask them to now stamp it into the play dough. Have them repeat the letter sound with you as they stamp. “Letter ___ says ____.” 2: Another activity would be asking your child to find a specific letter based on the letter sound you make. Say the letter sound. If they need more hints say some words that start with that letter and specifically make that letter sound. We all know the English language is weird and some letters are tricky. For example “CH” words shouldn’t be used for examples for letter C. Depending on age, you may want to only have a few letters for them to choose from. As they master their letter sounds & gain confidence, you can have more and more out for the child to look through.
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Spelling
1. If you are working on specific words for a spelling test, this is a fun way to practice. Read of each word and allow your child to stamp it. One at a time check the spelling and correct if needed, then move on to the next word. 2. If you are working on sounding out and spelling you can coach your child as they sound out a word. Read off a word to the child. As they start stamping you can encourage and support them. Slow the word down and annunciate the letter sounds heard in the word. 3. Write out the word for your child. Give them the proper stamps or allow them to search for the letters needed to create the word. Now read the word with them and have them sound out the word and say it as they stamp it.
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Reading
1. Write out the word you are practicing with your child. Give them the letter stamps needed or allow them to search for the letters needed to create the word. Now read the word with them (if this is a newly introduced word) and have them sound out it out with you. Keep in mind, some site words can’t be sounded out. Have them stamp out the word as they read it. This is a great way to practice reading and spelling.
I hope you guys find these to be fun and useful activities when working on literacy skills with your children.
XO Eryka
Yup, that’s right! I’ve aways loved decorating sugar cookies… but I have not always enjoyed eating them. Well this year we played around with a lot of baking recipes and tweaked them to our liking. Here is our sugar cookie recipe, they are soft and …
Get Outside! Get outside! With or without your kids. It feels good to put your phone away and just go for walk in the fresh air. It’s a great time to talk to your kids and learn about things they are thinking and feeling. This …
I have seen many parents asking about what to get their kids this year. Izzy and I pulled together some favorites for you guys to check out. Most of these are marked down in price right now!
I also categorized the gifts for you guys. Use the arrows in each category to see all of the linked gift ideas.
This post has some commissionable links.
Learning Toys & Gifts
Toys that Inspire Creativity
Dramatic Play/Pretend Play
Play Homes & Kitchens
Pets & Animals
Characters, Dolls & Figures
Gifts that Encourage Gross Motor Play
Ride on Toys
Family Games
Happy Holidays! I hope you all find something cool from our kid gift guide.
XO Eryka
Teaching Izzy at home, is fun and also a bit challenging at times. Like most kids, Izzy doesn’t always want to listen to her mom. This is why I’ve to get very creative with our lessons. I wanted to share our pumpkin pie fractions with …
I had made salt dough ornaments in school as a kid, but I had never made them with Izzy. So on one rainy day, we decided to make some. They are so easy to make and we had such a blast! I think we are …
This year, for our sanity and our children’s, we won’t be trick or treating. Instead, we will be having a halloween bash for the cousins. I wanted to share some ideas with you all.
Halloween Bag Decorating
I went to Walmart and found these fabric totes in the crafting area. I also grabbed the thicker tip fabric markers for the kids to decorate their bags with. We had them decorate outside a weekend prior to Halloween, but you could do it day of, upon arrival.
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Halloween Music/Dance Party
I don’t know about your kids, but Izzy and her cousins LOVE music and dancing. This playlist has been a favorite of ours this year.
Candy Scavenger Hunt
Create a scavenger hunt inside or out. You can have the scavenger hunt have them look for certain things they check off a list & give candy each time they check something off the list. You can also do a scavenger hunt with hints. Help the kids read off each hint as they think about where the next candy spot could be. At each place they get some candy to go in their bag & a new hint. At the end they could even get a goody bag of fun things & candy.
Halloween Piñata
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Face Painting
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Halloween Coloring
There are a lot of options on Crayola for coloring. Even more detailed pictures for older kids and adults.
Have a happy and safe halloween friends!
XO Eryka
Our home may not be massive, but that didn’t stop me from making a space for Izzy downstairs. Our downstairs area has a kitchen and living room space. I wanted Izzy to have a play space & work space for school on the main floor, …