Cooking with Kids: Deviled Eggs

For our weekly Cooking Day this week, we made deviled eggs.  The process is a lot of fun and uses some wonderful Montessori practical life skills...

Draw Along with Harold and the Purple Crayon

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a very cute story about a boy who literally draws various adventures for himself.  The girls like drawing along with the story as I read it to them.  The amounts of paper this activity took up used to be a lot, so we've switched to using a free drawing program on my Kindle Fire (you could use an iPad instead), where we can easily erase the picture and start again on every page...

Threading Beads Fine Motor Activity

I made a little beading activity for the kids using various plastic, foam, and felt beads and buttons.  They set to work right away and had such a good time making their own necklaces...

The Great Rice Incident

My husband and I have an ongoing debate on the subject of what types of activities kids should do.  My opinion is that kids should be given as many opportunities for sensory exploration as possible; That splashing in water, digging in sand, and painting with their fingers (and feet) are an essential part of early learning.  My husband's opinion is that kids should not be given anything that could end up messy until they are old enough to play with it 'properly' (without making a mess).  One source of contention is the rice box...

10 Hula Hoop Games for Preschoolers

When I saw some kid-sized hula-hoops at the craft store, I couldn't resist getting them for the girls.  I'm glad I did - they've been the source of hours of entertainment.  Here is a collection of some hula hoop games and activities we've tried:

Making Bagels (i.e. playing with dough)

A couple days ago I made gluten-free bagels (from Pamela's mix).  Since the recipe didn't require any eggs (I don't like the kids touching raw eggs because of Salmonella), I could let the twins help me out.

Plastic Egg Painting (and washing)

One activity L and E absolutely adore is painting their plastic toys and animals and then giving them a bath.  This week we switched things up a bit by painting plastic Easter eggs.

Plastic Frog Habitat and Games

One activity the kids are especially fond of is a little habitat for their plastic frogs.  I fill up a plastic tub with water add a log and some Lilly pads out of craft foam, and voila - hours of fun play ensue!

Nature Walks and Outdoor Exploration

Now that the weather has been getting nicer, we've been taking the kids on nature walks.  My little scientists love exploring all things big and small in the great outdoors.  I put together little explorer backpacks for them: