All toys need to be cleaned at some point, but wooden toys cannot be run through the dishwasher or scrubbed with solvents. Is the solution to keep them inside? No–if anything they’re more alive than ever outside. One simply needs a reliable way to clean them.
One of the most important things to look at is whether a toy allows the child to imagine, or if the toy does all the work itsef. When the toy takes over, children don’t learn and explore. A toy that is open-ended may look like one thing (a rainbow) but it can be used many ways to represent different things (a building, a bridge, a bed) and most of all, it enhances the child’s ideas and imagination, letting them build and learn in their own world.
Is your district doing in-person school in the fall? Ours has announced that we will start the year with fully remote learning, and this is… Read More »Homeschool–Use Your Toys!
Holidays in July? it sounds so cliche… but any friend who has tried shopping for wooden toys in, or even close to, December will tell you it is miserable. Now is the time to build your lists and pick up anything you know you’d like to get.
Does your family enjoy a lot of garlic? We eat a lot around here, so we were excited to learn how easy it is to grow. In cooler climates, you can plant it in mid-to-late fall when you’re cleaning up the garden; in warmer regions you can plant just after the new year. Then in the spring its so delightful to have something fresh and green already growing and looking promising for the coming year!
Everyone loves a frozen fruit pop, but at the rate my kids would like to eat them in the summer, they could easily make our grocery bill spike! Last summer we picked up some silicone molds, and now one of E5’s favorite activities is making them. I love having control over the ingredients and cost, she love doing it, and the clean-up is easy.
This run is a twist on the long run of steps that flows down a wall–here the ball takes a lovely series of curves on its way down. I’ve shown all the steps, and given fewer words for this set of instructions with the hope that you can pop it up on the tablet or phone or wherever and let your kids (7-8ish +? ) give it a go. Enjoy!
You know how kids just can’t help picking up a stick, they bring it home and want to bring it inside? We’ve started a “stash it” corner by the front door for these kid treasures, but lately the kids have started pointing out that I do a bit of the same myself—I just can’t help myself when it comes to rocks.
Wooden toys almost always come with a story–and if they don’t come with one, they’re quick to grow their own. For us, the three celestial Gluckskafer Houses are a most delightful example.
What are you doing to keep the math brains rolling over summer break? For the multiplication-aged crew (whether learning or comfortable), we’re loving Prime Climb. Younger kids? Stick with me—this one is good for the addition-subtraction crew too—the whole thing age-adjusts perfectly if you play with addition and subtraction only.