September 10, 2014 by Amanda Leave a Comment

5 Ways to Create A Fun Pajama Day For Your Kids

Thank you to Gymboree for sponsoring this post!

Pajama days are probably one of my favorite days ever with my kids. But it takes a bit of creativity and possibly some planning to make a pajama day successful.

You see, for me it’s easier to get my kids out of the house than deal with all the shenanigans that happen when they are in the house all day. It seems as though my kids go crazy on the days we are home all day.

Even though they act better when we are out, there are days that I just don’t want to get out of the house. And those days are quickly deemed, Pajama Days!

Like I said, my kids can get a bit crazy and rambunctious when they are home all day long, so I have to be prepared and ready for pajama days.

Letting kids have free reign to only free play all day long can lead to some crazy kids, and crazy parents! On the other hand, the same is true if we allow for a ton of screen time on days they stay home all day. And who has the time or capabilities to come up with a ton of activities to do with their kids all day? I don’t.

So, the trick is to have a bit of a mix of free play, screen time, and structured play.

Create a Pajama Day You and Your Kids Will Love

Free Play

Play, just play.

Let your children decide what to play, and follow along in the silliness. Say “yes” to as many playful activities as you can.

Don’t be afraid to wrestle around a bit or to build a fort to enhance the play a bit.

Fun Activities

When kids get the chance to play all day without any sort of structure, things can sometimes go a bit crazy.

So, when you notice that your child is getting rambunctious or pushing boundaries, it’s probably a good time to put together an easy fun activity.

My advice is to have a couple things planned or have a favorite activity, like playdough, that you can pull out when you need to.

If you need some inspiration, here are some fun activities for toddlers and three year olds. Also, look through the My Favorite Kid Activities Pinboard to get some inspiration.

Relax

Taking time to relax is super important for pajama days. All that playing is great for kids, but we all need some quiet relaxation to our days. So pick up a few books, have a bit of screen time and sit and relax with one another.

If you do have some screen time, keep it short. We allow for 30 minutes a day, but find what suites best for your family.

Get Outside

I find that anytime my boys are getting restless, heading outside gives them the perfect place to run around and be crazy. It’s so much better than doing it inside the house!

Don’t be afraid to break up the day and head outside to play in your pajamas. For my boys, it’s like a special treat to run around outside in their pajamas because it’s not something that we do very often. Being barefoot in the grass is just another fun perk.

Stay Comfy

Of course, the most important part of pajama day is being comfy in your pajamas all day long. We got these cute Eric Carle inspired pajamas from Gymboree. They are super comfy and are quickly turning into my 4 year old’s favorite pair of pajamas. He LOVED that his has letters on the pants…he’s a bit letter obsessed right now 🙂

The key to a successful pajama day is to mix it up, play along, and have some fun!

So tell me, what do you like to do on pajama days?

Ways to Show Kids Love

Photo Credit

The other day I was talking with my son about supermen or something and out of the blue said “I just love you so much, Mommy”, and gave me a huge hug.

I admit…I got teary. How could you not with that kind of gesture of appreciation from a 4 year old?

I asked him, “What made you say that?”

He said, “You just do really nice things for me, like rolling down the window when we drive somewhere, and letting me sit in your lap when you park the car in the garage.”

Oh yes, the little things. Sometimes I forget that the little things can mean the most to the people in our lives.

So, here’s a list of simple little things you can do to show love to your kids.

The simple things we do for our kids are easy to do and most don’t take that much time, but the payoff is huge!

What little things do you do for your kids? I’m always looking for more!

June 18, 2014 by Amanda 2 Comments

Be a Playful Parent, Have a Dance Party!

This play idea is brought to you by Knoala – Raise Happier Kids. Knoala is a free app that offers activities for parents to enjoy with infants to preschoolers.

Be a Fun Parent

I’ve written a few times about how hard it can be to be a Fun Parent.

Sometimes we don’t want to play. Sometimes we don’t want to set up that “fun activity” that the kids are going to play with for 5 minutes, but it takes 30 minutes to clean up.

For me, I’ve found the enjoyment of doing simple, spur of the moment, easy activities with my kids.

Our favorite?

A Dance Party!!

I love putting on some music and shakin my thing with my kids, and they LOVE it to.

My 16 Month Old really loves it. Nothing gets him giggling and moving like Happy from Pharell Williams.

We do this so often that I’ve put together a You Tube Playlist that I turn on almost every day.

It gets our body moving.

It’s great for our relationship.

It’s FUN!

Who wouldn’t want a Dance party?

Need some tips on how to have a Rockin’ Dance Party? Check out this play prompt by Knoala.

I’m really starting to love this little app. It’s full of really simple, playful activities…because sometimes I need a bit of help coming up with the simple things.

Check it out for yourself.

A little bit more about Knoala….

Knoala offers thousands of fun & development-boosting activities for parents to enjoy with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Based on your child’s age and local weather conditions, Knoala finds activities that are most suitable for you and your family. Bond with your child over games and crafts that foster artistic, cognitive, emotional, motor, sensory and language skills. Connect with thousand of parents to exchange ideas on how to keep your child happy and busy. Follow the hottest mom and dad bloggers for their expert advice on keeping your little ones entertained. With Knoala in hand, you never have to worry about your child feeling bored again. All content on Knoala are free, and always will be.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

May 21, 2014 by Amanda 9 Comments

5 Simple Activities for Young Toddlers

E has just turned 16 months. I love him to pieces, but man can that kid get under foot! The worst is when I’m trying to cook dinner. I almost hit him in the head with a big skillet the other day because he was right behind me when I turned around after taking it out of the cabinet.

That’s when I decided that I needed to make sure that he had something to do when I’m cooking.

It needed to be engaging, simple, and not too messy. He’s pretty young, and finding activities for toddlers can be pretty difficult, especially activities that they can do without a lot of supervision.

So I came up with a few of my own and found a couple more that I’m going to try.

Clothes Pin Drop

This has been a favorite of both my boys. It’s super simple, all you need are clothes pins and an empty container or two.

He will sit here and drop each clothes pin in, then dump them all out. Over and over and over again. It’s one of my favorites because it keeps him engaged and he loves it.

I started off with just using the milk container, but then added a few different ones for him to practice with.

Water Play

Ok, so this one is a favorite. I grab an plastic box (we use this one for most of our messy/water activities) and add a few inches of water. I put some big spoons, balls, and cups inside. Oh, and I always lay down towels underneath.

There is just something about water play that kids love!

A few notes about this activity. Your child will get wet, so plan on an outfit change before dinner. And, you don’t want to leave your child unsupervised when playing with water. I set this up in my kitchen while I cook so I can keep an eye on him.

Recycled Lids

Dayna from Lemon Lime Adventures does some really creative activities recycled lids with her daughter. She set up some really creative ways to play with them, that will keep a tot engaged for minutes! I know my son would have a blast with these.

Exploring Sticky

Asia from Fun at Home with Kids is always coming up with something great, and I can’t wait to set this up for my little guy. She made a sticky table for her kids to explore! How awesome is that?!

Sensory Bin

I love sensory bins and have done them with my four year old since he was a young toddler. Well, now it’s my baby’s turn to get in the fun. I love this First Sensory Bin from Jen at Plain Vanilla Mom. Everything is nice a big so that babies won’t choke an full of great textures for them to explore. Looks like it’s time to get E started on some sensory boxes!

I have my fingers crossed that these simple activities will keep my little guy busy and playing so that he doesn’t get maimed while I cooking!

So, do you have any other tips for me? What are some of your young toddler activities?

Need some more play ideas for your baby? Here’s a whole book of them. Click the picture to find out more!

May 18, 2014 by Amanda 2 Comments

Three to Five :: Playful Preschool

Looking for a bunch of simple, fun, and engaging preschool activities all in one place? Well, I have just the thing for you 🙂 Three to Five :: Playful Preschool brings you 25 inspiring activities just for your preschoolers. 25 Amazing Bloggers have joined together to compile the ultimate Preschool Play eBook.

The Book Contains

25+ Simple yet engaging activities just for your preschooler
50 Links to other activities not found in the book.
10 Printables
Step by step instructions
Links to 25 blogs for you to follow and love

Why You’ll Love It

Every Activity is Clearly Laid Out: Each activity has clear instructions and a list of supplies you’ll need, so you’ll easily be able to do these activities with your kids.
The Activities are Fun, Engaging, and Educational: The book contains math, art, science, writing, and problem solving activities that are perfect for any preschooler!
It’s Beautiful: Seriously, this is an amazingly beautiful book. It’s bright, cheerful and full of beautiful photography.
It’s Written By a Team of Bloggers: This means that not only will you have a book of activities for your kids, you’ll find a ton of new blogs to follow!
There are Links to Other Activities: Each blogger included links to some of their favorite activities. So, you’ll not only get the activities in the book, but 50 more links to other activities!
The Book will Be Delivered As Soon as you Order It: Because it’s in a digital format, you can download it and read the book on any device that you wish. You can also print the book or individual activities, if you wish. The link to the book will be sent directly to your email. The delivery system gives you 5 attempts at download within 120 hours, so you can buy now and download later, if you prefer.

A Sneak Peak

Printables Included in The Book

City Scape Play Scene
My First Journal pages,
Recipe ard,
Numbers game
Weather charts
Unique hand-drawn art pages
Conversation cards
Block building challenge cards
Bookmarks
Alphabet play mats

Luck you! This book currently has a special launch price of $6.99 instead of it’s regularly priced $8.99. So HURRY and buy it now before the price goes up.