Summer Sanity ~ Preparing for Kindergarten Part 2

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Well folks, this post isn’t so much about summer, but because it is something that we must think about, I’ve still labelled it as “Summer Sanity”. Part of the end of summer is all about preparing for school. This year, my daughter heads off to grade two and my son starts Junior Kindergarten. A lot of people have asked me how they can prepare their little one to start school for the first time. I have spoken with other parents and am also pulling out ideas that I used to give parents when I taught Kindergarten. Here are a few … Continue reading

Summer Sanity ~ Preparing for Kindergarten Part 1

5 Tips for a Successful First Year of School small

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. I found the idea to do photo writing from a fun site called Imagination Soup. With my son starting school for the very first time, I was trying to come up with an idea to help him identify with his new school. I decided to change up the photo writing idea slightly and take him through a walk through of his experience of going … Continue reading

Summer Sanity ~ Bubble Fun!!!

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. Summer is not over yet! We still have a few beautiful and potentially hot days ahead of us! One of my kids’ favourite activities to play outside is to blow bubbles. The thing is, this can become a very frustrating activity for my 3.5 year old as he just doesn’t have the patience or the control to blow them effectively. It ends up being … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Be an Artist with Stuck On You

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. My 7 year old daughter is quite the little artist. Her favourite activity, other than reading, is to make arts and crafts! This is why the Artist Pack by Stuck on You is the perfect activity for her on a hot summer’s day, or even a rainy day!This Activity Pack has kept my daughter busy for hours this summer. For a retail value of … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Family Outings on a Budget

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. Summer is a time for fun, outdoor adventures, spending time with your family and friends and more. Some of the outings and adventures that a family can take together can be rather pricey. Children don’t need extravagent, over priced outings to have fun and to make memories! Sometimes, the simplest activities and outings can be the most fun. Splash pads Check your local town … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Olympics Crafts and Activities

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. With the Summer Olympics 2012 beginning on July 27th, I thought that I should share some activities for your children to do to get geared up! Here is a FREE printable for an “O is for Olympics” craft for young children. I love how the colour of the Fruit Loops are similar to the colours in the Olympic Rings! Here is a FREE printable … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: All About Geocaching

This Guest Post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. Today’s Activity: All About Geocaching  A few years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the world of geocaching. I was intrigued – and my 3 young boys were beyond excited. Every kid dreams of treasure hunts, and geocaching helps fulfill that passion. What is geocaching? Basically, it’s as simple as looking for a hidden container in random places. Some of them … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Community Service Camp

This Guest Post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. Today’s Activity: Community Service Camp  What do picking up garbage, visiting a seniors centre, taking old towels to the Humane Society, and touring a fire station have in common? They are all activities that will be a part of the Community Service camp I’ll be putting on for my four kids this summer. I’m sure if you asked a kid if they wanted … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Backyard Science Experiments

This Guest Post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. Today’s Activity: Backyard Science Experiments EXPLOSIONS   Looking for fun things to do this summer that can also be a learning tool to bridge summer and school? Why not blow things up? Oh, don’t be alarmed – there are a lot of simple backyard science experiments that are fun and cheap to do. They can be great ways to bond and frankly who … Continue reading

Summer Sanity: Mommy Needs a Time Out! Please Give Me 5

This post is a part of Summer Sanity, a series of posts for parents to gain ideas and inspiration for how to keep their children happy, active, educated and having fun during the long summer months. This post isn’t about the children, it’s about parents! You need to stay sane this summer, it is important to your child’s happiness! Are your kids starting to get a bit rangy like mine? Summer is filled with fun, adveneture, learning and more, but let’s face it, we can all get a bit of cabin fever. Do you ever find yourself thinking, “If only … Continue reading