Winter break is here! Winter Learning Challenge is another great program for the kids over the break by Chicago Public Library. Since last summer these programs also involve LEARNing and CREATEing in addition to READing. The theme this winter is "learning more about nature in your neighborhood this winter". We did great winter activities from … [Read more...]
Winter Learning Challenge by Chicago Public Library
Feeling-o-meter to help children identify and describe their feelings
My son gets frustrated and upset very quickly. He has a short fuse. He always describes his state as he's "MAD". Whatever happens, he's always mad and whenever that word comes out of his mouth, things get escalated pretty quickly. I explained to him that most probably he doesn't get MAD in every situation. He doesn't feel the same level of … [Read more...]
Last 2 weeks for Chicago’s Sustainable Backyards Program Rebates
We've had our compost bin for the last 5 years, but it's been opening at the seams and duct tape isn't holding it together anymore. So I've been eyeing tumbling compost bins for a long time. I purchased this 80-gallon tumbling compost bin from Walmart. It's not as big as the old one. Hopefully, if it holds to its promise, it should compost … [Read more...]
Ballerina themed birthday party
My little sunshine turned 6 a week ago. It's harder to accept that your youngest is growing. (S)he is always the youngest of the house no matter what. My daughter wanted a Ballerina Birthday party this year. We made a big change and threw the party somewhere other than our house. For the last 13 parties, between my son and daughter, we always … [Read more...]
Let’s give these kids a playground on Giving Tuesday
Happy Giving Tuesday. Today is “Giving Tuesday”, a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support non-profit organizations. My children go to a public school in Chicago. It's a magnet school with about 850 students from K to 8. It's a really good school. We're lucky … [Read more...]
Rodent proofing the chicken coop and the first egg
When we setup the coop initially, I've read about putting chicken wire down in the soil around the perimeter but I got lazy and skipped it at the time. As it started to get colder, I've heard about rats from the neighbors so I decided to install wire underneath the coop. The coop wasn't fixed to the ground and it is light, so we just moved it. … [Read more...]
Healthier treats to give out to Halloween trick-or-treaters
While the North Dakota mom, who plans to hand out flyers instead of candy, is having her 15-minutes of fame, we are ready for today's trick-or-treaters with clementines (or Cuties as brand name) for the second year in a row. We painted Jack-o-lantern faces with markers this year. Kids loved getting cuties last year. Both little ones, as well as … [Read more...]
DIY – LEGO table and storage
Our new LEGO table or workstation was really easy to put together. The main item is the large IKEA Linmonn table that gives enough space to work on for 2 children. We have LEGO 10 x 10 baseplates but I don't have any plans to glue them down. IKEA Adde chairs are better fit than their old IKEA Mammut chairs. (On the table: Organizing LEGO … [Read more...]
Redesigning our playroom
I have been working on a lengthy project in our basement, which is our children's playroom. It's been quite a while since we set up for early learning, then preschool and kindergarten, while my son already outgrew a lot of stuff, including games, toys and furniture. This summer, I decided to take on a complete overhaul and update the … [Read more...]
Rome with Children: Day 4 – Walking around the city
On our final day, we went back to Villa Borghese as we had promised to our children. We rented the go kart and bicycle until they got tired of them. We walked around the Pincio a little bit. This is a steam clock. For more things to do in Villa Borghese read this post. The pine trees in Rome were extraordinary. We walked down from Pincio (Pincian … [Read more...]
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