The Many Little Joys

Easy homemade puzzle craft for kids (made from an upcycled cereal box)

Next time you finish a box of cereal, don’t throw it out! Instead, encourage your kids to get creative and upcycle it into their very own homemade puzzle craft!

Raise your hand if you love a good trash-to-treasure project! If so, you’re going to love today’s homemade puzzle craft for kids.

There’s something great about giving new life to something that was bound for the trash. Using recycled materials for crafting with kids is awesome because it’s budget-friendly, environmentally-friendly, and doesn’t require running to the store for specialty supplies. Because if you’ve been around here for long, you know we’re all about keeping things simple!

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Free printable Play Doh valentines for kids

These funny (or at lest punny) printable valentines are a simple way to help your kids spread some love this Valentine’s Day. Just print and attach to your favorite Play Doh!

Funny printable valentines for kids that attach to play doh.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.

Let’s get one thing clear from the start: I am not usually a fancy, cutesy valentine giver. In fact, in nine years of motherhood, I have NEVER made homemade valentines. I am usually perfectly content to buy a box at the grocery store and keep things super simple. Maybe I buy a bag of lollipops if I’m feeling really ambitious. Maybe.

So if you’re in that phase of motherhood right now, that’s totally okay. You don’t need to do fancy. Feel free to skip this post and add valentines to your grocery shopping list instead.

But if, like me, you’re feeling inspired to do something a little special this year, I’ve got a fun (and still really simple) idea to share with you today!

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15 picture books about kindness to inspire your kids

Show some love to your favorite little people this month by snuggling up together with a good book…and inspire them to keep the good deeds going with these fabulous picture books about kindness.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.

Let’s be real for a moment…my house is not always filled with gentle, loving-kindness. My three wild boys spend a lot of time wrestling each other and trying to push each other’s buttons.

They love each other, and when push comes to shove (and sometimes it really does) they really do take care of each other, but like most kids, they also have their difficult moments.

So, let’s just say, we can use all the inspiration we can get over here in the “choose to be kind” department.

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Essential kids’ craft supplies for creative kids: What’s in our “art cart”

You don’t need a lot of fancy supplies to make a creative home, but a having a few versatile basics on hand opens up a world of possibilities. Take a look inside my “art cart” to see the kids’ craft supplies I can’t live without.

home, but a having a few versatile basics on hand opens up a world of possibilities. Take a look inside my "art cart" to see the kids' craft supplies I can't live without.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.

One of the keys of having a creative home is giving kids lots of opportunities to create! Our role as parents isn’t to come up with elaborate ideas and projects. We just need to provide the tools. When we give our kids access to materials that inspire their imaginations, we give them permission to explore and enable them to bring their ideas to life.

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Winter preschool activity: Can you match the mittens?

Have fun learning about colors and numbers with your preschooler in this super simple winter preschool activity!

Have fun learning about colors and numbers with your preschooler in this super simple winter preschool activity!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.

Whew! Christmas break was a bit of a whirlwind for us, but now that the new year has arrived, we’re settling back into the routine of normal life. Part of that routine is doing morning learning activities at home with my preschooler.

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Gingerbread play dough recipe (smells amazing!) + homemade gift idea

Make up a batch of this amazing-smelling gingerbread play dough as a fun sensory activity for your kids over Christmas break…then gift another batch to friends!

Make a batch of this amazing-smelling gingerbread play dough for your kids over Christmas break...then gift another batch to friends!

Christmas is THIS week! Can you believe it? If your kids are anything like mine, they can hardly contain their excitement!

We are on break from school all week, so I knew I needed to have some fun activities planned to help keep the kids occupied until Santa comes to town. We’ll be hosting a Polar Express party for some neigborhood friends, baking up a storm, playing LOTS of games, watching movies, and who knows what else.

Need an idea for a fun and festive activity that will keep the kids busy for hours?

Make gingerbread playdough!

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Festive Printable Christmas Gift Tags that Kids Can Color!

Get your kids involved in wrapping gifts for family and friends this year by inviting them to color these fun printable Christmas gift tags!

Printable Christmas gift tags with colored pencils for kids to color.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.

I’ll be honest. I’m not usually one for fancy gift wrapping. I love it, I admire it, but as the mom of three young boys…I don’t have time for it. I do almost all the wrapping of gifts around our house, so I usually buy a pack of the sticker-style gift tags and call it good.

But this year I got inspired to do something a little different.

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Christmas Jokes for kids that will make your day merry and bright

Add a little extra “jolly” to your holiday season with these fun (and oh so punny) Christmas jokes for kids. Perfect for holiday parties or lunch box jokes!

Add a little extra "jolly" to your holiday season with these fun (and oh so punny) Christmas jokes for kids. Perfect for holiday parties or lunch box jokes!

Want a simple way to get into the holiday spirit and connect with your kids? Try a little laughter!

Telling jokes around the dinner table has become on of our family’s favorite activities lately. Whether it’s dad’s terrible puns (sorry, my love), my preschooler’s nonsensical knock-knock jokes, or some surprisingly witty jokes from my older boys, laughter really is the best medicine!

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A simple way to “Give Thanks” this year (+ Free Printable Thanksgiving Gift Tags to help!)

This year, help your kids turn their gratitude into action by giving thanks (literally) to the people your family is thankful for with these printable Thanksgiving gift tags!

There are many messages in the world that teach our kids to chase after more, more, more and focus on “What’s in it for me?”

I want to counter this message with my own: that we are already living in abundance and that when we look for ways to give to others, the world as whole becomes a little better and brighter.

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