The Many Little Joys

EASY Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

This Instant Pot honey garlic chicken is the perfect weeknight meal. Toss a handful of ingredients in your pressure cooker, walk away, and have a delicious, better-than-takeout dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Instant Pot honey garlic chicken over rice

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

I do not have the time or energy for fancy dinners these days. Still, I don’t want to settle for mediocre-tasting food, nor do I want to spend a ton of money to buy already prepared meals or take-out all the time.

Call me picky, but I want it all: a healthy, delicious, home-cooked meal that I can have on the table in 30 minutes from start to finish.

Is that too much to ask?

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Our family motto for this school year

Each school year, our family chooses a motto to focus on. Here’s our (much needed) goal for 2020!

Each school year, our family chooses a motto to focus on. Here's our (much needed) goal for 2020!

I usually get really excited about the beginning of the school year. As a former teacher, I love school and I get a little giddy when I start to see large bins of pencils and crayons front and center in the grocery store, begging families everywhere to bring them home and place them in brand new backpacks.

This year has felt weird though. Anyone else?

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Free printable shape flashcards + 11 creative ways to use them

These free printable shape flashcards + hands-on learning activities give you everything you need to help your child master basic two- and three-dimensional shapes in fun and creative ways.

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

It’s back to school season! I usually love this time of year, with the hubbub and excitement of new teachers, new shoes, new friends, and new things to learn.

This year has been….hard. To say the least. We’re starting the year virtually, and everything feels a little uncertain and uncomfortable.

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Why every child needs an inventor box + how to create one

Forget buying kids expensive toys…instead, create a no-cost inventor box (AKA – tinker box) that will inspire endless hours of creative play and STEM exploration.

Forget buying kids expensive toys…instead, create a no-cost inventor box (AKA - tinker box) that will inspire endless hours of creative play and STEM exploration.

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

My six-year-old wants to be an inventor when he grows up. And, honestly, I won’t be a bit surprised if that’s exactly what he becomes. He is constantly creating, imagining, and experimenting with something.

Yes, sometimes it drives me crazy. His big ideas have no bounds (hooray!), but he has a habit of leaving behind a trail of debris (we’re working on that one).

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How to beat the heat: 9 ice play activities for kids

If you feel like you’re melting in the summer heat, these ice play activities will cool things off while you learn and play with your kids!

If you feel like you're melting in the summer heat, these ice play activities will cool things off while you learn and play with your kids!

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

I grew up in central California where summers literally got hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. August was downright brutal, with highs that hovered near 110 degrees!

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How to make a board game: fun learning activity for kids

Do your kids love playing games? Try letting them design one! This creative activity will help kids analyze the games they know and help them learn how to make a board game of their own.

How to make a board game brainstorming worksheets

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

Are you a game loving family? We have a whole closet full of board games, and my oldest son (8) is always trying to hunt down someone–ANYONE–to play a game with him.

Recently, we took our love of gaming to the next level—we created our OWN games. It was so fun!

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Easy lasagna skillet (one pot meal)

This one pot, 30-minute meal has all the fabulous tastes of a classic lasagna but a lasagna skillet is SO much less work. It’s comfort food at it’s best: simple, hearty, and delicious!

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

I love lasagna, but truth be told…I think I’ve made it twice in my whole married life. It’s just too much work. I mean, really! Who has two hours to spend making sauce, boiling noodles, and carefully layering everything into a masterpiece?

Not me. Do you know what messes a two-year-old could make it that amount of time? Come to think of it, you probably do. That’s why you’re reading this recipe and NOT one for traditional lasagna.

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How to make a human sundial + more fun shadow activities

This human sundial is a fun outdoor STEM activity that will help kids understand how shadows are made and encourage them to experiment with light and shadow.

Note: This post contains affiliate links to products that I have used and loved. See my disclosure to learn more.

Science was one of my least favorite subjects in school as a kid. Ironically, I actually love science itself, but much of the way science is traditionally taught (or at least how it was taught to me in school) sucks the life and wonder out of learning about how the world works.

But science isn’t boring!

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Chocolate hummus recipe (quick & easy snack for kids)

This chocolate hummus recipe is a triple-threat in the good snacks for kids competition: nutrient-dense, as delicious dessert, and so quick to make!

Raise your hand if you’re going through food like CRAZY right now with kids at home and running around outside so much! Man, oh man. My three little men sure can eat! And as much as they would be happy to eat Goldfish crackers and popsicles all day, I occasionally like to expand their culinary horizons.

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