The Many Little Joys

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“Squirt the Letter” fun outdoor alphabet game

Grab a squirt bottle and some chalk and take learning outside with this fun outdoor alphabet game for preschoolers.

Grab a squirt bottle and some chalk and take learning outside with this fun outdoor alphabet game for preschoolers.

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

The weather is warming up, and that means we’re taking our learning outside! Hooray for sunshine!

Last week I set up a little outdoor alphabet game for my preschooler to practice identifying letters and making letter sounds. It’s super simple, and we had a great time playing and learning together on a Friday afternoon.

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How to fit in more time to read aloud to kids, even when you’re busy

Life gets crazy sometimes, and it can be hard to carve out time to read aloud to kids, but these simple ideas will help you fit in the reading time that you know is so important!

Life gets crazy sometimes, and it can be hard to carve out time to read aloud to kids, but these simple ideas will help you fit in the reading time that you know is so important!

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

I grew up on a steady diet of books. My childhood was filled with days spent carrying armfuls of books out of our local library, being mesmerized by the strange ocean creatures I encountered as I flipped through our National Geographic books, and listening to my mom read The Chronicles of Narnia as I snuggled in bed at night. Books were everywhere in my home.

I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but I realize now what a wonderful gift my parents gave me by filling my life with books.

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The Best Train Books for Kids of all Ages

If you have aspiring train engineers at your house, you’ll love this curated list of our favorite train books for kids…from our train-loving family to yours!

If you have aspiring train engineers at your house, you'll love this curated list of our favorite train books for kids...from our train-loving family to yours!

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

As a mom of three young boys, I’ve spent a lot of hours over the past eight years playing with and reading about TRAINS.

All of my boys have gone through a serious train phase (my youngest is still in the thick of it!). Trains are right up there with dinosaurs and construction trucks for my kids biggest obsession.

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6 fabulous story podcasts for kids

Whether you’re looking for a way to keep peace in the car, fill the time until dinner, or calm down before bedtime, these story podcasts for kids will become your new favorite family pastime!

Whether you're looking for a way to keep peace in the car, fill the time until dinner, or calm down before bedtime, these story podcasts for kids will become your new favorite family pastime!

Are you a podcast-listener? I wasn’t…until about a year ago when I finally dipped my toe in the water. Once I’d had a taste, I jumped enthusiastically on the bandwagon.

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“Trace the alphabet” scavenger hunt (upper and lowercase)

Turn boring handwriting practice into a fun game with this free printable “trace the alphabet” scavenger hunt activity.

Turn boring handwriting practice into a fun game with this free printable "trace the alphabet" scavenger hunt activity.

My kindergartner is brilliant and creative…he also has awful handwriting. That’s okay. He’s only five, but as I say to him:

“How do we get better at something? We practice.”

So we’ve been practicing this year (even back in the ancient days when we actually went to public school…remember that? Faintly?).

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How to encourage creative learning at home (without stressing about it)

If you’re looking for simple ways to help your children with learning at home without stressing yourself out, you’ll love this round-up of amazing (and FREE) resources.

If you're looking for simple ways to help your children with learning at home without stressing yourself out, you'll love this round-up of amazing (and FREE) resources.

With schools closing all over the nation, many of us are scrambling to figure out what to do with our kids home all day!

Our school district has dismissed school for at least the next two weeks, and we’re not sure what will happen beyond that time. …

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25 charming Christmas picture books you’ll love

These Christmas picture books for kids are the best of the best…stories your family will want to read again and again! We got our first real snow this week, and Black Friday ads are everywhere…so it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas from where I’m standing.

We’re holding out on putting up the Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving, but we’ve been listening to Jingle Bells on repeat and we broke out the Christmas picture books last week. I started requesting books from the library weeks ago, knowing that by December 1st, many of my favorites will be backlogged until February….

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Library scavenger hunt for kids Part 2: BINGO version

Turn a normal library trip into a treasure hunt adventure your kids will love using this free printable library scavenger hunt BINGO game. Turn a normal library trip into a treasure hunt adventure your kids will love using this free printable library scavenger hunt BINGO game.  It’s official. Summer is here. The last bell has rung, and we are FREE until August. I have big plans for the summer…hopefully not too big. I’m trying to balance the desire to make it a summer of fun adventures with the reality that normal life STUFF has to happen, too. 

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Library scavenger hunt for kids…make library trips an adventure!

Do your kids ever get bored with going to the library? Make summer reading into an adventure this year with these free printable library scavenger hunt bookmarks.Do your kids ever get bored with going to the library? Make summer reading into an adventure this year with these free printable library scavenger hunt bookmarks. Are your kids out of school for the summer, or do you still have a few weeks left? For us, this week is the END of the school year. CRAZY!…

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My absolute favorite children’s picture books of all time

If you love kid lit, these 16 favorite children’s picture books are absolute must-haves. They are the ones I could (and have) read hundreds of times and never get tired of them. If you love kid lit, these 16 favorite children's picture books are absolute must-haves. They are the ones I could (and have) read hundreds of times and never get tired of them. 

NOTE: THIS POST INCLUDES AFFILIATE LINKS. AS ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO SHOP AROUND FOR THE BEST DEALS. SEE MY DISCLOSURE TO LEARN MORE.

I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb reading a book…which worked out well because I was born into a family where bookcases decorated every room of the house. As a child, I spent countless hours poring over the pages of gorgeous books. So many worlds waited to be discovered every time I opened the cover of a new book. My version of heaven.

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