“Too Many Carrots,” Origami, Carrot Cookies, and Worksheets

Lesson Plans Too Many Carrots is such a cute story about kindness all children love. Rabbit loves carrots and that’s a big problem! In this phenomenal bestseller, Rabbit loves carrots a little too much. In fact, his carrots are crowding him out of his cozy burrow. When his animal friends offer to help, they’re just […]

Phonics Wheel

Creative Wednesdays Phonics are an important method of teaching to read by correlating sounds with letters or groups of letters. Phonics Wheels are a fun, easy to make, and engaging activity for young learners. Allow children to create wheels by using word families or make a variety of real and nonsense words. Click here to […]

Cardboard Roll Butterflies

I found this easy project on the patchwork parent blog. For little kids I recommend putting primary colored paint close to each other on a paper plate so they can play with mixing the primary colors to make secondary colors when making these butterflies. Older children can decorate the tubes with paint and markers in […]

Scissor Skills and Practicing Cutting

Creative Wednesdays It’s easy to make cutting worksheets on your own for your nanny kids. The photo shows some cutting strips I made myself. I simply drew lines, dashes, and dots on colorful paper with a permanent marker to draw lines where the kids should cut the paper. But if you prefer to print out […]

Mondrian Sidewalk Chalk Art

Creative Wednesdays Known for his Modernism abstract paintings, Piet Mondrian used the simplest combination of straight lines and right angles, creating geometric shapes of bold primary colors. After showing the kids paintings by Mondrian and reading “Coppernickel Goes Mondrian” go outside to make similar art using sidewalk chalk. Of course on a rainy day you […]

The ADHD Workbook for Kids

Weekly Trip to the Library I love the The ADHD Workbook for Kids. I originally just borrowed the book from the library but decided to buy a copy to keep in my nanny library to use for the rest of my nanny career. The workbook helps children learn new Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence includes the […]

Painting Symmetry

Creative Wednesdays Symmetry can be taught at an early age with this very simple art project. Explain to the little ones that if you cut something in half and both sides look exactly the same, they are symmetrical. Allow the children to experiment using different sized drops of paint and spaces between the paint dots. The five-year-old I care […]

Gus Gets Scared and Activities

Weekly Trip to the Library Have the kids you cared for ever been scared? Of course they have. That’s why Gus Gets Scared is a great book to read with your charges. Gus is an adventurous little rhino who has just gotten a new tent. Will he be brave enough to sleep outside all night? Gus Gets […]

Inspiring Learning Thru Everyday Activities

Supporting Success in School at Home Success in school requires support at home. As nannies we have a unique opportunity to teach children in important ways that cannot be taught in school. It is up to us to make learning experiences in everyday activities. We can even help children too young for school to develop […]

Fun and Educational Activities for Nannies and Au Pairs

It’s Easy to Have Fun While Learning Keeping children active and engaged is an important responsibility for nannies. However, it can sometimes be challenging to come up with new and exciting activities that children will enjoy. When planning activities, it is always important to keep in mind the ages of the children as well as […]