“The Leaf Thief ” by Alice Fleming and Nicola Slater

Make leaf rubbings after reading The Leaf Thief: (The Perfect Fall Book for Children and Toddlers) by Alice Fleming and Nicola Slater with the children in your care. The Leaf Thief is a funny picture book that teaches kids about autumn, adapting to change, and the seasons. The main character is Squirrel and he loves […]

The Color Monster

Halloween has a lot of scary characters but the monster in The Color Monster by Anna Llenas is not scary at all. The Color Monster helps children identify emotions and feel more in control. One day, Color Monster wakes up feeling very confused. His emotions are all over the place; he feels angry, happy, calm, […]

“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 […]

“The Day of the Bad Haircut” and Cutting Paper Hair

All kids I have ever met have cried at least once during or after getting a haircut. That’s why I have often borrowed The Day of the Bad Haircut by Eva Moore from the library. In The Day of the Bad Haircut Molly finally allows her mother to cut her hair, after weeks of protesting, […]

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 […]

“Little Dandelion Seeds the World” and Cotton Swab Dandelion

Creative Wednesdays Who doesn’t love blowing fluffy dandelion seeds? My Nanny Kids literally spend hours blowing the soft flowers in the parks and fields we visit each summer. So, I was so excited to find Little Dandelion Seeds the World by Julia Richardson. This is a wonderful book for young readers that teaches that the […]

Painted Fireworks

Fourth of July means fireworks in America. Read “The Night Before the Fourth of July” by Amy Wummer then have your Nanny Kids make painted fireworks. To help keep the colors separated we made one toilet paper roll for each color of paint, (red, white, and blue). This craft is great because it is simple […]

“The Ugly Duckling” and Swan Craft

Weekly Trip to the Library The Ugly Duckling is an infamous story by Hans Christian Anderson whose fairytales have become loved around the world, including The Little Match Girl and The Little Mermaid. Born different, The Ugly Duckling is mocked by his siblings, rejected by other ducks, and even shunned by his own mother. The […]

“Elmer’s Friends” by David McKee and Puppets

Creative Wednesdays David McKee’s most famous creation is Elmer the Patchwork Elephant which is published in more than 40 languages. In Elmer’s Friends we learn about the spotty, stripy, tall, and long elephant named Elmer and meet all of Elmer’s very best friends! This chunky board book with easy-grip toddler tabs on every page is […]

Give the Pigeon a Bath!

Creative Wednesdays My six-year-old Nanny Kid absolutely loves any book by Mo Willems. Her current favorite book by the beloved author is The Pigeon Needs a Bath!. So we just had to make a fun craft to correspond with her current obsession. We made a dirty paper pigeon on one side and a clean pigeon […]