Homemade Kazoos

Creative Wednesdays A kazoo is a very simple musical instrument, made up of a hollow pipe with a hole in it. They may be simple, but these little noisemakers are a great way to explore sound with kids. In this activity have the kids investigate how kazoos work by building their own. Thin plastic, waxed […]

“Leap Back Home to Me” by Lauren Thompson and Craft

Weekly Trip to the Library I love making arts and crafts that correspond to a children’s book that I read to my Nanny Kids. This week we read a cute book with frogs as the main characters and made some paper plate frogs. In Leap Back Home to Me a little frog’s first leap out […]

The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

Weekly Trip to the Library It’s difficult for children to learn to share. Children are seldom capable of true empathy under the age of six. Prior to that time they share because we condition them to do so. Don’t expect a child less than two or 2½ to easily accept sharing. I typically read children’s […]

Making Goop!

Creative Wednesday While it is still warm outside is the best time to make messy projects like this with the kids because they can play with the goop outside. Whether you call it goo, slime, or ooze the kids with love making and playing with it and you will love that it’s non toxic — […]

“Roller Coaster: by Marla Frazee

Weekly Trip to the Library I always love doing a craft project that corresponds with the book after reading it to the children. This week we read Roller Coaster and made a paper roller coaster. Marla Frazee has illustrated many acclaimed picture books, some of which she also wrote, such as Roller Coaster. In this story […]

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 […]

Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon

Weekly Trip to the Library Despite telling children to wash their hands over and over again since the pandemic started I’m still having trouble getting one of the kids I babysit to wash his hands every time he enters the home. I have to hover over him because he often turns on the water and […]

Kugel for Hanukkah? By Gretchen M. Everin

Weekly Trip to the Library I love giving my Nanny Kids children’s books as gifts for the holidays. This makes a great book to give to children for Hanukkah but also fun to read to children of any faith. After reading this bright and cheerful book with your Nanny Kids make this noodle kugel recipe […]

Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Weekly Trip to the Library What can you make with one oval, two circles, and eight triangles? Just ask three clever mice. In Mouse Shapes,the mice play with shapes while hiding from a cat. In the end, the mice build big mice to scare the cat away. After reading the book let the kids trace […]

Want to Help You Nanny Kids Read Better?

Teaching Phonics Phonics gives us the tools to sound out and learn thousands of words without depending upon memorization. Phonics is simply the relationship between the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. Use phonics to teach children the most common sound-spelling relationships so that they can decode, or sound out, words. This […]