Thanksgiving Day Parade Book and Activities

Balloons Over Broadway The kids I care for are going to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving morning so I borrowed “Balloons over Broadway” by Melissa Sweet from the library to prepare them for the fun and festivities. But if your charges aren’t goingto the parade they will still love watching the parade on television […]

Halloween Tins

Creative Projects While at a playdate with another nanny and her charges we made these adorable little tins. We simply removed the paper from soup cans and decorated them with construction paper and Halloween themed foam stickers you can find at nearly any craft store this time of year. Use them as pencil holders, as goody […]

Ice Cream Foot Prints

Creative Wednesdays When you care for kids too young to do much of their own arts and crafts independently you can still use them to help make cards and gifts for their family and friends. In this project, we used a toddler’s foot to create cute birthday cards with a personal touch. You Will Need: […]

Painting with Unconventional Tools

Creative Wednesdays If regular painting has become a bore allow the kids to paint with feathers, Popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, twigs, cotton swabs, and toy cars and trucks instead of using paintbrushes. Just have the kids roll up their sleeves and wear a smock to stay clean and cover the work surface. Provide plenty of […]

Sea Shell Painting

Creative Project Wednesday The kids I care for and I love to collect a few pretty sea shells to take home as souvenirs when we visit the beach. We have made photo frames, shells hair clips, and simple necklaces with shells. This week we painted the shells to look like animals and balls. For younger kids […]

35 Quick Summer Activities

Keeping Kids Busy on Long, Hot Summer Days During the long, hot days of summer nannies don’t need to rely on electronics and video games to entertain the kids. Here are more than one month’s worth of easy activities to do with the kids. 1. Find an object in the house that begins with each letter […]

Creative Relay Races, Obstacle Courses and Sack Races

Summer Boredom Busters Most of us don’t have burlap sacks on hand to have traditional sack races so have the kids make up their own variations of group races in the grass. You can use the ideas below to plan the races for the kids, but let them come with ideas of their own too. […]

Finger Paint Daddy Sign

Father’s Day is coming up this weekend. Rather than spending money on your Dad Boss spend time with your charges and help them make him a gift. You and the kids can’t go wrong giving a hand painted gift. Even the youngest toddler can finger paint this sign for their father made by nanny and […]

Sea Shell Hair Pins

Who doesn’t love summertime and days spent at the beach with the kids? Part of each day spent at the beach my charges scan the shore for sea shell treasures. These nautical hair pins are easy and inexpensive to make but don’t let little kids use the glue. Let your favorite mermaids pick out their favorite shells […]

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 […]