Weekly Trip to the Library What child doesn’t like penguins? And now that’s it is cold outside it’s the perfect time to read and doing indoor crafts. This week I borrowed books from the library about penguins and has the kids make some penguins from different shapes cut out from colored construction paper. If you […]
Homemade Holiday Gifts You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give personalized handmade gifts this holiday season. You can find nice mugs at the dollar store and oil based Sharpie markers and large monogram stickers at any craft store. Older school-aged children can help make these gift mugs using the first letter […]
Creative Wednesdays The religious celebration of Hanukkah begins Sunday at sundown. The center of the celebration is the candelabra called a menorah. Hanukkah celebrates a miracle. After the Seleucid desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, there was only enough sealed consecrated olive oil left to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
