Craft Stick Patterns

Creative Play This is an inexpensive project to make for toddlers and preschoolers that just takes a few minutes to make. I start with making simple designs of triangles, squares, and rectangles for toddlers and make designs more complex as the children grow and develop their matching skills. Just google craft stick pattern ideas for […]

Matching Lower Case and Upper Case Letters Game

Creative Wednesdays Here’s a quick and easy project I made with my Nanny Kids. We simply recycled a cardboard egg carton and used plastic spoons they had left over from a party their family had last summer. Since it was a huge egg carton with more than 26 eggs I added some numbers to the […]

Peter and the Wolf

Weekly Trip to the Library One of the challenges of working as a nanny is finding activities my three charges (aged 3-years-old to 13-years-old) can all enjoy at the same time. But this week I remembered my favorite childhood classic Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with the CD of musical themes. All three of the […]

Summer Learning with The Lorax

Weekly Trip to the Library: The Lorax by Dr. Suess Over 40-years ago Dr. Seuss published The Lorax . In his search to find a real Truffula Tree a boy must find the Lorax who is a forest guardian who speaks for the trees and protects the forest. The Lorax tries to save the environment […]

What I Love About Working as a Nanny During the Summer

I confess I love taking advantage of the fact that play and fun are the name of the game when caring for kids during the summer. Although I’m great working with schedules during the school year, I enjoy the flexibility of planning what we want to do during the summer months. I love that as […]

Summer Learning with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs Read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. This story describes a day in which everything goes wrong for a boy named Alexander. When Alexander got up in the morning, he found gum in his hair, tripped on his skateboard, and accidentally […]

Summer Learning: Africa, Anansi the Spider and the Ashanti

Weekly Trip to the Library I care for three kids all of different ages. The three-year-old girl I care for was frightened of spiders so I borrowed the following books from the library to help her face her fear and now she loves spiders. Her 10-year-old brother is obsessed with the rain forest, while their teen brother loves […]

Summer Science: Making Floam

Creative Wednesdays Incorporating learning into the summer benefits the children. If done properly, the kids will will be having so much fun they won’t know they are having lessons at home. Making Floam is a great science lesson and is a great medium for kids to create with when they are tired of the same […]

Alphabet Cookies for Summer Learning

Cooking With Kids Summer is a wonderful time, but with it comes the “Summer Slide.” Learning slips and even basic knowledge takes a vacation. This is especially true with preschoolers and kindergartners who are just learning their letters, counting, and the like. Making alphabet cookies is a sweet way to keep learning in the home […]

Make the Trip to the Zoo a Summer Learning Experience

Once at Home from the Zoo All this week we shared fun ways to help kids learn when taking a trip to the zoo this summer. Once back at home from the zoo, allow the kids to finish their Zoo Books. Ask the kids what were their favorite animals at the zoo and help them […]