Books and Giggles
Inside: These free printable plant life cycle hats are just right for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. Can I admit on a post about the life cycle of a plant that I don’t have much of a green thumb? I don’t. The only thing I can keep alive is the basil plant in my kitchen…
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas! I’ve joined up with Karen from ABC’s of Literacy to bring you a little extra love this holiday season. Every day through December 18th we’ll be featuring fun new and favorite activities and sending out a new freebie straight to your inbox. Note: I’ll actually be updating this…
Are you a teacher? Do you spend way too much money on school related items? Here are 5 smart ways teachers can save money on classroom expenses. You love your job, and you work hard to create an engaging classroom. Unfortunately, that often includes spending money out of your own pocket. Yes, being a teacher…
Books and Giggles is full of screen-free, educational and fun activities for kids. Sometimes you also find parenting insights and tips. Today we’re recapping the top five non-seasonal posts of the year, all in one place. The most popular post by far was 10 Instant Fun Car Trip Activities Your Kids Will Love These are ideas that you…
We do a lot of picture book-inspired crafts here, but this Christmas one is special. On one hand, it’s a fun holiday craft for kids. On the other hand, it’s a lesson in art and observation. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to…
If your toddler or young preschooler loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, I have a fun, educational toddler Christmas activity for you. It will help them learn about numbers and one-to-one correspondence. It will also introduce them to Christmas and winter themes. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,…
Today I’m sharing a fun and simple set of fine motor skill activities. You can do it with toddlers, preschoolers, or elementary aged kids. All you really need are dried beans from your pantry. Montessori-Inspired Toddler Activity My kids all attended a Montessori preschool. One of the earliest activities they learned there was spooning beans….
The first year I tried to teach my kids about Thanksgiving didn’t go very well. We did an activity where they took pictures, with my help, of things they were thankful for. The trouble was (and I didn’t realize this until we were done), all the pictures were of toys. Not exactly what I was…
Today I’m sharing another one of our favorite picture books, and a storytelling basket to go with it. There’s a free printable template, too, so that you can make your own. These pieces could also be used on a felt board. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate…
So I went to Target yesterday. You know how this ends. I went in for a couple necessary items and came home with more than I’d planned to buy. But while I was in the dollar spot I found this bulletin board border! Why should teachers have all the fun? I decided it would be fun…
My day was all planned out. Before lunch, we were going to run out to the toy store and pick up something for a birthday party that afternoon. I’d forgotten to order anything online, and my gift closet was pretty much empty. It all would’ve worked out fine, except I suddenly realized I hadn’t picked up…
“Mommy, what is this?” I’d been doing a puffy paint pumpkin experiment while the kids were at school. My first attempt was not recognizable as anything to do with Halloween. Instead, it was a sort of weird orange-ish salmon color. The second and third times, the color was better, but the texture was all wrong….
When my girls play together, sometimes they give each other names “in the game.” They always pick the same names: Sophie and Isabella. I’ve danced around using my kids’ real names on the blog. I want to protect their privacy, but sometimes it’s awkward writing about them without names. Yesterday, for example, in my tooth fairy pillow tutorial, I…
Recently, I realized the power of fairies. Yes, fairies. The Tooth Fairy My girls still have all their baby teeth, but they’re looking forward to their first tooth fairy visit. One night they were delaying brushing their teeth, making funny faces in the mirror instead. I remarked, “You know, the tooth fairy loves clean teeth.”…
As a mom of little kids and a former teacher, I get excited when we read a picture book that can teach a big kid reading comprehension skill. (Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees…
Even big kids can enjoy sensory play. Children of all ages love digging their hands into a tray full of beads. They adore the feeling of the beads, and the sounds they make rattling together. They like the imaginative possibilities beads hold. I didn’t always know this. (All the product links in this post are…
Realizing you can skip pages or parts of pages when you read aloud to your little kids is liberating, even if you do feel a little deceitful about it. There’s really no reason to feel guilty. In our house, we did plenty of book shortening until the kids got old enough to catch on to…
You know how, sometimes, seeing the world through your child’s eyes can really change your attitude? Recently, it was pouring rain, and I had just finished loading a cart full of groceries into the minivan. My jeans were wet, and my socks were soggy inside my soaked tennis shoes. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing to navigate…
You know when your kid finds a book that they want you to read over and over? Recently, one of my 5-year-old twins latched onto the book Tiptoe Joe by Ginger Foglesong Gibson. I totally haven’t minded. When a book opens with a cute rhyme like “Tiptoe fast, tiptoe slow. Say hello to Tiptoe Joe” across three…
Last week I walked into the kitchen and caught my 5-year old working hard to read the label on a little crate of oranges. I can’t tell you how much this warms my book-loving heart. Before we were married my husband once caught me engrossed in reading the label on a 12-volt battery. Yes, I…
I first thought about starting a blog in about 2006, but I talked myself out of it. I was busy with my firstborn’s arrival that year – definitely too preoccupied with reading Goodnight Moon to my pregnant belly to stop and write about it. source: Andrew Seaman/flickr Eight crazy years and three beautiful kids later,…