Click here to read 38 Things to Do With a Cardboard Box that Are Crafty & Fun! on Hands On As We Grow® Grab those cardboard boxes before they go to recycling and try out one of these super fun and simple crafts or activities for kids! Do you have a collection of cardboard boxes? Great! Large boxes, small boxes, pasta boxes, cereal boxes, and any other cardboard box can be repurposed with just a little imagination If you’re running low on ideas for what to do with a cardboard box, keep reading. There really are so many possibilities! Let the unboxing begin! Crafts to Do With a Cardboard Bo ..read more

Click here to read Magic Letter Learning! on Hands On As We Grow® I’m going to work through the areas of learning that needs to be learned before actually reading. First on the list is learning letters, or even simpler: letter recognition. I’ve already collected tons of ideas (50 of them) to learn the alphabet. And we’ve tried quite a few ourselves. Some that focus on letter learning are: Letter Scavenger Hunt – we actually did it to match up upper and lowercase letters, but you could easily just use all uppercase letters for beginners. Squirting Letters – This is a perfect activity for lette ..read more

Click here to read Our 5 Simple Family Christmas Traditions + Yours on Hands On As We Grow® I know. I know. You don’t need anything more to do this Christmas! Especially not another family Christmas tradition to put into place. Just wait… These are simple ones, ones I bet you’re already doing. What do you do every year? What are your family Christmas traditions? December is now upon us, Thanksgiving is behind us, and now it is holiday season in full swing. I often try to start new traditions, and never uphold them from year to year. This year I started thinking about what we actually do e ..read more

Click here to read Kids’ DIY Popsicle Stick Frame Craft for Artwork & Photos on Hands On As We Grow® Do you want a fun way to display your child’s artwork and do a simple craft? This popsicle stick picture frame craft does both. Create a Simple Popsicle Stick Picture Frame Craft This frame is a fun way to add an extra special touch to your child’s artwork. Looking for more art crafts? Try these 30 fun crafts for toddlers. For this frame craft, you will need: Large craft or popsicle sticks, or cardboard (like from a cereal box) Paint, or markers Glue (hot glue or any craft glue you like ..read more

Click here to read 24 Balancing Activities for Toddlers to Improve Motor Skills on Hands On As We Grow® Balancing activities for toddlers are a fantastic way to enhance their body control, prevent falls, and boost concentration. Below, we’ll share a variety of simple balancing activities that your little ones will love. Building up balancing skills doesn’t have to be a challenge. Check out these 20+ balancing activities for toddlers. These are great for practicing gross motor skills and fine motor skills! Download FREE Week of Active Indoor Fun for Kids! Simple Balancing Activities for Todd ..read more

Click here to read Toddler Name Tracing Practice to Creative Early Learning on Hands On As We Grow® Set up this simple name tracing practice activity for toddlers to assist your child in developing their name recognition and fine motor skills. Names are a big deal for little kids. Use this activity to help them “build” their name. Set Up Name Tracing with Blocks (or Stickers, or whatever!) To start, grab a large piece of paper, poster board or even some cardboard and write your child’s name as large as you can. Side note to consider if your child has a long name: I chose to focus on tracing t ..read more

Click here to read 35+ Button Activities for Preschoolers (Free & Fun!) on Hands On As We Grow® Between these cute as a button crafts and button activities that work on fine motor skills, buttons are (or will be!) a must-have in your craft supplies cupboard! After all, buttons are so versatile! They are useful for strengthening fine motor skills. And they can be used to teach colors, letters, numbers, and so much more. Please note: Children should be closely watched when using buttons because buttons can be a choking hazard. Now that we are past the warning, it’s time to press the fun but ..read more

Click here to read 10 Animal Activities for Playtime! on Hands On As We Grow® I thought I’d share some fun activities that are animal based that can be used as activity extensions for the animal books you’re reading! I love these activities that go with some of our favourite animal books for preschoolers. Animal Activities to Go Along with Animal Books ‘The Donkey and the Wolf’ activity that really gets into the book from The Usual Mayhem. Reenacting the story! Go ahead and give that a try! ‘Five Little Ducklings’ activity goes on a hunt for the ducks, just like in the book! A scavenger h ..read more

Click here to read 3 Simple Science Experiments that are Perfect for the Backyard on Hands On As We Grow® Here are 3 backyard science experiments that all use the hot summer sun you are going to want to try with your preschoolers! They are so simple and so fun! We are going to make our very own rainbows, paint with sunscreen and watch as the sun can’t reach the paper through it, and make shadow prints! My kids love science, and the love being in the backyard. But sometimes I find they want to have something a little different to do back there halfway through the summer. My favorite thing to a ..read more

Click here to read 14 Birthday Books That Are FUN to Read Aloud on Hands On As We Grow® Colorful balloons, shiny presents, chocolate cake piled high with frosting. There is so much to love about the fun birthday traditions we share with our children, why not start a new tradition of reading aloud some birthday books? Many libraries offer ways to order books from nearby libraries, so ask a librarian if you can’t find these at your local library! Below you will find some of the very best birthday picture books that you can share with your children. These have wonderful illustrations and are boo ..read more