Ever since I was in college, I have always wanted to make my own hula hoop. I was at a graduation celebration once and saw this girl doing the most amazing tricks with her hula hoop. Her impressive feats have stayed in the back of my mind this past decade. During this pandemic time when I'm trying ...
Homemade Fun
Cave Painting Activity
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
What better way to kick off Ancient History studies than with a simple cave painting activity? This activity requires only a few supplies and very little prep. For the small investment required, it is a ton of fun and even a little educational. (You are welcome to use my free printable if you would ...
Pine Cone Bird Feeders
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I remember making these peanut butter, bird seed, and pine cone bird feeders with my grandmother when I was a little girl. They are so easy that I have been meaning to make them with my kids forever! It would be a shame for their childhoods to have passed them by without having done this simple, ...
Super Easy Bottle Rocket
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
This has to be one of the most fun science activities I've done with my kids in a long time. It is super simple, inexpensive, and quick. It took us a few tries experimenting with how to add the baking soda to the bottle, but I think we got it down. We were able to make this super easy bottle rocket ...
Birthday Interview Form
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
A while back, I was listening to this episode of the Bravewriter podcast, when the mother being interviewed mentioned a family tradition that sounded incredible. She took each child out to dinner the day before their birthday. Just the two of them. Additionally, she would ask the child the same ...
DIY Hollow Book Secret Hiding Place
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
My 2nd grader is really into detectives, spys, and secret agents. (Check out his secret plans for his latest mission.) Ever since he started reading the detective series, Nate the Great, he likes to turn everything into a case or a mystery. When I was a kid, I went through a Nancy Drew phase, so I ...
Generic Game Board
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Have you ever thought, "If I could just turn this into a GAME, my kid would learn it no problem." Kids are like that, aren't they? Ask them to clean their rooms and they'll fall on the floor at the injustice of it all. Turn it into a game and they'll be transformed into little cleaning machines. ...
Homemade Spinning Brushbot
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
What better way to get kids interested in science and technology than fun, hands-on projects that move on their own? This simple, homemade, spinning brushbot was inspired by the book How to Build Robots. This book recommends taking apart a battery-powered, electric toothbrush to get the parts for ...
Origami Flapping Bird
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
When I was in 4th grade, I got a chance to fly across the continental United States. The only reason I didn't go out of my mind with boredom during that nearly 6 hour flight was that my aunt taught me how to make this origami flapping bird on the plane. I probably made nearly 100 birds during that ...
Reading Log Train
This site uses affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
I LOVE to read. Growing up, I hid a book in my desk at school in case the lesson was boring. If there was a social gathering, I would find a quiet place to hide and read. If we were driving home late at night, I would read snippets of my book by lamp post (which, let me tell you, is pretty ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 