There's no denying it. For better or worse, technology is taking over the world. Being able to program a computer is a skill that will serve our children well in the future. I didn't write my first simple program until I was 18, but ultimately I got my PhD and worked full-time writing and operating ...
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Goodnight Moon Game
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This fun, open-ended game based on one of the world’s most popular books for babies and toddlers is the perfect first board game for young kids. There are lots of different ways to play making this game appropriate for a wide range of ages. Product: Goodnight Moon Game Company: Briar ...
Color Code
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Color code is a fun, challenging, single player game that uses a different skill set than many logic puzzles aimed at similar age kids. It requires kids to use spatial reasoning, but rather than using 3 dimensional shapes, it requires kids to layer a series of flat (2 dimensional) images to make a ...
Movie Theater Pretend Play
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When I was young, I spent a period of time living with my grandmother who was an expert at having fun. She took me to see my first movie at a movie theater back when I was about 5 years old (we saw My Little Pony) and I was completely in love with the experience. The tickets, the popcorn, the dimmed ...
Amusement Park Map Activity
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When I was about 5 or 6, my mom and stepdad took me to Six Flags Magic Mountain. I had a terrible day. The rides were too scary, the larger-than-life Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd were terrifying, there was sooo much walking...I'm pretty sure I did nothing but complain or cry the entire day. (Sorry, ...
5 Quick and Easy Activities for Toddlers
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Whether I'm cooking dinner, playing checkers with my kindergartner, or reading a story to my preschooler, there are moments throughout the day when I really would like my toddler to play by himself for short periods of time. He's actually very independent generally speaking, but the times when I ...
Homemade Bug Houses
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I don't like bugs. Period. At all. Not even a little bit. But my kids do. They think all types of insects, spiders, and other creepy, crawly creatures are fascinating. Parenthood has definitely made me more tolerant of countless things (bodily fluids, lack of privacy, random screaming...). My ...
Homemade Wobblebot
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As with our wigglebot, this homemade wobblebot is not technically a robot since it doesn't have any sort of decision making capabilities. However, it is still a lot of fun to make and a great first "robotics" project for young robot enthusiasts. Like the wigglebot, the inspiration for this ...
Leaf Print Art
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As part of my kindergartner's Waldorf-inspired Oak Meadow homeschool curriculum, we recently made leaf prints. The directions didn't say anything about turning the prints into cute little people, but how could I resist? (Be sure to stick around for the end of this post to find some other fun ideas ...
Dinosaur Cards and Lap Book
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Every night I ask my kindergarten son, "What do you want to learn about tomorrow?" Nine times out of 10, he says dinosaurs. We've been reading lots of library books on dinosaurs, but I wanted to make his learning more hands-on. It took me awhile to put together these dinosaur cards and the ...
Michelle has a PhD in Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor's Degree from the California Institute of Technology. 