Read & Write

Playing with Words: Poetry Projects for Kids

In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m sharing two of our recent poetry projects at Simple Kids today. Here’s a sneak peek: From rhyming lines to haiku to free verse, I love sharing poetry with my daughters. We think of poems as paintings made with words, and they are a wonderful way for kids to [...]

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Books for Giving: Spring Edition

Nearly every gift-giving occasion in our family includes specially-chosen books for our two voracious readers. With a change of season in the air, here are a few gift book ideas for celebrating spring or tucking into an Easter basket: Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton Age: Babies and up You really can’t go wrong with Sandra [...]

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Gadanke Journal Review

We have been playing with a really fun kid’s journal from the Gadanke handmade journal shop. I have always written in some sort of journal or notebook, not to mention all the notes I have jotted down about things the girls say or special memories. My girls are also showing an interest in journaling and [...]

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Spring Acrostic Poems

{Updated from a post at Early Bird Homeschool, April 2010. The girls wrote these poems when they were 5 and 7 years old.} Poetry is one of our favorite ways to play and create with words. After reading Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur, we wrote our own acrostic poems to celebrate Spring. Acrostic [...]

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Simple and Fun Bookmark Crafts for Kids

We recently had a little bookmark craft camp at our house. We were running dangerously low on bookmarks, and I was grabbing random receipts and junk mail to mark my spot. Now, we have lots of pretty bookmarks use, and some extras for gift-giving, too. I’m sharing our three favorite bookmark crafts at Simple Kids [...]

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Winter Audio Books for Kids

Despite our lack of wintery weather, we’re still enjoying our stack of snow-themed books and gearing up for cold days to come. Audio books, hot chocolate, and cold winter days are a perfect pair! I have complied a Winter Audio Book Playlist, perfect for car rides, afternoon quiet time, or bad weather days when you’re [...]

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Taking Dictation: Crafting Stories with Young Kids

I’m sharing a few ideas for capturing children’s creative storytelling at Simple Kids today. Here is a sneak peek: There is really nothing like the imagination of a young child. Long before they can write their own stories, children are ready and eager to tell their own stories. It is wonderfully empowering for a child [...]

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Through the Lens E-Course & Giveaway

Mariah at Playful Learning is offering a photo journal e-course for kids (and grown-ups) during the month of November. My girls and I will be participating and we are so excited! Both of my girls love taking photographs, so I know we are going to have lots of fun. Here are the basic details about [...]

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Fall Audio Books for Kids

I know I’ve said this before, but my girls are hooked on audio books! We’ve been known to pull into the garage and stay in the car just a few minutes more to finish listening to a story or the end of a chapter. I have complied a Fall Audio Book Playlist, perfect for the [...]

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Exploring Apples

{Updated from original post, September 2009} We have been celebrating the arrival of Fall with some fun apple exploration – I love apple season! I made a simple printable booklet to record our apple activities. You can download our , if you like – enjoy! Predicting and testing if our apples will sink or float [...]

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