Spiriteds, school starts today. A summer full of shenanigans comes to a close, and Twinkle and I are back to our dynamic duo status. It’s our last year at home together before she heads off to kindergarten. I am ALL UP IN MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. Excited for new beginnings and weepy over the end of an era. For ten years, every day will have been “take your daughter to work day.” It wasn’t easy but it was my normal. Melodramatic much? Ooh, and dear Spiriteds, you only have an entire calendar year ... continue reading...
Gluten-Free Easy Cloud Dough
If you want a super-easy, hands-on activity for your preschooler (or kids of any age, really), may I highly suggest Gluten-Free Easy Cloud Dough? It is exactly like it sounds. Easy to make and easy to use in sensory play activities. {Gluten-Free} I have a confession, though. When I found a version of this recipe in Asia Citro’s ridiculously amazing book 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids, I was transported back in time to when my firstborn was two, and we made a batch of something ... continue reading...
Rainbow Rice Recipe – How to Dye Rice for Sensory Play
This Rainbow Rice recipe is super-easy to make, provides hours of open-ended play, and is a great screen-free activity for kids (and adults)! Use kitchen gadgets, craft supplies, and MORE for unlimited play ideas! {Gluten-free} Oh, Spiriteds, where do I even begin? Welcome to one of our favorite screen-free sensory play activities? I don't even know. Are there actual words to express how much our family enjoys this particular recipe of fun and frivolity? I can't be certain. But what I can ... continue reading...
Sensory Play Ideas for Preschoolers
Spiriteds, WHAT IN THE ACTUAL WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING? Or not happening, as it were? Where is SPRING???? And if you’re a Midwesterner, you know how this weather is going to go down. We’ll be in the middle of a snowstorm on Wednesday and have 85-degree weather by Friday. I remember reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s book The Long Winter as a child and thinking how fun it would be to cozy up indoors until May. Mom disagreed. What tomfoolery was I even trying to sell myself? Winter until May, Mom’s ... continue reading...
Sensory Play Activities for Children – Loose Parts
Spiriteds, we break from our regularly-scheduled food programming to bring you loose parts play, a topic I fervently support. I’ve written about this before, and undoubtedly I’ll write about it again: My daughters are spirited children through and through. In fact, this spiritedness permeates our family (including Mom, The Gram, and Auntie, which you can read about on our About Us page) so much, it inspired the name for this blog. And channeling the girls' energy levels is a WHOLE THING in ... continue reading...
