family fun

I lied when I said that the best thing about Bunco was that it was an easy game to play while catching up with friends. Really. I lied. It’s not 100% true. The best thing about Bunco is the snacks. …

Our family has longtime been a fan of the fondue night. It’s a tradition for us to make this dinner on New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day, and often the kids will choose to have fondue for their birthday dinner …

My kids are basically a captive audience at breakfast, and they have been for a long, long time. Whether they’re staring at the cereal boxes, reading the newspaper, chatting grammar, or doing brain teasers, it always seems like they are waiting …

Originally published 12/7/09 but republished today because, well, it’s worth it–   When I first started teaching, in order to make ends meet, I ran several after-school activity clubs at an elementary school near the high school where I taught. …

This week, Liska from Adventure in a Box shares a super-cool, totally new-to-teachmama.com idea.  So cool, it’s nuts. Liska is a toymaker, a creator, a mom, an artist and a lover of books.  She is a Russian who has settled in Canada with her …

The following Rockstar Sunday guest post is written by one of the coolest gals on the planet, Becky Morales.  Becky is a mom, teacher, and creator of Kid World Citizen, where she shares activities that ‘help young minds go global’. …

The following Rockstar Sunday guest post is written by Kate of An Everyday Story. Kate is a former teacher who now homeschools her two littles using the Reggio Emilia Approach. I love her blog, and you will too. Check it …

Originally published June 6, 2011 but republished today because, well, it’s worth it.   This past week, we experienced something totally new and exciting–a rite of passage of sorts.  We walked into a new chapter in our lives, and I …

The following rockstar guest post is written by Barb of  A Life in Balance. Barb has a ton of awesome ideas, and you should totally check out her blog.  Gallon bag activities. Plastic bag activities. Ziploc or Ziplock or Glad or store …

This post about fun with food and fractions is written by Jen of Beyond Traditional Math. Hopefully after reading it, you’ll never look at food quite the same! Thank you, Jen, for your time, effort, and expertise! ____________________ Fractions with …

    We are gearing up for a Disneyland adventure, and to prepare our family, we’re rocking some Disneyland fun fact lunchbox notes.Actually, these little fun facts are perfect not only for lunchboxes–but they work just about anywhere! I’m a …

      It’s been busy here for the last few days, with our insane weather and with FutureCity, Toy Fair, and National Center for Families Learning Summit all in the last week. But somewhere in between all of this …

The snow and freezing cold temps has cause my three kids to be on energy overload lately. They need to burn steam. They need to run, jump, skip, hop, spin, and then do it all again. They need to loosen …

Any time we can use recyclables for learning or play, it’s a win in my book. So each year as New Year’s Eve approaches, we clean out our recycle bin and put some of those small containers to use for easy, …

      We’re longtime fans of the advent calendar and and longtime fans of coffee. When we stepped up our game last year and sprung for a Keurig, every day became a little more awesome, starting our day with …

October has been an incredibly busy month for us, with me finishing up two classes on top of all of my other normal work. However, our crazy schedule isn’t stopping us from having a whole lot of Halloween fun over …

    The following guest post is written by the incredibly busy Theresa of Capri + 3.  Theresa is a mom of four toddlers, and her family’s story is an amazing blessing. Her blog chronicles their adventures. —————————— I am …

    The following guest post is written by Christie Kiley. Christie has the job I find amazing and awe-inspiring: an Occupational Therapist.  The work of these professionals is absolutely incredible. Christie is an O/T and mom of two teeny-tiny …

It has been such an amazing summer.  I am desperately, terribly, incredibly sad to see it go. But here we are.  Marching forward. At my kids’ request, I whipped up another batch of lunchbox love notes.  This time, they’re silly, …

We’re week three into our tabletop surprises, and this week, we rocked some sneaky math, literacy, and creative thinking. The kids woke up to some easy activities and ones that required more thinking—and two that required more movement. Sign language …