Six months ago I got fed up with all of the toy clutter around the house and decided it was time to take drastic action. I gathered up all the toys, sorted them into bins, and started our family's experiment with a toy rotation system. It is time to report back and share what is working, what isn't working, and if it is really worth the extra effort. If you've never heard of toy rotation or you want to hear exactly how I set up our system, read the post Cutting Down on Clutter with Toy Rotation from six months ago. An Update 6 Months After Starting A Toy Rotation System How often do you rotate the toys? In the winter months I did it … [Read more...]
Tips & Inspiration for Creating a Summer Fun List
I've made a summer fun list for 3 years and I find that it helps me to stay intentional throughout the summer. It keeps me focused on enjoying and celebrating summer. 5 tips for writing your own summer fun list: 1) When creating your list, think big and colorful! Put the chart in a place where the whole family can see it. 2) I like to brainstorm a long list on a separate sheet of paper before writing it all down on my official summer fun list. That way I can space things out nicely. 3) Don't ask for you kids for input on the list unless they are able to share realistic ideas. You don't want a list full of things things you can't … [Read more...]
Painting Just For The Sake of Painting
This post contains affiliate links. Please tell me that I'm not the only mom who struggles to do organized crafts with her kids. We do a lot of drawing, coloring, singing, dancing, and reading in this house, but step-by-step crafts just aren't happening. I like to think of myself as an artistic woman. I studied theater and video production in college. I loved taking art and photography classes. You would think that I would plan elaborate crafts for my kids all year long, but instead I cringe when doing finger paint and have very few crafts saved on my Pinterest boards. Despite my lame attempts at crafts in this house, we bought … [Read more...]
Cutting Down on Clutter with Toy Rotation
I don't mind toy clutter. I really don't. Learning through play is my kids' main job right now. However, I can't stand clutter from toys that my kids aren't even playing with. Even worse is when my kids try to see how many toys they can dump all over the floor and then they don't even play with the mess. Mama is fed up and last Saturday I took action. I decided to try toy rotation. Toy rotation is the concept of only having a limited amount of toys available to your children, packing up the rest of their toys, and then rotating the toys on a regular basis. This idea works well for younger children who can easily get overwhelmed by … [Read more...]
61 “Crunchy Mama” Approved Gifts for Kids
When I became a mom, I had no idea how hard it would be to come up with birthday and Christmas gift ideas for my kids. At times I struggle trying to think of what my husband and I want to give them, let alone a whole wish list to hand out to grandparents, aunts, and uncles! I'm thankful that our families hand out wish lists. It is nice to offer some ideas of things our kids need. Plus, as a green and crunchy mama, it is great to suggest gifts that I am excited about and toys that I can trust to be safe. I prefer that my kids have toys that are made of safe materials and that encourage real, creative play. Some toys seem to take away … [Read more...]
Birthday Interview Questions {free printable}
When Grace turned 3, I started asking her birthday interview questions. I searched online and asked my friends for interview questions and came up with 23 questions to ask your kids every year on their birthday. I'm thrilled to offer this free printable to all of my subscribers. The support of my readers here at Simply Rebekah means so much to me. I would love to squeeze each of you and say thanks, but this free gift will have to do. The free birthday interview questions printable is available in 3 different designs as a pdf file. Get your free birthday interview questions printable by subscribing here! Don't forget to confirm your … [Read more...]
