I recently got a recommendation to check out a fun kid’s podcast: Melon’s House Party. We love to listen to music or podcasts when we are doing house work, relaxing and coloring, and on our forever long drives in this new city!
You know, When we are stuck in traffic and one hour drive turns into two hours? That’s when a good audio book or a fun playlist comes to the rescue. Melon’s House Party is a fun story about a little puppy called Melon. She has a huge heart and brings a whole new world to life. A world full of friends, music and adventure. Her Best friend in the whole world is couch, but she also has fun with an always singing record player, a soulless computer, her bookshelf therapist and more!
That’s right! Melon’s friends are all the objects in her house that come to life when mom and dad are out at work! how adorable is that?
If you have children who are 5 to 12 years old, and you all enjoy a fun kid’s podcast, you don’t want to miss Melon’s House Party, I know you will quickly fall in love with it and dancing to the amazing music in it.
Things we love about this podcast-
Encourages imagination play.
Includes fun, catchy and beautiful music that gets us moving.
Teaches kids the value of family and friendship.
It is family friendly and safe for little ears.
Encourages a love for story telling.
We are so excited to share that last month, Wondery has released the second season of Melon’s House Party! I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but I can tell you that the first episode is going to be amazing and includes a super exciting announcement! Ok, I’ve said enough. I hope you guys enjoy the new season of this kid’s podcast! It’s going to be so much fun.
Where to find Melon’s House Party podcast-
This podcast is from Wondery so you can always find it on the Wondery app. But you can also find it on your favorite podcast platforms like Spotify, Audible, Apple podcast app and others.
They have new episodes every Wednesday and they are 30 minutes long which to me is the perfect length for a kid’s podcast. Click here to get started listening!
My boys have really enjoyed getting to know Melon and her amazing friends! They love to dance and sing along and I just love it! Even if I catch them dancing on the couch.Let me know how your littles enjoy it!
This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx but all opinions are my own. I love to share back to school ideas that will help your kids have a healthy and happy school year.
The time has come! Ready or not, we are all headed into the new school year. No matter which schooling option you chose, I know that you are doing the best for your family and children.
Now let’s take on the new school year and make it amazing for our little ones. I want to share a few back to school ideas that can help keep the kid on track for a healthy and fun year.
Back to school ideas:
1. Words of affirmation-
Our kids are entering into a whole world of newness. They have been experiencing the global pandemic already but now they are about to see that it will also affect their school life. Take time to talk to them, to let them know it’s ok to be confused because we will learn together. It’s ok to be frustrated and nervous, because they have amazing support in their teachers and you. Take time to listen to your children, let them know that it’s important for them to communicate how something is affecting them and how they think you can help. This will lay out a foundation for a year where they will always know that someone has their back. And even if you don’t have all the answers, they will know that they can count on you to search together with them.
2. Establish a routine-
If you ask anyone, they would tell you that I am the queen of spontaneous adventure! But we all know that having a consistent routine is amazing for kids and adults alike. With all the new things that they will have to learn, having a routine and knowing what is next, will help the kids to not be constantly wondering what is next. That takes so much stress away from them.
Laying out clothes for the next day, taking a nice shower/bath, and making sure that school things are ready, will make for a great morning of getting ready without rushing.
For my older boys, we have started using their own special hair products and deodorant for kids from TBH kids which teaches them that good habits start early as their bodies change and they grow up. Puberty can be stinky but TBH Kids is with them every step of the way!
Their Deodorant, Shampoo, and conditioner are made with natural ingredients that helps them have clear, hydrated skin and oil free hair.
Receive 15% off site wide with discount code: TBH4me when you spend over $10.00
3. Pack a nutritious lunch-
Even if the kids are going to be doing virtual learning at home, it would help their routine to have a nutritious lunch packed and ready. That way they wont forget to eat their lunch and end up having all sort of fun but not nutritious snacks through the day.
We have loved our new lunch bags from Funkins. These stylish and cute isolated bags are designed by moms and tested by kids! They are great for on the go or also at home. I totally love how they are machine washable to make things way easier for me.
When you check those out, make sure to look for their eco friendly reusable napkins and placemats that will also match their lunch bag. How cute is that?
You can use code Babble2020 for 25% off lunch bags and napkins/placemats sets through September 15th, 2020
If you want a simple and cute idea for a lunch to pack, check out my prehistoric lunch here
When packing a lunch, make sure to include plenty of protein, fruit and veggies and of course a healthy grain!
Another way to complete and surprise your little one at lunch time is to include these fun little notes from MyWish4U the boys always get all happy when they find notes from us in their lunches and their favorites are the riddles and giggles!
4. Be Flexible-
This one is huge! It feels like every day, things are changing. I know it’s hard to stay open and flexible but it really can change the mood for the whole family if this starts with us.
It really is a weird time for everyone, our leaders are learning as they go as much as we are and the best way we can lead our families is to try and stay flexible and open to a new normal. We will make the best of it and it will be great.
5. Schedule some fun-
That’s right! In all the effort to give the kids the best year yet, you might be forgetting to take a moment to just have some good family fun. Take a walk together if you are able, play a good game that will just be for fun. Bake together or make a batch of the oh so dreaded slime!
Scheduled fun has been amazing for our family. We love to do things, and help others but sometimes we get so busy and we have learned to appreciate the beauty of having nothing else to do but to relax and have fun together.
A super fun and simple game that the littles are loving is Grouch Couch from Spin Master this is a super funny game that will bring out all the giggles! You can find it here.
The big kids have also enjoyed the InstaStudio Hands-Free Video Station from WeCool Toys/Compound Kings. This is the ultimate hands free video recording studio. It’s easy for the kids to use so they are all about making videos on how to build super awesome dinosaurs with blocks and how to make slime. I am thinking I want to use it too! I have to come up with a cool idea for it.
6. Be proactive-
We can do our part to help slow the spread of sickness and to keep our little ones protected. Have a conversation with your kids about why they are required to wear a mask at school or at places that you might go for study meet ups or field trips.
Practice correct hand washing with them at home so that they keep doing it wherever they go. Talk to them about staying healthy and loving others by helping keep them healthy as well. Let them know how things work much better if we all do our part!
We are totally prepared with the cutest masks we found by Funkins. They had every size we needed and the prints are just so fun. These masks are not for medical use but they are perfect for the kids to use when going out or going to school. They are so soft and comfortable and the patterns are just perfect for them.
Another big way that we are protecting the boys is with these special Blue light glasses for kids from Zenni. It’s so important to us that their eyes can be protected from the damaging blue light that is in their screen and since this year so many kids are going to be doing some portion if not all of their learning on a device, I thought it was important to mention these as well.
These super stylish glasses are the perfect size for the little ones and they are designed for comfort too!
I hope these back to school tips have been encouraging and helpful to you and your family. I am excited to hear how you will conquer this year and make it the greatest yet! Different doesn’t have to be the worst. We will overcome.
This post is sponsored by BabbleBox on behalf of Spin Master, but it is all from our own experience and opinions.
Have you ever heard of Zo Zo Zombie? this is a super fun and silly show that plays on YouTube with new episodes released every week.
Zo Zo is a friendly Zombie who is always looking to help the underdog and always end up getting into some sort of trouble for the sake of others. In this story is also Isamu, who is a normal school boy who has a zombie for a best friend and that is one of the boys favorite things in the show! How two different boys with supposedly nothing in common can be the best of friends.
But Zo Zo Zombie is not like any other zombie show! It’s full of gags, slapstick humor, and good-natured-gross-outs. He can use his organs from his own body to help him get out of sticky situations. So naturally my boys love it!
They received an amazing customized box filled with fun goodies that they used to help each other look a little like Zo Zo and Played around the house as my favorite little zombies.
Simple Zo Zo Zombie look-
To achieve the look, they used some of the hot chocolate powder under the eyes to look like dark circles, one bandage on the forehead, like Zo Zo, and some red gel frosting under the bandage to look like dripping blood. It was simple and quick but loads of fun!
Then they enjoyed the sweet candies while watching a marathon of the show on the couch. It was perfect for us because it rained all day.
If you want to see a few videos of the boys unboxing their treats, come hang out with us on Instagram as I will be sharing all the excitement on our stories!
Are you ready to have some weird gross fun? Get the snacks ready and a good comfy spot because your kids are going to want to watch one more episode and then one more! Check them out here once your snacks are ready!
My kids love a good scavenger hunt. We have done all kinds of different ones. But what if you’re stuck inside? You can easily do it inside too! So I put together this fun indoor scavenger hunt for kids to share with you all.
Scavenger hunts are engaging and fun, they help kids stay busy for a good time and they also allow them to practice critical thinking and problem solving in a practical way.
When we find ourselves having to stay indoors for any reason, having a scavenger hunt with the kids is a quick and easy way to get them engaged and exercise their minds and bodies as they work together as a team to find all the items in the list. Working as a team, will help your child to practice their social skills too.
Another fun way to play with this list is to put a time limit and have them compete against each other to find the items before everyone else. You know your children best and you will be able to see if they would have more fun competing or working with you or with siblings to complete the task. Either way, it is really fun.
Indoor Scavenger hunt
One thing I really love about having scavenger hunts inside is that each kid will find different things even for the same item. You will see how they interpret the task and how their minds work to solve it. While one child might love the smell of a plant, the other one might hate it!
Another amazing aspect of an indoor scavenger hunt is that you don’t need to prepare much of anything for it! Use our free printable, give them some pencils to mark the chart and just let them find all the treasures around the house.
A good idea is to have the kids put all of the found things back where they found them, so that you don’t make unnecessary extra work for yourself. And also to help the kids make a habit of cleaning up after themselves after having fun.
Here is one of our favorite indoor scavenger hunts for kids, you just have to click on the image to download this amazing free printable. it’s ready to print and for you to have fun!
I would love to see all the things your kids come up with on their searches! please share on Instagram and tag us!
If you need even more ideas for activities to do while having to stay inside, check out this fun recipe for slime that you can make with ingredients that you probably have at home!
This week we worked on these super cute valentines for kids and we are so excited to share them with you! You can get the kids involved and with our free printable get these quick and easy valentines done right away.
It will literally be as easy as that. This year we decided to go with something that can be useful and at the same time something the kids would love. My Kids love having their own straw to use and reuse which also helps our planet a little bit by lowering the amount of straws that we will use in the long run.
I really love to help my kids celebrate their friends. When you are a grown up, you realize how important friends are and how they are the ones that help you keep going. I want the boys to grow up knowing that having friends is a blessing and cherishing them is good.
We also wanted our valentines to be silly, fun, and encouraging. We love to remind our friends of how awesome they are! That’s why we chose this message.
If you like the straws we chose, you can find them here. I love the clear ones because we can see and make sure that they are staying nice and clean after every use.
Here are a few other kinds of straws that you could use.
Those are my top three favorites! But you can really use any kind that you and your kids like.
Ok for the other part of the valentine, you will need the cute valentine card. just click on the image to download it for free and print out as many as you need.
Easy Valentines for Kids-
Materials: Card-stock, tape, straw, pen or pencil, printed valentine card.
Instructions:
Print your free valentines cards and cut each one out. Have the kids fill the names on the cards. Pair each card to a straw and have the kids help you tape the straw to the back of the card. And they are ready to go!
I know how busy and crazy life can get and that we still love to do the best we can to make our littles happy and proud. This quick Valentine with a free printable is meant to help you make things easier.
I hope you enjoy making them and have time to take a few minutes for yourself. Remember that to your littles you are the most beloved valentine! You are doing a great job!
Do share your valentines stories with us on Instagram and give us a tag so we can share please.
This year I’m really into this snickerdoodle cookie recipe. It really hits the spot and the boys always eat them all up!
When I think about the holidays, I think about spending time with family and friends and doing fun things that will give us lasting memories for years to come. I wanted to start some new traditions because we are spending the holidays away from home, so I gathered up a few of my favorite mommy blogger gals for a fun cookie exchange.
I will start by sharing one of my recipes and then I will let you check out their amazing recipes too! Your holiday cookie baking just got a lot easier! Just gather up all of these perfect and tried recipes and you are ready to go to town in the kitchen and impress your family with the most delicious holiday cookies.
Without further ado, let’s get to my chosen recipe!
Snickerdoodle cookie recipe-
We recently met a new friend who loves snickerdoodle cookies and since I love to spoil my friends with baked goods, I started to research and to make them more often that I ever had. I realized that this delicious and soft treat has been so underrated in our holiday baking!
I hope you will give this easy snickerdoodle recipe a try because I know you will fall in love with the soft and chewy sugar coated cookie with the perfect hint of cinnamon touch.
There isn’t only one secret to keep the snickerdoodle soft and chewy, it is more of a few things you do and together they give you the best snickerdoodle cookie you’ve ever had. Here they are:
Use the cream of tartar- I’ve seen that many people try to replace the cream of tartar with something else, but I have learned that when it comes to classics, you stick to the original concept and enjoy the best results.
Do not over bake- If you want your cookie to stay super fluffy and chewy, make sure to set up a timer! Check on them often the first time you make them to see if you need to adjust the time. When I make them smaller for gifts, like today, they take less time than usual. They will be done before the top starts to crack.
Be generous with the cinnamon and sugar- roll those cookies in the cinnamon and sugar and make sure you don’t miss a spot! This is the step that give you the little crunch on the outside and the delicious cinnamon taste.
Use real butter- That should go without saying! But just in case you are starting to get into baking and need the extra encouragement. Real butter will always be your best friend! The taste is just delicious.
Below you will find the full recipe. Have fun baking and enjoy!
I made them very small this time so that they could be packaged a specific way for gifting. But you can make them much bigger if you prefer.
Now to the rest of the recipes to complete your holiday baking list!
Check out these delicious recipes by some of my favorite mommy blogger friends:
Yummy sugar cookies, because it wouldn’t be holiday baking without them.
