With Bash’s Pre-Kindergarten class returning virtually from Spring Break, we have been adjusting to “virtual learning” and certainly keeping busy.  Our mornings are spent with an online meeting, followed by school-led activities covering early literacy, math, movement, Spanish, art, music, and greenhouse.  After his school work is completed, we’ve been taking advantage of our backyard woods (very thankful for being up in the Catskills right now) and doing fun arts and crafts and STEM projects in the afternoons.  This week, we focused on exploring Spring.  Below are activit ..read more

We just wrapped up Week 2 of our COVID-19 “quaran-cation” which also coincides with our Spring Break, after spending the first week adjusting to our new environment as we temporarily decamped from our NYC “epicenter” apartment to the more isolated Woodstock, NY countryside.  While I’m trying to give the kids a break from “school” (it is spring break after all), I personally thrive on a routine, structure, and objectives.  So, I set up some themed activities, focusing on space as Bash was in the middle of a space curriculum at school before Spring Break / COVID-19.  While there’s no way we cou ..read more

As our beloved New York City, the “city that never sleeps”, comes to a grinding halt and the whole world pauses to fight this pandemic, we, as parents, are faced with the challenges of educating our little ones without overly scaring their impressionable minds, adapting ourselves and our little explorers to an isolated lifestyle, and keeping our families safe and healthy.  While we didn’t initially intend to sit down with our kids (Bash 5 and Ava 2), to specifically discuss COVID-19, Bash surprised us a couple of weeks ago when he suddenly started playing a made-up game about the coronavirus ..read more

One day after school, Bash sporadically asked if he could bake cookies.  With all of his severe food allergies (dairy, sesame, tree nuts, etc.), it’s sometimes difficult to do cooking and baking activities.  While Bash usually enjoys helping with the mixing of the dry ingredients for our usual holiday baking, I knew he really wanted to get his hands in the dough.  Even the slightest touch of butter / dairy will cause an immediate reaction for him, so I quickly looked up vegan cookie recipes and decided to start with a basic shortbread version that we amended by adding vanilla for additional f ..read more

I’ve really been struggling with what to get Ava (20 months) this holiday season as we have the vast majority of standard toys for 1 – 2 year olds and we are already at capacity in our storage-challenged NYC apartment.  I actually suggested to Nick that we just wrap some toys from the closet as Ava probably wouldn’t mind.  Clearly, I’m not in the running for Mom of the Year and that idea was quickly vetoed.  So, I actually had to do the unthinkable and sit down and brainstorm.  Here are my top ideas for the little sister who has everything, aka, Ava’s wishlist. For more ideas for the 1 – 2 ye ..read more

It’s the most wonderful time of year in New York City!  The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are magical as NYC goes all in when it comes to holiday festivities.  The shops get dressed up with their best displays, hot chocolate wafts through the air masking the usual city odors, and mulled (spiked) cider is a perfectly acceptable afternoon indulgence!  With only 3 weekends until Hanukkah and Christmas this year, I’m getting super organized to plan our family’s winter adventures.  We’ve already passed a nasty cold around (twice) and had our first slushy snow of the year, so here’s hop ..read more

Tis the season for…holiday gift guides!  Welcome to our gift ideas for the Pre-K to Kindergarten set (4 to 5 year olds).  These are the toys and things that Bash has loved or is currently wishing for.  We’ve included character toys as well as more unique items that are well loved in our house (um, metal detector anyone?!).  We hope this list sparks creativity for you and your little ones! Still need ideas for your other little ones: check out our previous posts of Bash’s favorite things: Infant (0 – 1 year old) gifts Young toddler (1 – 2 years old) gifts Older toddler (2 – 3 years old) gifts ..read more

It’s scary thinking that we’re going to celebrate Bash’s fourth and Ava’s second Halloween!  Bash has been Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, an In-n-Out server (check out his look here), Elvis (see our DIY costume here), and a fireman, complete with pet dalmation (aka: Ava).  This year, he’s determined to be a police officer and adamant that Ava is “the bad guy”, hahah.  To get us in the Halloween spirit, I dressed up his room with this festive Sunday Shelfie, featuring some of our repeat favorites, Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, Monster Trucks, Go Away Big Green Monster, and Room on the Bro ..read more

With Halloween fast approaching, we are creepin’ it real with some super easy and fun kids’ crafts!  As a kid, I used to make these spooktacular cheesecloth ghosts with my mom, so I thought I’d try it with Bash this year as a special after school activity.  While they are super easy to make, it takes about 24 – 48 hours to dry, so factor that into your timeframe.  Bash had a great time dunking the cheesecloth and watching it drip over and over again.  I have to say, I think they turned out Boo-tiful! Supplies This activity is pretty easy to prepare, using household objects for the molds, chee ..read more