Karissa Tunis

Fine Motor Skills Activities for Kids (Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kindergarten)

When it comes to supporting our children’s learning during the summer months, I’m sure various ideas pop into mind. Like perhaps joining a summer reading program at the local library. Or taking the kids on family outings to the zoo or historic landmarks. However, one important skill area may be easy to neglect while away from the classroom: fine motor skills. Having control over hand and finger movements is essential for producing legible written work, and maintains its importance throughout a child’s schooling. In this article, you’ll find fine motor skill activities for kids to help toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and up work on this skill! …

Create a Kid Friendly Home Library (and why it’s so important!)

Public libraries are a wonderful asset, especially when you have little ones to keep entertained. They offer story times, music classes, art classes, and of course have shelves overflowing with books on endless topics. But having a kid friendly home library is also very important! Continue reading below to find out why every kid needs their own home library, how to create and fill your home library, and how to encourage more reading at home….

How to Make a Book Nook for Kids – Cozy DIY Idea

Step-by-step guide and photo examples for how to make a book nook for kids

A great way to encourage reading is to dedicate an area of your home to reading by creating a book nook. I put together a fun, cozy DIY idea for how to make a book nook for kids. This is a simple project so that the kids can help you to create their special area. If you are a seasoned DIY’er please feel free to used more advanced techniques, perhaps chalk paint, stain, stencils, or decoupage. I chose just to use very simple solid colors of paint so that even the newest DIY’er can accept this challenge!…

This 1-Minute Blender Salsa Recipe is exactly that—a super easy homemade salsa recipe that you can whip up in just seconds using your blender or food processor.
…

How to Avoid Summer Learning Loss

Last year just before summer break, I was strolling through my local Costco when I came across a display of Scholastic Summer Express workbooks. They were bright, eye-catching, and seemed to touch on a variety of subjects. For under $10 each, I ended up purchasing two and thought these might be great for the kids to work on after school let out in order to avoid summer learning loss!…

30 Science Experiments for Kids

Science experiments for kids are a great way to encourage learning over the summer! It can be super fun (& educational) to get messy, & the warm weather of summer gives you a great excuse to go outside & do just that.

For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

Below are 30 science experiments for kids along with links to their tutorials:

Make a lemon volcano
Do the walking water experiment
Turn gummy worms into electric eels
Make rainbow paper
Do a balloon hovercraft experiment
Make rain clouds in a jar
Do an experiment to bend water
Make fireworks in a jar
Turn an egg into a bouncy ball
Make fizzy dough for baths
Do an experiment to create sparks
Make a whirly gig
Turn egg shells into geodes
Make edible marshmellow paint
Make a slime suncatcher
Do a static electricity experiment with salt & pepper
Make a jellyfish in a jar
Make rain art
Do the salt water density experiment
Make art with watercolors on wax paper
Make magic crystals in the freezer
Do experiments to see what melts in the sun
Make crystallized words
Make crayon wands
Do pine cone experiments
Make a homemade lava lamp
Make an exploding rainbow
How do liquids impact magnets experiment
Make your own bouncy balls
Make a soda can submarine

MEL Science Kits

I have also been really happy with our MEL Science kit subscription! We signed up for the chemistry boxes, and they send some serious materials for you to be able to use. Everything is right there in the box for you with very clear and simple instructions, but you still get to do amazing experiments. These aren’t just kitchen science experiments where you could find the ingredients at your local store – they are the real deal! If you have a kid into chemistry, I’d highly recommend a subscription…

For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

Dr. Seuss – Reading Quote Poster

Who doesn’t love a good Dr. Seuss quote?! Below is a free Dr. Seuss Reading Quote printable poster. Save, share, print, and frame. You can hang it (or even just tape it) near your bookshelf, in your playroom, or wherever you want to remind your kids just how important and fun reading can be!

Dr. Seuss Reading Quote Poster

This printable is created by Karissa Tunis
For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

— Click the image below for free printable —

Additional Learning Resources:

Below are fun resources that will help keep your kids learning at home and all summer long, enjoy!

5 Free Printables to Encourage Reading at Home

The Importance of a Home Library

How to Create the Perfect Book Nook

30 Science Experiments for Kids

How to Avoid Summer Learning Loss

5 Ways to Enhance Fine Motor Skills at Home

25 Free Typing Games for Kids

For more on this topic, check out the full Summer Learning collection

Co-Owner: Karissa Tunis

Karissa Tunis is the co-owner of both the parenting website Adore Them and the family event company Milestone Family Expos. Through these ventures she is able to share inspiring, heartfelt insight with large audiences within local communities and across the country! Her knack for all-things-organization allows her to balance content creation, brand partnerships, and event planning without losing sight of what she wants for her own family. Despite her busy schedule, Karissa also makes it a priority to spend quality time with her husband and three children. You will often find her volunteering at her children’s schools, cheering them on from the soccer sidelines, or enjoying the great sites of Charleston, SC with her family.

Contact: Karissa@AdoreThem.com

Travel Word Search Printable

Pack up and go learn with this fun Travel Word Search and extra spelling practice. Be sure to check out Education.com for more ways to learn while playing!…

DIY Child Safety Bracelet – Simple, Cheap, & Waterproof

Every year before we head to the amusement park, I start to panic and research personalized wristbands, tattoos, and tracking devices for my kids. My younger son is a known wanderer. And the thought of losing him at a crowded amusement park is terrifying! I have come across super simple tips like writing your number directly on your child’s arm with a sharpie, and while this is effective, it also feels a bit odd. Tattoos, personalized bracelets, and smart trackers also all have their unique pros and cons; BUT… I recently came across the perfect solution… DIY Child Safety Bracelet.

For more on this topic, check out the full Travel Tips collection

This article contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Blank Tyvek Wristbands!!!

(purchase here)

Benefits of Blank Tyvek Wristbands

Cheap

Get a 200 pack of these for less than $7.00: Purchase Wristbands Here

At that price, you are only paying about 3 cents per wristband!

Durable

These are the type of wristbands that they put on you at practically any event that you go to. They are durable and last all day despite dirt, water, sunscreen, and whatever else you can throw on it. If these wristbands are good enough for water parks to use, they can outlast anything else too 😉

Easy

Most kids are used to these type of child safety bracelets by now, and they don’t mind wearing them. Keep these in your car or travel bag with a sharpie to be able to grab any time you need them, or fill out a whole bunch of them ahead of time so that you can just grab and go!

Customizable

If your kids are headed somewhere with the grandparents, you can simply write Grandma’s name and number on the wristband. If your child has an allergy, you can write that on there too. You can list any information that is going to be helpful & keep your child safe wherever you are!

Safe

These child safety bracelets are made to be customized to wrist size so that they go on easily, but your kids can’t take them off on their own. This is a key safety feature! Whether you are at an amusement park, at the beach, flying somewhere, or simply taking a day trip, you can feel a little more at ease knowing that should your child wander off, someone can get a hold of you quickly!

[Read: How to Set Expectations for Your Kids and Improve Child Behavior]

Ideas

When at the beach, write down the number of the lifeguard stand that you are sitting near. This way your child can make their way back to the right area after boogie boarding.
When in the airport, write down the gate number where you will be boarding. This way you can be reunited more quickly rather than trekking through the airport to find each other.
When on a field trip, teachers can have each student wear a child safety bracelet and write down important info. Include info such as bus numbers, group numbers, or anything else that will help the day go more smoothly.
If your child has allergies, write those down on their wristband as well.
You can write down different information for each trip. Then if your child goes somewhere with their grandparents, you would probably want their phone number on there too.
If you have older kids that are able to go do their own thing, and then meet back up with you, you could write down the time and location of your meet-up spot as a clear reminder for them.

But really, the sky is the limit! Get creative with your child safety bracelet and do whatever will help out you and your family 🙂

[Read: 30 Summer Activity Ideas for Kids (with Free Printable)]

Note: Always, always, always be vigilant when you are with your children. Do not let a simple child safety bracelet cause you to take your guard down.

For more on this topic, check out the full Travel Tips collection

Family Conversation Starters – Travel Tips

We hear all the time how important it is to open up the lines of communication. Communication improves relationships with partners, friends, and coworkers; but we can’t forget that it also improves our relationships with our children.

Taking the time to have a genuine conversation with your child can be so much fun and so insightful! It also helps to build up a great family bond, which is why we are offering a few family conversation starters to go a long with each curated collection of content….