Independent Play: Quiet Boxes

Winter is here in full force, and it's brutal!  Temperatures have been below freezing for a solid couple of weeks now.  After two weeks in (comparatively) warm Texas, Utah feels like the arctic tundra.  The cold temperatures and nasty air quality mean that we have been spending a lot of time entertaining ourselves indoors. 

I ran out of ideas this week and decided to put together plastic tubs of activities that would encourage independent play.  Here are some items that would be great to keep your preschooler busy during these short (and looooong) winter days:

1. Match it Game

2. Lace and Trace Game

3. Woodland Connectagons

4. Mighty Mind

5. Big Book Of Big Machines

anders and oliver's room: part 1

photo by Carolee Beckham

 Our friend Meta shared the first installment of Oliver and Anders' room tour over at one more mushroom last week.  I went to Meta after moving into our new home earlier this year.  The boys' room was large, empty, and intimidating.  I needed a designer's help.  Meta was so great to work with!  She and I were on the same wavelength throughout the entire project, and she had so many great ideas and suggestions for the space. 

Hop on over to one more mushroom to be inspired by more beautiful photos of amazing children's spaces.

Simple Almond Butter Recipe

If my boys had their way, we would eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches for every meal, every single day.  I went looking for alternatives to peanut butter simply for the sake of variety, and landed upon this amazingly simple, delicious almond butter.  It has two ingredients.  How easy is that!?

You will need:

 I can't tell you how long it lasts, because it gets gobbled up so quickly in  our house.  We love it on sandwiches with homemade raspberry jam or spread on apple slices for an afternoon snack.  Enjoy! Download the recipe card here to print.

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