Family Life | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas | If you're stuck at home with your kids during summer vacation, the winter holidays, and/or spring break, and you're looking for planning tips and activities ideas for kids to help you spend quality time together while also allowing everyone a little alone time to get some much needed R&R, this post is for you! We've got a list of things you can organize on a budget for a fun yet relaxing family vacation at home!

21 Budget-Friendly Family Staycation Ideas that Don’t Suck

49 Story Starters for Kids | If you're looking for creative writing prompts for kids, we're sharing 49 classroom ideas and activities to inspire you! Perfect for kids in elementary and middle school, we've included a mix of different narrative ideas, including journal prompts, personal essay prompts, and fun fiction writing prompts. We've also included tips to get kids excited about writing, and how to keep the momentum going!

How to Get Kids Excited About Creative Writing: 49 Story Starters for Kids

How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids | If you're looking for simple tutorials to teach you how to make 80s-inspired retro ponytail holders, we're sharing 5 step-by-step videos that are equal parts easy and stylish! Whether you use a sewing machine, sew by hand, or opt for the no sew options, there's a DIY scrunchie here for everyone! #scrunchie #scrunchies #DIYscrunchies

Retro Ponytail Holders: How to Make Hair Scrunchies with Your Kids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back | If you want to know how to stop kids from talking back to parents and to teachers without yelling, handing out time outs, and enforcing consequences, we're sharing 8 positive parenting tips and techniques that work. Whether you're trying to discipline toddlers, elementary aged kids, tweens, or teens, these behavior management strategies work - even on a strong willed child! #positiveparenting #positiveparentingtips #disciplinekids

What to Do When Kids Talk Back: 8 Tips for Parents

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids | Limiting screen time sounds easy in theory, but it can be much more difficult to implement for parents, especially if you have tweens or teenagers! If you're trying to enforce rules around your child's screen time, and want to know the effects of screen time, how much is too much, along with digital detox tips, we're sharing 7 practical strategies to get your kids to spend less time on their electronic devices. #screentime #kidsandscreens #digitaldetox

How to Limit Screen Time for Kids: 7 Effective Tips for Parents

8 Social Filter Activities for Kids | If you're looking for social skills activities that help teach children how to filter their thoughts and learn whether they should think it or say it out loud, we're sharing 8 ideas that can be used for elementary school, for middle school, for high school, and for kids with special needs like autism and ADHD. These are great team building exercises and will help develop friendship and conversation skills. #socialskills #socialfilter #socialskillsactivities

Think It Or Say It Out Loud: 8 Social Filter Activities for Kids

How to Raise Independent Children | If you want to know how to teach your kids responsibility without nagging, reminding, and power struggles, these positive parenting tips will inspire you. Whether you're raising toddlers or teens, girls or boys, these strategies and techniques will help you empower your child to take on new challenges and give them the tools and solutions they need to be successful along the way! #independentkids #choresforkids #parentingtips #positiveparenting

How to Raise Independent Children: 9 Tips for Parents

How to Calm Down When Angry | Perfect for adults, children, teens, and especially overwhelmed parents, these anger management tips will teach you how to deal with anger in the moment, and will provide you with coping skills and exercises you can use to develop a plan that promotes better temper control to avoid feelings of anger and frustration from occurring in the first place. #calmdown #angermanagement #selfhelp #copingskills

How to Calm Down When Angry: 11 Tips that Work

How to Teach Kids Responsibility | While teachers often do a great job of teaching responsibility to kids at school, parenting our own children never seems to be as simple. Am I right? If you're trying to teach important life skills to your kids, and need an easy daily system that works, we're sharing 9 ideas to help. From assigning chores by age, to developing a chore chart, to rewarding kids through praise and allowance, this post has great tips! #chorecharts #behaviorcharts #kidschores

How to Teach Kids Responsibility: 9 Tips for Parents

8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right | Perfect for teens, for college students, for moms getting small kids up and ready for school, and for lazy people with a long hair and beauty routine who can't seem to wake up early no matter how hard they try, we're sharing 8 life hacks to streamline your mornings and kick off your day with a bang! If you hate Mondays, this post is for you! #morninghacks #morningroutine #morningtips

Life Hacks 101: 8 Morning Hacks to Start Your Day Off Right

How to Use Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom | Whether your students are in preschool, kindergarten, upper elementary, or middle school, one thing is for certain: you need a classroom management system that works. We're sharing 6 positive reinforcement strategies for teachers, along with 9 classroom reward system ideas to inspire you! #positivereinforcement #classroomstrategies #classroommanagement

How to Use Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom: 15 Tips for Teachers

6 Tips to Find Balance During the Holiday Season | If you're trying to find balance in life, but constantly feel pulled in a million different directions, we're sharing 6 life hacks to help you set boundaries at work, with family, and with friends so you can unplug, rest, and recharge. We're also sharing 2 tools we use in our house to set healthy boundaries with technology so we can spend quality time together! #digitalwellbeing #android #findbalance #lifebalance #worklifebalance

6 Tips to Find Balance During the Holiday Season (and Beyond)

22 Snow Day Activities for Kids | If you're looking for fun and easy activities for toddlers, for preschoolers and kindergarteners, or for kids in elementary school that will get them physically moving while also keeping their brains busy when cabin fever strikes, this is a great list of things to do! From indoor activities designed to burn energy, to independent art projects that will allow you a little time to decompress, these are great boredom busters! #snowday #snowdayactivities #boredkids

22 Indoor Snow Day Activities for Kids to Keep Your Children Entertained

27 DIY Googly Eye Crafts for Kids | If you’re looking for simple, easy, and fun ways to get creative with your kids, these awesome googly eye activities will NOT disappoint! We’ve included ideas for all ages - toddlers, kids in preschool and kindergarten, and elementary school aged children. From creepy spiders and googly eyed monsters that are perfect for Halloween, to peacocks, bumblebees, lions, and an adorable hippopotamus, these make great keepsakes! #googlyeyes #kidscrafts

Fun and Awesome: 27 Googly Eye Crafts for Kids They’ll Absolutely Love!

How to Stop Procrastinating | If time management isn’t your thing and you’re looking for tips to help you find your motivation and tackle homework and/or work assignments like a boss, this list of productivity tips is for you! Perfect for students, small business owners and entrepreneurs, for kids, and for moms, these tips will help you learn how to stay focused instead of leaving things to the last minute! #stopprocrastinating #procrastinating #procrastination #timemanagement

How to Stop Procrastinating: 8 Tips for Procrastinators

25 Construction Paper Crafts for Kids | If you’re looking for easy art projects for toddlers, kids in preschool and kindergarten, and elementary aged children, these kids activities develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, scissor skills, and more. With fall, winter, spring, and summer crafts, as well as holiday inspiration for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, there are tons of fun step by step DIY projects here for every age and stage! #constructionpapercrafts

Fun At Home: 25 Construction Paper Crafts for Kids We Love

26 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids | If you’re looking for easy art projects for toddlers, kids in preschool and kindergarten, and elementary aged children, these crafts develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, scissor skills, and more. With fall, winter, spring, and summer crafts, as well as holiday inspiration for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, there are tons of art projects here for every age and stage! #paperplatecrafts #upcyclecrafts

Upcycle Projects We Love: 26 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids

24 Screen Free Activities for Kids | If you’re looking for indoor activities for kids to get your children off their electronics, we’ve got ideas for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school! Perfect for warding off cabin fever on cold winter, rainy spring, or stinking hot summer days, these no screen activities will prove that parenting without screens IS possible. Going screen free for a week may be just the challenge your kids need! #screenfreeactivities #noscreenactivities

Fun Without Electronics: 24 Screen Free Activities For Kids

13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids | If your little one suffers from feelings of overwhelm, stress, and/or anxiety and you’re looking for coping skills you can teach him or her, we’re sharing 13 simple yet effective activities that help calm the mind and body. From mindful breathing and yoga, to coloring, art therapy, and journaling, these ideas work for all ages and stages and offer a great way to spend quality time with your kids to boot! #calmingactivities #calmingactivitiesforkids

Calm and Collected: 13 Stress Relief Activities for Kids

24 Marble Activities for Kids | If you’re looking for boredom busters that also help develop a child’s fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills, these marble activities will not disappoint! With fun and easy DIY marble run and marble maze ideas for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school, these STEM challenges will keep your little ones entertained for hours using simple materials like cardboard, paper plates, paper towel rolls, and pool noodles. #marblerun #marblemaze

Fun at Home: 24 Marble Activities For Kids To Beat Cabin Fever

36 Ways to Spend One-On-One Time with Kids | If you’re looking for fun, easy, and meaningful things to do with your kids after school and on weekends to help you connect and spend quality time together, this collection of activities will inspire you! We’ve included ideas for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school the entire family will enjoy to add to your calendar! #qualitytimewithkids #positiveparenting #intentionalparenting

How to Spend One-On-One Time with Kids: 36 Ideas We Love