Family Life | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

30 One Pot Meals for Kids | Busy weeknights call for easy dinners but finding simple and healthy dishes your kids will actually eat can be challenging. We’ve curated 30 days of ideas, including everything you can imagine – chicken and ground beef dishes, comfort foods like mac and cheese, spaghetti, and pizza, rice and pasta ideas, and more. Perfect for back to school, these ideas will help you get veggies into even the pickiest of eaters! #onepotmeals #onepotrecipes #backtoschool

Forget the Mess: 30 Days of One Pot Meals for Kids They’ll Actually eat

How to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids After School | Parenting can be…busy. Am I right? As much as we try to prioritize spending time at home with our children doing fun things, the truth is that it can be really difficult trying to balance it all. Perfect for moms and dads, we’re excited to share 13 simple tips and ideas to help you find time to connect and spend quality time with your kids every single day. #qualitytimewithkids #positiveparenting #intentionalparenting

How to Spend Quality Time with Your Kids After School [13 Tips]

26 After School Activities for Kids | Perfect for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school, we’re sharing 26 crafts, games, and activities boys and girls can enjoy at home (or at daycare) once they’ve bid adieu to their classroom for the afternoon. These ideas are simple, fun, easy to setup, and provide meaningful learning opportunities to boot! #afterschoolactivities #afterschoolcrafts

26 Simple & Fun After School Activities for Kids We Love

25 Super Fun Sharpie Art Crafts for Kids | If you’re looking for DIY sharpie crafts for kids, we’ve curated 25 simple project ideas to inspire you. From tie dye bookmarks, to stained glass jars, to no fuss Easter eggs, to coffee mugs, and more, there are so many amazing things you can create with sharpie markers! Stock up with supplies from the dollar tree and give some of these ideas a try. #sharpiecrafts #sharpieprojects #craftsforkids

Get Creative: 25 Super Fun Sharpie Art Crafts for Kids

17 Back to School Teacher Gifts Kids Can Make | Looking for cheap but meaningful 1st day of school gifts for the teachers in your life? Perfect for kids in preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school to make, these DIY gifts kids can make will not disappoint! Created with supplies you can pick up at dollar stores everywhere, these ideas are equal parts creative and inexpensive and will look good in your little one's classroom! #backtoschool #teachergifts #giftskidscanmake

17 Thoughtful Back to School Teacher Gifts Kids Can Make

How to Create an After School Routine for Kids | Transitioning from summer vacation to back to school madness can cause meltdowns and power struggles for children and families. If you’re looking for tips and ideas to keep your kids happy while also finding time for homework and extracurricular activities, these after school tips for parents are for you! #afterschoolroutine #backtoschool #schoolroutine

After School Routine for Kids: 9 Tips for a Smoother Evening

30 Days of 10-Minute Meals for Busy Moms | What’s for dinner tonight? If you’re looking for simple and easy family-friendly recipes you can create in 10 minutes (or less!), we’ve curated 30 healthy dinner recipes you’ll love. Perfect for adults and for kids, we’ve included ideas for meat lovers, low carb enthusiasts, and the vegetarian in your life. Some of these recipes have only 4 ingredients, making meal prep a breeze! #10minutemeals #10minuterecipes #10minutedinners

What’s for Dinner? 30 10-Minute Meals for Busy Moms

27 Back To School Crafts For Kids | Perfect for preschoolers who are starting school for the first time, for kindergarten aged kids who are transitioning to full-day school, and for kids in elementary school, this collection of easy back to school activities and DIY art projects is full of ideas for moms to make back to school fun! #backtoschoolcrafts #backtoschoolactivities

Excited For School: 27 Back To School Crafts For Kids

18 Back to School Hairstyles for Girls | Looking for a simple hairstyle for your little one’s first day of school photos? Need easy updos for kids you can do on the daily? We’ve got you covered! Perfect for straight, curly, or wavy hair, these cute hairstyles and hair tutorials are for short hair, medium hair, and long hair. From ponytails, to braided hairstyles, to messy buns, your little one will love these fun styles! #backtoschoolhairstyles #backtoschoolhair #schoolhairstyles #schoolhair

18 Simple and Easy Back to School Hairstyles for Girls We Love

38 Easy Breakfasts for Kids to Kickstart The Day | If you’re looking for quick and healthy breakfast recipes to kickstart your mornings, these ideas will inspire you! We’ve included make ahead ideas you can enjoy on the go, high protein breakfasts that double as fabulous after school snacks, as well as gluten free breakfast ideas and dairy free breakfast recipes for kids with allergies. #kidsbreakfast #kidsbreakfastrecipes #easybreakfast

Morning Fuel: 38 Easy Breakfasts for Kids to Kickstart The Day

11 Secrets of a Happy Marriage | If you want to know how to have a happy marriage, we’re sharing our best tips to teach you what sets happily married couples apart from the rest. Whether you’re celebrating your first anniversary or your 50th, the keys to a happy marriage are the same. Perfect for newlyweds, tired parents, and empty nesters, we hope these ideas give you the inspiration to keep the magic alive in your marriage today – and every day! #marriage #newlywed #kids #parenting

Happily Ever After: 11 Simple Secrets of a Happy Marriage

How to Raise Happy Kids | If you want to know the secret to having happy children, we’re sharing 9 simple ideas to help. Perfect for the single mom who is stretched too thin – and for big families with busy schedules – these positive parenting tips will help foster a positive mindset, teach kids how to remain calm and mindful, and help them live their best lives every single day. #positiveparenting #parentingtips #mindfulparenting #raisingkids

How to Raise Happy Kids: 9 Simple Tips for Parents

27 Cooking Activities for Kids | Looking for easy and healthy recipes for kids you can incorporate into your classroom lesson plans? These fun ideas will inspire you! From taste tests and edible science experiments, to no bake recipes, to simple and creative ideas that have an education component, these recipes kids can make will teach important kitchen tips and life skills, and hopefully turn picky eaters into aspiring chefs! #cookingactivities #cookingintheclassroom #recipeskidscanmake

Cooking in the Classroom: 27 Cooking Activities for Kids

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist | If you’re looking for an assessment to see if your kids are ready for kindergarten, this post is for you! While some parents like to track their child’s progress and ensure they have mastered every single skill they need for school, others just want basic ideas of which lessons to focus on. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, this is a great guide, and we’ve included 11 fun kindergarten prep activities to boot! #kindergartenreadiness #kindergartenprep

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist: 27 Tips and Activities For Parents

28 Meals Kids Can Make By Themselves | If you’re looking for easy, healthy, and fun recipes kids can make for breakfast, school lunches, and/or for dinner, look no further! Mornings and evenings just got a whole lot easier with this collection of tips for getting kids excited about cooking and simple recipes the whole family will enjoy. While these may not be low carb (LOL), who can pass up a pot of mac and cheese made by your own child?! #mealskidscanmake #cookingwithkids #kidsrecipes

Cooking with Kids: 28 Meals Kids Can Make Themselves

27 Labor and Delivery Tips for New Moms | Hello first time moms! Whether you’re planning a natural delivery or accepting all forms of pain management (lol), you probably want to know what to expect when your sweet baby is born. From knowing which things to pay in your hospital bag, to mentally preparing yourself for what the doctors and nurses will need to do to get you through labor and delivery, to what to expect post-birth, we’ve got you covered! #laboranddelivery #laboranddeliverytips

27 Practical Labor and Delivery Tips for First Time Moms and Dads

20 First Day of School Icebreakers for Kids | Attention teachers! If you’re looking for fun and engaging ‘getting to know you’ team building activities to help your students transition back to school, these ideas will not disappoint! Perfect for kids in kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school, we’ve included ideas for small groups and activities that can be enjoyed with the entire classroom. #icebreakers #backtoschool #backtoschoolactivities

Getting to Know Each Other: 20 First Day of School Icebreakers for Kids

Family Meal Planning on a Budget | Whether you’re looking for ideas to help you create a healthy weekly menu even the picky eaters in your life will enjoy, want to know how to create and stick to your grocery lists so you aren’t throwing away unused produce each week, or need kid-friendly recipes you can throw in the crockpot on busy weeknights, we’re sharing 5 simple meal planning tips to help you stick to your clean eating goals while still saving money! #mealplanning #familymealplanning #howtomealplan

Family Meal Planning on a Budget: 5 Money-Saving Hacks

36 Indoor Toddler Activities for Bad Weather Days | Perfect for rainy days and snowy weather, these activities offer the perfect way for kids aged 18 months to 2 years old (and beyond!) to burn off energy when cooped up inside. These at home ideas are fun, easy to setup, and double as great ideas for preschool and daycare. They make for awesome birthday party activities for kids, too! #toddleractivities #indoortoddleractivities

Fun at Home: 36 Easy Indoor Toddler Activities for Bad Weather Days

$Teaching Fractions to Kids | Learning about numerators and denominators is a pretty abstract concept, and can be confusing and frustrating to children. If you want to know how to teach fractions to kids in first, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and/or 5th grade, there are tons of manipulatives and visuals available to help, and we’re excited to share 20 fractions games and fractions activities to keep kids engaged and learning! #teachingfractions #fractiongames #fractionactivities$

Teaching Fractions to Kids: 20 Math Games and Activities that Work

5 Natural Diarrhea Remedies for Kids | Whether it's a stomach flu, food poisoning, or a virus, diarrhea in children (especially babies and toddlers) is not fun. Knowing the causes of diarrhea can help, and having tips and natural remedies up your sleeve to relieve discomfort is always a good idea! From essential oils, to ginger, to eating the right foods (aka the BRAT diet), these tips and natural treatments will help keep your child comfortable at home! #diarrhea #kidshealth #stomachflu

Feel Better Sooner: 5 Natural Diarrhea Remedies for Kids