Parenting & Family | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

22 Teacher Appreciation Gifts Kids Can Make | If you're looking for inexpensive yet meaningful gifts from students for teachers and for staff to show how much you appreciate their time, effort, and dedication, homemade DIY crafts are always a good idea. Whether your child attends school in person or takes virtual classes, these simple and easy art projects are creative, unique, and thoughtful. You can drop them off for admin staff to hand out, and we've included ideas you can give virtually!

Homemade with Love: 22 Teacher Appreciation Gifts Kids Can Make

90 Stocking Stuffers for Tweens | Looking for the best gifts for tween girls and tween boys that will fit in a stocking? Tweens can be difficult to buy for, but we've got tons of girls ideas and boys ideas that are cheap but good to help make Christmas morning extra special. We've also included holiday online shopping links so you can purchase everything from the comfort of your own home. With tons of creative and unique presents to choose from, these non-toy gift ideas won't disappoint!

90 Stocking Stuffers for Tweens and Teens Your Kids Will Actually Like

8 Unschooling Tips for Parents | What is unschooling anyway?! Is it the same as homeschool? If you've seen the word floating around lately and want to know more about the concept, this post is for you! We're sharing everything you need to know about child-led education, including the benefits of unschooling, unschooling activities, and unschooling schedule ideas. Whether your kids are in kindergarten, elementary, middle, or high school, these tips are great for parents!

What Is Child-Led Education? 8 Unschooling Tips for Parents

How To Be a Present Mom | Whether you're a mom to toddlers, school-aged kids, or to tweens or teenagers, it can be hard finding a balance between parenting, your career, and managing a home. If you want to know how to be a better mom, these present parenting tips will inspire you! These positive parenting solutions take time and discipline, but they will teach you how to be a patient parent, allowing you to connect with your kids and give them the attention they need and deserve.

How To Be a Present Mom: 10 Present Parenting Tips and Ideas

10 Morning Routine Tips For Online Learning | Whether you have kids in kindergarten, elementary, middle, or high school, having a solid morning routine is key to starting the day off right - especially when it comes to distance learning. While you may have a great home setup, it will fall apart if you don't have a proper schedule in place. Click for our best morning online learning schedule tips and hacks to help keep your kids motivated and accountable this school year!

Distance Learning 101: 10 Morning Routine Tips For Online Learning

11 Family Virtual Christmas Celebration Ideas | If you're looking for online party ideas to help you celebrate the holidays with family and friends when you can't get together in person, this post is a great place to start! We've included a list of planning tips to consider if you want to know how to throw a virtual party for the first time, tons of fun online games to play with friends and family that are suitable for kids, as well as creative ways to exchange gifts with the ones you love.

Online Celebrations: 11 Family Virtual Christmas Celebration Ideas

44 Easy and Delicious Dairy Free Recipes for Kids | If you're little one has a dairy sensitivity or allergy and you're looking for dairy free snacks and meals the whole family will enjoy, we've got you covered! From breakfasts, to packable lunches, to family-friendly dinners and desserts, many of these recipes are egg- and gluten-free as well. The dairy free snack and dessert options double as great party food ideas for food sensitive kids, and provide bento box lunch options too!

Milk Allergies? 44 Easy and Delicious Dairy Free Recipes for Kids

10 Hobby Ideas for Women | If you're trying to get into a new hobby at home, we're sharing 5 indoor hobbies and 5 outdoor hobbies to consider. From DIY art projects, like knitting, drawing, painting, and making crafts, to finding ways to make money online, to budget-friendly ways to improve your social life, these simple and creative ideas will give you the inspiration you need to find a way to reduce stress and decompress in the evenings and on weekends.

Relax and Unwind: 10 Simple Hobby Ideas for Women

Surviving Long Car Rides with Kids | Family road trips can be fun, but when you're traveling with kids (particularly toddlers!), the time spent in the car can test even the most patient mom's sanity. If you want to know how to survive long car rides with kids, we're sharing our best travel hacks and ideas for staying sane. From knowing what to pack, to figuring out when to travel (Morning? At night?), to organizing car activities, to preparing for detours and emergencies, these tips will help!

Road Trip! 14 Tips to Survive Long Car Rides with Kids

18 Indoor Activities for 2 Year Olds Who Are Stuck At Home | If you're looking for simple toddler activities for rainy days, snow days, sick days, or any other time you're stuck inside, we're sharing 18 fun and easy ideas for boys and girls! We've included a mix of learning toys, sensory activities, family activities, busy bags, independent play ideas, and activities that burn energy to keep your little one entertained when you can't go outside.

Fun and Easy: 18 Indoor Activities for 2 Year Olds Who Are Stuck At Home

How to Get Kids to Wear a Face Mask | There are so many templates, patterns, and DIY tutorials to teach you how to make face masks for kids - some without sewing! - but many parents are struggling to figure out how to get kids to wear masks once they have them. In an age of social distancing, face masks are often a requirement, which can be a nightmare for children, especially those with sensory processing disorder and challenges. Check out our tips to get kids comfortable with face masks!

How to Get Kids to Wear a Face Mask: 8 Tips for Parents

24 Hidden Veggie Recipes for Kids | If you're looking for healthy recipes for kids who are picky eaters and refuse to eat vegetables, we're sharing the best of the best! With tons of options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert, you'll learn simple and creative ways to hide vegetables in your cooking and baking! Clean eating for families with kids has never been easier or tasted so good!

How to Deal with Picky Eaters: 24 Hidden Veggie Recipes for Kids

7 Interoception Activities for Kids | What is interoception? If you've ever wondered about the 8th sense and how it impacts kids with autism and sensory processing challenges, this post is a great place to start. With sensory activities and occupational therapy resources for teaching kids internal body awareness both in the classroom and at home, the ideas in this post will help you develop a sensory diet for increased self-regulation, problem-solving, flexibility, and social thinking skills!

The 8th Sense Explained: 7 Interoception Activities for Kids

12 Zoom Games for Kids | If you're looking for easy games and activities your kids can play online with their friends, we've got 12 ideas to inspire you! These ideas are perfect for virtual kids birthday parties, playdates, and classroom group Zoom calls. From interactive scavenger hunts, to silly 'would you rather' games, and so much more, these online games for kids are easy to setup, free, and fun!

Zoom Games for Kids: 12 Online Activity Ideas to Keep Kids Connected

8 Size of the Problem Activities for Kids | Inspired by the Social Thinking and Zones of Regulation curriculums, these games and activities teach children to identify whether a problem is small, medium, or big, as well as what is and is not an appropriate reaction to each. With visual tools, posters for class bulletin boards, scenario cards, worksheets, coloring pages, Google slides, boom cards, and puzzles, this collection of activities has it all - even Size of the Problem BINGO!

Problem Solving 101: 8 Size of the Problem Activities for Kids

How to Be a Calm Parent | If you're looking for tips to help you figure out how to become a calm mom, we're sharing 7 strategies to help. Being a patient mom isn't always easy, especially if you struggle with anger management. If temper tantrums and power struggles are the norm in your household, these positive parenting solutions are simple yet effective, and will help you adopt positive discipline strategies and open the lines of communication with your kids for a happier and healthier home.

How to Be a Calm Parent: 7 Positive Parenting Techniques to Try

10 Calming Strategies for Kids | If you're looking for tips to help improve your child's self-regulation at home, we're sharing 10 simple ideas that help. If your little one struggles with impulse control and big emotions, and finds it hard to calm down when triggered, these tools help prevent emotional outbursts and teach kids how to exercise appropriate self-control. Inspired by the Zones of Regulation and Social Thinking curriculums, these behavior management strategies for kids work!

Self-Regulation at Home: 10 Calming Strategies for Kids

12 Stress Relief Activities for Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed | If you're looking for quick and simple calming activities to help you destress, we're sharing 12 fun and creative ways to relax. This list includes things you can do on your own, as well as fun ideas you can do with your kids to help you reset when emotions are high. These also double as anger management activities for women!

12 Stress Relief Activities for Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed

How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party for Kids | Stuck at home on your child's birthday? Don't fret! We're sharing 11 ideas for kids birthday parties that are being hosted on Zoom or another online platform. From virtual birthday party games for kids, to birthday activities for teens and tweens, these ideas will teach you how to throw a virtual party your child will cherish for years to come!

How to Host a Virtual Birthday Party for Kids: 11 Ideas for Parents

17 Virtual Baby Shower Ideas | If you're trying to figure out how to host an online baby shower, this post has 17 planning tips and virtual baby shower games to inspire you! From figuring out the best hosting platform (Facebook and Zoom are top choices!), to party favors and food, to invitations and gifts, to super fun and easy games, these virtual party planning tips will make your long distance celebration meaningful!

How to Host a Baby Shower Online: 17 Virtual Baby Shower Ideas

How to Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation | If you're looking for tips and strategies to help you stay calm in any situation (when stressed, when angry, when nervous, as a parent, in a crisis, etc.), we're sharing 9 stress management tips that help. Learn how to stop anxious thoughts in their tracks, what to do when things are out of your control and you feel overwhelmed, and how to be less stressed in the face of adversity moving forward.

9 Tips and Tricks to Help You Stay Calm in a Stressful Situation