Parenting & Family | Blog Category Archives | Meraki Lane

18 Spelling Activities and Games | Learning spelling has never been easier – or more fun! – than with this collection of teaching strategies, activities, and games. With ideas for first grade (and 2nd and 3rd), for middle school, and for upper elementary, these hands-on activities for kids can be used with any spelling list for meaningful learning that lasts. #teachingspelling #spellingactivities #spellinggames

Learning Made Fun: 18 Spelling Activities for Every Age and Stage

Internet Safety for Kids | Looking for tools to teach children about internet safety? With 25 lessons to discuss, a fabulous interactive online game, a parental control app, and much more, these resources are perfect for parents and teachers alike. Whether your child is only allowed online time on your phone, or has his/her own smartphone or tablet with social media accounts enabled, it’s never too early to start the conversation! #InternetSafety #SaferInternetDay #BeInternetAwesome #Sponsored

Internet Safety for Kids: 25 Tips for Parents and Teachers

26 Montessori Science Experiments | Botany, biology, physics, astrology, and chemistry, oh my! These hands-on Montessori activities offer the perfect balance between sensory play and classroom instruction, and go above and beyond science experiments for kids that are focused on chemical reactions with baking soda and vinegar. These fun activities are just what you need to make learning about science FUN! #montessori #montessoriactivities #montessoriscience #scienceforkids

Hands On Learning: 26 Super Fun Montessori Science Experiments

16 Homophones Games for Kids | If you're looking for fun tips and activities to teach kids about homophones at home or in the classroom, we’re sharing everything you need to make learning FUN again. Forget the worksheets! Use these common cores teaching tips as well as our favorite games, activities, and exercises for kids in elementary school (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and middle school (4th, 5th, 6th). We’re included helpful homophones lists with pictures! #homophones #homophonesactivities #grammargames

The Same But Different: 16 Super Fun Homophones Games for Kids

16 Sentence Building Activities | If you’re looking for ways to make learning fun both at home and in the classroom, this collection of sentence structure worksheets for kids in kindergarten, 1st grade, and beyond is a great place to start. We’ve included free printables as well as language arts bundles for kids that can be used as part of your morning work literacy activities and to create writing centers for the classroom. #languagearts #literacy #literacycenters

Sentence Building 101: 39 Sentence Building Activities for Young Learners

33 At Home Date Night Ideas for Married Couples | Babysitters are few and far between, and they aren’t cheap (!!!), but if you’re looking for ways to focus on your marriage when your kids are in bed – or need a little Valentine’s Day inspiration – we’re sharing our best simple, fun, creative, and romantic ways to spend quality time with your SO when going out isn’t an option. Perfect for newlyweds and tired parents, these ideas will not disappoint! #datenightideas #dateideas #datenightin

Couple’s Night In: 33 Budget-Friendly At Home Date Night Ideas

How to Teach a Child to Wipe Their Bottom | Many books about potty training promise you can toilet train boys and girls in 3 days but teaching your kid to wipe their butt can take much longer. Young children often don’t have the fine motor skills needed to perform the task. We’re sharing all of our tips – when to start teaching kids to wipe their own poop, tips for getting started, and some funny ideas to keep it interesting! #pottytraining #pottytrainingtips #pottytrainingtips #parentingtips

Potty Training Problems: How to Teach a Child to Wipe Their Bottom

Kids Lying? If you’re looking for parenting tips and strategies to stop your child from lying, and also want some consequences to try that don’t involve punishment, we’re sharing 20 tips and ideas for parents and teachers that actually work! Whether you have impulsive boys with ADHD, or strong-willed tween girls, these ideas will help you raise honest kids that are respectful at school and at home! #parentingtips #kidslying #consequencesforkids

Kids Lying? 20 Tips and Consequences to Get Children to Stop Lying

23 Montessori Practical Life Activities | Looking for hands on activities designed for different age ranges (toddlers, kindergarteners, kids aged 3-6 and 6-9) that teach practical life skills and promote independence? We’re sharing 23 ideas for kids in Casa and Lower Elementary that teach the basics – matching, pouring, transferring, and lacing – and expand on them to develop fine motor skills and teach kids self-care. #montessori #montessoriactivities #practicallife #montessorimaterials

Helping Kids Grow: 23 Montessori Practical Life Activities We Love

9 Motion Sickness Remedies for Kids | If travel on planes, in cars on long road trips, or on a cruise ship makes your child feel queasy and you need ways to prevent motion sickness, nausea, and vomiting, this collection of tips and natural nausea relief remedies is for you! From ginger tea and candies, to essential oils, to the best places to sit (and the travel activities to avoid!), these ideas will help make family vacations fun again! #motionsickness #nausearemedies #nausea #essentialoils

9 Motion Sickness Remedies for Kids to Make Traveling Easier

How to Discipline a Child without Yelling | Whether you’re a mom parenting toddlers or kids in their tweens and teens, we’re sharing 14 simple yet effective tips to teach you how to get kids to listen the first time without yelling. These simple ideas are designed to help parents encourage positive behavior at home and at school but can also be used by teachers in the classroom! #positivediscipline #positiveparenting #positiveparenting

How to Discipline a Child Without Yelling: 14 Positive Parenting Tips

21 Montessori Language Activities and Materials for Lower Elementary

21 Montessori Language Activities and Materials for Lower Elementary

41 Newborn Baby Care Tips for New Moms | If you’re looking for awesome and helpful parenting hacks for new mothers, this collection of breastfeeding and bottle-feeding tips, baby essentials, and self-care ideas is sure to help. We’ve even included baby sleep tips to help get your baby to sleep through the night! Perfect for families of all shapes and sizes, these newborn tips and tricks are so helpful. #newborntips #newbornhacks #newmom #babyhacks

Newborn Baby Care: 41 Mom Hacks to Survive the First 12 Months

How to Teach Kids About Money | If you’re looking for learning ideas to help you teach your children financial literacy, we’re sharing 19 tips and activities that work. From practical tips for parents, to simple work stations for teachers, to budget-friendly games and toys, these ideas will teach your child how to be a financial superstar. #moneyactivities #teachkidsaboutmoney #financialliteracy

How to Teach Kids About Money: 19 Tips and Activities

Best Family Board Games | If you’re the mom (or dad) of young kids and need family game night ideas to help you spend quality time together on weekends and holidays, this collection of educational ideas are equal parts awesome and hilarious. Perfect for children (and teens!) of all ages, these ideas make great gifts the whole family will love and double as fantastic party ideas for any occasion. #familygamenight #boardgames #boardgamesforkids #kidsgames #educationaltoys

Family Game Night! 16 Best Family Board Games to Invest In

8 Ways to Keep Kids Active this Winter | If you want to know how to keep kids active during the winter months, we’re sharing 8 family-friendly ideas they’ll love. From scavenger hunts and snow painting, to winter science experiments and the perfect recipe for frozen bubbles, these ideas are the perfect way to beat cabin fever! #WinterActivities #SnowActivities #KidsActivities #OutdoorActivities #OutdoorActivitiesForKids

Baby It’s Cold Outside: 8 Ways to Keep Kids Active this Winter

41 Mom Hacks to Make Parenting Toddlers Easier | Whether you have sons or daughters, one child or twins, there’s no denying 2 year olds (and 3 year olds) can be difficult to parent. From temper tantrums, to potty training, to sick days, to figuring out how to travel with a toddler, these tips – including our best positive reinforcement behavior charts – will help! #momhacks #parentingtoddlers #momlife #parentinghacks

Parenting Toddlers: 41 Mom Hacks to Help Maintain Your Sanity!

10 Best Christmas Gifts for Boys and Girls | If you’re looking for gift ideas for kids this holiday season, we’re sharing 10 of our favorites! Whether you’re looking for educational toys for toddlers, fun family game night ideas, and/or need unique and creative gifts for kids who have everything, this list will NOT disappoint! #ChristmasToys #ToyGuide #BestToys2018 #GiftGuideForKids #BestToysForBoys #BestToysForGirls

7 Parenting Hacks Every Working Mom Needs to Survive the Holidays

18 Grammar Games for Kids | Looking for grammar lessons to use in elementary school, middle school, and/or high school students to help improve their vocabulary and language skills? This collection of simple yet fun ideas for 3rd grade and beyond will take the yawn out of teaching verbs, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, verb tenses, and the different parts of speech. Who said language arts has to be boring?! #grammargames #partsofspeech #languagearts #vocabularyactivities #teachinggrammar

18 Grammar Games for Kids to Improve Vocabulary and Language Skills

30 Portable Gluten Free Lunch Ideas | If you’re looking for packable lunch recipes for kids to take to school and/or for adults to take to work, or need on-the-go gluten free snack recipes for the whole family, we’ve rounded up 30 quick, easy, simple, healthy, and delicious ideas even the pickiest eater will love! #glutenfree #glutenfreerecipes #glutenfreelunches #glutenfreedairyfree #glutenfreekids

30 Portable Gluten Free Lunch Ideas for the Whole Family

Best Christmas Gifts for Kids | Whether you’re shopping on a budget and need inexpensive gift ideas, or want creative and unique ideas for kids who have everything, this list has it all! With 33 of the best Christmas toys for boys and girls, this list has the most popular kids toys of the season for super cool Christmas gifts kids want to see under the tree! #christmastoys #toyguide #besttoys2018 #giftguideforkids #giftguideforgirls #giftguideforboys #besttoysforboys #besttoysforgirls

33 Best Christmas Gifts for Kids: What Your Child Really Wants This Year!