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Views From a Step Stool

Open Minds & Messy Hands

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Marbled Milk Paper: Science + Art for Kids

Marbled Milk Paper: Science + Art for Kids

May 21, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone 1 Comment

This is one of the most fun science experiments for toddlers and preschoolers! Combining science and art, not only is the process really awesome, but you can use the finished product to make some marbled milk prints! It’s so simple, all you need is milk, food coloring, Q-tips and dish

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Filed Under: Arts & Crafts, Preschool Arts& Crafts, Preschool Science, science, Toddler Arts & Crafts, Toddler Science, Uncategorized Tagged With: art, kids, kids activities, moms, preschool, Preschool Homeschool, science, toddler

Busy Bag: Building with Popsicle Sticks

May 20, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone 4 Comments

We have been using busy bags in our house from the time Mack was about 1. They are amazing for keeping kids busy in church, waiting rooms, airplanes, hotels, restaurants, etc. The general idea is that the activity is small enough to fit in a bag, doesn’t make a mess,

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Filed Under: Learn Through Play, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: Busy Bags

6 Fun Beach Activities: Beyond Sandcastles

6 Fun Beach Activities: Beyond Sandcastles

May 17, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Who needs beach activities? Playing at the beach is the ultimate sensory experience. The feel of the sand in your toes, the taste of the salty ocean air, the sound of the waves….why would you need anything more than that? But if you are planning a beach vacation or a

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Filed Under: Elementary, Learn Through Play, Outdoors, Preschoolers, Sensory, Summer, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: beach, outdoors, party, play, sand, unplugged, vacation

Making Colored Sand at the Beach

Making Colored Sand at the Beach

May 17, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

  This is so simple I’m not sure it deserves a whole blog post but it was just too much fun not to share! We brought a box of food coloring to the beach today to spice up the sand castles we’ve been building.   We decided to add it

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Filed Under: Learn Through Play, Outdoors, Preschoolers, Summer, Toddlers, Uncategorized

Name Prints in the Sand

Name Prints in the Sand

May 16, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

  Ok…so sometimes our projects really don’t turn out as planned…today we tried out a really cool idea that I had seen floating around Pinterest but it just didn’t work. I’m blogging about it anyway hoping that you will try it and get much better results than we did!  

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Filed Under: Elementary, Learn Through Play, Outdoors, Preschoolers, Summer, Toddlers, Uncategorized

Driftwood Train Tracks at the Beach

Driftwood Train Tracks at the Beach

May 16, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

        We are really enjoying our beach vacation projects – this one was extremely simple and tons of fun!   We packed a toy train to take to the beach with us. I chose to use a bath toy train as opposed to the wooden trains…I didn’t

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Filed Under: Outdoors, Uncategorized

Painting Rocks and Shells at the Beach

Painting Rocks and Shells at the Beach

May 14, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

  We are on vacation this week so I have been brainstorming activities and projects that I can do with the kiddos on the beach! I love watching the kids play and explore with the natural environment so this is going to be a lot of fun for me! We

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Filed Under: Arts & Crafts, Outdoors, Uncategorized

8 Indoor Painter’s Tape Activities: Rainy Day Fun

8 Indoor Painter’s Tape Activities: Rainy Day Fun

May 9, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone 2 Comments

I love painter’s tape, we have used it for so many different projects and my local dollar store usually has it in stock which is a major bonus! I’m going to list a few of my favorite activities, some that we have done and other that I want to try!

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Filed Under: Arts & Crafts, Uncategorized Tagged With: gross motor, painters tape, Preschool Homeschool, rainy day

Garden Sensory Bin for Outdoor or Indoor Play

Garden Sensory Bin for Outdoor or Indoor Play

May 7, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone 1 Comment

This garden sensory bin is perfect for discussing the importance of gardening and fresh fruits and veggies with kids. What a way to celebrate Spring! One of my favorite activities to do with my kids are monthly, themed sensory bins. I think the value of sensory play is highly underrated,

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Filed Under: Sensory, Spring, Uncategorized Tagged With: garden, kids, moms, outdoors, Sensory, spring

Ice Erosion Experiment: Preschool Science

Ice Erosion Experiment: Preschool Science

May 1, 2014 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Mack enjoyed learning about erosion with our backyard project a couple of days ago so I decided to follow it up with another ‘erosion-inspired’ science experiment. We used ice, epsom salt and watercolors to explore the effects of combining these ingredients.   I froze some blocks of ice in tupperware containers so

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Filed Under: science, Uncategorized Tagged With: Preschool Homeschool

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Welcome to Views From a Step Stool!

Welcome to Views From a Step Stool!

I am a mom to three little ones and love to create and explore every day with them! We have open minds and messy hands, come join in our adventures!

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What’s New

  • 12 Snowman Crafts for Kids
  • 10 Elf on the Shelf Printables to Download
  • 12 Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  • Candy Corn Sensory Bin
  • Emotions Sensory Bag
  • 10 Thanksgiving Handprint Crafts

What’s New:

  • 12 Snowman Crafts for Kids
  • 10 Elf on the Shelf Printables to Download
  • 12 Elf on the Shelf Ideas
  • Candy Corn Sensory Bin
  • Emotions Sensory Bag
  • 10 Thanksgiving Handprint Crafts
  • Build a Jack-o-Lantern Sensory Craft
  • Breakfast Smoothies for Kids with BlendJet Portable Blender
  • 12 Outdoor Painting Ideas for Kids
  • Educational Sensory Bin Ideas
  • 12 Animal Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids
  • 10 Insect Themed Sensory Bins
  • 12 Bee Crafts for Kids
  • 15 Easter Chick Crafts for Kids
  • 15+ Earth Day Crafts for Kids
  • St. Patrick’s Day Emotion Cut and Paste Printable Activity
  • Valentine’s Day Charades Words
  • Printable Color by Number Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids
  • Valentine’s Day Kindness Countdown Calendar: Free Printable
  • Valentine’s Day Pixel Art Color by Number: Free Printables

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