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Views From a Step Stool

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DIY Advent Calendar with Free Printable Acts of Kindness

DIY Advent Calendar with Free Printable Acts of Kindness

December 1, 2019 By Katie Chiavarone 5 Comments

Check out how to turn muffin tins into a DIY Advent Calendar! Grab the free printable Acts of Kindness calendar to do with the family for the month of December. Now that my kids are a little older, I have been trying to talk about how we can help others and

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Uncategorized Tagged With: acts of kindness, advent, advent calendar, calendar, chocolate, christmas, kindness, legos

Best Christmas Carols for Kids to Learn

Best Christmas Carols for Kids to Learn

November 25, 2019 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

These 8 Christmas carols for kids include religious carols, Santa carols, and festive songs that kids will love to learn and sing with the family. Although there are still some small communities that allow for families to go door to door caroling, the majority of people have never actually had

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Filed Under: Christmas, Parenting Tagged With: christmas, christmas carols, kids activities

Cinnamon Stick and Fabric DIY Christmas Ornament

Cinnamon Stick and Fabric DIY Christmas Ornament

November 13, 2017 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Making a DIY Christmas ornament is such a fun way to celebrate the holidays with kids, and they love to contribute to the decor on the tree. Bonus, these smell really good!  Cinnamon sticks equal the holidays for me, as the smell always brings back images of our wood stove

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: christmas, diy, ornament

10 Christmas Sensory Bottles and Bags for Babies

10 Christmas Sensory Bottles and Bags for Babies

November 8, 2017 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Sensory play is my favorite way to engage kids in learning. By engaging all of the senses, we process and remember information better. There are many Christmas sensory play ideas for kids, but often sensory play can be messy or contain small parts not suitable for babies and toddlers.  But,

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: christmas, sensory activities for 1 year olds, sensory play

Decorate a Christmas Tree Sensory Bag for Babies

Decorate a Christmas Tree Sensory Bag for Babies

October 30, 2017 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Engaging the senses is one of the best ways for kids to learn. Holidays are a time of family fun, and crafting, playing and creating are all awesome ways to learn about and celebrate the holidays. But, it can be difficult to find sensory activities for babies and toddlers, as

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Mess-Free Sensory Play, Sensory Tagged With: activities for babies, christmas, christmas tree, sensory bag, toddlers

Christmas Tradition: Spot the Decorations Game with Free Printable!

Christmas Tradition: Spot the Decorations Game with Free Printable!

December 12, 2016 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

My favorite family Christmas tradition as a child was going on a drive to look at Christmas lights. We would pile into the car, put on the Christmas tunes and go for a nice drive. My siblings and I always liked to point out the most decorated houses and spot

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays Tagged With: activities, christmas, fine motor, Games, Holidays, Homeschool, kids activities, preschool

3 Gift Guides for Every Kid on Your List

3 Gift Guides for Every Kid on Your List

November 30, 2016 By Katie Chiavarone

I write often about the power of play on my site. It is how kids learn best, by engaging their senses and exploring open-ended, creative and dramatic play. There are many ways in which kids can play without toys, however, we all know how much kids love to play with toys,

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Learn Through Play, Parenting, Preschoolers Tagged With: christmas, gifts, Holidays, kids, moms, play, Toys

Gift Wrapping Pretend Play and Fine Motor Practice with Recyclables

Gift Wrapping Pretend Play and Fine Motor Practice with Recyclables

November 26, 2016 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

Gift wrapping pretend play is such a fun activity to do with kids around the holidays, and perfect for building fine motor skills. Cutting, measuring, taping and decorating all incorporate math, art, and motor practice through PLAY. We have been collecting recyclables such as cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls and milk

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Filed Under: Christmas, Elementary, Holidays, Learn Through Play, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: christmas, gift wrap, invitation to create, preschool, pretend play, toddlers

12 Days of Blogmas! 12 Days, 12 Blogs, and a HUGE Giveaway!

12 Days of Blogmas! 12 Days, 12 Blogs, and a HUGE Giveaway!

November 23, 2016 By Katie Chiavarone 1 Comment

The Christmas season is upon us, and we have a lot of fun in store for you! The 12 Days of Blogmas is a really fun way to get excited about the upcoming holiday season, read some awesome articles (discover new blogs) and enter to WIN an amazing prize! Spoiler

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Filed Under: Christmas, Holidays, Parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: blogger, blogmas, christmas, Giveaway, Holidays, Mommy Blogger, prize, writing prompts

DIY Christmas Sensory Sticks for Kids

DIY Christmas Sensory Sticks for Kids

November 23, 2016 By Katie Chiavarone Leave a Comment

These Christmas sensory sticks allow for exploration through the senses of smell, touch, hearing and sight, and, they are incredibly simple to put together!    Engaging all the senses is a really fantastic way to promote learning through play. Hands-on play and the ability to really explore materials creates lasting

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Filed Under: Arts & Crafts, Christmas, Holidays, Learn Through Play, Preschoolers, Toddlers, Uncategorized Tagged With: bells, christmas, craft sticks, diy, homemade toy, sensory play

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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

  • Summer Olympics Bingo Game Printable
  • Constellations for Kids: Constellation Coloring Pages, Flashcards and Science Experiment Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Printable Favor Toppers
  • Drawing Garden Game to Print for Kids: Roll and Draw!
  • Printable Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Jokes

What’s New:

  • Summer Olympics Bingo Game Printable
  • Constellations for Kids: Constellation Coloring Pages, Flashcards and Science Experiment Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt Printable
  • St. Patrick’s Day Printable Favor Toppers
  • Drawing Garden Game to Print for Kids: Roll and Draw!
  • Printable Valentine’s Day Lunchbox Jokes
  • Valentine’s Day Color by Number Printables
  • Pin the Carrot on the Snowman Printable Game
  • Printable Christmas Puzzles for Toddlers
  • Christmas Tic Tac Toe Printable Game
  • Christmas Charades Printable Game
  • Printable Coffee Gift Card Holder for Christmas
  • The Gift of Christmas Printable Board Game
  • Christmas Countdown Printable
  • Santa Says Printable Christmas Game
  • Christmas Tree I Spy Printable for Kids
  • Thanksgiving Picture Charades Printable Game for Young Kids
  • Christmas Countdown Dollar Store Craft
  • Roll a Gingerbread Man Christmas Board Game
  • Winter Color by Number Printables

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