Kids' Activities Archives – Page 18 of 19

9 Ways to Play with Rocks Outside

February 4, 2021October 13, 2017 by Salty Christine

Looking for new ways to get outside with your toddlers or preschoolers? May we present to you the simple bag of rocks- a $5 investment with LOTS of options for kids. Find inspiration in this list of ways to play with rocks outside.

Entertaining a toddler all day can be ridiculously hard work. My kids have thousands of dollars worth of games and toys and arts and crafts and I am not above allowing some indulgent screen time. But the fact is, at the end of the day, toddlers love dirt and sticks and rocks. Yeah, rocks.

Which – don’t get me wrong – I love. I mean, what’s not to love? They’re super cheap (also known as FREE at your nearest outside location), easy to handle, you don’t have to worry about getting them dirty, and you can just leave them in the backyard!

I love them SO much, I want to pass that love of rocks on to you! Sometimes the best toys are the simplest ones, and we just know your kids will agree. Check out our list of nine fun ways for toddlers to play with rocks.

Halloween Hysteria

June 9, 2020October 3, 2017 by Salty Christine

#Halloween #costumes #fall #kids #kidscostumes #familycostumes

As a proper 21st century Mom living in a Pinterest world, I start thinking about Halloween in about March. Not because I’m going to do anything crazy like come up with handmade family costumes that I’m going to make from scratch or anything. No, I’ve just got to come up … Read More

Whatever Happened to Playing Outside? The Importance of Outdoor Play for Kids

December 29, 2022September 22, 2017 by Salty Jaymi

How long are kids supposed to play outside every day? And what are the benefits of playing outside, anyways? Read on to hear what the experts have to say about kids’ outdoor play.

When it comes to parenting, there’s no shortage of experts telling us what we’re supposed to be doing with our kids on the daily. From how long they can watch TV to how long they should play outside, the powers that be have prescribed- to the literal minute- how our kids should be spending their days.

There’s absolutely no way that you can hit every target on the head. Some days you’ll fall far short of your goals, and other days you might exceed them. It’s hard to get those numbers out of your head, and even harder not to measure your “success” as a parent by whether or not you meet those goals.

So as with any expert advice, we want to advise you before we dig in- take a deep breath. Doctors, teachers, and parenting experts are here to guide us in the right direction, not to penalize us when we fall short. Use all recommendations as a general guide and move towards best practices over time.

With that said, something almost ALL of those people agree on? That our kids are simply not getting enough unstructured, outdoor play time. So how can we, as parents, fix that? How do we make sure that our kids are getting the most of their outdoor play?

Diverse Children’s Books featuring People of Color

June 8, 2020September 1, 2017 by Salty Jaymi

Looking for some diverse children’s books to add to your children’s library? Check out our favorite kids’ picture books that happen to include people of color as the main character.

As the mother of two children of (varying shades of) color, I am always on the lookout for diverse picture books. Considering how important it is for kids to see people who like them in print and in the media, it is actually pretty shocking to me how few books feature characters that aren’t white (or aren’t animals for that matter, but that’s not what we’re talking about today).

And while I love books that explicitly teach kids about differences (Happy in My Skin and It’s Okay to Be Different being two of our favorites), my favorite thing is finding great books where the child’s ethnicity/race/culture is not the focus of the story, but simply a part of who the child is.

The character might (and should!) live in a world that is cognizant of their culture, but they are going through things the common kid goes through- like getting a new pet, being scared of monsters, or participating in the school’s science fair.

So, here’s a list of our favorite diverse children’s books that just so happen to feature children of color in a starring role.

How Do You Get Your Baby Into Modeling?

December 30, 2022August 21, 2017 by Salty Jaymi

Wondering if your baby has what it takes to make it big as a baby model? How to find out- and tips on how to succeed!- at TheSaltyMamas.com. #babymodel #childmodel #modelingagencies #babymodelingagency #cooganaccount #childactors

For a glorious, glamorous, and tiring six months, Abram had a very successful stint as a baby model. It was fun and exciting for me, and Abram? Well, he had no idea the whole thing was even happening, but he made a LOT of money in the process.

We learned so much about how to get your baby into modeling in the process, and even though we chose to walk away from the opportunity eventually (read our reasons why here), I’m so glad we went for it. We actually spent a lot of great one-on-one time together at castings and on the job, padding out his college savings account pretty nicely in the process.

So if you’ve got one of those super cute babies, and people are always telling you your child should be a model, why not give it a shot? And if you’re seriously wondering how to get your baby into modeling, here are a few things you should consider first.