For this week’s “Beating Cabin Fever” blog I have two words for you: SHAVING CREAM. Yes, that’s right, good ‘ol white, foamy shaving cream. I’m talking the cheap stuff. I was reminded of it’s simplicity and perfection when cruising Pinterest when I saw someone’s pin about Sand Foam (which is a mix of sand and shaving cream). Personally, I have issues with anything as messy as sand in my house (even when I was teaching in preschools, I dreaded the weeks when sand was in my sensory table—I c...

Hi all! I’m back with another amazing, do-it-yourself indoors project to do with your kids. Now, this one has a lot of steps and it is likely that you’ll need to get the main “ingredient” but I can tell you first hand that the result is totally worthwhile.

Check out this post by Blog Me Mom on how to make these super cool Water Beads.  My kids, who are nearly eight and five and a half, LOVE these. They have a really fascinating texture, are fun to play with, non toxic and edible (thoug...

My kids, who are 5.5 and almost 8 will still play quietly (and sometimes even collaboratively)  with play dough for hours on end.  We have a bin full of cookie cutters, rolling pins, old silverware and other accessories.

As a former kindergarten teacher, I’ve tried ALL KINDS of homemade play doughs and found THIS to be THE recipe you want.  Something about the cooked recipes makes them last longer—and I mean longer.  Properly sealed, this dough can last you for months.  I also highly r...

Planning a birthday party was so easy for our parents.  They hung streamers and balloons, made a cake, invited kids, played “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” and called it a day.  I suppose that if we had more space in our city dwelling, it would be that easy for us, too.  That just isn’t the case for most city parents.  We have limited space to entertain all of our kids’ friends and most of our kids need more direction than one simple game or they become unruly.

Enter the Chicago birth...

The NPN Parent to Parent Winter Newletter - On Your Best Behavior issue - has arrived! Download the full NPN winter issue. Watch your mailbox - it will arrive soon.  If you do not receive your Winter issue in the mail, please log into NPN and your My Account to get the next one at your door.

One of my favorite things about living in the city is the number of parks and play spaces I can go to.  We have a stash of things that live under the stroller to make the playgrounds even more exci...