Make a Christmas tree for animals

When we traveled to the Midwest for Christmas last year, I figured we’d be cold. But then we arrived at the tail end of a winter storm and our first day in Chicago had a forecasted high of 10 degrees. People. 10 degrees. So yes, we were cold. And when we arrived at my in-laws’ house in Michigan and saw so many animal footprints in the snow, I thought of all those critters struggling to survive the long winter months with scarce food and low temps.

So in the days leading up to Christmas, I wanted to give the critters a little present. The girls, their grandparents and I thought we’d provide a little holiday treat: We made a Christmas tree for animals.

How to make a Christmas tree for animals: A new holiday family activity to do good! Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more

Flashcards fun: 5 ways to entertain your kids for $1

Think back to high school or college and you will probably not have fond memories of flashcards. I know I don’t. I break out in a sweat when I remember quizzing myself on the date of the transcontinental railroad for my AP US History test and, later, on the mating habits of bonobos. (That last one was for Evolution of Human Sexuality, an unforgettable anthropology class in college, in which my professor stood on a chair at the head of a 300-person lecture hall and pretend-birthed a baby doll. Awesome!)

But unless you’re prepping your kid to get into that genius pre-K program (please tell me you’re not), your preschooler hasn’t formed an anxious association with flashcards just yet. So it’s time to get in on some flashcards fun!

All you need for these 5 games is a pack of flash cards—just $1 at the store. Your kids will have fun with these easy, portable kid friendly activities! Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more

7 animal noises you’ve been messing up

Along with swaddling a squirmy baby, changing a diaper without smearing poop over every surface and operating on practically no sleep, making animal noises is a skill absolutely necessary to parenthood.

Between songs like Old MacDonald and books like Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, moms and dads become pros at mooing, quacking and cock-a-doodle-dooing. As a child ages, though, the animal sounds parents must make become more complex.

But when was the last time you heard a toucan? And do you go all-in with genuine elephant trumpeting, or do you cop out and say “toot toot”?

In addition to these pressing questions, I am going to bet you’ve been making a handful of animal noises completely wrong.

So let me (and YouTube) enlighten you. Go ahead and click play (though not if your dog is in the room—he might will definitely freak out) to step up your animal noises game.

Animal sounds // noises you do wrong // kids and family // Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more

You’re an animal! (and Tender Wondersuits giveaway!)

Flamingos, as it turns out, rock Peeper’s world.

We went to the Oregon Zoo recently, and I walked a different route than I typically do. The path took me down a lush section of the park I hadn’t been to since I was a kid. We finally came across some animals, but the bats were asleep and the lizard wasn’t moving, so Peeper seemed more interested in the flowers.

Then we found the flamingos.

She flipped! It’s a good thing there was a glass panel separating us from them because she tried her hardest to get into that pond and see them up close.

Oregon Zoo - flamingos - Ten Thousand Hour MamaOregon Zoo - flamingos - Ten Thousand Hour Mama

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