Category: Life Skills
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Raising Capable Adults
Most parents suddenly realize in high school that their kids should be learning the skills they’ll need as adults, whether they’re heading off to college or moving out to live on their own. Often it comes as a surprise how little time there is left, and how much your kids still need to know. If […]
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Family Contributions: Ages 6-9
I’ve written other articles about how to engage kids ages 2-3 in housework and self care because for them it’s just play, and how to use pretend play to begin teaching kids ages 4-5 some important life skills. By ages 6-9, your kids can start to really make contributions to the family that are helpful […]
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Life Skills as Pretend Play: Ages 4-5
I created a set of picture checklists to give parents an idea of when kids will be ready to learn new skills. Many people have expressed concern that these lists are too advanced for the ages listed, or that it’s unfair to give chores to kids so young. I’m writing this blog post to make […]
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Playing the Grocery Shopping Game
If you need ideas for things to do with your toddler, try grocery shopping. Seriously. It’s a wonderful way to keep your little ones busy and learning. And given enough time and patience, there’s a side benefit of eventually getting your grocery shopping done. I don’t really like grocery shopping, but I’ve always kind of […]
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Playing the Cleaning Game
I still get lots of comments from people who believe it’s inappropriate to give chores to 2-3 year olds. I think they’re missing a great opportunity! Kids this young don’t think of these as chores – it’s all play to them. Better yet, they understand they’re getting to play the games grownups play, and they […]
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Playing the Laundry Game with a Toddler
I continue to have a lot of people tell me that 2-3 year olds are too young to be doing chores. Theses comments are reacting to this chart I made that shows a list of things kids can start to do when the are 2 or 3 years old: Anyone reacting negatively to this is […]
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Family Contributions
I’ve posted before about how controversial my most popular free list is: Chores By Age. I get hundreds of comments from people – mostly negative ones about how these chores are too much, especially for 2-3 year olds. I’ve already written a blog post about how this list is intended to be a guide for […]
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Get Organized For 2023!
Start the new year off on the right foot with some picture checklists for your kids. Instead of asking if they’ve brushed their teeth, packed their homework, remembered their water bottle, and made their lunch, you can ask just one question: Did you finish your list? This approach puts your kids in charge of themselves, […]
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Behavior Clipart For Kids
I’ve had a lot of requests over the years from both teachers and parents to add clipart for good behavior to my lists. Sometimes a visual reminder of expectations can go a long way! Here are all of the ones I’ve collected so far. All of these options appear on the Custom List activity. They’re […]
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Cooking With Kids – Peanut Blossoms
One of the cookies my mom always made at Christmas time were peanut blossoms: peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss on top. I cooked often with my mom, and kept that tradition going with my kids, especially during the holidays. Cooking with kids offers so many benefits for everyone involved. In addition to teaching […]
The Trip Clip Blog 