Lovely Links

I've been scouring the four corners of the internet recently, looking for educational/craft ideas. I have found that for my family, the best defense against toddler meltdowns is a well-stocked craft cabinet and a little imagination. This has led me to find some really fantastic blogs/sites that I just have to share.

First, The Rhythm of the Home. One of my friends from NorCal posted a link on her blog to this excellent online magazine. What wonderful ideas! It is specifically for families with young children, and from the articles I have read, has an unplugged childhood vibe, which is exactly what I strive to give my own children. Check out the blueberry pie recipe!

Next, Jump Into A Book. This blog has me completely inspired! It is exactly the kind of thing that I want to do for my kids to encourage a love of reading. I think it really makes everything come alive. Although my kids might be a big too young now, I'll be saving these activities and ideas for a few years down the road when we are ready for them, or maybe I can modify them to be more age appropriate.

Next, NotebookingPages.com. I read about the idea of notebooking a few years ago, and filed it away in my memory for later. Tons of freebies, but also lovely notebook sets that you can purchase to download and print. Lots of information on notebooking, too.

Along the same vein, DonnaYoung.org. FREE printable organizers, calendars, weekly curriculum planners, shopping lists, menu planners, the list goes on and on....If you are a mom, you may want to bookmark this one.

And store it all in a Mom Agenda folio. These organizers, planners, and calendars (with separate schedules for mom and up to four kids in one weekly planner!) are pricey, but are gorgeous, well thought-out, and just plain nice. I think they make a great gift for any mom who has suffered through losing all her contacts and calendars in a computer crash or phone upgrade, and wants to keep a paper back-up. Plus, free printable pages, and the planners and folios can be personalized.


For free children's books online, check out The Baldwin Project and The Rosetta Project.

For free classical music downloads, check out Classical.com. Get a new, free,  editor's pick album every week, plus unlimited online listening. You have register, but it is free (although there is a paid subscription option) and the albums are yours to keep forever.

And to expose your toddler to great music and audio books, check out the SweetPea3 MP3 player. I'm in love. It is childproofed (unlike that $400 iPod), and can be dropped and chewed on. It also has a speaker, so does not need headphones (which are very bad for your ears) but can be used with headphones when your children are older. These suckers also come pre-loaded with songs and audio books (20 in all, which is at least $20 of free stuff) and they only cost $60, but with a new Audible.com account, you can get them for $40 a piece. Just check out www.audible.com/sweetpea. Although I went ahead and bought one for each of my girls, I'm putting them away until Christmas. However, it's all I can do to not break it out of the box. They are just so darn cute!