you need this!

In an effort to maintain our sanity this summer and not spend every sweltering hour staring at the boob tube, I checked out my local library's parent resource section. That's where I came across this little book.

Well, it's actually a quite large book, with some 400 pages. And they're all brimming with amazing, awesome, easy ideas to entertain {and dare I say, educate!} your kiddos without plugging in. You use items found around your house (like balls, socks, hula hoops, office supplies, etc.) Some of the ideas are quick, and some will take more time. And there are both independent and parent-led activities in here as well, so you may even get a second of ME time as well. After reading just a few pages, I had about 100 sticky notes tabbing terrific ideas. I'm going to have to get my own copy.

One of the things I like best is that it's broken in to age categories, and it goes up to age 10 or so. So there are great ideas for both Emerson and Pete, and it will grow with them as well. And it's easy to take an idea from the book and modify it to meet your kids' needs. This one will be used often through the years, I'm sure.