An Ignoble Experiment: [Parent Hacks] 3 new posts in Parent Hacks

2008/09/11

[Parent Hacks] 3 new posts in Parent Hacks

Hello, ignoble.experiment@arconati.us, and thank you for subscribing to Parent Hacks. Got a hack you'd like to share? Send it to hacks@parenthacks.com, along with your name and Web address (if you'd like us to link to you).

Preschool Money Manager kit winner

Thank you to all who shared your ideas for teaching kids about money! I loved reading your comments -- it's so interesting to hear how others do it.

And now for our Preschool Money Manager kit winner: Becky! (More than one Becky entered, so I linked to the winner's comment.) Email me your mailing address and I'll pass it along. Congratulations!

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On Parent Hacks at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/parenthacks/~3/389334346/preschool-money.html

Poke a straw through the foil cap to keep bottled single-serve milk from spilling

Kristin's improvised her own spill-proof drink container:

While eating out at a restaurant, milk is often served in plastic cartons. On several occasions, our twin boys have spilled the milk by tipping the carton too high up too fast. The last time out, I thought to take a plastic knife, slice a very thin hole in the protective cover (the one under the cap) and slide a straw into that thin hole. Whaaaaa laaaa! It worked!!! No spilling at all!

Related:
Improving upon the Horizon milk box
Lots more kid-in-restaurant tricks in the Feeding/nursing archive

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On Parent Hacks at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/parenthacks/~3/389032163/poke-a-straw-th.html

More to love about Melissa & Doug toys: turn the packaging into a frame or a tray

Melissa & Doug box converted into a tray

Who doesn't love Melissa & Doug toys? My daughter spent countless hours cutting up their wooden vegetables (such a satisfying TWACK sound when the knife hits the cutting board), and my son's been having fun with their magic set.

But Alice has figured out a great way to reuse the wooden box the toys come packaged in:

I recently got my son a set of wooden beads to string from Melissa & Doug. (love their toys!) It came in a nice wooden box as does many of their toy sets. It was too nice to throw away so we reused it. My 3 year-old son and I took one of his many pieces of toddler artwork and cut it to fit in the bottom of the wooden box. Then we covered it with contact paper and pasted to the bottom. Voila! Now you have either a shadow box framed piece of art or a serving/baking tray for a toddler kitchen, which is what ours became. The wood seems to be unfinished so I assume it could be painted or stained as desired too. Photographs would work nicely in place of the artwork.

So smart!