Grocery Shopping List (Free Download)

Each week I feel overwhelmed as I start from scratch on my grocery list. What do we need? What do we usually buy? Most of the time I’m preoccupied and exhausted and, well, can’t remember for the life of me. So I go shopping with a short list and invariably come home from the store and realize I’ve forgotten something. More often I forget 5 things.

Grocery List Template (Free Download)

I really needed some grocery shopping help. I tried several grocery shop apps for my phone, but found them to be too time consuming. I needed something simple and easy. A list that I printed out once a week and placed on our fridge that David and I could mark as we ran out of items.

Grocery List Template (Free Download)

So I created this master grocery list that you may download, modify and print for your own personal use.

Grocery List Template (Free Download)

Our list is mostly gluten-and-sugar-free, so I hope yours will contain things like fresh pizza dough and cake. You know, things I dream of eating. Enjoy!

Can’t find a highlighter to mark your needed items? I’m using a yellow colored pencil, but you could also underline, circle or check off each item. Whatever works best for you and your family.

Writing Caddy

We’ve been working on organizing our arts and craft supplies.

Writing Caddy

I planned on making a writing caddy for our daughter, but we instead found this blue wire caddy at Joann’s on clearance and the little miss insisted we bring it home. Luckily it’s my style too, so I was thrilled to set it up at her play table in the living room. Inside it we keep:

Writing Caddy

Letters and Numbers For Me activity book (published by Handwriting Without Tears)
– The complete set of Jan Brett’s free traditional coloring alphabet tracers stapled together with a this free downloadable Handwriting Without Tears Capital Letters Formation Chart
– Lined and blank paper

Writing Caddy

– Soft pencils and erasers
– Shape and alphabet stencils
– Protractor
Maria the Scientist Paper Dolls
– Calculator (used primarily as a pretend cell phone)
– A set of butterfly play bank checks that you can download for free!

Writing Caddy

We keep the writing caddy on the child sized table by the window overlooking our garden. Adjacent to our birding materials (in the baskets/bags on the floor), we’re all set for everyday learning!

Make Your Own Coloring Book

Printables featuring my daughter’s favorite book characters?! Perfect for this little girl.

Lilly, Chester, Angelina, Little Bear, Winnie the Pooh, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Frances…

Every day when we read their stories, we visit with them. To my daughter, these storybook characters are dear friends.

I’m thrilled she loves and admires these wonderful characters instead of drooling over Disney characters or Princesses. (Although that stage is probably just around the corner, knock on wood.)

The best part about these printables? They are free. So many children’s illustrators have wonderful websites and many of them contain fantastic games and coloring pages to download and print to share.

Here are some of our favorites:

+ Kevin Henkes, author/illustrator of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse and Chester’s Way

+ Jan Brett, author/illustrator of The Mitten and The Owl and the Pussycat

+ Eric Carle, author/illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar (more Eric Carle printables here)

+ Laura Numeroff, author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

+ Tomie dePaola, author and illustrator of Strega Nona

Birthday Party Letter Art Banner

Our blog countdown to the three-year old’s birthday party continues!

Yesterday we talked about our photo banner:

Today I want to share with you our Happy Birthday letter art banner that we’ve hung on the opposite wall of our living room:

I typed “Happy Birthday” using different fonts for each letter on our computer and set up the letters to be outline only. After printing the series out, we then decorated the letters with stickers, twistables crayons and colored pencils.

The project took us several days to complete and we talked about the different letters and colors as we filled in the outlines. For some of the letters, my daughter focused on coloring each outline one (or two) colors and matching stickers of the same color to each letter.

A fun preschool project that’s simple, yet open to endless creative possibilities.

Now, a freebie for you:

Download a PDF of our Happy Birthday letter art banner to print and color in for yourselves!