I'm thrilled to welcome some wonderful new faces to Connected Through Play! I'm also trying something new this month and changing my welcome message. I'd love to know if you prefer this style or if you would rather just be welcomed by name? I'll include your first steps to navigating the community in the comment. Let me know what you think. @Senka Kovacevic brings a background in economics and a passion for special education and Montessori she's here for practical advice for teaching her 8-year-old. @Iryna Miroshnychenko, you two share that love of hands-on, curiosity-driven learning, why not connect and swap ideas? @N Nijdam is always searching for new ways to connect with her 4-year-old and lives in Amsterdam. @Stacey Hayward has a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old and is keen for fresh inspiration. @Abs F is raising three high-energy boys and wants purposeful, safe play you three have overlapping ages and goals, so you may want to connect in the comments and share what's working! @Corrie Herrin wants to connect better with both her teenager and kindergartner a beautiful dual challenge. @Shaye Williams is homeschooling five young children and looking for creative connection ideas. @Jen Staniforth, with kids ranging 5–19, may be a perfect match for you both. You may want to check out her Skool community The Baby Sleep Skool. @Iryna Miroshnychenko teaches kids and believes every child is a genius, she's here for experiments and meaningful lessons that spark curiosity. @Hira Palla is homeschooling a toddler and newborn and needs to keep her little one entertained while learning. @Josephine Withers has an "outside flavor" toddler and wants more activities. @Jessica Senhorinha is juggling two curious builders (PreK and primary) with limited time and wants quick, ready-to-go options for real connection you three are all in the toddler/PreK zone, so team up for ideas!

I'm doing a little market research while creating my children's colouring books, and I'd really appreciate your thoughts. If your child or grandchild enjoys colouring: 🎨 How old are they? 📚 What type of colouring books do they enjoy the most? (Animals, fantasy, educational, vehicles, princesses, dinosaurs, superheroes, cute characters, mindfulness, etc.) ✏️ Do they prefer simple designs or more detailed ones? ⭐ Is there anything you wish you could find in children's colouring books but haven't seen yet? I'd love to hear your experiences and recommendations. Your feedback will help me create colouring books that children genuinely enjoy and keep coming back to. Thank you so much in advance! 😊

Due to the heat and the holiday in the US, I opted not to make Croissants from scratch, instead, I’m revisiting a family favorite the croissant loaf. Recipe courtesy of Chef Henry at Crust & Crumb Academy. Do you have any culinary traditions or rituals in your family? https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/croissant-bread-yeasted

How did it go? Here’s the good news, none of these activities are “one and done” you can re-use them and make your own tweaks to fit your kids. Let’s recap. Five days. Five activities. Hopefully at least one moment where someone forgot it was too hot to go outside. If your family played along this week, even just one activity, I loved to hear about it. Drop a comment below and tell me: ⭐ Which activity was the hit? 🤔 Which one surprised you? 😅 Which one went completely sideways (in the best way)? This series was built for the sticky, stir-crazy, everyone’s-bored-and-slightly-overheated days that summer always delivers. If it helped, even a little, share it with another family who could use it. The more the merrier in here. Missed a day? All five activities are still here: 🧊 Day 1 — The Melting Mission 📦 Day 2 — The Box City Build 🗺️ Day 3 — The Indoor Treasure Map 🎭 Day 4 — The Freeze Frame Story 🏆 Day 5 — The Heatwave Hideout Challenge And if your kids are already asking “what’s next?” Stay tuned. There’s more coming. You’re doing great. Seriously. Keeping kids engaged, connected, and away from screens when it’s 95 degrees out is no small thing. See you in the next one. 🌡️➡️🍂

We're thrilled to welcome some wonderful new faces to Connected Through Play this week! Let's extend a warm welcome to the new members @Jenny Akinosho, @Joanne Langston, @Silvia Molinaro, @Kiara Passante, @Larissa Florido, @Aida Brčaninović, @Gwen Roach, @Hanus Noémi, @Jessica Machado, @Alix Broadhead, @Jessica Senhorinha, @Michele Selvey, @Nici norris norris Norris norris, @Shaye Williams. As you get to know the community, here are some quick tips to get you started: 1. Visit the Start Here Classroom, this provides a roadmap for navigating the community and then, go ahead and #Try This Today - one simple play idea and come back to share. 2. Visit the labs, I'd start with #Day 1: Sink, Float, Predict in The Curious Kitchen or #Day 1: The Observation Mission in the Play Lab. You'll also find broad play ideas by age band in the Play Lab. Try one of these missions and share how they worked for you. 3. Introduce yourself. 3 simple questions: a) Who are you? b) How do you like to play and c) a fun fact about yourself or your family. A quick note, you'll find lots of play prompts and ideas in the Play Ideas & Prompts category, my assistant @Charlotte Bick and I are working on moving all of these to classrooms for you. If you are looking for Games, check out the Games! Games! Games! category and for those of you dealing with the heatwave, I've posted some simple indoor activities this week.