When my first daughter was little, I wanted her to know how to reach me in case of an emergency — but memorizing numbers wasn’t exactly a preschooler’s idea of fun. So I came up with a quick little hack that worked so well, I used it years later with my second daughter!
This simple activity helps kids see, say, and touch the numbers — hitting every learning style and making it stick. Best of all, it takes just a couple of minutes to make.
What You’ll Need
An old phone (disabled, or toy)
Round pricing stickers
Painter’s or masking tape
A marker
How to Make It
Stick the round labels where the numbers would be and write in the digits. (Bonus tip: draw the green phone/call icon at the bottom so kids learn to “press call.”)
On the back, add three strips of tape and write down:
Mom’s number
Dad’s number
911
life skills for kids
That’s it! Your child can now practice dialing anywhere — at home, in the car, or while waiting at appointments.
Once they’ve memorized your number, it’s one less thing to worry about. You’ll feel more at ease knowing they have the skills to reach you when it really counts — and they’ll feel so proud showing off their “grown-up” phone skills.
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Need a fun story for 2-7-year-olds? Ringo Picked is a seriously silly story about a really good raccoon with a very bad habit!
Find the paperback/ebook/audiobook available here.
I was recently on the Investor Mama podcast to talk about easy ways to coach your kids through money and business topics in a fun way.
I shared seven conversation starters, and each takes just five minutes or less. You can easily start one of these conversations in the car, at bedtime, at bathtime, in the doctor’s office waiting room, or even sitting around the dinner table.
I recommend starting when your kids are in elementary school, but the great news is that these conversations apply to middle schoolers and high schoolers, too.
Before starting these conversations, I’d encourage you to read your kids some picture books on these topics. The Money Smart Kids series is a great place to start to help get their wheels turning about what it could look like to start their own business – as a kid!
To hear our full podcast conversation, with in-depth examples for each question, listen here (link coming soon).
Remember, these are just a starting place to learn and grow, no wrong answers!
Seven Questions to Get Your Kids Thinking Like an Entrepreneur:
Ask–If you had your own money, what would you buy?
This question creates immediate engagement and helps kids value what comes next. They could brainstorm a list and then pick their Top Three.
You could even help them estimate how much they would have to earn to buy their Top Three items.
This is also a great time to plant the seed about giving.
What type of charity would they want to give to? It can be a fun way to reveal what moves the heart of your child.
Then – get into questions about creating a business (questions 2-7)
2. Ask – If you were to start a business, what product or service would you sell?
Here you can discuss…
… products vs. services
… your child’s unique skill set and strengths (they will love hearing from you, and it’s fun to hear what they think their own best skills are)
…what could they make better? A special kind of roller skate, folding laundry, a service for kids to deliver snacks! All ideas are welcome.
3. Ask – Where would you sell XYZ?
Let them brainstorm locations– school, park, local craft faire, door-to-door. Then make sure to dive into the pros and cons of each (traffic, visibility, safety, cost, fun factor).
4. Ask – How would you let people know about what you are selling?
When I was in college I read something along these lines:
Selling without advertising is like a man winking at a woman in the dark, he knows what he’s doing, but she doesn’t have a clue!
Make it easy, give people a clue!
So how will your kids be bold and get the word out about their business?
Sign, flyers, talking to people 1:1, website, business cards, email, a short video text to family and friends…
Challenge your kids – how will you make your message short and exciting so that people will want to use your service or buy your product?
5. Ask – How much would you sell it for?
If your kids are younger, you may have to help with this one.
Have them think about how much their supplies will cost – for the product and advertising.
Then have them think about how much they want to make each time their product sells. Now add those two numbers together to get the price you will charge.
Example: $1 total in supplies and advertising, and I want to make $5 per item after expenses, so I need to sell each one for $6.
Have them wrap up with a gut-check:
Is that price reasonable for the item I’m selling?
Would I pay that much if I saw this item for sale?
6. Ask – If your product wasn’t selling, what would you do?
Ideas: Could change the location you sell it.
You could change the advertising message: What words and description would make the item more likely to sell? Handmade, one-of-a-kind, will solve XYZ problem.
Or do they need to keep pitching and then adapt their product based on feedback?
In the book How to Sell a Rock, all the neighbors say no – but Sebastian keeps adapting his product and message until he finds what his customers really want.
7. Ask – How will you make sure you have money left to buy more supplies?
You can help them break their money into three buckets like Sophia did in the book How to Sell a Flower.
She used the three S’s for the money she earned from her business:
Supplies (short-term expenses)
Save (long-term expenses)
Spend (pay yourself and get some of the things you want + need for you)
Helping your kids have this responsible money mindset early on will help make sure they can stay in business and keep earning their own money!
One Final Ask:
Support these entrepreneur kids when you see them.
I once had two neighbor girls come to my door asking to walk my dog.
My dog is kind of a punk, so I didn’t want to put them in that situation. However, I saw their desire to make money, and I hired them to be mother’s helpers for the summer to entertain my girls while I worked from home. We all won!
Gives these kids the gift of practice: Engage in conversation, Give them at-bats to practice, let them work out the kinks, and then let them earn the money!
I love a good easy craft that I can do with my kids.
Bonus points when it’s something you are actually excited to keep around your house for weeks until the most wonderful time of year arrives – yes HALLOWEEN!
These little ghosts take about 30 minutes to make (plus dry time) and the supply list is minimal. Just make sure to consult below because we had to do a take-two after we bought the wrong kind of clay and ended up with a big mess and little ghosties in the trash. Bummer!
Ghostie with the Mostie
Supplies:
Crayola Model Magic Air Dry Clay (make sure to get this one. They make a different Air dry clay for pottery and you DON’T want that one).
A Rolling Pin
Placemat
Pencil
Spice Jar (empty or full is fine, it’s just to get the shape down)
Tin Foil
Foil over the spice jar, then overlay the clay
Steps:
Make a small ball of foil and place it on top of your spice jar. Then use a larger piece of foil to drape over the top of the ball and spice jar.
2. Grab your placemat and rolling pin. Roll out your clay pretty thin. It will need to cover your spice jar and reach the bottom of it.
3. Use a pencil to poke out some eyes. You will want to play with this part until the eyes look as you wish. You can also make a mouth if you prefer.
4. Let your cute ghost dry for 48 hrs.
5. gently lift off the tin foil and ghost from the spice jar
6. Leave as-is or paint your ghost.
I left mine white but my daughter decided to paint black spots on hers. Turns out this may have been foreshadowing since our family costumes have been decided and they include Dalmatians. Ruff, Ruff!
These ghosts are so simple that I think it would make a fun classroom project this Fall.
If I’m being honest, my 10th book was one of the hardest to publish. It had little to do with the book itself, and everything to do with my own motivation…
If I’m being honest, my 10th book was one of the hardest to publish. It had little to do with the book itself, and everything to do with my own motivation.
My goal was to finish writing and publishing Ringo Picked last month…but I was on twelve different planes, bouncing from city to city and it left me feeling overwhelmed.
You’re kind, I’m sure in your head you gave me a pass for not reaching my goal.
But what if I told you that my goal was the same for the last three months and for various reasons I didn’t get there. That changes things a bit.
Obviously life happens, but in reality, I wasn’t making progress because of me.
Sometimes we all need a little motivation to hold ourselves accountable.
I actually made a plan of what needed to happen, set aside an entire day to actually do it without excuse, changed my environment for inspo (cute coffee shops always help me), and planned a reward for myself once I reached my goal.
Whether it’s a bad habit you (or your kids) are trying to quit, or a goal you are trying to reach, visually seeing progress and having a reward to look forward to at the end can help.
I’ve created this free Progress Chart to help your kids (or students) reach their own goals. Get FREE your printable here.
Wondering what my “reward” of choice was? A new coffee mug and a massage! Oh yeah, plus the personal gratification of publishing book ten 😉
Download the Beyond the Book activity to make your own Rock Caterpillar this weekend, and get a free kids book about money + creative problem solving!
With a three and five year old, we spend a lot of time at the park.
If your family is in the same boat, you may want to try this simple weekend activity. It will make your park visits more fun, and might even put a smile on the face of a stranger.
The activity – Rock Caterpillars!
You can download the simple instructions and supply list here.
Each time you visit the park you can bring a fun rock to add.
Plus you can “check” on your caterpillar to make sure he’s growing. Hopefully some other people join the fun and you can have new rocks to admire with each visit.
We set up rock caterpillars at various parks across the country during our road trip, and this morning we got to set one up at our very own neighborhood park!
This activity pairs perfectly with my new book that released this week – How to Sell a Rock.
It’s all about a little kidpreneur that has to figure out how to convince his neighbors to buy a rock so that he can afford a new skateboard. Perfect for kids 5-12yrs.
Bonus – the kindle version is FREE on Amazon until Tuesday! Grab it Here, or the paperback here.
Book Description:
Did you ever want something special as a child, but then your parents said, “No – too expensive.”
Your dreams were dashed.
Oh, Sebastian understands. But he decides he won’t take no for an answer once he learns he can make the money himself – even as a child.
When a scrappy little kidpreneur needs money for a skateboard, he’s going to have to learn how to turn his neighbor’s no’s into yeses if he wants to get rich selling rocks.
How will Sebastian convince his neighbors that what they really need is a rock?
This fun kidpreneur story teaches:
Creative problem solving
How to start a business
How to make Money
How to Save Money
Rock Painting Craft Ideas
Social Skills
Self Reliance
Grit
Confidence
Perfect for home or classroom use
Ideal for Ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Visit: MyMomistheWorst.com for activities and freebies related to the book
Extended breaks mean more activities to entertain the kids. Here’s a free video where I read one of my children’s books in its entirety + a fun activity to pass the time
Sometimes you just need something to entertain the kids for a few minutes while you prep dinner or send an email.
Other times you have entire days you need to fill: summer vacation, spring break, illness, weekends, quarantines…you feel me.
So…
I’m sharing a video where I read one of my children’s books in its entirety: Best Trip Ever!
Additionally I’m sharing a free resource to help extend this activity. It’s educational and fun!
After Watching the Video, follow along with the activity below.
I’ve included modifications for different age and learning preferences.
FREE Kids Activity:
Plan your Best Trip Ever using the Five Senses
Opening: You’ve just listened to the story “Best Trip Ever” now let’s plan our own exciting trip! We can do this by thinking about the things we would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear on our adventure. This is called using our five senses.
First let’s brainstorm where we would like to go if you were planning your own Best Trip Ever.
(Jot down a few ideas and pick one)
*For older kids encourage them to choose somewhere they have never been, younger kids will need a point of reference, possibly use somewhere they have been a few times*
Once you know where you would plan a trip, think about what you would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear while there.
Options (pick one – think of your child and how they like to engage):
Ask your child to find an object around the house, or in the yard, that represents what they would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear on their trip – for younger children, walk around with them and focus on one sense at a time
Write the five sense down and make a list under each of the things on your trip
Write out a story of where you would travel and what you would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear while there
Do the same as above, but leave out where you are traveling to and see if a parent or sibling can guess the location based on your sensory description
For more books and activities to help keep everyone happy and sane during extended breaks, follow my Facebook or Instagram @StoriesbyJKCoy
I love Halloween like a seven year old loves Halloween, but I do not have the mental bandwidth to stress about my daughters costumes this year.
I love Halloween like a seven year old loves Halloween, but I do not have the mental bandwidth to stress about my daughters costumes this year.
Here’s how this year’s costumes came together:
I had a lady bug costume shoved in the back of the closet that I bought at a garage sale for $2 long before it would fit my oldest daughter, in anticipation of her trick or treating days.
Then a couple weeks ago I saw an infant size lady bug costume hanging at a kids resale store for $2.
Perfection.
My two little love bugs would be lady bugs! Done. Settled. One decision out of my jam-packed brain.
Sometimes as parents we resist doing things the simple way because we don’t want our children to think we don’t care about them.
But simplicity is not the same as indifference.
As a young child you can probably think of instances of both. Sometimes simple things actually made you feel incredibly happy (making a homemade dice costume from a box), while indifference, or lack of planning, made you feel unimportant or forgotten (stopping at the grocery store on Halloween and picking from the leftover plastic masks).
Doing things more simple this year doesn’t mean that I don’t care, and it is important to me that my girls know that. Simple means that I am deciding how much of my precious time and attention can be put in to certain things, so that I have time and energy to actually invest in being present with them.
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Simple doesn’t mean you don’t care, or didn’t plan. It can actually be a sign that you planned well.
Remember that as you enter the crazy holiday season ahead.
And…
Happy Halloween (month)!
From,
The Oldest Trick or Treater on the Block
PS My oldest is two and a half and already pretty obsessed with Halloween. My job is done here:)
Not everything you did before kids was that awesome. You had freedom, but I’m sure it wasn’t always used wisely.
If we’re being honest, little pieces of you die when you start having kids.
Hold up. This is not some marter-fest where we sit around and talk about how our best days are gone now that we had kids. I’ve actually come to see this as a good thing. Stick with me.
Not everything you did before kids was that awesome. You had freedom, but I’m sure it wasn’t always used wisely. You could have traveled the world. You could have spent time volunteering at a children’s hospital. You could have read more books. I actually really hope you did!
But you all also spent a decent amount of that time picking the right filter for your rose’ picture by the pool, binge watching shows on netflix, and spending long hours sitting in front of your computer at the office.
And there is nothing wrong with any of that.
Except that kids are vacuums. They suck up most of the hours you once had.
Because of that, pieces of you will have to die. The great part is, you are an adult with a tiny semblance of control. You get to pick which pieces you keep and which to let go, but you will be forced to be selective.
@mommyconvos
Read the book or watch the show?
Do your make-up or snuggle with the kids?
Take the pictures or live the moment?
Run the extra miles or write the next book chapter?
Take on the extra work project or make dinner from scratch?
This is not a test, there is no wrong answer. But you still need to chose wisely. Not because one is bad and the other is good. Chose wisely because there is less time that you have to work with. If you don’t intentionally chose, you will feel like there is never any time, and feel resentful that all the former pieces of you were forced to die. Thanks kiddos.
Your goals will naturally need to be fewer in number, incredibly focused, and likely with a grace-filled (ie longer than you would like) timeline. Coincidently, that is actually a great formula for successfully accomplishing your goals with or without kids.
Before kids, it’s just easier to assume you will act later because you own all the hours. But when kids are present, you don’t know which hours will be yours. You have to be intentional. You need the day’s game plan in your head so that when the minutes and hours appear, you can seize them.
Do you see how kids can actually be a highly effective tool at helping you decide what the best pieces of you are? Go tell that sweet baby thank you. Unless they are sleeping. In that case DO NOT WAKE THEM!
My current goal is getting my third book finished up. I literally have one step for it, each day, that I plan to complete. Beyond that I don’t even try because with young kids I wouldn’t be setting myself up for success or happiness. After I finish that one goal, I let my kids guide most of the day. My goals are few and focused, and accomplishing them takes much longer than I’d like. But I get to enjoy my kids in between. It makes me happy knowing that there is a small, but very important, piece of me still thriving amongst that chaos.
My Mom is the Worst Children’s Book, Available on Amazon Here
Which pieces of you have you intentionally chosen to focus on once having kids?
I can now say the last two years have been worth it all. I get to share Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster with literally thousands of parents; Parents that just need a good laugh and a big hug after a long day.
For a parent whose memory has gone to mush, I really heart the Facebook Memories feature. Most of the time I can’t believe things happened so long ago.
Seriously?! That concert was eight years ago!
It’s been that long since I’ve been to Europe?!
Wait. What. I used to go out on Thursday nights.
But then again, sometimes we are glad to no longer be in that season of life that we were reminded of. The reality is that it may not have been our best season.
On particularly rough days when I’m sure I can’t possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% … and that’s pretty good. – unknown
Let that sink in.
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Reflection can be difficult, but it can also be empowering. Anniversaries are the perfect time to think about where you’ve been and where you’re going.
A few days ago this photo popped up on facebook and it reminded me it had been two years since I wrote Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster.
Adorable right?! But those days of adjusting to motherhood were tough. Here is the post where I shared my own reflections from the last two years:
“This huge smile takes me back to a really tough time in my life. It was taken shortly after I wrote the first draft of what became the loving children’s book: Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster.
I can picture myself sitting in the car, two months postpartum, tears in my eyes. I was trying to figure out the new roller-coaster I had stepped on to. I constantly flowed back and forth between immense love (Did you see that smile?) and silly frustrations (feeling like I was failing at everything).
Reflecting on the last two years, I am so grateful that this Beautiful Monster broke me.
Our highs are insanely high.
We like to get it all out there by silly dancing in the kitchen to Eminem and the Beatles.
Our lows are embarrassingly low. I tell her to go watch Elmo so no one loses their shi….. , even though I hate when she sits there like a zombie.
All in all, we get to practice a lot of love and laughter in our house.
Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster”
I can now say the last two years have been worth it all. I get to share Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster with literally thousands of parents; Parents that just need a good laugh and a big hug after a long day.
The book is a chance to snuggle up to your Beautiful little Monster and relax knowing that you are doing this parenting thing just fine. Your track record is 100%.
One minute I find myself ogling at every little thing my baby does, talking baby talk with the best of them, and the next minute I am incredibly frustrated because my kids are screaming while I brush my teeth for the first time that day (at 2pm – hello coffee breath). I swear, I often feel like I am the emotional little monster in the house.
But I hope no one confuses my moments of frustration with my true feelings about my children and motherhood, and the joy I get from those precious moments of total sweetness in between the chaos. My babies absolutely know I’m crazy; they also know I am absolutely crazy about them.
Have you been on that roller coaster today?
If so, below is one recent example you’ll relate to, compliments of social media.
My Mom is the Worst 