The screen free activities that earned permanent residency after 11 years of parenting.

Every summer starts exactly the same way.

I pull our Summer Cart out of the closet, dust it off, and begin filling it with the activities I already know Emma and Kate will reach for.

Notice I said reach for.

Not the toys that looked amazing on Instagram.

Not the ones that promised hours of entertainment.

Not the ones I was absolutely convinced were going to be “the best purchase ever.”

Just the ones that quietly kept getting chosen.

Again.

And again.

Summer after summer.

After eleven years of parenting, I’ve learned there’s a very big difference.

Every birthday.

Every Christmas.

Every Prime Day.

Every Target run where I “just needed one thing.”

Every Instagram Reel that somehow convinces me this new toy is going to unlock endless creativity and peaceful afternoons.

There’s always another must have toy.

The current obsession?

Nee Doh.

If I hear, “Mom…can I have another Nee Doh?” one more time, I may quietly excuse myself and pretend I suddenly forgot how to speak English.

Will I still probably buy one?

Unfortunately…yes.

Apparently I’m just as easily influenced as my children.

Sometimes it’s Nee Doh.

Sometimes it’s Labubu.

Sometimes it’s whatever magical toy every child on the internet suddenly can’t live without.

Sometimes they’re obsessed for exactly forty eight hours.

Then the excitement fades.

The toy ends up in the bottom of a basket.

Three essential pieces mysteriously disappear.

Everyone moves on to the next big thing.

And somehow…

Every single summer…

Emma and Kate find themselves right back where they started.

Rolling clay.

Folding paper.

Building tiny worlds.

Making another bracelet I’ll proudly wear to Target because apparently I’ve become the family’s official bracelet mannequin.

Carefully placing tiny little diamond dots while I accidentally become just as invested in finishing the picture as they are.

Those are the activities that earned a place in our Summer Cart Hall of Fame.

Now, before we go any further, there are two things you should probably know about me.

First…

I’m a former teacher.

Watching children learn through their hands genuinely makes me happier than it probably should.

Busy hands usually become happy hands.

Long before children learn by writing, they’re learning by squeezing, rolling, building, sorting, folding, pinching, and creating. That’s why sensory play has always held such a special place in my heart.

Second…

I have a slightly unrealistic dream.

I like my house to look like nobody actually lives here.

I know.

It’s impossible.

I have two children.

I fully understand this is a completely unreasonable expectation.

Yet somehow every morning I fluff the pillows, straighten the blankets, and convince myself that today will be the day.

The girls don’t exactly share my vision.

Matt has accepted it.

He does, however, have one very firm household policy.

Glitter has officially been banned.

Not discouraged.

Not limited.

Banned.

Honestly…I can’t argue with him.

If I’m still vacuuming glitter out of my kitchen in November because of a craft we made in June, we’ve made some questionable family decisions.

Here’s another confession.

I absolutely love my girls.

I love watching them create.

I love hearing, “Mom! Come look what I made!”

What I don’t necessarily love…

…is sitting at the table for four straight hours making crafts.

Given the choice, I’d much rather be curled up with whatever book I’m currently reading, a Blood Orange Spindrift beside me, while Emma and Kate happily create something all on their own before proudly calling me in for the grand reveal.

Independent play isn’t just wonderful for children.

It’s a gift for moms, too.

The best activities don’t simply keep children busy.

They build confidence.

Creativity.

Problem solving.

Patience.

And if they happen to buy me enough uninterrupted time to finish one more chapter…

Well, that’s just a bonus.

As a teacher, I love knowing these activities are quietly building little brains while my girls think they’re simply playing.

As a mom, I love that they’re mostly low mess.

As someone who secretly enjoys a house that looks like no one lives there…

…I love them even more.

So after eleven years of buying, trying, donating, replacing, and occasionally wondering what on earth possessed me to purchase that…

These are the activities that officially earned permanent residency in our Summer Cart Hall of Fame.

Diamond Art

I’ll admit it.

This one was for me just as much as it was for the girls.

I bought it thinking, “This looks kind of relaxing.”

What I didn’t expect was to look up forty five minutes later and realize I had become completely invested in placing tiny little gems with the concentration of someone performing open heart surgery.

Emma wandered off.

Kate wandered back.

Meanwhile, I was over there whispering, “Nobody bump the tray.”

There’s something incredibly calming about the repetitive motion. It slows everyone down for a little while, which isn’t something I realized our house desperately needed until we found these.

From a teacher’s perspective, they’re quietly strengthening hand eye coordination, fine motor skills, patience, attention to detail, and perseverance.

From a mom’s perspective…

It’s one of the few activities where nobody asks me to refill glue, untangle string, or locate the missing piece every five minutes.

That’s a pretty big win.

Air Dry Clay

If Play Doh had a sophisticated older sister…

This would be her.

Play Doh will forever be one of my favorite activities. Emma has been playing with it since she was eighteen months old, and I honestly credit so much of her incredible fine motor development to all those years of rolling, squishing, pinching, and creating.

Can we all agree that whoever designed these deserves some sort of parenting award?

Air dry clay takes all of that one step further.

The girls love making tiny foods, flowers, animals, and desserts that actually harden when they’re finished.

The only problem?

Apparently nothing is ever allowed to be thrown away.

We now have an impressive collection of miniature tacos, tiny birthday cakes, little puppies, and mystery sculptures proudly displayed around the house.

I’m not even mad about it.

Every one of those little creations reminds me of an afternoon spent together.

Those tiny fingers are strengthening the exact muscles they use for handwriting, buttoning clothes, tying shoes, and countless other everyday tasks.

They’re convinced they’re making tiny donuts.

I’m over here secretly celebrating another sensory activity.

Everybody wins.

Coloring Sets That Come With Everything

Because someone finally understood the assignment.

Everything is included.

Markers.

Colored pencils.

Gel pens.

A sharpener.

Stickers.

Even the little plastic divider sheet that slips behind the page so markers don’t bleed through.

If you’ve ever watched your child proudly flip the page only to discover they’ve accidentally colored through three more behind it…

…you understand why I appreciate that little piece of plastic more than I probably should.

These have become our travel MVPs.

Restaurants.

Waiting rooms.

Hotel rooms.

Airplanes.

Coffee shops.

Anywhere I need Emma and Kate happily entertained without handing over an iPad.

They’re compact, beautifully organized, and require exactly zero prep from me.

Those are three of my favorite words.

Loom Bracelet Kits

Friendship bracelets have somehow survived every generation.

There’s just something about making something with your own hands that never seems to go out of style.

These little kits quietly teach patterns, sequencing, planning, problem solving, and patience while kids think they’re simply making bracelets for their friends.

Or…

Their mom.

Fair warning…

If your child falls in love with these, you’ll eventually hear,

“Mom, hold out your hand.”

You don’t really have a choice after that.

I have officially become the proud owner of approximately thirty seven bracelets that don’t match a single outfit I own. – except one bracelet does say “Hot Mama” which I am not mad about. 

I wear them anyway.

Mostly because watching the girls beam with pride every time they see me wearing one is worth every colorful rubber band or bead.

No Prep Craft Kits

Here’s something I’ve learned about myself.

I don’t actually dislike crafts.

I dislike spending thirty minutes gathering supplies before anyone can even begin.

If I have to hunt for glue sticks, scissors, googly eyes, pom poms, and the one marker that mysteriously disappeared last Tuesday…

I’ve already lost interest.

These little kits solve all of that.

Everything is inside.

Open the package.

Make the craft.

Clean up.

Done.

That’s my kind of crafting.

My Pinterest mom era lasted approximately seven minutes.

Hand me a kit where everything is already included, and suddenly I feel like I’ve completely got my life together.

Almost.

Coola Crafts

If I had to recommend one craft brand to another parent, this would probably be it.

Anything by Coola Crafts has been an absolute hit in our house.

In fact, I think we’ve bought just about every kit they’ve made.

This woodland collection is still our favorite.

Kate has worked her way through nearly every single project, and they’re proudly displayed all over our house.

Every time I walk past one sitting on a bookshelf or tucked onto a windowsill, I’m reminded of the afternoon she made it.

To me, that’s what makes a great craft.

Not whether it looks Pinterest perfect.

Not whether it was expensive.

Whether your child is proud enough of it to keep it.

These are.

The directions are simple enough that kids genuinely feel successful, yet creative enough that every finished project still feels unique.

They’re low mess.

They’re engaging.

They’re beautiful.

Teacher approved.

Mom approved.

Dad approved because, thankfully…

Not a single speck of glitter.

STEM Building Kits

These are not grab a snack and disappear for an hour kinds of activities.

These are family projects.

Emma usually volunteers to read ahead.

Kate is convinced she already knows what the next step is.

Matt immediately becomes the engineer.

And somehow I always end up reading the directions out loud while saying things like,

“Wait…I don’t think that piece goes there.”

Or…

“I’m almost positive we skipped Step 12.”

Half the fun is watching everyone’s personality come out.

The best part isn’t even the finished project.

It’s that moment when one of the girls looks at something they built and says,

“Wait…I actually made this.”

That kind of confidence is hard to teach.

Building something with your own two hands has a funny way of doing it naturally.

Activity Boxes

Every family has that hour.

You know the one.

Lunch is over.

Everyone has already been swimming.

It’s too hot to play outside.

Nobody wants another snack.

Someone has dramatically announced they’re bored for the seventh time before two o’clock.

This is exactly when the activity boxes come out.

I love them because they aren’t one and done.

There’s enough variety inside that the girls can bounce between projects without asking me every ten minutes,

“Now what can we do?”

As much as I love hearing,

“Mom! Come see this!”

I don’t necessarily love hearing,

“Mom…what should I do now?”

Every six minutes.

These buy me just enough time to refill my drink, read another chapter, or convince myself I’m finally going to fold that basket of laundry that’s been sitting there since Tuesday.

(For the record…I usually choose the book.)

One Last Hall of Fame Honorable Mention…

There are a hundred other toys we’ve loved over the years.

LEGO.

Magna Tiles.

Play Doh.

Those aren’t even on this list because, honestly, they’ve graduated into a category all their own.

They’re legends.

Hall of Fame founders.

Play Doh especially will always have a special place in my heart.

Emma was just eighteen months old when I first sat her in her high chair with a little tub of Play Doh.

She squished it.

Rolled it.

Poked tiny finger holes all through it.

She had absolutely no idea she was strengthening the little muscles she’d eventually use to write her name.

That’s the magic of sensory play.

Children simply think they’re having fun.

They’re actually building foundations they’ll use for years.

Maybe that’s why I’ll never stop recommending activities that let kids create with their hands.

A little note from the teacher in me…

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you already know sensory play has always had my heart.

Busy hands usually become happy hands.

Long before children learn by writing, they’re learning by squeezing, pinching, rolling, folding, sorting, stacking, balancing, and creating.

Research has consistently shown that hands on, multisensory play strengthens fine motor development, spatial reasoning, executive functioning, creativity, language development, and problem solving because children are using multiple parts of the brain at the same time.

As a teacher, I watched that happen in classrooms.

As a mom, I’ve watched it happen around our kitchen table.

Maybe that’s why I love these activities so much.

Yes, they buy me a few peaceful moments to read another chapter.

Yes, they help keep screens at bay.

Yes, they don’t completely destroy my dream of living in a house that looks like nobody actually lives there.

Those are all wonderful bonuses.

What I really love is watching Emma and Kate become more confident every summer.

Not because someone entertained them.

Because they learned how to entertain themselves.

To me…

That’s one of the greatest gifts we can give our children.

One Last Thought…(really this time)

Sometimes I catch myself wondering if I’m overthinking all of this.

Do the activities really matter that much?

Does it really make a difference whether Emma and Kate spend an afternoon building, coloring, folding paper, or sculpting clay?

Then I’ll walk through the house.

I’ll find one of Kate’s little woodland creatures sitting proudly on a bookshelf.

I’ll notice another tiny clay cupcake that’s somehow become part of our permanent décor.

I’ll see a friendship bracelet wrapped around my wrist that absolutely does not match my outfit, but somehow still makes me smile.

I’ll open a drawer and find a diamond art project they forgot to put away because they were so excited to show me the finished picture.

Those little reminders are everywhere.

They’re proof that childhood isn’t built in one big moment.

It’s built in thousands of tiny ones.

The afternoons when there wasn’t anything extraordinary planned.

No birthday party.

No vacation.

No expensive outing.

Just two girls, a kitchen table, a pile of paper, a little clay, and enough imagination to keep them busy for hours.

Those are the days I hope they remember.

Not because every craft turned out perfectly.

Believe me…they didn’t.

Not because every project was Pinterest worthy.

Definitely not.

Not because I sat beside them every second.

Because one day…

There won’t be another bracelet waiting for me to wear.

There won’t be another tiny clay taco sitting on the counter waiting to dry.

These days feel wonderfully ordinary while you’re living them.

I have a feeling they’ll become extraordinary when I look back.

So yes…

I’ll probably still get talked into buying the occasional viral toy.

Yes, I’ll probably hear the word Nee Doh approximately eight thousand more times before this phase is over.

Yes, another trendy toy will inevitably convince me that this is the one that’s going to change everything.

It won’t.

We’ll always find our way back here.

Back to building.

Back to creating.

Back to making.

Back to using our hands.

Back to the Summer Cart.

Because after eleven years of parenting, I’ve realized something.

The best toys aren’t the ones that make the most noise.

They aren’t the ones everyone else is buying.

They aren’t the ones that disappear from store shelves overnight.

The best toys are the ones that quietly become part of your family’s story.

The ones that come back out every June.

The ones that somehow survive every clean out.

The ones your children reach for without you ever suggesting them.

Those are the Hall of Famers.

And around here…

They’ve earned every bit of that title.

Here’s to one more summer of sticky hands, big imaginations, and just enough independent play for Mom to finish one more chapter.