Megan Merchant's blog

Here are some recent classes I put together for my 2 and 5 year olds, with links (all at www.meganmerchant.com) to the free handouts and books and music you can buy or check out from your library.  Now that you have some guidelines and a budget to create fun 30 to 90 minutes classes at home, you can see how fun and easy it is!

www.meganmerchant.comHappy St. Patrick's Day!  The following two recipes have a full platter base ingredient followed by the items for the rainbow colors.  Plan out your shopping list by letting your kids help you draw the recipe as you make your list, like our picture for fruit pizza below.  Skip to the end for some fun St. Patrick's Fun web links and a great field trip tip.  Rainbow Fruit Pizza:

So now you know the components of a basic preschool class at home, here are supplies to purchase that will last for 6 months under $60!  All of my recommendations are on the bottom of this post at www.meganmerchant.com for easy searching (and price verification).

www.meganmerchant.comIf your barrier is simply, “What would we do?” here are basic pieces in creating your own 2-5 year-old preschool class.  The more frequently you hold school (2 or 3 times a week), the easier it is to incorporate the whole list; the length of class can be from 30 to 90 minutes.  In upcoming posts I’ll share how to run 6 months of classes under $60, and two lesson plans to get your thoughts flowing:

www.meganmerchant.comIt's Spring Break; let's celebrate!  This week I'll be posting about finding classes for your passions and interests, teaching home school with fitness for your kids, and more. To kick off the week on a high note, my friend Mindy Evans from Stampin Up

www.meganmerchant.comThey are finally here!!  After four weeks of trials and records, here are my tips on how I've enjoyed and benefited from a pedometer, starting with the biggest revelation:Mental exhaustion is NOT the same a physical exhaustion. 

www.meganmerchant.comHere is what I did NOT like about my pedometer, which I'm sharing to jump start you as you begin with your own pedometer.Here are the links to Part I and Part II if you’d like to read back.

www.meganmerchant.comCourteous acts make for a better, more civil world.  Incivility is defined by Merriam-Webster as a rude or discourteous act.  Basic manners, respect for others, and common courtesy are vanishing.  What can be done?  Where does civility start? Here are three scenarios:

www.meganmerchant.comTwo days ago I hit 10,000 steps on my pedometer.  If you read my first post on starting my pedometer totting, I mentioned being recently sick (not working out) and took baselines between 3500-5000 steps a day.  So as soon as I felt well, I was all over finding out what it looks and feels like for someone to achieve 10,000 steps in one day.

www.meganmerchant.comWouldn’t it be fantastic to have a passion and then create a local event for others to participate in your passion?  My sister brought such a duo of ladies to my attention, and they graciously answered some questions about their all-women triathlon for us, which will be August 27, 2011, at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center: