Hilltown Families 
Books support literacy and learning. And when you have too many books in duplicate and falling part, they can even support creative-free play! This month in "What to Play? Play...
Where did all the play go? Am I the only parent that is mourning its loss? The new math makes sense to me. I read Old Dogs, New Math: Homework Help...
Search for signs of fall! This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Carrie shares her list of Autumn treasures she and her daughter search for...
Carrie featuredsscavenger hunts this month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community." She shares several great hunt ideas, from food to people to fitness to nature!
Family Assignment—Have Fun! We are in the home stretch. I can’t believe school vacation is coming to an end. Our summer went too fast! We say those words every year so...
Take a break from the heat and sun to make your own sock puppets. Make some scary ones for fire side ghost stories. Make some super cute...
This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Carrie shares creative-free play ways to support cleaning up and keeping organized.
Adopting, fostering, and pet taxing are a few ways families can help local animal shelters. Making toys for animals while waiting to be adopted is yet another...
In What to Play...why not throw on a creative lens and look at your overflowing recycling bin. Saving these items can be the building blocks to great creative opportunities for kids....
Play encourages creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, social skills...and so much more. Then there is the common core which promotes college preparation. "Free Play" Vs. "Common Core"...both in 2 corners...
Boredom is a problem. I mean technically we're all supposed to be asleep & hibernating in these oppressive temperatures, right? We're pushing against Mother Nature here, right? Not at all!...
One wonders what inspired John Cleese and his collection of silly walks. Reading Carrie's piece here, it seems he may have been influenced by animals! Carrie shares a fun and simple...
Some people just have that magic dust when it comes to connecting with kids. With some people It seems to be something they are born with. Read this touching piece of...
An 8 year old child in third grade finds that they have more homework, eating into time parent & child can spend together. In "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family...
Play that is unscripted, better known as creative-free play, nurtures a child's innate creativity and abilities to be resourceful and to problem solve. Childhood summer activities like making mud pies,...
We live in a society with a lot of stuff, most of which limits creative free play while having a negative impact on our environment and societies. This summer, rather...
Summer affords us a golden chance to encourage our children to open their senses to the world. These are rare formative situations in which a child can absorb the happenings of...
Anything can be use to make music! This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Carrie shares ideas for creative-free music making!
"One of the best things my mom did for us was providing hours of unstructured free play," writes Carrie this month in "What to Play?" "She gave us the gift of...
Looking for something to spark play and get you moving in the middle of a long, cold winter? How about flashlight tag... in the snow! This month in "What to Play?...
This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Carrie shares one way families can take their child's favorite picture or board book to inspire creative-free play...
This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Carrie writes about Pop-up Forts, sharing ways they inspire quality time together and creative free play in her house...
This month in "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Hilltown Families Contributing Writer, Carrie St. John shares the idea of Drawing Pen Pals... a great way to connect...
Opportunities for creative free play can be found in so many unexpected places... including your walk to and from school each day! This month in "What to Play? Play Idea...
Families are getting ready to go back-to-school and Carrie offers ideas on ways to organize while supporting creativity in this month's column, "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community."
In "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," Hilltown Families Contributing Writer, Carrie St. John, encourages readers to make their own water paints and paint brushes with their kids...
Stories are an important part of early literacy! In "What to Play? Play Ideas for Family & Community," HTF Contributing Writer, Carrie St. John shares her strategy of using simple...
Families in the Dirt Snow pants, boots and mittens be gone! It’s time for sunny afternoons and mud pies after a spring rain. Outdoor clean up. Digging. Rakes. Water. Hoses. Sticks....