Welcome to Picklebums!

Here at picklebums you’ll find lots of fun and easy activities for kids aged 2-10, lots of fabulous printables and learning resources, and lots of tips for making life with kids a little easier, and whole lot more fun!

Whether you are a parent looking for some fun and easy ideas to keep your kids happily playing all day long, or an early years teacher who is looking for developmentally appropriate activities and resources that won’t take you hours to set up, we’ve got you covered!

Kate - headshot

Meet Kate!

Hi, I’m Kate, Head Pickle and creator of picklebums.com.

I’m an early childhood educator, and mum of four, with a passion for play-based learning. I have been sharing easy ideas for kids and families on my blog since 2005!

I have a degree in early childhood education, an associate diploma in social science (child care and mothercraft nursing) and many years experience working as a preschool and kindergarten teacher, and a parent educator. I have four kids of my own, and have been a working mum, a stay at home mum, and a homeschooler!

When I’m not sharing kids activities and creating printables here on Picklebums I am a freelance writer and creator for other websites and publications and have been featured on Kidspot, and Childhood101. I love cheap Turkish delight, I hate snakes, I sing along to daggy music, and I can spend hours drawing on my ipad!

With a passion for play-based learning, my focus is on sharing activities and resources that make playing and learning with your kids, easy and fun!

Let’s Connect

What You’ll Find at Picklebums

  • Easy activities for kids aged 2-10.
    Lots of art, math, literacy, sensory, fine motor, music activities for kids, and more that are quick and easy to set up, that are budget friendly, that are developmentally appropriate, that encourage play-based learning (that means your kids are learning while doing – the best way for little kids to learn!) and that are fun!
  • Original printables that are designed to be different!
    Our printables are more than just worksheets! They are designed to encourage creativity and imagination, to be easy to use, to be open-ended (that means you can use most of them in more than one way!), and to make learning fun!
  • Tips, ideas and stories to make life easier.
    While playing and learning with your kids is fun, it’s also important to connect with your kids, teach them life skills, and managed the tricky stuff, so we’ve got lots of tips and tricks to encourage a connected and respectful relationship with your kids (both at home and in the classroom), as well as printables to help you get organised, and even kid-friendly recipes to make life easier!
  • A fun community of parents and teachers who value and respect kids!
    It’s always great to know you are not alone in this messy world of raising and teaching kids! Picklebums has a thriving community of parents, grandparents, educators, and caregivers, all working and sharing together! Join us on Facebook, or Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter!

New? Start Here!

If you are new to picklebums why not check out some of our most popular posts!

Frequently Asked Questions

You are probably wondering about the name of this website – picklebums?

‘Picklebum’ is a term of endearment that was coined to describe my gorgeous and funny children when they were little. It describes a small person who is adorably curious, creative and quirky – just the kind of kids that you probably have in your life too!

My ‘picklebums’ are not so little any more, but my twin girls and two boys still get called by that name from time to time!

Free Printable Crazy Glasses - download, print and decorate!
Free Printable Crazy Glasses - download, print and decorate!

I started blogging waaaay back in 2005. This is the first blog post I ever wrote and it is about my father-in-law who passed away after a heart transplant not long after I wrote it.

Back then blogs were mostly just ‘online diaries’ and mine was no different, with lots of posts rambling on about everyday life with little kids. It wasn’t until a few years later that I realised people were interested in the activities I was doing with my kids, and the knowledge and information I had as an early childhood professional and I began sharing information with an actual audience in mind and with a goal to help people.

Over the years I have been lucky enough and worked hard to be given opportunities to turn my blog into a business and it’s allowed me to work flexible hours so I can be around to support my kids, and homeschool one of them. Most of those old rambling posts have been moved to a private website now, but I will always be grateful to my younger self for being brave enough to give this blogging thing a go, not knowing how far it would take me

All my printables are made by me!

Most of the images are hand drawn by me, either on paper then scanned, or on my iPad. I use a variety of software such as Procreate and the Adobe Suite to make printables. I have taken a few short courses on graphic design to increase my knowledge and skills so I can combine that with my experience and knowledge as an early years teacher to make printables that are developmentally appropriate, unique, easy to use, and fun!

Picklebums makes income from ads, affiliate links, my digital products and occasionally sponsored posts.

There will always be a clear disclaimer statement near the top of a post when it contains sponsored content, or affiliate links. Since picklebums is my personal blog, I don’t write about or recommend things I haven’t personally experienced, and I only work with brands that are a good fit for my audience. You can find more information about advertising on picklebums here, and you can see our privacy and disclosure statements here.

Feel free to use a single image from any of my blog posts with a clear link back to the post.

Please do not use any of the text, recreate, or translate the post, and please do not use multiple images.

If you would like to share one of my printables please share a link the the post where the printable can be found. Do not link directly to the pdf or reshare the pdf on your own site, social media, via email or through other sharing sites/apps

Please remember that all picklebums printables are for personal, non-commercial use only. You are welcome to use them at home with your kids, in your own classroom, or with another group of children in a non-profit organisation (eg a library, scouts etc). You may not use them for any commercial purposes, including giving them away to promote your business.