Happy Monday, All! I hope it's off to a wonderful start! Today, I thought I'd share a few fun ideas that you might enjoy doing with your kiddos. I am a "project" mom. I enjoy sitting down and doing a craft or playing a specific game, but I am not much of a "get down in the floor and hang out together" kind of mom. I used to feel guilty about that, but I have reassured myself that that is part of the reason I went to the trouble of having 5 children! (Just kidding! Well, slightly!) At any rate, I have found that the best thing that works for me is to schedule play time with my kids. I admire you moms out there who are thinking, "What in the world? Schedule play time?" But that is truly me! Since I have begun doing this, though, I have found myself enjoying being a mom even more. My kids enjoy time with me, and I enjoy making them happy and having fun with them. Here are a few things we do at our house, and by all means, please share your fun ideas as well!
*We love tea parties! As a matter of fact, we have one almost every week. I make a special treat, and we get out the special dishes. We even have these cutesie little sugar cubes that are reserved just for tea time. We usually read out loud while we drink our tea, and we also use this time to plan future fun things or discuss the things we did or did not like about our school week.
*Game afternoons are popular here - especially during the winter. This is the first year that most of the kiddos are big enough to play games I actually enjoy, and for this, I must admit, I am deeply grateful! We enjoy UNO, Trouble, Mexican Train, Scavenger Hunt, Kid's Clue, Monopoly and several others.
*We act out plays that are usually written by our drama-loving nine year old! This takes a little while and some prodding by mom before the boys join in, but in the end, we all enjoy the performance and have a ton of laughs. I am on the hunt for a few small, well-written, one-scene plays that the kids would enjoy practicing and performing.
*Crafts and painting are always a big hit! I keep a couple of shelves full of miscellaneous craft supplies and am usually able to find a new creation from kaboose.com. My drama lover is also a craft lover and enjoys coming up with her own ideas then coercing her siblings and myself into joining in the fun!
*The kids and I also enjoy taking walks together. Something we do to add to the fun is to give everyone a paper bag and tell them to fill it up with "treasures." It's amazing what can fit into a paper bag, and it is a wonderful learning experience as well! This month, we have begun keeping nature journals and are attempting to draw things that we see. This has been a somewhat humorous attempt for our family because we (very) apparently did not inherit any drawing genes.
Those are some things we do for fun here in our home. Again, I would love to hear your ideas because we are always looking for more things to do. And if your style of having fun with your kiddos is different, please share because I am always eager to try new things as well! I hope you have a wonderful week planned for you and your family - a week full of purpose, fun and laughter!
Wishing you a day full of blessings,
Christy
Counting God's Little Blessings - 3 Every Day:
28. A wonderfully clean car and the satisfaction of a job completed!
29. A fresh start to a new week
30. Having fun with my family
My kids love to bake with me:) We do a lot of baking. They like to clean too, but I think that is the age and will soon not be the case.
ReplyDeleteThose are great ideas, Alexis! My kiddos and I clean together almost every afternoon, and we find it much more enjoyable as opposed to each person taking something by himself. Sometimes we have a hard time getting started, but once we get into it, everyone is usually cheerful and encouraging! Hopefully, your kiddos will keep that eager attitude!
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