I’m a mom and that means that I’m the ring master of a multitasking circus. What bothers me is that in all the chaos my quality time with daughter is often lacking. It seems that every time I blink she is a year older and I’m wracked with guilt over missed opportunities. You’ve heard me talk about the importance of making time for yourself but now I want to focus on making time for your kids. Personally I’m always doing stuff FOR my kid but not necessarily WITH her. I’ve resolved to spend 30 minutes playing with her at least five days a week. I know this doesn’t seem like much but its a starting point that I’m hoping to build on. To aid in the endeavor, I’m made a list of fun activities to do with kids at home.
The Activities
I had Cori help me come up with this list so I can attest that it is approved by a 6 year old. You may need to make some adjustments for older kids who might not enjoy these as much. I’m sure there is something they would love to do with you, just ask. Some of these are obvious, like movie means to watch a movie together, but some like feather wand or roller coaster need some explanation. Let me break it down for you.
Scavenger Hunt
I plan to change these up depending on what holiday is happening that month. There a about a billion great free scavenger hunts on Pinterest and only take a few minutes to set up. At the end, Ill hide something small- like a Dollar Tree Toy or a piece of candy. Its fun to go through the house with her and work with her to help figure out the clues. This month I’ll do my Rainbow Hunt for St. Patrick’s Day.
Freeze Dance
This one is simple to do and is great exercise. You can search “Freeze Dance” on Youtube and a bunch of options will pop up. Just choose and do! For younger kids you might want to use the Kiboomers version becasue it gives warning before it tell you to freeze so they can choose a crazy pose. This one doesn’t give you any warning so they have to dance crazy the whole time.
Roller Coaster
For this one you need a TV with the Youtube App and a laundry basket. WE turn on a virtual Disney roller coaster like the Slinky Dog and then put my kid in the laundry basket on my lap. I move my legs to simulate the bumps and do all the turns and tilts and she loves it. In 30 minutes, we can do 4-5 roller coasters and I get a heck of a good leg work out.
Keepy Uppy
This requires a balloon. All you have to do is blow it up, tie it off, and then tell your kid it can’t touch the ground. Your job is to make it as difficult as is appropriate for the kids age. Maybe you casually walk up and blow it or bump into it so they have to run to catch it. Get creative about it. Its a guaranteed way to keep them laughing for 30 minutes.
Make A Show
This one can be as complicated or as simple as you would like. For us, it typically entails her picking a story to act out and pulling out all types of costumes. Other times she wants to use her toys to create a show and I just work as the prop manager. I let her record it on my phone or tablet and it makes for a cute memory.
Restaurant
Do not use breakable dinner ware! Trust me. Paper plates are best for this one. Depending on the age of the kid, you can either make something for them to serve you (or they can be the waiter) or have them make you something. I like to stick with the simple peanut butter sandwich or snack foods. Make sure that you take on a different personality and over act it. Maybe wear a crazy hat. Have with it but stay true to the restaurant theme. Have them write your order out and bring your food and drink.
Feather Wand
We got the idea for this one from this episode of Bluey (her favorite show). Basically any item can become a “wand” and she can use it to make things really heavy. It requires some dramatic acting but she really gets a kick out of it. I’ll do my best to try and steal her wand to turn everything back. The only thing with this one is that you’ll need to set a timer and explain that the game ends when the timer goes off. Otherwise they might try to make it last a lot longer than it should.
Magic Trick
This one varies in supplies needed depending on what trick you are deciding to learn. We find a how to video for an easy kid friendly magic trick and work together to try to perfect it. Eventually we will be some amateur magicians.
Choosing What To Do
There are too options for how to decide what to do each day. There is the straightforward list option, where you just go through the boxes and mark one off each day until you do everything. You just print and go. I’m a little extra though so I turned mine into a scratch off.
To do this you need packing tape to cover your pieces OR you can laminate it to make repeated use easier. Mix 2 parts acrylic paint with 1 part dish soap and paint over the squares. I used black to make sure she couldn’t see what was underneath but a couple coats of any dark color should do the trick. Once its dry then they can choose any square and scratch it off to decide what the activity of the day will be. It adds an extra level of entertainment to the fun.
Have Fun!
“Let them be little”. Its my mantra as of late. Time is moving so fast and while my to do lists are never ending I know that her childhood is not. I hope that these can help you relish in some time with your little one like I’m doing with mine. Stay tuned for more ideas as we work through safe adventures together in preparation for the summer.
Caffeine Prayers 