Something Fun Every Day . . . #9

Those lazy days of summer! That was our theme today. Just laid a blanket out in the backyard & all of us laid down & enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Teachable Moments: We talked about all the nature around us . . . the sky, birds, grass, tress, flowers, etc.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #8

Grab some blue painter's tape & make giant shapes on the carpet. Even though Chase knows his shapes, he still loves pointing them out & was thrilled with this activity. We jumped "inside" and "outside" each shape & jumped from one shape to the next & then he just ran back & forth over the top of them. I got Chase's "this is fun" seal of approval on this one as well!

Teaching Moment: work on shape names and inside & outside concepts

Something Fun Posts

Thanks to all of you who have passed ideas on to me -- I'm really looking forward to using a lot of them now & as the kids get older.

Tonight I made a quick trip to the dollar store & cleaned up! I got a bunch of stuff that will be great for our fun activities . . . things that won't take a lot of prep & will be perfect to use on busy days.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #7

Cheap & easy! I got out a couple of sheets of blank paper & we colored them then folded them into paper airplanes & let them fly! Okay, so they didn't really fly . . . could've had something to do with the fact that I don't know how to fold a paper airplane & that a 2 year old was the one throwing them. Doesn't really matter because it was just plain fun! Chase got to stand on a chair & throw them into the sunken family room while I retrieved them. He said over & over again, "this is fun!" but the real laughs started when I started trying to catch the airplanes after he threw them. He got laughing so hard he just about fell off the chair!

Teachable Moments: While coloring the paper, we talked about colors and drew & named shapes & letters, too.

Family Pics

We had some real professional pictures done a couple months back & just loved working with Barb Subia - a sweet woman that I met through a networking event! Just thought we'd share some of the pictures.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #6

We built a fort today! Nothing spectacular - just a blanket draped over the kitchen table. But it was fun climbing inside with books & a flashlight for storytime.

Teaching Moment: duh, reading!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #5

I'm late in posting, but last week we went to McDonalds for lunch. Chase is too small for the play area at the local McDonalds, but we had fun eating a cheeseburger & ice cream cone & just getting out of the house.

Teaching Moment: worked on the "top" & "bottom" concepts as I tried to teach him to eat the ice cream cone from the top. He understood the concept, but still wanted to eat from the bottom, as you can see the half eaten cone in this picture. BIG MESS, but still so fun!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #4

Okay, for this one, gather up all the balls in the house & an empty laundry hamper. Then go outside & PLAY! We set the hamper right side up to use as a basketball hoop & on its side to use as a soccer goal & just kicked & tossed balls around the yard for a while.

Teaching Moment: co-ordination skills, sports basics - throw the ball into the basketball hoop, kick the ball into the soccer goal

Something Fun, Every Day . . . #3

Today's fun was a real treat for Chase. We sat down together & watched a movie with his favorite treats . . . popcorn & fruit snacks. When he watches tv, its usually while I'm working on making dinner or taking care of something else that I need him to be distracted from. So, he loved that I actually sat down on the couch next to him for a movie today.

Teaching Moment: the "movie" we watched was a living scriptures video about the 10 commandments

Supplies: move & treats!

Something Fun, Every Day . . . #2

Today's fun was gardening. I know my kiddo doesn't like to get his hands dirty . . . loud pleadings of "hands clean, hands clean" when his hands are dirty are heard on a daily basis around here. But somehow, I thought this would be different. Nope! He did one handful of dirt & then was done & wanting those hands cleaned, but he loved the watering, bringing me the large & small pots & bringing me the flowers upon request of their color.

Teaching Moment: colors (of flowers), large & small (if using different sized pots or flowers)

Supplies: gardening supplies - plants, pots, potting soil & watering can

Time Needed: 30 to 45 minutes (depending on how many plants you do)

Something Fun, Every Day . . . #1

Today we had a water balloon fight. Well, it was supposed to be a water balloon fight, but with Chase's first exposure water balloons he didn't even give me time to explain that we throw them to each other but instead just pulled them out of the bucket as fast as possible & threw them at the ground at his feet. So, our bucket of water balloons only lasted about 60 seconds. Afterwards, I put the sprinklers on & we ran through them together.

Teaching Moment: As we filled up the water balloons, I let Chase pick out which balloon we would fill up next & he would tell me the color. (I believe that almost every activity has the potential for teaching moments!)

Cost: $2.50 for bag of water balloons -- enough that they can be used several different times.

Time Needed: 1/2 hour (including time to fill up balloons)

Something Fun, Every Day

Being a mom was something that I longed for for years & paid thousands of dollars out in fertility to accomplish. And yet, there are too many days when I find myself not enjoying it. I think that being "older" when I had that first child has made me less fun or maybe I just am not naturally that way. I'm not big on getting on the floor & playing with my 2 year old and often can't think of anything fun to do & could easily see a whole day go by with just letting my toddler play by himself, watch tv, & playing while I sit in the room with him.

This is not the kind of life I want for my kiddo & not the way I want him to remember his years growing up. So, I am resolving to do SOMETHING FUN, EVERY DAY. In an effort to keep me accountable, I'm going to try to post here at least 5 times a week to share what we're doing. And if you have any great ideas to share, I'd love to hear them . . . PLEASE!!!!

Let someone else do the dishes!

How terrible am I? So much to do tonight, but I know I have a babysitter coming tomorrow . . . one who washes dishes for me, so I am leaving those in the sink for her & taking care of other things instead.

Thank heavens for good babysitters who love my kids & give me a much needed break from time to time. Even if the break is to go to the dr.'s office or run errands, its still a break!