Summer of Fun: Week 1

I don't know what it is, but even though I just have a preschooler (two days a week), the beginning of summer makes for a great time to start a new routine & add in some extra fun.  Maybe its the beautiful weather or the feeling of a "new start".  Anyway, I thought I'd share a list of what we're doing around here for fun & learning this summer.  The items that are bolded are specifics or topics we're going to do every week.  I'm trying to come up with an idea for each topic for each week.  These are the things we did last week:

Movie Monday -- something we started a few months ago & will continue.  The kids love to spread out a blanket & have popcorn while watching a movie.
Kids National Geographic -- learn about a new animal each week with the details, videos & soundbites from this website.  I'm printing out a card for each animal & we'll store them in a 3x5 card file box for each kid.
Computer Games/Activities --  Mr. Roger's Neighborhood
Hooked On Phonics & Letter Writing
Outdoors -- planting seeds, played in the water (blow up swimming pool)
Games -- Red Light, Green Light

Cooking -- made, frosted & added sprinkles to cupcakes
Additional Activities -- Just Dance on the Wii

Something Fun Every Day . . . #26

Invest in some great music cd's that your kids will love. We have a few but were listening to the same things over & over again. So, we stopped by Target to check out their selection the other day & found some great Disney cd's. The one we ended up getting was music from the cartoon Phineas & Ferb - even my husband is excited to listen to this in the car since this is a cartoon he & Chase enjoy watching together. The kids & I had fun jamming out to this cd during breakfast today & I know we'll have fun listening to it while we're out driving around.

Some other music we really like: Primary Colors by Inside Out and I Have a Song for You by Brite Music

I think we'll pick up a couple more Disney cd's maybe the Imagination Movers or even some Disney classics in the next couple of months. I love the spirit that good music brings into our home!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #25

Save an empty box and have some fun with it! I used my incredible artistic talent (NOT!) to turn a box into a car that Chase could sit in and drive around the house.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #24

loves trains! We had fun making our own train, just lining up the kitchen chairs, trading places so we each got to sit on every part of the train and making choo-choo noises.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #23

Dance in the rain!!! We had an afternoon rain storm that was the perfect way to have some fun. Chase likes to get out in the rain but likes to have company ;) So, I had to ignore the fact that it was messing up my hair & just enjoy like I did when I was a kid. I remember skipping up and down my grandma's driveway with my cousins, out in the pouring down rain, while we sang a favorite family song -- those were great times!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #22

Rice Krispie treats are ALWAYS a good idea! Chase liked watching them being made but also got into the fun with patting them into the pan. We used a small bowl of water to dip our hands into to keep them from sticking. If you use generic rice krispies like we did, you might need the recipe . . . here it is.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #21

The dollar store can be a treasure trove of great activities! I found a horseshoe set that we had fun playing with. Chase didn't quite get the finesse of the sport, but he sure had fun with his new horseshoes, even if it meant dropping them directly over the top of the peg.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #20

Let their imagination "take charge". I know I used to be imaginative, but I certainly don't have the imagination that my 2 year old does. He invented a new game that he calls . . . Football Hoops. So, we spent time indulging his imagination & throwing the football in the basketball hoop!

And on another day, he decided he wanted to make a snowman -- only possible since the middle ball is a squishy, bean-bag type ball. We had fun building snowmen & singing Once There Was a Snowman.

Family Outings . . . #1

We always try to do a fun family outing at least once a month. Its not always easy to fit it in, but we can usually set aside one weekend a month to do something fun with the family. Here's the first of my posts of a fun family outing.

We enjoyed a trip out to Red Rocks a couple of weeks ago. We tried to hike, but it was a little too difficult with a 2 year old. So, we turned around and just took the walk up to the amphitheater which was quite a workout in itself! Red Rocks is an incredible amphitheater built in the middle of these beautiful red rock formations. I would love to go to a concert there sometime, but for now, we just enjoyed the view with the family! We have this great backpack/babycarrier that makes it easier for taking Evie along on these things & surprisingly, Chase was able to do the walk all the way up to the amphitheater & back.

(We were stupid not to get a picture of the actual amphitheater. This is a just a picture of the rocks by the parking lot where we were parked! Guess we'll have to go another time to get some better pictures!)

Something Fun Every Day . . . #19

Cook together! Pick a day when you don't have to rush through making dinner & get the kids involved. At the very least, they can watch & Chase had a great time doing just that. He was fascinated as I added things & mixed them up. He stood on a chair and watched the whole process & it was surprisingly easier than me trying to keep him out of my way!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #18

Take a walk. As simple as it sounds, I believe that this is one of the best ways to spend your time with your children of ANY age! That's probably because when I was in high school my mom & I would go walking every evening together. I really think its one of the main reasons that we stayed good friends all through those difficult teenage years. So that even when there were disagreements & I was being a snotty teenager we had a strong relationship to fall back on. I love my mom & am so grateful for that time we had together. Even today when one of us is visiting the other, we try to get out & go for walks -- weather permitting!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #17

TURN UP THE MUSIC & DANCE!!! I was tired out but Chase was still asking for more music -- you can never go wrong by taking some time out to dance around the house to some upbeat music that you love!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #16

When Dad has a day off of work & gets involved, prepare for something a lot more fun & creative! This one was too hard to explain with words so I had to capture video of it. And it was so much fun that even I took a turn, loved it & wanted another turn! Chase wanted to wake Evie up from her nap for a turn, but we had to tell him that she was too little for this one.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #15

No pictures this time . . . there was too much action to capture it in a picture, but boy did we have fun teaching Chase how to play TAG! We did this one as a family & Jeff & I even had fun chasing each other around. Evie enjoyed watching everyone run around after each other & we even got her in on the action when Chase decided to "tag" her. So she got to "run" after him us in the stroller. Anyway, a simple and easy way to add some fun to the day . . . with a game of tag.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #14

Okay, I'll admit it, I guess I'm a bit uptight with my kids . . . wanting things to be perfect & not allowing them to be a "kid" as much as I should. Its something I'm really working on but it probably comes partly from being a first time mom.

I'm learning a lot from MY mom. When we were recently visiting with my parents, my mom had a bunch of the grandkids over at the same time & when we got back we found out how much Chase loved playing Connect Four . . . well, at least putting the checkers in the slots & watching them drop out the bottom. Its not something I ever would've thought of doing since Chase is obviously too young to play as the game is intended.

So, this week, we lightened up a bit and let Chase play with a game from our game closet. Since he LOVES letters, he had so much fun playing with the little cubed letters from the boggle game and we had fun shaking it up and watching him get so excited as the letters fell into place.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #13

Work together!!! I know a lot of times I tend to just want the kids out of my way while I'm cleaning so I can just get it done quickly & right. But from time to time, I get Chase working along side me & he just loves it and its good time for us to spend together too. Yesterday, we mopped the floor on hands & knees together. I use a chemical free cleaner (Gold Canyon Homeology floor cleaner -- shameless plug, I know, but its such great stuff it deserves a shameless plug!!!) so Chase could use it & even get to spray it without me being concerned at all.

Even at any age, most kids enjoy doing some kind of work whether its getting them involved in the gardening or helping out with special projects. When my mom had different jobs with our church I loved helping her colate packets she was using for teaching or putting together other things.

The summer that I turned 12, we were each given one job for each day of the week . . . these were different kinds of chores that the typical things you'd give kids to do. I still remember that Monday was my day to bake bread & I love that I got to spend time with my mom learning how to do it & that it was a skill that was passed on to me. Anyway, the point is . . . spend some time working together!!!

Something Fun Every Day . . . #12

Well, this one might sound a bit strange & came about totally by being spontaneous. Chase had a mouse pad that he was putting on his head & then letting drop to the floor. So, I showed him how to put it on his head and try to keep it there by balancing it & holding very still. Then we took turns putting it on our heads & I showed him how I could walk & keep it on my head which he was very impressed by ;) It might sound silly but I remember doing this kind of thing with books when I was older & having fun with it, so it might be just a fun little activity for any age.

Something Fun Every Day . . . #11

Breakfast around here is usually a very laid back deal . . . cold cereal is pretty fancy for us! But today we had a special breakfast with Chase's favorite: Swedish pancakes! You should've seen his face light up when I told him we were going to have pancakes for breakfast. He sat in his chair waiting (impatiently) the whole time I was making them until he got his first one which he gobbled up quickly!

Something Fun Every Day . . . getting caught up!

We took a HUGE break due to illness and traveling for my Gold Canyon convention & my youngest sisters' wedding. But now that we're back, I thought I'd share some ideas that we've used in the last month or two (how long has it been?). There will be more to come, but at least this is something for now:

Chase's favorite thing in the world is letters since his very first fit in the store when he saw a bag of foam bath letters when he was 16 months old. I found magnetic letters at Target in their $1 bins & just couldn't resist. So, we bought up 4 packages and got a white board to stick them to. Yes, its the new favorite toy around our house & we play with it together by me spelling out words & sounding them out for him.


The park is always a great option when the weather is good. Chase LOVES to go to the park & I don't take him nearly as often as he'd like. But once in a while, he gets to enjoy it!


I tried my very best to make things a little better while I was sick. Chase took one end of the couch & I took another, sharing the blanket. It didn't last all that long, but the little while that it did last was very nice. We spent a lot of time watching cartoons, too!

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.