I’m not really certain I like the title of this post. Perhaps “Keeping Your Kids Engaged” or “Simple Fun for Kids” would have been better. I hate that, as parents, we have bought into the thinking that we must provide our kids with constant “entertainment”, like some sort of perpetual mommy game-show host. That sounds complicated, and that’s definitely not what I’m going for!
This post is one in a series I decided to do this summer about uncomplicating our lives. It seems like we tend to make simple things so difficult, and we drive ourselves nutty in the process. Last week I mused a little on how making things simpler doesn’t always (or usually) mean making them easier. And that is true when it comes to finding fun, engaging activities for our kids. Easy would be hours spent in front of some sort of electronic device, be it the computer, television, or video game system. But we all know that’s not the best decision.
So, how do we do it? How do we keep our kids engaged in fun, interesting activities without becoming a stressed out activities coordinator? In my experience, kids are actually entertained by some of the simplest things in life. And, as parents, we should take advantage of that. Here are some of our favorite, simple, fun activities.
Get Outside A while back I wrote some thoughts after reading the book The Last Child in the Woods. If I needed any more convincing, this book did it for me. Our kids need to be outside. Period. They need to run and play and get dirty with our blessing. Our girls current favorite activity is swinging, which they could literally do for hours. But if you don’t have a swing set, a shovel and a rake and some dirt are also tons of fun. Bikes are a tried and true favorite, and our girls have a particular affinity for anything they can put dolls in and push/pull around (we have a dolly stroller and small wagon that they love). Now, again, I didn’t say this was necessarily easy. Especially when you’re 7 months pregnant and it’s 99 degrees outside. But it is simple. And it’s good for our kids.
Dough is a Mom’s Best Friend When we are inside, there is one magic item I have found that will occupy my children for untold amounts of time. Dough. Yes, you can buy the stuff at the store, but mine are actually happier with the homemade variety. For craft projects, we make salt dough, which is super easy. Mix together 1 part flour, 1 part salt, and 1/2 part water. We’ve used this to make Christmas ornaments and beads, and I’ve made it just for the girls to attack with a rolling pin, toothpicks, and random cookie cutters. It doesn’t keep long, but it’s incredibly cheap to make and it air dries over night if you want to keep your creations.
Their other favorite dough variety is bread dough. Whenever I make bread or pizza dough, I pinch off a ball for each of them to play with. They will stretch, roll, cut, and create their hearts out. My husband even likes to get in on the act. It’s kind of cathartic! If you’ve never made bread, try it, it isn’t all that hard and your kids will love playing with the dough no matter what the finished product tastes like!
Books, Books, and More Books One of my favorite simple activities is reading to my girls. And one of their favorite activities is “reading” books to themselves. If you are a new or expecting mom, my advice is this: Start reading to your kids before they are old enough to crawl away. Get them used to sitting and looking at books. Ingrain in them a love of reading stories and you will be doing yourself the biggest favor in the world. If you drop by my house, you will likely find books scattered in almost every room. We try to put them all back in their proper place each night, but inevitably they migrate out into the rest of the house again each day. The girls like to “read” to their dolls and stuffed animals, play library, and (of course) they love to be read to by their dad or me or any other willing adult who happens to be here.
If you need help in finding good children’s books (because there are a lot of BAD children’s books out there), here is a post I wrote on that very thing. There are some good links to book lists to get you started!
When All Else Fails, Let Boredom be an Option Okay, back to the whole notion that we are supposed to be the Amazing Activities Coordinator on this cruise ship called life. In my opinion, we’re not. It is my job to raise up my children in the way that they should go, not to constantly provide entertainment for them. And so, there are times when my kids get bored. And that’s okay. That’s when they have to use their imaginations and come up with something to do on their own. I can’t stress to you how vital it is to me as a mother that my children be able to play by themselves. And I believe it’s vital to them as well. They need the skill of being able to entertain themselves and they need the understanding that life is not always one exciting activity after another. They need those quiet, solitary moments. And goodness knows I do!
I love this post from Simple Mom. It has great indoor activities for your kids that are both fun and simple. But my favorite is #20, which is to do….nothing. Sometimes, as moms, that is exactly what we need to do. Simple, but never easy.
*What are some of your favorite, simple activities for your kids?
Just this morning I remembered one of my girls’ favorite activities – “cooking” with dry beans! They love to stir, dump, pour, spread, etc…dry beans with all their kitchen stuff. Yes, does make a mess, but that just gives them something else fun to do – pick up dry beans!