20 Days Of Better Family Fun-ction
Inspired by the fun activities we've been trying lately, I thought I would kick off the 20 day countdown until Christmas.
I frequently hear parents comment that they wish they had more time, more ideas, more energy... to play with their kids. So I thought I would throw a challenge out there to any parent, or spouse who still has an inner child like spirit within them!
Each day, until Christmas Day, I'm going challenge you to do a fun family activity at your house. We'll be doing the activities at our house, even on days that are busy, filled with preschool, and laundry.... because there shouldn't ever be a day that you're too busy to spend at least 15 minutes with your family having fun.
I think you'll find that your effort will be well worth it. Your kids will look forward to a planned activity with you, and I think you'll be surprised how much you enjoy it too!
At the end of each post, I'd LOVE to have people comment, post pictures, send me an email and tell me their family's take on the activity! Have fun with it, by Christmas you will be filled with the REAL Christmas Spirit that has nothing to do with new toys, fancy clothes, or excessive credit card debt :)
Day 1 Challenge:
Build an ice rink. It's FREEZING outside, perfect weather for kids to play and learn about ice! I hate the cold, so I chose to make our ice rink Inside (hah!) Last night, I put three 9x 12 pans in the freezer, filled with water and a drop of blue food coloring. I set out two bowls of different toys that they could play with on the ice (toy men, fish, animals, magna-tiles, cars)
D told me that this "was the most fun project we've ever done" He played for over an hour. It was SO fun to sit beside him and actually PLAY with him. We poured warm water on top to see what happened. Inspired by the ice cracking he asked me if he could use a hammer to make more cracks.... And since I don't believe in saying no for no reason.... I went ahead and let him. He used a screw, and a hammer, and cracked the ice into little tiny pieces.
He hid orca whales underneath pieces of ice (glaciers he said, and they were a family of whales, a mom, a dad, and only one brother whale named "me")
Sit beside your child, take the opportunity to do a spur of the moment teaching lesson! Talk about glaciers, arctic animals, or just sit quietly and watch :-)
If you have older kids, you could use a kiddy pool outside and let them slide on it. You could have a barbie ice skating party. Or a tonka truck ice race.
We had some race cars slip all over, which led to a fun talk about what happens when cars drive too fast on ice!
Adapt it to what your children love to do! And PLEASE Don't be worried about making a mess. It totally ruins the fun! We had towels underneath our table so that I didn't spend the entire time saying "oh no! Stop! You're spilling!" Because of course, there was quite a bit of spilling! :-)
Merry 20 days until Christmas
I frequently hear parents comment that they wish they had more time, more ideas, more energy... to play with their kids. So I thought I would throw a challenge out there to any parent, or spouse who still has an inner child like spirit within them!
Each day, until Christmas Day, I'm going challenge you to do a fun family activity at your house. We'll be doing the activities at our house, even on days that are busy, filled with preschool, and laundry.... because there shouldn't ever be a day that you're too busy to spend at least 15 minutes with your family having fun.
I think you'll find that your effort will be well worth it. Your kids will look forward to a planned activity with you, and I think you'll be surprised how much you enjoy it too!
At the end of each post, I'd LOVE to have people comment, post pictures, send me an email and tell me their family's take on the activity! Have fun with it, by Christmas you will be filled with the REAL Christmas Spirit that has nothing to do with new toys, fancy clothes, or excessive credit card debt :)
Day 1 Challenge:
Build an ice rink. It's FREEZING outside, perfect weather for kids to play and learn about ice! I hate the cold, so I chose to make our ice rink Inside (hah!) Last night, I put three 9x 12 pans in the freezer, filled with water and a drop of blue food coloring. I set out two bowls of different toys that they could play with on the ice (toy men, fish, animals, magna-tiles, cars)
D told me that this "was the most fun project we've ever done" He played for over an hour. It was SO fun to sit beside him and actually PLAY with him. We poured warm water on top to see what happened. Inspired by the ice cracking he asked me if he could use a hammer to make more cracks.... And since I don't believe in saying no for no reason.... I went ahead and let him. He used a screw, and a hammer, and cracked the ice into little tiny pieces.
He hid orca whales underneath pieces of ice (glaciers he said, and they were a family of whales, a mom, a dad, and only one brother whale named "me")
Sit beside your child, take the opportunity to do a spur of the moment teaching lesson! Talk about glaciers, arctic animals, or just sit quietly and watch :-)
If you have older kids, you could use a kiddy pool outside and let them slide on it. You could have a barbie ice skating party. Or a tonka truck ice race.
We had some race cars slip all over, which led to a fun talk about what happens when cars drive too fast on ice!
Adapt it to what your children love to do! And PLEASE Don't be worried about making a mess. It totally ruins the fun! We had towels underneath our table so that I didn't spend the entire time saying "oh no! Stop! You're spilling!" Because of course, there was quite a bit of spilling! :-)
Merry 20 days until Christmas
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