Share Your Ideas

Single mom of three here. I would like to use this thread to share ideas of "doable" activities to do with our children on a consistent basis.

Parents, especially single parents, can get so busy with kids daily needs, household upkeep, bills, work, school etc... I want to start doing some things with my children both as a group (whole family) and individually (one-one with each child) to make them feel "special"

I would like to get ideas from other parents about some of the activities you share with your children on a regular basis.

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Here is my first idea:

My son has a book called "Alphabet Baking". It lists recipes for children from A-Z. I share every other weekend with their father. I plan to buy the ingredients needed and have them cook something (on their own, with supervision of course) every other Sunday. They were really excited about it when I told them my idea!

Their first recipe is "Apple Crisp" :D

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Please post any ideas you have here, Thanks!

Visiting the grandparents if they live close will give them an opportunity to hear stories of the "old days" and establish their roots.

I'm looking for more parent/child oriented activites. I do a lot with them but it seems like it is the "same old thing". I would like to come up with some unique ideas that can enhance our time together. (parent/child time)

:)

Not many post in this forum huh? :(

This is a really great idea for a thread LemonLime and am looking forward to some fresh ideas because sometimes I run out of ideas. I love your cooking idea and will actually consider adopting that one.

One thing my daughter and I do is go to one of those places where you can paint your own pottery. It's not something that you can do all the time, because the cost can add up if you aren't careful. So, my daughter and I go about 3-4 times a year. We love spending the time being creative with each other and it's so much fun to go back and pick up the painted pottery later after it has been fired in the kiln. We then have a treasured keepsake from our time spent together.

Build a dollhouse together. You can buy kits at overstock.com for cheap. Buy it, build it, paint it, decorate it, put furniture in.

Erector sets are a blast, too. To do together with girls or boys.

Photography. There are kids cameras out there that use 35 mm film. Go out together and take pictures.

My mother use to frequently take my sister painting with her at the local park. I was too young. They would set up easels and pull out real oil paints and paint. (Oddly, my sister later went to college for painting... ) By the time I was her age, my mom was doing sculpture and would take me to classes with her and I'd play with clay. (Guess that explains my sculpture degree? LOL!!)

Home renovation projects. My daughter is only 5, but ever since she could walk, she has been involved. Watching or helping. When I removed wallpaper, she got to help. When I sanded drywall mud, slap on a couple dust masks and make it a game. Before you paint, draw on the walls together (Kilz works great as a primer and covers most pencil, ink and crayon marks. LOL.When I layed my laminate floors, it couldn't have been done without my kids. My son brought me wood, my daughter was the "crack watcher" when I was tapping the boards in. THAT was fun! :D

DRIVING is a huge thing. My mom would just take one of us out for a drive when she wanted to talk. Private time together, beautiful scenery, and a love of the automobile.

Hiking is also a lot of fun, if you have access to wooded areas. Catching frogs in creeks, too, isn't less fun as an adult than it was as a kid. LOL

Oh, and you can do the pottery thing at home, too. Newspaper on the table. Supplies CHEAP at Michaels Craft Store. In fact, Michael's is where I suggest you go and develop a hobby together that interests you both. But, sometimes its gotta just interest you and your interest will definitely rub off on her!

~phos

Great ideas! I like the dollhouse idea, I remember doing that once when I was growing up. It was so exciting, watching it turn into something beautiful. However, I have 3 boys! lol Who aren't interested at all in dollhouses.

Another thing, I try to do every night, simply read them a bedtime story. Reading is so important and they really are disapointed on the nights that I don't read to them. My 9 year old can now read books that I didn't read until middle school (mainly out of lack of interest more than ability).

Oh... you mean BOYS!!! ROFLAO. Then.. then... the driving thing still counts. Also learn as much as you can about the car and SHOW them how the engine works. Show them what hoses go to what (you can get a manual on your car and explore it with your boys... they love this!)

Gardening, yard work and home renovation projects are also great. Home Depot has some REAL kids tools which work (are useful to you, too) and a lot of fun building things like airplanes, birdhouses, erector sets, and that type of thing.

Also, this time of year, getting a train set and setting it up with them is truly exciting. You can also take old soda cans, cut them up and make stuff with them, like airplanes and helicopters. :D

My son is an avid history buff (he's 10), so we try to do something history oriented every couple months. Trips to Jamestown, into DC to see the Constitution, Gettysburg, there is a LOT of history around where I live and he loves that stuff.

There are also those Kinex sets you can build rollercoasters and stuff with. RC cars and planes are also a BLAST. Building and racing them together is a ton of fun.

Look into your nearest lower level race tracks, too. Somewhere around you there is likely to be some kind of car racing, derby racing or the like. A big BOY thing. :D Maybe you even have a go-cart race track nearby? LASER tag, too, is the BOMB, too. As is paintball!

See, I'm a tomboy ~ so all these things to me are the cats meow. Bwahhahaa.. My daughter threw me for a loop, cuz she's into everything girly and sometimes I feel terribly out of place!!!

Boys also like horseback riding, skiing, surfing... skating. Heck, BOYs are EASY to bond with. Just give them tools, books, feed their need for all things mechanical and/or scientific and they are usually happy campers. Oh, and CAMPING. :D

There are also some GREAT books on famous ship wrecks which my son just freaks over. And, of course, VIDEO GAMES. I love to race my son at Rumble Racing or kick his butt sideways at DOA2. LOL. FUNFUN...

Have fun, LemonLime!
~phos

I love your ideas, have done alot of them with the boys already too!

My youngest has a penguin fetish... He wants to build a penguin "home" in the basement. Complete with a nice "ice" slide and frozen over pond with a hole for them to "slide into" off of the ice hill. He has been very descriptive about this idea.

LOL maybe this would be a fun building project! :p