This post is part of a series where I’ll be sharing “bite-sized” ideas and activities for parents to try with their kids. I hope to offer easy, economical, educational, and engaging ideas you can feel good about your kids doing, while buying you some down time. This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.
There are so many things you can do with a few sticks of sidewalk chalk. You’ve probably seen different versions of this chalk art lately and there’s a good reason why! It’s fun and easy, the materials are simple, and the results are gratifying! Also, it’s a great way to strengthen those little hands if you’ve got a preschooler in the house. I’ll do a quick share on how to do this activity, and then I’ll list more easy and fun sidewalk chalk ideas below!
All you need is some painter’s tape and some sidewalk chalk. To set it up for young kids, tape down a large rectangular border. Lay a few long strips going across the rectangle as a starting point, then start tearing off smaller segments of tape to give your kids. Now they can tape down the lines themselves.
When I handed it to them, I also told them, “Use this to connect two pieces of tape. Make sure each end of your tape is touching another piece of blue tape.” I mean, you could go totally open-ended and just let them stick it wherever. I’m sure it would still look cool and be fun in the end. But if you’re going for the super geometric vibe, that specific instruction can help them make straight lines. Of course, if your kids are able , let them do all the taping themselves!
Next, let the kids color in each section. Encourage them to fill in all the spaces so that “there is no grey showing.” When they’re done, they can pull off the tape to reveal a cool creation! Tada! Take a photo and feel good about outside/art/fine motor skill/math time. Okay math might be a bit of a stretch, but if you throw in some conversation about triangles, quadrilaterals, and lines, then that’s definitely a hands-on elementary school geometry lesson right there!
I’ve seen kids create this art across several feet of fencing and also on driveways. You can encourage your kids to do different patterns in each segment (lines, dots, stripes, circles, concentric triangles, etc.), or just let them color it in to get a really vibrant result!
Tip: Check the weather forecast and wait for a day when there is no rain in the forecast for the next day or two, so you can enjoy the art longer!
Other ideas for sidewalk chalk fun:
- Make an obstacle course
- Set up hopscotch
- Set up two-square/hand soccer
- Walk to your friend’s house and leave a friendly greeting on their driveway (someone did that for us a few days ago and the kids were thrilled to receive it!)
- Write friendly messages on the sidewalk for neighbors going on walks to read.
Have other ideas? Share them below!
This post is part of a series where I’ll be sharing “bite-sized” ideas and activities for parents to try with their kids. I hope to offer easy, economical, educational, and engaging ideas you can feel good about your kids doing, while buying you some down time. This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.
I have a lot of friends who have both parents working from home while sheltering in place with young kids at home. It is not an easy combination. I don’t imagine they have the time or bandwidth to do a whole lot of research on which websites they like best, or which YouTube channels are safe. I imagine they’re just trying to get through meetings, take care of the kiddos and get through each day. It is a HARD TIME, and probably one of the craziest transitions most working parents have ever had to go through!
To all of your out there: YOU’VE GOT THIS. One day at a time! I am totally rooting for you. You are amazing and selfless and deserve all the coffees and milk teas and naps. BIG AIR HUGS (with 6 ft of space between us, of course).
And in my small way, I want to try to help. So here’s what I have for you today: GoNoodle. It’s one of those wonderful resources that I imagine had been created for schools and teachers, but is somehow–miraculously–free for everyone (even though I think I’d pay $ for it if I had to). This is also how I feel about Khan Academy Kids, but that’s for another post.
If you haven’t already heard of GoNoodle, there’s a good chance your kids have. It is popular with the teachers, especially on rainy days for indoor recess when the kids need to run off some energy but can’t go outside. They have a YouTube channel, so if you prefer, you can just find it there, press play, and let the kids follow along and sing and dance and spin and jump and play! There are silly songs with silly characters, energetic dancers and a costumed moose singing about meatballs. I think if you go through YouTube, there are ads, whereas the website is ad-free from my experience.
Ok I’m in. Where to start?
You can start with one of the many “Indoor Recess” options, which are collections of videos lasting 7-19 minutes long. Here’s one we liked (YouTube link here (YT)). You can also just look at which videos have the most views and go from there. We personally like Pop See Ko (YT), Purple Stew (YT), Bananas Bananas Meatball (YT), A Moose-Ta-Cha (YT), and Fabio’s Meatball Run (YT). And more, but those are the first ones that come to mind.
My personal experience with GoNoodle started with watching my daughter and her classmates yell-singing it at the play structure after school together last year. They would do silly dances and then double over in fits of laughter. I enjoyed their delight, and kept GoNoodle in my back pocket for a future rainy day. Then this past Monday, that rainy day came. Actually, it hailed: literally and figuratively. Because of course on the first day of school closures, it would rain and then hail, right?
Anyway, no matter. The Internet was working, so I put GoNoodle on, and let the kids have at it. Before long, I got up from scrolling Instagram on the couch and decided to join in on the bouncy, cackling fun. After all, Mama needed to get some steps in and the beats were so energetic I couldn’t help myself!
Thanks, GoNoodle, for making this available to everyone. I count this as part of our “PE” time and I feel zero guilt about the screen time. They’re working out and having fun at the same time. Who knows, I might even be able to convince Ben to sneak out of the office for a bit to join us next time!
Parents everywhere are going to be at home with their kids for a long time. It is a unique and unprecedented situation, and one that is hard for so many reasons. And I want to help. After some thought, I’ve decided to start a series on my blog, offering bite-size ideas and activities that parents can try at home with the kids. No full day schedules or long lesson plans here. My hope is to offer ideas that are some combination of the following:
- Easy: Ideally, it takes you 0-5 minutes to prepare the activity.
- Economical: Any needed supplies would be inexpensive, accessible, or likely already in your home.
- Engaging: Activities that will keep your kids busy long enough to drink some coffee (and if it really captures them, maybe even get some work done!).
- Educational: I hope to help your kids grow, whether it’s developing fine motor skills, encouraging teamwork and cooperation, sneaking in some form of math reasoning or awareness, or giving them a new lens to explore the environment around them.
Once in a while, I’ll share an idea that might also be active or outdoors. Those aren’t my main goals, and I know some parents won’t be able to supervise their kids outdoors while they are working indoors. But it’s always nice to have some active and/or outdoor activities in our back pocket for those antsy times when cabin fever hits.
I’m hoping to accomplish most of these goals most of the time, and to make life perhaps a little bit easier or more pleasant for you as you start this “new normal” with your family. Even if you aren’t cooped up at home with your kids right now, these are tried and true activities that I have seen kids enjoy, and I hope yours can, too!
But let’s be honest, screen time is going to happen
No arguments here. Our kids are already getting more screen time than usual, and I’m fine with it. As a matter of fact, I’m hoping to compile and share a list of shows and movies that we like, or that we look forward to watching soon. We also have apps and websites we love, which I’ll share here in bite-sized posts soon. If you have any recommendations to add to that list, please share!
What about my toddler? HALP!
Most of my ideas will be for kids ages 4+. For those of you with younger ones, I will point you to two other mom-educators I have been following who have lots of great ideas and resources for the younger set:
- Days with Grey: Beth is a mother of three young boys, and has created a beautiful site with lots of great ideas. She is the brain behind The Breakfast Invitation, a collection of activities that you can set up ahead of time and let your kids engage in while you sip a cup of coffee in the morning (or any time of day!). The ideas might take a little more than five minutes to prep for, but I feel like that is generally true of most things in this stage of parenthood.
- BusyToddler: Susie is another former teacher who is sharing ways to make it from hour to hour in these early years. She is working hard to offer lists and relevant activities for the challenges parents are facing today. I’ve followed her on Instagram for a while, and can really feel her passion for helping others become equipped and empowered as parents of little people!
Stick around and share your ideas!
I’ll be updating this page with links to relevant activities, so feel free to bookmark and share it with others. If there’s anything in particular you are looking for, I would absolutely love to hear your ideas in the comments below! Although we’ve been hearing a lot about “social distancing,” I hope we can think of it more as “physical distancing” and actually take advantage of the technology that allows us to connect with others, even if we are not in close proximity. I think this is a crucial time for us to look out for and connect with others, and I hope to use this space to do just that!
Related Links (will be continuously updated):
Fun Math Games for Children (Ages 6+)
Cooped Up with the Kids #1: Insect Catchers (Ages 3-12)
Cooped Up with the Kids #2: Screen Time that Can Count as P.E. (Ages 3+)
Cooped Up with Kids #3: Sidewalk Chalk (Ages 3+)
Cooped Up with the Kids #4: Shadow Tracing (Ages 6+)
It’s been pretty quiet on my blog lately, and there are a lot of reasons for that. At first, it was simply that I had started playing sports again and there was less time. Then the kids dropped their naps, so I lost some quiet time in my day. My wrist has been hurting, and working on the computer makes it worse. Also, I am trying to respect my kids’ privacy, which makes it very hard to share my stories in a real, authentic, and interesting way.
And if, after all that, I still had something to say, the voices in my head would start: It’s already been said. People can find this kind of writing anywhere on the Internet. What would people think or say? What would my friends think? How could I write it without coming off the wrong way? But what if you write about this great parenting strategy and then it doesn’t work on your own kids and you look like a fool? These final thoughts extinguished any last chance of me sitting down to write and share with the world the things on my heart.
Perhaps the biggest reason of all, though: my kids. There were some points in the life of this blog where I found myself too preoccupied with getting a post done. I would get annoyed with my kids for wanting me to play with them because I was in the middle of writing something. I would stay up late at night finishing a post and then be completely exhausted and irritable the next morning, with no energy to be the very kind of mom I was trying to encourage others to be.
This couldn’t be worth it. Sure, I needed a creative outlet, and I enjoy interacting with people through this blog, but it was taking away from the mother I wanted to be, and that couldn’t be worth it. Not now. Because lately, I have been feeling like these young years are just speeding by–no pause. I feel like I have been grasping at the last gasps of babyhood in my preschooler, and watching my older daughter turn into a young lady before she has even finished kindergarten: it scares me. I was just remarking to Ben the other night how unbelievable the transformation has been in this one year, and how I can’t believe that only five years ago, she was this baby of a thing learning the words “up” and “down.”
What I would give to have just one carefree amusement park day with my girl as a two year old. I mean, I could take my actual six year old girl there this weekend, but it’s already not the same now as it was for her when she was really little. I remember like yesterday, watching the two year old version of her riding the Granny Bugs alongside these bigger kids, around and around. She was cackling with glee as it started up, while the big kids only had mildly amused smiles and just kinda bumped up and down. And I thought, Someday, I’m gonna stand right here and my girl is gonna be that big kid that is barely amused on this little kid ride. It will feel like just yesterday that she was the delighted, cute, itty bitty one, and I will remember thinking about how someday she’d be so big.
And that day seriously came in the blink of an eye. It makes me cry inside each time.
The days are long, but the years are short. We have all heard it, and still I hate how true it is. It means that when you are in the present, you are buried in the work and chores and demands of the everyday, but when you pause for perspective, all you see is everything beautiful that you love, slipping away.
Everyone remarks on how their kids grow up so quickly, so I knew it would happen, but anticipating that didn’t make it any easier.
Once, when I was in first or second grade, I got really, really mad. I was so upset that I took to writing out my frustrations in a little pink journal I had. I clearly remember grabbing a pencil and furiously writing with dark, angry lines. I started with something like, “Someday when I am a mom, I will never, EVER–”
…and then my memory fails me.
What?? I have asked Little JoEllen, countless times, What did you promise yourself to never do?? How can I keep this promise if I don’t even know what it is? And then the inevitable follow-up: AM I DOING IT TO MY KIDS RIGHT NOW?!
The inability to remember something that somehow still has the power to provoke strong, childlike emotions continues to haunt me from time to time. This might by why, when I wandered into a cute stationary store last year, I was struck by the title of this colorful, envelope-sized book: Letters to Me, When I Grow Up: Write Now. Read Later. Treasure Forever.
I immediately picked it up. This was the journal I wish I had when I was seven. It would be gold to read what young JoEllen would have filled these pages with! I opened it, and was surprised to find what looked like an envelope, which unfolded to a full page: When I imagine myself all grown up…
I’m writing about this because I haven’t taught this to my son yet and lately, he has really picked up on his verbal skills. This also means he has been interrupting me a lot while I’m talking to other adults. Time to change that.
I first came across this idea in a mom blog. Maybe this one? I can’t remember where I read it first, but I decided to try it when my daughter was much younger, and it has worked with great success! She knows not to interrupt when I’m talking with someone else, and will quietly signal a need to talk, wait patiently, and know that I will give her my full attention soon.
So here’s what it can actually look like if you’ve got your child trained to do this. A few months ago (when I started this post), we were at the playground after school, chatting with another mom:
“So do your kids do wishlists or anything for Christmas?” I asked.
“No… they have enough toys, and I don’t think they know how to ask for things yet,” she replied.
“That’s true! I also thought we had more than enough toys–and we do, we really do–but his teacher started talking about these must have toys to buy for Christmas,” I started, watching my daughter swing on the monkey bars, “But then–“
“MOMMY!” my daughter shouted, scampering towards us. I gave her a look and keep talking.
“–But then,” I repeated, “after the teacher started going on and on about how great it was for imaginary play…”
My daughter quietly walked up to me and grabbed my hand. Without missing a beat, I put my other hand over hers and gave her a gentle squeeze, while still talking, “I started looking them up on Amazon… and now there’s all this stuff in my cart!”
“Oh, like what?” my friend asked, looking at me with interest.
“A cash register… a big cardboard house they can color and play in… a marble run, flashlights, walkie talkie,” I say, then turn to my daughter, “Thanks for waiting. What do you need?”
“Mommy, can I play over by the tree?” she asks, pointing off to the distance.
“Sure.”
And she was off.
She didn’t do a rushing jittery dance or look at me with pleading hurry up! eyes. There was no tugging of my arm or exasperated sighs (all tactics 5 year old JoEllen was very familiar with). Just a patient little thing, knowing I would soon give her a moment with my full attention.
It’s possible! I’ll have to train the younger one intentionally, as I did his big sister, but it’s possible! If you have kids interrupting your conversations, try walking them through these steps and rehearsing it ahead of time:
- Take Mommy’s hand.
- Mommy will put her other hand on top of you to show she knows you’re waiting.
- Wait patiently until Mommy turns to you.
Your child could put their hand on your shoulder or knee or whatever makes sense for their height or age. If you can practice a few times before you actually need it again, you’ll be surprised how well they can execute when reminded in real life!
P.S. Of all the toys, the marble run was by far the best investment. And I probably won’t buy the cardboard house again. It was a cute gingerbread house, but took up too much space, and the kids are more happy right now with a floppy makeshift cardboard house from big boxes anyway. The cash register is still in the cart.
A few weeks ago, I had a craving for apple cider donuts. I did a quick search, skimmed through a few recipes, and decided to go with the ones from Sally’s Baking Addiction. That was a very good decision, because I not only discovered a fantastic recipe for cider donuts, but found one of my new favorite baking resources. Seriously, if you enjoy baking, her website is a treasure trove of mouthwatering recipes!
I made them once, and devoured them. They were delicious. I made them again, doubling the batch and sharing with friends. But I think I experimented too much with the spices this time, and was disappointed that the apple flavor of the apple cider didn’t come through as strongly. So I made them again yesterday for a family gathering. This time, I played it safe with the spices (no pumpkin spice or cloves heh) and I found a way to pack in even more apple flavor!
You see, the key to this recipe is to take regular apple cider and reduce it (i.e. boil it down) so you get a lot more apple cider-y flavor in the 1/2 cup that remains. If you just used 1/2 cup of regular apple cider in the recipe, there would barely be any apple cidery flavor in your donut. But if you start with the 1 1/2 cups of apple cider that her recipe calls for, and boil it down and let the water evaporate until you’re left with 1/2 cup of liquid, then it will have a much more concentrated apple cider flavor. And if you take it one step further and start with 3 cups of apple cider and reduce it to 1/2 cup, you will have an even MORE powerful apple cider flavor.
So that’s what I did. I made the apple cider part more cidery, I did a simpler version of the “apple pie spice” (didn’t want to buy cardamom), and now I can’t stop eating apple cider donuts. At least they’re baked, right? Speaking of which, you’ll need a donut pan (affiliate link) to make these.
These need to be enjoyed FRESH and with HOT COFFEE. That’s what I had this morning and it was pure bliss, and I am determined to give others the opportunity to recreate this delightful moment for themselves.
Apple Cider Donuts
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Makes 12-15 donuts
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups apple cider
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Reduce the apple cider: In a small saucepan, bring the apple cider to a rolling boil, then immediately turn the heat down to a simmer. Let it simmer over low heat until you’re left with about 1/2 cup of liquid. I had it at just over a simmer, and it took maybe an hour to reduce. I did it the night before I actually made the donuts, while making dinner. If you’re short on time, start with just 1 1/2 cups of apple cider and reduce it to 1/2 cup–it will take closer to 20 minutes and will still be delicious! Set it aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray donut with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and reduced apple cider. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk everything together until smooth and combined. Batter will be slightly thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavities. I like to use a pastry bag to pipe the batter in (or you could use a large zip top bag and cut the corner off). Fill each well about halfway.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. To test for doneness, poke your finger into the top of a donut. The donut should bounce all the way back to the original shape. If there’s even a slight dent, then let it keep baking. Cool donuts for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Re-grease the pan and bake the remaining donut batter.
- Coat the donuts: Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Once cool enough to handle, dunk both sides of each donut in the melted butter, then generously in the cinnamon sugar topping. Tip: Designate one hand as the “wet hand” that does all the dunking in melted butter, and the other hand as the “dry hand” that does all the coating in cinnamon sugar. That way, your fingers won’t get coated themselves, and you won’t get what Alton Brown calls “club hands,” as previously discussed and illustrated here!).
- Donuts are best enjoyed immediately, but can keep, tightly covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. She also says you can freeze them (coated or not coated in the cinnamon sugar) for up to 2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up in the microwave for a couple of seconds. I haven’t tried this yet, but it would probably be good!
My friend also said she has made these with a muffin tin and it still tasted good!
Sometimes, it’s hard to know how to teach your kids about Jesus in a natural, authentic way. There are those rare moments when they ask a deep question out of the blue, or when life presents a lovely “teachable moment” and we manage to have the presence of mind to run with it. But sometimes we miss those moments. Or maybe those moments come when we’re not really in the best frame of mind. In our family, we try to have a regular weekly time to intentionally share about God with our kids, but it can be hard to do it without sounding like a broken record or a parrot.
For the last couple of weeks, my son has been repeating the phrase “God made everything.” It has come up every couple of days, and while I was pleased to hear it at first, I just feel like there is so much more for him to ponder than that. It felt like a classic “Sunday school” line, and I was never able to steer our conversations much deeper than listing things God made, or trying to talk about how well, I mean, God made the people who made the cars…
We were on a long drive yesterday and I had the urge to share more about Jesus with the kids. We’ve been dealing with some challenges lately, and as much as I want to take matters into my own hands, I know in my heart that there is no amount of love or good intentions that can fix this situation, or all the bigger ones to come. Something in me desperately wanted to let Jesus back into the equation, not just in my own heart, but for all of us.
So we were going to talk about Jesus. And God. Where would I even begin? I had to think for a bit. We’ve gone over the story of Jesus’ birth a lot lately (after all, ’tis the season!), but I wanted to connect the baby Jesus to something real and present. I didn’t have my favorite kid’s Bible on me, and we had already listened to these Bible songs so many times that the lyrics were easy to tune out.
Maybe I would teach about the things he said when he grew up? Or talk more about God’s grace? I could try to share a story of how God had worked in my own life, but… all of the stories that were coming to mind were stories I wasn’t ready to tell just yet. I tried to think of what some of our children’s devotionals have talked about, but nothing felt right. I was craving some real, authentic conversation–not just one-way instruction. And then I remembered something.
A while back, one of my wise friends shared a simple and wonderful idea. I think we were discussing ways to intentionally teach about and worship God together during family devotions, and she talked about how she and her husband would teach a praise song to their two young boys. These were songs we might normally sing during a Sunday church service. As they explained to their kids what the lyrics meant, it presented a natural opportunity to share more about God, what we know from the Bible, and our goals as his followers.
So I picked out a familiar favorite from my youth, and cheerily pitched my idea, “Hey there’s a song about God I really liked from when I was younger. Can I teach it to you?”
“Sure,” they said.
“Ok. It goes like this, My Jesus, my Savior–do you know why we call him our savior?” I asked.
“Because he saved us from our sins so we could be with him forever!” replied my daughter.
The girl knows her Sunday school answers. Which is good, I guess… but I felt even more urgency to have authentic, real conversations about God!
“Yes, that’s why we call him that. Okay, so My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like you,” I continued.
“Mama, what does lord mean?” she asked.
“Yord,” my three year old piped up.
I’m glad he was listening.
And we went from there. We were able to talk about what praise meant, other ways to praise God, how God can comfort us, what a shelter is, what a tower is, whether or not the bad guys attacked the tower with guns or swords and did they break the glass and did it get everywhere? And do people REALLY have guns? Like, in the REAL WORLD? And Mama, why do policemen carry guns?! …But Mama, there aren’t REAL bad guys in the world, right?
Well, there are. But God gave you Mommy and Daddy and your teachers and family to take care of you and you don’t need to worry about that. BUT ALSO that’s why it is good to know that God is your comfort, shelter, and tower of refuge and strength. Even when bad things happen–and they will–you know that in the end, after all things, God is bigger than all of that. And He has already won and you can be sure that no matter what happens down here, you will be able to spend forever with Him.
And that was just from the first two verses.
I was so happy to share one of my favorite songs with them, and even more delighted to dig into who God is and what that can mean in their lives. We are also going to ask a police officer why they have guns next time, because apparently none of my answers satisfied her.
On the way home today, she asked me to keep teaching her the song, and it turns out she had already memorized several lines. It was sweet to sing and discuss with her.
Memorizing Bible verses is great, but there is something about music and song that can really stick in a different way. I’m happy to remember that there are already so many great songs set to Bible verses, and so many truths written into the songs that we sing every week.
If you are looking for ways to share about God with your kids, try this out! You might be the one starting the discussion, but kids are so inquisitive. When they realize this is something you’re happy to dig into and talk about, chances are they will be happy to let their inquiries loose and really wonder and think about who God is. I hope you have some real, authentic, and meaningful conversations in your future!
This post contains affiliate links
Sometimes, I just need my child to stay busy for a bit. Maybe I’m on the phone with the doctor, or maybe it’s Amazon Prime Day and I’m eyeing that fancy magnetic toy (that never goes on sale but is coming up in 3 minutes and 28 seconds…!). If your child is anything like my son, that means he doesn’t like it when you go in the office to get anything done, and when you really need those 5-10 quiet minutes, that’s when he suddenly wants to explore your mouse and touch your monitors and drive you batty.
I used to be able to appease him with a TV show. But sometimes, even that doesn’t work! I never thought I’d hear myself say, “Can you just watch some TV??” but that was me a couple months ago before I came across a new solution that has worked pretty well so far. It usually doesn’t buy me more than 20-30 minutes at a time, but when I really need to concentrate or avoid interruption for ten minutes, then it’s good enough.
Basically, I reserve one of his really cool, very engaging toys and only take it out during these high-need situations. He’ll ask to play with it at other times, but I don’t let him. I save it for when I really need it. Then, when I need to answer that phone call, I can just pull the toy out and he’s delighted he gets to play with it and stays occupied for a pretty long time because he knows once it’s gone, it will be a while before he sees it again.
So here’s what I did. For his birthday, we got him a bunch of small construction vehicles to decorate his birthday brownie with:
The next day, I poured some kinetic sand onto a large tray (I love the plastic ones from IKEA), added in the mini construction vehicles, and let him play for a good, long time. He loved it. We had a couple more days of that before I realized that this was a toy he could sit down with for a decent stretch. And that’s when I tucked it away to save for “emergencies.” Now, when I need to steal a few concentrated minutes to myself, I pull it out, dump it all on the tray, and let him have at it. He loves it! I will probably need to come up with a new toy soon, but for now it has been a nice option to have in my back pocket when I don’t want to resort to screen time.
This same idea works for traveling, going to restaurants, etc. I have a box of books and portable toys that work well for when I need them to be quiet for a bit outside of the house. I bring these along for weddings, church service (when the kids are joining), or long family dinners. I don’t take them out at any other time, so it’s always a treat when they get to play with it.
Some of my enduring favorites include I Spy books, which are really nice for sharing with other kids. They can all crowd around and look for objects together, even if no one can read yet. I realized how universally engaging these books were when our school librarian would spread out about ten books at the end of each school year for all 33 students to share. Since school was almost out, she wouldn’t let them check out any more books, but they still needed something to do for the thirty minutes of library time, and these books were always a hit. They would group together and start looking for objects and time always went by quickly during these times. Who knew? Even my three year old enjoys the simpler ones, like this one.
We also love this pack of 100 Things for Little Children to Do on a Journey from Usborne:
Each card is double-sided and has various prompts and activities to do, from mazes to doodling to puzzles and quizzes. It helps (but isn’t totally necessary) if your child can read, and they should be able to use a drawing/writing utensil. I always pack an extra dry-erase pen so any other interested children nearby can borrow a few cards and join in on the fun. One other tip is to train your kid to erase their drawing/writing before moving onto the next card. We’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of this set!
While we’re on the topic, here are some more ideas (and suggested ages) that have worked well. Most of them a quiet, and all of them fit nicely in a backpack, which make them perfect for travel:
Babies to Toddlers:
Preschoolers:
- I Spy books
- Magnetibook: Use colorful magnets to create suggested designs
- Reusable sticker books
- 100 Things for Little Children to Do on a Journey
- Memory game (this one is kind of noisy and makes a clacking sound)
- Wikki Stix (I recently got these, but haven’t tested them out on the road yet. The kids enjoyed it at home, and I like that they come in a convenient small, light pack that you can keep in your purse at all times and pull out when the need arises)
Again, these toys aren’t usually available for them to play with at home, so when I take them out for these rare occasions, it’s always a treat and it keeps the kids engaged longer than it would if it were one of their everyday toys.
How about you? What are some of your favorite go-to activities to bring out for high-need situations at home, or portable activities to take on the go? With the holiday travel season approaching, I’m sure we could all use more ideas!
“JO. I just wrote one of your posts for you,” Ben said, bursting into the office as I mindlessly scrolled through Facebook. He had an excited and boyish look on his face, and I was just happy to see that he was so happy.
“What?” I asked, glancing up.
“Ok, are you ready? It’s called Life Hacks with Jo,” he began, serious as ever, “and you can tell them about what you did in the kitchen.”
“What did I do in the kitchen?”
“With the cake!”
“I didn’t even make that cake.”
“I know! But you stored it so nicely,” he exclaimed. “You should share it!”
I wasn’t convinced. Would people really want to hear a little tupperware trick?
Then earlier this week, a friend offered me a slice of cake. Her husband pulled out some Snapware to store it, and I mentioned my little trick. After an initial look of confusion, he tried it out and remarked, “Hey, that’s a good idea! That makes it way easier to serve!” And I decided it was about time to let you all in on my little amazing life hack, along with four other simple (but useful!) things that will hopefully make you think, Why didn’t I think of that?
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