Friday, June 27, 2014

Solving the "I Wanna Watch a Show" Conundrum

My kids' default, probably not unlike many of their peers, is to want to watch TV.  My default is NO SCREENS.  Especially not in the summer!  Moving back home means we need to soak up these rays, people!  At my kids' ages (5 & 3), they are not totally independent, so we decided to come up with an "Activity Jar" (actually made from my hubby's pottery when we took Ceramics together in college... awwww for cute!).  We brainstormed our favorite activities and put them on slips of paper.  Then if my kids need ideas of what to do, we pull a slip.  So far we haven't decided on any hard and fast rules - like you HAVE to do that activity for a set amount of time - if they want to put it back and draw again, that's ok at this point!  :)  So far, I'm sure in part to the novelty factor, they are in love with pulling an activity from the jar and do the activity with enthusiasm.

Here is our activity list:
Brain Quest cards
Activity Book
Dance Party (a family favorite!  Disney Pandora and we are SET!)
Lace Ups
Trains
Take a Break (Quiet time on the couch -- C-man put that one in -- interested to see what happens when that one is pulled!) 
Play Princess (Or any dress up)
Pretend Play (like House or Kitchen)
Paper Airplanes
Puzzle
Read
Go to Library
Bake Something
Playdoh
Go for a Walk
Board Game
Color/Draw
Legos
Hide and Seek
I Spy
Do a Chore (one of my inputs!  But seriously, they enjoy wiping down pretty much any surface from the table to the sink!)
Watch a Show (there is a bonus slip of this in there! I do have to say I enjoy most of their shows and feel good about them watching things like Magic School Bus and Wild Kratts!)

What are we missing?  What are some of your kids' favorite activities?

Happy Playing!

2 comments:

B6 Blogger said...

My kids have been the same lately. Yesterday the big event was writing (or drawing) cards and letters for family. They addressed (or colored) their envelopes, put stamps on them, and took them to the mailbox to be mailed. They love to write, send, and receive mail. And double bonus it's educational.

JJ and EJ said...

Ooh! I'm adding that to our list! Good idea B6 ;)