amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

JeniLyn · 11-18-2005, 10:54 PM

I was reading someone's siggy and it referred to her kiddos spending most of their time out in nature. I'd really like my kids to be more like that, but it's not gonna happen easily as their mama (that would be me, lol) is not like that. I like being indoors, b/c I love crafts, reading, sewing, knitting, etc. When the weather's nice I do some of those things outside.

My question is, really, what are things you do with your kids when it's cold. I have a 7 month old that I will not take outside when the weather is too cold and my 2-year-olds can not be outside with out me (we live in the city). They have short attention spans for most crafts.

I was thinking of having a bunch of "kits" for them to make craft things and then I can just grab them as I needed. This week we made shakers out of recycled containers, "turkey" from our handprints, painting from washable paints. We read lots of books (they have great attention spans for book reading), they like playing with puzzles and blocks.

They are still watching too much tv (1 hr a day at least). When my dh and I bought our TV we agreed to only use it for DVDs, as we had been using our laptop until I broke it. We have kept to that. We keep the TV in the closet and only pull it out to watch something and it goes right back. I find myself using it to calm the kids down, stop them from fighting, give me some time to get dishes done, etc.

Any ideas? Keep in mind I have 2 two-year-olds and a 7 month old.

Thanks!

Jeni

Mamax4 · 11-19-2005, 11:31 AM

ETA-- LOL Sorry. I just read the ages part. I thought they were older. Most of my ideas are worthless. I doubt your 2 yr old is going to want to watch Casablanca, and your 7 mos old is not going to make a collage, right? lol

Some other stuff might work. I'll leave it all so you can see how crazy i am, and maybe someone with older kids might find something that could work.

Stockpile playdough, water colors, glue sticks, tissue paper, etc. Have a pile of old catalogs available to cut or tear for collages. Set items these up on a little shelf near the kitchen or other area easy to clean up where children can easily see them and make choices on their own. Have tidy piles of differnet kinds of paper available. You could also have containers or small baskets of crayons, markers etc set up. (Of course, if your small ones are likely to write on furniture with markers, you might want those a bit out of reach. lol)

I also notice that if the toys are organized into containers or baskets, kids are more likely to play with them, and see possibilites more than if everything is all mushed together in a toy chest. Line up some baskets 0n the floor against a wall (or in a book shelf), and put the little blocks in one, then all the small plastic or wooden animals in another, little vehicles in another, little people in another, acorns and rocks in another etc etc Set this in an area near you that gets some nice patches of sun. Lay a silk or blanket out. You could also set up a little scene yourself--some little animals eating acorns, a few animals in a little area fenced in by the rocks etc. When my kids were teeny, I found little scenarios set up by me sometimes called to the children. I didn't start to play or give them dialogue or anything. Just left them there, looking inviting.

Books and stories on tape/CDs interest a lot of kids. My girls and I sit on the sofa, or lie on my bed and listen. We spent a lot of time knitting last winter while we listened. My younger dd didn't knit, but she snuggled up next to me to listen, or she played with her toys or puzzles on the coffee table.

Warm baths with kitchen items can be fun. Using metal or plastic measuring cups, wire wisks, small pots etc are a good change of pace. Baths can also warm you up on a cold day.

I second keeping blankets and pillows available for cozy tents and dwellings.

My kids and I do often watch movies together when it's cold, snowy or rainy. Singing In The Rain, Meet Me In St Louis, It's a Wonderful Life, Casablanca, Cheaper By The Dozen, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins etc are all fun movies to snuggle by. I mention movies, because i don't think there is a whole lot of reason to feel guilty about using the TV for certain pleasures-- like a good, old movie.

EmmalinesMom · 11-19-2005, 01:46 PM

Let's see.... we do lots of crafts. Even at 2, Emmaline loved to glue shapes on paper to make pictures, or just color with crayons, etc. It was so much easier when I kept all the supplies organized well though, lol. I try to have white paper, coloring book pages, crayons (markers have been banned until further notice

) glitter pens, construction paper, pre-cut shapes if they're too young for scissors, scissors if that's ok, glue, etc all available so E can find and use what she needs. Clean up adds another half hour to the activity sometimes, lol.

We make playdough a lot too, and use cookie cutters, spoons, rolling pins, etc.

Emmaline loves to use the rice box (at two, and still now too) that is just an under the bed box filled with rice and measuring cups, etc. The outside sand and water table will occasionally make appearances in the kitchen when it's too cold.

We read stories. About 10 a day I bet.

Sometimes Em puts on her swimsuit and goes swimming in the tub, complete with snorkel.

Washing dishes is a big hit here, whether they are dirty or not.

Make a fort/tent in the living room and have a picnic and story fest.

Fingerpaint with pudding on cookie sheets.

Make bird feeders with pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed, breadcrumbs, etc.

Act out stories that you all know.

Become a marching band. Give your 2 year olds "drums" or horns and put the baby in a sling and march around singing and playing your instruments.

We do watch TV and movies though. I really try to limit the longer movies until yucky days or something so that it's more of a treat and holds her attention. We pop popcorn or make pretzles and have that as a snack.

tmrhopkins · 11-19-2005, 04:15 PM

great ideas! Thanks.

We have a few boxes of special toys that we keep up in the closet and bring down on on days we can't go outside -toys like duplo, the electric Thomas train, the play food.

We too make up forts, pet stores (gather up every kind of animal in the house and make a pet store, grocery store, etc.)

Arts and crafts at two consist of a lot of gluing and coloring and painting.

But I don't think I have listed any new ideas.... just seconded the previous posters.

Tawnya

tara · 11-19-2005, 08:40 PM

When Sam was that age, he loved having a big clear sterilite container (the mongo ones) with about 4" of beans and rice in the bottom. He would use spoons, measuring cups, etc., little construction vehicles (dump trucks, etc.), and little plastic animals to play with the beans/rice. It took a few days for him to get the rule about the beans staying IN the container, but after that it was a blast for him.

Tara

tinyterror'sma · 11-19-2005, 08:54 PM

I let my kids paint w water on anything that's not wood. Just give them a cup of water & a paintbrush.

They like to dust.

They both stand on step stools & help me cook.

They still watch too much TV.

choleblack · 11-19-2005, 10:34 PM

the best thing we've ever done inside is to take a big box of baking soda, dump it in the bath tub and let the kids play with it like sand. then when they are done plug the tub and fill it. the baking soda makes the water soft . then they can play in the tub for another few hours.

I also used to use an old vynal tablecloth as a floor mat. Let them play with dough on it or painting on it. Then it's easy to clean up after messy play.

Chole

thrillhouse · 11-19-2005, 10:46 PM

my son is 2 and he loves:

1. to play with playdoh. most days we have it out for about 2 hours and he plays with it the whole time LOL but he has a huge attention span for it.

2. duplo! he will build/knock down duplo for a long time too. he also likes when I build gates for him to drive his trains/trucks through. he also has a few duplo construction vehicles that are a hit.

3. sometimes he asks for a bubble bath after lunch, he'll play in the water for about 45 min-1 hour.

4. kitchen sink time. he pushes a chair up to the kitchen sink and I lay a towel on the floor under him, and a hand towel on the chair seat so his feet won't slip when it gets wet. i turn the tap on a slow dribble and give him some tupperware, small jugs etc and has a blast filling containers and emptying them.

5. books, he likes me to read him a few books in the afternoon. he doesn't nap anymore so this is his quiet rest period.

6. baking. he lets me measure the ingredients and he dumps the contents into the bowl. we're working on stirring

if I think of more specific stuff i'll come edit it in..

i hope these ideas help you!

JeniLyn · 11-19-2005, 11:10 PM

Thanks, everyone. I think I've done most of the ideas you've given me, but the encouragement to *keep* doing the crafty/fun/reading things I have been doing is priceless. Thank you!

I love the rice in the big box idea. We're going to try that one and see how it goes. The only thing that worries me is that Miriam and Alex fight over toys so much and we refuse to get the two of everything!! Also, the tent idea (I don't know why I haven't done that, yet, my mom used to do that with us *all* the time).

They are *really* into painting right now. I got them washable paints, little muffin tin shaped palettes and "bulky" paintbrushes at the local education store. I think we'll be painting a lot this week.

Thanks again (and more ideas are *always* welcome!!)

Jeni

Goonboy · 11-19-2005, 11:47 PM

Do you have an indoor play park near you? Usually just a gymnasium with a bunch of ride on toys like trikes, bikes. Also climb on toys like Little Tikes play structures. Sometimes a trampoline, Thomas train table, etc. These are a lot of fun because they get everyone out of the house and a change of scenery, and give babies through preschoolers a place to run around and get some energy out. I used to live in Portland, OR, where they have a bunch of ones at different community centers throughout the area. We only had to pay 50 cents to come! But here in SW Washington, which is not as big of a town, (just northeast of Portland) we have a few of them in church gymnasiums hosted by parenting groups. Sometimes you have to join, or can pay a small amount for coming individual times. I'm sure we aren't the only place that does this in the U.S.! It really helps to get some of that energy out of the kiddos and break up the day.

We also do mongo box o' beans. I let him dump it on the floor and push around with his bulldozers, but I think especially for little ones it makes more sense to have a big, shallow bin with a lid. You can buy these at Target for a few bucks. It might take several pounds of beans to get a good amount in the bottom, but they keep forever and are an amazing toy. One of my ds's favorites and all his friends beg for them when they come over. I also have a smaller, table top tupperwear type bin with pearl tapioca in it. I have some small wooden bowls, scoops, and some Haba empty tins in it too. He will play with that for half hour at a time.

Playdough is a big hit here too. Especially with the toy kits the commercial stuff comes with. Even if a baby or toddler, kids love to play with these, even if they need help doing it from Mommy. We have a little Playdough toy stove with recipe cards that tells you different "foods" you can make (tacos, pizza, etc.) with different color playdough. In our neighborhood, everyone from the 3 year old boy to several 11 year old girls play with this. We also have a bunch of cookie cutters, Playdough scissors (that only cut dough, they won't harm hair, skin, etc.) My ds loves his playdough drill.

Other thoughts, hmm. If you do have a community center, they might have some classes for toddlers (painting or other kind of art, dance, etc.) In Portland, the classes start at 18 mos. I believe. Ask around, there must be something. They also might have baby classes. Like a Gymboree class, maybe? Or a gymnastics studio might have an open play time?

Another thing we do to pass time is go to our local resale store. I take in old clothes, videos, and toys to consign. Then we can buy something new with our credit. But my ds just likes to play with the toys there too.

I know you said only things to do in the house, but if you have a car or public transportation, these others will help pass the time too. Good luck!

ZenMama · 11-20-2005, 02:46 AM

I'm honored if you're talking about me!

I'll tell you a little about us...

I lived in Yellowstone for 10 years, as you can imagine we lived outside. Lived in Utah, California and now Oregon still believe in being beautiful places to be outside. We make this a priority. So all year we spent time outside, it's chilly in the winter, so we change the activities. And it really is true that my kids need it! Being the nature sprites that they are, they tell us when they are ready for a hike, or visiting the pond. They routinely hike 5 miles, we did a 3 miler last week. We have done 8 mile treks. I have 4 kiddos they are 21 months, 5 years, 6 years and 11. So we are wlays packing the baby.

I'll tell ya when we get to the end of the trail and see the 500 year old Sitka spruce and the kids get to walk under it and lay their hands on it and wonder what life was like there 500 years ago and they pay their respects, my heart just soars! I know that I am doing something right as their Mother, they will bring through their lifetime a healthy respect for living things-that is schooling-Did I mention we homeschool? lol

So in the summers, we hike and play at the ocean, swim in the mountain lakes, we canoe (we have gone from lakes all the way to the ocean), we garden, we bike...In the cool weather I just do other things, so we'll go to the aquarium, the sea lion caves, the hotspring (we do this often-there are many here!) and we still do hiking, just dress warmer-the woolies come in handy here.

As for inside we don't have a TV. The libary is our special place. We read alot, together too. My 11 year old loves baking, we do science experiments, crafts. We just making turkeys to hang up and sent Thanksgiving cards out. We have animals to care for and chores to do always. We have been doing felting and puppet shows. We had company today and had tea and my daughters 5 and 6 loved serving and having tea and of course they were in on conversation. We play lots of games and make them up often. Coloring happens everyday, we love making music and dancing. We have an outside tub that is so much fun and an outside shower too, but we use the tub in the winter mostly. Being together really occupies us. Oh and dress-up is a big deal here their Dad makes the most lovely costumes. I run a homebusiness so they are often involved, like to help with the packaging. My son sews and knits, he loves to mow the yard-it's really big, so I don't argue with that. We make our own play equipt outside and forts inside.

We bring nature inside this time of year with nature tables and making holiday decorations. We just made beautiful paper stars for the windows. We make gifts to give and have so much fun!

We don't have a lot of distractions like electronics, video games TVs. WE make things from scratch and it takes longer, but is more satifying. We don't have all the kitchen gadgets no microwave, no mixers, things that do the work for you, if we bake bread we do it with our hands and everyone gets involved, make a mess and learn. That's how it works here.

These kiddos of mine are extremely happy and healthy, there must be a reason.

Thanks for letting me ramble on your post.

Happy Holidays!

I had to edit to add how important it is that my kids have good "gear." Meaning hiking boots, polar fleece, wool hats, their own backpacks, water bottles, head lamps, river shoes, rain jackets. We got my oldest his own tent 2 birthdays ago and he camps in it in the backyard all summer long, and has his own lantern too. And in the fall they often had a fire outside all by themselves, there's that healthy respect thing. I heard someone recently say that we are missing our fire element and how important it is to even light a candle. Wind, earth, water, air, fire...

sweet~potato · 11-20-2005, 07:26 AM

I don't know if you allow some of this stuff but here is what my ds enjoyed at that age and still enjoys at 5yo too.

~Take the cushions off of the couches and pile them up (small piles for your kids since they are little) and let them climb on them, jump on them, pretned they are surfing, lol, whatever. My couches have seen their day so I wasn't worried about ds ruining them.

~my ds also loves it when I am making the bed and quickly pull up on one side of the flat sheet so that it makes a bubble. He either likes to hide in the bubble part and I keep making the bubble over and over while he is under there or he likes to jump on the bubbles and crush them (of course that means jumping on the bed, but you might not allow that)

~hide and seek

~play with soft balls or beanbags and have them try to get then in a bucket

~riding his tricycle around the kitchen

~we have also taken a long piece of wood or cardboard and rolled matchbox cars down it

~races of some sort if you have the space, where they have to climb over things, crawl under other things, and just run!

~blow up a balloon or 2 and have them try to keep it from touching the floor or just hit it around to each other

I have a *very* active son who doesn't care much for crafts, so I am always looking for activities to get out his never ending energy.

tmrhopkins · 11-20-2005, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweet~potato

I

~Take the cushions off of the couches and pile them up (small piles for your kids since they are little) and let them climb on them, jump on them, pretned they are surfing, lol, whatever. My couches have seen their day so I wasn't worried about ds ruining them.

.

we have done this, only get all the pillows in the house and make a big pile and they jump into it. Needs supervision or else you get little ones jumping on each other but they defanitely had a fun time!

Also we have a two car garage but only one car so when dh has it to work we play in there some days....

Tawnya

JeniLyn · 11-21-2005, 02:26 PM

Thanks again, Mamas...
These are inspiring ideas!
Lizz--I definitely know that *I* need to get them outside more; that *I* need to show them that being outside is fun. We're planning a garden next year (we live in the city, but we're lucky enough to have a decent sized city yard!) and the kids will help with that. There are some city/state parks nearby and I need to get them there, too. I suppose if we start out on fairly easy walking trails that a good pair of sneakers would be okay?
We do go camping and Miriam has always loved that; we haven't gone since Alex has been with us, but I imagine he'll love it, too.

Karen--We definitely allow pillow play and bed-jumping.

We decided before Miriam was born that we weren't going to buy new furniture until all our kids were older.

Thanks again, Mamas! I'm going to write these ideas down and keep them somewhere handy to give me ideas until they become part of our lives.

I honestly think part of the problem for me has just been adjusting to 3 kids so suddenly. We did all sorts of things when it was just Miriam. Then Noah was born and 3 short months later we added another toddler to the home. That was a lot of change for all of us to deal with. I think I'm often in "managing" mode..."don't touch that!" "no! That's not for right now!" and I need to learn to go with the flow more.

Thanks again,
Jeni

ZenMama · 11-21-2005, 05:15 PM

I love to be outside with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair and dirt under my nails. It's heaven to me-my kids naturally follow suit.

Do what you love, love what you do...what ever that is to you Mama.