"Yes!" Day

The idea of "Yes!" Day came from another blogger or blog commenter whom I cannot find again. I think the idea was posted on Inspired to Action or Wonder Woman Wannabe; both of those article links are fantastic reads for parents needing a bit of inspiration around having fun with their children.

Every child-parent relationship needs a "Yes!" Day at least once a year. On "Yes!" Day, the parents say "Yes!" to all of their children's requests (with some exceptions).

I command...ice cream cones!

Implementation is simple, and there are only three preparatory steps. And one of the steps is optional!

Prep. Step 1:

Brace yourself to say yes to children's requests that you would normally and automatically say no to. While you are bracing yourself, make a list of things that you will not be able to say yes to due to safety hazards or monetary constraints. Think of a fun way to say no to those things, like, "Yes when you are sixteen years old!" or "My mouth cannot say yes because I love to see you alive and unharmed!" Make it a silly "no" if you think that will be appropriate for your child. If you think your child will manipulate "Yes!" Day and spend all day asking for things to see just how much he or she can get, you may want to write and post a list of things that the child may ask for on this special day, and check them off as the child asks for them.

Prep. Step 2: 

Tell your child the day before that you are celebrating "Yes!" Day tomorrow. That means whatever the child requests to do or have, within reasonable limits, will be granted. Share with your child the list of things you cannot say yes to and explain the reason. Younger children will need more preparation with lots of examples of things you will say yes to (that you normally say no to) and lots of examples of things that you will not be able to do.

Prep. Step 3 (optional):

You may or may not want to stock some supplies for "Yes!" Day, like ice cream and cones or new bubbles or a dirt or water toy or a movie rental. Or you can just wait until the child asks for something on the day, and then go get it. The latter strategy could be helpful in limiting the number of requests if you fulfill them one at a time. On the other hand, it might use up extra gas for the car and give your child innumerable new ideas at the shops!

Hint 1: Take pictures of "Yes!" Day and then display them around the house.

Hint 2: A "Yes!" Day is beneficial in proportion to how different it is from daily life. By this I mean that most of children's days should be limited by reasonable, age-appropriate, and parent-set boundaries to keep them safe, secure, and learning about the world. A "Yes!" Day can then be a parent's way of acknowledging that pure and simple fun is a good thing, too.

An Idea for ADHD Symptoms

I will start by saying I have not been diagnosed with ADD, but it runs in my immediate family. Whether or not you believe in the existence of ADD as a true disorder, you may notice that certain types of food, organization, and activities help some of your more active or unfocused children.

Organization is key for me. If I don't organize my activities, my brain feels fuzzy and it's a struggle to accomplish anything.

                                                                               Image courtesy of clker.com

I have found it helpful to list certain things at the start of the day. This is the third thing I do each morning, after getting dressed and ready and doing devotions. It is extremely helpful for me as an adult; I can see how it would be very helpful for a teenager or college student; and I think it would be an excellent practice to start with younger children so that they get into the habit. In fact, I will start tomorrow by helping my five-year-old do this for six days, and then I will report back on the experience.

Materials:

There is blank notebook paper near the beginning of my homemaking binder. There is also a pencil in a pencil holder in the binder. This is very important! The first time you get up from the task of writing down the daily list might be the time that you get distracted and don't come back to it.

Procedure:

I write "Daily Focus" at the top of the page. For each day of the week, I have selected one to three areas to focus on that day. For example, today was 1) planning guest posts for another blog and 2) errands (which I listed).

Next, I write "Daily Order." Underneath that heading, I number the tasks I want to get done that day.

I have previously made categories of my roles and prioritized them (for example, 1) wife; 2) mother; 3) homemaker; 4) moneysaver; 5) volunteer). So my Daily Order starts with a subheading of Wife, then #1: (whatever task I most want to get done that day that pertains to being a wife). Continue to number tasks as long as you can think of tasks you want to get done that day in that category. Then write the next subheading and continue to number tasks below that category. Continue with other categories, in order of priority.

I have a rule for myself: If I've almost reached the end of the page, I have to stop. It's unlikely I will get through a whole page of tasks in one day, so I have to accept that and stop somewhere.

Last, I write the heading "Extraordinary Thing for Today."This is the place to write down one special, above-and-beyond, excellent, or brave thing you will do today.

Usage:

I refer back to this page during the day, especially each time that I start to get distracted and wonder what I was going to do or should do next. This often happens to me!

The list does not help me accomplish each and every task I can think up, but it does help me have a clear conscience or sense of purpose as I go through my day, and that's worth a lot.

Dirt Play

I was pondering the educational needs of our children this morning and what values my husband and I want to impart to them. After a half hour or so, I came up with this deep concept. We really want them to play in dirt.

Dirt play is an ongoing series of experiments. Dirt is part of science. Dirt is part of childhood. Being dirty means they got outside instead of sitting in front of an electronic screen. Dirt is something brothers can share and there is always enough to go around. Dirt is universal.

This is going to sound like a change of subject, but it's not. Today I decided the boys and I would have an impromptu ice cream party outside after lunch. The flavor was chocolate Oreo. Seeing that they were already covered with a wet brown mess (to be fair, it was mainly the younger one who was covered in it, but there were signs on our five-year-old as well)...

...led to my second aha! moment of the day. Why not let the boys play with dirt and mud after the ice cream?

We got out a couple of toy shovels and containers and put a little bit of water in our dirt circle. (By the way, the dirt circle was not our choice for backyard decor, but it is our sons' favorite outside toy, along with rocks and sticks.)

You can see I was conservative about the amount of mud! Someday soon I plan to get into it more in-depth and make mud castles and everything.

Recommended related book: i love dirt! 52 activities to help you & your kids discover the wonders of nature by Jennifer Ward

Clarification: I didn't just think this up out of thin air. My husband and I have talked together about what we want to teach our children and what is important to us as a family. He specifically mentioned them playing in dirt the other day. :) A beloved family member gave us the book mentioned above and it has a section on ways to play with dirt and mud (educationally, of course).

Winter Fun in the Summertime

Some of us live in climates where the heat of summer is more punishing than the cold of winter.

During the winter season, there are posts everywhere to help families have fun when it's just too cold to take the children outside.

Let's twist that and talk about finding fun when it's just too hot to take the children outside. 

In the summer, those who live in hot climates will still have their share of picnics and water play...heavily shaded with sunblock or clothing, of course. (Especially if your family has fair skin and a history of melanoma like ours does.)

But what to do when no one wants to go outside or when the temperature is actually dangerously hot?

My Number One Summer Tip for Parents In Hot Climates:

Take another look at those winter activity posts and do them now!

Image courtesy of clker.com

Some involve snow play, which won't be possible, but even those can be tweaked. Get creative, and don't forget to ask your children for input.

Activities:

1. One example of a winter post I found useful in summer was Surviving Winter: Bath Play from Children's Learning Activities.

2. Another way to do water play while avoiding the glaring sun is to locate the indoor pools and water parks near your home. Does your YMCA have an indoor pool?

3. Now that it's summer, get serious about checking out those museums you've been wanting to take your children to. Don't forget to look up "free museum days" for the museums near you.

4. You know those vintage-y pictures of people by the fireside drinking hot cocoa and playing games? Make homemade slushies (from The Motherload) or old-fashioned lemonade instead to drink while you play Uno, Settlers of Catan, or Candy Land.

5. Movie Marathon! You could go two ways with this: Either watch everyone in the family's favorite summer movie or make a list of favorite winter movies and watch those.

6. Go to the library. The local library might be our country's most underused resource for the number and value of programs it usually offers. Pick up a copy of the summer calendar.

7. Get a head start on Christmas by holding a Christmas Planning Day. This could be combined with #5 for great ambience if you choose to watch favorite winter movies. Everyone can make a list of things they'd like to make or buy for other people. After the lists are completed, plan to go garage-sale-ing to look for bargains or start your homemade projects.

And of course, get outside when it's not dangerous and not quite as punishing!

I will elaborate on each of the examples above as summer gets underway, so look for those Winter Fun in the Summertime posts.

Must Have: A Store of Knock-Knock Jokes

My son has just gotten to the age when he wants to tell and hear knock-knock jokes several times a day. Any parent of a five-year-old needs a good store of knock-knock jokes. Right? I know I'm not the only parent of a five-year-old who has run into this.

I ran out of knock-knock jokes.

So I went hunting online and this site has a few good ones in the comments. It's not a joke site but it yielded some good results for my challenge.

One of my favorites from that site - because my son actually gets it instead of just laughing because he thinks we're being silly - is this one:

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Interrupting cow."

"Interrupt-"

"MOOOOOOOOOOO!"

My personal favorite - because I could remember it when my son suddenly wanted to do knock-knock jokes - is this:

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Boo."

"Boo who?"

"Please don't cry, sweetheart!"

The orange-you-glad-I-didn't-say-banana one is appreciated but not understood around here.

This site has lots more knock-knock jokes that children would find funny, though maybe not adults.

One Hungry Mama Blog

I know this blog is not about food or cooking, but you really must look at this quality blog by a Brooklyn mom who used to, among other things, create educational TV for Sesame Street Workshop. Her site, One Hungry Mama, is full of recipes I would be proud to serve my family and there are some helpful back-to-school lunch posts there, too!

Her tagline is: "Kids change the way we cook, but they don't have to change how well we eat."
 
I found out about the website through my lovely sister-in-law who is helping to design the charity cookbook for Japan that you will see highlighted on the site.

To keep it about learning activities, check out this post where One Hungry Mama shares a "recipe" for a truly edible finger paint.

Storybook Week 7: Harold and the Purple Crayon

This week the storybook is Harold and the Purple Crayon, written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson.

1. Read the Book

Language Arts/Story Interest

Together with your child, read the book or watch the storybook video.

2. Make a Safety Town

Arts and Crafts/Safety/Dramatizing/Pretend Play

In Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harold decides he needs a moon, so he draws one. He needs a path, so he draws one to walk down. Through his adventure, he keeps hold on his purple crayon so that he can create what he needs, whether it be a shortcut across a field or a whole city. This is a powerful concept for children. The idea that they can create the world they want to play in through their imaginations is a breathtaking one.

I like this Safer Strangers, Safer Buildings video from Child's Eye Media to combine safety information for young children with a way to play pretend with these new ideas. Look at the end of Part 2 to see the safe buildings the children make to create a safe town. It looks like they are making the buildings out of small cardboard boxes about the size of instant oatmeal boxes. The boxes are covered with white paper so that the children can draw any embellishments or signs they like on their buildings. Adding people and vehicles to the town would of course make it even more fun.

3. Purple Paper Night Sky

Arts and Crafts

Your child may want to draw with a purple crayon after reading this book. That would be fantastic; let your child do what he or she likes with a purple crayon and paper. Be prepared for a nice story about what is being drawn.


A different activity for children who are not interested in a purple crayon is to use purple construction paper and white chalk to make a night sky. The texture of chalk on construction paper can be a learning experience in itself.

For a baby or toddler: Allow your baby or toddler to use chalk on construction paper if baby is old enough to safely hold and use chalk. Your toddler may be quite fascinated with making white marks on a colored paper instead of the other way around.

For a preschooler: Ask your child to draw stars and a moon on your purple paper to make a night sky. You might even add to the picture yourself.


For an older child: Combine learning about constellations with drawing some on the paper. If you have not already learned together about constellations, look up some pictures of constellations in the sky. For this arts and crafts activity, have your child make up his or her own constellations and name them.

4. Sailboats

Story Interest/Science

Harold draws a sailboat and sails across water. How does a sailboat work? What makes it go?

Explain that a sailboat needs its sails to be up so that wind can blow the sails and push the boat.

For a toddler or preschooler: Find two plastic bath toy boats, one with a sail and one without. Draw a bath, put your child in, and do an experiment. First put in the boat without a sail. Blow on it. Allow your child to blow on it too. The breath might move it a little bit but likely won't push it forward very far. Now take that boat out and put in the boat with the sail. Blow on the sails. This boat should move forward much more easily because there is wind in its sails.

For an older child: Have your child build a sailboat. Here is a link to a 5th Grade Sail Boat Project.

5. Finding Your Room

Geography/Story Interest/Physical Activity

Start in your child's bedroom. Now lead him or her out to another room. Instruct your child to go back to the bedroom. Ask how they found it. Go to another room. Tell your child to get back to the bedroom as quickly as possible. Try this from one other room.

For a toddler: Do the above activity, emphasizing which room is your toddler's room. Have fun with it! If your toddler needs an extra challenge, try it with all the lights out and a flashlight.

For a preschooler: Do the above activity, asking your child which direction they are going as they navigate to their room. Do the flashlight variation because a preschooler will be delighted with it!

For an older child: Have your child first walk back to the room, then sit down somewhere and draw a map to show the way they walked. This map can be as simple or as elaborate as necessary. Some preschoolers can do this activity.


Note: Anytime you or your child gets excessively frustrated with an activity, take a deep breath and remember the purpose of the activity. Some of your purposes may be: To teach, to learn, to have fun, to spend quality time together, and to evaluate your child's abilities. It is usually better to avoid an outburst of frustration with each other than to complete an activity. Sometimes just taking that breath, looking each other in the eyes, and thinking for a moment about the real issue bothering one (or more) of you is extremely valuable.