Wildflower in the Sun: activities for kids

Lets be honest, when dad is home for a whole day with no work, after a great hard work week, well, it is just going to be a good day! Lots of fun to be had. Not to mention, a day of adult conversation. I love days like this.

We woke up and had breakfast. Then we all cleaned house. We were done by 9:30 I think, so then we went out to get some groceries and run around town. Came home Cap napped. I sewed. Bryce woodworked. The boy woke up. Then the baking began. Cap was really wanting to help bake this morning. He was walking around with the wisp saying chocolate chips:) So I asked if he wanted to help me bake some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. All he heard was chocolate so he said yes!

Cap like to taste every ingredient we put in the bowl. Flour. Salt. Baking Soda. Sugar. Yep. Everything. Then he says MmmmMmmm. Very cute. About 5% of the ingredients always make it back out of the bowl somehow.

But he loves to be involved in everything we do and wants to help the best way he knows how. Now is it helpful most of the time. Not at all. Quite counter productive most of the time. But this is what it is all about. Using everyday life to make teachable moments and being intentional teachers to our son. Does Cap 'really' clean the dishes with us, ha, no, but you better believe that he is going to find someone to bring his chair over to the sink so he can help us do whatever the heck he thinks we are doing with the sink full of water and bubbles.

Cooking and baking is just another great way to teach kids how to count, add, crack eggs, measure dry and wet ingredients, all the kinds of spices there are, etc. There are a lot of things Cap cannot do yet, but I think we underestimate what a 1 year old can do and also what he would love to be doing along side his parents contributing with the community. Instead of fighting his need for independence, which everyone has, we are helping him learn the skills towards independence which makes him feel like a champ, gives him confidence in himself, and makes him feel needed and part of what we are doing.

Anyways, all that to say, we had fun and got dirty!!! Oh then to wrap up our day, Bryce picked up pizza (you have no idea how many times I have had pizza this week! and it was my suggestion!!!), we ate some pumpkin bread (Cap wasn't a fan, may be he had too much of the dough), jumped off the couch 54 times and did 21 front rolls off of it, and got ready for bed. Good day.

Enjoy,

I am on a new search to find better more creative things to do with Cap these days. It is easy to look at your day in "rounds".

Ding, Ding, Ding. Round 1, we awake. Nap #1, Round 1 over. Ding, Ding, Ding. Round 2, he awakes. Nap #2, Round 2 over. Ding, Ding, Ding. Round 3, he awakes. We finish out the day. Go to sleep. Round 3 over. Game. (or whatever you are supposed to say in boxing)

Most people would admit to look at their day like this every so often. The ones who don't, well, they aren't telling the truth! :) I am on a mission not to just go through the motions, but to live a creative and full life! I struggle with figuring out to do with Cap since he is still so young. Every month, our list grows. When days are nice outside, it is very easy. He loves being outside exploring. But when it is cold, rainy, and blowing like crazy, we both have a hard time lasting inside for too long.

I am hoping to start posting activities to do with little ones give or take around Cap's age. I know I am not the only one trying to come up with good stuff to do with your kids.

This past weekend was a very wet and cold one so it was time to try something new. Cap painted his first 'Masterpiece'. We set the stage while he was napping. We taped a huge piece of plastic to the ground. You could easily use a tablecloth or something similar. I put 2 colors of paint in their own little bowl and had a 3rd color on standby. We had a canvas, a brush, and a sponge. I showed him once how to do it and then he took off on his own.

This would be a wonderful rainy day activity, but also great on a nice day. I knew I was going to put him straight in the bath, but if you were outside you could just hose your kid down. I used a washable tempera paint. There are TONS of homemade paint recipes that I found after I bought these. So I will try some of those next. Even though it said washable I still took his clothes off because you just never know.

I can't say he loved this activity. However, he hadn't been feeling good and I don't think the timing was right for him. He has been super attached to me lately and this was an activity I didn't want him in my lap doing at the time. I think he just wanted me to hold him! Next time I will remember that and have my clothes ready to get painted on! He enjoyed the 45 minute bath afterwards much more this time around.