For those of you who know me really well, you know that I am a clean freak and HATE having clutter around my house. Well for the past couple of months I've had this magazine lying around, that is driving me crazy, but I don't want to get rid of it because it has a really great article in it that I want to keep for future reference. I've finally come up with a solution to my problem. I decided to copy the article onto my blog so I can finally trash the magazine. I thought it was interesting and something I want to have in the future, maybe you will think so too.
62 Things to Do With Your Kids Before They Grow Up
1. Run a marathon. But not all at once. Set a goal with your kids to run a full 26.2 miles over a course of a year, an idea pioneered by the nonprofit group Marathon Kids. To help your little ones finish, track their progress from zero to marathoner on a chart. Before the last leg, fashion a finish line in the driveway.
2. Destroy a toaster. Next time you replace an appliance, give the old model to your kids. Together, you can dissect the machine and examine it's parts. Don't know much about circuitry? Howstuffworks.com offers a primer.
3. Screen silent movies. The slapstick hijinks's of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton will keep your toddler in stitches. Best of all, you don't have to worry about the kids picking up inappropriate language or repeating catch phrases.
4. Build super sand castles. Visit sonsofthebeach.com
5. Vote. Bringing your children into the voting booth with you serves as a great lesson in democracy-and may inspire them one day to reach for the White House.
6. Walk off the edge of the Grand Canyon. The good news: There's something underneath you. The bad news: It's see-through. Suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River , the skywalk at Grand Canyon West lets visitors get a view of the natural wonder that's guaranteed to inspire awe- and possibly a little nausea.
7. Get old school. Show off your high school yearbook. Smile indulgently while your kids laugh at your hair and clothes.
8. Pull Taffy. Make like Willy Wonka and whip up a batch of homemade saltwater taffy. But be prepared to sweat for your sweet. Find detailed instructions at exploratorium.edu.
9. Tour the world in a trio of American cities. Forget passports and international date lines; you can introduce your child to world cultures by visiting a trio of big cities. Our favorites: Snap pictures of onion-doomed churches and sample freshly baked pierogi in Chicago's Ukrainian Village. Listen to authentic African music at Dukem Restaurant, located in Washington D.C.'s "Little Ethiopia" neighborhood. Or snack on tasty Middle eastern fare at Sahara Falafel in the "Little Gaza" district of Anaheim, located minutes from Disneyland. It is a small world, after all.
10. Do Lunch. On a random day, check your kid out from school, after you get the teacher's OK, and take your child to lunch at his favorite restaurant. He'll appreciate the escape from class, and you'll enjoy the conversation.
11. Camp out. Pitch a tent in the backyard, grab sleeping bags and flashlights, and spend a night under the stars.
12. Crack cascarones. These dyed, confetti-filled eggshells are fun to make, and to break. Known as cascarones in the Southwest, the eggs provide a twist to your usual Easter egg hunt, since you get to crack them, gently, on each other's heads. To make them you will need a dozen eggs, and band of confetti; colored dye, paint, or markers; glue; and tissue paper to cut into small squares. Cut a small hole in the tops of the eggs and pour out the yolk and whites. Decorate the shells with dye or paints. Once dry, fill them halfway with confetti. Glue a small square of tissue paper over the hole and voila- you're ready to crack some heads! (my thoughts on this one is that you don't have to crack the eggs on people's heads.)
13. Go guerrilla. Commit random, anonymous acts of kindness with your child.
14. Get lost in a snow globe. Not literally. Instead, make a homemade snow globe with a miniature winter scene starring your family. Find step-by-step instructions by searching for "snow globe" at hgtv.com.
15. Go to work. Join the 32 million people who participate in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day every April 24. "Going with adults to work gives kids the chance to discuss ideas about work, life, and options for the future."
16. Explore a volcano. Baking-soda volcanoes are a staple at science fairs for a reason. They appeal to budding chemists, volcanologists, and general kaboom-ists everywhere. And the kids seem to like them too.
17. Discover planet Earth. Through Planet Earth. Forty cameramen spent 5 years filming in more than 200 locations for this 11 part series. Your kids will love watching it. $60 discovery.com
18. Go puddle jumping. Grab a pair of water shoes and splash to your heart's content.
19. Mark heights on fabric. Many parent's chart the heights of their children on doorjambs. Big mistake. The average American moves every seven years, meaning families either have to abandon the chart or do some serious door demolition. Instead of leaving the past behind or breaking out the crowbars, tack a strip of fabric on the wall and use a felt pen to track your kid's growth.
20. Score a pro baseball. Commemorate your trip to the ball game with more than a crumples ticket stub. Zack Hample, author of Watching Baseball Smarter, has pocketed 3,277 major league baseballs. Here's some tips from him on how to snag your own ball.
Scout your teams: I always print out the roster of both teams, so I have a list of the name, number and position of every guy I might see on the field. That way, when they get near, I can ask them for a ball by name.
Hit batting practice: That's when the crowd is light, security's less strict, and players warm up by hitting one ball after another, many of which end up in the stands.
Play both sides: Even if you're not a fan, wear a baseball cap of the visiting team. Visiting players love to spot their fans on the road and often reward them with baseballs. I own baseball caps of all 30 major league teams, and I always bring both to a game. Sneaky, yes, but also effective.
Be a good sport: Say "please" when asking for a ball. I've seen people get turned down just because they forgot the magic word. Also, I've learned how to ask for a ball in several different languages. Many players come from foreign countries, and they appreciate hearing a request in their native tongue.
21. Make Pizza. Tired of kids picking toppings off their slices? Have them make their own. After enough pepperoni/chocolate sauce and peanut butter/meatball combos, they'll never complain about a Hawaiian pie again.
22. Get money. Give your child three piggy banks, one labeled "spend," one "save," and one "share." Give him all the spend money, deposit the save money into his college savings account, and use the share money to buy a toy for one of the nearly 13 million kids living in poverty in the US. Donate the gift to the Salvation Army. (I recommend a 4th bank for "tithing").
23. Make snow angels.
24. Read kid classics. Time travel with your kids by checking out the most popular children's books ever written. Here are some titles to get you started.
- Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan
25. Give piggy-back rides.
26. Pitch in. More than 61 million families volunteered in 2006. Your family can keep those numbers up!
27. Stuff a time capsule. Pick a selection of objects that represent this specific moment: today's newspaper, a mix CD of music, this weeks TV guide, your last grocery receipt, a stamp, an amazon.com printout of the top-selling toys, and the like. Then write a note to your future selves describing what everyone likes to do and their plans for the future. Finally, make a prediction about what things will be like 10 years hence. Stuff everything, along with a family photo, inside a plastic storage bin, and hide the capsule in a safe place. Then resist the urge to peek!
28. Make a tasty breakfast in bed. On Mother's Day and Father's Day, let your kids crack the eggs while you tackle the stove top work. Make the meal together, then eat in bed.
29. Swim with dolphins. (This happens to be my personal favorite).
30. Build an obstacle course in the backyard. Take full advantage of your natural resources. Have a tree with a sturdy branch? Hitch a rope to it and let your little athletes swing over a makeshift "moat," complete with blue beach blanket and stuffed crocodiles. Short bushes become hurdles, porch steps platforms to pole vault onto, and fountains obstacles to dodge. Use empty boxes and spare lumber and get creative. Finally, set up stations throughout the course where the kids must perform an activity, such as jumping rope 10 times or throwing a football through a hula-hoop.
31. Watch Julie Andrews. Rent The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries, and lesser known Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
32. Skate on Olympic ice. You can skate from October-March in Salt Lake City where the Olympics were held in 2002.
Now that I have been typing these, I decided that 62 things is a lot for one post, so I decided to split it up. So keep checking my blog for the final 30 items.
7 comments:
Awesome article. Can't wait to see what the other activities are. Another good idea is to cut out the article and organize your favorite articles in a binder. Then you have a collection of the things you want and can throw the magazines away. I am really into interior decorating and have way too many decorating magazines around the house. So this way I can keep the pictures and ideas I like and get rid of the rest! Cannot wait to see you guys.
Thank you for posting this. Way cute ideas!
I am really going to benefit from this! What a great article!
I need tips on how to keep clutter out of my house. I think we just have too much stuff! I hate that!
You could also just cut out the articles and put them in a file. that might save room.
I see why you didn't want to throw it away- those are some great ideas of fun activities to do with your kids!
Cool article. Thanks for sharing it.
Holly, I wanted to get back to you about the exzema but am just now getting to it...Eth still does get itchy and bleeds but he knows why now and can prevent it with putting lotion on--we used to smother him in it when he was a baby(we also put he socks on him and we had to tape them on and he still tore them off to scratch. but because he's growing out of some food allergies it's not as bad. I just make him shower off when he goes swimming to get the sun screen and chlorine off.
We have always used cetaphil lotion and bar soap and it has been great with keeping the perfumes and dyes off him-when he was young he only had baths a couple times a day to keep his skin from drying out.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
I mean baths a couple times a WEEK- unless he was dirty from the mud or something
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