Help ~ How do I play with my kiddos?

[CariS]

I know this is a weird question. But I'm an only child and my mom was overworked and never played with me. We never even ate meals together. Only now (as a mom) do I see how sad that is.

I'm finding it hard to balance all the house work I have to do and to make time to PLAY with the kids. Also I'd love to paint and draw but I never know what to draw.

I would love ideas of what YOU like to do.

I'll start -

- I love to cook and bake with the kids. I find its best to be prepared with snacks (so they eat the right stuff) and they're not waiting around for me to get everything.

[leximom]

check out the book Pretend soup for ideas with cooking with your kids and then fun with mommy and me for a ton of fun ideas of structured play ideas. Those are my go to books when I'm feeling in a rut.

[CariS]

Oh thank you so much!

I googled for blogs too... didn't find much. I will check out the books! thanks.
x

[LynnS6]

How old are your kids? Your answer to that will determine a lot.

If you're not great at pretend play (a lot of parents aren't, it's OK), then I'd suggest:
Board games -- lots of good interaction (there are some good ones like "kids on stage" which is charades for kids)
Joint story writing - take turns giving ideas, and then draw the pictures together.
Crafts - lots of kids like project type things. I suck at these.

[mamasee]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Board games -- lots of good interaction (there are some good ones like "kids on stage" which is charades for kids)

I'm looking for more ideas of good games that can cross many ages and fun for adults, too. We played Apples To Apples Jr. (a card / word game) with friends (and kids ages 8 & 12) recently and it was a hoot!
Any other ideas for games that can also be fun for kids ages 4yrs - adult?

[tuck]

We LOVe Rosie O'Donnell's craft book http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-ODonnell...7122154&sr=1-1 She wrote it to give parents ideas for crafting/spending time/talking with their kids. ( she's a waldorf mama so no tv). The projects are easy and beautiful!
We also have invested in a huge set of Quadrilla, which is an awesome activity for all ages. Kind of tricky for little ones until they get the hang of it. Another favorite here are Keva planks. We don't play tons of games here but do like Blokus, Hape games, and Castle Logic/Royal Rescue. hth

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by mamasee

Any other ideas for games that can also be fun for kids ages 4yrs - adult?

4 to adult is a bit a of a hard range because 4 year olds may or may not have the stamina to sit through a game that takes a while.

Uno works well for kids for a range of ages.

Our 4 year old can play:
Sorry
Cranium Cadoo (if you read the questions for the non-readers)
Labyrinth or Labyrinth Jr.
Checkers
Uno

Otherwise, you're really left with games for the 4-7 year olds and then others for the adults.

[MAMom]

I'm also an only child of a single mom who rarely played too (or when she did took all the fun out of it), so I am trying really hard to play with my kiddos (and enjoy it - that's the hard part for me).

- I enjoy doing puzzles with 5.5 y.o. DS, as that's something we can really work on together and I enjoy it too.
- Playing with homemade playdough.
- Sometimes putting train tracks or marble runs together is fun.
- Putting on music and dancing.
- Playing catch outside, or bopping a ballon around inside.
- Blowing bubbles together.
- Playing "restaurant".

This blog has links to "an activity a day" for March (scroll down to entry from 3/2/09). Some very cool ideas.

=================
Mama to DS 5/03 & DD 2/06 :
: ICAN “You never know when you're making a memory.” ~ Rickie Lee Jones

[CariS]

Hey everyone -

Many thanks for the ideas! Its really helpful. This seems so silly to me - playing should be natural! But I found myself just doing all the house work day after day and the kids playing on their own. I should play too sometimes!

I forgot to mention - their 4 yo and 2 yo. We also love to play puzzles. I basically sit with them now and chat with them while dd 4yo helps 2 yo ds. Its sweet. We also love to dance but I haven't done it in a while! Will do it tomorrow! I need to dance myself!

Thanks and keep the ideas coming! Hope you have a fun day!

[CariS]

Thanks so much for the post! (sorry to hear playing wasn't always so fun for you as a child either! Now's our chance to have fun though! )

I LOVE the blog! So many great ideas! And for some reason to 'see' it makes it seem more approachable or doable. Many thanks!

C

Originally Posted by MAMom

I'm also an only child of a single mom who rarely played too (or when she did took all the fun out of it), so I am trying really hard to play with my kiddos (and enjoy it - that's the hard part for me).

- I enjoy doing puzzles with 5.5 y.o. DS, as that's something we can really work on together and I enjoy it too.
- Playing with homemade playdough.
- Sometimes putting train tracks or marble runs together is fun.
- Putting on music and dancing.
- Playing catch outside, or bopping a ballon around inside.
- Blowing bubbles together.
- Playing "restaurant".

This blog has links to "an activity a day" for March (scroll down to entry from 3/2/09). Some very cool ideas.

=================
Mama to DS 5/03 & DD 2/06 :
: ICAN “You never know when you're making a memory.” ~ Rickie Lee Jones

[eccomama]

dd is almost 5. i have her most of the time so it's hard to give her quality time and get all the stuff down around the house. i engaged her in house cleaning, whether it's sweeping the floor, wiping down the table, putting laundry away. i try to make it fun, like letting dd sweep the kitchen in her play dress. i pretend to be the wicked witch/queen making her do chores. lol.

we also have activites that we do togehter. puzzles, board games and just role playing. i interact with her even when i'm cooking or cleaning up so she feels part of what i'm doing and i feel part of what she's doing...

i also try to do the bulk of the house stuff at night.

[leximom]

Originally Posted by MAMom

This blog has links to "an activity a day" for March (scroll down to entry from 3/2/09). Some very cool ideas.

Oh, some great ideas in that blog! Thanks for sharing

[klt]

I'm a single mom too, to an almost 4 yo boy.

I don't think it's silly at all to ask about how to play with your child and take care of all the chores. This is a great discussion on how to integrate both our roles.

I'm subscribing to this post and will come back later tonight to ad some ideas too. Basically we are in "fantasy" play land in my house 24-7, as long as he can wear costumes and carry little super heroes around in his hand we turn a lot of things into games (because we have to, really !)