Join The Circus

     It's amazing how quickly a little bit of old make-up, an umbrella, and some costume pieces from the dress-up box can turn into a full blown three ring circus! Here my daughter is demonstrating her ability to balance on the back of an "elephant" before she deftly takes to the masking tape "high wire" laid out on our carpet. I'm not sure which she liked best...putting together her costume/make-up or performing for us.  Don't forget that every good circus performer needs a creative name to go along with their amazing act!  Before bed tonight my daughter, a.k.a Magenta the Magnificent, begged me to let her join the circus again tomorrow...she wants to try taming the lions this time.  Ringling Brothers may have a new star on their hands soon!

Hot Chocolate Walk

Bored with the indoors?  Need a quick and fun winter activity for you and the kids? Try a hot chocolate walk! Fill a thermos with the richest, tastiest hot chocolate and head for the nearest wooded area-we like to hit our area nature preserve's walking trails.  A walk through the woods in the winter can reveal a whole new side to the forest. Trees look magical covered in white and animal tracks can be easily followed in the snow. While it's fun to chat along the way don't forget to stand still and listen to the sounds of the forest as well. Once the hot chocolate runs out it's time to go inside and warm up. You get a breath of fresh air, the kids get to expel some energy, and everyone gets some yummy hot cocoa...that's a win-win situation for sure!

The Empty Room

Empty out an entire room and leave it empty for a day or two...it will be one of the best gifts you can give to your children and yourself! An empty room just screams, "Play in here!" and will likely keep your children busy for hours.  A couple of times a year we clear out our dining room (it's the easiest to empty) and give the kids pledge and dust rags to clean the floor and magically it transforms into... a ballroom... a high speed roadway... a campsite, etc. After a day or two we put the room back in order much to the dismay of the kids who are already asking, "When can we empty out the dining room again?"  The power of an empty room...try it today!

Contemplating Art

O.k, it's field trip time! Gather your budding artist and take a trip to the nearest art museum, area art gallery, or even the local coffee shop...anywhere that has original art on display (no need to save the art appreciation for the great masters only).  Prints of art are wonderful but to really experience a piece of art you must be present with it...the very original. Allow your kiddo ample time to really look at the piece of art, to notice details. Follow with some open ended questions or your own observations. It might sound something like this, "What do you think is going on in this painting?"  or "Wow! That sculpture reminds me of the shells we found last summer. What do you think?" or "What kind of mood do you think the artist was in when they made this?  or  "See that dog in the background? Where do you think he is going?" or maybe, "What was the first thing you noticed when you looked at this?"  Since art is subjective there is no right or wrong interpretation of it!  Your child's responses will give you a peek into how they see the world which is sure to prove interesting!  Enjoy your outing!

Sockball

Here's a game that entertains the kids AND gets the laundry folded and put away-Sockball!  When it's too cold to venture out and have a snowball fight we stay indoors and have a sockball fight. This works particularly well on wash day when I have a pile of socks to pair. Simply have the kids pair the socks and fold them into one another to make a ball. These "balls" are fairly lightweight and can't really cause any damage to person or property...unless you have an aspiring pro-pitcher in your household! Once you have all your sock balls made you can choose how you'd like to play. At my house we divide the "ammunition" up evenly and claim a spot behind a piece of living room furniture. We are not allowed to move from that spot-it is our safety zone. We play a lively song on the CD player to mark the duration of the sock slinging. Once the music stops we count up the sockballs in our safety zone. The person with the least amount of socks in their zone is declared the winner! Of course the other way to play is to just go at it and sling socks while chasing each other...we usually end up doing this as well!  Sockball does have some ground rules...no sock slinging in the face, if someone shouts "stop" then all chasing and slinging is to cease, and most importantly the socks must be claimed by their owners and put away after the game :)  Happy Slinging!

New Tales From Old Classics

The next time you tuck your child into bed, take a minute to retell a favorite fairy tale using your child as the main character. Change the storyline a little, add another character, or change the ending. Make the story unique to your child and I guarantee they will be requesting it nightly. One day I retold the story of Little Red Riding Hood in which my youngest daughter, as Little Red,  befriends the wolf and goes for a ride around the forest on his back. It was a hit and I like to think that by creating these "new" versions of old favorites I'm helping my children expand their imaginations as they think of all the possible twists and turns the new version could take.

Good Reads

Here are two great reads, Not a Stick and Not a Box both by Antoinette Portis.  In each book an ordinary object is turned into many different things using the character's imagination. Most children do this sort of thing automatically, using boxes as cars and houses or sticks as fishing poles and magic wands. The technical term for this is "suspended disbelief". These books will have your children guessing what the character will imagine next and may just give them a few ideas of what to do with that empty box in the basement!