Fun Activities for Kids at Home
This past weekend we had the grandkids over at our house. My husband and I love the time we spend with our grandchildren. We are blessed with two sweet girls ages 8 and 3 plus one darling little boy who is just 15 months old. It can become quite a handful to have all three over at the same time, but I love every minute of it. Thankfully the Mommie of the baby boy was there too so she helped out and joined in on the fun as well.
Now “Grammie” can’t stand to just have them sitting around watching TV the whole time they are here; so with each visit I try getting creative by having some Fun Activities for these Kids at Home. There is usually not some elaborate scheme, just some wholesome fun that we can all enjoy. More often than not some sort of art project is involved which the girls like a lot. On this last visit we colored in velvet stickers then pasted them to construction paper to make a sticker collage which I proudly display on my refrigerator. We also did some stenciling and colored in those pictures too. These two activities took up quite a bit of time but it was well spent sharing and admiring each others works of art. Fun, fun!
The baby boy can’t quite join in on those just yet, but he is getting there. So while the girls are working on their projects, Grammie splits her time and he and I dance and play ball on the living room floor. He giggles and grins then rushes to me with the biggest hugs and I squeeze him right back and kiss his whole face. Not to be outdone the girls join in and thank me with their hugs and loves which are also reciprocated. What more could a Grammie ask for?
Almost always by the end of their stay the girls and I end up in the kitchen with a cooking activity. This trip was no exception. I chose to have them work on a yummy chocolate dessert that I found on a really cool website. Check out my blogroll and you’ll see a link to Southern Plate. The girls and I decided to try her recipe for Chocolate Cobbler. We had to make the dessert twice for a couple of reasons:
- Some of us like nuts and others don’t; so we made one batch with nuts and one without.
- Each of the girls had their own chance to make the recipe, as the 3 yr. old says, “all by myself”. (Along with Grammie’s watchful eyes of course)
We had a blast. The 8 yr. old reads the recipe and the 3 yr. old and I gather the supplies. They measured things out, stirred it up, put it in the baking dish and Grammie pops it in the oven. Oh yes, don’t forget the “spoon and bowl licking”. I really think they look forward to that most of all. Even the baby boy gets to share in with that part, and he definitely didn’t complain.
Of course throughout the cooking session Grammie had to lift him up so he too could see what was going on. He doesn’t want to be left out of anything. Pretty soon he’ll be getting in on the action. I can’t wait!
I really try to let them have the full go at making whatever we choose to do with each cooking activity. It helps them learn and grow and start their own appreciation for the love of cooking. This assists them with their independent thinking and development and a variety of educational skills that they can use throughout their lives. It must be the former teacher coming out in me but I really believe that you can teach some valuable lessons at home by just creating a fun and creative hands-on learning environment. These fun activities for kids at home will stay with them for years to come. Maybe someday they will be able to pass on the pleasure that I have found with their own children and grandchildren.
I check the time and realize it won’t be long before the girls parents will be here and we will have to start preparing for the cookout we have planned for later. Cooking for my family is one of my passions, and I don’t usually get many complaints. We truly enjoy this special family time and try to get all together at least a couple times a month.
Now why don’t you start thinking about some Fun Activities for your Kids at Home? Let your mind wander and come up with your own activities. Better yet, sit down with your kids or grandkids and let them brainstorm a little. Write down all the things y’all can think of. Save your list. You don’t have to try everything at once. This way you will have a good starting point for all kinds of future activities to do at home. Enjoy the time you spend together. Relish in it; time passes so quickly and if you are like me, you don’t want to miss a moment of it!
