81 Activities for Little Kids

While evaluating preschool fun for my 4-year-old this year, I realized he's already naturally learned his letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, just as Charlotte Mason assured me he would, without a heavy curriculum. (Just don't tell her that he watched Dora and Leapfrog and played on the computer!) I like to have some one-on-one time with him though, so what should we do?

Here's my list of 81 fun things to do with my little man this year. My plan is to do our reading lesson and then take 30 minutes to do an activity together. I'll either pick what sounds good to me or have him draw a paper out of a bucket.

I chose activities that take little to no prep on my part, since the bigger kids take the majority of my brain during the school year! :)

You can find photos of some of these activities on my Pinterest Boards: Preschool and Toddlers.

Math/Logic

Play Store

Bake Cookies

Pattern Blocks

Shiller Math Blocks

Clock Practice

Sort Change

Hullabaloo

Twister

Battleship

Cereal Abacus

Memory Game

Candy Cane Ornament

Button Board

Dominoes

Rulers

Jelly Bean Math Chart

Art

Play Dough

Shrinky Dink

Paint

Stickers

Cheerio Art

Magazine Collage

Mosaic Squares

Thumb Prints

Stencils

Card Making

Bead Pipe Cleaners

Side Walk Chalk

Popsicle Stick Matching

Language

Write a Story

Puppet Show

Doctor Kit

Act with weapons

ABC Hunt

Play Dinosaurs

Make Treasure Hunt

Seasons Collage

Make a Yarn Book

Building

Trains

Blocks

Hot Wheels

Legos

Duplo Blocks

Box Building

Games

Uno/Go Fish

Candy Land

Story Maker

Blokus

Quirkle

Sorry

Puzzles

Monopoly Junior

Rummikub

Checkers

Connect Four

Active

Kick Ball

Trampoline

Zip Line

Running Races

Obstacle Course

Dance

Bean Bag Toss

Bozo Buckets

Hide and Seek

Tag

Outside

Sidewalk Chalk

Collect Rocks

Collect Leaves

Paint Rocks

Scavenger Hunt

Ride Bikes

Ride Scooter

Roller Skate

Play Catch

T-Ball

Treasure Map

Cloud Shapes

Hop Scotch

Swinging

Bubbles

Carnival

Ok - your turn! What should I add to the list?

God, do you like me?

“God, I know you love me, but do you like me?”

This question was rattling around in my head for the last two weeks. I’m reading a book about God’s love, and I have been pondering the truth that I’m saved, not because of what I’ve done, but because of the righteousness of Christ.

The illustration I came up with is that I’m a finger painting, and a crude one at that, and God loves me because I’m His, but in order to enter the art gallery, He placed His perfect, life-like oil painting over me.

And that illustration in my mind left me empty. I felt worthless. Unlikable. Crude. Unimportant. I thought, “Sure, I get to go to the art gallery, but I feel like a fraud, a counterfeit.”

In a way, that’s all true – I am covered in the righteousness of Christ, and only by his death and resurrection do I receive forgiveness and Christ’s life on my behalf.

But it leaves out the heart of God.

And for the heart of God, I like to go to the Old Testament. God as our Shepherd. God as our Father. God as our Rescuer. God as our Faithful Provider. God as our loving Creator.

And then to Jesus, who cared for people, showed compassion, served them, listened to them, loved them.

So yes, I guess I’m a fraud, but it’s also true that my finger-painting is loved by God, and He’s in the process of transforming that finger painting into a work of art – I’m fearfully and wonderfully made! It won’t be finished here on earth, but one day, I’ll truly be that masterpiece.

So yes, God loves me. And yes, He likes me, too.  And that truth helps free me from needing to be liked by others.

Have you ever felt this way?

Middle of Mommyhood

I've always been a girl with many interests.

I often feel like the dog in Up. "Squirrel!"

Projects seem to be mostly my-style. Work on something, see it to completion, move on to the next.

Need a drama written? Organize a field trip? Take a few pictures?

It is fun. Quick. Over. Next.

The long-haul is where I struggle. The daily. The routine.

Ahh, routine. The word itself makes me twitch.

While on one hand I enjoy settling into a new routine, it eventually becomes old.

I was looking at my kids yesterday, and I realized I have a good 15 more years of doing the same thing as I have been doing for the last 12.

Cooking. Cleaning. Teaching them to spell. Reviewing vocabulary words. Laundry.

On one hand, it seems like, well, like forever.

But on the other hand, it'll fly by.

So I'm happy and sad, excited and mellow, energized and sentimental, all at the same time.

Not a very deep post, but it's just where I am. Right in the middle of mommy-hood. I'm mostly content. Growing in patience and perseverance. Learning to savor the little times and stick-it-out through the hard times.

Now, off to make dinner and fold some towels. Have a great weekend!

Practicing Thankfulness

You'd think that being thankful would come easy as adults.We're taught from childhood to say it.

Receive a glass of milk. "Thank you."

Open a present. "Thank you."

Someone holds a door. "Thank you."

Why is it that a genuine heart of thankfulness isn't as easy to come by?

To practice thankfulness this year, I've started on a 365 day photo project. Each day, I'm on a hunt for something tangible I can be thankful for that I can snap a photo of and post on Facebook.

The items themselves aren't extraordinary, but the process of looking - every single day - is teaching my hard heart to be softened to God's daily gifts. His abundant blessings.

And that's the key. I'm not just thankful to a big world for all the fun things around me. I'm thankful because of the cross.

I've been forgiven by Jesus, so all of life's blessings are gravy on an already overly-blessed life. I deserved wrath, I've been given grace. I deserved eternal judgement, but I've been given eternal life.

As I capture things like my tooth brush and clean water, I'm giving an offering of thanksgiving to our Great God, the Gracious Giver.

It takes practice, and I'm hoping this little exercise will help me on the way.

What about you? Am I alone in allowing the days to pass in a blur without thanking Him for... everything?

 Day 9: I am His!

Day 14: God's Acrylic Painting in the Sky

Day 26: My Pop's incredible patience, 

as demonstrated in teaching little man to play ski ball.

 

Day 36: My toothbrush! 

If I was stuck on a deserted island 

and could only bring one thing, 

this would be it. I'm not awake until I've brushed my teeth.

 

Day 40: Green Smoothies. 

My son may not eat his vegetables, 

but he's learning to drink them.