Posted by drozzell on April 28, 2009
I live in southern California, so knowing a few words of Spanish is de-rigueur, but anyone can do this. Teach your child to count to ten in a foreign language. Young kids usually enjoy learning something new like this. And Spanish is just an example; you can use any other language in which you ree able to count to ten. This takes no preparation, can be done almost any time, and is as easy as uno, dos, tres.
Posted by drozzell on March 18, 2009
Planting a tree with your kids is a great weekend activity. Although you can certainly start from a seed or kernel, the results are usually better, and the feedback more immediate, if you get a sapling from nursery. Your child can be part of the process of choosing the type of tree to plant. You can also begin the discussion about the importance of trees in photosynthesis, using carbon dioxide and producing oxygen—the opposite of what animals and people do. Trees can create wonderful memories as well. I remember planting a peach tree as a kid using a peach pit buried about a foot in the ground, and completely forgot about it until the tree came up months later. In a few years we had a bumper crop, and those peaches were always extra special, knowing that they had come from a tree that I had planted.
Posted by drozzell on February 21, 2009
Do you ever simply ask your kids questions, and then wait to see how they answer? I think this is a great thing to do with kids: engage them with questions. Just asking questions is one of the simplest, and probably most overlooked, ways to build a great relationship with your son or daughter. Here are some examples.
What is your favorite color? Why?
What is your favorite smell?
What was your favorite part of our last vacation?
What songs do you like? Are there any you do not like?
What is your favorite animal? Why?
If a genie gave you a wish, what would you wish for?
What is your favorite book or story?
You get the idea, and you will think of many questions of this type to ask. Let your child expound a bit, draw him or her out, and be ready to ask the key follow up question: Why? You will be amazed at what you learn.
Posted by drozzell on December 10, 2008
Ok, with a brand new blog on Things to do with Your Kids, here are the goals for the coming year.
1. Exceed 1000 RSS subscribers
2. Write and market first e-book
3. Figure out how to make Twitter work to bring more web site traffic
4. Launch second site
