Posted by drozzell on May 2, 2009
You have to be a bit courageous for this one, but it can also be fun. Host a sleep-over for a few (not too many!) of your child’s friends. They can bring sleeping bags and sleep on the bedroom floor, or you can clear out the family room or den and have them sleep there. Prepare snacks, cookies, popcorn, and have a movie or two ready to go. I think this works best (at least from the point of view of the parents) for pre-teens; they go to sleep earlier and are not likely to have other friends coming over to visit, but the age limit is up to you and your stamina.
Posted by drozzell on April 30, 2009
Ice has become such a convenience that we don’t typically think about making it. These days, with automatic icemakers and dispensers that deliver ice into your glass directly from the front of the freezer door, you don’t even have to open the freezer to get it. That is what makes this activity somewhat novel. Assuming you can find an old-fashioned ice tray, have your child take some fruit juice, or lemonade, or Kool-Aid type drink, pour it into the tray, and place it in the freezer. In a couple of hours you will have frozen fruit juice, which you can break up into pieces and suck on. What a great antidote for a hot summer day.
Posted by drozzell on March 24, 2009
In California where I live, the weather is getting warmer and we can start to think about getting our gardens going. So, this weekend, my 6 year-old daughter and I went out to buy some tomato seedlings and then planted them in our garden. We didn’t so anything fancy here. We just transferred the plants into holes that we dug, partially filled with rich potting soil, then watered them. The whole process took maybe 30 minutes, but in a few months when we get to eat the product of these plants, those tomotoes will be extra special.
Posted by drozzell on March 19, 2009
Frisbee is another old standby, with the advantage that Frisbees are readily available and inexpensive. (In fact, many Frisbees are given away as freebies by stores and other organizations every year.) There is something fascinating about the way a Frisbee spins and floats through the air. Learning to throw and catch a Frisbee may take a little practice if your kids have not used one before, but they will quickly get the hang of it. You really need some wide-open space, either a large yard or a park with a lot of open grassy areas.
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 11, 2009
My 16 year old son and I just finished spending the past two days volunteering together at a humanitarian aid center and a rescue mission in a major US city. While the impetus for doing this was an assignment for a project at my son’s school, the impact this activity made on both my son and myself caused me to realize what a great activity this would be for parents and children to do together. It doesn’t take a lot from us to make a positive difference in someone else’s life. The work can be simple–preparing and packing aid kits or sorting donated clothing–and it only costs you some time. But you and your child will be well-compensated. You will be showing your child a part of life they need to know about, and demonstrating the importance of giving a helping hand to others. Not many activities with kids can offer so much.
Posted by drozzell on February 9, 2009
Everyone needs a set of activities for kids when the weather will not permit you to go outside. Here is something that is great for a rainy day: plan a vacation. Ask your child to think where to go on vacation and what to do while there. By making suggestions you can guide the discussion (for example, your child suggests that the family go on an around the world cruise for 6 months; you can ask what to do about work and school, talk about the expense, and suggest some time and cost boundaries to the vacation). You may be amazed at the good ideas your child comes up with. Another benefit is learning about the things your child would really like to do that, quite possibly, you would not know about. By planning a vacation, you are asking your child in an indirect way to share his or her desires with you.
Posted by drozzell on January 24, 2009
There are many simple card tricks, including a lot of self-working ones that even a young kid can learn. I recommend getting a book from the library or book store with easy-to-learn tricks and teaching your son or daughter how to carry it off. (It might be a good idea to practice it yourself first!) Then let your child show off for the family or friends. Card tricks always seem to be crowd pleasers.
Posted by drozzell on December 18, 2008
Is the weather too cold for a “camp out”? Not really up to sleeping outside yourself? Then make a “tent” or “fort” with bed sheets and blankets and pretend to have a camp out—really a camp-in, since you will do this activity with kids indoors, not outdoors. You can lay out sleeping bags, or just layer a few blankets on the floor. Bring flashlights and turn off the lights in the room to create the feeling of a dark night. Take turns telling scary stories. No camp-in would be complete without some food to enjoy together. Snacks are even more fun when shared under the makeshift tent you have created.
Posted by drozzell on December 17, 2008
This post is admittedly self serving, but so be it! My new book “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is a group of short stories about a grandfather and his grandson and the things they did together. The overarching theme of this book is that just doing simple things together with a child pays big long-term benefits in building a strong relationship. Although the stories focus on a grandfather and his grandson, many of the same activities would translate equally well to things that any adult could do with children, boys or girls. Fully illustrated, “Mr. Buddy and Grandy” was written in a style for reading to children, yet also enjoyable for adults.
This book is a tribute to my grandfather to memorialize what my he did for me, and also to offer ideas to other parents and grandparents of activities they can do with their children and grandchildren. I believe that the more time adults and children can spend together exploring the world around them, just doing simple things together, the stronger their family bonds will be and the better prepared for adolescence and adulthood the children will be.
“Mr. Buddy and Grandy” is available directly from the author at his Web Site http://www.rozzell.com. The author can be contacted by e-mail at david@rozzell.com.
(60 pages) Perfect-Bound Paperback, fully-illustrated, $12.95 post-paid when paying with Paypal account or a credit card through Paypal
