Having fun at home

Since Elijah has opted not to go to kindy this year, I've had it constantly in mind that I need to give him enough stimulation / activity/ opportunities to play with other children, learn and explore his little world.  Not that Saraya went to kindy either, but then I always knew what she needed, when she needed it!  She is one to make her needs and desires clearly known to the world.  :)  Elijah is different; quiet, passive, content.  I enjoy just pottering through the day with him by my side.  But is it enough?  Well, I asked him myself the other day.  I suggested other things we could do (and will do, from time to time), even suggesting that maybe he could give kindy a go as his friend Ruby is enjoying it so much.  But no, he tells me he likes being home and is happy just being here with me.  I think I'm getting it through my head, relaxing and embracing having this year with him and William (who is becoming a busy, active crawler!).

So this post is:  Having fun at home:  Ideas for non-kindy-goers. :)

(there are so many things to do, but these are all things I did with the boys last week....)

1. Gardening.  This is a great thing to do with kids.  THis week we have one simple job (aside from the daily watering)....... to plant in these 2 rosemary plants.  Elijah likes to dig with me.

2. Join your local toy library, if you have one!  It's a fun outing, and you will end up with amazing and wonderful toys like these, save money, teach the concept of sharing, waiting with patience (you can put your name down for things you really like but are popular).... and get new toys every fortnight!!

3.  Art / craft.... this does not have to be messy!  Last week we enjoyed making and using playdough (Elijah will sit for about an hour with a ball of dough and a small box of animals and small tools to work with). He also did some cutting and pasting.  I sat Elijah down during one of those "Mamma, PLEASE play with me!!" right-when-I'm-cooking moments, gave him a few pieces of blank paper, some scissors, glue, and a box of old cards and stamped pictures.  And he created these!!  I was impressed.

4.  Get chicks!!!  Ours have been popular with the kids, just watching them, helping me with their care (though I mostly do it all), and cuddling them.

5.  Pack a picnic and go to the park.  We did this spontaneously last week and had a blast!!

6.  Visit a friend's house, or have a friend over

7.  Go to the library

8.  Go to the pool.  Saraya has lessons on Thursday and I pack togs for E as well- they both enjoy it!

9.  Play with your little person.  I have now structured our days at home to include a definite playtime with ELijah- and this has in turn helped him play independently at other times!  His favourite things to do with me are creative play with Little People, and reading books- his current favourite is a Pirate "Where's Wally" type book (thanks Grandad!!).  It's good because we do 2 or 3 pages together at one time.

10.  Cook together.  This is something that's great when I'm needing to cook but ELijah wants to spend time with me.  He has his own small kid-size apron, and he stands on a chair to be bench-height.  He loves peeling bananas, cutting soft fruits/veges for me, putting cut veges in the pot, and mixing batter for cakes or pancakes.  He also has fun (and makes an enormous mess!!) washing dishes sometimes.

So there you have it... 10 ideas for this week.

Oh, and by the way... all you need to keep your 8-month old VERY happy is a newspaper.  This is Will this morning after discovering last week's Sunday Mail.  We let him go for half an hour or so, and boy did he have the time of his life!!!!