Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in houston, TX

Who are the nighttime animals in your neighborhood?

July 20, 2009

During the summer, days are long and sunset comes late, usually well past normal bedtime. But what if one night, you and your little ones stayed up late, past dark, to catch a glimpse of local nocturnal animals? What would you see?

We've been working to turn our back yard into a native habitat, welcoming to local flora and fauna. We put in a pond, eschew harsh chemicals, and are slowly but surely planting  things that will attract birds, bees, butterflies, and more. So far it is a woodland creature wonderland.

My kids are young and excitable, so we did our watching indoors, by the living room window -- we called it our "blind."

Lesson: Explain about nocturnal animals and how scientists sit in the wild and make observations about animals without disturbing them. Give your young children their own field journal, where they can draw pictures or you can help them make notes.

Earlier in the day, we'd set out a dish of water, filled the bird feeder and hummingbird feeder, and put out an ear of corn and a few carrots and celery -- all in easy viewing range of our "blind" but far enough from the house to not scare the animals.

Lesson: Look up the creatures you can find in your neighborhood (armadillo, opossum, raccoons, frogs, owls, skunks, etc.) and find out the things they eat, places they live and how they live, and other interesting facts.The Houston Audubon Society is a great place to start. They have a wonderful list of Houston nocturnal wildlife that you can see in your neighborhood. It includes good information about the creatures and some ideas for spotting them.

We darkened our living room and sat quietly. We'd turned off every appliance we could to make it as quiet as possible. We spotted a family of rabbits,who came for the vegetables. We heard an owl. We also heard quite a few frogs, from the back by the pond. We saw a couple of quick birds. And a raccoon. We'd hoped for an armadillo -- one time we saw a group of those in our yard! -- and an opossum, but that didn't come that night. The kids were really excited. Afterward, we collected our notes and observations for the field journals, and finished up with an art activity, such as this coloring page of a raccoon. The kids got to talk about all they saw as they documented their fun.

Now the kids are very aware of all the creatures who share our yard with us, and they remain interested and observant.

It's a great activity.

 

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Summer Survival Game Plan for Moms (who need to get things done)

June 08, 2009

Oh summer. Today I and many other moms let out a collective groan on this, the first full of summer with kids at home full-time. Many camps and activities haven't yet begun, and all of us are trying to keep up with our workload---regardless of whether it's home chores or an assignment from a boss---while managing kids who aren't used to free-range summer life at home yet, and who are probably a little testy or troublesome. At the least, there are moments when they feel more like Impediments to Getting Things Done than the usual Treasures and Joys we view them as.

So what is there to do?

Create a plan!

Here's what we do....

Early morning: Take it easy because you can.

The girls and I normally have to hop out of bed and make a run for it. So, the good thing about summer is the chance to take a minute and breathe. The mornings really offer that chance. Although the temptation might be to hop up early and get some work done, think about sleeping in a bit (for us that means 7 a.m., maybe) and having some cuddle time.

Breakfast: Consider letting a few rules slide and eat out of the kitchen.

The kids enjoy a bit of couch lolling and show watching first thing in the morning. They may get up early, but they're a little slow to the start line. In the summer I let the kids eat breakfast and watch a show.

Exercise: Load up the bike and take a ride, go for a walk, or use one of the kid-friendly exercises

Get those willies out, have a bit of fun, and freshen up your own mind. Plus it's good for you.

Important Thoughts: Work is a lengthy composition, with parenting as frequent intermezzo

The rest of the day will be a careful balance between tending to your kids and your work. If you're like me, constant interruptions get your mind off track and make it hard to keep focused and moving along at a good pace.

In a full symphony, there is sometimes an intermezzo, which is a short movement separating the major sections of a lengthy composition. It's also a bit of entertainment between two acts of a play.

So think of your work as the lengthy composition, and the kid activity as the intermezzo. You could consider it an interruption, but you can also think of it as the important mind and body stretch away from the computer and phone.

Unlike music and theater, we begin with an intermezzo and intersperse them frequently among the work acts.

Important Thoughts: Setting up your intermezzo in advance

Nothing is quite so interesting to children as the forbidden fruit. In our house, that's the bins of toys we keep up on the high shelves in the closet. I highly suggest that you pack up activities and toys into boxes, and put them away. Leave out only a few toys. This creates fresh, "new to them" toys and activities for kids---which are always more entertaining than the same old toys they can get to every day. In the summer, the big, big fun for my kids is Taking Down the Bin.

We have junky fast food meal toys, stuffed animals, games, Legos, blocks, and more. You can sort any way you want.

Right this minute my kids just got a giant box of stuffed animals they haven't seen in a month.  They are busy playing with those stuffed animals while I write this. At last glance, they were sorting the animals by type: birds here, bears there, and so forth.

Another bin has plastic animal and people figures and paper and colors. That's for kids to set a scene and draw it. It may just be scribble scrabble with the younger ones, but it's still fun, and they often choose matching colors, so it's a good color lesson.

The blue bin is filled with blocks and cars. I encourage the kids to create a city and roads for the cars when they play with that bin.

The opaque bin is filled with what the kids think of as treasure.  It includes Mardi Gras beads, action figures, whistles, toy cameras and phones, and other little assorted "toys" (aka junk). They love to dig through that and make fun finds.

Get creative with how you create activity bins. Think about burying things in a sand bin for kids to take on the porch and dig through. What about a blanket and doll bin? A wooden toy bin, such as "dress the bear," and maybe even some of those lacing games? A musical instrument bin! A dress-up for playacting bin! How about getting a big box and letting the kids color on that, and add toys to it or make a club house?

My kids love the arts and crafts bin, and sometimes I let them do watercolor body art outside---easy to hose off, afterward.

The idea is simply to create activity bins that are easy to pull out, start the play, walk away, get work done, and clean up easily.

Plan your bins to match the length of time you need for that portion of your work. For example, a bin that might require some assistance should be left to a time when you don't plan on being on the phone. Most activity bins should last anywhere from 30 mins to an hour.

Intermezzo: Activity bin 1

Tip: Turn on some music. Sometimes I pop in a classical CD, and sometimes I turn on Radio Disney.

Work: 30 mins

Intermezzo: Check in, is it time for bin 2?

Always make sure to have the children pack up one bin before diving into another. This way, kids learn to be responsible for cleaning up, and for putting away one thing before moving on to the next. Also, you don't end up with a colossal disaster to clean up in the evening!

Work: 30 mins

Lunch time!

Let lunch be an activity. One of our favorite fun lunches is build-a-cracker. I use the divided lunch plates and the kids choose four toppings for crackers. Favorites here are peanut butter, cheese, jelly, and ham. On the side I add a vegetable and a fruit. They have fun creating their lunch, and then fun eating it.

Let little hands help clean, too.

Think about taking a quick walk, blowing bubbles outside, set up a sprinkler for the kids to run through, or another active activity that lets everyone get fresh air.

Intermezzo: Bin 2 or Bin 3.

Clean up last bin before getting next!

Work: 1 hour.

Intermezzo: Give the kids what I call a "creative play" bin.

I like to give them dress up, some props, a few books, and ask them to get inspired and create a performance to show me. I tell them they have until I call them to get ready.

Work 30 mins.

Intermezzo: Take an activity break.

Clean up last bin before getting next! 

Let the kids do their performance It may only last a few minutes, and you can decide if that's long enough before the next kid activity, or if you should take a longer break and run an errand, bake bread, do a chore, or something else.

Repeat.

Hold up a promise of fun---is everyone cooperating and helping out? Offer a swim in the late afternoon or evening as a reward.

Will this always work as perfectly as it sounds here on paper? No, and never expect it to. Or count anything as a failure when it doesn't work. Just try the next idea. If there is fighting or bickering, try separating the kids into different rooms with their own play bins. What "play on my own" things would interest each of your children?

Keep it creative and workable for you. Take this game plan and customize it day to day and for you and your kids. Different ages have different abilities, different jobs have different requirements (regardless of whether you are meeting an employer's demands or doing a load of laundry), and different kids have different interests.

And don't try to shoulder too much on yourself. I find that mother's helpers now and again are wonderful. A 12 to 14 year old who loves kids and is responsible is a useful helper for a couple of hours, and in my neighborhood that shouldn't cost more than $5 an hour. I'll gladly sacrifice something in my budget to buy a few hours of sanity, whether I use it to go de-stress in a coffee shop or to put my nose to the work grindstone.

Always remember the value of the playdate and trading off of kids.  If you keep some kids for the morning, trade off for the afternoon. Another fun outing is to schedule a fieldtrip.

It doesn't matter what work you do, if you're a mom at home, it helps to create some structure and schedule to get things done. With a good game plan, you can lower your stress, and before you know it, it's been a fun summer that's already coming to an end.

Tomorrow check back for a list of kid-friendly local places with wi-fi---places moms can work and kids can have fun!

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top 6 lessons in your garden: how does your garden grow? With food and education all in a row!

April 14, 2009

Even more frugal than buying in season is growing your own garden. Houston has a nice, long growing season and can provide good conditions for a great crop of basic vegetables and fruits.

Houstonvegetablegarden.com is a good resource site. It has great information and frequent updates. The Houston Chronicle has a Gardening section that is comprehensive, offering a plethora of easy-to-follow gardening information.

You can start small or big, combine with trips to a farmer's market (and farmers are usually great for sharing tips!), and figure out what works for you.

Growing a garden for food is practical, but is also a wonderful activity with your preschooler.

Sharon Wilson, an inspirational friend who is living the rural life and dedicating herself to helping the environment, shared that she used her garden to teach her son well-rounded lessons in all disciplines, "I think one of the best green things you can do with a preschool kid is to grow a garden. You can teach children everything they need to know with a garden."

She and I both put down our favorite ideas of how to use a garden to teach many lessons:

Science: Study and research bugs, pollination, photosynthesis, sprout seeds, and each element of interest in the garden. See if the garden and its plants differs from day time to nighttime. Are there different insects? Are plants open or closed? Talk about the different elements (land, air, water, sun).

Math: Gardening offers many opportunities for math lessons. Word problems with real action can teach a preschooler basic numbers, counting, and pre-addition and subtraction. For example: let's count out five seeds to plant in this spot, or hold in one hand three seeds and five seeds in the other, then help your child figure out how many plants total will grow from those seeds. You can also study shapes (let's plant these seeds in a circle, let's plant these in a square. And you can learn units of measurement by measuring the plants as they grow and charting the growth. You can teaching sorting and grouping of similar seeds and plants, for example: these are all flowers and these are all vegetables.

History: Old World foods were foods in Europe before the Americas were discovered: carrots (carrots were used for stomach upsets), onions (onions were used to get across the desert because they are juicy), and so forth. New World foods were here in the Americas: corn, tomatoes, okra, and so forth. Kids also love stories, such as Johnny Appleseed.

Reading: Read books about gardens (find some ideas here), seasons, seeds, bugs, and all those interesting things you and your child see and wonder about.

Civics: by growing a garden, children learn where their food comes from and you can teach them about transportation--my son had a tricycle that pulled a wagon so he would pick up the vegetables from the farmer and "haul" them to the "grocery store," our kitchen.

Art: We made garden markets and stepping stones and rain gauges. Gardens are also great places to learn about colors and blending colors, too.

Let your creativity and interest guide you. The lessons are just a starting point---there are so many more places you and your child can explore and learn from in a garden. Have fun growing with your child---and remember to look up as well as down at your garden. Above you are birds, trees, and other interesting parts of our world.  Read more...

Backyard Water Fun!

by Rachel Mosteller

August 11, 2008

With both temperatures AND gas prices rising, the need to both cool off and stay close to home are as important as ever. As much as I love going to the pool, there are just times when I don't feel like packing snacks, the car and the kids just to go out for an hour or two. Those are the days when you have to bring the cool water to you! I'm not one to have tons of fancy toys at my house;  Read more...

Celebrating Solstice: Backyard Fun!

by Rachel Mosteller

June 20, 2008

Sometimes, it seems as if the summer days go on forever, don't they? Right now, my 3-year-old daughter is confused as to why it is still light outside when we put her to bed at 8:15. "But the sun is out," she whines. "It is day!" This weekend is the Summer Solstice, also known as the date of the year with the longest day and shortest night. That means you've got a whole lot of daylight to burn  Read more...