No Toys – Part 2

Here is my follow-up to putting the toys away so as to avoid having a messy house.  It ended up as a long list of how we spend our time, though.

We do still play with toys but usually just one bin at a time, or I’ll bring out one big toy for the day.  Some of the things we get out are the strollers, puzzles, animals, suitcases, tent, fort, baseball equipment, rocket, little people, stuffed animals, dress-up clothes, train tracks, blocks, lincoln logs, cars, and educational toys.  Because they only get to play with these things occasionally they get really excited and stay mostly focused when one of these toys is out.  It also makes clean-up pretty quick and easy.

One Saturday a few weeks ago the kids were pretty depressed about Ben going to work (see poor McKay below) so I got out their tent and the animals to perk them up.  That kept them entertained for most of the morning.  They took books in there, too.  It was a pretty big mess by the end but it was mostly contained to the one room and we all helped to clean it up. After a few hours we all cleaned it up and put the room back together.

One thing my kids are really into right now is art.  We usually spend an hour a day doing something art related.  They love stickers, glitter, band-aids, playdough, gluing things, painting things, coloring things, cutting things, drawing things, tracing things….you get the idea.  Art can be a little messy but Sadie knows if she doesn’t help clean it up that she won’t get to do it the next day.  She’s pretty cooperative but I still have to help her organize it all and usually I have to sweep or vacuum at the end.

One other thing we are doing more often is cooking together.  Last week we made apple pie.  This week we made chocolate chip cookies.  McKay usually sits on the counter when I make dinner, too.  He really loves to watch!  I talk to him about everything I’m doing.  He really listens and pays attention.  I’m pretty sure he’ll be a chef one day.  It’s probably his favorite part of the day.

In the late afternoon we tend to play in the backyard.  There are quite a few toys out there like the bike, car, trampoline, basketball hoop, chairs, blocks, roller coaster ramp thing, and their favorite….dirt.

That picture above reminds me that they love to bring their colored chairs inside and do “Family Home Evening” which we usually do as a family on Monday nights. So, even if it’s the middle of the day on a Thursday we do impromptu FHEs which consists of me telling a bible story, talking about a behavioral problem we’re having, memorizing a scripture or article of faith, singing a song, and saying prayers.  The kids absolutely eat it up!  Even McKay is usually good to sit and focus for a few minutes.  I should probably do it more because it’s very beneficial.  At the end they always say they need a family home evening treat.  Hmm….maybe that’s why they love it so much!?!?

When they get hyper we often have races from the front to the back door or jump on the trampoline.  Sometimes I let them make pillow piles and jump off the sofa.  We also go on walks around the block, but Sadie hates to do that (?) so I usually do that in the mornings when she’s at school.

Other random things that hold their attention include sidewalk chalk, wrapping presents (Sadie wraps ‘presents’ all the time!), bath time, playing on the touchpad, doing starfall online, and watching shows.

We also go out a lot – usually 3 afternoons a week.  That helps to break things up.  Oftentimes we go to the park, library, beach, mall, Mimi’s house, grocery store, Aquarium, TCBY, Ethan’s house, or meet Ben for lunch/dinner.  I try to take them somewhere new once a month.  This month we tried fishing….it was a disaster.  No one got hurt, but no one had fun either!

So, as for the challenges, I have two – TV watching and lack of independence.  In the mid-afternoon when McKay is napping Sadie and Jax just want to sit and watch shows.  It’s hard to get them to do anything.  In order to peal them away from the TV I read them books or initiate some type of activity.  Which leads me to my next point – everything we do usually involves me participating and often times I initiate, too.  Sadie and Jax are usually good to play independently when I get things out (except in the mid-afternoon), but it’s nearly impossible for McKay to do anything by himself.  Is that normal?  I just don’t know what normal is anymore.  I enjoy playing with them a lot of the time but there are times when I need a little space or need to be productive.  Also, sometimes I worry I’m crippling their creativity by being overly involved.  Thoughts?