Because I am a working mom, my time with our little girl is limited. When we are together I try to spend as much time with her as possible and try to keep daily tasks and chores to a minimum. Although I want her to learn that these tasks and chores are important I also want her to learn that life is fun and we have to do a little of both work and play to make it work and create a balance in order to be happy.
Sometimes I worry that I shouldn't work, but I have realized that she has learned so much from going to school. Things that I don't think she would know now if she were staying at home with me. I also believe that her seeing me and her daddy getting ready to go to work everyday, eventually will teach her to understand why we do what we do and have a good work ethic...at least I hope so! At any rate, here's a list I found on a mommy blog. The real credit goes to the forums of
The Mommies Network.
I have hopes to complete most of these if not all in the years to come and maybe even continue some as traditions no matter how old we are! I hope you can get something from this list as well.
1. Color - done
2. Blow bubbles - done
3. Play hide-and-seek
4. Peek-a-boo - done
5. Play chase - done
6. Do finger-plays
7. Sing a song - done (we do this all the time too!)
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets - done
11. Go for a walk - done (just this week and it was so wonderful holding her little hand)
12. Make a car out of a box
13. Read a book - done
14. Go to the park - done
15. Finger paint
16. Play with play dough - done
17. Toss bean bags into a bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music - done (we do this all the time)
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags - done
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor - done
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket - done
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a horseshoe game
29. Make a shape puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge
33. Make a drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Wash windows together
35. Bang on pots and pans with a spoon - done
36. Brush each other's teeth
37. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
38. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
39. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
40. Make a playhouse out of a large box - done
41. Let child play with a sticker sheet - done
42. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets - done
43. Play a musical instrument together - done
44. Go on a smelling hunt
45. Frost cookies
46. Plant a flower or vege plant together
47. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
48. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
49. Play hide and seek together - trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
50. Have a splash party together in the bathtub - done
51. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
52. Record each other on a tape recorder
53. Make and try on paper hats
54. Give a piggy-back ride - done
55. Play horsey - done
56. Talk into an electric fan
57. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
58. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real)
59. Make a camera and go on a safari
60. Play games with frozen juice lids
61. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives - done
62. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives - done
63. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
64. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
65. Glue shapes onto paper
66. Make sock puppets
67. Make paper puppets
68. Fill an old purse with toys - done
69. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone - done
70. Make binoculars and go bird watching or stuffed animal watching
71. Put snacks in different fun containers - done
72. Act out a story from a book
73. Walk on a balance beam
74. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk - done
75. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
76. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper
77. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
78. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
79. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
80. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
81. Do the hokey pokey
82. Make a super hero costume out of household items
83. Do knee bouncing rhymes - done
84. Play red light, green light saying "go" and "stop"
85. Make a shoe box train for stuffed animals
86. Make a pillow pile to jump on - done
87. Make an easy puzzle with felt and velcro
88. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaner and jingle bells
89. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
90. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
91. Make a domino chain
93. Play dress up in mommy or daddy's clothes
94. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
95. Make a nature collage
96. Mirror each other
97. Make a "mummy mommy" with toilet paper
98. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
99. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
100. Take a nap - done
Surprisingly, some of these we have already done so I have marked those! But we still have a lot more to do! Fun times ahead!!!!!!
