COLD? NO PROBLEM, LET’S PLAY!
Do you grapple with how to engage the little ones towards summer’s end? Not to worry, with some preparation the changing seasons will be something you look forward to exploring.
Huddling in place and shuttling indoors is ok, cozy is a mood. Cuddling, reading stories and sipping hot chocolate? Remember, social media has elevated all of this into an art form for your pleasure.
Get yourselves the coziest fleece blanket, create a hot chocolate bar and check-out engaging books from your local library. Television is fine when parent and child are both interacting with the screen as most of the kids programming encourage it. Stay warm.
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A useful thing to do would be to stock up on arts and craft supplies. A run to stores such as Michael’s, Jo Ann’s Fabric or Hobby Lobby can inspire your creative sense and inspire a ton of frame-able art.
Other options include paper, glue and a bounty of things found in nature such as sticks, leaves, sand and stones. Ever thought of creating a fixer upper home with boxes from amazon? My son loves choosing the paint color, painting it and deciding where the windows should be.
The internet has a collection of wholesome places one can find games, crafts and ideas on how to keep children creatively engaged. Mommy blogs and Pinterest boards are brimming with tried and tested strategies, games and art projects. One can even narrow searches to only include local mom resources. A quick google search will show endless lists. A few in my area are bostonmamas.com and Bostonmoms.com. They have lists of current events and active mommy meet-up groups.
It is also useful to subscribe to institutions in your area catering to kids, The Children’s Museum, the local library, zoos and children play parks. Their email lists have regular tips on how to engage little ones in educative and constructive play. Fall is teaming with festivals and the buildup to festivities such as Halloween and thanksgiving give much to look forward to.
If you’re feeling energetic enough to brave the cooling temperatures; because we know dressing resistant toddlers for the cold can be daunting, make sure to get appropriate gear for all. Dressing in layers and cultivating a store of added patience to put it on and then to take it all off as the weather changes. Children enjoy fall colors, and if they’re on foot would stop and gather leaves. Remember to make a pile so they can scatter it all up. It’s fun!
Whether you choose to spend time indoors or gallivant outdoors remember, one need not equate cooler months with less fun, with a little thought and planning it can be a whole new world of fun and learning.
