Wednesday, March 4

Practical Life with Little Ones...

I found this article, Practical Life with Little Ones by Elizabeth Foss to be so encouraging! As the harried mother of a nearly three year old and a fifteen month old, I read this article and felt like I could work a little harder to do fun things with both of the children. My aim is going to be to try to be more fully present to the children during the day... I've printed this article and plan on re-reading it when I need a little boost!

Oh, and have you seen Amanda Soule's recent post on laying out an art project at night for the children to do upon waking? What an inspired idea! I'm off to set it up now!

9 comments:

Courtney said...

I love SouleMama's idea! I think I'll start doing this for M. while I'm making breakfast. What a great focus to start the day! And as always, Elizabeth Foss provides great food-for-thought and inspiration to do more/better!

faerieeva said...

I am so happy to hear you use the word harried. I know that sounds horrible of me. But sometimes I think the whole world goes much more effortless about the matter of having a young child (or like you young children) than I.
Are there any activities you could recommend with an active little dynamo of 17 months old? So far he has two passions: reading with mommy. And being mobile. *chuckles* Blocks also can interest him for twenty minutes or such.

Bethany Hudson said...

I love Elizabeth Foss--and this article is just what I needed with a busy 19-month-old and looking at giving birth in the next few months.

Faerieeva- I have a 19-month-old right now, who seems like she's been on about the same track as your little one. I have found that being present and observant of her is the most important thing. If I'm even somewhat engaged (ie. sitting down beside her on the floor and making comments now and then), she can keep herself pretty busy. I have her help me with housework. She loves taking items out of the laundry or dishwasher and handing them to me. Of course, this takes longer, but she has such a blast, and the work still gets done, so who am I to complain? She loves to sweep (most kids this age like walking toys or brooms) so sometimes, she'll do that while I'm cleaning in one of the rooms. She also loves taking things out of containers and putting them into other ones. This works well with a box of Duplos and another box or basket, for example. That, and if she's getting really rowdy, it's usually time for a good game of "chase" and a tickle fest! After five minutes of that, her mood is vastly improved!
~Bethany

Elisabeth Black said...

That was a great post. Thanks for sharing.

Pres. Kathy said...

Thank you so much for posting this. It really helped me to put some things in perspective!

Joy said...

Ooh, this was great. I have four kiddos, two of them kindergarten/first grade age, and two toddlers- and I was about to pull my hair out yet again trying to bridge the gap during the school day. You could not have linked this at a better time! Such a good bunch of ideas to try.

Nurturing Faith and Family said...

good post! any ideas for keeping a 12 month old busy while you cook dinner and prepare for daddy to get home? beautiful blog, i will be back, thanks for sharing!

faerieeva said...

Bethany,
that does sound like Joseph. We do the same kind of things. The little dustbuster or the small swiffer vac are his favorites. Blocks however are about the only activity that he wants to sit still for for any amount of time. Blocks and books I should say. Oh, and I forgot fastening his buckle. He has an obsession with fastening buckles. Luckily he can not undo them.
Colouring however, or even sorting things (beans and macaroni in different containers) is not enough to keep him at his table. And if he wants to move, he moves. *L* the only option is to physically restrain him by putting him the playpen, or to wrestle him to the ground and holding him pinned, which he considers much more like a game.

Phyllis said...

Thank you for mentioning that Elizabeth Foss article! It changed my life back when I first read it. Literally. It was very good for me to read it again now.

For those who are wanting ideas to entertain a toddler: this isn't so much entertainment, and some of the comments above talk about this, but I'll repeat. :-) I find that mine--no matter how active, no matter how short their attention spans--are much happier when I'm present with them. Sitting on the floor and knitting or doing housework and talking to them or including them always makes for happier children, than if I try to use the computer or read a book while they're awake. I don't have to be actively playing with them or teaching them or entertaining them, just WITH them.

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