Tuesday’s Tips: Growing Playful Kids
Have you ever wished you had a treasure trove of great ideas for those days when motherhood feels draining and mundane?
Ever longed for just one tried and true tip that has actually been used successfully by REAL MOMS with REAL KIDS? Me, too!
That’s why I’ve created Tuesday’s Tips– a weekly post designed to reduce frustration and multiply inspiration in the wacky and wearisome trenches of motherhood.
Of course, a good idea is meant to be shared. So don’t keep those jewels for yourself! If you discover something that makes motherhood a little easier, a little more exciting, or a bit more meaningful, please let me know. I’d love to feature your idea on an upcoming Tuesday. Just leave a comment after this post or email me at rbruxvoort@iowatelecom.net
Growing Playful Kids
In light of yesterday’s post, I thought I’d share some of my favorite tips for creating a playful home. This isn’t an exhaustive list, just a few ingredients for growing playful kids.
Read, read, read! Read out loud to your children as much as you can.
Read curled up in a big comfy chair, sprawled out on the lawn, hiding in a closet with a flashlight (we call this the secret book club), or while you wait in the carpool line.
Fill your home with books. Get a library card. Let your kids get their OWN library cards.
Listen to audio books in the car. (We love Adventures in Odyssey, Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Magic Tree House series).
Stories lay the ground work for creative play. Watch as the books you read come to life in your children’s play time. Just yesterday the Barbies in our house were planting jewels in their garden, an idea inspired by one of our favorite picture books, Farmer Cap.
Say no to toys with hype!
I learned early in motherhood that the simpler the toy, the more imagination it elicits. For that reason, I prefer play things that do not require batteries.
I love toys that can be used again and again in different ways–blocks, puppets, plastic animals, baby dolls that don’t make noise or do anything, Hotwheels cars, role playing kits, puppets.
A toy that lasts for the long haul at our house is one that can be incorporated into countless stories and brought to life by my children’s grand ideas, not by a set of AA batteries.
Use life as inspiration. Kids love to mimic the grown-up world.
My kids are constantly creating their own towns. They play store, post office, restaurant, vet, doctor, school, garbage truck, and farmer.
Some of our most used toys are a cash register, a doctor’s kit, a chalkboard and school supplies for my budding teachers, and our own homemade mail boxes.
Do the same old thing in a new way! You don’t need to re-invent the wheel when you want to add some spark to playtime.
Try an outside activity inside--use masking tape to create a four square court on your carpet. Play tennis with spatulas and balloons over the couch. Watch a “drive in movie” by having everyone design their own car out of a large box and settle in for a favorite flick on the t.v.
Or move an inside activity out. Take those Barbies outside and send them on a jungle safari (hide plastic animals in the grass!). Chalk roads for Hotwheels cars on the driveway. Race stuffed animals down slides at the playground.
Turn the ordinary into something extraordinary. Make a life size board game. Add magnets to a favorite puzzle and then display the puzzle on the refrigerator. Add a sprinkler to your backyard soccer game. Just modify the same old things and those same old things will feel brand new!
Recycled fun. Don’t throw away boxes or paper towel tubes; egg cartons or orange crates. Paint them, play in them, turn them into something new. Never underestimate the power of a glue gun and some glorified “junk”. That’s abstract art just waiting to happen 🙂
Get Messy! Set aside an area of your home for the mess and let your kids learn by doing. Or take the mess outside. It’s summertime, after all! 
Childhood is the season for fingerpainting, play doh sculpting, endless creating, and glorious experimenting.Here are some of my favorite resources for embracing the mess and making playful memories:
- The Ultimate Book of Kids Concoctions by John Thomas and Danita Pagel.
- The Toddler’s Busy Book: 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy by Trish Kuffner
- Great Big Book of Children’s Games: Over 450 Indoor & Outdoor Games for Kids (Ages 3-12) by Debra Wise and Sandy Forrest,
- 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child: Plus 50 All-New Bonus Activities by Steven J. Bennett and Ruth Bennett
- The Usborn Big Book of Experiments
Remember that service can be fun, too.Bake cookies for a neighbor, rake leaves for a widow, create pictures for the nursing home, write letters to friends in need of encouragement.
Check out my friend Amy’s blog for non-stop amazing ideas for serving together as a family.
Use play as a tool for growing faith. When you play with your children, you can be a teacher in disguise! Check out my Faith and Family Fun feature each Friday for a new idea on how to mix faith and fun.
Last, but not least- join your kids in play. Life’s too short. Put down that to-do list. Turn off that screen. And re-discover the simple joys of childhood!
Oh, you can never go wrong with a house full of super heroes. Love the pillow case idea! We have crates of fabric paint at our house it seems, so I’ll have to round up some old shirts. Thanks for the great idea!
So many wonderful ideas! Mine like to decorate old shirts (turned inside out) with fabric paint. We’ve invented super hero names and painted them on the shirts. Add a pillow case tied around the neck and you have a cape!
I do love a good play date. But with my little ones, I like to keep it short and sweet. There’s only so long a preschooler can share nicely 🙂 Thanks for stopping by today!
These are some great ideas!! Nice job thanks for consolidating the list.
One thing that was implied but not directly stated unless I missed it is organized playdates!
Those are good and so important too!
Have a great, day!
Patty from http://www.fanta4two.com