Sensory bottle (also known as discovery bottles, calm down bottles, quiet time bottles, and many other names) are a must-have in our house. We make one for almost every holiday, and we pack them away with that holidays ornaments so that we’re sure to have them when the holiday rolls around the following year. Somehow, we have never made a Christmas sensory bottle, however.
I believe that we have at some point… but it must not have been worthy of saving or even taking pictures of. This year, though, our easy Christmas discovery bottle is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I HAVE to share it with you!
Materials Needed for a Christmas Sensory Bottle
An empty, clear bottle
Lukewarm water
2 Containers of glitter glue, any color (I used silver and gold that I bought HERE)
Christmas glitter (I found mine in the dollar spot at Target or you can buy some HERE)
This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.
Directions to Make a Cute Christmas Sensory Bottle
Peel any paper from the bottle
Fill the bottle just over 1/2 way up with lukewarm water
Add the 2 bottles of glitter glue, put the lid on, and shake it up.
Open the bottle and add the glitter. Add as much of it as you want!
Fill the bottle the rest of the way up, leaving enough space for the water to still move.
Put hot glue around the ridges where the lid goes in order to keep it closed so your kiddos don’t accidentally open it.
Final Thoughts On Easy Christmas Sensory Bottle
Christmas activities don’t have to cost a ton of money, and if you’re doing Christmas on a budget or just want an easy Christmas activity for kids, a Christmas sensory bottle is the perfect way to go.
What are your favorite holiday activities to do with your kids? Tell me about them in the comments!
The fall fun has begun, and that means we’re doing ALL of the fall activities at our house. When Peyton created his Layers of the Earth 3D Project, I was inspired to dye rice in all fall-inspired colors and create an easy fall sensory bin.
How to Make an Easy Fall Sensory Bin by Dying Rice
What you need:
4 cups of white rice
4 teaspoons of white vinegar
Food coloring (I used orange, yellow, brown, and red)
Add a differet color of food coloring to each bag.
Zip the bag and mix the rice with the food coloring.
Once the rice is completely coated and dyed to the color you want, dump it onto dry papertowel and let it dry for about 1 hour
Once all of the dyed rice is dry, mix the 4 colors together in a bowl or sensory table.
Add small Halloween toys or fall colored leaves for more fun.
Halloween Dyed Rice Sensory Bin
Using the same ingredients and similar steps, you can make an easy hallowed sensory bin for your kiddos, too! Instead of separating the rice in 1 cup increments into 4 separate bags, you will put two cups of rice into two separate bags (4 cups of rice total, still).
Once the rice is distributed, you will put 2 teaspoons of vinegar into each of the 2 bags, and then put orange food coloring into one bag and black food coloring into the other bag.
Follow the remaining steps, waiting for the dyed rice to dry before mixing colors together.
Another Easy Halloween Sensory Idea
Instead of doing orange and black for the Halloween sensory bin, you could dye all of the rice purple and add fun things like googly eyes or witches cauldrons in the sensory bin.
You could really do this however you want. Just follow the steps and change up the colors as needed.
And if your kids are like my kids they will do this:
I’m not sure if I should blame Liam or Josie for mixing the fall sensory bin with the Halloween sensory bin, and then they added purple and pink rice, too.. they both blamed one another. Still fun, though!
Final Thoughts On Easy Fall Sensory Bin With Dyed Rice
I love fun and easy activities, so this easy fall sensory bin with dyed rice was perfect for us. It was incredibly easy to make, pretty inexpensive, and the food coloring goes a LONG way so we were able to make a ton of dyed rice in all different colors.
My kids loved this… my 11-year-old loved it just as much as my 2-year-old, so it’s definitely a hit with everyone. My favorite part is that it is easy to clean up. You can simply sweep it up and throw it away, with no sticking or staining.
What is your favorite easy sensory activity to do with your kids? Have you tried dyed rice before? Leave me a comment and tell me about it!
Peyton (our 11 year old) loves school projects where he gets to use his creativity. In 4th grade, he had to create a 3D animal and he chose a paper mache diamondback rattlesnake, which turned out SO cool. This time, he had to create a 3D model of the layers of the earth (6th-grade science) and he chose to use dyed rice in a mason jar.
How to Make the Layers of the Earth with Colored Rice
Paper towel — *You’ll be mad if you don’t check out this AMAZING deal I found on paper towel!!*
This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.
How to Make it:
Divide 2 cups of uncooked rice into 5 parts. The parts should be divided based on the sizes of each layer of the earth… some will be smaller than others.
Add each of the 5 parts into individual Ziploc bags and add 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar to each.
Then, begin adding the food coloring to each bag. The amount of food coloring you use will depend on how you want the colors to look.
Dump each color out onto a dry paper towel, keeping all colors separate.
Allow the dyed rice to dry for one hour.
Pour the dyed rice into a 16 oz. mason jar, beginning with the innermost layer of the earth. In Peyton’s case, this was the inner core, which he made yellow and poured into the bottom of the jar.
Pour each additional layer on top of that one, working from the inside layers to the outside layers. The outermost layers will be at the top of your jar.
Put the lid on, and your layers of the earth project is complete!
Layers of the Earth Used in this Project
Yellow: bottom layer, inner core
Orange: 2nd from the bottom, outer core
Red: 3rd from the bottom, lower mantle
Green: 4th from the bottom, upper mantle
Brown: top layer, crust
Tips:
*Fill the mason jar ALL the way to the top with rice. This prevents the rice from moving around and mixing together. You’ll want to keep your colors separate, as those represent the layers of the earth.
*Distribute the rice to 5 bags before dying any. Determine which bag of rice will be making up which layer, and write it on the outside of the bag. This way, your largest layer (the upper mantel in Peyton’s case) has the most rice in the bag and it doesn’t get mixed up with a different layer.
*—->This<—- pack of food coloring is the exact one I bought for this project. It contains all the colors Peyton needed plus some additional colors, too.
Other Ideas for Layers of the Earth 3D Project
His original idea was to use 5 different colors of glitter, which I thought would have looked super cool. He changed his mind and decided on the rice model instead, however.
Some other ideas include:
Styrofoam ball
Play-doh or clay
Colored sand
Glitter
Cake
Final Thoughts on Layers of the Earth 3D Project
I’m always so excited when Peyton is assigned a school project. He is SO creative and has so much fun with them.
What project would you create if you were to make a 3D model symbolizing the layers of the earth? Tell me about it in the comments!
This rubber band character rescue was a HIT with my kids. It kept them busy and having fun while fine tuning their fine motor skills. Some days, keeping them productively busy is hard to do when they just want to watch YouTube and Netflix or play video games.
I admit, my kids get a little too much screen time. I try to balance it out with activities that work their hands and minds at the same time. As a busy mom, that’s sometimes difficult when so many activities take just as much time preparing or cleaning up as your kids will spend doing the actual activity. Because of that, I’m always trying to find new ideas that don’t require much preparation, clean-up, or supplies.
This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.
This easy fine motor activity was perfect because:
It required less than 5 minutes of preparation.
I was able to pick random toys that we already had and that I didn’t have to search for. You can literally use ANYTHING.
My kids loved it.
They spent quite a bit of time taking rubber bands off (rescuing) and putting them back on (re-trapping).
They spent time sharing toys and trading fairly.
Helped develop fine motor skills.
This can be done anytime and anywhere. If you throw a pack of rubber bands in your diaper bag or purse you can always count it. I bought *these* rubber bands (click for link) because the rubber bands are sturdy, stretchy, and affordable).
Fine Motor Rubber Band Character Rescue
Choose their favorite characters, or do a variety of different characters. I chose PJ Masks characters, a Paw Patrol, and a dinosaur… mostly because those toys were some of the first ones I found, but also because my kids love those ones and play with them daily.
This activity is so easy. You can just grab a couple characters that your child loves and throw some rubber bands on them. Be creative and add more fun by using multiple colors of rubber bands and wrapping the rubber bands different ways.
Your child will then get to rescue their favorite character from the rubber bands while fine tuning their fine motor skills.
Take Activity a Step Further
Once your child has rescued their character from the rubber bands, challenge them to wrap the characters back up in the rubber bands.
My kids were excited when I told them that they had to tie the character back up so that we could see if I could rescue them, too.
Final Thoughts On Rubber Band Character Rescue – An Easy Fine Motor Activity
I love doing fun developmental activities with my kids, but life gets so busy that it’s hard finding the time. It took me too long to figure out that fun stuff doesn’t have to require tons of prep or clean-up. A quick bit of time after work/school can make for just as much fun as the more complicated activities.
Since trying out different easy fine motor activities, this rubber band character rescue has become a favorite for my family. From “trapping” spider man to PJ Masks toys, we spend time rescuing pretty much everything.
**What character would your kids love to rescue?! Tell me about it in the comments! **
My kids love this one and ask to do it all the time. It’s become my go-to activity in the car, in restaurants, and during any other “boring” wait times. Give it a shot and tell me how it goes for your child!
Do you have a favorite easy activity for kids that you like to do when you don’t have much time? Let us know!
Fall is one of my favorite seasons… probably my most favorite if I’m being honest with myself. While I love all things summer, fall has a sweet place in my heart. It’s the first sign that the holidays are coming, there are so many fun things to do in the fall, and you’re not as likely to sweat your butt off doing outdoor activities. This fall bucket list will ensure you complete all of the wonderful fall activities you desire.
Cute clothes, warm drinks, family time, pretty leaves, football, getting cozy watching movies, pumpkin everything, apple everything else…. I could go on and on. I made a list of all the things I want to do this fall, and I decided to share my fall bucket list and printable with you!
This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.
25 Things to do This Fall: Fall Bucket List
1. Apple picking
Find a local apple orchard and make a day trip out of it! Bring home all the apples you need to make apple pie, apple crisp, apple strudel, apple bars, apple sauce… be prepared to share with your friends and family!
2. Pumpkin patch
This is another day trip you can do with your entire family. Not only can you pick out your own pumpkins, some pumpkin patches offer tractor rides and corn mazes.
3. Corn maze
There is nothing that says fall quite like a corn maze. I let my kids take turns picking which way to go, and it doesn’t always turn out well. It sure is fun, though, no matter how long it takes!
4. Tractor ride
Our favorite pumpkin patch offers a tractor ride that takes you to the corn maze. Convenient, right?!
5. Jump in leaves
This is one of the most simple and easiest fall activities you can do. You’ll feel like a kid again.
6. Fall photo shoot
Get your kids cute one day (or make yourself cute… no one said it has to be a kid photo shoot), and take pictures in the leaves. Get beautifully colored trees in the background, put some pumpkins in there… get creative! Fall offers all the free backdrops.
7. Haunted house
It’s not Halloween time without a haunted house. You can’t skip out on this one.
8. Halloween craft
My kids and I love to do crafts. I like to decorate my kitchen with crafts that they’ve made. It might look cluttered, but they love to see their artwork on display, and it really gives a festive feeling to the house.
9. Thanksgiving craft
Think turkeys and thankfulness… you can’t go wrong there. Use Thanksgiving craft time to talk to your kids about the meaning of Thanksgiving and how it originated.
10. Carve a jack-o-lantern
You didn’t go to the pumpkin patch just to look around, did you? Use those pumpkins for something scary!
11. Watch a scary movie
Better yet, make it a marathon with all your favorite snacks. I like to make this a date night for the hubby and I after our kids go to bed.
12. Go for a scenic walk & look at leaves
We love to take quick walks around our neighborhood in the evenings to look at the leaves changing and falling. Sometimes we head downtown and explore, as all of the businesses look so pretty when the leaves start to change in front of them.
13. Make home made soup
Nothing says fall like a bowl of hot soup. Find a new soup recipe, throw it in the crock pot, and have yourself a delicious fall meal.
14. Paint nails a fall color
Fall colors are so much fun and can really set the tone.
15. Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
This is a favorite to do with my kids!! We eat our favorite fall treats and cuddle up to watch together.
16. Bake pumpkin bread
Share some with your neighbors, friends, or family.
17. Make apple pie
Don’t share this. Keep it all to yourself. Just kidding, kind of.
18. Drink cider & eat donuts
You can’t have cider without donuts. Well, I guess you can, but it’s not the same.
19. Chili & football night
I choose a day when my husband’s favorite NFL team (even though the Raider’s suck) is playing for chili and football night. I also make a few yummy finger foods and get a variety of drinks so that everyone enjoys it… even my hubby when his team is losing.
20. Caramel apples
I’m really excited to do this. I’ve never done it with my kids before, and I plan on slicing the apples into wedges, putting them on skewers, dipping them in caramel and offering a couple candy options.
21. Read “October” by Robert Frost
This made the list because of my love for Robert Frost. I read it aloud to my kids, hoping to instill a love for his work in them, too.
22. Have a bon fire
Fall is bon fire season. Not too cold, but cold enough to enjoy sitting next to a hot fire. S’mores anyone?
23. Create a craft using materials from nature
Our favorite thing is to gather leaves from our yard to use for fall wreaths, sensory bottles, and just gluing onto paper.
24. Go for a nature walk
We like to find nearby trails that we can explore. If your kids are joining, do a nature scavenger hunt with them. You can make a list of items and challenge your kids to collect these while walking.
Your list can include small insects, flowers, and even stones. Add an exciting twist to the activity by allowing the kids to examine what they have gathered, and discover what these are made of through an easy-to-use kids microscope.
This activity is a great way to enjoy the outdoors while learning and having fun at the same time. Also, using a kids microscope would guarantee a 100% wow-factor for the whole family.
25. Donate to a food bank
Fall is the time to really show how thankful and appreciative you are of all you have and to give back to those who are less fortunate.
Free Fall Bucket List Printable
Final Thoughts On Fall Bucket List: Things to do This Fall
Printing this fall bucket list and displaying it on my refrigerator has gotten me so excited about fall. Next up, pulling out all of my fall decorations!
What is your favorite thing about fall? Tell me about it in the comments!
Think back to your childhood… which books did you LOVE to read? Which ones were you extra excited to see at story time? As you got older, which books captured your attention the most?
I have ALWAYS been a reader and can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love books. Instilling that passion in my kids is something I’ve always tried to do. This means that I buy them books at any chance I get, and if I see an old favorite of my mine, we’re reading it that day for sure.
From books I loved as a young child, to the adventures of big kid books, and then continuing into my teenage years, I literally buy them all. Now, I’m sharing some of our favorites with you! These are ones that I absolutely loved as a child and that my kids enjoyed, too!
Ok, you all should have known that I couldn’t just choose little kid books, big kid books, or books for teenagers, so I made one list of each. I have 3 littles (ages 5, 3, and 2) and 2 big kids (ages 11 and 15), so I have to have a wide range of books for all different age groups.
If you don’t have kids, no worries!! You could use a little nostalgia in your life, anyway! Go ahead and choose a book or two, and relive your childhood.
This post contains affiliate links. It costs you nothing extra, but I may receive a small commission.
I was always SO excited when my teacher would pull this book out at school!
Books for Big Kids
Bonus: Every book on this list counts toward AR tests and points. Since school is coming quick, it’s best to be prepared!
I’ve included the recommended grade levels for each book, but remember each child is different. If you want to read a book with your child, it’s OK if it’s a little higher than their grade level, because you’ll be reading with them to help with unknown words and meanings.
My personal favorite: This is too difficult to answer!! I’ll have to choose three – The Witches, The BFG, and Box Car Children.
Books for Teenagers
Depending on the reading and maturity level of your child, these can also be books for preteens. I read many of them when I was a preteen myself including numbers 3, 7, 9, and 10.
I find that it is more difficult to get our teenager to read books than it is to get my younger kids to read, so reading with her or sharing my favorite books with her seems to be the best way.
Anything written by Sarah Dessen – all of her books are nostalgic to me, honestly. I read and loved them all!
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – This may be the best one on the list to read with a preteen or teenage girl. It makes for an awesome movie night after!
I’m sure you noticed that there are 11 here… just count that as a bonus, because I couldn’t bring myself to eliminate any on this list!!
My personal favorite: The Great Gatsby, for sure!! It’s still my favorite book!
Final Thoughts on Nostalgic Books To Read With Your Kids
As adults, we oftentimes find ourselves over-stressed, over-worked, and over-tired. We rarely take the time we need to relax and enjoy ourselves. Having kids, however, allows us a few moments to sit back and pretend we are a kid again while reading books that we used to love ourselves.
So, go ahead and pick out a few books to purchase that you loved as a kid. You won’t regret the time spent with your own children, reminiscing over your own childhood while creating new memories that will last forever.
What were some of your favorite books as a child? What about as a teenager? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!!
Updated 9/20/2019 to add my Christmas gift to you – a free Christmas list printable!
As I was preparing for the upcoming holiday season, I decided I wanted to give my readers an early Christmas gift. I hope you and your children enjoy it!
Happy National Give Something Away Day!! Today I encourage you to find things in your home that you could do without and give them to someone who could use them. My kids and I will all be giving a few things away, but I also want to give something to all of my readers!
Have You Thought About Starting a Blog?
If you have ever thought about starting a blog but life got in the way, there is no better time than right now!! It’s not as hard as you think, and you can do things at your own pace. Trust me, I have 5 kids, work a job outside of my home, and I still find time to run this blog.
It’s so possible to have an awesome blog even with a busy life, and it’s FUN. When I have time to myself to relax, I choose to work on my blog. You won’t regret taking the plunge!
If you already have a blog or you decide to start one today, this blog checklist printable will be perfect for you! Now, this is the checklist I follow on a daily basis, meaning after work and spending time with my family. When I have some free time, I will likely spend way more time on each category.
Final Thoughts On National Give Something Away Day
Now, after you start your blog, download the printable, and get started on setting everything up, find something in your home to give to someone else. The things that get little to no use in your own home may make a huge difference in someone else’s life.
Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays, and in my eyes, it’s the highlight of summer. On the 4th of July, my family normally celebrates by going to a barbeque, playing in the water, spending time relaxing outside and watching fireworks. I also try to do something fun to teach my kids about the meaning of the day.
This year, we will be celebrating at home and I want to make sure we have a good time. I also want to have a simple and relaxing day, so I had to come up with a plan to make the 4th of July simple and exciting.
Fun fact: I love learning new facts, so it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t research things we don’t know about the 4th of July. Another fun fact, I also like to share my random information, so:
4 Things You Didn’t Know About the 4th of July (but now you do)
Although I teach my kids about the reason for celebrating Independence Day there is still quite a bit we didn’t know, and I wanted to change that this year. I mean, are we really even American if we don’t know a few fun facts about Independence Day?!
1. While the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted by Congress on July 4th, it was actually voted for on July 2nd. Because of this, John Adams celebrated the 2nd of July as Independence day and reportedly turned down celebration invitations on the 4th of July.
2. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. They are also the only two who signed the Declaration of Independence who then went on to become President of the United States.
3. The tradition of lighting off fireworks began on the one year anniversary of America’s independence.
4. Americans consume around 150 million hotdogs on the 4th of July.
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Simple Ways to Celebrate the 4th of July at Home
1. Have a barbecue.
It isn’t July 4th if there is no 4th of July barbeque. The traditional meal of hamburgers and hotdogs with delicious side dishes is a popular way to go, or you can spice it up and offer steak instead. We’ll probably be doing the hotdog/hamburger method since my kids don’t tend to appreciate a good steak.
For 4th of July barbeque ideas click on the image:
2. Wear 4th of July themed clothing.
It’s more fun to dress up for special days, and it’s easy to dress up for the 4th of July! Your kids will always remember that part of the tradition, and you’ll get some great pictures out of it!
You can do crafts, sensory activities, games, or even go on a scavenger hunt. Whatever fun activities you plan, your kids will love it, especially if it’s Independence Day themed. For some ideas, check out my post 6 4th of July Crafts and Activities.
If you want to create an easy sensory bottle to celebrate, check out this post:
No matter where you celebrate from or what you plan to do, you have to watch fireworks! If you or your kids don’t like loud noises, try sparklers instead. Fireworks (or something similar) are a must when it comes to simple ways to celebrate the 4th of July at Home. They are actually on our Summer Bucket List, and I can’t wait to cross that one off!
Final Thoughts On Simple Ways to Celebrate the 4th of July at Home
The 4th of July doesn’t have to be crazy, expensive, or stressful in order to have a good time. A low key and relaxing event can make the day more special to you and your family.
What are some of the ways you plan to celebrate July 4th this year? Tell me about it in the comments!
Whether it is for a kid/parent date, a special day for your birthday boy, or a day that’s just all about [name of child here], there are plenty of reasons to give your child a perfect day. With 5 kids in our house, it is SO hard to give the kids the undivided attention they desperately crave, which is why I decided to come up with the “perfect day” idea for my kids.
It all started when I began implementing scheduled dates where each child would get one on one time with one parent. Chris (my husband) and I take turns taking the kids on dates, one at a time.
I got tired of having to spend a ton of money each time, however, and had to start brainstorming more child/parent date ideas that were relatively inexpensive. That is when I decided to start having some of the dates be all day adventures, full of things that my kids love to do but I don’t always get the time to participate in.
How to Give Your Child a Perfect Day
1. Make their favorite breakfast.
There is no better way to give your child a perfect day than to start it out with their favorite breakfast. If they want to help cook or prepare it, definitely let them do it, but, if not, you can put on their favorite cartoon and let them relax until it is time to eat. My kids always choose pancakes, waffles, bacon, or all of the above LOL.
2. Go to the park and actually play with them on the playground.
I’m guilty of taking my kids to the park and then finding a comfortable place to sit and read a book, especially with my 5 year old. Now that he’s more independent it’s easy to let him play on his own, even though I know he loves it when I actually play WITH him. When I’m giving him a perfect day, however, we do things like play tag, hide n seek, or the floor is lava on and around the play equipment.
3. Go on a nature hike, and spend time noticing the little things.
Some of the parks we go to have trails that go through the woods, but if we are playing at one that doesn’t, we have nature trails nearby. The Dahlem Center is our favorite place, and I like to let the kids choose which way we go. We’ve been hundreds of times and I still don’t think we’ve seen all there is to see there.
Walk with your child on a trail and look at every little thing they point out. If they want to walk slowly, you walk slowly, too. This day is just for them, after all, so let them set the pace no matter how much you want to hurry along.
4. Talk with them, but try to do more listening than talking.
Throughout the activities of their perfect day, spend time talking and listening to your child. There are so many things they want to tell you, but when you are surrounded by the rest of the family it may be hard to get it all in. Let your child express themselves and chat your ear off all day long.
5. Let them help you make a lunch of their choice.
Sometimes, instead of making lunch, we stop and have lunch at the place of their choice. If you do make the lunch at home, however, let your child help you. I find that one of the better bonding times spent with my kids is when we are cooking together.
6. Take a nap with them, or have quiet time with them.
Instead of putting them in their bedroom alone for nap or quiet time, go with them. Lay in their bed and just cuddle, talk quietly, or read books together. Just having you there with them will mean the world to your child.
7. Play their favorite outside game.
After quiet time, head outside for a while and play whatever your child wants to play. This is the perfect time for you to play those games that you normally don’t have time to participate in.
8. Build a fort with them.
All of my kids like to make forts. They are constantly asking me to build one with them, but, on a normal day, I’ll enlist when one of the other kids to help instead. On their perfect day, however, this changes and I build the biggest and best fort with them
9. Watch their favorite movie in the fort while eating their favorite snacks.
Since you have to make the most of your fort, you should gather all the best snacks and bring them into the fort. We also like to grab pillows and blankets so we can get extra comfortable. Then, you should let your child choose a movie to watch from inside of the fort while you enjoy those snacks.
10. Take them to the dollar store and let them pick out a few items.
My kids choose their weirdest stuff, and that is perfectly okay. Oftentimes, we buy a package of balloons, blow them all up, and play games with those for a long time at home.
Other times, we buy paint and make artwork. You can even find dress up items and snacks that your kids will love! It’s not about the quality here, it’s just about giving your kid an amazing day.
11. Participate in whatever play activity they ask of you.
Don’t tell your child no today (unless it’s a safety hazard or expensive). If your child asks you to play, then go play! This is their perfect day, and they will love nothing more than you playing with them with all of their favorite toys.
12. Let the child choose and help cook dinner.
Okay, let’s get real here… you may not be able to keep your entire family out of the house for the entire day, so dinner time may include the rest of the family. Even so, this is still one child’s perfect day, so let them choose dinner and help cook it if they want to.
13. If they like baths, let them play in the bath extra long.
My kids LOVE bath time, but, with 3 littles who needs baths, I tend to rush them along. During their perfect day, though, they get to spend as much time as they’d like playing in the bathtub.
14. Read an extra book or two at bedtime.
I’m not one to say no to extra books anyway, but there is a point where I’m thinking I just want to go and read my OWN book LOL. The perfect day means they should get extra, however, so sometimes that means I’m reading to them for an hour straight or until they fall asleep.
We don’t just read the words, we also look at and discuss the pictures and events that are occurring in the book. With my 5 year old, I ask if he recognizes any of the words on the page, too.
15. Lay with your child as they fall asleep.
Allow them to ask questions or talk while you lay together instead of shushing them for bedtime. They’ll get sleepy and quiet eventually, and then they’ll fall asleep.
Important Tips For Giving Your Child a Perfect Day
You must be present!
This is the first and most important tip. Your child craves your undivided attention, so make sure you’re giving it to them most of the day. This is their perfect day, after all, so put the phone, computer, laptop, tablet, etc. away and be present for your child.
Customize the day for your child.
Each child is different, so you may have to change things around a bit. With my daughter, we make time for DIY facials, mani’s, and pedi‘s. This is our “thing”, so we make sure to do it each time. It’s her favorite part!
Listen to your child – even the things they aren’t saying.
If your child doesn’t seem to be enjoying an activity on their perfect day, move on! Definitely don’t take it personally, instead take note for next time that they would rather do something else.
Final Thoughts On Ways to Give Your Child a Perfect Day
At the end of your child’s perfect day, your child will go to bed so happy and feeling so loved and noticed. There is nothing better than that, and it is something your child will remember for a very long time. If you make this kind of thing a regular tradition, your child will remember it for the rest of their lives and maybe even pass it along to their own kids someday.
You may also find that after you give your child a perfect day you’ll feel great, as well. While you may have skipped housework or other things you need to get done at home, seeing your child so happy and spending one on one time with them will make it all worth it.
What would you do to give your child a perfect day? Tell me about it in the comments! I may just add it to our own perfect day routine.
We get 18 delicious summers with our children. This is one of your 18. If that’s not perspective, I don’t know what is.”
-Jessica Scott
Believe it or not, summer will be here before we know it. My big kids only have one week of school left, and my preschooler has been done for almost two weeks now. Our summer shenanigans are so close to starting that I can already feel it, hence the need for a summer bucket list.
This is the first summer in 3 years that I haven’t been a stay at home mom, but that isn’t going to stop us from having all the same fun as usual. I just have to plan a little more strategically to get in all of the same activities. One bonus, though, is that since I’m working this year, we’ll have a little extra money to do stuff we’ve had to miss out on in the past.
Since my littles are getting older and are able to express what they want, I’m excited to get their input for our Summer Bucket List. If you have been following my blog already, you know that I love printables, so, of course, I have a printable for my kids to fill in their own bucket list.
I created these printables last year, and my littles were still too small to understand the concept of filling in their own. My big kids loved it, though, so we are just using the same one again this year. I’m hoping my littles (ages 5, 3, and 2, BTW) will love it just as much this time around.
Summer Bucket List Ideas
Go to the beach
Go to the zoo
Make lemonade
Have a water fight
Have a bonfire, roast hot dogs, and make s’ mores
See a dollar movie
Go to a splash pad
Have a cookout
Visit a nature center
Watch fireworks
Watch a parade
Catch fireflies
Visit a library
Go to a garage sale
Play soccer
Play mini-golf
Go camping
Make homemade pizza
Go on a trip
Summer Bucket List Printables
To start, I know these printables have more than 19 activities on them. I made them last year, and we loved them so much that I didn’t want to recreate a new one.
All 19 activities are on the list, so you can think of the rest of them as bonus activities. 😉 If you’d prefer to only do the 19, however, you can print a blank template and just write in the 19 activities to do this summer.
Since I have to plan a little more effectively this year, I created and printed some blank calendars for the summer months. I then looked at my summer bucket list and picked a date for each activity. I spread the activities out throughout the entire summer so that the fun can last the entire three months.
Final Thoughts On Things to Do This Summer – A Summer Bucket List
Summer may seem like it will go on forever, but it’ll be over before you know it. You only have three short months to make memories with your kids before they go back to school, start a new grade, and grow a year older. Make the most of it this year so that you can look back with no regrets. What activities do you make sure to do every summer with your kids?
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