The Friday Five: simple ideas for family night

by on February 1, 2013
in parenting · 22 Comments

FamilyNight

Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

I‘m starting a new series here on Simple Kids:  the Friday Five.  Every Friday, I’ll take a topic related to kids and parenting and share five hints, tips, or my favorite things.

The first Friday Five of 2013 is dedicated to family night.

Our family has been having what we call a Friday Night Nest for years.  This tradition started when I was pregnant with my son and my husband was working second shift.  I was often exhausted at the end of the day, and with no husband coming home for “back up” I needed a way to keep my child occupied and put my swollen feet up at the same time.  My oldest daughter, who was four at the time, and I used to make a “nest” of every pillow and blanket in the house and then we would crawl into the nest and read stories or do puzzles or watch movies in the evenings.

Eventually the routine that evolved into our weekly family Friday Night Nest. Today we don’t often “nest” but we do set aside Friday nights as our family together time and we hold it sacred on our calendar.

We usually combine an activity with some type of food, either a full meal or a snack.  What activity we pick may vary depending on how busy the rest of the week has been and what the budget looks like.

It can be a challenge to find something to do on Friday nights that appeals to the toddler, preschoolers, and the tween, but I think I’ve rounded up a good mix of ideas that are enjoyable for all ages, moms and dads included.

Here are five ideas for simple family night activities that have been successful at our house:

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A day in the life

by on January 25, 2013
in parenting ·

DayLifeKara

Jamie invited me over to Simple Homeschool to share with you a glimpse of our day for her Day in the Life series.  So, I’m over there sharing what homeschooling looked like last Friday for the fifth grader, first grader, preschooler, and seventeen month old and for me, their work-from-home mom.

I’d love it if you would join me at Simple Homeschool today.

From the post …

I’d say my main homeschool influences are Waldorf inspired and Charlotte Mason, but we do allow for technology and a more free-flowing relaxed daily rhythm.

5:30 am – a peaceful beginning

My day begins early.  I’m a morning person and I’m awake at 5:30.  I get dressed and then come downstairs and shuffle around the house.  I let the dog out, having a quiet time, make myself a mug of coffee, while mentally reviewing my To Do list. I answer emails, edit blog posts, and do a bit of writing.

[Read the rest at Simple Homeschool]

Ages and stages: age four

by on January 21, 2013
in parenting · 16 Comments

AgeFOUR

Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

There’s a magical little creature who lives at our house.  She’s very shy around strangers, but around her family she lights up the room and is sometimes the noisiest child in this large family of ours.

She makes up stories and plays games.  She has a vivid imagination.  She loves horses and the color purple and baby dolls.  She dances and sings and also likes to sit quietly with a stack of picture books or a pile of paper and crayons.  She wears twirly dresses and silky capes and also Batman pajamas and a pirate’s eye patch.

This magical creature’s name is Lucy and she’s my four year old daughter.

“Four is, indeed, highly versatile.  What can he not do?  He can be quiet or noisy, calm or assertive, cozy or imperious, suggestible or independent, social, athletic, artistic, literal, fanciful, cooperative, indifferent, inquisitive, forthright, humorous, dogmatic.  He is many people in one.”  – Your Four Year Old: Wild and Wonderful by Louise Bates Ames, PhD.

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Resolved: our family’s three goals for 2013

by on January 3, 2013
in parenting · 26 Comments

Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, though I really find myself disliking that term, my husband Christopher and I have been talking about a small list of goals we’d like work toward as a family.

I thought it might be fun to share our list with you and see what Simple Kids readers are hoping for their own families in the new year. (Are you interested in hearing about my personal goals?  You can take a peek over at Rockin’ Granola).

Here are our family’s 3 goals for 2013:

1. Get out there!

After that tender post-baby year, where my preference is to stay as close to home as possible, 2013 feels like a year to get out there and see the world around us.

I’d like to see us take better advantage of the local resources available to us. We’re on a tight budget this year, (okay, when aren’t we on a tight budget?) so that will limit our travels out of state, but there is no reason that we can’t become tourists in our local area.

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Artists in residence

by on October 24, 2012
in parenting, play learn explore · 20 Comments

The following is by contributor Robin Zipporah of The Not-Ever-Still Life.

This is my first favorite painting. I’ve since had many others, but you always remember your first loves, right? It’s called Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Giacomo Balla from 1912. It hangs in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, not far from my childhood home.  I first saw it when I was four or five. I’d stand before it and stare.

Do you talk to your kids about art? When we look at art with our children and discuss what they see, we build important skills that carry over into the rest of their education. Talking about visual arts promotes critical thinking as well as language and literary skills. Talking about art, where everyone holds a different opinion and everyone sees something different, promotes asserting one’s opinion and respecting someone else’s. It activates engagement, debate, and learning to understand multiple perspectives. And it’s fun!

I’m an art historian and mama of three young kids. And I want to walk you through talking with your favorite small people about art. Children make excellent art appreciators. So today I’m introducing a new series to Simple Kids: Artists in Residence. 

[Read more...]

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