RogueBabe
03-02-2006, 05:55 PM
A Week of Fun
At the end of February, the children in New England get a vacation week. The schools have termed it, “Winter Break”. For many parents, this can mean a week of aggravation. To make the week one of fun and joy instead of headache and torment, we came up with a “Week of Fun”. Here’s how you can have a great week too!
Monday –
Today is “Spa Day”. You and your child will spend the whole day pampering yourselves. There are so many ideas for “Spa Day”! Make a steam room. Run the shower on hot and then put on your bathing suits and wrap yourselves in towels. Before you run the shower, close the drain and drop in a fizzy smell pretty of some sort. It makes for a very aromatic environment. Put a large towel on the floor and pretend you’re in a sauna room. Enjoy the steam as it opens your pores and relaxes you. Talk with your child about what relaxes them. Make sure you have a timer for this. We usually sit there talking for about 10-15 minutes. When you are done, use the water in the tub to soak your hands and feet. Make sure the water is cool enough to do this! Now it’s time for a manicure! Carefully trim fingernails and toenails and then rub some lotion on your feet and hands and let your child do the same! Children love to play “Spa Day”! What other ideas can you come up with for pampering you and your child? How about a back massage? First, you can rub lotion into your child’s back and then, they can do yours! Maybe a nice nap with cucumber slices on your eyes! Remember to put in a soothing sounds CD or something calming. Or how about a relaxing movie! Let your child help you come up with “Spa Day” ideas too!
Tuesday –
Today is “Be Nice to Others Day”. You and your child will spend the whole day doing things that will benefit others. There are so many wonderful things you can do on this day! Go through all the couches and chairs to see how much change can be found. Often pennies find their way under furniture. When you have collected all the change, donate it to a charity! There are often charity jars at convenience stores, supermarkets and department stores. Take your child to one of the stores and let them put all the change in the jar. Make sure you read to your child what’s written on the outside of the jar, letting them know where the money is going and who they have helped. Collect a few cans and boxes of food out of the cupboard. Then take the food to the local shelter. Let your child pick out things that they think someone would enjoy eating. Explain to your child that some people really can’t afford a lot of food and that the food donation may be going to feed a child just like them. Go through clothes and see if there’s anything that may be too small and in good enough condition to donate to a shelter. Your child will learn about giving and compassion towards those less fortunate. Ask your child what ideas they have about being nice to others. Maybe saying “Please” and “Thank You” or smiling at everyone all day long! There are so many wonderful ways to be nice.
Wednesday –
Today is “Silly Day”. Make this day one that your child will never forget! Maybe you have to say “Quack” after every sentence! How about only walking backwards! Or maybe you can hop instead of walking! Let your child make up a silly menu of foods for dinner. Spaghetti can be called “Silly String with Sauce”. Juice can be called “Laughter Serum”. There are a lot of great silly ideas out there and I bet that your child has more than a few ways to make the day totally silly and fun!
Thursday –
Today is “Exercise Day”. This is a great way to burn off that extra energy during the vacation week. You don’t even have to have exercise equipment to do this! Jumping jacks, hopping on one foot or even touching your toes can be made fun! Put in a funny CD, maybe with children’s songs on it or something bouncy and fun, then let your child create an exercise for each song. A slow jog around the outside of the house or a bike ride around the yard would be a great way to spend some time exercising. Let your child share with you what exercises they would like to do! This is a great way to get your child excited about exercise and burning off energy! Make sure that you both make healthy eating choices for the day. Because it’s a day of health and exercise, make sure there are a variety of fruits and vegetables available to replace vitamins and nutrients.
Friday –
Finally you’ve made it through the week! Well, except for this last day. Today is “Lazy Day”. It’s a do nothing kind of day. Relax and still have fun! Maybe you can watch a movie together. How about spending some time making something special? A wonderful thing to do today is make a scrapbook of everything that you’ve done all week. Then, the next time you have a vacation week, you can look back and add more things to try or do something totally different! This is a day to do a whole lot of relaxing and just having fun!
Well, you made it through the week and hopefully, you learned something about your child. Children are so very special and with a lot of love and a little extra attention, they will grow up to be caring, loving, creative adults.
Until next time…
Stay smiling and hug your precious little one
*Hugs*
~Kim
At the end of February, the children in New England get a vacation week. The schools have termed it, “Winter Break”. For many parents, this can mean a week of aggravation. To make the week one of fun and joy instead of headache and torment, we came up with a “Week of Fun”. Here’s how you can have a great week too!
Monday –
Today is “Spa Day”. You and your child will spend the whole day pampering yourselves. There are so many ideas for “Spa Day”! Make a steam room. Run the shower on hot and then put on your bathing suits and wrap yourselves in towels. Before you run the shower, close the drain and drop in a fizzy smell pretty of some sort. It makes for a very aromatic environment. Put a large towel on the floor and pretend you’re in a sauna room. Enjoy the steam as it opens your pores and relaxes you. Talk with your child about what relaxes them. Make sure you have a timer for this. We usually sit there talking for about 10-15 minutes. When you are done, use the water in the tub to soak your hands and feet. Make sure the water is cool enough to do this! Now it’s time for a manicure! Carefully trim fingernails and toenails and then rub some lotion on your feet and hands and let your child do the same! Children love to play “Spa Day”! What other ideas can you come up with for pampering you and your child? How about a back massage? First, you can rub lotion into your child’s back and then, they can do yours! Maybe a nice nap with cucumber slices on your eyes! Remember to put in a soothing sounds CD or something calming. Or how about a relaxing movie! Let your child help you come up with “Spa Day” ideas too!
Tuesday –
Today is “Be Nice to Others Day”. You and your child will spend the whole day doing things that will benefit others. There are so many wonderful things you can do on this day! Go through all the couches and chairs to see how much change can be found. Often pennies find their way under furniture. When you have collected all the change, donate it to a charity! There are often charity jars at convenience stores, supermarkets and department stores. Take your child to one of the stores and let them put all the change in the jar. Make sure you read to your child what’s written on the outside of the jar, letting them know where the money is going and who they have helped. Collect a few cans and boxes of food out of the cupboard. Then take the food to the local shelter. Let your child pick out things that they think someone would enjoy eating. Explain to your child that some people really can’t afford a lot of food and that the food donation may be going to feed a child just like them. Go through clothes and see if there’s anything that may be too small and in good enough condition to donate to a shelter. Your child will learn about giving and compassion towards those less fortunate. Ask your child what ideas they have about being nice to others. Maybe saying “Please” and “Thank You” or smiling at everyone all day long! There are so many wonderful ways to be nice.
Wednesday –
Today is “Silly Day”. Make this day one that your child will never forget! Maybe you have to say “Quack” after every sentence! How about only walking backwards! Or maybe you can hop instead of walking! Let your child make up a silly menu of foods for dinner. Spaghetti can be called “Silly String with Sauce”. Juice can be called “Laughter Serum”. There are a lot of great silly ideas out there and I bet that your child has more than a few ways to make the day totally silly and fun!
Thursday –
Today is “Exercise Day”. This is a great way to burn off that extra energy during the vacation week. You don’t even have to have exercise equipment to do this! Jumping jacks, hopping on one foot or even touching your toes can be made fun! Put in a funny CD, maybe with children’s songs on it or something bouncy and fun, then let your child create an exercise for each song. A slow jog around the outside of the house or a bike ride around the yard would be a great way to spend some time exercising. Let your child share with you what exercises they would like to do! This is a great way to get your child excited about exercise and burning off energy! Make sure that you both make healthy eating choices for the day. Because it’s a day of health and exercise, make sure there are a variety of fruits and vegetables available to replace vitamins and nutrients.
Friday –
Finally you’ve made it through the week! Well, except for this last day. Today is “Lazy Day”. It’s a do nothing kind of day. Relax and still have fun! Maybe you can watch a movie together. How about spending some time making something special? A wonderful thing to do today is make a scrapbook of everything that you’ve done all week. Then, the next time you have a vacation week, you can look back and add more things to try or do something totally different! This is a day to do a whole lot of relaxing and just having fun!
Well, you made it through the week and hopefully, you learned something about your child. Children are so very special and with a lot of love and a little extra attention, they will grow up to be caring, loving, creative adults.
Until next time…
Stay smiling and hug your precious little one
*Hugs*
~Kim