1) Making paper - dh has an aunt who love our handmade paper, so she's always requesting we do this. Paper making is a simple enough task that even the youngest kids can help out, for example by shredding paper. I have YouTube videos on how we did this: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
2) Making soap - melt and pour soaps are super duper easy! You can get high quality melt-and-pour soap bases and molds from Bramble Berry, or at your local craft store (e.g. Michael's, Hobby Lobby). Bramble Berry also has some excellent videos on how to make melt-and-pour soaps on YouTube.
3) Gardening - my kids have learned so much about growing, harvesting, and the different types of weeds and pests (plus organic pest control) by gardening with me and dh. Plus, they know now how hard it is to get food to the table, and will never be wasteful.
4) Playing board games - an oldie, but a goodie. We play all sorts of board games, from Rivers, Roads, and Rails, to Scrabble, to Pictionary. We don't play competitively - that is, we rarely keep score - but we play in such a way that the kids want to learn and excel.
5) Hiking - not only is it fun to learn tree identification and how to not get lost in the woods, but it's also great exercise. Plus, when we're not scaling mountainous trails that leave us out of breath, we are constantly talking, joking, and laughing together.
So that's it! Our 5 favorite family together time activities - hope you'll be trying some of them.
Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and LEGO blogging program, making me eligible to get a prize pack. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams
23 comments:
It sounds perfect to me.
You and I are cut from the same cloth! We love all of the same things. :)
making paper is on my to do list one of these years! going to check out those videos for sure.
I once saw a teacher in college make paper out of dryer lint so every time I do my laundry I get the urge to make paper, lol
Ducky, I should have added something about food and then it'd be truly perfect! ;)
Sherrie, so you're my long lost sister! LOL!
Misty, Ooooh...I want to make paper out of dryer lint too! What a great way to use that stuff. I've been saving it so use as stuffing in some sewing project.
What a great list of family fun!
The activities are so well rounded and fun! Sounds like the perfect list for me. Have you posted about the paper you make before? Did I miss it??
Lots of hugs from me and the kitties and a special kiss from Mr. Quincy. :))
You're lucky that your boys still enjoy crafts. My guys started hating crafts by age 10ish. The girls still enjoy them fortunately! I have not been playing enough board games with my kids lately. We all enjoy it, but we've been busy and the baby makes it a challenge. Still, that is probably the best family activity that we do and I should make more time for it. You've inspired me to get my priorities straight!
Sounds like a perfect blend of learning useful skills and most of all fun!
Great list. It's so nice that you guys do so much as a family when so many families seem to constantly be looking for babysitters so that the parents can do things on their own.
We've taken to playing Chinese checkers again, it's one of the few board games that works with only 2 people.
Happy Wednesday!
Suds, thanks! When we're not bickering, we have lots of fun...LOL!
Michelle, so nice to see you, my dear! The paper-making post was a few years back. We've tapered off some (because I have too many hobbies...argh!), but ds#2 still likes to help me. He's less of a grump than ds#1. ;) Hugs and kisses back to you guys! Mr. Q has my undying love.
Maureen, they're not nearly as interested now as they were when they were younger. I tell them they have to do art one way or another, and so they do. ;D I looove board games with the kids; I want to do it more often than we do, but we always have fun when we play one.
Diane, thanks! I think it is, but sometimes the boys will grouse because I'm taking them away from their Wii time. Darn kids!
Epi, my kingdom for a babysitter we trust...LOL! Chinese checkers is tons of fun; we should play it (you, me, the guys) when we get together too.
Ducky, thanks hon!
If you don't have enough lint to make paper with, I'll be happy to send you mine. ;)
Great, just what I need, yet another 3 people to kick my butt in chinese checkers. ;0
They all sound like great things to do together!!
Epi, uh, thanks but no thanks. Dh's belly-button makes enough lint to last me a lifetime. ;D Ds#2 can't kick your butt yet; I don't think he's that good.
Together, thanks! Some are a bit more fun than others...board games, for e.g., are much easier to clean up afterward and are therefore more fun in my book...LOL!
These are among our favorite things to do too! Well except maybe the paper making since I have never tried it...but now with the videos... I'd say that I would have to add cooking to the list. When Diego and I are in the kitchen together, we have a blast! :)
I love reading about you and your family. I hope one day we can actually cross paths! :)
Alli, I hope we do too; you'd be so much fun to talk to! I'm glad you mentioned cooking; dh and I taught the kids some cooking/baking, but we don't do it together enough, so we'll try and change. :)
Good luck in the contest! I hope you win! The things you do for your children. And we know they don't have enough Legos! ha ha. : )
You know it, G! And the kids don't even appreciate it.
Kids never appreciate what their parents do for them, until they're in the parental stage themselves. Which is why I'll never appreciate what our parents did for us. :D
Our parents did stuff for us? Heh heh...JK!
exactly!
Have your kids ever played Apples to Apples? That's fun and you learn so much about each other. We also like Uno, but we often get a little too competitive with that one:)
Squid, I can't tell you how much we LOOOOVE Apples to Apples!! It's our favorite ice-breaker game. My 14 YO plays this with his teen friends at his Book Club when all the kids have finished presenting their books. :)
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