Ten Easy Ways to Bond with Your Kids
If you read my last post about simplifying your life, you’ve probably been busy making lots of time for yourself in your crazy life, right? Now that you have all these spare minutes to connect with your kids, what are you going to do? Here are a few ideas and affiliate links to help you bond with your little folks.
Go on a nature walk.
Once you drag your kids kicking and screaming away from the TV, take them outside to find things. Don’t you love having sticks and rocks piled up on your kitchen counter? If you’re good at arranging things, you could go all Martha Stewart and make some sort of décor out of them. Cover your sticks in spray adhesive, and sprinkle Epsom salt on them. Bundle your salty kindling into a pot on your porch, and you have some free winter décor. Since spring is on the way, spray your sticks with adhesive and cover them in pastel glitter for a tacky Easter tree. Most people think twice before getting out the glitter, but I can’t help myself. I love sparkly things.
Create an outdoor scavenger hunt.
You can make a list of things for your kids to find yourself, or you can get one that I made here. Your family can bond and do something to boost the academics!
Tell stories about your childhood.
My kids love to hear about when my husband and I were kids. If you aren’t the best story-teller, then get yourself a pack of Rory’s Story Cubes and go to town. Use the pictures to make stories. Even non-readers can take part.
Grab some paper towel tubes, construction paper, and glue to get crafty
Forget about all the Pinterest animals you can make on-line. Have fun creating your own sculptures with your kids.
Read
This one needs no explanation. Your kids’ teachers will thank you. My six-year-old is totally into the Henry and Mudge series. My nine-year-old has been obsessed with The Dragon in the Sock Drawer.
Play a card game.
What kid doesn’t love a little Old Maid, Go Fish, or Crazy Eights? Uno happens to be a favorite of ours. There’s nothing like mixing in a little trash talk to strengthen the family bond!
Make some cookies from an old recipe.
Who am I fooling? Just make them out of the box. You’re baking together–that’s all that counts. It’s also a good thing to let your kids read the recipe and do the measuring. Your child’s math teacher will also thank you. If you let your child crack the eggs, make sure you have a few extra and are skilled at picking shell out of a mixing bowl.
Kick a ball around.
This is easy, cheap, and it gets your heart rate up.
Go through old family pictures.
Explain who the people are in each one, and tell family stories. Your kids will be amazed at how young you looked. They’ll also be delighted to exclaim how old you look now. But that’s okay. Fossils and relics are cool, too, you know.
Make a scrapbook.
Print off some of your social media photos. Glue them to acid-free paper and add stickers and decorations your kids choose. Let your kids journal about each picture. If your child can’t write yet, then have them dictate their ideas to you. If you want to create digital designs right on your phone, apps like Project Life and Coolibah will make it fun for both you and your kids. You can create all size pages—I printed off 4 x 6 pages and let the kids journal on index cards. I put the whole thing into photo sleeve archival quality albums. The kids still love flipping through these albums.
These are just a few of the infinite possibilities of things you can do with your kids this spring and summer. Hopefully, all our schedules will slow down so we can enjoy our families more!
