I thought I'd share a fun activity we love here. I cannot take one ounce of credit for this. I belong to a fabulous group of neighborhood mamas (MOMS Club) who are so generous to share their creative ideas of what works in their homes. I believe this originally came from Betsy. THANK YOU!
It takes us about a half hour from start to finish. It's messy, but clean at the same time! The messier they get, the cleaner the table becomes. How cool is that! Plus the kids are getting all lathered up themselves so I'm thinking it's double duty on them as well.
I know it sounds strange, I was very hesitant to try it. However it really does work and it's not like a fountain of running water pouring over the edges as I first imagined it would be.
To start, dribble a little water on the table.
Then drip a few soap droplets from your dish washing soap container and let the little people get to work!
Have about a 1/2 cup of water and a bottle of dish soap handy. As it lathers, both the water and soap will need replenishing.
My girls ask to do this almost nightly but I try to sqeeze it in weekly - or wait until the table is so grimey it's barely recognizeable.
When everyone has had enough, I send them to the bathroom to rinse their hands off while I use a wet washcloth to wipe down the table. This is also a good time to get the wet-mop out as there will be dribbles on the floor.
You can see my dish soap and little cup o' water on the table here. My girls are ages 4 and 2. Both are able to fully participate, feel useful, get messy, and have fun. I love doing this with them! Give it a try sometime. And then look up your nearest MOMS Club chapter so you can spread the word and your own motherly wisdom!
PS - Please feel free to leave more ideas in the comments. I think all mamas are looking for fun things to do with the kiddies, especially in the winter.
oh my gawwwwwwwwd, i got a shout on on the pin cushion!!! I'm FAMOUS!!!
ReplyDeletesome favorites as of late @ our house...
color baths (just add food coloring, doesnt hurt tub/kids, few drops and BAM, fun bath)
icicle baths (we collect about 20 GIANT icicles by reaching out of our 2nd story windows, gather them in a pillow case and get ready for bath time, penguin style. they melt pretty fast in the tub, but man oh man is it fun to play with them while they last!)
bunny "tracking"...folowing the foot prints of various rodents/furry friends all over the yard in the snow. we've been taking our veggie peels/scraps out there too and leaving them feasts!
beach parties ~ the girls have been running around the house in their bathing suits, flip flops and shades. setting up towels & playing with toy dolphins, beach style. i made a picnic basket lunch one day...complete with giant umbrella to sit under.
paint the windows! be brave, its fun! we used tempered paint, and made rainbows, sunshines and random blobs to decorate some windows. wipes right off with rag & water. added bonus, pretty pictures to look at vs more snow outside.
~betsy
How fun! I know A would love this, and Betsy's ideas are FABULOUS! What fun mommies you both are!
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