Make an Obstacle Course for your Kids!

The boys asked Daddy to make an obstacle course today... or as my three-year old said it, "Dad?! Can you make us an awesome horse?"

So, off my three guys went into the back yard to see what they could make with what we have lying around.

[There's supposed to be a video here... but we are having technical difficulties... sorry!]

Step #1 -- climb up the ladder and go down the slide.
Step #2 -- ride the tricycle over to the t-ball station and hit a ball.
Step #3 -- zig zag through the traffic cones
Step #4 -- step on pots and across a raised plank of wood (on cinder blocks)
Step #5 -- jump over a post
Step #6 -- crawl through the tunnel
Step #7 -- go over the firepit (they asked for real fire... yea right.)
Step #8 -- swing on the monkey bar

They were having so much fun doing it over and over again to see if they could do it faster the next time! What do you have at your house that you can use to make an obstacle course with?

Family Game Night

If your family is anything like mine you probably have a lot of time to be together this time of year. My husband's job brings him indoors during the winter months and he has lots of opportunities to spend quality time with our children. One of their favorite things to do is play board games together [and/or wrestle]. We love to give our kids games for Christmas gifts each year and our stockpile of board games is growing steadily! I thought I would share some of MY family's favorite games, as well as EMILY's family choices [since her kids are older] ... therefore giving you a wide-range of game ideas!

What are some of YOUR favorite games to play???

Card Games:
Hand and Foot
Rook
Nertz [aka Peanuts]

Party Games:
Apples to Apples
Quelf
Origins
Catch Phrase

Board Games:
Ticket to Ride
Settlers of Catan (Emily says that this is a "great strategy game for geeky people" Haha.)
Labyrinth
Clue
Risk

Two-Person Games:
Scrabble
Yahtzee

Games to Play with Young Ones:
The Ladybug Game
Memory
Candyland
Don't Break the Ice
Dominoes
Guess Who?
Connect Four
Battleship
Checkers [and/or Chinese Checkers]

My Little Laundry Elf

When my husband helps with laundry we tend to find elves in the wash...

Favorite Recorded Books for (Long) Family Car Trips

Here are some of our family's favorites for listening together while making long trips around the holidays. 

All of the "Ramona" books recorded by Stockard Channing

These are the best.  So funny and usually some kind of poignant resolution (that gently teaches a lesson).  These stories will make you laugh out loud and maybe (if you're a sentimental mom like me) even shed a small tear.  Beverly Cleary understands children (and parents!) so well.  If you've never read these books, do yourself a favor and listen to them very soon!

Titles include:

• Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (1991) 
• Beezus and Ramona (1992)
• Ramona and Her Father (1992)
• Ramona and Her Mother (1992)
• Ramona Forever (1992)
• Ramona the Brave (1992)
• Ramona's World ( 1999)
• Ramona the Pest (2000)

Age 7 through adult.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 volumes!)

I think these incredibly creative books are better listened to than read.  Language is so important in these stories -- so hearing the words spoken is even better than reading them on the page.  Maybe you need to have a dry sense of humor to really "get" these books, I don't know.  My family thinks they are hysterical (and also sometimes kinda sad...  but in a good way.)

Here are the titles with their original book publication dates.  Most of the audio books are read by actor Tim Curry athough the author Daniel Handler (as Lemony Snicket) reads books 3 to 5.

1. The Bad Beginning (1999)
2. The Reptile Room (1999)
3. The Wide Window (2000)
4. The Miserable Mill (2000)
5. The Austere Academy (2000)
6. The Ersatz Elevator (2001)
7. The Vile Village (2001)
8. The Hostile Hospital (2001)
9. The Carnivorous Carnival (2002)
10. The Slippery Slope (2003)
11. The Grim Grotto (2004)
12. The Penultimate Peril (2005)
13. The End (2006)

Age 10 through adult.



The Chronicles of Narnia -- Focus on the Family Radio Theatre

These are really good adaptations of the Chronicles.  They are not word-by-word readings of the stories, but dramatic renderings.  The set includes all seven stories:

• The Magician's Nephew
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Horse and his Boy
• Prince Caspian
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Silver Chair
• The Last Battle

Ages 8 through adult.

Anne of Green Gables

It seems there are a lot of versions of this classic story out on CD.  The one we've enjoyed is narrated by Barbara Caruso. 

Age 10 through adult.

What are your family's favorites?

Keep A Watchful Eye...

When your pre-schooler wants to help with daily chores... like emptying the dishwasher!