We had a wonderful visit with my niece and her new blended family. It was good to see the great- nieces and nephews. We really like our much smaller house - it fits the two of us just right. We did notice however, that it was a little small for our niece's family of 5 children (the oldest wasn't even here) and four extra adults. We even brought in outside lawn chairs to have enough seating.
Luckily, I finally found our toy box,-complete with wooden toys, which managed to make the move with us. I also had a 26 year old recipe for play dough from when our children went to Redding Co-op Preschool. The children were amazed you could actually MAKE play dough. They each picked their food coloring and controlled how many drops when into their ball of dough -and they picked out a little container for taking the dough home.
The play dough activity was great and kept them busy for about an hour. When that lost their interest, we went to a nearby park. The park is called Constellation Park and it obviously has a space theme. When looking at the model planets, one of them pointed out that Pluto was no longer a plant. I assured them the city would want to correct that oversight as soon as possible. They loved all the equipment and were able to burn lots of energy before the long ride home.
Luckily, I finally found our toy box,-complete with wooden toys, which managed to make the move with us. I also had a 26 year old recipe for play dough from when our children went to Redding Co-op Preschool. The children were amazed you could actually MAKE play dough. They each picked their food coloring and controlled how many drops when into their ball of dough -and they picked out a little container for taking the dough home.
The play dough activity was great and kept them busy for about an hour. When that lost their interest, we went to a nearby park. The park is called Constellation Park and it obviously has a space theme. When looking at the model planets, one of them pointed out that Pluto was no longer a plant. I assured them the city would want to correct that oversight as soon as possible. They loved all the equipment and were able to burn lots of energy before the long ride home.
I asked their dad if it would be a difficult ride home with them being tired and the baby crying. He said it would be a piece of cake. One movie inserted into their Excursion's DVD player and the kids would be either watching the movie, asleep or listening to their Ipod.
My how times have changed since the Redding Co-op preschool days. As parents, we learned how to play games to keep the kids occupied on trips. Reading games, playing car bingo or I spy, and then there was the inevitable "Are we there yet?"
Still, even with all the new devices, I would not want to be a parent today -- it is so much more difficult.
My how times have changed since the Redding Co-op preschool days. As parents, we learned how to play games to keep the kids occupied on trips. Reading games, playing car bingo or I spy, and then there was the inevitable "Are we there yet?"
Still, even with all the new devices, I would not want to be a parent today -- it is so much more difficult.
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Darc, thanks for the time travel to the Co-Op Preschool days. And thank goodness you saved the toy box, and the play dough recipe. (It's fun to put flavors in it, too, like vanilla and cinnamon.) For car games we used to play "A my name is ... my husband's name is ... we live in ... and we sell ..." for hours with the kids. It killed time and it also gave insights to the kids' personalities. I'm loving your blog, Darcie! :)
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