Word of the Week

Have you ever stopped for 5 minutes and just watched your children play? Sometimes there barely seems time in the day to go for a wee on your own, let alone entertain the children. And sometimes I think that is no bad thing. When left to their own devices, they often make up some fantastic games. Children really don’t need you to play with them every second of the day – learning to use thier own imagination is a life skill. That’s why this weeks word of the week is:

Keep it simple. Don’t feel you are failing if you haven’t spent 3 hours a day building a tower over and over again, or teaching your child the alphabet. Obviously these things are important – but letting your children lead the way is just as crucial.
Here is a list of 10 simple pleasures that my children enjoy:
  1. Lying on the floor with their feet on a radiator. Seriously, my kids could do this for hours on end. They will lie there and read a book, chat to each other or just stare at the ceiling. I dont know why – but they love it.
  2. Sticking. Anything. Stickers, bits from catalogues, leaves, twigs, flowers. Give them a piece of paper and some glue and they will while away a happy hour.
  3. Pulling all the cushions off the sofa and piling them all on top of each other – then jumping off something and landing on them, until they all fall over. Repeat.
  4. Sitting in the window watching the cars go past on the road. Loads of scope here – they can count them, tally up the colours or try and guess where they are going. Heaps of fun – and can be educational too!
  5. Chasing leaves in the garden. If it is windy, Gemma and Jacob love to chase leaves around the garden. If they can catch any, refer to point 2, and let them stick them on some paper.
  6. Jumping in puddles. All kids love this, right? It’s pretty fun for adults too – so next time it rains, all get your wellies on and go do some splashing.
  7. Having a bath. If it’s been one of those days, and all else has failed, dunk the kids in a bath. It has magical properties – nearly always stops crying, whining and arguments. Throw in a few rubber ducks and pouring cups and let them go wild. Just be prepared to get wet!
  8. Making cakes. I have some really simple recipe ideas you could take a look at. They don’t take long, but little ones love mixing, pouring and of course, eating them.
  9. Phoning someone. No idea why they like this so much, but the offer to phone Nanny or Auntie Nick can quite often stave off boredom. 
  10. Looking at themselves in a mirror. I don’t think grown ups realise just how much fun there is to be had with a mirror. You can make funny faces, you can do some crazy hairstyles, you can squish your nose down and see how funny it looks…..

What simple things do your children enjoy? 
The Reading Residence

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19 Comments

  1. January 10, 2014 / 12:37 pm

    Such a lovely list. Kids do know how to live life simply, and it is a joy to watch them do so. Thanks for linking up with #WotW x

    • January 10, 2014 / 2:16 pm

      Thanks for hosting! I love how kids minds work.

  2. January 10, 2014 / 1:47 pm

    Very true the simple things in life are the best x

  3. January 10, 2014 / 2:08 pm

    What a lovely post! My two have fantastic imaginations and make up their own little worlds together, It’s lovely to watch. #PoCoLo

    • January 10, 2014 / 2:16 pm

      My oldest 2 are the same – sometimes they really make me chuckle 🙂

  4. January 10, 2014 / 2:14 pm

    Love this, such a good list – and all so true 🙂 Just think how much fun kids can have with a cardboard box! #PoCoLo #WotW

    • January 10, 2014 / 2:16 pm

      Oooh forgot about the cardboard box! Hours of fun to be had!

  5. January 10, 2014 / 2:28 pm

    What a lovely list!! I must get my kids to try some of these out. Although i have a funny feeling they’ll head straight for the sofas to strip it of the cushions for them to GERONIMO onto! lol!! x

  6. January 10, 2014 / 6:37 pm

    I love reading about these fun little things that are part of being a parent. Our 9 month old son really likes playing with small things like beer mats or face cloths. We often need to use two face clothes when he’s having a bath – one for him to play with and one for us to use to wash him! #PoCoLo

  7. January 10, 2014 / 6:46 pm

    my girl loves staring in the mirror! Its a new revalation for her as she would never look before, I think it freaked her out! #WotW

  8. January 10, 2014 / 9:24 pm

    Drawing, my children spend hours and hours every day drawing, they can’t get enough of it. #WotW

  9. January 11, 2014 / 10:07 am

    I enjoy all of those things too (except looking in the mirror) 🙂 My son used to love ‘posting’ things (lego in the fire vent, biscuits in the video) so I made him a post box out of a shoe box. It came in so handy for lots of creative and educational games x

  10. January 11, 2014 / 10:47 am

    Oh yess!! I’ve seen ‘simplicity’ as #wotw elsewhere but in a completely different concept – this is brilliant too. I could probably make a list similar to yours about my girls – their favourite things are always the simplest too 🙂

  11. January 11, 2014 / 8:25 pm

    Hi, just wanted to say this brought a smile to my face. It’s so true that children really do find great pleasure in the simplest little things and it’s always such a joy to see. I’ll be sure to look out for more of these special moments.

  12. January 12, 2014 / 10:58 pm

    We’re a fan of the simple things too. I have to keep reminding myself they don’t need structured activities all the time at home, they have nursery for that. My daughter loves stickers and I find them everywhere (on the bottom of socks *after* they’ve been in the wash is a common occurrence!) We also like building houses with sofa cushions and their favourite game is “cushion mountain” where all the cushions come off in the middle of the room and we climb all over them 🙂 Will have to check out your recipe page 🙂

  13. January 13, 2014 / 2:49 pm

    Totally agree. It’s often the simple things in life that are important. We all need to slow down occasionally and remember what matters and take a look at what’s around us.
    Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids

  14. January 16, 2014 / 2:07 pm

    A brilliant word – and so very true. I often have to remind myself that sometimes the simplest things are kids favourites. thank you for linking to PoCoLo x

  15. January 20, 2014 / 3:28 am

    What great simple, yet fun ideas, helping to get family time instead of everyone doing there own thing, Fab post.

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