Our goal here with each post is to provide you with a free, fun activity that you can do with your kids.  And today's suggestion is pretty much, sort of an activity.

Here's the story:  a good friend of mine -- Ted -- spent all his summers with his grandparents in Texas.  Ted's grandfather was a farmer, so he lived a schedule that could be described as early to rise and early to bed.  In the late afternoons, after Ted's grandpa was done in the fields, he'd come back to the house and relax.  He'd sit on the porch with a beer and a bowl of peanuts in the shell.. . .

You are undoubtedly familiar with that kids' game -- often played on family car trips -- where each person says "I'm going on a trip and I'm going to bring an alligator, a banana, a cardigan," and so forth.

(If you've never heard of that game, email me at steve@todayisfun.com, and I'll explain it in greater detail.)

That "I'm going on a trip" game involves both memory and familiarity with the alphabet.

Today we're going to present a simpler, less intense game.  Our activity today is better suited for younger children (pre-school and early elementary), because it doesn't require either memory or alphabet knowledge.  Instead, our version focuses on shapes and creative thinking.. . .

 

I love spending time with my kids.  You love spending time with your kids.

But we're all human here, and sometimes, as parents, we just need a break.

We need a minute or two (or thirty) of quiet.  We need a few minutes without disputes or whines.  Sometimes, we just need a few minutes to get dinner on the table or to clean up the most recent giant mess.. . .

 

Summer is drawing to a close, as you may have noticed.  As summer fades away, the days get shorter, because the sun rises later and sets earlier.

At Today is Fun, we see shorter days as an opportunity for kids' activites that involve fun and learning.  . . .

 

Can your kids pretend to brush their teeth?  Can your children take an invisible toothbrush and demonstrate a bit of teeth-brushing?

That's the activity here today:  to examine the motions required for your kids to perform simple tasks.. . .