"Mommy! What are we doing today?" Ah, the weekend mantra of my boys. They are 3 & 4 at the moment, and have SO much (too much) enthusiasm at 6.30am. I tell them to hold their horses until Mommy & Daddy wake up... then I hit my imaginary snooze button and fall back to my beautiful slumber—until I'm forced awake again.
After a cup of coffee and a good eye-rubbing, I take a look at my boys over breakfast and finally answer their question—with another question, "What do YOU want to do today?" This never goes well. They either: a) look at me blankly (as if they've never played in our home before); b) argue over whose turn it is to decide what they're doing (a rule they made up on their own); or c) decide they want to do something outdoors when it's clearly raining / snowing / freezing outside. And that's about the time when I start to reel off all the options I can think of (which is not many, remember it's really early).
After a cup of coffee and a good eye-rubbing, I take a look at my boys over breakfast and finally answer their question—with another question, "What do YOU want to do today?" This never goes well. They either: a) look at me blankly (as if they've never played in our home before); b) argue over whose turn it is to decide what they're doing (a rule they made up on their own); or c) decide they want to do something outdoors when it's clearly raining / snowing / freezing outside. And that's about the time when I start to reel off all the options I can think of (which is not many, remember it's really early).
Last month, for the sake of my sanity, we started a little game. We wrote down 5 things they each wanted to do. The next day we decided it would be fun to write them on cards and choose them with our eyes closed. A week later, I created the What Should We Do? basket (see below).
Some days my boys wake up and play on their own with no input. I'll find them in costumes, making forts and hunting dragons. I LOVE those days. But for the days when I'm left listing options endlessly... the basket has been a lifesaver. They shake it crazily and always seem so excited with what they choose!
On a day like today (a snowy Sunday) they've already chosen their fifth activity. As they parade around upstairs on their scavenger hunt, I sit down with (another) cup of coffee and write this blog. Hooray!
What a cute idea! I'm glad it's such a hit with your kids.
ReplyDeleteA variation of that which Ryan and I just started is that we took the top 100 AFI films, cut out slips for each and put them in a bag for when we want to have movie night (thank you Netflix). Saves a lot of time in trying to pick one!
That's a great idea Diana! Netflix rocks.
DeleteThe first film we ended up watching was the 1916 silent film "Intolerance". Holy crow, that movie is 3 1/2 hours long.
DeleteWe just made one of these. My 5 yo daughter just started saying "I'm bored!" so the top of ours says "I'm BORED. What should I do?" She loves the idea box. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful news, so glad it was helpful. "I'm bored!" was a common them for us over the past several days... we are in Boston and were snowed in with a blizzard. :-)
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