Little Hands that DO… Memories in the Making

Click here to read Little Hands that DO… Memories in the Making on Hands On As We Grow®

When was the last time you did something special with your kids?

Every family has their own special things, things they enjoy doing together. I love having fun with my family, and for us, that comes in the form of preschool activities.

Maybe it’ll be the same for your family or maybe it’ll be something different…art, music, dance. I don’t know, but you have to find the rhythm of your family, their heartbeat, and when you do, making memories with your child will just feel right…click!

There are so many benefits of doing crafts and activities with your preschooler or toddler. It’s so important that you’re spending time with family. Your kids need to feel valued, loved, and know you care about their interests.

Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t have time for all that planning and preparing. I’m a busy mom.”

I hear you! I felt the same way…at first.

But then I stopped to re-evaluate my day, and I realized I could easily spend 15 minutes enjoying something fun to read or researching a topic I enjoy. I felt like 15 minutes of “me time” wasn’t bad.

Know what? I was fooling myself into thinking I had no time for art activities for preschoolers, toddlers, or babies.

I had to learn, just like you, to overcome the hands-on hurdles that faced me and other moms…more about that here.

Most of our activities take only 15 minutes or less! Activities don’t have to be long and drawn out.

Kids don’t have patience for that anyway. They want something quick and fun.

If it doesn’t work, who cares?

It’s all about being active together, enjoying the journey, not the end result.

One of my favorite activities I did with all three of my kids, baby included, was finger painting with baby food.

I love using fine motor activities for preschoolers, and finger painting gave us that; plus, it was safe and non-toxic if anybody tasted it.

It gave us some fun sensory activities at home in a relaxed way that allowed my boys to create—and, boy, did they create! They drove their little trucks through the baby food making tracks across butcher paper I taped down everywhere.

Was it messy? Absolutely!

Was it memorable? ABSOLUTELY!

And just so you know, it didn’t take time to clean up. We rolled up the paper, tossed it in the trash, and I threw the pans in the dishwasher. Done!

Making memories with family activities doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming.

Here are some ways for creating memories with family in the new year without a lot of stress and fuss.

Plan the Play

Whatever you have to do in the day, plan for it.

Plan the play, activity, or craft into your preschool schedule at home, make it a part of what you NEED to do, just like you would plan for a doctor appointment, work meeting, or taking your child to school.

You have to be purposeful in the activity for it to happen; otherwise, everything else will get in the way.

Remember, you only need 15 minutes, and I would suggest planning that 15 minutes into a time when you’re child is engaged and not tired, hungry, or cranky. You know his schedule best.

Next, know your child’s skill level.

You want to choose developmentally appropriate activities for toddlers, preschoolers, etc.

What can your child handle at this age? Just because a project is for a 2-year-old doesn’t mean every 2-year-old can do it. I remember finding activities for Henry that were WAY too complex for his age.

That’s another thing I’ve done to help you, my activities are age appropriate, tested, and well-crafted to make your planning easy and successful. Check out my full line of activity plans by age here.

Be Active Together

Remember, the whole point of doing an activity together is your being active with your child. You and him TOGETHER!

Sometimes that means planning in the moment. If something isn’t working like you thought, ditch it, tweak it, change it up until both you and he are smiling.

It’s all about the smiles and making memories.

Who cares if the craft doesn’t look like the Pinterest board!

Life doesn’t look like a Pinterest board, right?

What matters most is your being active together as you make memories with your little ones.

Get Started with a Free Download of a Week of Activities

Embrace the Mess

At the end of each activity, don’t dwell on the chaos but embrace the mess.

Remember, you’re living in the moment of making each memory.

Kids could care less if they have glue and tape all over the table and every marker open. They’re excited that they got to use glue, tape, and markers.

Involve your kids in the clean up process. Here are some simple tasks your kids could help with.

Collect all scissors and place them in their bin, cup, etc.
Put all lids on markers.
Collect all glue sticks (with lids on) and place them in their bin, cup, etc.
Put away crayons.
Collect unused craft pieces (paper, pom-poms, stickers) to put away.

You’ll come up with your own way of cleaning up a craft or activity, I’m sure, but whatever you do, don’t fret over the mess. Find what works for you. It will all get cleaned up eventually.