The Preschooler’s Busy Book (3 page)

For me, the key to the whole “children and television” issue is not so much what the children watch, because we can control that.
My main concern about children and television is more about how parents use television in their home, and what children do not do when they watch television.
It is easy to use the television as a babysitter on occasion, but it can be habit-forming to both parent and child.
The few short years of early childhood can quickly be gobbled up by thousands of hours of TV viewing—time that could and should have been spent playing, reading, walking, talking, painting, crafting: time spent together.

But television, for better or worse, is here to stay.
As parents we can control it and use it in such a way that it will be beneficial to our child’s development and to the parent/child relationship.
First of all, be selective in what your children watch.
Good television programs can make learning fun and can expand your child’s knowledge of the world.
Programs like
Sesame Street
can even help your child get ready for school.
On the other hand, many programs on television today are far from innocent or educational and can be very detrimental to our children’s emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being.
So choose wisely; look for programs or videotapes that instruct, entertain, and reinforce the values and principles you wish to develop in your child.

Second, limit your child’s viewing time each day.
Remember, time spent watching TV is time that your child does not spend on other, more valuable, activities, such as playing games, reading (or being read to), or using his imagination in countless other ways.
Children who spend a lot of time watching television can come to expect the instant stimulation that a fast-paced show can bring, and may be less likely to use their own imagination and creativity to stimulate themselves.

Third, when possible, watch television with your child.
Most programs move at such a fast pace that children have a hard time keeping track of the content.
It is almost impossible for children to stop and ponder what is being presented.
Parents can provide connections that the children miss.
By reminding your child of related events in his own life, you help him make sense of what he sees.

Finally, set an example for your child.
Show him that you would rather read a book or play a game or talk to him than watch TV.
It’s hard to expect your child to learn to limit his viewing and choose programs wisely when you do just the opposite.
Remember, children learn from our actions more than our words.

“Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too.
Nothing else will ever make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality—especially while you struggle to keep your own.”

—Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

Be encouraged as you weather the stormy seas of parenting.
Raising a child is a monumental task that brings with it a great amount of work, but you need not (and should not!) spend 100 percent of your time catering to the needs or wants of your preschooler.
By providing your child with daily activities that are simple and fun, by placing more importance on your child’s happiness and learning than on the appearance of your home, and by talking to your child on a level he understands, you help him become more capable and confident.
Not only will he be better prepared for school when the time comes, but, in the process, you help to make many happy memories of childhood.

Week of:

“The years rush past, as every older woman will tell the young mothers who complain that they still have two little ones at home and it seems like forever before they will all be in school.
Oh no, they say, time flies—enjoy them while they’re young—they grow up so fast.
…

The mothers agree that indeed the years do fly.
It’s the days that don’t.
The hours, minutes of a single day sometimes just stop.
And a mother finds herself standing in the middle of a room wondering.
Wondering.
Years fly.
Of course they do.
But a mother can gag on a day.”

—Jain Sherrard

Life with preschoolers can be a wonderful, rewarding experience.
On long, warm, summer days, when adults and children alike can be outside from sunup to sundown, parenting can seem very fun and easy.
But “fun” and “easy” are not words you are likely to hear from anyone who has endured a week of rain with several house-bound preschoolers.
Most preschoolers have a great amount of energy, but a relatively short attention span.
Boredom can cause acutely irritating behavior in small children and should be avoided as much as possible.
Now is
the time for big, messy art projects (see
Chapter 8
) and marathon baking sessions.

Invite friends for lunch frequently, and always be prepared with something fun for the children to do indoors.
Some of the activities that follow require a table or countertop, and some require water—these are best-suited to your kitchen.
Other water-related activities are a natural for the bathroom and bathtime.
The rest are more flexible, and can be easily adapted to the bedroom, living room, family room, or other room in the house that has plenty of floor space and an absence of breakables.

Old toothbrush

Soap

Water

Bowl

Coins

Dishcloth or paper towel

Salt and vinegar (optional)

Your child can practice cleaning coins with an old toothbrush and some soap and water.
Fill a bowl with a small amount of water and place a few coins in the bowl.
Your child will have fun brushing the coins with soap to make them look brand new.
When the coins are as clean as your child can make them, dry them with a dishcloth or paper towel.

For super-shiny coins, mix a small amount of salt and vinegar in a bowl.
Drop the coins in and watch the tarnish fade.
(If you do use vinegar, make sure your child does not get any in her eyes; soap is bad enough, but vinegar will really sting!)

Liquid detergent

Water

Bowl

Eggbeater

Straw (optional)

Put a few drops of liquid detergent into a bowl and fill it halfway with water.
Use an eggbeater to whip up some suds in the soapy water, or a big straw to blow some really big bubbles.
This also works well at the kitchen sink; fill the sink with soapy water and pull up a chair for your child to stand on as she plays.

As a variation, fill a sink with warm soapy water; give your child spoons, a whisk, and plastic bowls and dishes, and let her have fun with water.

Drinking glasses

Water

Spoon

Fill drinking glasses with different amounts of water and have your child lightly tap the glasses with a spoon.
Notice the different sounds each glass makes.
Try to play simple tunes, or make up your own melodies as you play.

Spray bottle

Water

Vinegar

Cleaning cloth

Fill a spray bottle with water and ¼ cup white vinegar.
Give your child the bottle and cleaning cloth and let her help you wash the windows, bathroom counters, or kitchen appliances.
She will love to be your helper and work along side you while you do some of your own cleaning.

Bar of soap

Washcloth

Thread

Needle

Fabric or felt scraps

Make bathtime more fun by providing your child with her very own soap pal.
Wrap a washcloth around a bar of soap and sew the open ends together, encasing the soap completely.
Cut eye shapes out of fabric or felt, and sew the eyes on top of the soap bundle.
If you like, sew on a mouth, nose, eyebrows, and any other details for more fun.
Then give your child the soap pal and let her lather up in the bath.

This game is an all-time favorite with our children, but merits a few words of caution.
If you have ceramic tile in your bathtub area, you may want to skip this one, as the food coloring may stain the grout.
If your child has sensitive skin, the shaving cream (depending on the brand) can cause irritation.
In any case, children will almost certainly need another bath after this activity!

Shaving cream

Food coloring

Muffin tin

Spoon

Paintbrushes or sponge

Squirt shaving cream into the individual sections of a muffin tin.
Add a few drops of food coloring to each section and mix with a spoon.
The kids will love painting the walls, the tub, and themselves with their hands, a sponge, or paintbrushes.
Older children will enjoy mixing the colors to create new ones.
Clean up is easy when the fun ends—just hose down the tub, with your child in it!

Eyedropper

Small containers of water

Food coloring in rainbow colors

Give your child an eyedropper and several small containers of water colored with a few drops of food coloring.
Let her arrange the colors to create a rainbow, mix colors, or drop water into other empty containers.

Pennies or other coins

Give your child a jar of pennies or other coins and have her count them and place them in stacks of five or ten.
Then count the stacks.
Talk to her about what money can and cannot buy by giving her examples: “Can money buy us food?” “…good friends?” “…clothes?” “…a new baby sister?”

Cardboard box or plastic baby bath

Puffed wheat or rice cereal

Sandbox toys

Create an indoor sandbox by filling a cardboard box or plastic baby bath or basin with inexpensive puffed wheat or rice cereal.
Use buckets, shovels, and dump trucks, or measuring cups, spoons, and bowls.
(Uncooked rice can be inexpensive when bought in bulk, and it makes an interesting road surface for small trucks or other wheeled toys.)

Hole punch

Paper scraps

Give your child a hole punch and scraps of paper in various colors.
She will amuse herself for quite some time making confetti that can be saved and used for arts and crafts activities.

Although you may not think that this activity would hold your child’s attention for long, you may be surprised!

Pencils or crayons

Pencil or crayon sharpener

Small plate or cup

Your preschooler will no doubt have a lot of fun sharpening pencils.
Give her a pencil sharpener, a pencil, and a small plate or cup to catch the shavings.
For younger children, use crayons and a crayon sharpener.
(Save the crayon shavings for making Stained-Glass Crayons,
page 173
, Rainbow Crayons,
page 174
, or Wax Paper Art,
page 244
.)

Nails

Wooden board

Hammer

String or elastic bands

Hammer nails into a piece of board.
Allow your child to create a design by wrapping string or colored elastic bands around the nails.
Hammer the nails in a pattern, or use rows or circles so your child can create her own designs.
Make sure that the nails only penetrate the top side of the board, put away the hammer and excess nails, and supervise your child to avoid accidents.

Look in your local library for information on making books with children.
Stories turned into books will be treasured for years to come.

Paper

Pen, markers, or crayons

Photographs or old magazines

Scissors

Glue

Write a story with your child about events in her life—a story in which she is the central character.
Begin the story by saying, for example, “Today is a special day for (child’s name) because she is going to __________.” Write the story down, including your child’s responses, and illustrate the story with drawings, photos, or pictures cut from magazines.
Your child can help you choose and glue the pictures.

Sheet or blanket

Empty table

Place a sheet or blanket over a table to make an indoor tent.
Put a special snack inside and give your child a flashlight.
If you like, furnish the tent with pillows and a blanket, and let your child camp out all morning.

Various household objects or small toys

Test your preschooler’s memory skills by placing a few toys or household objects in front her.
Allow her to study them, then have her close her eyes while you remove one object.
See if she can tell you which object is missing.

Stickers from magazine and record clubs

Save all stickers that come in the mail, the ones advertising records or magazines.
Separate them along the perforated lines, and let your child stick them onto a plain piece of paper or use them to decorate her artwork.

Paper clips

Show your child how to link paper clips together to form a necklace or bracelet.
Use standard metal clips, bright plastic ones, or a combination of the two.