January Q & A: #8-9 Activities for Boys & Staying Warm In A Dress

Question #8:

After my post about activities for children, specifically girls, someone wondered -- what about ideas for boys? Especially in the 4 - 13 year range.

For some reason I drew a blank on ideas for boys. Maybe part of that is because for 11 years I only had one boy, I'm not sure. Anyway, I had asked for input on this question and one mom suggested -- "Teach them to cook. It's wonderful for mom and survival skills for them!" My first thought was that the mom might have to survive the teaching phase first ☺ I agree though, it's a great idea. My husband is a first rate cook and I love it!

And then I got this perfectly lovely email from a mother who clearly knows all about boys and how to speak their language. Here are her ideas:

What do you do to keep boys in the ages of 4-13 busy?

Well, short of buying a farm or investing in a bounce-house, I am not always sure myself...

We live in town, homeschool, and have one girl (age 10) and  three boys (ages 7, 5 and 1) so keeping the children gainfully employed is something I frequently wrack my brain over!!!

With trial and error here are some of my favorites:

1) Legos (and lots of them!) 

They can be pricey, but put it down on every birthday and christmas wish list and you will not regret it! Yes, they get everywhere, and yes, the directions fall to pieces, but put a sheet on the floor to contain the mess and make clean-up a breeze, and let the imagination & play begin!

2) Space to run indoors-

I am beginning to accept the fact that boys have lots of energy (unlike their mama!) and need outlets for it, so if it’s at all possible, have a space where they can throw a rubber ball and get pretty active indoors in the winter. We have an unfinished basement which isn’t all that great to look at, but with the floor cleared of debris, some green masking tape to mark off a “two-square” game board, and a dartboard on the wall, it makes a pretty suitable playground. 

3) Dot- to- dot books- 

My seven year old has spent hours in his dot to dot books! Our favorites are the Extreme Dot-to-Dot series, and they have a variety of themes and skill levels to pick from, so there is something for everyone! Not only is it fun to see what the picture turns out to be, but it also provides some counting/concentration practice!

4) Puzzles- 

This is definitely a winter activity in our family, but I like having a puzzle in the works during the cold months when we spend so much time indoors. I have found that the children sit and fix better and longer if I sit down and fix with them, so it can be a really good family activity. We have done several 1,000 piece puzzles, but I find that if a puzzle takes too long or is too difficult, it just sits there, so it’s best to find one that fits the level of your children, and 500 piece are good for us right now. One of our favorite things to do while fixing is my next activity idea…

5) Listening to audiobooks-

My children love listening to stories on tape/CD, and now we often borrow audiobooks online through our library’s website and play them off the computer or a cellphone. We even bought a nice collection through Audible (online) and find that it has been well worth our investment, although borrowing through the library is obviously still the most economical route! Some of the boy's favorites are: The Henry Huggins collection (by Beverly Cleary), The Boxcar Children, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among many others. The Laura Ingalls Wilder series is a timeless classic, too, and the narrator, Cherry Jones, does a wonderful job! Just tonight we were listening to Farmer Boy while we started a new puzzle, and that helped another winter evening pass pleasantly by!

6)Boredom Buster jars-

This idea is not original with me, and it is not one I have used much yet, but I recently made my own with a list of chores- and a few fun things thrown in for good measure- on an afternoon when I was desperate to end my seven-year-olds boredom!!! I told him he had to pull random slips out of the jar until a certain time and it actually worked pretty well! I got some windows washed and the cupboards wiped off, and he learned (for the moment) not to use the “bored” word quite so freely!!! 

7)Tools and old computers-

Maybe not everyone has spare computer parts sitting in their basement, nor do they want their son applying his hammer and screwdriver to the aforementioned spare computer parts, but sometimes this is just the ticket for a good boy’s activity: and they might even learn a thing or two about how something works during the destroying process!!!

8) Let them hone their interests-

My oldest son likes helping in the kitchen about as much- maybe more than- his older sister, so a good way to keep him gainfully employed at times is to have him help with peeling carrots, dicing potatoes, mixing a cake, or putting toppings on the pizza. And while I’ve never tried this, I have friends who allow their sons to do projects on the sewing machine (possibly an old one, so yours isn’t ruined for life?) and I think it’s good to keep in mind that many of the things we think of as girls or women’s work/hobbies are very well suited to boys as well! 

9) Books, books, books! 

I am a bookworm myself and have worked pretty hard to raise children who are, as well, but we love books! We go to the library a minimum of once-a-week, and go through tons of books thanks to this wonderful resource! The children usually pick books they enjoy or are interested in, but I also scour the shelves for books I think they might enjoy. My seven year old enjoys geography, for instance, so it might be books about the U.S. or some other country for him, and once it’s home, he’ll often read it, even if it’s not one he would have found or chosen himself. I also like to bring home a variety of picture books, and they can be anything from humorous, to educational, to autobiographical, and there again, I often find that they enjoy more variety than they would naturally pick themselves, so don’t be afraid to choose for them! I think a love of books is contagious.

10) The Library-

Speaking of books, I thought I should reiterate that while the library is a wonderful place to wile away a few hours on a cold, dreary day, they are also a good resource for other things as well! Our local library offers story time, Lego club (see activity #1), American Girl Club (for which you do not need an American Girl doll in order to attend!) and even a STEAM Saturday, among other classes, and if you’re comfortable with these things, and don’t mind a few evenings- or the occasional Saturday- out, they can be a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn new things and interact with new people. 

Thank you, thank you Joanna Hendricks!! I loved your ideas and the humor with which you shared them.

Something my oldest son enjoys doing is setting up dominoes in fantastic ways. He's had many, many fails but it can occupy a lot of time! Here is a poor quality video of a pretty cool attempt that actually worked. He also loves attempting magic tricks.

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Question #9:

"How do you stay warm wearing dresses in the winter? Do you have practical advice for what kind of layering garments, how to not look sloppy, etc?"

Several of you responded to this question. It seems we all agree on this one; the answer to staying warm wearing a dress is -- Leggings. When I was young, the answer was tights. I always hated them. I can handle leggings, although I am picky about how they fit and feel; tights, not so much. Leggings fit nicely under a dress without bunches and bulges. You can get different lengths and with a long skirt or paired with a warm pair of boots, no one even needs to know you're wearing them.

When we lived in our small house, which was very chilly around the edges in the winter time, I lived in a turtleneck and leggings under my dress and socks and slippers on my feet. Some of my daughters like a long sleeved tee-shirt under their dresses; some prefer layers on top -- a sweater/jacket under their coat.

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Bonus Question:

Does anyone have creative ideas for storing the Sunday School papers some churches pass out every Sunday (Partners, Story Mates, Companions)? If so, please share in the comments!