From the Director.....

February is the month when most parents wonder: What will we do during Winter Break? A whole week...and we are not going away. How can I keep my children busy?

My response, from my years with my three children, is....enjoy the time together! Remember how children spell L-O-V-E: "T-I-M-E"! look at it as an opportunity to be together, doing fun, simple things. let it be a week that will trigger happy memories when they are grown. Some simple planning can help create a wonderful week. Here are some ideas:

1. First, turn off the TV, computer, electronic games. Yes, really!
2. Listen to music. Fill your house with melodies. Move to the rhythms, waltz    around the room, march or dance to the beat, create simple instruments, get loud. Draw songs: imagine what the song might "look" like.
3. Get messy. Finger paint, squish clay, glue sticky collages, bake, stuff some shells for dinner. Sit on the kitchen floor, with or without a plastic table/ cloth, and get creative!.
4. Have a Winter Picnic. Pack a lunch and go eat in another room with a blanket on the floor. Pretend to fly kites, find creepy critters, take a hikes.
   
5. Have a restaurant night at home: pick a theme (we liked to do Mexican), kids make menus, decorate, set a theme table, escort the family to seats, serve, clear, etc.
6. Stay in your pajamas, crawl under some blankets (make a tent?) and read lots of stories together. Act out your favorites. Be dramatic: use funny voices, facial features, add costumes, and before you know it, you've got a play!
7. Take a break: have quiet time after lunch for naps or just taking a rest.
8. We still have to provide meals, clean, do laundry, etc. Make easy meals the kids can help with, let them match socks, dust the lower surfaces. And remember, thank them!
9. Have a theme day such as "Backwards". Wake up and have dessert then dinner, wear clothes inside/out, learn to say your names and simple phrases backwards, etc. Other themes: safari, tropical, USA, outer space.
10. Cabin fever? Visit a nursing home, library, car wash, winter walk, produce aisle to try a new fruit or vegetable...do something different around town!