Home Fire #10 - Three, Cheap, and Easy

Home Fire

Three, Cheap, and Easy

He’s built Fort Apache on the moon with Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys. He’s created and devastated a volcanic island in Play Doh. Finger paints made it possible to update the checkbook and respond to nearly half the emails in my inbox. And then it comes—“Mom, where are we going today?”

It’s 8:15 in the morning.

The go-go threes—no more naps, not old enough for preschool, and full of energy. Fun indeed, but what to do day in and day out with a rambunctious toddler? Every kid needs to learn to play independently, but every kid also needs direction and opportunity. And, when two Mensans have a kid, there’s a good chance that kid will be pretty smart, if not gifted. Things it helps to know about gifted kids before you have one: they often need less sleep than other toddlers (and their parents); they remember everything, so you better mean what you say; and they are extremely curious and thrive on new experiences. I’ve found that it’s better if these new experiences occur within firmly established boundaries. In other words, if you don’t provide the new experience, they will seek one out, and it probably won’t be one you would have picked.

So, it’s 8:15 a.m. and there’s no plan. What should we do? Assuming the chores are done (yeah, right) and there are no errands to run, a lot depends on the weather. If it’s not too hot or too cold or too wet, it’s time to get outdoors. Otherwise, a successful day may depend a lot more on mom or dad’s ingenuity and patience.

Becoming responsible adults is no longer a matter of whether children hang up their pajamas or put dirty towels in the hamper, but whether they care about themselves and others—and whether they see everyday chores as related to how we treat this planet.

Eda Leshan

Outside

Most of the time, slathering a kid with sun block and bug spray and turning him loose in the yard or local park will suffice to entertain for a good long while. But sometimes nature gets in her own way. For instance, our yard is chock full of prickly burrs right now, and our local park is only fun until the wasps in the plastic playground equipment wake up. What then?

The simplest solution is to go for a walk. Not an all out, yearn for the burn with the kid strapped in the stroller kind of walk, but a meandering, observing, kid out front leading the way kind of walk. In her own neighborhood or in more natural settings, a three year old will find plenty with which to be fascinated.

We are lucky enough to have mountains and a river nearby, and occasionally we’ll plan day trips to further canyons or a lake. The cost in fuel and carbon emissions is worth it. The next generation has to love nature to be willing to protect it.

Getting outdoors and exploring lightly tamed wilderness is my first pick. I’ve yet to find anything as all-consuming for a three-year-old than playing in mud or chucking dirt clods and watching them explode. But being outside isn’t always possible.

Inside

The housebound days are far more challenging. It takes imagination and will not to go stir crazy, give up, and make it a movie day; although, bad weather combined with PMS pretty much guarantees that the black box turns on. At least no one comes away with a permanently damaged psyche.

Bathing and baking are two favorites when Ben’s energy starts turning destructive. To make bath time fun and long, I’ll let Ben pick some (waterproof) things from around the house to use as bath toys. This is how Ben’s favorite water toy came to be (what would in another household be called) a beer bong. Luckily for me, Ben’s a fish and I can usually get some reading in while he plays.

We also both like to bake, and there are tons of new recipes for us now that I’m trying to veganize everything. It takes patience, and often a little more of an ingredient or two to make up for spills, but most kids love to help gather, measure, dump, and stir everything together. Here’s our favorite, super yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan with a Vengeance.

1 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F,
Cream together the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls spaced a little over 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until ever so slightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Makes 3 dozen cookies.

(Visit Isa et alia at the Post Punk Kitchen for other tasty vegan recipes: www.theppk.com.)

Our children may save us if they are taught to care properly for the planet; but if not, it may be back to the Ice Age or the caves from where we first emerged. Then we'll have to view the universe above from a cold, dark place. No more jet skis, nuclear weapons, plastic crap, broken pay phones, drugs, cars, waffle irons, or television. Come to think of it, that might not be a bad idea.

Jimmy Buffet

Other things to do when trapped inside could be

Hide and seek

Dance to different kids of music

Go through old pictures

Set up the tent or throw a blanket over a table and pretend you’re camping

Read in the dark with flashlights

Act out a story with puppets

Role play crazy new situations

Search online for more ideas, but make sure to look under “rainy day toddler activities” as you will find nothing if you search under “hellishly hot desert June day toddler activities”

Of course, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination, but some days my imagination could fit in, um, well . . . today must be one of those days.

Outside on an Inside Day

If you’re itching to get out of the house on a >100° day (or a rainy or snowy day, like some other places have), you do have choices. Several towns have indoor play places and children’s museums, and these might be nice for an occasional visit, but they don’t fit this column as they aren’t free. Our town doesn’t have these things anyway. Our two main choices are the library and the play place at the mall. I hate the mall. It makes me lonely and angry. But when I do have to go, I make sure to allow plenty of time for Ben to play and roam.

Our library has a fabulous kids’ section with puzzles and couches. They also have story time, which just happens to be on the same day at the same time as the city pool has its reduced rate parent-tot time. Our library stints are short lived, since there’s no partition between the children’s section and the main library. Playing quietly with puzzles or listening to books we could take home can only hold interest for so long.

Now Where Are We Going?

Hopefully those looking for ideas have found something they can use. I know it’s helped me to put all these possibilities in one place. Of course, no matter how inventive you get, no matter how special the morning, there’s always the afternoon.

Home Fire

Amy Vaughn