(If you look closely, our froggy friend is perched on my son’s thumb! Surprise find during our Super Soaker fight!)
I will be the first to admit that my children have WAY TOO MANY things. (Except for books. We have loads of them, but there is no such thing as having too many books.) But we have too much of everything else. Too many toys, movies, games, etc… Most of these things were gifted to us by well-meaning friends and family, and our boys did of course love getting all of these things. I would guess that we have at least thirty toys that either light up or sing or both!
There are a few problems with this. One, my living room always looks like Toys R’ Us threw up in it. No matter how much I try to keep things organized, inevitably we have a few crazy days in a row and I can’t keep up. Then it becomes a game where you should win a prize if you don’t step on a Lego as you cross the floor. Bonus prize if you step on a Lego and manage not to swear in front of the kids.
Two, I’m not sure that my kids always appreciate what they have. I do my best to teach them about being grateful, and I realize that as they get older there will be more and better opportunities for helping them to understand just how lucky they are that they have what they have. But still…when kids have an abundance of toys, many get forgotten about and neglected. Which means that there were too many to begin with…and that I should also get planning a donation to the local thrift store.
And third, the problem that I have realized the most this summer, is that sometimes we forget (adults and kids alike) that fun can be had with NOTHING! Or with something simple. My boys have done a great job this summer of reminding me that we can have fun with simple things.
I cannot even begin to count how many hours I’ve spent this summer doing this small list of things: blowing bubbles, riding bikes, playing with sticks and rocks, and catching frogs. I think if I had packed up most of my boys’ toys for the summer, but left out their bikes and some bubbles…we would have been set. I have blown bubbles until I was literally dizzy from blowing too much. (This means I’m old…ouch. A cheap bubble machine from Target fixed this problem. No more light-headed mama.)
Playing with frogs has been really fun too. And it didn’t cost us a penny. It has unfortunately cost the world a few frogs. My son is four, and we have had several conversations about being gentle with frogs because they are living things too just like us. Sometimes though, when the frog is not moving anymore, and my son proclaims that the frog is “just resting” (with Jesus, as it turns out…RIP Mr. Frog), we have to have an impromptu frog funeral. But my son has learned a lot about being gentle with creatures and then returning them to nature. Most of our frogs now go back to the wild a bit dazed from playing with a four year old, but alive and well.
So between bubbles and frogs and sticks, it has been nice to get “back to the basics.” I hope that my boys will always understand that joy can be found in the simplest of pleasures. I know we’ll never return to the good ol’ days when our parents had to yell for us to come home instead of texting us, but it doesn’t mean that parents can’t teach their kids about enjoying simple things. Not everything that is fun needs a battery, a plug-in, or a remote.
Here is to simplicity and summer. If you have a great activity that you do with your child that doesn’t require much and costs less than $5 (or is better yet free!), please post it in the comments section! I’d love to put together a list to share of all the great things that we can do to simplify fun and make great family memories!
I have drawn a “race track” on our driveway in chalk and then gotten out all the matchbox cars and watched my boys love their inside toys in a whole new outdoor way.
Love this idea! I will have to try it before winter hits! Thanks Amanda!