It's only the End of December and I'm already dreading the next few months. I am allowed to drive the girls, and have no problem doing so. But I do not want to go to the museum or story time if the weather conditions are bad. I am not going to put the girls in unnecessary risk in a Wisconsin winter. I know I can make it, I did it last year! I love to do crafts with the girls, but you can only make so many of them! Also, I am willing to bring my snow boots and play in the snow with them, but they only want to be outside for a short time since it's so cold out. Does anyone else live in an area that gets really cold and snowy? What do you do for fun? The girls I watch are 2 and we live near a bigger city, but live in the suburbs around it with not a lot to walk to in winter time.
I also live in a cold place and hate winter!!
ReplyDeleteSo far it's been pretty mild, but it does make life more difficult. Not being able to go to the playground, unsafe driving conditions, mittens and hats to get on and keep track of, harder to use the baby carrier.
We are lucky to be walking distance to the gym which offers open gymnastics, an indoor playground, and music classes. So we are there a lot. We have another class that is walking distance.
Besides that, we go to the library a lot, story time, museums, cafes, etc. but none of that is walking distance so we would have to drive.
We have one neighborhood friend that is also walking distance for playdates.
But it is hard if nothing is walking distance for you and it's too dangerous to drive. Try and make friends with neighborhood kids and have a playdate? The kids don't even have to be exactly the same age.
I want to start doing more crafts if you have any good ideas? And books, puzzles, indoor toys are good for a snowy day. Or read books about snow and winter.
Dance parties! Put on some music (anything, really; doesn't even have to be "kids" music as long as the language is appropriate), and jump around with them. It helps get the excess energy out, and supports a variety of developmental abilities. See if they can imitate your moves, imitate what they do, or model different ways to move ("hop like a bunny, stomp like an elephant, zoom like an airplane", etc). It's good exercise for us adults, too :). To add props, dance around with scarves or make your own instruments (tons of ideas on Pinterest).
ReplyDeleteThanks guys, OP here! All very good ideas! I'm thinking about asking my MB if she would mid if me and the girls went for play dates with my boyfriends sister, she has a daughter their age! I really don't think MB would mind :) We love the boom Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton and that's a fun one to get them moving along with the story:) Anonymous, stay tuned! I have a ton of craft ideas that I want to post, it's my specialty!
ReplyDeletejust to say - you guys are amazingly professional - here in the south (Texas) it is so HOT we have to protect them from the sun! Please keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize - the first two winters I was with my charges (triplets who had just turned 1 the first winter and 2 the second) we were 100% at the house all the time because they hadn't gotten a nanny vehicle yet. I definitely had moments where I wanted to pull my hair out!
ReplyDeleteMy best advice to you would be to network like crazy - find other nannies or mom's with similarly aged kids on instagram, blogs, pinterest, etc, and stash away ideas like mad! Once I started following some nannies it helped me come up with activities we could do that helped pass the time. Some of my favorites on instagram (to get you started!) Are @the_nanny_love, @nannygram22_, @oliviasfoster (THE COOLEST IDEAS!), and @nannytough.
Also, if you Google or pinterest terms like "invitation to play" or "activities for (age of charge)" rather than look for crafts, you'll come up with some amazing hits. :) Good luck!
(Just a random note - my charges and I LOVE Sandra Boynton too lol!)
I Pinterest and Google ALL the time haha. I just wanted I see what you lovely ladies had to say! Also, I follow a few of those people on Instagram! I'm planning on having a dance party after nap. I think they will have a blast but you never know with these two, wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I recently injured my knee and can't walk my charges to as many places as before. They have so much energy and im running out of things to do.
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