Introduction

I am the mother of two children, E (3 years old) and W (9 months old).  I work full-time, and my husband stays at home with our children.  I decided to start this blog in order to write about the activities that I do with E and W.  I plan to use it as a resource when W gets older, so I can remember some of the things E particularly enjoyed doing at various ages.  Hopefully, it will also give my readers some ideas for things they can do with their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, students, etc. (assuming someone else besides my husband and mother read this...okay, perhaps my husband reading it is a stretch).

When I was a child, I didn't have a DVD player in the car.  My family didn't get a computer until I was in 5th grade, and we didn't have the Internet (AOL dial-up) until my senior year in high school.  Although E and W won't be able to believe it when I tell them (just like I didn't believe that my dad trekked through 6-foot high piles of snow for 10 miles to get to school), I somehow managed to survive.  Kids spend a lot more time in front of screens now, and the toys are more high-tech--it seems like they all make noise, move, light up, or all of the above.  I am definitely not against technology.  E and W definitely have toys that make noise, move, and light up.  E has lately started watching an episode of Curious George in the afternoons, and she has some Berenstain Bear DVDs.  She also plays some games on her grandmother's I-pad.  However, I vowed to myself even before E and W were born that I would encourage them to use their imaginations.  To create, pretend, explore.  To get messy, even if that sometimes means ruining an outfit. 

As part of a single-income family, it is important for me to find activities for E and W that won't be too expensive.  Although I can't promise that all of the activities I will write about on this blog are low- or no-cost (sometimes the expense is worth it), hopefully most of them will be.

If anyone tries out any of these activities (or variations of these activities), I'd love to hear about your experience...feel free to leave comments!  Thanks for reading.