Heavenly Homemakers

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77 Screen-Free Summer Activities for Kids

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Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s post includes: 77 Screen-Free Summer Activities for Kids

Huge List of Screen-Free Activitiesfor Summer Fun

List of Screen-Free Activities for Summer Fun

You might remember seeing this list a couple summers ago. It is huge and wonderful, and therefore well worth posting again! Get ready to be inspired as you see all of these great screen-free activity ideas!

Ready to get lots of ideas of ways to spend time with your kids and their friends while staying away from screens? Here we go!

Read, Read Read!

We’ve already talked about all the good books to read! (Did you see this list?) First and foremost, cooling off under the fan with a good book is a perfect screen free option this summer. Look over our list of great book suggestions. Join our Summer Reading Party. Read, read, read!

Have a Board Games Tournament

Huge List of Screen-Free Activitiesfor Summer Fun

Select any of the following, making adjustments depending on your kids’ ages. If your kids are old enough, enjoying any of these games in tournament form could be a blast! Even if your kids are “too old” for little kid games, sometimes it’s fun to pull them out and have a “Throw Back Game Day!”

  1. UNO
  2. Skip Bo
  3. Rummikub
  4. Chutes and Ladders
  5. Farkle
  6. Checkers
  7. Monopoly
  8. Scrabble
  9. Bananagrams
  10. Rummikub
  11. Headbanz

Have Fun With Bubbles

  1. Have Bubble Races – Hold your bubble on your wand and see who can go the farthest.
  2. Set up a Bubble Obstacle Course – Create an obstacle course and try to get through it without your bubble popping.
  3. Hold a Bubble Contest – Compete for who has the biggest bubble, smallest bubble, one that flies the highest, one that lasts the longest…
  4. Make Big Bubbles – Use lids from different sized cottage cheese, yogurt, or sour cream containers to cut into fun bubble rings. Dip the the rings into the tubs of homemade bubbles, made as directed below. This makes great big bubbles!
  5. Check out these Bubble Guns for an extra level of fun!

Need a Homemade Bubble Recipe?

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Homemade Bubbles
 
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Author:
Ingredients
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 cup dish soap
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 2 Tablespoons baking powder
Instructions
  1. Mix ingredients in a bucket or tub, stirring gently.
  2. Allow mixture to sit for one hour before having bubble fun!

Use Sidewalk Chalk in a Fun New Way

  1. Use Water – Dip your sidewalk chalk in water and see how that changes the color and consistency of the art.
  2. Have Sidewalk Chalk Contests – Compete for who can draw the silliest, biggest, smallest, brightest, largest, most accurate, etc.
  3. Use Sidewalk Chalk to Decorate Rocks – It is like dyeing Easter eggs, only with chalk and rocks!
  4. Spread the Love – Write a message of love, encouragement or fun on a neighbor’s sidewalk. Leave a Welcome Home message on a vacationing family’s driveway.

Enjoy Outdoor and Backyard Games

  1. Ladder Ball
  2. Bocce Ball
  3. Kubb
  4. Lawn darts
  5. Soccer
  6. Water Balloons
  7. Hopscotch
  8. Jacks
  9. Four Square
  10. Obstacle course / Outdoor Olympics
  11. Hold jump rope contests, hula-hoop contests, or roller skating contests
  12. Leaf, bug and flower collections or tree identification game
  13. Cloud identification and imagination game

Set up Some Water GamesHuge List of Screen-Free Activitiesfor Summer Fun

  1. Jump on the trampoline with sprinkler underneath
  2. Use a fun sprinkler to add fun to the play
  3. Slip and Slide
  4. Fill a kiddie pool with ice cubes and water

Set up Sand Box Fun

  1. Use the sand to draw pictures
  2. Bury small toys in the sand box and let the kids hunt for them
  3. Add water to build castles and other creations
  4. New sand toys and shovels are always fun
  5. This dump truck won’t rust if left out in the rain
  6. Durable watering can, shovel and rake

Go on New Adventures

  1. Park Hop – Go from one park to another in your town and surrounding areas, take a friend, have a picnic
  2. Have a Progressive Dinner – Start with salad at one house, hors d’oeuvres at a second, main course at another and end up with dessert at a final house
  3. Go Geocaching – With a smart phone and some hiking shoes, you can make this happen. Don’t have a smart phone? Try a handheld GPS.  You will have to scout your locations in advance and bring a list.
  4. Go on a Treasure Hunt or Scavenger Hunt – Create a series of clues and a treasure at the end.
  5. Go a New Way – Have a destination to which you like to bike or walk? Try taking a different route.
  6. Look Online – Use the internet to find new, fun, free things to do in your area
  7. Camp out in the backyard – If you can’t do over night, then pitch the tent in the yard for an instant playhouse/fort/hideaway

Set up Creative Indoor Play

  1. Sensory Bins with Rice, Beans, or Salt – Let kids play in containers of rice, beans or salt. They can draw letters, shapes and pictures.
  2. Play with and draw in Shaving Cream
  3. Make Homemade Playdough (Mix 2 cups baking soda, 1 cup cornstarch and 1.5 cups warm water. Stir all together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour into something to cool. Once it is cool, knead it and you can play away. If you want to add color, put food coloring in the water before boiling the mixture.
  4. Paint with Water Colors – Cover the dining room table with large sheets of paper and let the kids paint away
  5. Make a Selfie – Take a large sheet of paper and trace the child’s whole body. Let them decorate and draw the shape to resemble themselves.
  6. Hold a Talent Show – Do Mom and Dad have talent? What about the kids? Show it off! Don’t forget the video camera!
  7. Get out Simple Art Supplies – Use pine cones, pipe cleaners and googly eyes to create a miniature family
  8. Have a Lego Contest
  9. Hold a Coloring Contest

Cook TogetherHuge List of Screen Free Activities

  1. Make Popsicles
  2. Hold a Chili Cook-Off
  3. Make a Picnic
  4. Hold a Cooking Contest (i.e. Who makes the best cookies?)
  5. Take advantage of this time to Teach Your Kids to Cook

Fun Kid Friendly Recipes

  1. Download a FREE Kid-Friendly Snacks page here.
  2. Homemade Tootsie Rolls
  3. Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait
  4. Crustless Pizza Pie
  5. Easy Guacamole
  6. Cream Cheese Salsa Dip
  7. Chewy Granola Bars
  8. Pudding Pops
  9. Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
  10. Cool Pineapple Cream Dessert
  11. 5-Minute Frozen Yogurt Cups
  12. Easy Blue Raspberry Salad

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities with Kids: Plan and Host a Party

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Plan and Host a Party!

No need to wait for a birthday or other special occasion for an excuse to host a party! Why not host a party just for the fun of it?

But I’m NOT a Party Planner!!

Not a party planning kind of person? ME NEITHER!!!! For me, planning “parties” with my kids has been more about planning fun get-togethers with their friends. When you see the list of ideas we came up with below, I think you’ll get excited about wanting to plan a “party” too!

Today we’re talking about ways to host a party while keeping it super simple! Remember, this is about finding fun ways to spend time with your kids and love others this summer. You can work with your kids to plan a party, but if you do it right, it won’t cost much or be very difficult either!

Here’s an example of something our family did a few years ago:

When Malachi was younger, he LOVED everything Lego! So just for fun, one summer we worked together and hosted a Lego Party with his friends. (It is important to note that his birthday is in December and we hosted this party in July. Because it was just for fun! No gifts, no pressure – just good ol’ Lego fun!)

We spent some time on Pinterest together, looking for fun ideas others had already thought of. We spent just a few dollars to put together some small treats and activities…

We “went all out” and made a Lego-shaped pinata and guess what we filled it with? Well, Legos, of course! (In a ziplock, oy!) Once the pinata had busted open, the boys dumped them out on the living room floor and had fun building together. Cost for this fun party game? Um, practically nothing. We already had the Legos. We covered the box with construction paper. It was so simple!

Just for kicks, if you’d like to learn more about How we Hosted a Lego Party on the Cheap, here are the details!

Another time, our boys decided together to host a Nerf Gun Party. They planned the whole thing themselves, which ultimately meant that they called and invited their friends, then everyone came over and shot nerf bullets at each other. And because my boys were into making cakes back in those sweet days, after the gun war, they fed everyone cake. Ah, the love language of boys. :)

What about Teens?

I really wish I had pictures, but none of us can find them on our phones! Last summer though, Elias decided to have a very belated birthday party – even though he’d turned 16 earlier in January. He invited a bunch of friends and helped me plan what to do and what food to serve.

We got a fire going in our Fire Pit (we have this one – such a fantastic investment, by the way!). The kids made their own brats and smores, they played lawn games, they kicked a soccer ball around. It was a blast and WHY CAN’T I FIND PICTURES??? Ah, I guess the memories will live forever in our hearts.

Inexpensive Summer Party Ideas

What do your kids and their friends love to do? Just like Malachi loved Legos and planned and hosted a Lego Party, select what your kids love and go with it! No need to be fancy. No need to spend money. Just pick a theme, invite your friends, and have some fun!

Here are a few ideas to get you and your kids started on brainstorming for fun party plans!

  1. Water Games and Watermelon Party
  2. Sack Lunch on the Lawn Party (everyone can bring their own packed lunch!)
  3. Sidewalk Chalk Contest
  4. Badminton and Brownies Party
  5. Princess or Super Hero Dress Up Party
  6. Lego Party
  7. Popcorn and a Movie Party
  8. Smores Making Party
  9. Crafts and Snacks Party
  10. Cooking or Baking Party
  11. Cookie or Cupcake Decorating Party
  12. Swimming Party
  13. Book Swap Party
  14. Trampoline and Treats Party
  15. Popsicles and Play Party
  16. Board Game Bonanza
  17. Bike Trail Party (ride bikes together, ending in a special location for a treat!)
  18. Card Game Tournament
  19. Ice Cream Sundae Bar Party
  20. Lawn Games and Snacks Party

If you and your kids start brainstorming, there’s no end to the ideas you’ll come up with! See how easy? See how fun? See how inexpensive?

Need some fun Lawn Game Ideas?

  1. Ultimate Disc Game
  2. Kubb
  3. Lawn Bowling
  4. Yard Dice
  5. Ladder Ball 
  6. Molkky 
  7. Washer Toss
  8. Ring Toss
  9. Frisbee Golf (Disc Golf) Set
  10. Floating Pong

Need some fun Board Game and Card Game Ideas?

  • 5-Second Rule
  • Spot It!
  • The Game of Things
  • Rummikub
  • Settlers of Catan (With extentions, which you’ll need if you have more than 4 players.)
  • Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights (This is an expansion of Settlers of Catan. This is our favorite add on to regular Setters.)
  • Seafarers of Catan (Also an expansion of Settlers.)
  • Ticket to Ride
  • Carcossonne
  • Bohnanza (This one is unique. Great for older kids and adults. We love this one!)
  • Life
  • Risk
  • Manhattan
  • Guestures
  • Taboo
  • Blink (Malachi and I play this quick card game a lot while the older brothers are at basketball practice.)
  • Headbandz
  • Acquire
  • Sequence
  • Clue
  • Apples to Apple Junior (This is probably our favorite group game. We don’t recommend the regular version of this game because the cards are less familiar to the kids.)
  • Scattergories
  • Pictionary
  • Cranium
  • Boggle (This game totally counts as school work, but no one knows they’re learning.)
  • Monopoly
  • Sorry
  • Quelf (I’ve actually decided that I very much dislike this one. The kids like it though.)
  • Racko
  • Balderdash
  • Yahtzee
  • Farkle
  • Pass the Pigs
  • Huskerdu (great for younger kids – still fun for adults)
  • Mastermind
  • Skipbo

Need some fun Party Food Ideas?

Ready to Plan and Host a Party with your kids this summer?

What food, game, and theme ideas do you have?

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Learn and Serve as a Family – All Year Long!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Last week we shared 20 Great Ways to Serve with Your Kids this Summer. Today, I want to share two special big FREEBIES and a discount coupon with you and encourage you to learn and serve as a family – all year long!

To start off, we’re giving everyone our Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE!!! ($9.95 value!) Then if you want (and you really should want!) you can use the $10 off coupon we send you to get our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit. And then!!!! We’ll give you our brand new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE! Wowza!

Many of you might remember that I wrote and introduced our popular Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve early learners curriculum back in 2009:

You can read all the details about this curriculum kit here, but here are some highlights:

Teach your child to serve…one letter at a time! This 183 page downloadable kit includes thorough lesson plans, games, crafts, recipes, memory verses, Bible story suggestions, vocabulary stimulation and discussion, play, books to read and so much more…all while encouraging service to God!

Each letter you study includes suggestions for service, such as “Take a new Bible to B__________” on Bb week, “Make soup for someone who is sick on Ss week, and “Deliver flowers to F_______________” on Ff week. Your child will make gifts or food, offer help and learn to think of others. As a family you can delight in praying together about who you would like to serve and what form of service you would like to offer!

Then in 2015, we created a supplement for our “Learn Your Letters” curriculum – adding a Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve kit to the mix!

It contains 148 pages filled with activities, patterns, printables, instructions, crafts, and games – all with the purpose of teaching your child numbers, counting, Bible stories and teachings, and a heart of service – all at the same time. Check out the details of Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve here.

Here are the main categories featured in this awesome curriculum kit:

Each lesson will offer a variety of learning activities, plus suggestions, patterns, printables, recipes, or other fun ways to use number knowledge to serve others. For example, when reading about the 5 loaves of bread Jesus served the people – make 5 mini-loaves of your favorite quick bread to deliver to 5 people. What fun, and what a wonderful opportunity for your family to look at ways to serve others!

—-> Don’t have little ones? You may be surprised at how even you and your big kids can run with these ideas! Our family is using the academic portion of this curriculum with our 5-year old this school year. But as a family – teenagers included – we will be working together on the service end. It’s a perfect and fun family project and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together for us as the year unfolds! <—–

Today, we’re offering something we’ve never offered before. Ready for the big reveal?

  1. We’re giving everyone our Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit for FREE. ($9.95 value, for free!) You can stop there, BUT…
  2. When you sign up to download your free “Numbers” kit – we’ll give you a huge coupon to use on our Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit. ($10.00 off – this is amazing!)
  3. When you use the $10 off coupon to purchase your “Letters” kit, we’ll give you a Bonus Freebie!! Our brand new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve Curriculum Kit!

Yep! We’ve been busy around here. This new Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve curriculum kit is a bright and fun 33-page book full of printable activities, service ideas, recipe cards, and Bible reading suggestions. You and your kids can enjoy learning about God’s colorful creation with rainbows, flowers, animals, and more! And while you’re learning, follow the suggestions and brainstorm for ways to serve others in colorful ways too!

Learn to Serve Curriculum 3-Pack!!

It is so fun to have this entire package of Early Learning curriculum put together now!! For one week, what would have cost $42.85 will only cost you a total of $15.95!!! It’s an incredible deal full of fun, learning, and service opportunities.

 

Sign up for the Learn Your Numbers, Learn to Serve FREEBIE in the form below. Then watch for an email with the free eBook and a coupon code for you to get Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve at $10 off AND Learn Your Colors, Learn to Serve for FREE! Offer ends June 24, 2019.

OFFER EXPIRED

Enjoy this discounted curriculum package as seen below!

[wp_eStore_fancy1 id=48]

Enjoy learning and serving with your family!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities with Kids: Find Ways to Serve (20 Ideas!)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Find Ways to Serve!

Opportunities to love and help others are all around us, no matter where we live, the ages of our kids, or our physical limitations. We all have something to offer someone else! Even babies can serve. Allow me to share a special memory…

Even Babies Can Serve

When our oldest son was a baby, a man we went to church with was killed tragically in a farming accident. Two days after this awful event, Matt, baby Asa, and I went to visit the man’s widow and their kids.

As we stood in their kitchen, surrounded by others in our church family, I remember feeling that it was so important that I keep Asa quiet and in my arms so as not to disturb anyone! I wrestled with him as long as possible, shushing him and trying to distract him with anything I possibly could while people were coming in and out and hugging the family members.

Finally, I gave up and decided to let Asa get down and crawl around as he had so much been wanting to do. I cringed as he scurried immediately toward the crowd and then directly over to where the widow was sitting. Before I could catch up to him and pull him back, he had made it to her chair. And then it happened.

The widow found a smile. She reached down and picked up my curious baby. She cooed at him and hugged him close and told him what a sweet boy he was.

If we weren’t already all crying, we certainly all were then.

Asa, before the age of one, was already a minister. He brought joy in the midst of grief, just by being him.

I share this to let you know a very important truth about serving others with our kids:

The enemy wants us to use our kids as an excuse NOT to serve. God wants us to serve right alongside our kids!

Obviously, if our kids are older, we can serve with them in ways that we can’t do when our kids are tiny. But oh the ways we can serve, no matter the ages of our kids!

Pray and Listen!

I’m going to share some service ideas with you today, but what is much more important than reading my ideas is that you and your family pray together to become open to what God has for you to do. Open your hearts. Let God open your eyes to see the needs around you. He will show you how to serve. (He’ll also tell you when to say, “no.”) Listen and see!

My husband, kids, and I have been serving side by side for almost 25 years. As I look back, I see how our service has changed and evolved! When the kids were little, our service included having people in our home for meals, taking small gifts of food to people, making and sending cards, and the like.

Now that we have adult-sized kids, our service can include work like helping elderly people move heavy furniture, taking loads of people’s discarded items to the dump, and painting people’s houses.

No act of service is big or small. All areas of service are full of purpose and good! So don’t put limitations on what you and your family have to offer. Don’t feel like you have nothing to offer. Don’t compare yourself with anyone else. Most certainly, don’t feel like you are “too busy” to look beyond your own lives to serve.

Pray, open your eyes, and listen. God will help you see needs and show you what to do!

Here is a small list of ideas for ways you might serve with your kids:

Ways to Serve with Your Kids

  1. Feed people who have a need! Make and deliver a meal, some muffins or quick bread, cookies, or a pie. See our huge list of recipes below for fun ideas!
  2. Visit someone who is lonely or hurting.
  3. Help someone fix something around their home that they are unable to fix on their own.
  4. Babysit for someone will little children so they can have a refreshing break.
  5. Give someone a ride to the store or to run errands if they are unable to drive themselves.
  6. Clean out toys and clothes to give to someone who needs them more than you.
  7. Have a garage sale and give the earnings to a special cause.
  8. Make and send cards to people.
  9. Call people on their birthdays and sing to them.
  10. Plant flowers for someone.
  11. Surprise someone who is out of town with a Sidewalk Chalk message welcoming them home.
  12. Mow someone’s lawn.
  13. Take someone out for ice cream.
  14. Invite someone over for a meal, for dessert, or for a game of cards.
  15. Visit someone in the hospital or nursing home.
  16. Buy and deliver a coloring book and new crayons for a sick child.
  17. Pray for people!
  18. Clean someone’s house.
  19. Ask a tired new mom how you can help her.
  20. Purchase and deliver groceries to help stretch a family’s budget.

What would you add to this list?

The possibilities are endless, especially when you pray together and listen to God’s call for you and your family!

Here is a big list of recipe links that might give you some nice ideas if you are considering making food for someone…

Recipes to Consider Making for Others

Muffins

Cookies

Easy Meals

I’d love to hear ways you and your family serve together!

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities with the Kids: Create Blessings for Father’s Day!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Create Blessings for Father’s Day!

You may remember that we shared this list of Father’s Day gift ideas a couple of years ago. I’m going to re-share some of those great ideas, plus add some new ones too!

Create Blessings for Father’s Day

You and your kids are likely already thinking about how to bless the dads and grandpas in your lives. But what if you went a bit beyond these special men and talked about ways you can offer something special to those who may be overlooked?

  • Widowers
  • Men in nursing homes
  • Someone who has suffered a difficult year because of illness, loss, unemployment, etc.

OR, how about doing something special for someone who has gone above and beyond for your kids?

  • Coaches
  • Teachers
  • Caretakers
  • Ministers
  • Church Elders

Pray with your kids about this!

Allow God to bring people to mind or to open your eyes to men who would love to be the recipient of your Father’s Day blessing this year. What a wonderful way to serve alongside your children – to teach them to see others and to think beyond themselves!

And while I’m writing this, I have in mind that moms and kids will do this together – but here’s what might be even better!! What if kids and dads spend time on this special “project” as a way to celebrate Father’s Day? Dads serving with their kids is a beautiful thing! Or perhaps you can all do this as an entire family.

Pray, and let the Spirit lead you toward what Father’s Day can look like for you and your family as you look to be a blessing to others.

Cookies for Father’s Day

One of the simplest ways to bless special men in your lives this Father’s Day is to hand them a card and a plate of cookies. Want some great recipe ideas? I can probably come up with one or two. ;)

Wait, you ask. Are these really THE BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies? Yes, I’m afraid it’s true. We’ve tried all the others. These are the best. ;)

Now it’s time to think beyond cookies!

(Mostly) Free Ideas for gifting Dad, Grandpa, or others

Ready to get those kids serving and caring for the men in their lives? But hoping to spend little to no money? How about these ideas!

  1. Write a letter (25 things I like about you, or top 10 favorite memories).
  2. Create a hand-drawn picture of the two of you doing something together.
  3. Put together a photo album of pictures of you and Dad (or the special friend).
  4. Print your favorite picture of the two of you and put it in a frame.
  5. Vacuum and wash his car or truck.
  6. Present coupons to help him organize and clean the garage, his workshop or his office.
  7. Present coupons for cleaning out his car, washing his car, or doing his share of the mowing.
  8. Offer coupons for a batch of his favorite cookies or his favorite meal.

Gifts for Men That Cost $25 or Less

If you have it in your budget, here are some great gift ideas that dad, grandpa, or others might love!

tent

For Camping

  1. Single Hammock
  2. Color-Coded Roasting Sticks
  3. Two Person Tent
  4. Biolite Portable Light  If you need to do things in the dark, the USB will also operate this light. NO batteries, no electricity required.

For Baseball

  1. MLB Team Logo Baseball You choose the team!
  2. Equipment Backpack
  3. Coffee Mug

For Football

  1. Light-Up Football So you can play in the dark!
  2. Parking Sign You choose the team.
  3. 3D Puzzle (like Legos) NFL team characters   You choose the character.

3 for Golf

  1. Golf Scope
  2. Tees
  3. Golf Ball Pick Up Tool

For Fishing and hunting

  1. Portable Fish Scale with Measuring Tape
  2. Cross Body Tackle Bag

For all Sports Fans

  1. Chair with its own shade

Great Tools

  1. 3-in-1 Laser Level, tape measure and bubble level with ruler
  2. Leatherman Multi-Tool
  3. Telescoping Magnet – Great for picking up spilled nails, screws and such!
  4. Nice Work Gloves
  5. Headlamp
  6. Survival Kit

T-shirts

  1. For Dads with a Sense of Humor
  2. For Dads with Gas and a Sense of Humor
  3. Me and Mini-Me Set

Coffee Mugs

  1. For a Star Wars Fan
  2. Awesome Dad
  3. New Dad

Fun Outdoor Games for Dad (and the Entire Family!)

molkky

  1. Kubb
  2. Lawn Bowling
  3. Yard Dice
  4. Ladder Ball 
  5. Molkky
  6. Washer Toss
  7. Ring Toss
  8. Frisbee Golf (Disc Golf) Set
  9. Floating Pong

Make a Meal!

What if you and the kids invite special men in your lives (and/or those who may often eat alone) over to your home for a meal? Get those kids into the kitchen with you! Let them help plan what food to serve, prepare the food, and clean up afterward. There is so much joy in working together to serve others!

Here are some great main dish ideas you might choose from:

Serve these with a salad, a veggie, a fruit, and a special dessert! The men in your life will love it!

What other ideas do you have to work with your kids to create a blessing for someone this Father’s Day?

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities With the Kids: Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking!

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Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking!

I have the BEST memories of heading to orchards, farms, and friend’s houses in the summertime with my kids so that we could pick berries, apples, or peaches.

We live in small-town Nebraska, so we are blessed to have many neighbors and friends who have berry patches, gardens, and orchards. (Yes, we have a garden in our yard too. But we don’t have the space for planting in huge bulk like many of our country neighbors.)

For years and years when our kids were little, we’d take advantage of every invitation to “come pick!” that we were able to enjoy.

Allow me to take a walk down memory lane…

We had a friend with a huge strawberry patch, where we would all load our buckets! We got to do this for FREE. What a blessing! (They’ve since sold their farm and moved out of state. Happy for them, sad for us!)

We also have friends with a gorgeous apple orchard! In the late summer, we’d head out and get as many apples as we could, all for a tiny price per grocery bag. It seemed too good to be true!

One year, my friend Anne and I borrowed the orchard owner’s cider press. After picking apples at the orchard, we spent the afternoon with all of our kids experiencing the work and joy of making homemade apple cider!

Oh my babies!

One year, we headed to Michigan for a wedding, at the perfect time for fruit picking! As we drove, we noticed sign after sign advertising “You Pick!” farms. Matt and I decided to stop at several locations on the way and enjoy time as a family picking fruit and enjoying the experience. We all still talk about that trip as one of our favorite traveling memories!

Blueberries don’t grow well in Nebraska, so picking them during that trip to Michigan was a very special treat! (Also, as we ate berry after berry while we continued to travel, somehow I ended up sitting on some and staining/ruining my pants. Hahaha! The boys still remember that too! “Mom, remember how you sat in blueberries and ruined your pants?!” Good times.)

Mmmmm, peaches! While peaches do grow well in Nebraska, we still stopped at a Peach Farm during our Michigan trip to enjoy a wagon ride to pick peaches. Of course, we took advantage of their offer to “eat whatever you like!”

Why Go Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking

Truly, the fun and joy that come with picking fruit on a farm with your family is priceless.

Yes, there are bugs. Yes, it is hard work. Yes, it may be hot. So prepare yourselves, give the kids a pep talk, take water bottles, go before the hottest part of the day, and know that while you’d love the experience to be perfect, someone may still have a melt-down.

Through the years and beyond all the less-than-fun parts, our family found these fruit picking experiences to be wonderful because:

  • The kids got to learn more about where our food comes from.
  • The kids got to learn about the hard work it takes to put food on the table.
  • We got to take home loads of delicious, nutritious fruit to eat in a variety of fun ways. (Details below!)
  • It saved all kinds of money as we either had to pay very small prices per pound of fruit, or we were encouraged to take all we wanted for free!

Beyond Berry, Apple, or Peach Picking

Once the fruit is picked, then what? Well, the fun just keeps on keeping on!

Yes, the fun comes in the form or hard work. :)

After working hard to pick the fruit, of course, we eat as much fresh fruit as we can hold. NOTHING is more delicious than sweet fruit that comes directly off the tree or bush!

But next comes the fun and work of preserving what we can’t eat fresh. The hard work pays off for months as we enjoy homemade applesauce, frozen berries in smoothies, and peach cobblers in the middle of winter. We all work together to wash, cut, and process the fruit.

Here are some ways we preserve our fruit to enjoy all winter long:

What to make with Berries, Apples, and Peaches

You’re sure to come up with wonderful ways to use your freshly picked or beautifully preserved berries, apples, and peaches! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy the “fruit” of our labor. (Laura is punny.)

Ready to go pick fruit?

Now that our “first batch of kids” is older, if they are able to join us, we can really pick a lot of fruit since they are able to work like adults. And here we are again, starting the process with new babes God has put in our lives. We are excited to take our Bonus Boy on fruit-picking adventures as we know he’ll love it!!

Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

 

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Summer Activities for Kids: Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

There are many glorious reasons to make smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles with your kids. What are these reasons, you ask? Oh, I am more than happy to share:

  1. Smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are obviously perfect to enjoy on a hot day because they are so refreshing and cool.
  2. When you make food WITH your kids, they are much more likely to want to eat it.
  3. You can sneak all kinds of nourishing foods into smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles – so basically, you are making treats that are very healthy!
  4. Making smoothies, milkshakes, and popsicles are a super simple way to get all your kids – from tiny to big – into the kitchen to learn some kitchen skills!

When our 5-year old Bonus Boy first moved in with us, one of the first fun activities we did together was to make “milkshakes.” (They are really considered smoothies, but he “doesn’t like smoothies – he only likes milkshakes.” Call them whatever you want! We load them with fresh greens, frozen strawberries and bananas, farm fresh whole milk, and sometimes even an avocado. He drinks these “milkshakes” right up! And he loves to help us make them, so we aren’t sneaking the healthy stuff in. He puts it all into the blender himself!

Below are 13 of our favorite smoothie, milkshake, and popsicle recipes. Take note that you can make a smoothie and then freeze it into a popsicle – a double good treat! Or look there at #13 – make homemade wholesome pudding, then freeze it into Pudding Pops! Creamsicles anyone? Yep! There’s a recipe for those too!

Make Smoothies, Milkshakes, and Popsicles!

  1. Pineapple Mango Smoothies
  2. Pineapple-Orange Slushies
  3. Creamy Orange Cooler
  4. Strawberry Peach Slushies
  5. Icy Cold Milkshake Treats
  6. Green Machine Milkshakes
  7. Easy Peppermint Milkshakes
  8. Fresh Peach Milkshakes
  9. Strawberry Milkshakes
  10. Strawberry Creamsicles
  11. Mock Frozen Yogurt
  12. Orange Creamsicles
  13. Homemade Pudding Pops

Sky’s the limit on the variety of milkshakes you can make with different fruits and fun combinations. The same is true for smoothies! Use whatever you have in your freezer or fridge. Use up odds and ends of leftover fruit that is starting to go bad. Use milk, cream, kefir, yogurt – whatever you have. There’s hardly a way to go wrong with these ideas!

HINT!

Do you think your kids would enjoy the taste of these milkshakes and smoothies? But they are turned off by the color of these goodies when you add greens to your blender? Yep, I hear ya. We’ve learned to pour the mixture into a solid cup so that it isn’t see-through. We top it with a lid and let the kids choose a fun straw. Ta-da! Problem solved. The kids can’t see the funny-looking mixture – they just know the contents inside their cups are delish!

Looking for the perfect blender?

Any ol’ blender will do. But nothing is amazing as a Blendtec or Vitamix if you want a perfectly smooth smoothie. Your family is much more likely to guzzle down their smoothies and shakes if they are seedless and chunk-less. :) Here are more details on why I love my Blendtec.

Looking for great homemade popsicle makers?

I just invested in the double-set of these. They are fantastic! Why the double-set? Well, because 6 popsicles just isn’t enough. Making 12 popsicles at once is much better, don’t you think!?

By the way, while the above 13 recipes are beyond great and extra full of nourishment, it is worth a mention that I often pour 100% juice into our popsicle molds to make simple fruit juice popsicles. Incredibly easy and a super money saver!

Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

And if you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Brayden too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here.

Psst! Did you see our other Summer Kid Activity ideas so far?

Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities for Kids: Have a Reading Party!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Have a Reading Party!

This idea will last you all summer long! Ready to get started? (We’ve got a packet of free printables for you – see below!)

At our house, we’ve just hung up, put away, and close the door on all of our “assigned reading” for the school year. Who cares that we actually loved almost every book we read this year? Summer is coming and that means we can read…

Just For Fun.

Why does it feel different to read in the summer compared to reading during the school year? I have no idea. There’s just something about the freedom of it all, with its “I can read whatever I want and walk leisurely down all the library aisles while inhaling all the air-conditioned book smells…”

We always check out huge stacks. We can sit in the sun and read. Or we can sit in the air conditioning and read. We might lay on the trampoline and read. I will definitely sip iced coffee and read. The kids can drink sweet tea and read. Ahhhh, summer reading, how I love you.

~~~ Ooooh! I must pause a moment and share some wonderful Iced Coffee and Sweet Tea recipes
for these wonderful sipping and reading occasions! ~~~~~

Summer Perfect Coffee Treats 

Sweet Tea anyone?

Here are some super simple fruity tea options!

Tell me about this Summer Reading Party!

Well, you can make this whatever you want for your family, but to get you motivated…

First, we have a huge packet of free printables for every family who signs up for our Summer Reading Party. Use these however you wish – for incentives for your kids, for activities for your kids, for a challenge for everyone in your family – however you want. They are free for you and you can use them in whatever ways you like!

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Sign up here to join our Summer Reading Party and to get the free packet of printables!

My Favorite Party Favor

Included in this printables packet is a suggested Bible reading check-list for you to use with your family. Read these passages with your family during breakfast. Or read them at night before bed. Or read them at whatever time of the day works best for you. Because reading the Bible with your family is more important than any other reading you can do.

summer bible reading

This Summer Bible Reading Guide is included in the Summer Reading Printables Packet. Get yours here.

Read as a Family

A few summers ago, after our oldest boys headed to counsel at church camp, I picked All of a Kind Family off our shelf and read through it with Malachi during the hottest parts of the day. We finished that one and ran to the library to get the next in the series. We loved the books so much we read every book in the series and cried at the end because the series had ended. (To be fair, Malachi didn’t actually cry. I did though, because I always cry at the end of a good book. You already know this about me.)

Soon, I’ll get to read that series to our Bonus Boy! Ah, the love of books just keeps on keeping on!

Here’s another favorite series:

ralph moody
I definitely cried at the end of this one.
Then we plowed through the entire series.
It’s a favorite for sure!

How about a HUGE list of great book ideas for everyone in the family?

We can’t very well encourage you to read without giving you suggestions of books to check out! Here’s a list my friend Kim help me put together. It’s fantastic!

Books for Infants and Toddlers

  • I Spy Board Books
  • Goodnight Moon
  • Runaway Bunny
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar (and other books by Eric Carle)
  • That’s Not My…series from UsBorne (some of which are available on Amazon)
  • Sandra Boynton’s Greatest Hits
  • DK Touch and Feel Series

Books for Preschoolers

  • Mouse Paint
  • Bittle
  • Little Pink Pup
  • Richard Scarry Collection
  • Elephant & Piggie Collection
  • Knuffle Bunny Series
  • Lego City Book Set
  • Lift the Flap Bible Story Books from Reader’s Digest
  • Little Golden Book Collection

Books for Early Elementary Kids

  • Kiss the Cow
  • The “I’m” Book Series by Kate and Jim McMullan
  • Mr. Putney’s Quacking Dog
  • Bad Case of Stripes
  • Uff Da!
  • Pinkalicious Storybook Series
  • Gigi Book Series
  • Little Bear Series
  • Frog and Toad Book Collection
  • Dr. Seuss Book Collection
  • Make Way for Ducklings
  • Madeline Book Collection
  • Curious George Book Collection
  • Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel
  • Click, Clack Moo Book Series
  • Henry and Mudge Book Series
  • Skippyjon Jones Book Collection
  • Amelia Bedelia Book Series
  • Fly Guy Book Series
  • Diary of a Worm Book Series
  • I Spy Books
  • Where’s Waldo Book Collection
  • Otis the Tractor Book Series
  • Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant
  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
  • Lego Beginning Readers

Books for Later Elementary Kids

  • Bill Peet Books
  • Magic Tree House Book Series
  • Magic School Bus Book Series
  • Box Car Children Book Series
  • Encyclopedia Brown Book Series
  • American Girl Book Series
  • Tales of Young Americans Book Series
  • “I Survived” Book Series
  • Sarah Plain and Tall Book Series
  • Chicken Squad Book Series
  • Mr. Popper’s Penguins
  • Clyde Robert Bulla Books
  • Books by Andrew Clements

Books for Middle School/High Schoolers

  • Books by Cynthia Voigt
  • Mysterious Benedict Society Book Series
  • Penderwicks Book Series
  • Storm Runners Book Series
  • 39 Clues Book Series
  • Secret Cipher Book Series
  • LOST (involves magic and wizardry)
  • Anne of Green Gables Book Series
  • Cooper Kids Book Series
  • Mandie Book Series
  • Grandma’s Attic Book Series

Books that make great family read-alouds

Any of the above books are great for reading aloud as well. In addition, I’ve found that if my kids have a hard time getting into a book or a series, I start out reading it to them and they take it from there!

  • Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
  • Charlotte’s Web
  • All of a Kind Family Book Series
  • Little House of the Prairie Book Series
  • Little Britches (Ralph Moody) Book Series
  • Swiss Family Robinson
  • Chronicles of Narnia Book Series

Join our Summer Reading Party!

We want to encourage the beauty of family reading this summer!

Malachi and I look back on the summer of reading All of a Kind Family series as if it was the summer of perfection. All my boys and I can look back with joy on summers of reading together back in the days they were littler (and actually home). On the days they are home this summer, we will definitely spend time reading. I just got a few books delivered a few days ago that the boys had requested. Perfect timing!

Let’s all do this together and make great memories with our families!

Get your FREE Reading Party Printables here!

Psst! Did you see our other Summer Kid Activity idea? Make Donuts! Get the details here. :)

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Summer Activities with the Kids: Make Donuts!

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Make Donuts. Who can say no to that?

Here’s what’s great about making donuts with your kids (besides the fact that everyone gets to eat donuts!):

This activity gives you a chance to help your kids learn more about reading a recipe, measuring ingredients, rolling, cutting, and kitchen safety. Our favorite recipes are listed below!

Looking for more help as you pull your kids into the kitchen with you?

And if you really want to go all in and teach your kids to cook this summer, I encourage you to invest in Katie Kimball’s Kids Cook Real Food eCourse. I used this course with Malachi and plan to use it with Bonus Boy too. It is FANTASTIC!!! Get the details here.

Make Donuts ~ Read a Book

Summer is an awesome time to spend more time reading fun books with your kids!

Have you read Homer Price? It’s a great read-aloud for your family! There’s a great chapter in the book about Homer making donuts with his uncle’s donut machine – SUCH a fun chapter! The donuts got out of control!! After you read that chapter, you’ll have no choice but to get into the kitchen and make donuts with your kids!

Here are a couple pictures of my four oldest boys enjoying the donuts we made after reading Homer Price many years ago. Aw, they were so little! (And Malachi was apparently playing dress-up too!)

chocolatedonuts3sm.JPG

chocolatedonuts5sm.JPG

He’s 14 now. But he still loves donuts.

Ready for some Donut Recipes? Here’s a classic favorite of ours!

Summer Activity with the Kids: Make Donuts

Whole Grain Cake Donuts
 
Save Print
Author:
Serves: 15-20
Ingredients
  • 3 ¼ cup whole grain flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ⅔ cup sucanat or brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • ¼ cup melted butter
  • Oil for frying (I use palm shortening or coconut oil)
Instructions
  1. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Stir in eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter.
  3. On a floured surface, roll dough to ½ inch thickness.
  4. Cut with donut cutter, biscuit cutter, or cookie cutters.
  5. Heat oil in skillet or electric skillet (enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet about ¼ inch).
  6. Place donuts into the hot oil to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
  7. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate.
  8. Sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon, or powdered sugar over the hot donuts.

 

Want to make your donuts even healthier? How about adding a veggie – without anyone noticing? Whole Grain Pumpkin Donuts for the win! Truly, when you add pumpkin puree to donuts it not only adds nourishment but adds moisture and delicious flavor too! Find the recipe here:

Whole Grain Pumpkin Donuts

Need a little frosting for your donuts?

Here’s a high-sugar chocolate recipe. I will provide this recipe for you, but I will not be held responsible for giving your kids a sugar high. ;)

Simple Fudge Frosting

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa
¼ cup butter
¼ cup water
½ t. vanilla

Stir powdered sugar and cocoa together in a bowl. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add water and bring to a boil. Pour boiling water and butter into powdered sugar and cocoa. Add vanilla. Beat with hand mixer until frosting is combined.

How about a donut glaze that is much lower in sugar!

Orange Honey Glaze

2 teaspoons orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons honey

Whisk ingredients together on the stove until smooth. Drizzle over warm donuts!

Get out the Cookie Cutters!

Regular circle donuts and donut holes are fine. But we can make donuts even more fun when we use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes! Any cookie cutters will do. Make stars during the Fourth of July. Make animal shapes after a visit to the zoo. Make hearts and deliver them to someone you love. Oh the fun you can have!

You might also consider baking your donuts in a cool silicone donut making mold.

Share with Others

Did you see the sentence above about using a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make heart-shaped donuts to share with someone you love?

One of the best ways to spend time with your kids this summer is to SERVE others with them. Perhaps one way you can serve together is to make donuts and deliver them to someone who could use the blessing of friendship and fellowship!

Ready to have some summer fun with your kids? Head into the kitchen and make donuts! Take pictures and let us know how it goes!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Stop Telling Moms of Little Ones to “Enjoy Them While They’re Young!”

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“They grow up so fast! Enjoy them while they’re young!” Yeah, we know. We all know. It’s so true! And yet, I believe it’s time to stop saying this to moms of little ones…

I get it. Oh, how I get it. Once our kids grow up, have a mind of their own, start doing big things, can no longer crawl into our laps, and have problems much bigger than those which can be solved with a kiss on the forehead – we older moms find it easy to look back at the little years with longing. We look at pictures of our kids with their pudgy fingers, wearing the matching outfits we selected for them to wear – and we wonder where the years have gone.

We see that our grown-up kids are taking hard classes, going to prom, and graduating from college and we can’t believe how fast time went. So we look at the mom with babies in her arms and toddlers in her lap and we try to encourage her with, “Enjoy them while they’re young. They grow up so fast!”

Oh, it is true. They do grow up fast!

But today, as I find myself in a season that involves a double portion – that of marveling at my adult and teen children while taking on the task of raising a 5-year old Bonus Boy and fostering a precious 5-month old Boy Babe – I find myself realizing the full truth:

This is hard.

It’s good and it’s marvelous and it’s incredible, but it’s hard.

You can look at my precious new littles, then look up at me and say, “Oh Laura! They are so sweet! Enjoy them while they’re young!” and I will emphatically nod and tell you, “Oh yes! I am!!” I am enjoying our little ones an incredible deal – because of all of the sweetness and cuteness and fun! I am enjoying them so much!

But do you know what else I would enjoy right now?

Sleeping.

Taking a shower.

Eating when I’m hungry.

Drinking my coffee while it is still hot.

Having a full conversation with my husband (that isn’t about the last time the baby pooped).

Not having to stop what I’m doing every three minutes to discipline and train our 5-year old to learn obedience.

Moms of Bigs, do you remember all that was involved in taking care of your little ones? Do you really remember? Oh, there is so much joy in the little years!! But there’s also a lot of poop and puke, tantrums and tattling – along with a never-ending list of work to do that you know you’ll never get around to because little ones require so much attention and care.

These are hard (and good) years, just as raising big kids is hard (and good).

What if older moms stop telling young moms to “enjoy them while they’re young,” and start saying this instead:

“How can I help you enjoy your little ones?”

Think about this.

Moms of Bigs – you no longer have to wipe bottoms, buckle seatbelts, have irrational conversations about broken cookies, or help all the shoes get onto all the right feet. You are, no doubt, in a season of challenge that involves running around like crazy with busy activity schedules, guiding your kids while they make weighty decisions, and then helping them with Geometry after 10:00 pm (Jesus, be near). This is all full of hardship and exhaustion – no doubt about it! But the truth is that even through these challenging days: YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO PEE WHENEVER YOU WANT.

I know this because just a year ago, I was there. With kids who were then 20, 18, 16, and 13 – I thought I was busy, because I absolutely was. Then God put babies on my doorstep and in my arms. Now I’ve got all those big kids plus a pre-schooler and an infant. It’s both fabulous and difficult, beautiful and challenging. I love what God is teaching me through this new gift and calling!

But – some of the days are hard to enjoy. “Enjoy them while they’re young!” I’m trying! But I am also tired.

Here’s what helps me get through these challenging days:

  • When my friends bring over a batch of muffins or waffles for my family to grab and eat quickly for breakfast.
  • When they come to hold the baby while I take a nap.
  • When they grab the 5-year old for some special play time.
  • When they give my big kids rides so I don’t have to load up little ones into car seats.
  • When they grab the baby at my big kids’ soccer game so I can cheer with my arms free.
  • When they drop off a lasagna for me to slide into the oven on a busy day.
  • When they hug me and tell me that I’m doing a good job.

Stop simply telling moms of little ones to “enjoy them while they’re young.” That encouragement falls flat in the ears of a tired mama. AND, it makes them feel guilty for not enjoying the puke-filled, sleepless nights that are apparently – fleeting? Yeah, we’re sorry. Nothing feels fleeting at 3:00 am.

Instead, consider doing what you can do to help young moms enjoy these challenging years. Let your big kids help you with this. It’s a win-win!

What you should say to moms of little ones:

Don’t tell them to “enjoy them while they’re young!” Instead, do what you can to help them enjoy these years! Here are some better options every mom of littles actually wants to hear!

  • Can I come take your kids to the park for an hour?
  • I see what you’re doing, and you are rocking it! Good job, Mama!
  • What night can I bring your family dinner this week?
  • Your kids are so sweet – great work!
  • I’d like to come watch your kids so you can have a date night. What night works for you?
  • Can I stop by today and bring you a coffee?
  • What size diapers is your baby in? I’ll grab you a package!

This is just a small list, and no doubt, God will fill in the gaps and put on your heart what YOU can do for your friends with little ones. But do consider how you can be a blessing to the weary mamas who are in the snot-filled, wet wipe, dirty-dish-piled trenches. Those days are hard, and those mamas need our real encouragement.

Then, guess what? Those moms really can enjoy them while they’re young! Because it takes a village, and moms with their big kids can be a part of that village!

Moms of big kids? You hang in there too. I know these days are fabulous and exhausting too – because I’m right there with you.

Whether your kids are big or little – or a beautiful mixture of both – we can stand together in encouragement. We can tell each other the truth – that God is carrying us through each day – that He is our provider – that He is with us constantly as we raise our kids.

Be encouraged, Mama! God is with you, and He is good! Because of this, we CAN enjoy every day with our kids.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!