I received this comment the other day that I want to throw out to all of you for your suggestions.
I was wondering if you (or anyone else) had some good ideas for simple activities/entertainment for children? My nephew is staying with us for the summer (his dad is in Iraq) and we're a little lost about what to do with a 5yo boy who's far away from home and has no idea about our lifestyle. We're planning to teach him to ride a bike (I got him one for his birthday) and swim but other than that we can't think of many things that don't involve a television.
Thank you for any advice!
Lauren
Lauren, when my boys were 5 I taught them simple cooking - scrambled eggs, toast, making breakfast cereal, sandwiches etc. You could also give him a strong flashlight for spotlighting in the backyard at night. If you're out of the city, he'll see all sorts of interesting things in the trees and bushes when it's dark.
But my main suggeston is if you have a digital camera, teach him to use it on the automatic setting. Get a small note book and let him document his summer, in photos, for his Dad. Maybe one day he could take a photo of his surroundings or his family and write a short caption; the next day you could take a photo of him playing, reading, eating, sleeping or smiling. I'm sure his Dad would love that and he would probably get a kick out of it knowing it was a gift for Dad far away in Iraq.
So now it's over to you, dear readers, what are your suggestions for Lauren and this little boy?
I was wondering if you (or anyone else) had some good ideas for simple activities/entertainment for children? My nephew is staying with us for the summer (his dad is in Iraq) and we're a little lost about what to do with a 5yo boy who's far away from home and has no idea about our lifestyle. We're planning to teach him to ride a bike (I got him one for his birthday) and swim but other than that we can't think of many things that don't involve a television.
Thank you for any advice!
Lauren
Lauren, when my boys were 5 I taught them simple cooking - scrambled eggs, toast, making breakfast cereal, sandwiches etc. You could also give him a strong flashlight for spotlighting in the backyard at night. If you're out of the city, he'll see all sorts of interesting things in the trees and bushes when it's dark.
But my main suggeston is if you have a digital camera, teach him to use it on the automatic setting. Get a small note book and let him document his summer, in photos, for his Dad. Maybe one day he could take a photo of his surroundings or his family and write a short caption; the next day you could take a photo of him playing, reading, eating, sleeping or smiling. I'm sure his Dad would love that and he would probably get a kick out of it knowing it was a gift for Dad far away in Iraq.
So now it's over to you, dear readers, what are your suggestions for Lauren and this little boy?
