Entertaining a Six Year-old

[mpj96]

You know how that cheesy band whose name I can't remember spelled out YMCA with their bodies? 70's band.

You could take pictures of her spelling out H-A-P-P-Y M-O-T-H-E-R-S D-A-Y ! all around the house and yard. This only works once, but it is timely.

[ArkieDukie]

You know how that cheesy band whose name I can't remember spelled out YMCA with their bodies? 70's band.

You could take pictures of her spelling out H-A-P-P-Y M-O-T-H-E-R-S D-A-Y ! all around the house and yard. This only works once, but it is timely.

You're thinking of The Village People. My niece likes that song; we've been doing the YMCA dance since she was a baby. (Yes, we've trained her to like disco music...)

[TheRose77]

Show her the web site FreeRice.com. You and she can work on vocabulary building while feeding children in other parts of the world. And tape a big world map to the wall. My kids loved maps. The older son graduated in '05 summa cum laude from Duke, so I guess we did something right.
And one more thing - sing "fight, fight Blue Devils" early and often.

[CathyCA]

My 19 yo daughter just left on a trip to the beach with two friends from her dorm.

OH*MY*GOSH. That's all.

[DevilAlumna]

It's sort of related to what allenmurray wrote, but it is critically important that young children see their parents engaged in meaningful work that they can understand and help with as they get older. This will make them more accepting of the fact that a portion of life is inevitably work that we do with our own hands. Fold the laundry, tell each other stories, sing, tell riddles, ect while doing it. Water the plants, iron your shirts, weed the garden, etc. Let them do other things nearby if the work is not suitable for little hands (like ironing) but they will want to to help so find a way for them to be involved as much as they want to. And when they are old enough to be trusted with the knife (small, not too sharp), or strong enough to lift the big watering can, thier self-esteem will soar.

Some really good advice, and to echo Tilly, it's making me tear up thinking about my dad. (I was a daddy's girl and proud of it.)

Things I remember doing that may seem mundane:

Nearly every weekend, he was washing one of the cars -- he taught me how to squeeze out a chamois, so he always had a dry one at the ready. (Now, I wash my own car, not every weekend, but I do try to keep it clean enough.)

He taught me how to shine shoes, and would let me "help" by doing the buffing. Similar with ironing once I was old enough (this we would do while watching a Cubs game on WGN, so I also learned about balls & strikes, etc.)

I don't ever recall him "playing" with either my brother or myself (not something he was so comfortable with,) but that's okay -- I had friends and a brother.

Special things that still mean a lot --

My first sporting events -- Nebraska Football and Nebraska Basketball -- going was a dad/daughter treat!

Dad/Daughter dinners -- this was more when I was in 4th-7th grade -- we had our own little date, go out to dinner at someplace (didn't have to be special) once a month or so. I don't even remember what we talked about, but I know he seemed interested in what I had to say, and that was what stuck. Built a good relationship for moving into the high school years, that's for sure.

Good luck with your own dad/daugher relationship, Shamm -- sounds like it is pretty darned good already.

[devil84]

My 19 yo daughter just left on a trip to the beach with two friends from her dorm.

OH*MY*GOSH. That's all.

Oh, don't worry CathyCA -- she's going to some campground in Wilmington. Not a house in Myrtle, like we did! (I'm trying very hard not to worry. Really I am.)

[aimo]

I also have two older brothers, so growing up I witnessed/participated in lots of "man chores".

Now, as a single female, I can fix a leaky faucet, replace simple electrical fixtures (doorbell, outdoor lamp), check various fluid levels in my car, kill spiders (OK, I still have trouble with that one), refinish furniture, do my taxes, unclog a drain, etc. I learned this by simply being there and watching and listening. And my jump-shot's not bad, either!

Kids are amazingly absorbant, if you give them a chance.

[Shammrog]

I also have two older brothers, so growing up I witnessed/participated in lots of "man chores".

Now, as a single female, I can fix a leaky faucet, replace simple electrical fixtures (doorbell, outdoor lamp), check various fluid levels in my car, kill spiders (OK, I still have trouble with that one), refinish furniture, do my taxes, unclog a drain, etc. I learned this by simply being there and watching and listening. And my jump-shot's not bad, either!

Kids are amazingly absorbant, if you give them a chance.

Hell. That's probably more than I can do...

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

As you think of things to enjoy together, don't underestimate the value of reading to her. I was accustomed to reading to first graders when I was a teacher. Later I became an administrator. It was a surprise to learn that middle schoolers enjoy being read to as well.

Reading to children at different ages is an effective way to introduce good quality literature to them. Look for among winners of the Caldecott Medal for books for younger children. For older children the list of winners of the Newberry Award is a good source. For a more nearly complete list of various award winners check out the American Library Association's web page. http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardssc...aryrelated.cfm

[BlueDevilJay]

You know how that cheesy band whose name I can't remember spelled out YMCA with their bodies? 70's band.

You could take pictures of her spelling out H-A-P-P-Y M-O-T-H-E-R-S D-A-Y ! all around the house and yard. This only works once, but it is timely.

Holy crap you just made my weekend!!! I was trying to think of something creative to do for my wife for Mothers Day, and that is going to be what I do. Man, amazing idea, I love it. Im going to have to do that tonight before she gets home.

[g_olaf]

Thanks all! Great ideas.

Any ideas on the day-to-day/play at home thing? That is where I have the most trouble...

I know exactly where you're coming from... my daughter is turning 6 this month, I've had the same issue... after 15 minutes, I start to drift. Lego's have really saved me.

[DukieInKansas]

In the fall, you should get an Atlanta Entertainment Book. It'll cut down on the cost of a lot of things on Wilson's list. Also, if you really enjoy any of the items on the list, consider being a tax-deductible member. It helps these places out a lot. Our daughter also appreciates that we continue to give.

I also got hooked on museums at an early age, and look at me now!

Some thoughts, having gone through all of Wilson's list, having experienced it with my daughter:
1) All the cultural places are mandatory (including CNN). Don't plan on staying longer than 2 hours at any one of them. The GA Aquarium (the world's largest aquarium, they keep telling us) is $$$$. You could always make a fun road trip to the Chattanooga Aquarium.
2) Two places not on Wilson's list: Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Woodruff Arts Ctr: The symphony/ the High/ etc...
3) Fox Theatre: You might catch a traveling company of some good musical. We did CATS (complete with PETA protestors ).
4) IIRC, there's also a puppetry center downtown.
5) Every single sporting event you can attend, but especially the Thrashers, and the GM-less Hawks. As a Duke fan, do NOT take her to the Thriller-Dome; that was one mistake I'll never do again. (Sorry SupaDave ... it was THAT bad/rude of an experience.)
6) Local high school sports, including soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball. All three of these sports have BIG development programs in Cobb.
7) Emory has a great planetarium that sometimes has special events during both semesters. Also check into Emory's Schwartz Ctr for special events. Emory also does a lot with local youth orchestras.
8) Emory's Carlos Museum. The Tut exhibit. They have a special "Tea with Mummy" set for Mother's Day.
9) BOWL... then bowl some more... then bowl some more.
10) Etowah Mounds, for a day trip.
11) Road trip in the fall to Sanford Stadium, if you can get tickets. Tell her you're off to see folks bark like dawgs all day long. Be sure to wear Black (or red).
12) Check out the few Cobb U-pick-em berry farms. We have a blueberry farm about 10 minutes away.

Above all ... we still tickle fight a lot. That's what dads are for!
Cheers,
Lavabe

Was PETA really picketing Cats or was this a joke? If they were picketing, did they have a reason? Were they just concerned that people were playing the roles of the cats and, thus, were depriving cats of work opportunities?