One of the things I've tried to do exactly like my mom is get my kids outside every day. "Go outside," she'd say as she opened that back door. I have great outdoor memories from our row house days: making up plays & building forts in the back yard, playing "kick the can" & "free the pole" with neighborhood kids, riding bikes, climbing trees, walking our dog, playing at the playground, and making up games in the woods that adjoined the school across the street.
So I try to get the kids (and myself!) outside every day, rain or shine. I don't always accomplish it, but when I do, I am SO GLAD. Going outside just makes me happy. It puts me in a good mood. It gets my blood flowing--maybe it takes me back to my own childhood! (Thank you, Mom!)
And speaking of childhood, did everyone who grew up with carpeted stairs slide down them? The girls do it so enthusiastically they've given themselves rug burns (now I know why Jon and I used to do it in our full-body footie pajamas!) They've done it riding pillows and have sent squadrons of stuffed animals down as well.
While I have grand ideas for doing creative, carefully-planned, academic, highly-impacting activities with my kids on a very stimulating, organized schedule, most of the time I just have to settle for the spur-of-the-moment fun we can make with exactly what's at our fingertips--and doorsteps.
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