Tuesday Ten

For those of you who are observant type people, you are thinking - why is she writing her Tuesday 10 on Wednesday? It was my turn to pick the Tuesday 10 topic. I chose Ten Things To Do With Your Children Before They Turn Ten. And thing #1 is why I am writing them on Wednesday morning :o)

1. Snuggle with your kids at night. Before they turn ten and prefer a book to a kiss at night. I actually feel asleep next to Mr. Dyl last night. Mike is used to this - he wakes me up at our bedtime and I move from one bed to another. Occasionally, he falls asleep with them too.

2. Go camping. Well, I really like camping and my kids will camp with my way past ten. But when they are young, there is something magical and mysterious about darkness and tents and campfires and marshmallows.

3. Fish in a puddle. What do you do on a rainy day camping? Put their rain boots and rain coats on, and send them outside with a fishing pole and bobbers. If they are older then 10 they will raise their eyebrows and tell you that's stupid. Younger than ten? Enthusiastic fisherman casting their bobbers into the puddle.

4. Build stick tee-pees. Go hunting for big, long sticks in the woods. I think the hunt was the best part. Have the kids arrange them into a tee-pee shape. Tie the top with twine. Let them drape a sheet over the sticks. And then let them play.

5. Make play-dough. The home made kind. I love having my kids on the counter in the kitchen while I'm cooking (well, most of the time). Have them help measure the flour, salt and pour in the kool-aid packet. It's soooo fun to have everything come together in the pan and once it's cool, watch them play with it.

6. Build a GIANT sand pit at the shore. I forget that I'm from Jersey once in a while. "The shore" is the ocean to everyone else. Regardless, we grab a giant folding Army shovel and bring it with us to the beach. We had a GIANT one last year when we were down with my sister and her kids. All 4 kids easily fit into it. And, after hours of play, eventually washed away with the high tide, to screams and giggles from the kids.

7. Fly a kite. Granted, this one also takes patience on the parents end. Think - tangled string. You also have to be careful that the kids don't hold the line while the kite is flying higher - it can burn their hands. But, if you have a good wind and lots of patience and some luck, it's fun to watch the kids running across a field or beach with their kite.

8. Go whale watching. We had one of our best trips with the kids last summer in Canada. We went on a whale watch. The younger of my kids got antsy on the boat ride out, he didn't want to sit still. But once we got out we saw TONS of whales. We had a great captain and lots of luck. Little child ran from one side of the boat screaming "whale". Then would sit still in fascination. We have a book about whales, and he loves to relate his whale watching ride to the book.

9. Eat breakfast for dinner. I have to admit, I love breakfast for dinner. My husband really didn't like it until recently. Thanks to the entheusiasm of the kids, it is now a household favorite. "Hey Mom. Can we really have pancakes for dinner? HOORAY !!!!"

10. Go fishing. If you start them young, it will be something they love forever. Starting young means they don't get discouraged if they don't catch anything. They aren't freaked out over slimy, wiggly worms. They will even touch the fish when you catch them.