From 7:30am until 2:30pm you’ll find me at home (usually) with just Seth (3 years old) and Sarah (20 months old).  My other five children all go to school now (I used to homeschool), and for the first time in years I’ve just got preschoolers here with me for seven straight hours.  Now remind me, how do I do this again? 

Thankful:  that I have preschoolers & that I have two of them because it’s much more fun with two (or more!)

The Difficulty:  Filling the hours with worthwhile activities suitable for their age level. 

Question:  What is your preschooler’s favorite thing to do?

In a typical morning, I get the school children out the door and then I do some cleaning as Seth watches a show on TV.  When I’m done with the chores, I spend quality time with him and Sarah. 

By FAR, our favorite activity is reading books.  (I’m attaching the link to our current favorite library book at the end of this post, it’s so cute.  They ask for it over and over.)

We also do puzzles.  This one is our very favorite.  I love the colors and the fact that the pieces are interchangeable and printed on both sides, making it very easy for little ones to work on.  Each picture is of a child from a certain country, wearing a native costume, with the name of the country printed on it.  Seth asks me, “What’s this one’s name?”  And I tell him what country he or she is from.

You end up with a circle of children=so sweet! 

We have playpen time.  I usually put them in separately, because Seth tends to play rough with Sarah.  The main objective of the playpen is to allow Seth and Sarah to both learn to play quietly, in one spot, for about 15-20 minutes.  This is not easy to do when you’re the last borns of a big family and used to A LOT of entertainment happening around you the majority of the time.  They are more dependant on THE FAMILY to entertain them, and don’t have as much of an attention span to entertain themselves.  So, we’re working on this important skill.

This week, the playpen has also become a tent.  We put a twin sized sheet over the top and I let them both in it to play (I was folding clothes nearby so I could keep an eye on them).

The next thing I knew, the tent had turned into a hammock.

(Sarah Joy is holding a Melissa and Doug ice cream cone, another favorite plaything.)

Later, to my utter despair, I discovered that Seth (Sarah was already out) had taken all my folded clothes off the couch and turned the playpen/tent/hammock into a laundry basket.

“Why?”  I asked.  He said he wanted to make his tent “dark”. 

A few other favorite activities:

Going outside to play and collect the eggs.

Turning those lovely eggs into baked goods:

And, eating snacks.

Yes, life with preschoolers is a grand adventure.  Seth and Sarah are a bright and energetic twosome.  They remind me of the Wrigley’s doublemint gum jingle:  “Double Your Pleasure^®, Double Your Fun^™“

All the playing makes the little dears me all tired out so I’m very good about giving them an afternoon nap (they’re sleeping as I type this) so they have plenty of energy for more adventures all the way up until bedtime I can have an hour or two of peace and quiet!

Teatime?