10 Bunny girl tested tips to incorporate fun and play into daily activities

My Bunny girl is now 4 years and 7 months old. (Why does time fly by so fast?)
As my first child she has been my little guinea pig when it comes to trying out new things, games, food and what not.
As our first preschooler at home, I think it has been an adventure trying to incorporate fun and play into her daily activities and with the latest Twitter Moms prompt, courtesy of The Hub I figured I just had to share my 10 Bunny girl tested tips to incorporate fun and play into your preschooler's daily activities. I've segmented my tips into three parts, featuring three things Hubby and I believe are very important for our little one's overall growth and development. These are

• Eating healthy
• Reading books and
• Learning the Word of God (The Bible)

Eating Healthy...the fun way!

1. I've learned that I can get Bunny girl to eat veggies in food she loves. For instance, she loves pasta and she loves chicken soup, so I've concocted a 'Bunny girl's Wholesome Soup' recipe that includes celery (won't eat it plain because it has too much crunch in it!), spinach (too bleh!), carrots, ginger, chicken, pasta and tomatoes. She loves this and even asks if I can make it despite the fact that celery and spinach make their appearance in the same! The trick is to find a way to hide the 'traitors' in food your child loves and once they're sold on it, make the big reveal!!

2. It's always more fun to get your school lunch sandwiches in pretty shapes. Last year I'd have sandwiches come home with merely a nibble. Thankfully this year I discovered this cute butterfly sandwich cutter and now we have empty lunchboxes coming home! (I also really need to invest in cute cookie cutters to bring more variety into the mix.)

3. If your child has a 'thing' for fast food, you can do the healthy (and cheaper) version at home. Allow your child to order his/her 'Happy Meal' from the kitchen and then ask him/her to run off and play for about 20 minutes.
While he/she skips off, grill the chicken or meat pattie in the oven or a George Foreman Lean Mean grilling machine (I love my Lean Mean machine!) and bake your homemade potato strips or carrot sticks. Once you've assembled your sandwich with the lettuce et al and your 'chips' are ready, pack the same and put them into a brown paper bag. (You can decorate the bag with smiley faces or stickers as well) Then pop a book you've been saving for a special occasion into the bag as your child's special surprise and voila your child's 'Happy (Healthy) Meal' is ready

4. If you have a milk lover on your hands then downing those fruits becomes easy peasy. Make milkshakes! We've tried banana milkshakes, mango milkshakes (the best), banana and apple milkshakes and strawberry milkshakes. Try not to add any sugar. The sweetness in the fruits should sweeten the shake perfectly.


Reading Books....the fun way!

5. As a baby, we introduced Bunny girl to the world of books. We made it fun reading with funny voices and puppets. This helped her get interested and as she grew the love for books just naturally developed. Now as a preschooler, even though she is crazy about books I still feel it's important to fuel the interest in books through games. I read a story to her and she reads it back to me in her own words. Sometimes she even re-enacts it with her little character toys.

6. During the holidays we try to do 'Theme' days. For instance if our theme for the day is Princesses, I let her pick her book of choice about a Princess, do a craft around that story or maybe even do a coloring page. At times we even do a snack, which in this case would be a sandwich cut in the shape of a crown.

7. As your child hits the threes and fours, the love for rhyming will develop. Dr Seuss books are a recommended read at the time. After we read a Dr Seuss book, Bunny girl loves playing the 'Rhyming' game. I call out a word and she tries to think of as many words as she can (that make sense ofcourse) and rhyme with the word I've thrown out.
At times to challenge her, when we get a new rhyming book, I read out a line and then leave the second line hanging in the air for her to complete with a corresponding rhyming word that she deems fit to complete the sentence.


Learning the Word of God (The Bible)...the fun way!

8. I teach my little one her memory verses in the form of a song. At times it could be to the tune of a Nursery Rhyme or maybe a 'Rap' I'd just made up. Since the verse is set to music, she picks up the verse incredibly fast and even remembers it when asked several weeks later. There's nothing better than sowing the Word of God into a child's heart at a young age.
(Proverbs 22:6 -Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.)

9. One of Bunny girl's favorite games is something she has named 'Bible Actions' This is similar to 'Dumb Charades' where one of us mimes out a story from the Bible and the other person has to guess which story it is. This has sharpened not just my little one's memory for the tiny details in a story but ours as well!

10. During our family prayer time, we allow Bunny girl to share something she has learned from her Bible that day. This always makes her feel important and has encouraged her to be more attentive during her Bible storytime so that all the facts get included when she delivers 'her message' later in the night.


With a little imagination, the sky's the limit as to what you can do with your preschooler to make your home a fun filled learning environment. Do you have any fun ideas to share? Why don't you draw up a post, click here and share your wealth with the Blogosphere?


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** EBMR Disclaimer: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and The Hub blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” **

Labels: Mommy Tips, The Hub, Twitter Moms

posted by Marina@EBMR @ 4:37 PM