meta-dad

Dad’s Version of Kids’ Crafts and Activities

This past month I had a rare opportunity to slip into the shoes of “Mr. Mom” (sort of). With the birth of our third, my wife and I decided to divide and conquer. At work, I cashed in all my “chips” and coupled my paternity leave with some vacation time and overdue Comp time and took the entire month off. After breakfast, I would fill a bag with snacks, grab the two oldest boys and go on an “adventure,” leaving her with the newborn so she can feed and bond with him (and rest).

The adventure was anything from going to the beach and making a massive sand castle (on of the advantages to living in LA by the beach) to hitting one of the many area playgrounds or going to the museum. We would be back in the afternoon and they were officially spent for the day. A tired kid is a good thing (an exhausted kid is quite a different thing, as parents know).

So what is there to do for the rest of day, especially when they have built every house and tower with their Legos and colored every page in their coloring book? Like most parents, I turn to the web for ideas, feeding off of the boys current obsessions (firetrucks, race cars, and anything having to do with “good guys” and “bad guys”). For me, the emphasis is on fun and if they go off on a tangent and they’re playing “nice” and having a good time – so be it.

An example of one of these activities is the Firefighter Themed Crafts and Activities, the boys never get sick of this.

• The first thing the boys do is don their firefighter helmets and tall rubber boots (pants optional in our household).
• If I have the time I scoop up some of their favorite stuffed animals, dolls and action figures and scatter them throughout the yard (i.e. in bushes and trees, on the back deck, etc.), fill some water bottles or turn the hose on (real low) and “alert the firefighters” of various “emergencies.”
• When I’m feeling particularly artful, I will draw some fire on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and have them “put it out” with their water bottles or have them navigate through it to rescue their toys (of course having their toys drop and roll and so forth).
• When that starts to get tired, we break out the fire trucks (toys) and do miniature rescues with other toys.
• Come snack time, I make them a Firefighter Smoothie [generally strawberries, orange juice (fire colors), yogurt, a pinch of ground flax seed and a splash of milk - sorry I don't measure anything], you get the idea.

Related Links:
ChildFun.Com | Firefighter Crafts and Activities
ChildFun.Com | Doctor Crafts and Activies
ChildFun.Com | Police Crafts and Activities
KABOOSE | Fall Craft Ideas
Essortment.Com | Kids Craft Ideas

A Toy That’s Also a Record Player

Hey Dad, trying to figure out what to do with that stack of priceless but aging vinyl in your attic? Vinyl Killer is a portable record player made in Japan and licensed across the globe by BMW AG in Germany. You no longer have to spin the record, nor do you even need a turntable. You just need the smallest self-running record player in the world.

Instead of spinning your record, it coasts on the surface of the vinyl, gliding the needle over and into the grooves, churning out music from its own built-in speaker. If you have your own vehicle, you can take the music wherever and whenever you go.

(Via RazyWorks.Com)

The ABC Game

The ABC Game was commissioned by Gyldendal, one of Norway’s leading publishing houses. It is designed to complement one of Gyldendals reading books for primary schools. The game focuses on the shapes of the letters in the alphabet and aims to make 6 year olds confident and familiar with the characters.

The illustrated letters are painted by Stefano Lemma and the sound is composed by Geir Bremer Øvrebø.

(Via OrgDot.Com)

Letter From Santa

If your children are fully charged and waiting desperately for some sign that Santa has a clue what the really-really-really want for Christmas, here’s a great opportunity for you to send them over the edge. The fine folks at IdentityDirect.Com have a FREE letter from Santa that you can customize for your kid to receive either via email or for a small charge via rel=”nofollow”regular mail. Just think of their face when they see exactly how much Santa knows about them!

(Via IdentityDirect.Com)

Semi-Random Meta-DAD Giveaway! | The Answers

Semi-Random Meta-DAD Giveaway!

I’m rooting for you. I want you to win this thing, really. Whoever answers the question correctly will win a video game title.

The Rules: Unfortunately, this give-away only works if you are in the United States – sorry Canada, sorry Mexico, sorry rest of the planet, nothing personal, I’m just not interested in paying too much for the postal. Let’s see how it goes. I will post the winner by next Monday — assuming someone gets it.

The Prize: The game titles include: Ultimate Spiderman, Wolfenstein, Doom III, Call of Duty 2 or Boogie (Wii). You get to choose one of them. They are all great games.

The Question: This one should be easy — the category (ala Cranium) is Wordworm (think crossword puzzles).

1. Give an example of a parental palindrome.

Think about it.