commentary and parenting
[ pete gilbert...stay-at-home dad ]
Winter for a Day True confessions of stay-at-home dad Pete Gilbert My kids love summer, but every once in a while, even my little sun worshippers need a little break from the heat. Last year our family hit that point right around the time the thermometer reached record 100+ degree temperatures. We were desperate for activities to do. Even the pool isn't that much fun when you’re baking in the sun and the water feels more like a bath than a swimming pool. We decided that for one day we would pretend it was freezing cold, the dead of winter. Here's what we did.
the library in July than mid-December. When it was time for coloring, we dug out leftover Christmas coloring books and filled in pictures of gingerbread houses and candy canes. We warmed up our cold bones with hot chocolate and delicious bowls of chili for dinner, then made snow ice cream with crushed ice for dessert. The kids put on their Christmas jammies and we read Frosty the Snowman for a bedtime book. It was a great day. There were times when it really didn't feel like summer at all.
First, we kept the blinds closed the entire day. It didn't seem as hot if you couldn't see the sun beaming down on our scorched lawn. We listened to Christmas music. It's hard not to imagine winter when you are singing along to “Jingle Bells” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
If you ever get to the point where you're getting "burned out" on summer, give “winter for a day” a try. I think you will enjoy it.
We watched Christmas DVDs, which are a heck of a lot easier to reserve at
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Happy Parenting!