Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in portland, OR

Neighborhood Night Life!

July 13, 2009

In Portland, the summer is a beautiful yet fleeting time. All too often, the brilliant sunny days turn to drizzle and gloom. Oregonians like to take advantage of every walking hour of sun and during the longest days of summer, we all are usually found outside up until 9:45 or 10pm. Our neighborhood is full of children (nine on our block alone!) , most are outside playing until the sun goes down and we're always looking for new ways to keep them busy when they get tired of digging with sticks, chasing flying beetles, or drawing with chalk. Here are some creative ways for children and their families to play after dark!

Glow for it!  Outfit kids with glow in the dark rubber bracelets to play tag or loop bracelets together to create silly creatures. Find a glow in the dark frisbee or ball for even more outdoor excitement! Oriental Trading has an immense selection of glow in the dark necklaces, bracelets, and glow sticks. You could even use glow in the dark paint and stickers to create one of a kind costumes and have a parade at dusk!


Light it up with lamps!  Older children may have a good time creating luminarias (paper bags with designs cut out, illuminated by candle but for use with kids, use flame-less tea lights, LED battery operated torch). Use paper punches with fun designs or print out photos of children on paper so they can each have a turn "in lights"!

Play around with puppets!  Borrow an idea from Balinese shadow puppetry (called Wayang) and everyone in the family can take part in putting on a show (invite the neighbors over!) Hang up a white sheet against the house, and make some simple puppets with paper and brads (or just use your hands). You could even make up some songs to go along with the scenes!

Try a tent! Eat your dinner outdoors, then after a run through sprinklers instead of bathtime, set up a tent and sleep under the stars! Bring out battery powered lanterns and read stories while you snuggle up! Smaller children may not want to spend the entire night outside so be prepared to transition back to regular beds depending on their comfort level. (Or, if you don't want to brave the crows that seem to wake up at 4:00 and want to let everyone know, you can sneak everyone back in the house after they fall asleep.)


Kids may also enjoy a good old-fashioned sing along, or a free for all rock and roll jam session (depends on what instruments you have at your disposal)! Gaze at some constellations and make up stories about the stars, have an impromptu bike/trike parade or fashion show! What about a water balloon toss or make small, edible decorations to hang in the trees for birds/other small creatures?

Whatever you do, remember that children playing near the street at dusk/dark can't always be easily seen by cars and you should play safe at all times!
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Movie + Homemade Munchies = Stay at home fun

May 25, 2009

Since my husband and I are living the "no-spend" lifestyle right now, a date night for us these days consists of turning on the Xbox and streaming Netflix movies (we made the executive decision that $8.99/month for entertainment was a reasonable cost and well-needed escape/sanity-booster) along with some yummy snacks. It hasn't been that hard to adjust to no movies/dinners out, and actually, watching movies at home, with the lack of teenagers frantically texting on their phones/calling out a continuous summary of the movie's events has been refreshing, not to mention, we can pause the movie to run in the kitchen and make more popcorn!

Here are some of our favorite cool snacks for hot summer nights:

-fruit salad with tangy frozen yogurt from Trader Joe's
-homemade strawberry shortcake made with berries grown in your backyard
-pomegranate vodka coolers
-peach smoothies
-homemade ice cream with grilled fruit (sounds weird, is delicious)
-chips and salsa (char tomatoes, onions, peppers under broiler for extra zip!)
and my new favorite recipe from recipezaar:

Our favorite movies as of late are a mixture of documentaries and odd-ball television series. I'm looking forward to the next season of Project Runway (finally!) and the Top Chef All-Stars competition, but until then, I'll be scoping out more movies about unusual people and their lives. Here are some recent favorites:

-Confessions of a Superhero (wanna-be super heroes and their not so super lives)
-Monster Camp  (role playing games gone way, way wrong)
-American movie (documentary "film-maker" and his journey towards a finished movie)
-Devil and Daniel Johnston (touching movie about a tortured genius)
-Arrested Development (I want to marry Michael Cera)
-Mad Men (ooh-la-la office life + Jon Hamm =fabulous)
-Breaking Bad (the dad from Malcolm in the Middle + Meth Lab=fun times)
-This American Life, Season One (Ira Glass always finds the most interesting people and tells the stories of their lives)


What movies or television series do you like to watch with your significant other?












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Bedtime books that evoke a sense of quiet

by Sarah Gilbert

November 17, 2008

My boys are into categorization, and, at bedtime, will often hand me a stack of books that are very, very like one another. Two kitty books. Three truck books. A whole pile of Berenstain Bears. But I have a favorite category, myself: books that evoke a sense of quiet. Some nights, when things are particularly chaotic, I stack the deck, putting my favorites in front. Here are a few: Baboon by  Read more...