I love my son, but sometimes he drives me totally nuts!  This past long weekend is a perfect example.  All he wanted to do, it seemed, was lay on the sofa in his pajamas and watch TV.  I couldn’t even get him to play legos with me, a pastime we often enjoy together.

Finally, as I was cleaning up, I spied a board game that we had recently purchased but hadn’t played yet.  I waited until his TV show was ending and suggested we play the game.  Surprisingly, he jumped at the chance!

While we were playing it occurred to me that I hadn’t been reading the Mom Websites much lately.  Then I realized that I had been waiting for my son to come up with ideas on what to do, rather than telling him what our plans are.  He’s not a very creative kid, so asking him to come up with ideas on his own doesn’t usually work.  I discovered long ago that I have to give him options to choose from.

Had I planned ahead, this lazy weekend could have been avoided.  We could have been out in the community having fun and learning new things.  But I forgot to plan something.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, you might appreciate the attached listing of Things To Do Locally.  The first section is how to find things to do in the area with children, and the rest will help you find out more about what is going on in your community so you can explore on your own.

things to do locally

A little bit of planning ahead, and offering two or three options to the kids to have input on can make a huge difference!  And to be clear, the options offered should never be: “Do you want to go to this event with me?,” but rather: “When we go out this afternoon, do you want to go to Event A or Event B?”

So, when you have time, explore the Mom Websites listed and sign up for some newsletters.  The site will email you when something cool is happening in your area.