Acclimating

When we first landed in Florida, everything looked strange. Trees, flowers, and even the grass looks different. The birds flying around us are birds I've only seen in the zoo or in pictures. The weather is different. Even the air feels different.

We've been here about six weeks, and already I don't stop and stare at all the strangeness around me.

Have you heard that it's hot in Florida? It's hot. It's hot and humid and muggy and stifling and the sweat starts trickling down your back before you get to the car. But as long as the sun isn't out to burn our eyes with its glare, my four year old and says, "It feels pretty good out here."

I hear that the winters are lovely.

Boredom Jar

So we made it through a cold, icy Idaho winter stuck indoors most of the time. Just as it warmed up there, we moved to Florida--at the beginning of the time of year when it's too hot to play outside for long. It feels like another winter stuck indoors.

Today we went out to play before 8 a.m. We were instantly sweating and in under 20 minutes my girls were ready to go inside. So I brainstormed a list of things we could do when we're bored so we don't automatically turn on the TV when it's too hot to play outside.

Being a hands-on, get down on the floor, do crafts every day kind of mom doesn't come naturally to me. So this list helps me think of fun things to do with my kids even though I'm not naturally spontaneous.

Art:

Paint a Picture

Color

Draw

Playdough

Crafts

Make a Book

Make Bookmarks

Make Sock Puppets

Make Paper Airplanes

Indoors:

Bake Something

Read a Book

Write a Letter

Do a Puzzle

Dance Party

Watch Videos of the Girls

Look at Scrapbooks

Skype Someone

Read-a-Thon

Songs with Movements

Paint Toenails

Have a Bubble Bath

Exercise

Learning:

Learn Something New About Florida

Learn About an Animal

Learn Something About Nature

Play School

Learn a Letter

Learn a Number

Learn a Shape

Tell a Story about a Family Member

National Geographic Kids Online

PBS Kids.org

Outdoors:

Hopscotch

Hula Hoop

Jump Rope

Water Play Outside

Go on a Walk

Blow Bubbles

Sidewalk Chalk

Ride Bikes

Play:

Board Game

Card Game

Train Tracks

Instruments

Build with Legos

Dress Ups

Tea Party

Hide and Seek

Cleaning:

Wash Windows

Sweep & Mop

Vacuum

Dust

Outings:

Park

Splash Park

Zoo

Ice Cream

Hiking

Beach

Library

Visit a Friend

Summer Fun

If I don't make a summer bucket list, I feel like the summer comes and goes with few fun memories. Although the weather here in Florida will seem to us like summer year round, with my oldest starting preschool in August, our schedule-free days are numbered. Here's our list for this year:

Foodie: 
Homemade Popsicles
Homemade Lemonade
Roast Marshmallows over the BBQ
Grill a Pizza 
Ice Cream from the Place Shaped Like an Ice Cream Cone
Family Breakfast at Davis Bakery 
Try Avalon Pockets

Indoors:
Cloud Dough (8 c. flour to 1 c. baby oil)
Kool Aid Play Dough
Read a Chapter Book to the Girls
Make a Blanket Fort
Family Movie Night
Scholastic Summer Reading Program (our library's summer reading is only for ages 6 and up--boo)
Make Pool Noodle Light Sabers
Solar Paper Art Projects

Outdoors:
Soda Bottle Sprinkler 
Make a Rain Gauge
Stay Up Late and Look at the Stars
Ice Cube Painting (with Juice Cubes)
Learn to Do Hula Hoops
Dance in the Rain
Color Scavenger Hunt
Picnic in the Park
Splash Pad
Movie in the Park

Out and About:
Go to the Beach
Go Swimming
Go on a Family Bike Ride
Go to the Zoo
Farmer’s Market
Go on a Hike
Downtown Disney
Visit Tallahassee Friends
Daddy/Daughter Date
Mommy/Daughter Date

Homemade popsicles: check.

Splash pad: check.